Emilie, l'enfant des ténèbres

This is one of those OOP flicks that many people were searching but at this writing it finally had it's official release on DVD. The flick is fully uncut watchable in Italian or English spoken. Parts that never had a English translation are left in in Italian with English subs. A thing that has been done before with Italian flicks.

Don't think that this is going to be a classic giallo because it isn't. It even isn't a gory flick. More about possession. But not in the Exorcist (1973) tradition. Although it also centers around a child this has a more arty way of filming.

British reporter Michael Williams (Richard Johnson) has lost his wife in a fire. He's left with his daughter Emily (Nicoletta Elmi). He's gone to Italy together with his daughter and nanny to make a documentary about art but Emily still has weird nightmares due the death of her mother. To make her at ease her father give her a medallion. But things go worse from here.

The medolic score also adds towards the atmosphere, piano and guitar doesn't give it a eerie feeling but still things are happening. The score sometimes do remind you of Morricone. The downfall for a lot of horror fans can lay in the fact that the possession takes a while to enter. It's a slow flick, nothing graphic to see. And it do takes until almost the end before the supernatural enters and even that is low.

Kudos to Nicoletta Elmi as an 11 year old she gives an excellent performance and was a common face back then in horrors. But she decided to quit in her mid 20s to become a doctor.

If you like flicks that are beautifully shot and has a eerie atmosphere then this is your stuff.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

I have a soft spot in my heart (and maybe my brain pan) for Italian and European "Exorcist" rip-offs, and this is one of the best. It's certainly better than the much more famous "Beyond the Door", which also starred Richard Johnson. Actually,the term "Exorcist" rip-off is a more than a little unfair as these films were all quite different from "The Exorcist" (and each other). This film has a kind of subtle, supernatural atmosphere much more similar to Nicholas Roeg's "Don't Look Now" than to the visceral horror of "The Exorcist". There is also kind of an aura of evil in the film that goes beyond just the possession of the young girl and which anticipates "The Omen" or supernatural Dario Argento films like "Inferno", but with an additional reincarnation element (and, of course, a much more limited budget).

This film actually MOST resembles a LATER American film called "Burnt at the Stake" where the young girl imagines herself as the reincarnation of witch who was burned by grotesque villagers. In this movie, the visions of the girl (Nicoletta Elmi) are connected to her mother's "accidental" death by burning, a bizarre painting her father (Richard Johnson) is investigating in Italy for a BBC documentary on the Devil, and to the titular medallion, which belonged to her mother and may have had something to do with her fiery demise. There are definitely some weird connections that a "Don't Look Now"-type psychic in Italy (Lila Kedovra) reveals, and, of course, the Devil himself seems to be involved. But then there are some decidedly Freudian twists at the end that other reviews alluded to. That's what turns out to be the major flaw of this movie--there is just TOO MUCH going on, and while a lot of it is pretty effective, it gets pretty confusing the end is definitely somewhat disappointing.

The movie is certainly well-directed by Massimo Dallamano ("What Have You Done to Solange?"), who remains one of Italy's most criminally underrated genre directors. The music, as other reviewers said, is good if perhaps not original (I think I've heard the main score in at least one other movie). Johnson does a reasonably good job as the male lead, and American actress Joanne Cassidy ("Blade Runner") makes a welcome appearance(as do her impressive breasts) as Johnson's agent and love interest. This is an especially good vehicle,however, for Nicoletta Elmi. While most underage actresses, then and now, generally fall into the molds of cute and cloying or teenage and sexy, Elmi was kind of a strange-looking, but actually genuinely talented young actress (not unlike "Burnt at the Stake's" Susan Swift). As in some of her other movies like "Footprints on the Moon" or "Flesh for Frankenstein" (her most famous), Elmi is a sympathetic but also effectively sinister presence here. This isn't a perfect movie,but it's definitely worth seeing.

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.

Just got finished watching this Omen-inspired, Exorcist-derived, 1970s Italo-American horror-movie-lookalike on the recently released, high-definition, Italian-language only DVD (with English subs). And while I can't say much in the way of the film's originality, I've got to say that this is the little-film-that-could in many ways. Wanna go back to the days of burgeoning, high-budget, high-class, artfully framed 70's horror flicks? Here's your ticket.

First of all this film (which chronicles the somewhat lackluster "adventures" of a BBC documentarist on his trip to Spoleto to do a flick about representations of demons in old paintings—and his young daughter is somehow possessed by an "evil" medallion) is absolutely GORGEOUS to look at. In fact, the film is more an eyeful than all of the American possession-themed horror movies combined. The use of colors is vibrant, the carefully crafted shots are very painterly themselves, and every frame seems bathed in the heavenly filtered sunlight that oddly only seems to exist in 70's films for some strange reason. And the splendid beauty of the Italian landscape is breathtaking—it seeps through in practically every shot. The high-def transfer (distributed by Mostra Internationale d'Arte Cinematografica under the title "Il Medaglione Insanguinato—Perche?") does justice to the vision of both the director and cinematographer. Wow, this movie looks simply awesome.

Of course, the fact that it is solidly stuck in the mid-70's doesn't bother me either. This is one of those films that screams "70s'-armageddon-satanist-Omen-Exorcist-ripoff-era films," with all of the now-new-again fashions and funky furniture intact. But it pulls off the imitation with much grandeur. This isn't a schlocky film by any means; it appears to have been carefully written (the dialogue isn't completely inane) and, as mentioned, even more carefully photographed. And frankly, to shoo away its plot by saying it is simply a replica of the aforesaid America products isn't quite honest. This film actually deals with art, documentary film-making, and a girl who happens to become possessed (yes….but) by a piece of strange jewelry. Derivative, I grant you. But not cookie cutter by any means. The players are a strange quadrangle as well—a father and his young daughter (with saccharine memories of a recently departed mother/wife in a fiery "accident"), the American TV producer love interest, and the super glum Nanny of the little girl. (Either of the latter two could make a possible match for the widower—and that's where things get a little more interesting than standard fare). The acting isn't half bad either—Joanna Cassidy is 70's beautiful, and who doesn't like Richard Johnson in a 70's horror film? (By the way, 2005 must be the year of Richard Johnson, since "Beyond the Door" was also recently—and finally—released on DVD, as "Diabolica," on a Japanese label).

One last good point: Strong score by Stelvio Cipriani. It feels like a reasonable ripoff of a Ennio Morricone score of the same era and for the same type of film. Sad but melodic music, punctuated by strumming guitars, the ever-present harpsichord riff, and sappy violins. Hummable.

But the film is boring. Action? Uh, not really. In fact, even calling it a supernatural horror movie is being generous. The supernatural stuff doesn't happen until the wee last moments of the film. It seems we wait an eternity for the girl's possession-powers to come into full swing—but looking at the scenery (the mountains, the decaying villas, old statues, the gardens, and green pastures) and listening to the unmistakable-genre-defining 70's "sad horror movie music" in the meantime is fabulous. Even when the supernatural stuff starts flying, it is very sedate. Nothing even close to graphic here. Perhaps this movie is really only eye candy and nothing else. But any old crap that whisks me away from today's crap (remake of "The Fog," anyone?) is welcome on my screen anytime.

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.