The Visitor (1979)

Director: Giulio Paradisi
Starring: Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen

Synopsis:
An extraterrestrial visitor must put a stop to a child with evil powers and the sinister cabal who would try to make more like her.

Impressions:
Take a lot of popular movies from the 70s, toss them in a blender, filter it through the lens of some zany Italians, then add some big names like Glenn Ford, John Huston and Sam Pekinpah and you get the hot mess that is The Visitor. The premise is a little out there, but you can follow it reasonably enough until the latter part of the film where everything falls completely apart. It's a shame because there are some good ideas here that don't reach their potential due to inept direction. If you like the idea of John Huston as a space angel(?) contending with a little girl that's the vessel for Space Satan to some very 70s beats, then you might find some amusement. I rather liked Paige Conner's performance as said vessel of Space Satan, but the script was a tad clumsy and her foul-mouthed outbursts tended to be on the clumsy side. A fairly young Lance Henriksen has a rather underutilized role (due to plot threads being fumbled), which might interest you. This is by no means a good film, but with some of the names in the cast, you may feel inclined to give it a shot. If nothing else, you'll have a ridiculous experience under your belt if you make it to the end.

Rating:
50/50