Stridulum (1979) Reviews

• There's Nothing Like It

  vorazqux2011-01-23

  I understand how some (perhaps most) viewers found The Visitor an incoherent mess, but it may be due to poor editing since its U.S. release in 1979 which, evidently, was also released theatrically to international audiences. However, I am only speculating, but I do know the original Italian version is longer. That version may help to fill in the gaps and possibly extends some of the more emotional scenes in the film which have been severely cut. As I was watching The Visitor, I was disappointed at how abruptly some of these scenes concluded. I wanted and expected a deeper connection to the material and the characters. Regardless of these setbacks, the movie is unquestionably unique on many levels, and I didn't find it difficult to follow. Perhaps because it IS so outlandish, I enjoyed fitting the pieces together. There was never a dull moment with so many things happening throughout the course of the story line. The atmosphere was classic 70s style, and the acting was not bad at all despite (again) the poor editing. The Visitor is an Omen copy to a degree, but instead of demonic forces at work, the film centers on an evil alien force. This alien force is actually an escaped prisoner named Zatteen, who finds refuge on Earth many years in the past after fleeing from a deadly battle in space. Before his eventual death, he impregnates a number of women, passing along his mutated genes and allowing his future offspring to possess telekinetic powers. Since Zatteen had evil intentions and only wanted to kill and destroy others, his children are of the same breed. In order to carry out his catastrophic deeds, a cohort of wealthy men led by Dr. Walker (Mel Ferrer) is assembled to ensure his plan of world domination succeeds. This mission is challenged when only one woman on the planet in the present day bears the ability to fertilize Zatteen's seed, and her name is Barbara Collins (Joanne Nail). Barbara has already given birth to Katie (Paige Conner), a now eight year–old daughter who shows us she is no angel with some of the wicked things she says and does. The cohort wants Barbara to give birth to a son so he can become the new Zatteen of his generation. This task of impregnating Barbara is given to Raymond Armstead (Lance Henriksen), who must convince her to marry him despite the fact she is unwilling to commit to marriage. Barbara, of course, does not realize she has the special gift of carrying Zatteen's seed in her womb, but she knows intuitively that something is wrong with Katie. That sets up the premise of The Visitor. Of course, there are birds that attack on command, a watchful babysitter (Shelley Winters), a police detective on Katie's trail (Glenn Ford), a mysterious butler, a Jesus–like character who tells tales of the evil Zatteen to a group of young bald–headed children, and the good–guy visitor himself (John Huston), who congregates his disciples on the roof of a large skyscraper. The first fifteen minutes of the film unravels the basis of the plot, but as the viewer, it's important to listen to the dialogue. A lot happens quickly. Whether you like the film or find it a mess, to say it's not an entertaining effort would seem unfair. The only thing that really was annoying to me was part of the soundtrack dealing with the discotheque music. It was way over the top and out of place for this type of picture. I'm sure it fit the times and some people enjoyed it, but if the movie is to be taken seriously on any level, then that music has to go. If the movie was intended as hype – which doesn't appear to be the case – then the histrionic melody is warranted. On the other hand, the moody, ambient music was excellent, and the ending was solid. Give this cult classic a shot and be prepared to go on a strange journey of plot twists and turns. Watch it on a rainy day when you have the time or are feeling ambiguous and/or disconnected from the world. We all have those days sometimes. That's when The Visitor will leave you a little numb, confused, and scratching your head... but in a good way.

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• Utterly bizarre midnight movie with some charms

  outdoorcats2013-11-10

  This oddball midnight movie is getting a re-release and eventual DVD courtesy of the Alamo Drafthouse. It's about an evil little girl, who is so evil that John Huston and his pacifist army of intergalactic bald yoga practitioners arrive from space to stop her. Meanwhile Lance Henriksen is the evil boyfriend of her clueless, innocent mother, who sold his soul to the satanic forces nurturing her in a Faustian bargain for...a basketball coach position. Which leads to the early and highly memorable slo-mo basketball set-piece, easily one of the most unique choices of setting for a horror film sequence I've ever seen! The atmosphere of this weird, weird film alternates between genuinely and oddly poetic (mostly thanks to the music), pure B-movie cheese, and unintentional hilarity. It's one of the strangest films I've ever seen, but that's not a bad thing in this case. If you give yourself over to its strange charms, this is some kind of consciousness-expanding experience. Will you like it? There are folks who seek out these sorts of bizarre, unique B-movies. You know who you are. At the very least, you should this film an object of curiosity. Somehow, and for some reason, John Huston, Glenn Ford, Franco Nero (as Jesus Christ), Shelley Winters, Lance Henriksen, Sam Peckinpah, Mel Ferrer and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are all in this movie.

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• I LUV this film!

  franz662008-01-28

  I found this film in the bargain bin and sensed that it was a lost treasure and right i was! I understand why some people dislike it so, but I see it as a classic of its time. Its low-budget, gritty location-driven shooting is hardcore 70's style cinema, with a twist of manic Giallo style editing thrown in. It is the story of a visitor from a planet that was overtaken by storms so that their children had to become pure force, as shown in some fantastically composed sci-fi images of a lone planetscape and a chaotic sky that reminded me of "The Man Who Fell to Earth". On earth a fiercely independent widowed mother does not want to marry the wealthy man who she's dating, which is a good thing because he's really working for a mysterious group of wealthy men who want her to have a son so that they may harness his powers for their own greed and corruption. Her pre-teen daughter Katie has these powers, is crazily talented at ice-skating and gymnastics, and also wants her mother to marry so she can have a brother. She cripples her mother during a bizarre birthday party scene so that her independence is at risk and she is forced to marry, but still the mother is determined to remain single. The Visitor (played by John Houston) intervenes in order to strip Katie of her evil urges and reclaim her as a force of good. It does indeed sound confusing, but I had no problems in 2008 keeping up with its twisting plot, and appreciate the (by now) retro big screen TV and pong game that Katie's always playing, as well as the use of 1970's architecture, mod sci-fi imagery, and the use of birds as a recurring violent motif manifesting the alien powers. My only complaint is the music they chose... way too heavy. Shelly Winters is awesome as the housekeeper keeping tabs on Katie and her emerging evil ways.

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• appealingly weird mish-mosh of aliens, evil businessmen, demonic children, and birds

  FieCrier2004-12-16

  Weird movie, but it appealed to me. It does have plot elements and maybe even scenes that are derivative of other movies, but it puts them in such a strange blend that it comes out pretty original. The movie opens with an old man on a barren otherworldly surface. It goes from him to a man with his girlfriend and her daughter at a basketball game. He's the team's owner. The editing and music in the scene are odd. The music throughout the movie tends to be incongruously more energetic and dramatic that the scene itself or its context. The young girl lowers her glasses to look one of the players right in the eye. He manages a dunk in the last second, and the ball evidently explodes in fire or light as he does so. The old man from the opening (I believe he is The Visitor) shows up in an airport carrying a passport where he is met by a man with a shaved head. He's taken to the roof of a skyscraper where there are lots of people wearing identical outfits all with shaved heads carrying up large gray boxes. Later, there are white screens on the roof, behind which people's shadows move. The basketball team owner has boardroom meetings with mysterious men who are unhappy with him. He is to get married to his girlfriend and have a son, but he is not having much luck with that. The little girl has a birthday party. She sees the old man there, but maybe he isn't really there. When she opens a box that should contain a toy peacock that talks in a creepy voice (we saw it being bought earlier), it instead has a handgun. She takes it out happily, and throws it on a table, where it goes off, shooting her mother. Her mother is rehabilitated as much as she can be, which is inter-cut with the girl doing gymnastics routines. The girl's eyes sometimes seem to have a white light in the irises, and she seems to have power over birds. There is a memorable scene with a policeman (who she swears at like a sailor) on a highway when he encounters a bird. Many more weird scenes follow! The end leaves things a bit of a mystery, to say the least. If your usual horror fare is a remake or the latest installment in a seemingly endless series, best to avoid this one.

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• I challenge anyone to make sense of this movie!

  Wizard-82003-07-13

  I find it hard to believe any U.S. distributor would actually take the time to release this to theaters, though the IMDb says that more than one handled this movie in theatrical release! True, the movie boasts an all-star cast, though looking at their brief screen time, it seems just about all these stars knocked off their scenes in not more than a couple of days. It must be noted that the U.S. print is cut; I've heard from one source that the Italian print does make somewhat more sense. All I can do is judge this particular cut - which makes NO sense at all! People make schemes that are never explained, weird things happen for seemingly no purpose at all... it's a BIG mess! One example is with Italian superstar Franco Nero, who (because of the editing) only gets to appear for about 30 seconds at the end of the movie! I will admit that at the very least you can salvage a decent number of unintended laughs. Not only is the movie so insane and incoherent that you can't help but laugh out loud, there are some individual delirious scenes that are wacked-out as well. The skating rink scene... John Huston impersonating a babysitter... John Huston playing pong with the mysterious girl (though it's clear that it's a one player pong game on the TV screen)... Shelley Winters overacting... and more. It's not a constantly hilarious experience, and you're bound to get frustrated to a degree with the garbled storyline, but the experience can't be seen as a total loss as well.

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