Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Mark Turner When it comes to horror films, slashers in particular, there was one country that was churning them out nearly as fast as the US in their heyday of the 80s. Italian cinema at the time was rife with movies of this sort with directors like Dario Argento taking the lead but there were more as well. One of them was Ovidio Assonitis who produced more films than he directed but left his mark on the horror genre. Having directed BEYOND THE DOOR and TENTACLES his next film was this one, MADHOUSE.Julia (Trish Everly) is a teacher in a school for deaf children, a much loved member of the staff and a woman who cares for those in her charge. As she nears her birthday she has a sense of dread due to the memories of her childhood with her sister Mary (Allison Biggers). Her fears pan out when it turns out her sister, long held captive in a mental hospital, has escaped. Having tormented her sister in their childhood she now has plans for Julia on her upcoming birthday and they don't involve heartfelt gifts.Only a friendly Catholic priest, Father James (Dennis Robertson), has spent much time with Mary. He offers Julia hope that nothing bad will come of her escape and does his best to calm her. But then Julia's neighbors begin getting killed, attacked by a mad Rottweiler. So does her most favored student. As the body count begins to rise we begin to wonder, is Mary responsible for the murders or is it all in Julia's head? A final birthday party does indeed take place and the usual mayhem ensues. The blood flows freely and the solution to our question is answered.The movie is an interesting film but moves slowly at first. Gorehounds will be slightly disappointed that the body count doesn't involve more bloodshed early on but if they stick around to the end they'll get their fill. The movie relies more on suspense than flat out gore and for me that makes it a more interesting picture.The movie was released in 1981, the same year the more famous HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME came out, a movie with similar themes. It is impossible to tell which began with those themes but the pair make an interesting look at how they were handled by two different sets of film makers. They might make a great double feature to run on someone's birthday if they love horror films.Arrow Video has done their usual bang up job here with a tremendous looking 2k transfer of the film. Extras include a brand new audio commentary track with The Hysteria Continues, new interviews with the cast and crew, alternate opening titles, the theatrical trailer and a reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Marc Schoenbach.Fans of Italian films will want to pick this one up but my guess is it will be the horror fan that gets more from this release. It's a solid film that will keep you guessing until near the end and entertain from start to finish.
Tender-Flesh Red herrings abound in this Video Nasty which was released around the same time as Happy Birthday To Me. They have similar endings and apparently it can't be agreed upon as to which film was released first and who stole from whom. Most people will probably prefer the better known Happy Birthday and will forget this film, but I found it to be one of the better Nasties.Aside from a bogus score, this slasher film is a semi-giallo(OK, not really except for maybe a few scant scenes and you have to pay attention) that has some good moments and, as you might expect, some decent gore. Trish Everly plays Julia, a woman approaching her 25th birthday and her nut case twin sister lives in the mental ward at the hospital. Their parents are dead and the only relative they have left is their uncle, a priest. And, as you'd expect, the director takes the high road and the priest is, of course, involved to some extent in the subsequent murders. Everly, who went on to do nothing after his film, lives in a large house that's been renovated into apartments, and various workers and inhabitants at the home get bumped off. She thinks her sister is planning something for their 25th birthday, and lo and behold, her sister escapes from the mental ward. Her sister, Mary, also has a trained Rottweiler who will kill on command. A surprisingly touching scene shows Julia explaining to the deaf students in her class how a fellow deaf student was killed by the dog. These are real deaf children with varying degrees of speech impediments and other problems, and it brings a tear to my eye. Sniff. But, I digress. Back to the murders. There are actually three killers in this film: two humans and the dog. As others have noted, the dog is the star of the show as he bites throats and rips off hands. Sadly, an obvious puppet is used too often during these scenes as the director obviously didn't know how to handle animal shots.Julia herself is even a suspect, though not outright to the other characters, but to the viewers; her comments in certain scenes make her an unreliable narrator of her past. Be warned if you are an animal or puppet lover: the Rottweiler gets his due towards the end of the film. This is one of the reasons the film made "the list" though there are a few other scenes, such as repeated blows to the back from an axe later on with plenty of chunky goodness to go around.As previously stated, this Video Nasty is some of the better fare on the notorious list and I'll recommend it as a Nasty fan. The film's greatest flaw is the abominable soundtrack. I am rather surprised that Everly never made any other films.
gavin6942 Julia, a teacher in a school for the deaf, has a hideously deformed and deranged twin sister that resides in the local loony bin. She escapes to gate-crash a surprise birthday party for Julia. Sort of like "Halloween", but not exactly. This is more like the left-handed, red-headed little step-cousin through marriage. That is to say, a much lesser breed. (Some have gone so far as to call it a ripoff of "Happy Birthday to Me", but that is unfair.)In the world of Italian horror, the name Ovidio G. Assonitis doesn't get floated around much. I mean, did you ever see the "Jaws" ripoff "Tentacles"? The one where Shelley Winters wears the giant hat? If you have seen one of Assonitis' films, it was most likely one of these two. And even then, it was probably on accident unless you searched "Madhouse" out for being on the Video Nasties list.Critic Jim Harper's analysis of this film is well-stated. Harper describes the film, aside from the notorious dog scene (which is not as shocking as you may think), as "not quite so interesting". He deems that the movie "can't be considered a total failure", which is a bit of a forced compliment. Really, the plot is not much to work with, and the only thing that distinguishes this film from other Italian films of the same period is the superior video quality (which looked great in 2008 and looks even better in 2017 thanks to the Arrow 2K restoration).Harper understates the score of Riz Ortolani as "annoying". While annoying is an accurate summary, this doesn't really highlight the full extent of its inanity. What you will hear is an odd group of space sounds that would fit perfectly on an Atari game, such as "Asteroids", but has no place in a movie of this kind -- or maybe any kind. What is called "music" is little more than sound effects poorly strung together. This is a shame as Riz Ortolani was also the composer of "Mondo Cane" and "Cannibal Holocaust", among many others, so he can clearly do better.Fans and collectors of Italian horror or slashers will take delight in watching this one. Yes, it is poorly scripted, low budget and comes with minimal plot. But, frankly, this is something that makes the slasher film enjoyable. If this is what you're looking for, give "Madhouse" (or "There Was a Little Girl", as it is sometimes called) a try. If you're looking for superior horror fare or a positive introduction to Italian horror, this is not it. Try some Fulci or Argento from this period first.The Arrow Blu-ray features audio commentary with Justin Kerswell, author of "The Slasher Movie Book", and his friends. We have a new interview with actress Edith Ivey (who recounts the way the director had to direct through an interpreter). There is also a new 18-minute interview with cinematographer Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli, who may perhaps be the one who knew the director best. And, surprise, a brief interview with Ovidio Assonitis himself (and his English is actually very good). The only thing missing is a chat with the lead actress (Trish Everly), who never appeared in anything else before or since. Where is she?
Coventry "There Was A Little Girl" is an underrated Italian horror gem and definitely the best film directed by Ovidio G. Assontis, who previously made the ludicrous Exorcist rip-off "Beyond the Door". This is genuinely uncanny and surprisingly well-scripted terror that more people should discover urgently! Julia is a lovable and beautiful teacher in a school for blind children who successfully erased the traumatizing childhood from her mind. Her twin sister Mary used to hurt her on their birthday but now she's locked up in a mental hospital for good. Yet, with another birthday coming up in just a few days, Mary escapes from the hospital and macabre events begin to occur near Julia's apartment. The opening credits are already very scary and atmospheric, with the classic "Cradle Will Rock" lullaby and the image of a little girl mutilating the face of another girl with a rock (irrelevant, but still very creepy!). "There Was A Little Girl" once was included in the infamous Video-Nasties list but it doesn't really belong there. Even though there are some very graphic murders and one shockingly suggestive drama, most of the film revolves on suspense and mystery. There are some dull moments too, but mainly this is compelling and fairly original 80's horror. Not very easy to come across, but definitely worth purchasing.
