Rating: 3/5
Julia (Mia Farrow) tries to save her choking daughter by performing a tracheotomy but instead accidentally kills her. Riddled with grief and guilt, she leaves her husband, Magnus (Keir Dullea), and moves into a large, mysterious house
In the house, she experiences a presence she initially believes to be the ghost of her daughter, but is a girl who used to live there named Olivia — a girl who was capable of convincing anyone to do anything, even murder
The movie functions well as a collection of ghost movie tropes, many of which persist — the plot reminds me a lot of Ringu in terms of a ghostly child presence
Mia Farrow’s desperation, her fluctuations between deep sadness and unmotivated giddiness, keep the movie afloat, especially when the scenes of her looking for answers stretch beyond their necessary length
The cinematography is mechanical, but for some choice scenes — perhaps those with ghostly presence? — the camera artfully composes and staggers through the scene, unveiling just what the audience needs to see
I wouldn’t say I love this movie, but I do like some of the atmospheric choices. Still, probably not worth checking out unless you’re, like me, completing Mia Farrow’s motherhood trilogy (the other two being Secret Ceremony and, of course, Rosemary’s Baby)