The Visitor (aka Stridulum)

If you want a serious Exorcist knock off with a sci-fi twist then look no further.  You got a little brat named Katy (Paige Conner) who was born evil due to possessing some sort of genetic material passed down to her from a malicious alien.  Her mother, Barbara (Joanne Nail (Switchblade Sisters)), has the ability to birth these demonic fuckers so a secret society of aliens or alien sympathizers (it’s not clear which) get wind of this and want her to have more kids.  Lance Henriksen (Stone Cold, The Terminator) is recruited on a years long operation to woo Barbara and to try to mate.  Meanwhile Barbara isn’t aware of any of this and seems like a normal person that just happens to have this bizarre DNA inside her.

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.

Most of the picture isn’t like that though.  It’s more about Katy causing trouble like accidentally shooting her mother in the back causing her to be paralyzed from the waist down.  There’s also a detective (Glenn Ford (The Big Heat, 3:10 to Yuma)) and our hero looking for ways to stop her from hurting more people.

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 other odd person to pop up is fuckin’ Sam Peckinpah (writer/director: The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia).  This one is stranger because he didn’t really do acting.  In here he only has one scene as Barbara’s husband who she goes to seeking an abortion.

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.