CryBaby Lane is a made-for-TV horror movie that was shown once on Nickelodeon's revived SNICK block. Only once. It's claimed that there were too many parental complaints regarding its creepy and disturbing content, leading to its one-night-only fate (and Nickelodeon's own denial of the film's existence). Because it was only shown once in 2000 and never released on DVD/VHS, it was assumed that there were no copies of it floating around, and its very existence was presumed to be an urban legend.
That was until August 2011, when somebody asked about it on Reddit and a user by the name of "firesaladpeach" claimed to have recorded it on VHS. The Redditors got it up and streaming on YouTube, confirming that yes, Cry Baby Lane existed. The attention drawing from this lead to TeenNick re-airing the film once again as part of their NickRewind block. It was soon taken off of YouTube, but has been put back up by multiple people to ensure it doesn't once again become a lost film.
On its original airing, the film was introduced by Melissa Joan Hart, who not only wished up a hot guy to view next to her, but was also in her Clarissa haircut.
The plot revolves around a legend of a pair of conjoined twins that were separated at death. One of the twins was good, and the other was evil. The good twin was said to have been buried in the town cemetery, and the evil twin was buried in a grave near the farmhouse where he was born. Two brothers decide to hold a séance on the good twin's grave, but it turns out that the good twin was actually buried at the farmhouse and they've awakened the spirit of the evil twin. The evil twin then goes around possessing everyone, including the older of the two brothers. It's up to the younger brother to set things right again.
This film provides examples of:
- And Starring: Frank Langella is given an "And Starring" credit.
- Big Brother Bully: Carl frequently picks on his brother Andrew.
- Cain and Abel: The evil twin and the good twin. Also, Carl and Andrew, to a much lesser extent.
- Conjoined Twins: The premise of the film is that there were once a pair of conjoined twins, one twin being good and the other being evil. After the twins died, their father planned to separate them and give the good twin a proper burial while the evil twin would be buried in the titular Cry Baby Lane, but a mixup results in the evil twin being buried in the grave intended for the good twin and disaster striking when his spirit is awakened.
- Cool Old Guy: Carl and Andrew like to visit Mr. Bennett, an old man who is all-too happy to share his ghost stories.
- Creepy Good: Kenneth, Mr. Bennett's assistant. His mannerisms are nothing short of off-putting, accompanied by his disturbing fascination with embalming corpses. In spite of this, he means no harm towards anyone, and in fact becomes really helpful to Andrew.
- Death by Childbirth: Part of the backstory is that the conjoined twins' mother died giving birth to them.
- Demonic Possession: The modus operandi of the Evil Twin is controlling people's bodies.
- The End... Or Is It?: The evil twin is heard laughing as the movie fades out, questioning if they really got rid of him or not.
- Evil Twin: The basis of the plot; the brothers decide to hold a seance to awaken the good twin so they can learn more about the two, but end up awakening the evil twin, who proceeds to wreak havoc on their town.
- Hive Mind: Eventually, nearly everyone in the town becomes under the evil twin's possession and they act as if they all share the same mind.
- Jerkass: Carl, who seems to have no other aspect of himself other than harassing and treating Andrew like shit, all because "He's a coward". He seems to calm down by the end, but it's only implied.
- Lost in the Maize: The climax involves being lost in a corn field.
- Monochromatic Eyes: Those possessed by the evil twin have blank white eyes.
- Monochrome Past: The opening scene telling the story of Cry Baby Lane is depicted in black and white.
- Nightmare Fetishist: The infamous Creepypasta painted director Peter Lauer as being fascinated by the frightening.
- Polar Opposite Twins: The conjoined twins. One of them was good and the other one was evil.
- Satellite Love Interest: Cathy to Andrew. She's just there to serve as motivation for Andrew to become a more valorous person.
- Spooky Séance: Carl pulls one to scare some of the local girls, but his actions lead to stirring up the evil twin's ghost.
- Unreliable Narrator: Mr. Bennett when telling the stories of the twins. He did this on purpose, though - omitting certain details to try to prevent anyone from stirring up trouble. He also reveals that he was the one to separate the twins' bodies before their burial.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: What happened to the spirit of the 'good' twin?
