Kind of hard to be nice to this one. I watched it twice, trying to find something positive to say other than parts of it are unintentionally hilarious. But with low budget, ineptly made Canadian tax shelter horror that's sort of par for the course. If only the movie wasn't so boring and derivative, right down to the scene where the young mom is soaking in the bathtub and finds herself covered with leeches. Saw that one coming a mile away.
There are a couple of eye opening aspects about the movie however, the most remarkable being the somewhat creative use of profanity and personal insults used not only in the presence of the young moppet at the center of the story, but by her as well. I've heard drunken Marines on leave argue over who's turn it is to pay for the next round who would blush at some of the things that were written to come out of her mouth. And they do, spoken with a relish that is somewhat disturbing: Did they explain to the young actress what the words meant? She can't be more than 11.
In fact wondering about certain statistical aspects regarding the movie are more interesting than discussing the movie itself. Currently the film is going around in a moth eaten 82 minute print on bargain bin DVDs that shouldn't cost more than a nickel. I've managed to see the complete 88 minute version and it didn't improve matters much. There's one great howler of a scene where an old lady gets pitched out of a window, but I guess because of the presence of a young lady on the set the producers shied away from the nudity & gore that one would expect from a cheapo R rated Canadian tax shelter horror movie. There's a creepy old doll, an elderly family friend who is apparently welcome to drink as much booze as he can stomach while watching the young tyke, plus a drowning sequence for the young lass that looks a bit too hazardous for it's own good. Little Randi Allen must have grown up to be one twisted lady.
What we are left with is a puzzling little film that tries to be mega-spooky but doesn't have the balls to be more than an oddity. Stranger still the film has developed sort of a cult following that is difficult to explain, unless they are all film students who are marveling at how to make a movie for less than your average Mastercard debit spending limit. Many seem to be referring to it as an EXORCIST clone, I am more reminded of THE OMEN with a touch of AUDREY ROSE mixed in for good measure.
Is there anything to recommend it? Sure, if ultra low budget regional horror is your cup of tea. It's strange seeing a young actress being asked to do some of the things that are seen/heard on-camera, and the expected Freudian undertones are all over this cookie. And I guess if you are writing a chapter about Evil Child horror movies you shouldn't leave this one out.
4/10
There are a couple of eye opening aspects about the movie however, the most remarkable being the somewhat creative use of profanity and personal insults used not only in the presence of the young moppet at the center of the story, but by her as well. I've heard drunken Marines on leave argue over who's turn it is to pay for the next round who would blush at some of the things that were written to come out of her mouth. And they do, spoken with a relish that is somewhat disturbing: Did they explain to the young actress what the words meant? She can't be more than 11.
In fact wondering about certain statistical aspects regarding the movie are more interesting than discussing the movie itself. Currently the film is going around in a moth eaten 82 minute print on bargain bin DVDs that shouldn't cost more than a nickel. I've managed to see the complete 88 minute version and it didn't improve matters much. There's one great howler of a scene where an old lady gets pitched out of a window, but I guess because of the presence of a young lady on the set the producers shied away from the nudity & gore that one would expect from a cheapo R rated Canadian tax shelter horror movie. There's a creepy old doll, an elderly family friend who is apparently welcome to drink as much booze as he can stomach while watching the young tyke, plus a drowning sequence for the young lass that looks a bit too hazardous for it's own good. Little Randi Allen must have grown up to be one twisted lady.
What we are left with is a puzzling little film that tries to be mega-spooky but doesn't have the balls to be more than an oddity. Stranger still the film has developed sort of a cult following that is difficult to explain, unless they are all film students who are marveling at how to make a movie for less than your average Mastercard debit spending limit. Many seem to be referring to it as an EXORCIST clone, I am more reminded of THE OMEN with a touch of AUDREY ROSE mixed in for good measure.
Is there anything to recommend it? Sure, if ultra low budget regional horror is your cup of tea. It's strange seeing a young actress being asked to do some of the things that are seen/heard on-camera, and the expected Freudian undertones are all over this cookie. And I guess if you are writing a chapter about Evil Child horror movies you shouldn't leave this one out.
4/10