The Visitor (1979)

The soul of a young girl with telekinetic powers becomes the prize in a fight between forces of God and the Devil.

Director:

Giulio Paradisi (as Michael J. Paradise)

Writers:

Luciano Comici (screenplay) (as Lou Comici), Robert Mundi (screenplay) (as Robert Mundy)

Stars:

Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Ferrer	...	Dr. Walker
Glenn Ford	...	Det. Jake Durham
Lance Henriksen	...	Raymond Armstead
John Huston	...	Jerzy Colsowicz
Joanne Nail	...	Barbara Collins
Sam Peckinpah	...	Dr. Sam Collins
Shelley Winters	...	Jane Phillips
Paige Conner	...	Katy Collins
J.A. Townsend	...	Susan (as Ja Townsend)
Joe Dorsey	...	Sheriff Paul Townsend (as Jack Dorsey)
Johnny Popwell	...	AAA Mechanic
Wallace Wilkinson	...	Police Captain
Steve Somers	...	Self - Sportscaster
Lou Walker	...	AAA Mechanic
Walter Gordon Sr.	...	Thomas

Storyline

John Huston stars as an intergalactic warrior who joins a cosmic Christ figure in battle against a demonic 8-year-old girl, and her pet hawk, while the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. Multi-dimensional warfare, pre-adolescent profanity and brutal avian attacks combine to transport the viewer to a state unlike anything they've experienced... somewhere between Hell and the darkest reaches of outer space.

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Plot Keywords:

extreme violence | end of the world | psychic | supernatural power | fear | 

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Taglines:

Her body carried Satan's child. The visitor had to stop her!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paige Conner had trouble saying harsh profanity to Glenn Ford in her big confrontation scene with him.

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Goofs

Although Mrs Collins is paralyzed from the waist down, she is able to drive a car as if she was not disabled at all.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jesus Christ: Once, far away... light years... distances beyond thought, a great slender ship with a tail of fire slid through the black reaches of space. On that ship was Sateen - a prisoner named Sateen. Words cannot describe his evil, his criminality. He had been captured by Commander Yahweh after decades of search and evasion, in a blood-drenched battle that claimed hundreds of lives. But shortly thereafter, Sateen escaped in a tiny scout craft, a fantastic escape from that spaceship. And ...

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Alternate Versions

"The Visitor" was released on DVD by independent distributor Code Red in November 2010. It was the first time the film had been presented in its uncut form in the United States.

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Connections

Featured in Vintage Video: The Visitor (1980) (2020)

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Soundtracks

Shortnin' Bread
(uncredited)
By James Whitcomb Riley
Performed by Shelley Winters

User Reviews

Incompetent nonsense with well-known cast.

Kathy Collins is no ordinary eight year old girl.Indeed,she is unique,carrying within her the power of Sateen,an inter-spacial force of immense magnitude.Katy's primary mission on Earth is to carry these genes forward,a task accomplished by convincing her mother Barbara to bear a similarly endowed male child with whom Kathy would eventually mate."The Visitor" makes no sense.It plays like insane mix of such occult films as "Rosemary's Baby","The Exorcist" and "The Omen" but also a tribute to such sci-fi classics as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".There are so many disconnected plot elements for example aliens wandering through the desert,giant green clouds billowing up from nowhere or the sky turning the color of blood,but the action is fast paced and some surreal images are quite psychedelic.6 out of 10.

Details

Official Sites:

Drafthouse Films [United States]

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Visitor

Filming Locations:

Dear Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brouwersgracht Investments, Film Ventures International (FVI), Swan American Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 90 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1