Julie Darling (1982)
Directed by Paul Nicholas
Written by Paul Nicholas, Maurice Smith
Produced by Maurice Smith, Monica Teuber, John G. Pozhke, Ernst Ritter von Theumer
Starring Isabelle Mejias, Anthony Franciosa, Sybil Danning, Paul Hubbard, Cindy Girling, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Michael Tregor, Natascha Rybakowski, Benjamin Schmoll, Elizabeth Paddon, Terrea Smith
Synopsis
No deed is too dirty to insure her monopolization of her father (Franciosa), so a patrimaniacal teenager (Mejias) is content to stand idly by when a handsome, goatish goon (Hubbard) accidentally kills her shrilly vindictive mother (Girling). Thereafter, a succeeding stepmother (Danning) and her son (Schmoll) are targeted by the cold-blooded cutie.
Script
Its sinuosity may retain the attention of any audience who can stomach the sheer sordidness plotted by director Nicholas and co-producer Smith.
Histrionics
Planklike, photogenic Mejias could’ve uplifted her femme fatale if her histrionism matched her screen presence. Playing her only friendly, present peer, Rybakowski is enjoyably worse, though possibly dubbed. Franciosa and Danning radiate likable urbanity as overaffected dad and his marital replacement. As Mathesonian creeps come, Hubbard is distinctly distasteful.
Highlights
Mejias’s pouting plotter twice plays chess with a lavishly clinquant set.
Flaws
Many of Nicholas’s establishing shots are crudely amateurish.
Conclusion
As a vehicle for Mejias at her loveliest in a rare lead, this is a mildly diverting time capsule. For a good thriller, look elsewhere.
