Il medaglione insanguinato (Perche?!)

Massimo Dallamano was doubtlessly one of the most gifted filmmakers in Italian 70s cinema, his greatest achievement being the 1972 Giallo-masterpiece "Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange" ("What Have You Done To Solange?"). Prior to his premature death in a car accident in 1976, Dallamano was responsible for a fistful of true classics of Italian 70s cinema including "Solange" and "La Polizia Chiede Aiuto" (1974), and I therefore also had high expectations for this occult Horror gem, "Il Medaglione Insanguinato" aka. "Perché?!"/"The Night Child"/"The Cursed Medallion" of 1975. Well, I must say that my high expectations were easily met, maybe even surpassed by this film, which turned out to be a highly atmospheric, suspenseful and also original gem that is definitely worthy of more attention.

Too often are occult Horror films from the first half of the 70s just dismissed as being blatant imitations of "The Exorcist"; this might be true in some cases, but it certainly isn't the case here. Other than the film being about possession and having a child as a central figure, this film has little to nothing do with "The Exorcist". Some time after his wife's tragic death in a fire, British reporter Michael Williams (Richard Johnson) goes to Italy with his daughter Emily (Nicoletta Elmi) and her nanny, in order to do a documentary on art. Little Emily, who, after witnessing her mother's gruesome death, is still haunted by nightmares, is given a beautiful silver medallion, which is supposed to have a mysterious past, by her father. Soon after their arrival, strange things begin to occur...

British character actor Michael Williams (whose resemblance to "The Omen" leading man Gregory Peck may be intended or not) delivers a very good performance in the lead, and Joana Cassidy and genre-beauty Ida Galli make a nice female support. The true star of this film, however, is little Nicoletta Elmi, doubtlessly the greatest child star in Italian Horror cinema, who once again proves that children can be great actors - and unspeakably eerie. 11 years old at the time this film was made, Nicoletta Elmi had already starred in a number of brilliant cult-productions including Mario Bava's "Bay of Blood" (1971) and "Baron Blood" (1972), Aldo Lado's Venetian Giallo "Chi L'Ha Vista Morire" (1972), Paul Morrisey's "Flesh For Frankenstein" (1973) and Dario Argento's masterpiece "Profondo Rosso" (1975). While "The Night Child" is not the most brilliant production Elmi has ever been part of (that would be a draw between "Profondo Rosso" and "Flesh for Frankenstein" for me), it was her first and only leading role, and it proves more than any other film what a great talent she was. Elmi quit acting in her mid-20s in order to become a doctor.

"Il Medaglione Insanguinato" is a film as beautiful as it is eerie. Fantastically photographed on beautiful and impressive settings, and with fascinating set-pieces, this is another film that proves that Italian Horror is as visually overwhelming as cinema gets. The film maintains a haunting and creepy atmosphere from the first minute to the end, the generally eerie mood is intensified by several nightmarish and downright frightening sequences. Eerie, haunting and beautiful, this is yet another great film by the great Massimo Dallamano. Standing ovations for the tremendously gifted Nicoletta Elmi. 8.5/10

This film is so tame that my kids could have watched it from beginning to end without a problem, if their attention span lasted that long. I think it's rated 15 solely based on the brief appearance of Joanna Cassidy's boob. That said, it's not a total waste of time due to the cast and the man in charge.

Poor Emilia (Nicoletta Elmi). Her mum got all burned in a fire then took a header out of a window and now her dad's dragging her to Italy to make a film about the devil. He's played by grumpy Richard Johnson who works for the BBC and has become fascinated with a photograph of a painting sent to him by a local countess. The picture seems to depict the devil, a group of angry pitchfork wielding locals, a young girl and a burning woman falling from the sky.

Emilia also has a nanny played by Ida Galli, who is in love with Richard, but her hopes are destroyed when Joanna Cassidy turns up to help out Richard. Joanna Cassidy is famous for playing sexy stripper/killer android Zhora in Blade Runner, so you can see why Richard makes a bee-line for her and ignores his daughter's random flashbacks to a previous life. She also has terrible dreams and screaming fits, which is distracting Richard from getting some.

The Countess is also psychic and gets a bad vibe from all this stuff with the painting and some mumbo-jumbo about two medallions, and she herself starts doing a bit of investigating. One 'accidental' death later, things come to a head in an ending I'll admit I didn't see coming, but it takes a while to get there.

Some people love this one, probably due to the complete lack of trash and the way the film looks absolutely gorgeous. It does look great - Dallamano's films always do, regardless of content (Venus in Furs), but he can also be a bit too laid back when it comes to plot, and for me that happens here. Although it's refreshing that there's no actual exorcism scenes in the latter half of the film, there's also not much substituted in its place and very little supernatural shenanigans. There's also some terrible blue screen effects, but that's by the by.

A documentarian working on a film about the devil's depictions in artwork finds his life turned upside after the death of his wife, which traumatizes his daughter. Things get worse, though, when his daughter receives a cursed medallion that renders her possessed by a child murderess.

I went into this film with low expectations as it is certainly not a film that has a sturdy reputation-the Code Red DVD release of the film in fact brands it under their "Septic Cinema" series, with the disc menu featuring a porta-potty. This is actually rather misleading, and possibly offensive. Though not a great film, "The Night Child" is a far cry from the utter trash that some may have you believe.

Similar to other European rip-offs of supernatural American horror at the time ("Beyond the Door" and many others come to mind), the film riffs on elements from "The Exorcist" (though is far more understated) and at times looks and even feels like "The Omen," and unabashedly so. Fortunately, this makes for an atmospheric film, boasting lush and wintry London sets that contrast with warm, oppressive interiors. An eerie score underpins the proceedings, which are somewhat slow-going, but they do pick up in the last third.

The film boasts a cast of English-speaking actors, with the English Richard Johnson leading the film, and American Joanna Cassidy playing his producer and sometimes-lover. The dubbing and dialogue are a bit hit-and-miss, but this is mostly expected for a film of the period, and at times it reminds one of some of the Bava or Argento films of the era.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by "The Night Child," which seems to have garnered a reputation that I frankly found at odds with what was on screen. The film is a rip-off, but a good one, and it offers a select few well-orchestrated scenes and a chilling atmosphere. For what it is, this is an above-average foray into the "possessed children" subgenre. 7/10.

One of the things I love about European horror and giallo films is the scenery. To tell the truth, it might well be my only chance to see such exotic foreign locations, especially as they appeared over forty years ago. And here, Director Massimo Dallamano makes sure we get the full benefit of exotic looking vistas in Spoleto, Villa Parisi, Palazzo Chigi and London. It looks stunning.

The cast is terrific also. Leading man Richard Johnson as Michael Williams is charming and reassuring, whilst never drifting into the foppish tendencies of many handsome male actors from this period. Prolific Nicoletta Elmi is Emily Williams; here, at just 11 years old, the talented youngster had already appeared in such films as 'Who Saw Her Die' alongside George Lazenby, Mario Bava's 'A Bay of Blood' and 'Baron Blood', Dario Argenta's 'Deep Red' and the notorious 'Flesh for Frankenstein' amongst many other projects. Her role here is big ask: as 'the night child' she has to carry large parts of this story, and without the aid of the make-up, special effects or prosthetics that ensured Linda Blair in 'The Exorcist' gave us all nightmares.

And this is very much an imitation of that ground-breaking demonic horror. Williams is a film-maker making a documentary about Satanic deaths, and as he is away working, Emily's behaviour becomes alarmingly petulant: almost as if she is possessed. Thus, we get regular flashbacks and nightmare sequences. Whereas Regan in 'The Exorcist' injures herself with crucifixes, vomits green bile and utters foul profanities, Emily throws a few tantrums (and smokes a cigarette) that are energetically performed but hardly terrifying.

The truth is, this is a rather pale imitation of that earlier film and in any comparisons, comes a distant second, despite all the wonderful scenery and powerful performances. It's true to say that Emily's powers become more fearsome as time goes on, and the finale contains a good twist. The accompanying score, by Stelvio Cipriani is also completely bewitching, but unlikely to give anyone the jitters. My score for this is 7 out of 10.

I realize it's a nearly blasphemous thing to write, being a self-acclaimed horror aficionado, but I really think that several of the greatest genre classics (like "The Exorcist", "Rosemary's Baby", "The Omen", "Don't Look Now"…) are somewhat overrated. I definitely reckon their importance and influence, but personally I'm always much more entertained by their copious amounts of (primarily Italian) rip-offs. I can't help it… Trashy titles such as "Beyond the Door", "The Tempter" or "Demon Witch Child" are just a lot more fun to watch because the atmosphere is a lot less demanding while the gore/bloodshed is a lot more outrageous. "The Cursed Medallion", also known as "The Night Child" theoretically also qualifies as such an Italian "The Exorcist" rip-off, but the overall tone of the film balances back and forth between the stern 1973 original and the over-exploitative other rip-offs. This one plays in one league higher thanks to three aspects: a surprisingly intriguing script with likable characters, solid direction by Massimo Dallamano and a downright fantastic – albeit ruminated – musical score by Stelvio Cipriani. Michael Williams and his 11-year-old daughter Emily are still recovering from the devastating loss of their wife/mother, who got trapped in her bedroom when a fire broke out and fell to her death from the window. Little Emily carries her mother's medallion – a gift from her father – everywhere with her. But Michael has to pick up work again and travel to Italy to make a TV-documentary about diabolical art. Following doctor's advice, Emily and the introvert nanny Jill accompany him. When there, Michael and his producer (and brand new love interest) Joanna stumble upon a truly sinister painting in the catacombs of an old castle, and there seems to be a connection between the painting and the medallion around Emily's neck. Fact is that the little girl behaves very strangely and dangerously jealous when it comes to her father. "The Cursed Medallion" deals with a lot more topics than just possession, like for instance reincarnation, the Electra complex and satanic relics. This is actually one of those rare Italian horror movies for which it's regrettable that they are simply just labeled as "rip-off", because it has a lot more to offer. "The Cursed Medallion" is so much better than most of its contemporary Italian companions and it's almost entirely the accomplishment of co-writer/director Massimo Dallamano. This criminally underrated director also made the single best giallo ever made ("What have you done to Solange?") and was a brilliant cinematographer during most of his career. He shot some of Sergio Leone's best western classics, among others, and his talented eye for breath-taking camera compositions are also noticeable in this film; just check out the two separate sequences of ladies falling to their deaths. Dallamano also briefly appears in a funny cameo, as a random man at the airport. Joanna stops him to ask if he's Michael Williams by any chance, to which he looks straight in her lovely eyes and slyly replies: "No, but I wish I was". Dallamano died in a car accident one year after the release of this film, at age 59, which is a crying shame as I'm sure he still had a couple of great movies left in him. One final remark about the awesome soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani, because that is also one of the film's main trumps. Even though you could state that he often recycled his own previous work, Cipriani is definitely one of Italy's greatest composers, next to – of course – Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani.