Diabólica malicia (1972)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Directors:

James Kelley
Andrea Bianchi

Writers:

Andrea Bianchi (writer)
Erich Kröhnke (story)

Release Date:

14 October 1972 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Horror

Tagline:

What he saw is what he did.

Plot:

In this stylish and atmospheric psychological thriller reminiscent of Henry James's Turn of the Screw...

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Spain | Older Woman Younger Man | Infant Nudity | Pre Teen

Cast

Mark Lester	...	Marcus
Britt Ekland	...	Elise
Hardy Krüger	...	Paul
Lilli Palmer	...	Dr. Viorne
Harry Andrews	...	Headmaster
Conchita Montes	...	Sophie
Colette Giacobine	...	Sarah (as Collette Jack)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ricardo Palacios
Emilio Rodríguez
Ricardo Valle

Also Known As:

Child of the Night
Der Zeuge hinter der Wand (West Germany)
Diabolisch (West Germany)
La tua presenza nuda (Italy)
Night Child
Night Hair Child (UK)
What the Peeper Saw

Runtime:

89 min | Spain:88 min | UK:95 min (uncut version)

Country:

Spain | UK | Italy | USA | West Germany

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 (f) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Cemo Film

A beautiful woman begins to suspect that her angelic-looking stepson murdered his real mother, then fears that the disturbed child may have similarly sinister plans for her.

This underrated '70's psycho-thriller is aided by a strong cast, which includes Mark Lester(of OLIVER! fame) as the disturbed youngster, Britt Ekland as the terrified stepmother, Hardy Kruger as the boy's well-meaning, but clueless father, and Lilli Palmer as a seemingly level-headed psychologist. Admittedly, it's little more than THE BAD SEED with a sex change and a few kinky, voyeuristic sequences thrown in for good measure, but the wonderful cast has done wonders with their roles, particularly Lester who gives a startlingly mature and downright chilling performance as the evil child. After seeing him go at it as the little stepson from Hell, it's hard to believe that this is the same little boy who captured our hearts in the award-winning musical "OLIVER!". It takes a good actor to play two wildly different roles so convincingly, and that's Lester. After seeing him in these two films alone, I'm convinced he's one of the finest child actors of all time! After doing some research, I've discovered that the magnificent Lester has retired from show business and is now an osteopath. The medical profession's gain is our loss.