Fulcis usual screenwriter (Dardano Sacchetti) frequently lifts ideas from other films, but in Manhattan Baby he really goes to town, borrowing elements from The Exorcist, Rosemarys Baby, The Omen, The Awakening and The Birds. Originality may not be the films strongest suit, but Fulcis at the top of his game here and, backed by a talented technical crew, he turns in a stylized headtrip of a movie. The plot involves a possessed Egyptian amulet that, when brought back to New York, causes a gateway to hell to open in an archaeologists apartment building. Once the babysitter (named Jamie Lee) becomes aware of this, colleagues brought in to help mysteriously vanish, the desert manifests itself in a spare room and the buildings superintendent dies in an accident that nobody appears to witness. Theres also a Mysterious Stranger who dabbles in the occult and a statue of Anubis that seems to appear at will, but enough already. Full of outrageous set-pieces set to a memorable Fabio Frizzi score, this strikingly shot little chiller has atmosphere to burn and belongs in every Fulci fans collection.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
