There Was a Little Girl

Okay, I admit this film isn't a masterpiece by any stretch, but slasher aficionados should find it enjoyable. I certainly did and was rather surprised by all the negative reviews I'd previously read. Granted, it's slow going in places, but the murders are genuinely creepy, as well as performances by Dennis Robertson as the twisted Father James and Allison Biggers as the deformed sister, Mary. Some ample doses of blood (in the unrated version) also add to the proceedings. While the film may not appeal to erstwhile horror fans, anybody with a taste for slashers will surely appreciate this entry in the genre.

Note: Some reviewers have condemned this film for lifting a scene out of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, but the the fact of the matter is that both films were released in the same year (1981), so it's debatable as to who stole what from whom. Personally, I preferred the scene as it was staged in this film, regardless of which came first. See it for yourself and you be the judge.

Taste—and what it reveals about a person--is a funny thing. For example, there are flicks I simply like, regardless of what others say, regardless of critical reviews. In fact, all of us have favorites that might not hold much sway with the general public. In these films, there may be stupendously bad acting, scenery, costumes, sets, and narrative—but nevertheless there's something "ineffable" about them that jibes with our personal tastes and personal aesthetic in some inexplicable way. We just LIKE them, even though those around us say we have no taste at all. (I hear this a lot.)

So, a strange taste-related revelation occurred to me recently as I watched the UK R2 DVD release of "Madhouse" (aka "There Was A Little Girl"—a MUCH better title, by the way). As I watched, I thought to myself, "Sure the 'Crazy Deformed Twin Sister is Going to Kill Me' plot is derivative, but it is nicely composed. As I watched, I also thought the photography was carefully done, with good use of colors, and nice use of the scope format. The mood was unbearably somber and tense. The denouement was appropriate, and I jumped accordingly at a few spots. Finally, I wondered to myself, 'Who made this film?' As I turned the DVD box over to find out, I saw…

Ovidio Assonitis! And that's when I realized my tastes were somehow inextricably linked to this director/producer and his aesthetic. Just about every knockoff horror film he has made in his career, I simply love, love, LOVE! Beyond the Door (Exorcist Clone), The Visitor (an Omen Clone], Tentacoli (Jaws Clone), Who Saw Her Die?—though my friends shake their heads in disbelief, I have that same taste-related, inexplicable, unwilling gut-reaction to all these films: I like this! I like the way it is photographed. I like the pace. I like the way the plot rolls out—or the way the plot disappears entirely in some cases. I like the characterizations, the effects. I like the outrageousness of some of the scenes. The music works just right. I just like his films. Ovidio Assonitis is all-right by me! Not surprisingly, known as the "Rip-Off King," Assonitis is railed against hither and thither. Even those who are appreciative of his films feel obliged to say things like, "You know, it wasn't so bad," or "It wasn't as horrible as I thought it might be" (just look at some of the reviews right here).

But I think I just discovered that I am an unabashed Ovidio-junkie. He makes the perfectly derivative, low-budget (but nevertheless big-minded, carefully-made, professionally shot) crap I absolutely adore. On the surface, the films are nothing but a cash-in on whatever is trendy at the time. No one disputes that. But these films all saw major theatrical release because, simply put, they are extremely well-made, seriously photographed, professionally acted and scored flicks. They take what they do seriously, even though it's all been done before (and with bigger budgets). These films are great products, including "Madhouse." The UK DVD is also impressive and it shows Ovidio at his film-cloning best. As I mentioned, a great use of the scope format; nice authenticity of settings and background actors (the female protagonist who is being stalked by her deformed twin sis works in a school for the deaf, and real deaf-kid-actors are used to incredible effect in the film); nice use of colors; a nutsy ending. Hey maybe, I'll start an Ovidio Fan Club. In the meantime, though, check this out.

And, by the way, when the heck is Ovidio's apocalyptic "The Visitor" (Lance Hendricksen, John Huston, Shelly Winters) ever going to see the light of day on DVD?

This is a fun 80s horror movie. It's a bit unpredictable because it doesn't make sense. But it has such a zany energy that it's forgivable imo. Dennis Robertson's performance stands out as being memorable. I will reiterate - you'll have to turn your brain off to enjoy this one. It's creepy and well-made. And it will not answer the questions it raises. It doesn't care about logic.

"Madhouse," also released under the titles "And When She Was Bad" and "There Was a Little Girl," focuses on Julia, a teacher in Savannah, Georgia whose twin sister, Mary, has spent most of her life in a psychiatric institution. After an overdue visit to see her, Julia becomes increasingly paranoid about her sister's ominous warning that she will take revenge on her, and as their mutual birthday approaches, people in Julia's life start dying.

Co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Ovidio G. Assonitis (who several years prior directed the fever-dream "Exorcist" ripoff "Beyond the Door"), "Madhouse" is a halfway decent slasher film that draws on a confluence of contemporaries, but doesn't quite manage to live up to what it sets out to do. The film has been credited by genre fans for its atmosphere and photography, and that is most definitely where I feel the film excels as well. The house it's set in is wildly eerie and the Georgia setting lends an additional layer of Southern Gothic atmosphere that is at times intoxicating.

At times the film feels like a straightforward slasher; at others, it seems like it's edging into the territory of the supernatural, and this lack of transparency keeps the audience on their toes for the first half. The film begins to lose this balancing act though in the last thirty minutes with a premature slipshod reveal and a conclusion that feels uninspired and lazily unfurled. It doesn't necessarily go where you expect it to—I'll give it that— but it's less about the nature of the revelation and more about how it's broached in the narrative. The film was notoriously banned in the UK during the "video nasty" era, and it does boast some considerable gore, though I did feel the bulk of the killings relied a bit too much on the canine dispatch (which itself seems to be a riff on "The Omen" and "Suspiria"). The cast is mostly made up of unknowns, but the performances are decent for a film of this type.

Overall, I found "Madhouse" to be a bit underwhelming, mainly because it sets itself up for greatness, and then handles its conclusion in a way that feels lazy and uninspired given all that precedes it. As sluggish as the last act is, I do have to praise the film for its curation of atmosphere and the moody cinematography. There are some truly unnerving scenes in the house that are memorable, and the film does manage to establish a sense of foreboding before it nearly undoes itself. 6/10.

As co-written and directed by Ovidio Assonitis ("Beyond the Door", "Tentacles"), "There Was a Little Girl" (a.k.a. "Madhouse") is a mostly tedious affair running through the standard slasher paces adequately but without any real style. For its first two thirds, it actually plays more like a drama with some horror moments than an out and out horror film. It's too bad it got labelled as a Video Nasty, as it's never really that gory, at least not until the end. The good thing is that the performances are better than expected, and things do get marginally more interesting in the final third, with a plot development that some horror fans may see coming and some may not.

Trish Everly stars as Julia, a teacher in a school for deaf children whose birthday is nearing. In the days leading up to it, her deformed, demented twin sister Mary (Allison Biggers) escapes from the hospital. It seems that Mary had dominated and terrorized the meek Julia during their childhood, and now Julia is more than a little concerned. Mary had had a spooky canine companion when the two women were young, and now there's a bloodthirsty dog adding to the weirdness.

For around an hour or so, this is just a little too dull, although Assonitis succeeds in building some atmosphere. But the story becomes more fun upon its one true big reveal. Eventually, this bears some strong resemblances to the Canadian slasher "Happy Birthday to Me", although it's hard to say whether one movie ripped off the other or not. The beautiful Everly does an okay job in the lead, the equally lovely Morgan Most is fine as her friend, and Michael MacRae is acceptable as Julias' psychiatrist / lover, but the person who steals the show is Dennis Robertson as the friendly Father James. The animal work is good; trainer Joe Camp plays the ill-fated hospital guard. However, during the finale, when the crazed dog comes through a door, a special effect is employed, and it's laughably horrible.

Overall, a decent shocker redeemed to a degree by its last act.

Five out of 10.