lovecraft231
Italian exploitation and horror is known for a lot of things: strong atmosphere, striking visuals, nauseating gore, excellent music, exquisite cinematography-you know, the good stuff. Oh, and ripping off whatever was really big at the time. Two names come to mind in these cycles-one is Bruno Mattei, and the other is Ovidio G. Assonitis. Sure, he did produce the giallo classic "Who Saw Her Die?", but he's mostly known for producing, writing and directing films that ripped off "The Exorcist" ("Beyond the Door")." "Jaws" ("Tentacles", "Piranha II: The Spawning"), "Conan the Barbarian" ("Iron Warrior"), and other titles that were popular at the time. Well, in 1979, he put a whole lot of eggs in a basket to give the world "The Visitor", and the result is one of the most certifiably insane genre pictures I've ever seen.The plot deals with an alien being (John Huston-yes, that John Huston), who must save an eight year old girl Katy Collins (Paige Conner), who has evil powers. Her mother Barbara (Joanna Nail) is dating basketball player Raymond Armstead (Lance Henriksen, proving he had been in bad movies for years), and wants to marry her. Also, evil businessman Dr. Walker (Mel Ferrer) has a specific interest in Katy, and wants Babara to produce another child, which Babs has no desire to do. Well, she ends up getting pregnant anyway, and Jerzy Colsowicz (the name the alien ends up taking) lets her know that the kid can't be born. Plus, he now finds himself fighting Katy and her falcon for the fate of the universe, and Django himself, Franco Nero shows up as Jesus Christ, though the wig he's wearing makes him look like a member of a Glam Rock band than the Lord. Also, why Christ is visiting aliens is beyond me, but then again, Jesus does love everyone.I swear to God, I did not make any of this up. This all happens in the movie.Directed by Giulio Paradisi (who served as a second unit director for Fellini's "8½"), "The Visitor" is completely out of it's gourd. Let's say somebody spent a few days watching an old Biblical Epic, "The Omen", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Rosemary's Baby", "The Fury", "The Birds", "Star Wars" and "The Exorcist." After this movie binge, they thought "You know what would be awesome? If someone combined all of those movies!" This movie is the end result.To be fair, the acting, cinematography and direction are all mostly good, but the movie in itself is a train wreck that you find yourself recommending to others even though it's bad. Even by the standards of Italian genre fare the plot makes no sense, it contains a largely inappropriate score, and is so unapologetic about the movies it's stealing from. Then there's the other appearances, with Sam Peckinpah, Glenn Ford and Shelly Winters all showing up, seeming to be confused as to why they are in this movie.At the same time, there's nothing at all to hate about the movie. I mean, it's a bad movie, but it's also the kind of once in a lifetime viewing experience that anyone who says they love horror should see. There really is nothing else quite like this movie, and to pardon the cliché, it must be seen to be believed, even though you won't be able to make sense of anything that's happening on screen.
Woodyanders
Gleefully eschewing standard notions of narrative coherence and overall quality in favor of a thoroughly preposterous, but still oddly fascinating and sometimes downright hilarious sci-fi/horror combo of disparate elements from such notable famous cinematic landmarks as "The Omen," "Rosemary's Baby," and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," this entertainingly absurd howler tells the outré tale of creepy eight-year-old kid Katy Collins (an effectively wicked portrayal by Paige Conner), a nasty little brat who's really some kind of malevolent alien with dangerous and destructive psychic powers. Katy wants to get her fiercely resilient and resourceful crippled mother Barbara (a sound and sympathetic performance by the lovely Joanne Nail) pregnant so she can have a brother to eventually mate with (yes, you read that correctly). It's up to mysterious saintly extraterrestrial visitor Jerzy Colsowicz (none other than John Huston, who somehow manages to retain his dignity amid the rampant silliness) to stop Katy by bringing her back to her home planet. Director Giulio Paradisi and screenwriters Luciano Cornici and Robert Mundi treat the hopelessly inane premise with jaw-dropping misguided seriousness, thereby ensuring a wealth of precious unintentionally gut-busting moments (sidesplitting campy highlights include Katy using her special abilities to thwart a basketball game, an attack by killer falcon, Katy clobbering several teen boy bullies on an ice rink in a shopping mall, and a totally off-the-wall psychedelic light show climax involving a flock of pigeons). The amazing all-star international cast play the ridiculous material completely straight: Glenn Ford as the meddlesome Detective Jake Durham (the scenes with Katy cursing Durham out are simply priceless!), Lance Henriksen as ruthless basketball coach Raymond Armstead, Shelley Winters as batty housekeeper Jane Phillips, Mel Ferror as sinister physician Dr. Walker, Sam Peckinpah as friendly abortionist Dr. Sam Collins, and an unbilled Franco Nero as a blond-haired Christ figure. Franco Micalizzi's funky-throbbin' disco score and the tacky (not so) special effects further add to this messed-up movie's considerable cruddy charm. Ennio Guarnieri's glossy cinematography gives the picture an attractive sparkling look and makes neat occasional use of strenuous slow motion. A complete loopy riot.
kneefour
After years of searching for The Visitor, I just watched a cleaned up version of the 104 minute cut. Shelley Winters was hilarious, the music was kinda cool, and there were some funny choppy moments. There's really nothing else good about this movie. Most of the scenes led to nothing substantial and ended abruptly. After watching it, I realized I'm over rip-offs of good horror movies - Demon Witch Child, Beyond the Door, I Don't Want to be Born. After years of researching and looking for odd movies like Stridulum, I'm over them. Most of them have funny moments and some interesting images, but I'll be watching the classics next time.
