Monday, August 7, 2017

The Orphan (1979)

AKA: Friday the 13th: The Orphan

Director: John Ballard

Writers: John Ballard, Hector Hugh Munro

Composer: Teo Macero

Starring: Peggy Feury, Mark Owens, Afolabi Ajayi, Stanley Church, David Foreman, Jane House, Malachy McCourt, Joanna Miles, Elanor Stewart, Donn Whyte

More info: IMDb

Tagline: You have a date...with death!

Plot: A disturbed young man is plagued by horrific headaches that he believes make him commit murders.



My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

After sitting through the whole thing, it ends up being about 90 minutes of why bother.  It's OK but with a lack of suspense, this potentially good psychological horror film tries but fails to bring the goods.  The soft look of the film doesn't help.  It looks like it's supposed to take place in the 1920s, judging by the cars, but there are things that feel very much like the 70s from the hair styles (not all of them) and the clothing (not all of them).  Ballard and Munro wrote a film with enough going for it that it could've been a better film in better hands. In all fairness, this is Ballard's first and only film as a writer, director or producer and for that he should be commended.  There's a good film in there somewhere but it somehow doesn't come together as one that's entertaining or all that interesting.  It's a good effort but unfortunately it's not good enough to recommend.  

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