July Darling

Was quite surprised after my initial viewing of this Canadian film as it was really quite good. I was surprised because it is a harder to find horror film and don't think it was ever popular. I must say though that it may not be for all tastes.

Its really the twisted, weird and gets quite creepy story of a 16 year old girl named Julie (wonderfully played by Isabelle Mejias). She's a bit of a bad ass as she enjoys feeding rats to her pet snake, shooting Canada Geese and loves her Nestle Quik. It's really about her relationship with her father (Anthony Franciosa). She watched her mother (Cindy Girling) get killed, did nothing and now steps in the next woman named Susan (Sybil Danning). Guess who wants her dead?

If this does sound interesting I would suggest finding it and giving it a watch.

I've been searching and waiting to see "Julie Darling" for quite a very long time, and now that I finally watched, I'm both pleased and upset. Pleased because it's one of the most intense and disturbing 80's thrillers I've seen in a very long time, and upset because it undeservedly became obscure and forgotten amidst the overflow of inferior slasher pictures in that same decade. "Julie Darling" can more or less be categorized as a so-called Bad Seed effort, or – in other words – (horror) movies dealing with evil, psychopathic and murderous children. But this awesome little gem qualifies as a lot more than just that as well. It's a psychological "family" drama with a thoroughly uncanny atmosphere, numerous controversial undertones and a handful of very efficient shock moments. Julie Wilding is a cherubic and well- educated adolescent girl with a rather unhealthy affection for her daddy. Her mother notices Julie's rivalry and possessive behavior and wants to send her to a boarding school. But then her mother gets raped and killed by the grocery delivery boy, and even though Julie witnesses the whole thing from atop of the stairs, she doesn't move a muscle. Just when Julie thinks to have her daddy all for herself, he reveals that he's been having a secret affair for many years and wants to raise a new family with the lovely Susan and her little son. Rather than to get her own hands dirty, Julie tracks down her mother's murderer and blackmails him into doing the same with her new step family. She even joyously adds the words "Oh, and you can rape her all you want…". If Sigmund Freud would have ever written a movie script, the result would look a lot like "Julie Darling". The film is literally stuffed with psychosexual references and disputatious elements, like incestuous, intercourse with minors and matricide. In spite of its obscure status, "Julie Darling" features quite a few famous (in the cult/horror business, at least) names. Writer/director Paul Nicolas was also responsible for the greatest Women in Prison exploitation flick ever made, namely "Chained Heat" released that same wondrous year 1983. Anthony Franciosa, known from Dario Argento's giallo classic "Tenebre" is excellent as the unsuspecting (?) father and many horror fanatics will be super enthusiast to see Sybil Danning stars as the lovely stepmom. The one true diva of the film, however, is young Isabelle Mejias as Julie. I always thought that Patty McCormack ("The Bad Seed" 1956) was the most devilish child star, but she's a church choir girl in comparison to Isabelle Mejias. She depicts a truly frightening, cold-hearted and malignant teenage psycho.

What a very disturbing film. I began by thinking "What a brat!" Now, I knew she was not a nice little girl, but her incredibly disturbed being didn't enter my mind. She has such a a fixation on her father like no other film I've seen. There are very disturbing scenes. This actress's face is so angelic, and yet the coldest of hearts beats behind it. This is a pretty explicit film with lots of very graphic scenes. There is real violence here. I guess it's really based on total psychosis, because our little heroin is bound to do anything to latch on to her daddy.

As a film there is a great deal of suspense. This happens because only we know this child. She also has had weapons training and is quite the hunter. Talk about arming the enemy. The father never has a clue. Gosh, in addition to losing his first wife, isn't it odd that his new stepson gets put in an old refrigerator. The young rapist/murderer, however, doesn't hold a candle to Julie, which is pretty amazing.

Isabelle Mejias has the ultimate Daddy fixation, and Stepmothers who get in her way become expendable. The object of her attention, Anthony Franciosa, seems oblivious, clueless, or both, to his Daughter's unnatural behavior. The methods employed by Mejias to torment Stepmothers borders on sadism. While the script is sometimes clever, it also has a brutal amount of time wasted on small talk not relevant to the story. Sybil Danning and Isabelle Mejias give good performances, while Anthony Franciosa is so boring, you will almost cringe. "Julie Darling" is an effective thriller that could have benefited from some script tightening, however the extremely satisfying ending totally redeems any minor faults the film might have. - MERK

In JULIE DARLING, Harold and his wife, Irene (Anthony Franciosa and Cindy Girling), are in conflict over their daughter, Julie (Isabelle Mejias). Harold spoils her, while Irene seems to be the only one that's aware of the girl's bad behavior. For her part, Julie prefers her pet Boa constrictor over human company. Her interests include hunting and surgery.

When it's decided to send Julie away to boarding school, mum uses the opportunity to get rid of the snake. She soon dies tragically. Julie and dad mourn for about three seconds.

Enter Susan (Sybil Danning), dad's new wife. Julie hates her and the fact that she has a young son. We know this because she eyes the boy like an owl looks at a field mouse! Harold is, as always, limply oblivious.

When Julie spies on Harold and Susan in bed, things really get weird! Let's just say that Julie's a little too fond of dad!

This is a decent, though rather tiresome thriller, saving most of its twisted action for the gonzo finale (aka: the last 14 minutes). However, it's worth the wait!...