Documentary filmmaker Michael Williams (Richard Johnson) has to travel
to Italy for a documentary he is shooting, and he brings his daughter
Emily (Nicoletta Elmi) and her nanny Jill (Ida Galli). But Emily hasn't
been herself lately, ever since she has seen her mother die in a fire, and
now she just doesn't want to let her father go, to a point where her love
for her father seems almost incestuous.
Daddy Michael however has come to shoot a documentary about demons, and
soon enough he stumbles over a supposedly cursed painting, of which even
his local advisor, the Countess Cappelli (Lila Kedrova) warns him - but he
seems to be way too fascinated by the painting, which shows a burning
woman falling and a girl watching ... just like Emily must ahve seen her
burning mother fall ...
Besides that, Michael also becomes infatuated by his production
assistant Joanna Morgan (Joanna Cassidy), and soon the two embark on a
steamy affair - which is of course not really approved by Emily.
Emily meanwhile starts to have memories of a former life, which seem to
have somewhing to do with above-mentioned painting and a medallion that
once belonged to her mother.
Then, Jill is pushed down some cliffs to her death.
Then the Countess tries to warn Michael of imminent danger, should he
stay in Italy.
Then Emily tries to burn Joanna.
... and at the climax of the film, Emily runsa away and sees the
(cursed ?) painting for the first time. Her father manages to find her,
and she runs towards him, a knife edged on both sides in hand, and
ultimately stabs them both. Only then do we learn what we suspected for
quite some time: That it was Emily who killed not only Joanna but also set
fire to her mother's room, out of incestuous jealousy.
Quite obviously, this film was somehow inspired by The Exorcist,
which pretty much never allows the incestuous subtext of the story to come
into full swing. Even in the end, the film seems to be undecided whether
it is about a young girl possessed by a demon or by the love to her
father. And the thrown-in flashbacks to her former life make little sense
in either respect.
Now it's not that the film is a total loss, it's competently directed
and teh Italian countryside is a first class backdrop for a story like
this, it's just ... the script sucks, period.
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