Demon's Baby

Starring:Annie Wu, Emotion Cheung, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Elvis Tsui, Siu-Kei Lee
Director: Kant Leung
Studio: Tai Seng
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

A disappointing waste of widescreen photography
Not that bad at all !
Fulci Misses The Mark
Why I Never Wanted a Sandbox
Lucio fulci did it again the master in terror#1

Manhattan Baby
Starring: Enzo Marino Bellanich , Brigitta Boccoli , Andrea Bosic , Cosimo Cinieri , and Christopher Connelly
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

The Black Cat
The House By The Cemetery
Nightmare City
Demonia
The Beyond

ASIN: B000059PQ8
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Customer Reviews:

A disappointing waste of widescreen photography.......2006-03-29

I thought if I finally watched "Manhattan Baby" on DVD in widescreen rather than the poor full-screen video copies of it that were previously available, I'd be able to re-appraise it, but sadly, I still find that it's among Lucio Fulci's worst efforts. Fulci displays no evidence whatsoever in this movie that he knows what to shoot to make an interesting or suspenseful film. Half the time, he can find nothing worth putting in front of the lens except extreme close-ups of the actors eyes. Time and time again, the camera zooms in for lingering close-ups of the actors eyes, when there could have been - there must have been - so many other creative possibilities to choose from...did nobody point this out?

Anyway, whatever the artistic "vision" was supposed to be, the story goes roughly as follows: A husband and wife take their young daughter on a trip to Egypt, so that the husband can investigate an ancient tomb, and the wife can take pictures of all the tourist sights. The daughter, Suzy, wanders off alone and is ambushed by an Egyptian crone who gives her a mysterious amulet. (Cue the first of many extreme close-ups of eyes, and of the amulet, which also bears the design of an eye). At the same time the husband is blinded by a flash of blue light that emanates from a forbidden burial chamber that he has just discovered. Back in New York, the family is reunited with Suzy's younger brother Tommy (played by the same child actor who played Bob in "House By The Cemetery" ), and their nanny. From this point on, Suzy begins to act strangely, wandering about the house (cue extreme close-ups of eyes), scaring the nanny by playing odd hide and seek games with Tommy (cue more extreme close-ups of eyes), and putting the amulet in various random places for some unfathomable kind of dramatic focus (cue more extreme close-ups of the amulet). While all this inconsequential nonsense is going on, the parents of the children drift in and out of the action, occasionally looking fraught or troubled at the goings on (cue more close ups of eyes, naturally). A few people die in unremarkable ways. The end of the film sees Suzy fall more perilously under the spell of the amulet (cue more close-ups of the amulet) and the struggle to save her by a mysterious antique shop owner who comes to visit Suzy and tells the worried family that he can undo the curse (cue more close-ups of eyes).

Watching this film is only slightly more fun than watching paint dry. Fulci seems to have entirely run out of ideas about how to make a film that is visually stimulating - there is nothing even approaching interesting on the screen for about 90% of the running time. Just endless talking heads and those never ending eye close-ups. The trademark gore scenes are all but absent, save for one right near the end when a character is attacked by stuffed birds. The slant that the birds are stuffed rather than alive - having supposedly been re-animated by the evil power - is quite a good one, but sadly you can see the wires carrying them around the room in EVERY SINGLE shot during the attack. At least there were some good old-school close ups of bloody flesh-pecking to wake me up at this stage, but the film was over an hour and twenty minutes through by this time...far too late for redeeming the movie as a whole.

The dubbing is also terrible, the worst I have seen for a long time. Especially of the children. When an instant photo turns out badly, Suzy exclaims chirpily "It's a dud, defective stock!"...What the...? And when the parents ask where the babysitter has vanished to, young Tommy exlaims "She's gone on a voyage!" A voyage? What 8 year old boy uses words like "voyage"? It's almost a shame to see poor Giovanni Frezza, who appears to be an unselfconscious and lively child actor, crippled by such a hideous dubbed script. At least be thankful he does not have the same sounding voice he had in "The House by the Cemetery", which similarly ruined his character. But the fault lies way beyond pinning this on lame performances (Although I would have loved to see Katherine MaColl take the role as the mother rather than the lacklustre Martha Taylor, and Christopher Connelly is equally forgettable as the father.). There is really nothing worth keeping your attention on the screen for. A passably attractive prologue filmed on location in Egypt soon gives way to the rest of the film almost entirely taking place in the family's nondescript apartment. The antique shops looks like the set of the basement from "The House by the Cemetery" with just the cobwebs removed, and even the music is lifted from previous Fulci films, most notably some very recogniseable music from "The Beyond". How any self-respecting director can just re-use a score that was (one would presume) originally composed to match the story and atmosphere of one of his previous films is beyond me.

The plot, as usual, does not serve up anything cohesive to the audience, so without any arresting visuals or jolting gore scenes, watching the film is a pretty boring experience. There's no climactic ending, just a rather tame suggestion of the cyclical recurrence of the evil curse, the origins or intentions of which are never explained anyway during the entire plot. And as if you hadn't had enough by now, the film closes with - yes you guessed it - more extreme close ups of eyes and another, final (thank god!) close up of the wretched amulet, not that the sight of it produced any sense of dread throughout the whole dreary story. I will allow that there have been reports of imposed conditions behind the making of "Manhattan Baby" that lead Fulci to make some severe compromises, but he has to take responibility for what he delivered to his audience, and he should be ashamed of the undeniable weakness of the end result.

Not that bad at all !.......2005-09-12

Lucio Fulci's "MANHATTAN BABY" is not even close to his best effort,but just like "SWEET HOUSE OF HORROR" it has its tiny moments of Fulci's atmospheric & gorey brilliance. A sure shot for Fulci fans! all others should rent before buying!

Fulci Misses The Mark.......2004-03-28

Italian horror will never be seen as art to the masses. Even the hardcore fans admit to the cheesiness as being part of the attraction to them, but even though it's a trashy kind of genre, you can screw up! Lucio Fulci screwed up here. To people now taking an interest in Fulci, I'm sure this dvd cover has stared out at you from the shelf at the store and beckoned you to take it home . Don't listen to it! Yeah, it's Fulci, and yeah, it's from Anchor Bay, but don't let that fool you. Manhattan Baby is BAD, even for a Fulci film. With most of his horror films you could always guarantee to have a fun viewing experience, but this is actually quite painful. Everything you love about his previous works is nowhere to be found here. Fulci was actually trying to make a real horror film with suspense and stuff. Many directors accomplish this, but Fulci never has, and he certainly doesn't here. Fulci's films excel in atmosphere, music, gore, cheesiness and just downright strangeness. This film has none of that. It's basically a reworking of the Charleton Heston mummy flick, The Awakening-which was no masterpiece, but better than this. The only purpose this dvd will serve is to make your Italian horror dvd collection look bigger, coz it will get only one or maybe two viewings-mark my words! You just may be better off investing in a Kiss Koffin. That will at least get more use.

Why I Never Wanted a Sandbox.......2002-06-28

Manhattan Baby, considered a failure by many critics that wanted Fulci to conform to the formula of horror that made him successful, was actually one of his more entertaining movies. This was because it did break from the proverbial mould, building more on a storyline and an ever-present, overwhelming scene of doom. Unlike many of his earlier movies (Zombie, The Beyond) that brought this bleak overview with them as well, Lucio decided to try a new avenue in this presentation, one that only briefly sprinkled gore into the cinematic formula, causing much of the fallout experienced. He said that he wanted to present a more metaphysical terror, using a small array of special effects in the process, that would give his film a more Catholicist, "evil can be beaten but not truly destroyed," mentality. Well, mission accomplished.
The storyline, with its Egyptian focal point, deals with the manifestation of an ancient evil that is awaken (and overused) by a little girl after her foolishly curious archeologist father prods at things best left alone. It has some nice scenes with pieces of dark humor mixed together with catchy "manifesations/proofs of the dark forces present," plus some humorously cheap scenes that keep the movie from taking itself too serious. All in all, its fun and a bit dark at the same time, and is a good film for horror lovers/Lucio fans that remember his Sci-fi trials/Westerners and not simply his gore films.

Lucio fulci did it again the master in terror#1.......2002-05-24

this is another of his best movie ever done .i love it because
it started in a egypt pyramid were they frist meet a supernatural
evil the shock the archeolest.this movie cautains blood an some
gut scenes but is a very scary film.i love tomb films the will surprise you its uncut you must see it.recomened Zombie,domonia,
house by the sementary.the black cat.by henry. May23,2002 thurday

Average customer rating:

Very good sequel
Not bad,not the best either.3 1/2 stars
A Mildly Entertaining Sequel
"What are we supposed to do, stick our heads in the toilet?"
Distinguished yet Forgotten Valor

Ghostbusters 2
Starring: Bill Murray , Dan Aykroyd , Sigourney Weaver , Harold Ramis , and Rick Moranis
Director: Ivan Reitman
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Ghostbusters
BEETLEJUICE (DVD)
Men in Black II (Widescreen Special Edition)
Gremlins (Special Edition)
Men in Black (Deluxe Edition)

ASIN: B00000J11I
Release Date: 1999-06-29

Customer Reviews:

Very good sequel.......2007-01-05

Not as good as the first, but a must have for your collection.

Not bad,not the best either.3 1/2 stars.......2006-12-11

Of course not as great as the first but not bad.There is some great scenes in this movie.I give Ghostbusters 1 five stars and the 2nd 3 and a 1/2 stars.I think it could've been better in some ways.But what sequels live up to the first ones.98 percent of them don't.Anyway if you like the first ghostbusters you will like this one to.

A Mildly Entertaining Sequel.......2006-10-06

The Ghostbusters get blaimed for what happened to the city at the end of the first one. They're called freuds and aren't allowed to hunt ghosts no more. Their first client from the first one (Sigourney Weaver) returns and reunites them when something odd is going on with her baby. Which leads them to check out the sewers and I'm not sure if it's actually explained why. I guess because the baby carage took a mind of it's own with the baby in it on that street or something. Anyway they get in big trouble when they accidently take out the electricity in the city.

The judge declares them guilty and gets ready to send them to jail until ghosts pop out of the red goo that Ray found in the sewers. The judge gives them permission to get rid of them which of course leads to them being allowed to be Ghostbusters again. In mildly entertaining scenes it shows them catching ghosts again. They soon realize that the painting at Weaver's museum job might be the big problem basically...just because Peter (Bill Murray) thinks it looks evil. Of course it is evil with the ghost inside wanting the weird foreighn guy that has a crush on Weaver to get her baby for him. He wants to possess the baby and live a full life again. So it's up to the Ghost Busters to save the day and their big plan to get in the museam "that he seals off with Weaver and the baby inside" and save the day is by using the red goo....to make the Statue of Liberty alive....

Most of the ideas in this film are kinda lame and not that funny. While Bill Murray doesn't get nearly as good of lines as he had in the first film. Still he is likeable and the guys do have chemestry still. The script is just not worthy sequel material when the first film to me was a comedy masterpiece. It was just great fun too and full of originality. This film basically seems like all the originality was used in the first film. Heck I watched the cartoon series and that even had more clever ideas than the second film did. They could've even learned a thing or two from the cartoon series. I admit although the plot is super thin in this film, I don't hate the movie though. It's watchable but pretty disapointing next to the first movie. It's just not what it could've been.

"What are we supposed to do, stick our heads in the toilet?".......2006-08-04

Imagine for a moment that in 1944 MGM decided to make a sequel to "The Wizard of Oz". They managed to reunite the entire original cast: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan and Billie Burke. The production values were as high as in the first film, and Victor Fleming once again provided capable direction. There was only one problem: the script was deeply flawed and far inferior to that of the previous film.

For those of us who remember the original "Ghostbusters" as an all-time classic from our childhoods, "Ghostbusters 2" is the precise equivalent of that hypothetical "Oz" sequel. For an hour and forty minutes we get to see the characters from one of our favorite movies, played by the same actors, in another movie. The only problem is that it isn't a *good* movie. "Ghostbusters 2" is painfully derivative of its predecessor; it's far less well structured; and Randy Edelman's score can't hold a candle to Elmer Bernstein's for the first film.

As a child I avoided seeing "Ghostbusters 2". I knew it would probably be painful to watch, given my love of the first film, and I was right. As an adult I can now derive some degree of enjoyment from the film. I love the characters, and I love seeing them again. But if you ever find a DVD of "The Wizard of Oz 2" that has dropped in from a parallel dimension... you know who not to call.

Distinguished yet Forgotten Valor.......2006-06-04

If the global conquest of earth by the forces of Evil hung in the balance and could be tipped in the favor for the good of all mankind by these three sorry looking men of distinguished yet long forgotten valor - let's just say that I hope you know some really good prayers. It could end up being a hot time in the old town tonight.

Average customer rating:

Demon's Baby
Starring: Annie Wu , Emotion Cheung , Anthony Wong Chau-Sang , Elvis Tsui , and Siu-Kei Lee
Director: Kant Leung
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005NTN9
Release Date: 2006-04-24

[10 "Horror Movie" Pack] Don't Look in the Basement, Memorial Valley Massacre, Kill Baby Kill, The Demon, Hatchet Murders, Pieces, Silent Night Bloody Night, Night of Bloody Horror, Horror Rises From the Tomb, House of 1000 Corpses

Average customer rating:

[10 "Horror Movie" Pack] Don't Look in the Basement, Memorial Valley Massacre, Kill Baby Kill, The Demon, Hatchet Murders, Pieces, Silent Night Bloody Night, Night of Bloody Horror, Horror Rises From the Tomb, House of 1000 Corpses

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Digitally Remastered For Superior Picture Quality
Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound
INTERACTIVE MENUS
scene selections
director commentary, audition footage, rehearsal footage, interviews

ASIN: B000GDTM7S

[9 HORROR MOVIES / OVER 13 HOURS] Don't Look In The Basement, Memorial Valley Massacre, Kill Baby Kill, The Demon, The Hatchet Murders, Pieces, Silent Night Bloddy Night, Night Of Bloody Horror, Horror Rises From The Tomb

Average customer rating:

very poor transfers ,you can find better copies at cheeper prices if you look
The listed price is wrong.

[9 HORROR MOVIES / OVER 13 HOURS] Don't Look In The Basement, Memorial Valley Massacre, Kill Baby Kill, The Demon, The Hatchet Murders, Pieces, Silent Night Bloddy Night, Night Of Bloody Horror, Horror Rises From The Tomb

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Product Description

BONUS FEATURES: Horror movie trailers / Filming our secret fears / John Carradine bio / Interactive menus / 5.1 surround sound

Customer Reviews:

very poor transfers ,you can find better copies at cheeper prices if you look.......2006-04-27

i was very disapointed in this set,i know that at cheep price you are going to lose quality, i have bought and reviewed a number of these multi-pack movies ,but these transfers were just the worst i have ever seen. 8 of the movies were unwatchable and when returned they gave me new set and same problem with same movie. even store couldn't get them to play sowatch and look else were for these films.

The listed price is wrong........2006-03-31

I bought this DVD for eight dollars at a Best Buy in Chicago. That's the set retail price as far as I'm concerned. Forty dollars is definitely worth it for all the good movies on here, but any DVD retailer would likely sell it for under ten.

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