It’s a cool story even if the inspiration behind it is
totally obvious. Conner as Katy does a
great job acting like such an asshole towards everyone and is able to pull off
the innocent one moment tear your face off the next shift like a pro. But she doesn’t physically change appearance
like Regan does and it’s unclear if she has supernatural powers. In the scene where we’re introduced to her
she sits courtside at a basketball game and maybe triggers an explosion at the
rim of the basket just as the opposing team is about to dunk to win the
game. Katy never shows off anything like
this type of ability again so who knows?
Aside from the plot this is an infamous midnight movie more
for the whacked out visuals and some interesting casting choices. The film opens with what appears to be a
showdown between our hero and a cloaked figure that turns out to be Katy on a
barren alien planet with a swirling liquid sky, a windy snowstorm and a
gigantic bright yellow sun. Nothing is
said, they only stare each other down.
Later when our hero comes to Earth (Atlanta to be specific) to setup
shop he picks a skyscraper rooftop and his helpers construct rectangular silk
cubes in a triangular pattern and he likes to have nighttime sessions of
staring at the rooftop while runway lights and a broad green beam strobes on it
and makes oscillating noises. You know, trippy
shit.
And you’re probably wondering by now who is this hero
guy? Well we’ve put it off long enough. It’s none other than acclaimed director John
Huston (The Maltese Falcon, The African
Queen, Key Largo, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Man Who Would Be King). He had done plenty of acting before, probably
most famously as the villain in Chinatown,
but it’s still so weird to see him in a B sci-fi film. He was 73 at the time and has wise presence
but the thing is he doesn’t actually do a whole lot so they could’ve cast any
number of people in the role and it would’ve turned out the same.
The Visitor isn’t
as dark as The Exorcist tone wise but
there are perhaps creepier notions that it floats. For instance at one point Barbara gets
impregnated without her knowledge.
There’s also the plot point of carrying on a sham relationship with
someone for over seven goddamn years (!) for the sole purpose of creating a
demonic offspring. That’s pretty abhorrent
behavior if you ask me.
So as you can tell from everything I’ve tried to explain in
this review the movie doesn’t convey the clearest storytelling. There are more than a few head scratching
moments. And yea, it’s kind of a
peculiar mix of shit (like the kickass instrumental funk soundtrack which I
almost forgot to mention) but hey, it’s certainly entertaining and a decent
time in my opinion.
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