7Roulette - SHOCK

When people mention creepy kid movies, this is what I picture immediately. Marco is sick and he put me off of having kids for a long time. Every child loves their Mother, especially little boys. But his desires for her are unnatural and barbaric. I have no idea what is happening in this movie. Is he making this happen? Is there a force in their home that is manipulating him? Maybe it's all a colorful pastiche. Either way, it's effective. And the plot's confusion leaves you dizzy and wanting more. A-

- Babes

"Evil" is subjective... or is it? Dora and Bruno are newlyweds who move into Dora's old house from her previous marriage, along with her son Marco. Marco immediately gets weird: saying spooky things, talking to imaginary friends, hiding in the basement, and developing a fondness for his mother that would make everyone from Oedipus to Norman Bates cringe. Meanwhile, Dora encounters ghosts and violence and aggressive bad luck -- is her son willing this into existence? Is the house haunted? Is she delusional? Is her new husband gaslighting her? Is it all of these and more? I could say all this stuff has been done to death, but maybe not all at the same time(?) Daria Nicolodi runs the gamut in this haunted/giallo/psychological Bava ball of crazy camera tricks and general dementia that never gets in the way of its own cleverness. B+

- Paul