A failed adaptation of Peter Straub's eerie book "Julia", which had a tough time getting released in the States (in the early 1980s, it made the rounds of the Los Angeles art-house circuit under the title "The Haunting of Julia", not much of an improvement over "Full Circle"). Plot concerns an emotionally fragile woman, still grieving over the choking death of her young daughter, sensing the spirit of a child around her, which may be causing death to her acquaintances. Damp, peculiar treatment doesn't raise chills so much as it does simple confusion. Mia Farrow is well-cast in the lead, but there's hardly any character here for her to play, and all we see is her anguish. Some interesting passages--and a bizarre climax--yet one is inclined to believe the film may have been pared down in post-production...it feels truncated and tampered with. ** from ****
Review of The Haunting of Julia
