Full Circle (1977) watch online HD

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** In recent years I have realised that ghost stories are my absolute favorite, if done from a mature point of view. Browsing through movies to rent one day, I ran across "The haunting of Julia". I rented it based on the fact that it was a ghost story, and it had Mia Farrow in it (which probably meant it wasn't going to be a teen motivated film). What a treat this turned out to be. If you judge a movie based on blood and guts, or CGI effects, you won't care for this. This film is a much more cerebral movie, which requires multiple viewings to take it in fully. SPOILER WARNING: First off I must state that one of the main attractions of this movie is the gorgeous soundtrack. Very pretty piano and early synthesizer pieces that fit as perfectly to the film as possible. Always conveying the proper mood, it will definately put a lump in your throat. I found the soundtrack existed on an import CD, which I snapped up. Sadly it is missing some of the most memorable compositions, and arrangements from the movie, but it is still a treasure to have. The story is about Julia Lofting, who loses her daughter early in the film, and spends the rest of the movie trying to make up for it in some way. After her daughter's death by choking, Julia spends time recovering in the hospital. When it's time to leave she spontaneously ditches her husband and rents a big scary place by herself. We are eventually informed that Julia's husband is a scum, using her only for her money. This is his reason for trying to win her back. Julia's grief is overwhelming, and you really feel for her. Things begin happening in the house, though subtley. A radiator always seems to be on, even when Julia makes sure it is off when she leaves the room. She hears subtle sounds, and assumes it's her husband trying to start trouble. We are then introduced to Mark. He is an antique dealer, and a real friend to Julia. One of the subtle effects of the film is that sounds that are generally loud and obvious are pushed back to barely be heard. Doors slamming, glass breaking, bells ringing. Though the events are taking place right on screen, the sounds are very distant. It adds an amazingly eerie effect. Early in the film there is a seance held at Julia's home. This was by the request of Lily, the sister of Julia's husband Magnus, who is also interested in Julia's cash, but who also genuinely likes Julia. This is apparently a little hobby of Lily's, to have these weekly sessions with mediums. This week she and her friends are using a silly old woman Mrs. Fludd. During the seance Mrs. Fludd begins to panic. When she is shaken back to reality, she informs Julia to leave the house. She's vague but she mentions a child. Julia begins to assume it may be her daughter the old woman saw. It is the dialog during this whole scene, from the minute Mrs. Fludd enters the building, that really tells you what will eventually happen. "Spirits can't do anything in the material world. They need someone to do it through". Julia begins an obsession with the spirit she believes is in her house. Eventually she finds out the spirit is of a girl named Olivia, who resembles her daughter. This girl was quite evil. She had all the neighborhood children under her control, and could even encourage them to kill. You never really get a good look at Olivia until the end. Before that we see her from the back, or miliseconds of her as she moves off screen. The movie is generally considered slow, but it really does unfold at a good pace. It's just not an action film and requires a bit of thinking. The atmosphere is amazing. Julia continues to try to find out the truth about Olivia, and anyone that threatens to hold her back eventually ends up dead. The details are gradually realised by research and visits to people associated with Olivia, leading to the final details when Julia tracks down Olivia's mother at an institution. Even after Julia knows that Olivia is evil, she just wants to help her. The end of the movie is the most stunning, and terrifying, I have ever seen. I have never been affected so much by a film. After the story is completed by Olivia's mother, and all necessary people have been killed, Julia heads back to her home, at night in the rain, in tears. It is at this point that one of the most gorgeous and simple pieces of music plays that always chokes me up. When she arrives at home, Olivia finally appears to her. Julia follows Olivia down the stairs. Olivia is sitting on the floor with a toy that Julia brought, which was her daughters. A monkey that claps cymbals together when wound up. Julia moves slowly to a large chair in the middle of the room. She looks at Olivia and picks up the toy. She holds her arms out to the girl and says "come?" Olivia slowly gets up, and with a blank stare moves towards Julia. In an effective artsy touch, all the surrounding lights are gradually dimmed, leaving just Julia and the chair illuminated. You never see Olivia and Julia connect. Julia just sits back and says "Everything's right now. Stay with me". At this point the camera slowly goes behind the chair. You hear a small metallic noise. The sound of the monkey's cymbals. When the camera emerges from the other side of the chair, Julia is is leaning back staring to the side. As the the camera continues it's turn, blood is slowly revealed pouring out of Julia's neck. The music, direction, acting, everything in this scene is absolutely perfect. I get chills everytime I see it, and it was the best possible ending there could be. You really feel for this character, and her constant desire to help, but when the spirit cuts her throat with her daughters toy (which is revealed early on to be sharp), it's absolutely devastating! It's awful to say it's the perfect ending, considering how dreadful it is, but it made the movie infinitely more effective than if she just revealed the secrets and the spirit was released. What I learned from this movie is that Olivia cannot do things in the physical way, as Mrs. Fludd stated. She eventually began to possess Julia, and used her to carry out the killings. This is never blatantly revealed, but gradually hinted at subtley throughout the film, and when you realize that Julia essentially cuts her own neck, it's quite effective. I was so impressed by this film that I had to read the book, even though I'm not much of a book reader. I was terribly disappointed. The book made Julia sound like a looney running around yelling THERE'S GHOSTS IN MY HOUSE! Mark was originally the brother of Julia's husband, and a bit of a rebel. He and Julia also had an affair. If any of that silliness was in the movie, it would have ruined things. Julia was much too distraught to think about sex. I really disliked the book, and thought the screenwriter did an amazing job with the changes. The movie was filmed in the 2.35 aspect ratio, and the 2 different VHS editions that have been released are awful pan and scan editions. This movie is desperately needing a WIDESCREEN DVD release, remastered in stereo, with an isolated soundtrack. That would be incredible!

The 70's was undoubtedly the heyday for horror cinema, with some well known masterpieces such as Alien, The Exorcist, Suspiria, etc. Still, there were quite a few of them that were just as good, but didn't get the recognition they deserved, and are still quite obscure today. "Full Circle", or as it is better known under it's US title "The Haunting of Julia", is one of these cases.

In many ways a hybrid of Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now" and Mario Bava's "Kill Baby ... Kill", is a slow-burning, intelligent horror film that genuinely scares the Hell out of you. Director Richard Loncraine goes for a stylish yet subtle approach at a somewhat old-fashioned ghost story formula, without resorting to 'in your face' scares that were popular at the time. While it does open with a bang and ends with a bang (probably the films' most powerful and haunting sequences), Locraine goes instead for an interesting psychological analysis of a grieving mother's crisis over her daughter's death. Staring with small things that go grow more and more nasty as the story progresses, and the line between fantasy and reality becomes more and more blurry, The events that go on through the film may well be figment of her imagination, and the fact that, by the film's shocking climax, you still don't know for sure if it did happen at all, only adds to it's creepiness and strange atmosphere.

It's snail-like pace works both for and against it, as some might find it particularly fascinating and delightfully unnerving, while others might find it dull and uninteresting. In fact, it does move a little too slow for it's own sake, but Mia Farrow's gripping, strong performance and Locraime's visual flourishes help it from becoming uninteresting. Speaking of visuals, the film is beautifully photographed by Peter Hannan, but sadly it does show it's full aesthetic power in the bad VHS print it's available on. Nevertheless, one can still see it's impact on the film, particularly on making the wintry streets of London and the old-dark-house setting even more menacing.

The film also benefits from having a lovingly melancholic and often genuinely spooky score by Colin Towns, which blends perfectly with it's visual brilliance, as well as perfectly capturing the characters' emotions.

Overall, a sadly unrecognized classic which, in spite of it's few flaws, deserves much more praise. 9/10

I tuned in a bit late, perhaps 15 minutes or so, but I could tell right off that I'd hit upon something worth watching. I highly reccomend this to fans of "Don't Look Now", one of the most frightening movies I've ever seen. "Full Circle" has much the same feel, and some of the same subject matter.

Others here have criticised the film's slow pace: I, for one, especially appreciate the Director's willingness to take time to build suspense and terror. I believe that silence is an important part of a horror movie (perhaps almost every kind of movie) and it's obvious that the Director shares my appreciation for what's NOT said.

I won't risk spoiling this movie in any way: I merely suggest that, should you get a chance to screen "Full Circel", you savor the opportunity.

I am a very big fan of slow moving, atmospheric horror movies. In fact, "Full Circle" aka "The Haunting of Julia" is probably the movie that got me into these kind of movies. However, the truth is that many people out there go into horror movies expecting thrill-a-second horror and blood and guts everywhere. This movie is not like that at all. It is built completely on atmosphere, character development, and a slow building plot that eventually leads to a shocking and unexpected conclusion. This is the reason i love this movie. I think that atmosphere contributes so much in unnerving us and sending chills down our spines and that is what horror is all about, isn't it? I love the music, the characters, and just about everything else. If you are into films such as "Don't Look Now" and "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" you should check this one out if you can find it.

I agree with Scott Davies's comments,this film is really a masterpiece,and it's probably one of the best ghost stories ever made,but it's also one of the best "horror" movies of the 70's. The story is complex and moving,the acting is very good (Mia Farrow's performance is amazing),the direction is elegant,the use of Cinemascope,the sets and peter Hannan's cinematography are wonderful,and colin Towns's famous and beautiful soundtrack perfectly fits the sad and chilling mood of the film. I must add that the ending,without revealing anything,is one of the most stunning and PERFECT ever,in every ways (direction,cinematography,acting,music)! To sum up: this film is sad,chilling,haunting,poetic,moving... is there a DVD available??

I saw it once 29 years ago and I still remember the last image. I can see the house and the garden.

I do not remember all details of the movie, but I never forgot it. I still remember clearly the last image and I consider this movie to be one of the best movies I've seen in my life.

Horror. But you see no details. So everyone uses his own fears. A great movie.

Not as known as "Rosemary's baby". Quite different. But as good.

Even in French, it was horrific.

Tony

Mia Farrow plays upper class woman who lost her eight year old daughter due to tragic circumstances.Her grief is immense.She distances herself from her wealthy husband Keir Dullea and begins to live in a flat on the outskirts of London.When paranormal party séance starts she begins to see sinister manifestations of children around her.As the story begins to unravel it seems that it's connected with brutal torture and murder of a small boy many years ago...Adapted from excellent and truly creepy Peter Straub's novel "Julia" this slow-moving ghost story is effectively eerie.The acting is fantastic and the conclusion is unforgettably devastating.The piano-and-strings score by Colin Towns adds a lot to subtle atmosphere of dread.8 spectral visions out of 10.

This subtle and affecting ghost story is a must-see for people who like to be disturbed. In a way, the film reminded me of THE SIXTH SENSE, as both films conjure up the same kind of atmospheres of unquiet and lurking horror. Beware though, this film is also extremely slow-moving, so those with short attention spans might find it difficult to sit through. Me, I enjoyed it immensely.

Based on a story by Peter Straub, the film works best when it creeps up on you. It's not really about in-your-face shocks here, it's more designed to make you feel uneasy, when you know Mia Farrow is not alone. There's something hiding in the darkness, out of sight, something menacing. The film's most frightening moment (for me) is when Farrow's husband breaks into her house and hears footsteps creaking about, this short scene manages to sustain the tension for a surprisingly long time before the payoff.

The acting is pretty good. The film was a joint Canadian/UK production, and apart from the two leads, the rest of the cast is made up of British actors and actresses. Tom Conti is about the only normal person in the entire film, and he creates a believable person in his antiques dealer (originally, he's obviously smitten with Farrow, later on he's untrusting of her stories of ghosts and views her with some unease). There's even space for a couple of British stalwarts to pop up every now and then, including Peter Sallis and, surprisingly enough, Arthur Howard! Keir Dullea gives a nicely unsympathetic portrayal of Farrow's husband who wants to get her locked up. Unfortunately Mia Farrow isn't one of my favourite actresses. She's capable, but there's just something I don't like about her. Still, this didn't affect the film for me in any way.

After gradually building atmosphere in the first hour, the film changes track slightly to give us an OMEN-style series of horrible accidents which kill off most of the cast. It also becomes part detective film, with Farrow searching for clues about the history of her house and meeting a series of increasingly-odd and disturbing characters. The scene in the mental home is accurately portrayed, and for me, one of the scariest in the entire film. Added on to this is a subtle ending which is left unexplained (I'm not sure if Farrow is aware of what's going on), and THE HAUNTING OF JULIA is a chilling, above-average ghost story.

I rated this film tonight, but its ranking is deceptive as far as age groups go. I first saw this film as "The Haunting of Julia" when I was a teen and we first got cable. It's stayed with me since, and a recent re-viewing only affirmed my memories. The storyline was adequate, and Farrow delivers a terrific performance, but what struck me most initially (and remains true after watching it again), is the film's atmosphere. Julia's unease seeps into every frame of the movie. "The Haunting of Julia" features that undercurrent of melancholy (or pessimism, depending on your point of view) that weaves itself into so many 1970s horror films, such as "Don't Look Now"). And, as others have pointed out, although the plot line may be confusing at points, the cumulative effect of the film results in a payoff. then ending, by the way, is amazing. It has a true lingering effect; after all, it remained with me for twenty years.

Right at this moment, the best way for me to describe my feelings on this movie is that it is cutely, immensely sad. The inclusion of "cutely" there may appear.. strange. But there is one face I remember since early childhood (when I first saw this movie), and I'm not likely to ever forget it, nor the music accompanying it. While this movie was chilling in certain parts, the ultimate feeling it conveys (to me) is some sense of a heavenly, sad and beautiful evil. And also that feeling of how separated from the rest of the world the core story is, it's like an own universe where everything is about someone passing through time in darkness.

The soundtrack really deserves a special mention. As a result of my love for it, I own it on CD (however, I still seek certain, quite brilliant versions of the songs on the CD that are only played in the movie). I couldn't think of anything better suited for this movie than Colin Towns' piano, which, at its best, describes that ephemeral glimpse in the mirror. As far as I know, this is Colin Towns' very first soundtrack, and, thus far, I've heard nothing with similar levels of originality, or similar style, for that matter, in his later works.

Well I haven't seen too many movies starring Mia Farrow. Her most famous role is probably as Rosemary in Rosemary's Baby in which she performed greatly. It was a pleasant surprise to see her in the main role. 9 years later she doesn't seem to have aged much. And here she also carries the movie. And again it revolves around a child of hers. Trying to get over the loss of her daughter Julia leaves her husband and goes to live on her own. What she doesn't know is that the house holds a dark secret. She starts to see visions of a girl that looks a lot like her own daughter. As she is trying to reveal this mystery with the help of people knowing bits of info about the past inhabitants of the house, bad things start to happen to people around her. I must have missed a few things as I didn't understand Julia's actions sometimes. Reading some opinions here it's more clear to me now and I must applaud the writer for it's cleverness. It's based on a book which probably explains things a bit better than the movie. Very overlooked which it really shouldn't be.

I can't believe Full Circle has received such poor ratings, it is an amazing little thriller with a dark mystery behind it. Julia has an unhappy marriage with her controlling husband, Magnus. Her only reason for not divorcing him is her daughter Katie. When Katie dies by choking to death, Julia is sent away to a mental ward by Magnus, and at her release she quickly boards a taxi and leaves before Magnus can get to her again. She buys a large house that is beautiful but rather creepy, with old furniture for the taking and all sorts of odd rooms. Julia believes she sees Katie at a nearby playground but only finds a poor cut apart tortoise and a knife where the supposed Katie had been standing. Horrified, Julia runs home. Her best friend Mark (closely resembles Cy Curnin from the Fixx), sympathizes with her, he secretly is in love with her but is cautious of Magnus, who makes fun of him for his carefree lifestyle. One day Julia allows her friend Lilly to have a séance in her living room, and this attracts a ghostly little girl. Soon Julia uncovers a dreadful past in the house; a little girl named Olivia used to live there but died. She was a sociopath, killing animals and having sex with the neighborhood children, and even murdering an innocent little boy just because he was German. Soon Julia's husband and friends begin to be killed in strange ways and she suspects Olivia's spirit may be behind it. The acting was extraordinary; Julia (Mia Farrow), had previously played the main character in Rosemary's Baby and was just as good in this film. Mark's character was played very well, too. The film is set in England and the scenery is very eerie and decrepit. It really adds to the film. The soundtrack was so amazing I went out and bought a CD of it, it's got that synthesized psychedelic sound of the 70's and a melancholy piano tune to make it truly creepy, really fitting the movie. I can't recall who played Olivia, some child actress, but although she never spoke she did a great job at being absolutely eerie. This movie deserves better ratings, it's a great little film that's totally worth watching. It was based on the novel 'Julia' by horror and mystery author Peter Straub.

Peter Straub is one of my favourite writers of horror and Full Circle (aka The Haunting of Julia) (1977) is the best adaptation into film I've seen of his work. It has all the elements of a ghost story, so many in fact that on a superficial review of the exposition you could be fooled into thinking it is a clone of films involved with hauntings. Like The Changeling (1980) – a highly competent haunted house film - it involves a spectre attached to a location into which a recently bereaved character moves, just as the realisation of both plots have the main protagonists uncovering the dark secrets held by the house. It's also interesting to note that the terrible Disney adaptation of Straub called Ghost Story (based flimsily on the complex novel of the same name) tries and so dismally fails to make the extremely complex and frightening horror narrative weaved by Straub interesting precisely because they tried to turn it into the 'ghost story' it most certainly wasn't. This film, however, doesn't shy away from the horrible secrets haunting the past or any of the taboo subjects that are touched on in the book; the idea of evil children is hardly new, but suggesting a pre-pubescent child could have physical and sexual charisma to attract other children to help her perform evil deeds and sexual acts wouldn't be so easily touched upon today, in a world so horrified by the fact that children can have access to the internet and pornography, let alone commit sexual acts. This film is multi-facetted and interesting but hasn't received the attention it deserved. Watching Julia Lofting, played perfectly by Mia Farrow, being subsumed by her obsession with the evil child she is ultimately responsible for evoking, is one of growing dread. Tales of haunting like The Changeling involve resolution and restitution; this film, is filled with a dense atmosphere and a growing sense of dread. There's nothing nice, logical or justified about the resolution longed for and attained by the nasty little spectre in this film. More comparable to the Japanese Ju-On which similarly involves a malevolent spirit, almost everyone involved falls victim. The title of the film also intrigued me. I thought initially it must have had something to do with the author's intentions because I read a book with the same name. On re-watching the film, however, I noticed straightaway that the film was actually a screenplay based on an adaptation of Straub's Julia. After a little research I discovered that the book was republished with the film's title, so I imagine the two parties involved in adapting the book for the screen, attempted to redirect the attention of the audience towards the narrative, one which involves a cycle revolving around an evil child and the revenge it takes upon those who had let her down in life; I'm also reminded of the haunting shot that ends the film: the camera circles around the main character, panning to reveal the bloody and circular wound cutting Julia's throat leaving her very dead. The alternative title, The Haunting of Julia, although more descriptively accurate of the film's contents and the author's original title, is far less intriguing.

This film has been compared to Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973), and although the plot shares a few aspects, the mourning of a dead child and obsessed parents searching for a ghostly apparition, but the comparisons between the two stop there; Roeg's lingering obsession with shots of the film's location (Venice) and the physical presence of its two competent leads (Christie and Sutherland), where Don't Look Now lingers Full Circle is active in realizing a very busy plot as a great number of interesting and quirky characters created by Straub are encountered as Julia gradually uncovers her involvement in the ultimate horror of an extremely nasty child she inadvertently resurrected. Full Circle constantly tells a story, whereas Don't Look Now spends a hell of a long time teasing you into thinking you're seeing something that actually has a story worth telling. Although the book is remarkably true to Straub's novel and actually manages to fit in a great deal of the content, it has some moments of its own, like a scene early on in the London residence, where she's seen building a house of cards; as the camera closes in on Julia's face, the card house naturally topples and you see that the playing cards actually contain identical images of her dead daughter's face. Where the film does differ from the book, it does so mostly in ways that allow the complex story to be told without giving you the impression that you're being fed a lot of information. No scene is wasted in revealing Straub's narrative. The casting of Keir Dullea as the overbearing husband Magnus was an unusual choice, but in the few scenes he has he comes across sufficiently abusive. This is one variation on Straub's intended plot that I prefer; the adulterous and criminally abusive drunk whose primary interest in his wife is attaining power of attorney over her money, is the first to fall victim to the house whereas in the novel he undeservedly survives. Another thing that makes the film special is the unusually pervasive score which is both haunting and at times horrific; in any case strange in its overbearing constancy. The themes are interchanged between recorded instruments and electronic ones; when the house is dangerous the theremin-like expression of the theme dominates; it's overbearing like the atmosphere of the house in the book which is always so hot, dank and smelly. What makes this film worthwhile, however, is the fact that in spite of the dense plot the sense of horror develops slowly and aside from Magnus' early death there is little actual violence or even appearances of supernatural entities – it is implied and a sense of dread gradually leads you the horrific closing of the circle suggested by the title.

The Haunting of Julia is an absolute must see for those who love eerie gothic style ghost stories that are intelligent and entertaining. The emphasis here is not blood and guts, but rather a sinister study of the meaning of "evil". The acting by the great Mia Farrow is really to be admired and is among her best. She is perfect for this vulnerable role. I love the atmosphere and the house. The film is full of striking visuals. It is a must see in the tradition of films like the original "The Haunting", "The Legend of Hell House", and and "The Changeling".

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 ****

Excellent adaption of Peter Straub's haunting (in SO many ways!) and gothic novel.

Mia Farrow is well cast, and supported by tight direction and an intelligent script.

Read the book first, however... Straub is king! (And not Stephen!)

As soon as I watched this movie, I ran to the bookstore to purchase Julia, by Peter Straub. I had several reasons. The first being that the movie was decent, but some parts were far too strange to be understood. When I read the book, it all became clear as day. This movie follows Julia Lofting, who recently lost her only daughter (and the only thing holding her shaky marriage together). After purchasing a new house in a wealthy London neighborhood, she begins to feel that her daughter is haunting her. After her sister in law convinces Julia to have a seance, and Julia looks into the matter a little more closely, she realizes that it is actually.......well I can't give that away, now can I? I suggest that you read the book after you watch the movie. It allows you to understand some of the sketchier details of the film. It also gives you a better understanding (or misunderstanding, depending on how you interpret it) on Olivia's character. The ending makes much more sense in the movie than in the book, but otherwise the details really help you appreciate this already decent thriller.

6 out of 10: Confusing at times, film quality is poor and really distracts the viewer at times.

If I had to describe The Haunting of Julia in one word, the word I would choose is 'boring'. The film is of the slow build variety, but that isn't the problem in itself - the problem is that there is never enough going on to keep the audience wanting to see what happens next, and therefore the film does drag on far too often. The story is rather derivative of many other films and focuses on a woman who has moved to London after losing her child. However, in her new home she is haunted by the ghost of another child. Mia Farrow takes the lead role and while she is undoubtedly an excellent actress; she isn't able to elevate this drab material much above the bottom of the barrel. The film could be said to be 'horror' because of the ghostly plot, but aside from a séance sequence, there aren't many shocks and scares and I'd say it's more of a supernatural drama. The Haunting of Julia does not benefit from an interesting atmosphere either, as while some attempt is made to build one with a musical score; it never really comes off. Overall, I'm not surprised at all that this film is not better known and gathering dust on an old video shelf is really where it belongs. I would not recommend anyone going out of their way for this!

Veddy British, veddy dull horror film. Mia Farrow is a very frail, timid woman who moves to a very large, built to be haunted house after her daughter dies and, surprise, it turns out to be haunted by a young blond girl who (gasp) looks just like her daughter!! The acting is bland and one note save for Tom Conti as Mia's brother-in-law and a bit part by Robin Gammell as a drunk with a "very big secret". The score is atrocious. The cinematography is gorgeous but it certainly doesn't help any. The book that it's based on "Julia" by Peter Straub is only slightly more interesting. For a good old fashioned ghost story from the same era, rent "The Changeling" with George C. Scott.

This movie can better be found under the title "Full Circle". First and foremost, it must be put into perfect perspective: it was released years AFTER the blockbuster "The Exorcist". Such perspective should provide the reasonable expectation of suspense and supernatural horror, and this movie falls so far short as to have deserved the shelving it got -- those reviews that hail it as great and thankfully resurrected from the vaults of overlooked films are off base, because this movie deserved to have been forgotten. Why? First and foremost is the painfully sluggish pace, as it moves so slowly as to border on absolute boredom and disinterest. Second, the unexplainably disengaged characters, most of whom are dispatched (as in killed) with unexplained relationship to, and peculiarly disconnected from the opening sequence and start of the movie. Third, there is really nothing frightening in the movie, just oddity at best. I wasn't scared once, not even once. The brilliant actor Keir Dullea was relegated to a character of no importance and so was completely wasted in this film. Then there is the element of story/script credibility, which comes into question when a character is killed in unoccupied house, after which days and weeks go by with no discerned stench of the dead body. Frightening? Hah! Far from it, and the ending was ultimately anti-climactic, and thereby unsatisfying.

During the first scene of the film, it appears she has a happy life as she has breakfast with her daughter and husband. However, only a few minutes into the film, Julia's daughter starts choking on a piece of apple and cannot breathe. Panicking, Julia hastily grabs a knife to 'make a hole' so her daughter can breathe. (It seems The Heimlich maneuver was not widely known in England at this time) When the paramedics arrive, Julia answers the door in total shock, shaking and covered with blood. After being hospitalized for the trauma Julia endured, she starts a new life, on her own in a new house. Now own her own in new surroundings hoping to start anew, haunting reminders plague Julia of her daughter's tragic death. She is also harassed by her estranged husband who believes she is mentally unstable and his unsuccessful attempts to regain contact with Julia only make matters worse for her. A seance held at Julia's home one night, sends Julia searching for answers about the history of the home Julia is living in. The dark history she discovers is hauntingly parallel to her own recent tragedy. The European title of this film is called "Full Circle" which is appropriate as you will discover by the film's end.

Thirty-three years ago this seemed like a tired takeoff on DON'T LOOK NOW. With the clunkers that are presently out there, it looks like a masterpiece.

Why? Well, it's not an EXACT copy – also, it has these people called ACTORS in it.

Of course, modern audiences probably wouldn't find it very exciting. After all, the botched-up tracheotomy and infantile castration are both off-screen.

Furthermore, it has a story, that thing, you know, giving you a headache and taking time away from the torture porn. No, they wouldn't like it at all.

Have you noticed those "user comments" on film sites? You know: I Don't THINK THIS IS A VERY GOOD MOVI In fact I THINK THIS MOVI SUKS AND ALL MY FRIENDS THINK SO TO I Don't KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD THINK THIS WAS A GOOD MOVI CAUSE IT Totally SUKS Totally SO AL YOU MORANS OUT THERE WHO THINK THIS IS A GOOD MOVI GET A LIFE CAUSE YOU SUK (Was this comment helpful to you?) Originally I just thought it was because, as we all know, the Internet is for Retards. But I'm beginning to think that this may actually be a sample of the movie-going community, some of them perhaps even twelve years old or more.

Apparently, this is an adaptation of a novel by Peter Straub, who also supplied the goods in the dazzling GHOST STORY. MIA FARROW is as vulnerable as ever, and KEIR DULLEA her son-of-a-bitch husband – he should probably have stayed on Jupiter.

The traumatic loss of a child has of course long since become a stock-and-trade of horror movies, the idea being that it makes the bereaved mother more susceptible to supernatural influences (especially dead children). Nor, I'm sure, will it come as a great surprise to anyone that the juvenile ghost is "evil".

Still, the concoction is served with an enthusiasm and attention to detail and effect, from the cozy séance turning into a nightmare to the mother's gleeful confession that she throttled the little monster, that keep you watching. Unfortunately, what might have been an ominously "happy" ending is jettisoned for a standard horrific one.

There is the usual amount of body-bags and puzzlement on the part of the audience as to why missing people aren't missed – still, British professionalism is everywhere present. Jolly good show!

Maybe I need to see this movie again in order to better appreciate it, but in all honesty, I feel this is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I'll start by saying that there ARE two redeemable qualities about it... okay, three: The views of London, A Wonderfully romantic old house, and Tom Conti's portrayal as Mark, an antique salesman, and a mutual friend of Julia (Mia Farrow) and her husband Magnus. Aside from these things, I have no praise to offer. Timing and transition are very important, but almost nonexistent in this movie.

For example, one minute, Julia's in bed, grieving the sudden loss of her daughter, and the next minute, she has rushed out the door, gotten a cab, and purchased this huge Victorian house because she's leaving her husband... sure, happens all the time...

Secondly, just WHO are we supposed to be focusing on here: is it Julia's husband Magnus and his sister (because he seems to be plotting to prove that Julia is mentally unstable and his sister doesn't want him to, but neither idea ever develops); is it the sudden death of Julia's daughter?; the death of the young boy in the park?; the death of the little blonde girl haunting the house (who is not Julia's daughter)?; the mother of the young boy who died in the park?; the mother of the young girl who died in the house?, or the piano salesman who was supposed to have seen it the little blonde girl get killed? If this sentence confuses you, that's my point: The whole movie confused me. Okay, so MANY people are haunting Julia, but which one is the most important?

Thirdly, why are there so many unanswered questions? It appears that Julia's husband gets into her basement when she isn't home, and while he is searching for her, the spirit of this elusive little blonde girl finds him and kills him. However, Julia never finds his body. If I'm correct, he landed on the basement floor and laid in a pool of blood from his head wound; but that doesn't develop into anything. I guess when he died, so did that part of the plot. Why does Julia eventually "welcome" the spirit of this little blonde girl into her arms, wanting to tell her it's safe, and then suddenly, she's asleep in her chair and the blonde girl is gone? Odd. Why (and this gives plot away)... is the good guy killed, and for no apparent reason? Mark, the one that's supported Julia and protected her when no one else would, is suddenly electrocuted one night in the bath tub, when the spirit of this little blonde girl pushes a lamp into his bath water.

Fourthly, the plot of this movie is terribly slow, and thus hard to pay attention to, the "creepy" music is so overkill that it drowns any suspense that would be created at tense moments. The audience is not allowed to feel the tension for themselves because the music takes it all over before we've even had a chance to see what's happened.

In my opinion, Tom Conti is a wonderful actor, and his performance in this movie does add some humor and vulnerability to a film that is otherwise.. hard to get through. Good for you Tom, but I think I'll stick to "Reuben, Reuben" and "Shirley Valentine."

After the accidental death of her daughter, Julia (Mia Farrow) leaves her domineering husband Magnus (Keir Dullea) and moves into an old house. Soon she believes she is being visited by her daughter's spirit. But when people around her are murdered, Julia realizes this isn't her daughter she's dealing with.

I wish I understood the logic behind casting Americans Mia Farrow and Keir Dullea and then making them speak with British accents the whole film (when they remembered). I just don't see what them being Brits contributed to the film but their poor accents did take away from it. So perhaps they would have been better off making them Americans living in England or something. Anyway, that bit of business aside, it's a by-the-numbers ghost story with some mindless killings thrown in for good measure. There's the creepy old house, the strange noises, the gauzy photography, the haunting piano music, the obligatory séance scene, the investigation into a decades-old crime, and so on. It's based on Peter Straub's first novel "Julia." Haven't read it but I see many people who have saying it's better than this film. I'll assume it must be. Ghost stories have always fared better in books where fear of noises and shadows holds more weight. There's nothing scary about this movie. While it is watchable, it has very little atmosphere and the pace is terribly slow. The murders do nothing to liven things up, either. It's really pretty dull. I wouldn't recommend bothering with it unless you're a Straub fan or a ghost movie nut who just wants to see as many of them as possible. The only other thing worth seeing here is Tom Conti's hair, which is admittedly magnificent.

After reading Peter Straub's "Julia," I searched and searched for this movie, and finally found a copy. Most movies do not live up to the books they were based upon, but a lot come close... THIS does not. This movie is slow, bowing, and lacks the creepiness the book has, not to mention the confusing scenes in the movie.

The book was really good... the movie was a sub par effort... sad.