Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Olivia; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.00
Direction: 1.50
Pace: 1.00
Acting: 0.50
Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 5.00 out of 10.00
This Ulli Lommel movie takes a step forward in cinematography but takes two backwards in the acting and story departments. And that is both a shame and a mystery as The Demonsville Terror (1983) was a much better affair.
Lommel, John Marsh, and Ron Norman give the audience a wishy-washy tale of a woman who is either haunted by her dead mother or is suffering grave psychological issues. For one thing, the writers could have structured this doubt better. How good would the narrative be with the possibility that Olivia's mother had returned from the dead(?) It would keep the viewers guessing and involve them greater in her tale. Sadly, they don't handle this or her mental problems too skilfully. But the worst element is the characters. They are too dispassionate, and their dialogue is atrocious, and in the worst way - There's no accidental humour in their chatter; it merely makes your skin crawl and soul cringe. This obstacle is regrettable because the synopsis isn't lousy. After witnessing the murder of her prostitute mother, Olivia grows up to be a repressed doormat of a human being. But then. One night, her dearly departed mother starts talking to her and out steps a new Olivia; down her mother's prostitution road. During one of her nightly outings, she meets the love of her life, and things start to look up for Olivia - until mommy rants her wicked words in her skull. Then her world falls apart when her curious hubby spots her with the new infatuation. Will life work out for Olivia and the men in her life and the mother in her noggin, or will she fall into the rabbit hole? There are plenty of opportunities to add intrigue, romance, and eerie suspicions, but the writers fail to add the slightest smidgen of interest.
Luckily for the viewer, Ulli Lommel's skill behind the camera has increased a hundred-fold from Boogeyman. He proffers many superb compositions and alluring and stimulating camera pans. It's a shame that he's yet to master the pacing, as this is where the direction lets the film down. It's all too slow. Combine that with the poorly structured story and stale characterisations, and you teeter on the edge of boredom. Somehow, Lommel keeps the movie's head above the tedium line, and I put this down to his cinematography.
As I view these Lommel flicks, it becomes evident that one of his principal players, Suzanne Love (who's been the lead in all of them so far), is a hit-and-miss performer. In Olivia, she misses massively: She's too flat and dull. I can understand the dullness of Olivia's married persona, but when she becomes the prostitute and later the lover, she should be more vivacious and alive, but she still comes across as bland. At least she's not as wooden as Jeff Winchester, who portrays her overbearing hubby, Richard. He demands some respect, however, because he depicts the best corpse I've ever seen in a movie. The scene where Olivia dumps him into a travel trunk is brilliant. Winchester doesn't make it easy for Love, but it looks more realistic than most.
I cannot recommend Olivia to any movie viewer. I believe it's Ulli Lommel's version of watching paint dry. Though he does a fantastic job of making a namby-pamby tale performed by spiritless performers strangely appealing, it's just not enough to warrant you guys and gals wasting your time. Go check out The Demonsville Terror; it's infinitely better than this picture.
Tell your mother to Shut Up and come here to look at my IMDb list - Killer Thriller Chillers to see where I ranked Olivia - or to find a better movie to watch.
Take Care & Stay Well.
