Manhattan Baby

We selected "Manhattan Baby" from the movie library last night, and I realized that it was to be probably the 7th time I have watched this rather uncelebrated Fulci offering in the past 5 years. Yes, this movie is a bit formulaic, and yes, it does move a bit slow in parts. But there is something undeniably menacing in this movie, an atmosphere of claustrophobia, the tightness of the endless close-ups of people's faces, that I enjoy and (obviously) come back to again and again. No, this is not a gory movie, which no doubt comes as a surprise (disappointment?) to fans of Fulci's other (mostly excellent) films. Even the death scenes, of which there are only 3 or 4, have minimal blood compared to something like "The Beyond", not that I would recommend this as hearty family fare by any means. But if you enjoy the uniquely "European" dreamlike atmosphere created by a combination of cheesy effects, plot holes, wooden acting, bad dubbing, and inexplicable motivations of characters, this may be one you revisit again, and again and again... you get the idea.

On a trip to Egypt with her archaeologist father, Professor George Hacker (Christopher Connelly) and photographer mother, Emily (Laura Lenzi), young Suzie (Brigitta Boccoli) begins having bizarre experiences involving things of a mystical nature. With her parents too busy to notice, Suzie encounters a strange person who gives her a very distinctive amulet. Meanwhile, dad has an Indiana Jones-style adventure of his own, getting blinded in the process.

Back home in NYC, it's back to life as usual.

Oh no!

Suzie's new amulet has its own spooky theme music! This can mean only one thing! Yes indeed, she's become the tool of some peevish supernatural entity! It's not long before all manner of weirdness breaks out.

MANHATTAN BABY is another of Director Lucio Fulci's supernatural horror offerings. As such, it's pretty solid, featuring some of his signature gruesomeness and eyeball closeups. The novel story has a few nice twists and ideas.

BEST BITS: #1- Death by elevator! Not in the usual manner! #2- The overdue demise of Emily's utterly annoying, "wacky glasses"-wearing, imbecilic coworker, Luke (Carlo De Mejo)! #3- Snake-cam / death by cobra! #4- "Poor Jamie Lee!" #5- Dead bird attack! Fishing line holding up the birds? You didn't see annnything!...

'Manhattan Baby' is second rate Fulci. People who love/hate Fulci's work usually mention two things - his nonsensical plots and his abundance of gore. Unfortunately this movie has plenty of the former and hardly any of the latter, making it pretty dull and hard going viewing for the most part. It was co-written by regular Fulci collaborator Dardano Sacchetti (who also worked with just about every important Italian horror/exploitation director - Mario and Lamberto Bava, Argento, Lenzi, Deodato,etc.) Sacchetti says that the producers slashed the budget at the last minute, which undoubtedly contributed to making this a poorer movie, but it's hard to know who to blame. The script is certainly very muddled so the viewer has to battle to work out just what is going on half the time, and Fulci himself seems to have deliberately left out his trademark gore. There's only really one notable gore sequence towards the climax of the picture, and while it's pretty good, it's a long time coming, and hardly up to the standards set by Fulci's horror masterpiece 'The Beyond'. Fulci's best movie for my money wasn't even horror it's the giallo 'Don't Torture A Duckling'. That movie had virtually no gore or effects but it had an interesting story and some good actors, neither of which 'Manhattan Baby' has. I wouldn't say 'Manhattan Baby' is a complete stinker, as there are a few effective sequences, but it's extremely disappointing overall, and easily the weakest Fulci movie I've seen to date. Unless you're a die-hard obsessive Italian horror fan, give it a miss.

Lucio Fulci dips his toes into the supernatural horror genre with fair results, in this mostly NYC set genre flick. Christopher Connelly ('Peyton Place', "Benji", "1990: The Bronx Warriors") stars as George Hacker, an archaeologist examining some ruins in Egypt. Gee, do you think he'll come to regret this decision? As it so happens, an ancient evil spirit is now free, and it comes to roost inside his adorable daughter Susie (Brigitta Boccoli). George must unravel the mystery of a strange gem and decipher the message left on a photo given to his wife Emily (Laura Lenzi).

It's not that surprising to learn that Fulci was left with a budget far less than what he had been promised. In the end, the film is certainly watchable enough, but has very little in it that's all that memorable. Fulci delivers gore only in small bits and pieces until the gloriously sadistic ending. Until then, we see some mildly amusing paranormal occurrences, which involve such people as the couples' au pair Jamie Lee (Cinzia de Ponti) and Emily's wacky co- worker Luke (Carlo De Mejo). The opening sequence in Egypt is pretty good and atmospheric. One of the most enjoyable components is the typically eclectic music score by Fabio Frizzi. The makeup effects are quite effective.

The performances don't knock your socks off, but they get the job done. Connelly, whose character is stricken blind for a while, rarely changes his facial expression all that much. Lovely ladies de Ponti and Lenzi are quite easy to watch. Boccoli does a decent job for a child actress. Giovanni Frezza (Bob!) co-stars as her smart mouthed brother, and Fulci has his customary cameo as a doctor in the final portion of the picture. Cosimo Cinieri has a good look as a stranger who lends some valuable assistance.

This is good fun for Fulci fans, but overall isn't anything really special.

Six out of 10.

So, what's the worst Fulci film you've sat through? Is it Sweet House of Horrors? Well, that had some gore in it at least. Or it Aenigma? That one had some women in the scud, and a picture stabbing itself. Or is it Conquest? Well, I reckon that one is a classic myself, because it's got drug snorting werewolf men in it.

Nope, for me it's Manhattan Baby. I've sat through 14 of his films now, and even his later period films like the deranged Cat in the Brain are more entertaining than this. It's taken me three viewings to get a handle on what story there is, and it does have some positive aspects, but Fulci completely fumbles the ball on this film.

It starts off really well, in Egypt, where Christopher Connelly is doing some sort of dig into an ancient tomb. His wife and daughter, meanwhile, almost immediately fall into Fulci's nightmare world, when a blind (like the Beyond) woman hands the kid an amulet. Connelly, on the other hand, breaks into the tomb only to get his guide killed and himself blinded by purple laser beams (eh?).

This is all atmospherically done, but the moment the family return to New York, the film slips its moorings. Strange things begin to happen, like Tommy, Connelly's son, walking into a cupboard filled with light. But it's okay, because a few scenes later he's back, and nobody really cares anyway.

That's the main problem with this film. Fulci goes for the same disjointed series of scares that worked so well in The Beyond, but here manages to completely arse up just about every scene but making it either too inexplicable, too tame, or just too stupid. Sometimes the kids are terrified by what's happening, and yet other times they think it's some sort of game. Plus, there's almost no linking between the scenes whatsoever, no attempt to let the audience in on what's happening, until that last twenty minutes, and by that time I swear you'll be beyond caring. The final insult is that the ending is as lame as a one-legged donkey.

There are some positive aspects to this film that raise the rating slightly. The cinematography is uniformly excellent, the Egyptian scene is a great way to start the film, and there's a couple of scenes that do genuinely work, like the Psychic rolling about on the floor, screaming in Connelly's daughter's voice.

I'd love to know if this was the film that Fulci intended, because I don't reckon it is. There's too many hints that something went badly wrong in production, like the disjointed story or the recycled soundtrack (from the Beyond).

Only to be viewed as a person familiar with Fulci's work. I'd hate to see some unsuspecting horror fan's reaction to this mess.