Stridulum

• Italy / USA • 1979 • 108m •

• Directed by: Giulio Paradisi. • Starring: Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen, John Huston, Joanne Nail, Sam Peckinpah, Shelley Winters, Paige Conner, Ja Townsend, Jack Dorsey, Johnny Popwell, Wallace Wilkinson, Steve Somers. • Music by: Franco Micalizzi.

An intergalactic warrior who joins a cosmic Christ figure in battle against a demonic 8-year-old girl, and her pet hawk, while the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. Multi-dimensional warfare, pre-adolescent profanity and brutal avian attacks combine to transport the viewer to a state unlike anything they've experienced... somewhere between Hell and the darkest reaches of outer space.

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Trailer #1

3:16

Trailer #2

1:49

Review:

I have always heard that this film is a bit hard to understand and incoherent, I have to say I agree a bit. A movie where if they could have just cleared up a few things it would have been a much better film. Seriously though, there are many perplexing things going on as they seem to be doing almost an Omen type film with a dash of other horror films and science fiction movies to give it a very unique flavor and they succeeded as it is rather unique. Still, a movie needs to tell a story and in that regard a lot of things seem to happen upon the screen that are none of the viewers business.

The story, well this is tough, a man meets a girl in a strange empty world. If I had to guess, this is how the main guy played by John Huston figured out what form evil had taken. A guy talks to a class of children with shaved head and the man enters and says that she is 8. Then we are at a basketball game where the girl makes her team win by blowing up a basketball as Lance Henrickson looks on. He seems to belong to some evil organization that needs the mother of the evil girl to have another child. The girl manages to shoot her mother which looks like an accident and Shelly Winters works as a housekeeper since the mother is paralyzed and she is there to protect the mother, but she does a rather poor job. Weird stuff abounds, I seriously can't give much away because it is a rather bizarrely structured story.

The cast is good and we get some nice visuals, but the story is so random and hard to follow at times. At times I was wondering if the little girl was in league with the evil corporation as they wanted the mother to have another child, but shooting the mother would not be a good way to accomplish that. Then they show the girl smiling as the corporation comes for the mother. This is like a film that could use another 15 to 20 minutes to clear up things!

So, this film is interesting that's for sure, but also a lot confusing. In the end, just think Omen and Exorcist combined with a hint of Star Wars thrown in. The little girl is evil and John Huston must stop her. Why are there birds with knives in them and why the girl who can make things explode and is evil not use her powers against her enemies more is beyond me. However, you will not be bored watching this film so it is worth checking out!

Review by Aaron1375 from the Internet Movie Database.

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