Manhattan Baby (1982)

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Elisa Briganti (screenplay)
Elisa Briganti (story)

Release Date:

27 July 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Little Susie is very young, very pretty, and very very evil!

Plot:

An archaelogist opens an Egyptian tomb and accidently releases an evil spirit. His young daughter becomes possessed by the freed enity and, upon arrival back in New York, the gory murders begin.

Plot Keywords:

Blindness | Curse | Supernatural | Amulet | Archeologist

Cast

Christopher Connelly	...	Professor George Hacker
Martha Taylor	...	Emily Hacker
Brigitta Boccoli	...	Susie Hacker
Giovanni Frezza	...	Tommy Hacker
Cinzia de Ponti	...	Jamie Lee
Cosimo Cinieri	...	Adrian Mercato (as Laurence Welles)
Andrea Bosic	...	Optician
Carlo De Mejo	...	Luke
Enzo Marino Bellanich	...	Wiler (as Vincenzo Bellanich)
Mario Moretti	...	Tennant
Lucio Fulci	...	Dr. Forrester
Tonino Pulci	...	Orderly (as Antonie Pulci)

Also Known As:

Evil Eye
Eye of the Evil Dead (USA) (dubbed version)
Malocchio, Il
The Possessed

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Italy:VM14 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Cairo, Egypt

Company:

Fulvia Film

Trivia:

The name of the character Adrian Marcato is borrowed from Rosemary's Baby (1968).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: On the end of the movie, when Adrian Mercato is attacked by the birds, a thread is visible, holding one of the birds.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Beyond the Living Dead (2001) (V)

A minor, surprisingly restrained effort from Italian splattermaster Lucio Fulci.

George Hacker (Christopher Connelly) is an American archeologist in Egypt (where part of this was actually filmed) with his wife (Martha Taylor) and daughter in a creepy EXORCIST/OMEN inspired opening. After acquiring a cursed medallion, he's temporarily blinded by blue light and returns to New York City, where his daughter (Brigitta Boccoli) becomes possessed by an evil spirit. Sand, cobras and scorpions show up in the apartment, characters are transported back to Egypt and, in the only gory part, stuffed birds come to life to peck apart the face of some guy named (insert lame ROSEMARY'S BABY reference here) Adrian Mercato. Some of the camerawork and music is good, but the typically awful dubbing, bad acting and choppy editing detract from the overall effect. Fulci fans will also probably be severely disappointed by the curious lack of blood/gore/violence.

(I have a hunch he was going through that I-want-to-be-respected-as-a-filmmaker phase).

Score: 3 out of 10