The Night Child was directed by Massimo Dallamano in 1975. Unfortunately he perished in a car accident the following year. This is quite tragic considering his pedigree and historical body of work as director, actor and cinematographer. His work also included being the cinematographer on Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars and A Few Dollars more. After watching this effective film, his death was a huge loss to fans of Italian horror. His name could still be universally recognised alongside the masters of Italian horror, such as Dario Argento (Suspiria and Tenebrae) and Lucio Fulci (The Beyond), to name but a couple.
Italian horror films of the 70’s are an acquired taste often overacted, with stunning leading ladies, poor dubbing and syrupy red viscous blood aplenty but they are generally very arty, surreal and beautiful to behold, which is why many connoisseurs of cinema appreciate and admire these films.
The plot of The Night Child centres around a documentary filmmaker played by Richard Johnson, who heads to Italy to do a documentary on works of art, one of which is intriguing him more than most. Along for the journey are a work colleague, his daughter’s nanny and the child of the title Emily played by flame haired cult actress Nicoletta Elmi. Needless to say things start getting weird!
Emily has recently lost her mother in a fire, and gets invited to Lazio as it’s thought the working holiday will help her adjust to the loss. As the history of the painting is revealed, the lives and similarity of Emily and the girl in the painting seem intertwined, and she starts behaving as though she is possessed, with numerous flashbacks and rather unpredictable behaviour.
The film itself is beautiful to watch, despite the strange dubbing at times, and it is evident that Dallamano knew his craft. The cinematography and dream sequences are intriguing, as are the interesting flashback scenes to the original Emeline of the paining being chased by pitchfork yielding villagers. The film is a visual and sensual treat, with beautiful imagery, large castles and dark Italian winding streets utilised to good effect by the colourful cinematography, all enhanced by Stelvio Cipriani’s film score.
When watching the movie, you might notice possible influences from its superior predecessors Vertigo, Don’t Look Now and obvious comparisons to The Exorcist, but there are also similarities to The Omen and the Shining, which followed after.
Overall Verdict: The Night Child is more enjoyable than I thought. Yes, it;s hammy in places, as expected, but it should definitely be up there with the other 70’s classic Italian horrors.
Reviewer: Stephen Sclater