There Was a Little Girl (1981)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Ovidio G. Assonitis

Writers:

Ovidio G. Assonitis (writer)
Stephen Blakely (writer)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Julia thinks she lives alone... she doesn't!

Plot:

Julia, a teacher in a school for the deaf, has a hideosly disformed and deranged twin sister that resides in the local looney bin...

Plot Keywords:

Twins | School | Power Drill | Dog | Birthday Party

Cast

Trish Everly	...	Julia Sullivan
Michael MacRae	...	Sam Edwards
Dennis Robertson	...	Father James
Morgan Hart	...	Helen
Allison Biggers	...	Mary Sullivan
Edith Ivey	...	Amantha Beauregard
Richard Baker	...	Sacha Robertson Jr.
Don Devendorf	...	Principal
Jerry Fujikawa	...	Mr. Kimura
Doug Dillingham	...	Golden
Joe Camp	...	Hospital Guard
Janie Baker	...	Sacha's Mother
Huxsie Scott	...	Secretary

Also Known As:

And When She Was Bad (USA)
Flesh and the Beast (USA) (video title)
Madhouse (UK) (video title)
Scared to Death (USA)

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M (cut) | Norway:18 | Germany:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Savannah, Georgia, USA

Trivia:

The film was originally listed (as "Madhouse") as one of the official UK DPP 74 video nasties. It was released fully uncut in 2004.

Run, but you'll never get away from me!

As Madhouse, this film was one of the infamous video nasties that were banned in Britain. It was released uncut in 2004.

Julia tells how she was terrorized as a girl by her sister Mary and her dog. next this, in the present day a bloodthirsty rottweiler shows up. Has her sister escaped the Madhouse again? This is a beautifully shot film. It has a real quality feel for a low-budget knockoff. Of course, there is some debate as to whether this is truly a knockoff as it came out the same years as the film it supposedly copies. Who knocked off whom? Besides the cinematography by Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli, it has a great score by Cannibal Holocaust's Riz Ortolani.

Slasher fans will enjoy it, and it really isn't that bad, in a bloody way. Of course, Helen (Morgan Hart) might disagree. This cute blond didn't last long, and wasn't very pretty after her attack. If she would have just ripped off her shirt, she might have escaped, and we might have seen a shot of flesh.

With Dennis Robertson as the girl's uncle and a crazy priest, and a wacky new age landlady (Edith Ivey), there were plenty of characters to keep us interested.

Julia's 25th birthday party was really going well until her boyfriend, Dr. Edwards (Michael MacRae) appeared and had to perform emergency surgery on the rottweiler with a drill. Boy, was Father James hacked at the way things turned out.