This is an odd little film, as on the surface it would appear to be a rather light thriller; but bubbling underneath is a seedy interior that is more disturbing than most visceral horror! In 1956, Mervyn LeRoy taught cinema audiences that murderous young kids can be terrifying, and here Paul Nicholas has reinvented that lesson for trashy eighties horror - and has almost achieved the same effect. I say only almost more because this idea had already been done to perfection three decades earlier rather than because this film isn't good enough to portray it. Of course, Julie Darling isn't perfect and there are a number of plot holes - but the backbone of the film is strong, and that's what really matters. The film centres on a young girl named Julie. Julie is obsessed with her father, and after her mother is killed because she failed to take action, she finds herself in turmoil when her father takes a new wife and she's lumbered with a stepbrother. Naturally, she decides to take steps to ensure that they suffer a fate similar to her mother's...
Isabelle Mejias is most definitely the standout of the film. Her performance is completely cold - just how it should be - and it's because of her that this film makes for such uncomfortable viewing. I'd even go as far as to say that she rivals Patty McCormack on the murderous kid front. She is joined by Italian horror stars Sybil Danning (The red Queen Kills 7 Times, Eye in the Labyrinth) and Anthony Franciosa (Tenebre, Web of the Spider), who are both good in the 'grown up' parts. The best thing about this film for me was the way that the plot plays out. It's partly predictable - we always know that Julie is going to take some sort of action against her stepmother and stepbrother, but the way that she does it is well worked and always entertaining. There's not a lot of blood or nudity in the film; but as mentioned, it's the ideas at work that are important and scenes like the ones that implies incest are major standouts on this front. It all boils down to a furiously entertaining finale, which wraps up all the plot threads and even manages a bit of irony! Overall, this maybe won't appeal to everyone; but I found Julie Darling to be a brilliantly entertaining thriller and I certainly recommend it!
Isabelle Mejias is most definitely the standout of the film. Her performance is completely cold - just how it should be - and it's because of her that this film makes for such uncomfortable viewing. I'd even go as far as to say that she rivals Patty McCormack on the murderous kid front. She is joined by Italian horror stars Sybil Danning (The red Queen Kills 7 Times, Eye in the Labyrinth) and Anthony Franciosa (Tenebre, Web of the Spider), who are both good in the 'grown up' parts. The best thing about this film for me was the way that the plot plays out. It's partly predictable - we always know that Julie is going to take some sort of action against her stepmother and stepbrother, but the way that she does it is well worked and always entertaining. There's not a lot of blood or nudity in the film; but as mentioned, it's the ideas at work that are important and scenes like the ones that implies incest are major standouts on this front. It all boils down to a furiously entertaining finale, which wraps up all the plot threads and even manages a bit of irony! Overall, this maybe won't appeal to everyone; but I found Julie Darling to be a brilliantly entertaining thriller and I certainly recommend it!