Almas Malditas

This film had a very good idea, and some good visual stuff, and a good story to tell, and great acting by Richard Lynch and Ellen Barber as kidnappers of Sharon Farrels adopted girl (she is the birth mother of the adopted child) but ultimately the film is bogged down with slowness, and also Richard Lynch's character's later motives on why he still wants to kidnap and keep the child is rather unclear, and despite winning the viewers some sympathy to Barbers character, and how she wants to reunite with her birth child, they make her into a super crazed loonie in the middle of the film, whcih defeats the set up earlier. A good rewrite would have helped. Good ending though! This is a good example of low budget "regional, local" filming in far away states with Hollywood actors that Avco Embassy was picking up for release back in the 70's. (similar to SCALPELS)

"The Premonition" follows a mother who begins experiencing bizarre visions after her daughter's biological mother (who is clinically insane) tracks them down, along with the help of her unstable circus clown boyfriend.

Released in 1976, this supernatural thriller is something of the progenitor of the modern supernatural-themed horror/thriller films of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Though branded as a horror film, my impression of this film is that it's perhaps more of a thriller with added melodrama. Shot in the southern U.S., the film has a dreary and almost dreamlike sensibility, and does boast some rather frightening nightmare sequences in which the mother (played by Sharon Farrell) has disturbing premonitory visions.

The main fault of "The Premonition" is the way in which the supernatural element is shoehorned into the plot; we never really get a solid explanation as to why these visions manifest, and Farrell's character's husband is conveniently a professor whose colleague studies the supernatural. This quasi-scientific side of the film is a bit dull (and perhaps inspired by "The Exorcist"), whereas the plot involving the child's insane biological mother and boyfriend (the latter played nefariously by Richard Lynch)--and their pursuit of the girl--is much more intriguing.

The film concludes with a rather grand sequence that seems a bit absurd, but Farrell and the other performers all commit to the material, rendering it passable. All in all, "The Premonition" is a fairly well-made supernatural thriller, though one that is not entirely the sum of its parts. The film does steep itself in too much melodrama for its own good at times, but in the end, there is enough dreamlike atmosphere and intrigue to keep the audience committed until the end. 6/10.

A fantastic, intriguing, fascinating sprawling mess, but a mess of the best kind - full of ideas and avenues and thoughts and musings. Don't believe the low rating on here, this film displays some of the great things that genre-crossing films can manage, things that more straight- laced and disciplined films can't. Hopping from thriller to horror to near avant-garde musical fantasy, this is a brilliant rediscovery and while it might not be the tidiest of films, it is free and explorative and brave and should be seen. That it sometimes tries for more than it achieves is testament to its ambition.

A neurotic Andrea Fletcher(Ellen Barber)returns from a mental institution.The woman is looking for her daughter Janie.With the help of a circus employee Jude(Richard Lynch)Andrea wants to kidnap the girl from her adoptive parents.But the plan goes wrong and the supernatural visions begin...I can't believe that Robert Allen Schnitzer's "The Premonition" is rated so low.The script is imaginative as it delves into the bond of motherhood,telepathy and precognition.The acting is strong,the direction by Schnitzer is competent and there is some powerful suspense.The shock moments are very effective for example the scene where Andrea in a red evening gown slips into Janie's bedroom is very eerie and sad.A must-see for fans of "The Brood" and "Don't Look Now".8 out of 10.

Five-year-old Janie Bennett (Golden Globe nominee Danielle Brisebois) happily lives with her foster parents Miles and Sheri Bennett (Sharon Farrell), oblivious to the fact that her insane birth mother is attempting to kidnap her. When the birth mother, Andrea Fletcher, and her boyfriend Jude (Richard Lynch), a carny, do attempt to kidnap the girl, Andrea cannot go through with it.

Writer-director Robert Schnitzer was influenced by the European directors of the 1930s and 40s, as many American directors of the 1970s were. This influence is evident, and definitely has an Italian sensibility about it. And to keep costs low, the state of Mississippi provided cop cars, the fire department created "rain" with their hoses and a real carnival that happened to be in town was used as Jude's work environment. This makes the film look bigger than it was.

The casting of Richard Lynch was a great decision, catching him before he got any bigger. Lynch was hired, according to Schnitzer, for his "widely divergent moods" and for just being "unique". Lynch, in turn, claimed to be influenced by "Rififi" and "Psycho" in his acting. And to some degree the legendary mime Marcel Marceau, which is evident.

Baseball fans will notice a cameo from Roy White, the multi-World Series winning New York Yankee (and coach). This is especially amusing considering Schnitzer had no knowledge whatsoever of sports and did not even know who White was when he appeared in the film. (He was an active player during shooting.)

What I love about this film is the unusual score from opera composer Henry Mollicone, especially in the second half. Although the movie has plenty going for it as a slow-burning horror story with carnival overtones, the music really makes it stand out.

The film had mixed reviews. Leonard Maltin called it mediocre, saying its "muddled script works against the eerie atmosphere in this supernatural tale." A more positive review by Video Hound's Golden Movie Retriever called it "a well-done para-norm tale." Maltin is probably right for the most part, as the script could have been tightened... but that makes it no less eerie!

Arrow Video has cleaned up the picture and put this film on their box set, American Horror Project Vol 1. Thank you, Arrow! We get plenty of special features on the disc, too: Audio commentary with director-producer Robert Allen Schnitzer, who (of course) knows everything about the production. He also has a very sarcastic sense of humor that makes his stories all the more amusing -- are his tales of the turtle wrangler true or just a joke?

The Arrow disc has a brand new interview with composer Henry Mollicone. And an interview with actor Richard Lynch, which covers "Premonition" but also touches on acting in general, such as his work on "Scarecrow" with Al Pacino. If that is not enough, we even get three Robert Allen Schnitzer short films: 'Vernal Equinox', 'Terminal Point' and 'A Rumbling in the Land'. These films are so rare that IMDb does not even know about them.