Learning that one of Satan's spawn is an eight year old girl named Katy (Paige Connor), Jesus Christ (Franco Nero, DJANGO) sends Jerzy Colsowicz (director John Huston, who also picked up a check guesting in Assonitis' JAWS cash-in TENTACLES) to Atlanta to investigate. He finds that Satan's minions have plans for precocious Katy's mother Barbara (Joanne Nail) giving birth to an equally "gifted" son. When her boyfriend Raymond (Lance Henriksen, who also popped up in the Assonitis-produced CHOKE CANYON) is unable to convince her to marry him, sinister forces arrange for Barbara to become paralyzed (thanks to a handgun that shows up in one of Katy's birthday presents) but Barbara may have some protection in the form of mystical housekeeper Jane (Shelley Winters, who also popped up with Huston in TENTACLES) and Jerzy, who has become Katy's babysitter. When Raymond's further attempts fail, sinister Dr. Walker (Mel Ferrer, WAR AND PEACE) comes up with more efficient means to insure Barbara's pregnancy. Jerzy, meanwhile, has plans of a different nature for Katy. THE VISITOR (original title: STRIDULUM) is a near incoherent mash-up of antichrist movies and science fiction (the commentary moderators also point out the similarities of the ice rink sequence to THE FURY). Henriksen had appeared before this in DAMIEN: OMEN II and Glenn Ford's (THE BIG HEAT) detective meets a bird-related death similar to that of Elizabeth Shepherd's character in the same film (while Jerry Goldsmith's score for OMEN II mimicked raven caws, Franco Micalizzi's - who also scored BEYOND THE DOOR - funky score for THE VISITOR works in synthesized hawk cries). The birds used throughout the film were trained by Ray Berwick of Hitchcock's THE BIRDS. There is really no explanation, however, for Huston's performance art Hari Krishna minions. Nail makes for a sympathetic heroine and Connors is one of the better creepy kids of the eighties "killer kids" subgenre following THE OMEN. Henriksen is his usual unsettling presence while Mel Ferrer phones it in (as usual in his later Italian horror entries). Huston is his usual authoritative self while fellow director Peckinpah gives a more conventional performance. Ford doesn't get much screen time but takes his part seriously (despite having "next victim" stamped on his forehead). Shelley Winters' ultimately benevolent housekeeper seems to have been at least inspired by Billie Whitelaw's more sinister character in THE OMEN. Nero is hard to take seriously in his Christ getup but his scenes provide a lot of backstory. Elizabeth Turner, who played concerned friend to the possessed heroine of Assonitis' BEYOND THE DOOR, turns up here briefly as Katy's aunt and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (a year before AIRPLANE!) appears as himself during the opening basketball game. The fine cinematography is by Ennio Guarnieri (with second unit work by BEYOND THE DOOR DP/co-director Roberto D'Ettore Piazzoli). The visual effects are sometimes hokey but charming. Director Giulio Paradise (credited as "Michael J. Paradise") is not really known outside of Italy for his few directorial works although he had small roles in Fellini's LA DOLCE VITA and 8 1/2 and is better known as a director of TV commercials. Georgia experienced a mini Italian filmmaking boom around this time (Savannah played host to Lucio Fulci for CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and Antonio Margheriti for CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE).