As crazy as a film can get, this 1979 films mashes up Carrie, The Omen, Close Encounters and giallo horror to create a fruity punch, leavened by a truly bizarre roster of guest starts. John Huston plays an ‘intergalactic warrior’ who arrives on earth to foil the plans of a demonic 8 year old girl and her pet hawk, building to a climactic intervention from Christ, played by Franco Nero. Old Hollywood stars Shelley Winters, Glenn Ford and Mel Ferrer all appeared baffled by the randomness of the shenanigans, while an early role for Lance Hendriksen and a strange cameo from director Sam Peckinpah are the icing on the cake. The scene where the little girl is given a gun for her birthday is truly on of horror’s most unexpectedly weird scenes, and while sense is not on the menu, The Visitor is a must see film for fans of the absurd. Also known as Stridulum, a title that makes as little sense as anything else on show here.
Just watched this.. wtf? But must admit that musical score is amazing…
One of the ultimate mondo films! Don’t give people birds in boxes! Watch out for Franco Nero! Makes more sense under the other title Stridulum…but that sense is still no sense at all. File alongside Holocaust 2000.