Manhattan Baby
A child's amulet opens doorways to an eldritch Egypt.
Manhattan Baby, a 1982 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci, stars Christopher Connelly and Carlo De Mejo. Filming took place in New York, Egypt, and Rome during March and April 1982. Initially intended as one of Fulci's costlier projects, its budget was slashed by half mid-production. Both Fulci and screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti later disowned the film. Fulci never collaborated with producer Fabrizio De Angelis again. The movie received poor reviews from Corriere della Sera and La Stampa.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Lucio Fulci
- Producer
- Fabrizio De Angelis
- Screenplay
- Elisa Livia Briganti; Dardano Sacchetti
- Starring
- Christopher Connelly
- Martha Taylor
- Brigitta Boccoli
- Giovanni Frezza
- Music
- Fabio Frizzi
- Cinematography
- Guglielmo Mancori
- Editing
- Vincenzo Tomassi
- Studio
- Fulvia Film
Facts from the source article.
Plot
On holiday in Egypt with her archaeologist father George and journalist mother Emily, nine-year-old Susie Hacker is approached by a mysterious blind woman who gives her an amulet. Soon after, George becomes blind when he enters a previously unexplored tomb; his vision returns upon returning to New York City. Susie, her younger brother Tommy, and their au pair Jamie Lee gain supernatural access to dimensional doorways. When George's eyesight returns, he describes the design on the wall of the tomb to a colleague named Wiler. At her office, Emily and colleague Luke work on an article about the Egypt events when Jamie Lee phones to say the children are locked in their bedroom. Luke tries to unlock the door, is sucked into a dimensional portal, and appears in the Egyptian desert, where he later dies of dehydration; the Hackers treat his disappearance as a practical joke. Jamie Lee takes the children to Central Park and takes photos. A woman picks up a discarded Polaroid of Susie showing only the amulet, contacts a man called Adrian Marcato, and drops the Polaroid with Marcato's contact details to Mrs. Hacker. The children appear and disappear from their bedrooms on what Tommy calls 'voyages.' Jamie Lee disappears after entering Tommy's room. Wiler, studying a photograph of the amulet, is fatally bitten by a cobra that appears in his office. The Hackers track down Marcato, who tells them about the amulet's evil symbolism and suggests Susie has absorbed its energy. When George and Emily find the amulet in Susie's drawer, she appears glowing with blue light and faints. Marcato examines Susie, but her inner voice possesses him; he cries for help, falls bleeding and foaming, then regains consciousness and links minds with George, showing him a glimpse of the eldritch Egypt. George and Emily take Susie to a hospital; an X-ray shows a hooded cobra mark inside her chest. While Emily keeps vigil, Tommy is alone; Jamie Lee bursts through a wall as a reanimated rotting cadaver and drops dead. Blue light flows from Tommy, Susie, and dimensional doorways into Marcato's home, where he recites an ancient Egyptian spell. Marcato tells George he has channeled the evil energy away from the children and the curse is now on him; he gives George the amulet to discard. That night, Marcato is killed by reanimated stuffed birds. Susie wakes healed. George flings the amulet into the East River. In the final scene in Egypt, the blind woman gives the same amulet to another young girl.
Production
Manhattan Baby was originally planned to have a larger budget than any of Fulci's previous films for producer Fabrizio De Angelis. Fulci wanted to experiment with optical special effects rather than the gory practical effects of Zombi 2 and The Beyond. Screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti stated the budget was drastically cut from 800 million to 400 million lire. Sacchetti collaborated with his wife Elisa Briganti on a script originally titled Il malocchio, which he described as 'an attempt to do a technological piece' and to bring horror in a different direction away from classic Gothic themes. The film was shot from 8 March to the end of April 1982 in Cairo, New York, and at De Paolis Studios in Rome. A second unit was shooting Enzo G. Castellari's 1990: The Bronx Warriors around the same time. Sacchetti said the extended opening scene in Egypt was added as an afterthought to 'give the film an international feel.'
Release
Manhattan Baby was released in Italy on 12 August 1982 by Fulvia Films, grossing L.409,424,657 domestically. It was picked up for US distribution in 1984 and released theatrically as Eye of the Evil Dead. In the United Kingdom, it was released directly to video in 1983 under the title The Possessed. Anchor Bay Entertainment released the film on DVD on 29 May 2001. The film ended the partnership between Fulci and De Angelis; Fulci disliked it, calling it 'a terrible movie' and 'one of those setbacks that occur as you go along.' Sacchetti and Briganti were also displeased, with Sacchetti stating that when producers cut three-quarters of the budget, some special effects could not be realized and the film was 'ultimately very poor.'
Reception
Kim Newman, writing in Monthly Film Bulletin, described Manhattan Baby as Fulci's 'smallest, most personal genre film,' noting its focus on eyes and calling it 'an almost hypnotic screen experience,' though 'woodenly scripted, stiffly acted, funereally paced and impossible to follow on any narrative level.' Newman concluded that the film's insistence on mosaic images and irrationality serves to remind that 'the supernatural is also the irrational.' Aldo Vigano of La Stampa found the film 'unconvincing and rather predictable.' Leonardo Autera of Corriere della Sera commented that while Fulci is considered the most gifted heir of Mario Bava in Italian horror, Bava knew to follow Poe's lesson that even the absurd must have inner logic, whereas Fulci 'navigates in the most absolute arbitrariness.' Retrospective reviews have been harsh: AllMovie panned it as one of Fulci's worst, calling it 'a pointless and stupid film of no possible interest to anyone except demented opticians.' Louis Paul, author of Italian Horror Film Directors, opined that 'although it contains some graphic murders, ultimately [Manhattan Baby] is a decidedly lifeless affair.'
Frequently Asked Questions
Who stars in Manhattan Baby?
Manhattan Baby stars Christopher Connelly, Martha Taylor, Brigitta Boccoli and Giovanni Frezza.
Who composed the music for Manhattan Baby?
The music for Manhattan Baby was composed by Fabio Frizzi.
Who wrote Manhattan Baby?
Manhattan Baby was written by Elisa Livia Briganti and Dardano Sacchetti.
How long is Manhattan Baby?
Manhattan Baby has a running time of 89 minutes.
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