Bub_the_zombie
Manhattan Baby is Fulci's dive into beautiful imagery. There's some scenes in this one that are genuinely breathtaking.A medallion from an archaeological dig leaves a man blind. And a family falls into jeopardy after their son disappears into thin air, and their daughter is possessed by an ancient demon.If the budget hadn't been cut for the film, I would imagine that this would be Fulci's most memorable film. People would think 'Manhattan Baby' instead of 'Zombie' when they heard the name Lucio Fulci.Most horror fans haven't seen this one. It's true that MB isn't a film that succumbs to everyone's tastes. This is simply because in most Italian films, it's usually style over substance, which in some cases can leave an unseasoned viewer in total awe at the apparent inept plot line before them.In Italian films (especially), you have to pay very close attention to the whole film. Certain plot definers aren't given 'camera-attention' at crucial times at any given time through any given film. in American films, the camera tells the story. The same can be said for Italian cinema, but a lot of times, it's much more subtle in its delivery and can leave one feeling incomplete until they eventually see it again.Anyway, should you watch Manhattan Baby? Sure. I'll recommend it. It's a beautifully shot film with hardly any of that Fulci gore we all expected. It also has a great Gothic score that adds tons of surrealistic atmosphere that pulls you in for the most part.Not a film for everyone, but the guru's of the cinema world will find a lot of redeeming qualities to talk about.
jtk57
We selected "Manhattan Baby" from the movie library last night, and I realized that it was to be probably the 7th time I have watched this rather uncelebrated Fulci offering in the past 5 years. Yes, this movie is a bit formulaic, and yes, it does move a bit slow in parts. But there is something undeniably menacing in this movie, an atmosphere of claustrophobia, the tightness of the endless close-ups of people's faces, that I enjoy and (obviously) come back to again and again. No, this is not a gory movie, which no doubt comes as a surprise (disappointment?) to fans of Fulci's other (mostly excellent) films. Even the death scenes, of which there are only 3 or 4, have minimal blood compared to something like "The Beyond", not that I would recommend this as hearty family fare by any means. But if you enjoy the uniquely "European" dreamlike atmosphere created by a combination of cheesy effects, plot holes, wooden acting, bad dubbing, and inexplicable motivations of characters, this may be one you revisit again, and again and again... you get the idea.
anxietyresister
Oh my word, this is bad. I want nothing to take away from the sheer awfulness of this.. well, I'd stretch to call it a 'film'. Describing the plot is impossible because what transpires is completely incoherent, but at the start a young girl on vacation in Egypt receives a medallion from a mysterious figure. All kinds of weird stuff happens, all depicted by awful dubbing and truly rubbish special effects. How anybody thought this mess was worth distributing I'll never know, but I bet those involved would pay good money to keep it off their CV. Nothing else left to say really apart from: if you love being confused and depressed at the same time.. this is the 'movie' for you.. 0/10
EVOL666
Wow...MANHATTAN BABY was a REAL let-down from one of my favorite Italian directors. I've liked everything of Fulci's that I've seen so far - except for this piece of garbage. Going in to a Fulci film, you figure you're gonna see some serious over-the-top gore (especially his trademark "eye trauma" scenes...), probably some misogynistic sexual violence or at least some decent "full-frontal", and usually a relatively entertaining plot. Not so on all counts for MANHATTAN BABY...This one is about a girl who receives an amulet from a mysterious stranger while on vacation in Egypt with her parents. The amulet is linked to some sort of evil Egyptian god and the girl ends up becoming possessed. Her family gets help from a local antiques dealer who has knowledge of the evil amulet. There's the requisite struggle of "good and evil", then the end...MANHATTAN BABY is a poorly written and acted film with obvious nods to ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE EXORCIST - but with nowhere near the power or atmosphere of either of those films. Most of MANHATTAN BABY's plot is confusing and honestly quite stupid, so even if you DO follow what's going on, you don't really care. There is only one decent gore scene which is tame by Fulci standards and no nudity and or sex/sexual violence and the few "special FX" used in the film are so cheap and amateurish (even for '82) that they are laughable ("lasers in the eyes" and "stuffed birds on strings" anyone?...). MANHATTAN BABY seems to be a film that Fulci made for a more mainstream audience, and I'm glad this does not represent the majority of his works. For suggestions on GOOD Fulci films, try ZOMBIE, GATES OF HELL,THE NEW YORK RIPPER, THE BEYOND (among many others...). Leave this one on the shelf. 3/10 (and that's only for the one gore scene and the "classic" line - "You can kill my body with stuffed birds, but you can never take my immortal soul!!!")
AD
