Director: James Kelley (Andrea Bianchi (as Andrew White, credited on some prints for quota purposes)
Year: 1972
Country: United Kingdom/Italy/West Germany/Spain/USA
Alternate Titles: La tua presenza nuda!; Child of the Night; Night Hair Child
Genre: Evil Kids
Plot:
After moving into her husband's house, a stepmother begins to get increasingly concerned about his sons' growing psychotic behavior that becomes eerily similar to the antics that killed his first wife, and she begins to fear for her safety around him.
Review:
This was quite the disturbing, if flawed, effort overall. What really tends to work here for this one is the fact that there's a rather sleazy tone present in a retelling of a rather familiar story. With the film exploring the familiar set-up involving her arrival alongside his return home that gradually leads to the discovery of even darker activities just within the surface, that allows this one to adapt plenty of sleazy thrills into this one that makes for a rather appropriate fit into the times. The general scenes of her nude, either walking through the house after showering or lounging about in barely-there swimsuits are fine enough, but to include the scenes of her being actively fondled while on the phone or the stand-out scene of being forced to strip completely naked in front of him all gives it a rather depraved tone and feel which is quite apparently a sign of the times.
Given that this is all tied together with the more traditional elements found in the adaptation of the original story, it goes along quite nicely with the stories of his deviant behavior at the school, the mysteriously quiet nature of his general appearance, and the growing paranoia experienced by the thought that he's targeting her for the same reasons to really build up the thriller aspects of the storyline. That also leaves the film with quite a rousing final half, which comes with some rather fun times here as she finally learns the truth, indulging in a series of fantasies about what to do to him, and finally leading into the final revelation that makes for quite a nice finale.
Even with these positives, there are a few flaws to be found here. The biggest issue here is the film's rather dramatic sense of pacing, tending to feature more in the way of straightforward drama rather than any kind of horrific activity. It's all basically the idea that he's done these terrible things yet never follows through or shows any of it happening, forcing this one to go nearly it's entire running time before any kind of action actually occurs as nearly all the scenes of her running around trying to find out the truth indeed build up the mystery without anything actually happening causing this one to be incredibly boring at times.
Nowhere else is this more evident than in the encounter with the psychiatrist, which is so bland and dull despite all the revelations coming out that there's nothing all that enjoyable about it that comes to pass from it. The other main flaw here is the fact that this one is so obviously based on the famous adaptation of the main story that it feels way too predictable throughout, going from familiar set-up to familiar set-up without any deviation, which makes for a rather routine affair here. This is due mainly to the idea that she's being made out to be crazy and nothing she says is the truth, which is quite the familiar storyline here, and this one runs so close to that storyline. These are what really hold this one back.
Overview: **.5/5
A generally troubled, if still enjoyable, effort, there's some worthwhile factors to this one that make it an intriguing watch, even though some of the big issues here make for a wholly difficult time getting into this one. Those with an appreciation for this style of genre fare, or who are curious about it, will have the most to like here, while most others out there might want to heed caution.
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