Ensemble comedies can be hit and miss affairs: for every Anchorman, there’s a **Balls Of Fury **(or more than one). So co-writer/directors Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon will have to walk a fine line with their new bundle of terror, Hell Baby. Take a look at the trailer over at Apple and judge for yourself how they’ve done. And no, it's not a prequel to Hellboy.
Of course, in terms of taste and judgement, Garant and Lennon – usually found either writing blockbusters such as the Night At The Museum movies, or in improv like Reno 911! – have decided to go for broke with the madness and the crazy comedy. Oh, and the gore.
Still, when your plot finds a couple (Rob Corddry’s Jack and Leslie Bibb’s Vanessa) moving into a run-down New Orleans fixer-upper with the intention of making a quick buck only to discover that it has a Satanic past and lurking horrors, including Vanessa getting pregnant with demon spawn, you pretty much know you’re going to go as wacky as possible.
With the filmmakers showing up as oddball tough guy priests there's also a roll-call of friends and regular collaborators including Rob Huebel, Keegan Michael Key, Riki Lindhome and Paul Scheer playing various characters. Can such a broad comedy cross over? That’s a bigger question. Hell Baby hits iTunes across the pond on July 25 and cinemas on September 6. There’s no sign – such as blood raining from the skies or people talking in tongues – of a UK date yet.