From online criticism to creative collaboration, the filmmakers unpack the deeply personal themes behind their latest genre-bending nightmare.
Last week, ahead of its digital release this Friday, I had the chance to sit down with Big Baby writer/director Spider One and the film’s star, producer, and editor Krsy Fox. I previously spoke with the duo back in 2024 about their excellent horror debut Little Bites, so it was a pleasure catching up to discuss their latest collaboration. While Spider once again handled writing and directing duties, Krsy continued to wear multiple hats both in front of and behind the camera, serving as the film’s producer, editor, and leading lady.
Big Baby feels deeply personal, following Adam (Brandon Scott), a struggling screenwriter whose already fragile confidence is shattered after a pair of horror podcasters mercilessly tear apart his latest script online. What begins as an all-too-relatable story about creative insecurity quickly mutates into something far more unsettling, as Adam becomes haunted by the titular Big Baby—a grotesque manifestation of every fear, self-doubt, and insecurity threatening to consume him.
During our conversation, we discussed the couple’s uniquely collaborative filmmaking process, how Little Bites helped shape Big Baby, the film’s timely exploration of toxic online criticism, preserving pieces of horror history through its locations, and what lies ahead for one of independent horror’s most exciting creative partnerships.
Dan Tabor: I love the creative partnership you two have. What does that process look like from the moment you start a project until it finally reaches an audience? Spider, you’re wearing the director’s hat, while Krsy, you’re acting, editing, and sometimes even handling sound design. How do those different perspectives influence the way you collaborate?
Spider One: She screams at me. She’s like, “Get to work. Write a script.”
Krsy Fox: Usually it honestly starts with an idea. When Spider is the one writing and directing, I’m the main producer on the ground. I’m getting permits, handling logistics, doing all that stuff. So he’ll tell me an idea, we talk about it, and he starts writing, and then once the script is done and we both feel good about it—and we know we have the funds—then it’s me making him commit to a production date.
Spider One: Which is always quicker than I want. Because when you’re writing, you always want a little buffer to live with it and think about it. You don’t want to rush, but you also don’t want to sit around wasting time. Finding that production start date is important because you want to make sure you’re actually making the movie.
Our process is really collaborative. We trust each other completely. We’re always the first person the other goes to with, “What do you think about this?” At the same time, we know when to back off. There are certain areas where one of us has more expertise—performance, writing, editing—and while we always communicate our feelings, but I know when to let her get an edit to a certain point before I jump in.
Sometimes I chime in too early and she’s like, “Go away. I’m not ready for you yet.” The same thing happens with writing. She’ll have ideas, but she’ll let me get there first. We both just get so excited about making movies that once we’re talking about one, it’s go time.
Krsy Fox: We spend a lot of time in pre-production because that’s where you talk everything through. You make sure everyone’s on the same page, the crew included, and that the schedule is exactly right. Those are some of the most important things.
People always comment that our set is so calm—that no one yells and we don’t fight. That’s because by the time we get there, everyone knows exactly what they’re supposed to be doing, actors included. If you’re not prepared by then, you’re in trouble. That pre-production phase is honestly the reason we don’t kill each other.
Dan Tabor: I chatted with both of you for Little Bites at Fantastic Fest—which I still recommend to people—and after watching this, I actually felt guilty because I did an interview but never wrote the review.
Spider One: It’s never too late. (After this I wrote my review.)
Dan Tabor: I was wondering if the reaction to Little Bites influenced the podcast subplot in Big Baby. And why do you think horror fans—a community that generally embraces new voices and new ideas—can sometimes become so reactionary?
Krsy Fox: I’m going to let Spider answer that, but I don’t think horror fans are the worst people in the world. I think there’s a small group of people who aren’t really representative of the horror community, because the horror community is the fucking best. I’ll live and die on that opinion.
I get to meet so many amazing people through festivals, conventions, podcasters, reviewers, fans, and fellow filmmakers. The people Spider’s talking about in the film are that tiny percentage who don’t really seem to like movies at all. They just want to hate things.
Those aren’t the people who matter. The real horror fans, I think, are grateful that these movies exist. Whether you love a movie or hate it, you’re excited that there’s a new horror film waiting for you after work. That’s what matters.
Go ahead, Spider.
Spider One: I completely agree. Most people who have podcasts or review movies are thoughtful and knowledgeable. It’s never been about whether someone likes your movie or not. We’re all adults. Nobody loves everything.
I’m sure somebody out there is giving The Odyssey one star.
Dan Tabor: Hilariously enough, there is.
I haven’t even seen it yet, but I assume it’s amazing. That’s just how opinions work. If your favorite band is Motörhead, you’re probably not going to love Frank Sinatra.
What interested me was shining a light on that very small segment of people who are just hateful for the sake of being hateful. It’s kind of sad.
In the movie, Adam talks about how, when he was younger, he loved everything. That’s how I felt growing up too, and I’ve tried to hold onto that. I appreciate the fact that people are putting their hearts into creating something—to entertain people, scare people, or make them feel something.
The criticism itself isn’t the issue. Thoughtful criticism is great. If someone says, “The pacing was a little slow,” or, “I didn’t connect with this,” that’s perfectly valid.
It’s the people who just post, “This is dog shit,” with absolutely no thought behind it. Those people fascinated me from a storytelling perspective. And for a character like Adam, who’s hypersensitive to criticism, those kinds of voices would absolutely drive him insane.
Dan Tabor: Barbara Crampton mentioned that you filmed in her home, and I love those behind-the-scenes stories where a location becomes part of a film’s identity. How did that come about, and what did that space bring to the atmosphere you were trying to create?
Krsy Fox: Barbara is my best friend. She’s my favorite person other than Spider and my daughter.
Spider One: Usually I’m second to Barbara.
Krsy Fox: Sometimes you are second to Barbara, and she knows it.
When we needed that type of location, Barbara had this beautiful pool. She had literally just renovated her entire house and backyard, and I said, “Can we shoot there?”
She immediately said yes.
I really didn’t think it through. Then I got to set and realized, “Oh my God… we’re going to cover this place in blood.” I became a complete basket case because I was terrified we were going to ruin all of her brand-new stonework.
Barbara didn’t care at all. She was totally fine with it.
I spent those shoot days walking around making sure every little spot got cleaned up. She later joked there was still blood left in the pool, but at least that washed away.
Since then she’s sold the house and moved to New York, so it’s become this really nice time capsule. So many people in the horror community gathered there over the years. She hosted Women in Horror get-togethers and so many parties. Now, every time someone watches the movie, that house lives on forever.
Spider One: We had another experience like that. We shot a scene inside Dark Delicacies in Burbank, which had been a legendary horror bookstore for around forty years. We were able to film there before it closed, and even had the owner, Del, appear in the scene.
Now that the store is gone, we’ve preserved that little piece of horror history on film. Between Barbara’s house and Dark Delicacies, there are a couple of places in this movie that meant a lot to us and now only exist that way.
Dan Tabor: Finally, when we spoke during Little Bites, you had already finished Big Baby, and it was exciting hearing about it back then. So what’s next? Do you already have another project in the can, or are you developing something new?
Spider One: “What’s next?” is always the big question because sometimes you honestly don’t know.
When we finished Little Bites, I thought we were making an entirely different movie before we pivoted. Right now I have a couple of finished scripts ready to go.
Ironically, with all the Big Baby conversations lately, I’ve started getting inspired to write the sequel, so I’ve been working on that. We’ll see what ends up happening.
I’d love to start making something early next year, but there are so many moving parts—financing, scheduling, everyone’s availability. One thing I do know is that we’re definitely not stopping anytime soon.
Krsy Fox: And I’m going to keep pushing him to pick a production date.
Dan Tabor: Keep on him Krsy!
