many waves at the time, as it draws more influ- ence from classic Irwin Allen disaster films than teen stalkers. But, free of such direct comparisons, it’s a surprisingly solid chiller that can be appreci- ated on its own terms as one of the finest nautical nasties ever to hit the high seas.
PAUL CORUPE
The Power Of Dallamano Compels You!
THE NIGHT CHILD (1974) DVD Starring Richard Johnson, Nicole Elmi and Joanna Cassidy
Directed by Massimo Dallamano Written by Massimo Dallamano, Franco Marotta and Laura Toscano Arrow Video
After achieving international recognition as the
cinematographer on A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, Massimo Dallamano seized the megaphone himself, directing several stylish (yet often neglected) works, such as the accomplished giallo What Have They Done to Solange? in 1972. The Night Child – one of Dallamano’s final projects before his untimely death in a car accident – is a stately serving of the “pasta-possession” subgenre that briefly choked the Italian box-office during the mid-1970s in the wake of The Exorcist. Zombie’s Richard Johnson plays a widowed
Das Jackboot
DEATH SHIP (1980) DVD/Blu-ray Starring George Kennedy, Richard Crenna
and Nick Mancuso Directed by Alvin Rakoff Written by John Robins, Jack Hill and David P. Lewis Scorpion Releasing
This Canadian tax-shelter shocker is one of
those rare films that works its way into your night- mares on multiple levels. By combining creepy haunted house thrills with sickening Holocaust atrocities that invoke a level of true hor- ror rarely portrayed in feature films, Death Ship offers a unique level of discomfort. Un- fairly maligned on release, the Canadian/UK co-production is a surprisingly seaworthy ves- sel that manages to keep its high concept afloat with a few disturbing moments, a fine cast and a distinct – though implausible – twist. When their luxury cruise ship sinks, a handful of survivors, adrift in a lifeboat, spot a large, eerily quiet German warship anchored in the middle of the sea. They climb aboard to investi- gate, only to discover the vessel seems to be pos- sessed by malevolent spirits of the past – the rusty
RM40 R E I S S U E S
machinery leaps to life to knock some of them overboard, while the luxury liner captain (George Kennedy, at his histrionic best) seems to be under the control of some mysterious force. But it’s only when a few survivors head below deck and dis- cover a room draped in swastikas that the full depth of the ship’s evil past really becomes appar- ent. Co-written by exploitation titan Jack Hill, who
collaborated on several Canadian tax shelter films at the time, Death Ship sets the high-water mark for the haunted house-at-sea premise, using rusty anchors, broken dials and echo- filled metal hallways to update the traditional gothic touches of decay and ruin. But it’s the star- tling use of Nazi imagery that re- ally sets Death Ship apart from its contemporaries; in one incredibly effective sequence, two cast- aways discover a corpse-lined barracks as menacing Nazi radio calls and speeches play over the loudspeakers. Reeling from the discovery, they stumble into a nearby room containing a film projector that continues showing
Hitler propaganda on a blank wall even after it’s been smashed to pieces. Released near the beginning of the slasher
boom, it’s not too surprising that Death Ship’s somewhat old-fashioned approach didn’t make
documentary filmmaker who travels to Spoleto with his emotionally disturbed daughter, Emily (Nicole Elmi of Deep Red), to research satanic art. He finds himself drawn to one particular painting that depicts the death of a woman as a child looks on – a scenario that evokes Emily’s own recurring memories of witnessing her mother’s demise. A series of disturbing visions and events unfold, but is Emily merely tormented by nightmares or is the painting begin- ning to exert an in- sidious influence on her? The Night Child has often been viewed as noth-
ing more than a comparative cash-in, but is in fact considerably less provocative than unapologetic Exorcist-clones such as Beyond the Door and The Antichrist. Eschewing pea-green soup and spin- ning heads, Dallamano’s measured direction im- bues the derivative script (which also echoes Don’t Look Now) with a lurid sense of conviction and at- mosphere – even allowing for some awkward ges- tures toward Freudian theory with its incestuous undercurrent. British imprint Arrow’s region-free DVD is an in-
spired addition to their growing range of titles, but The Night Child has not been afforded the same copious extras found on their more illustrious re-