Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Manhattan Baby


(1982)

A later effort of Lucio Fulci. Little Susie Harker obtains an Egyptian amulet which opens up a huge can of worms for her and her family. The amulet zaps her father, Professor George Hacker giving him temporary blindness in the tomb where it was found. They return to New York so George can recover and strange things begin to happen. Susie and then her brother Tommy begin to take “voyages” that Susie calls the game. In these voyages they sort of astro-project to Egypt and other places, sometimes bringing items back with them.


The voyages are kinda fun for the kids but not so for anyone else who happens to get caught into one. Susie's parents seek the help of Dr. Forrester played by Fulci himself. They must release her from the hold of the Egyptian curse before they lose her forever.


This is not Fulci's finest moment in film. The story is hard to follow. So hard in fact that I was close to half way through the film before I figured out what was happening. At least I think I figured it out, way too confusing.


The same blond haired, blue eyed boy is in this as was in The House by the Cemetery that I reviewed last year. He's not nearly as annoyingly perfect in this film though. There are some shooting laser effects that are so very 80's, it really dates it. The ancient Egyptian amulet looks like a cheap piece of junk jewelry. I could nit pick all day and believe me there's plenty to nit pick at. There is some saving grace in a scene with pecking birds and a fall onto a spiked floor, overall though it's not really good. I do not remember this movie at all. Considering this film was released in1982, the year I graduated high school and my love for horror that tells me it mustn't have done well at that time either. I love Fulci but had I known what I was in for I would have passed on Manhattan Baby.

4 comments:

Johnny Sweatpants said...

Hmmm..

One on Top of the Other (1969) (aka Perversion Story)
Beatrice Cenci (aka The Conspiracy of Torture, 1969)
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) aka "Schizoid"
All'onorevole piacciono le donne (Nonostante le apparenze e purché la Nazione non lo sappia...) (1972)
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
White Fang (1973)
The Challenge to White Fang (1974)
Il cavaliere Costante Nicosia demoniaco... ovvero Dracula in Brianza (Young Dracula / Dracula in the Provinces (1975)
The Four of the Apocalypse (1975)
La pretora (1976)
Seven Notes in Black (The Psychic, 1977)
Silver Saddle (1978)
Zombi II (also known as Zombie Flesh Eaters / Zombie, 1979)
Contraband (1980) aka Luca The Smuggler
City of the Living Dead (aka The Gates of Hell, 1980)
The Black Cat (1981)
The Beyond (censored video version released as Seven Doors of Death), 1981)
The House by the Cemetery (1981)
The New York Ripper (1982)
Manhattan Baby (1982) (aka Evil Eye, The Possessed)
Conquest (1983)
I guerrieri dell'anno 2072 (aka The New Gladiators / Rome 2033 - The Fighter Centurions, 1984)
Murder-Rock (1984) (aka Murder Rock - Dancing Death)
The Devil's Honey (1986)
Aenigma (1987)
Zombi III (1988)
When Alice Broke the Mirror (aka Touch of Death, 1988)
Sodoma's Ghost (akaThe Ghosts of Sodom, 1988)
The Sweet House of Horrors (1989, TV)
The House of Clocks (1989, TV)
Demonia (1990)
A Cat in the Brain (aka Nightmare Concert, 1990)
Voices From Beyond (1991)
Door to Silence (1991)

Johnny Sweatpants said...

There's some crap in there, that's for sure. The Beyond was pretty nasty as I recall.

Catfreeek said...

Yes it was. I guess you can't win 'em all.

Octopunk said...

Wow, The Gates of Hell is the only one of those I've seen. And at the drive-in, yet.

That blonde kid is supernatural.

Malevolent

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