Based on a novel by Peter Straub, this film is one of the creepiest haunted house films of all time, despite a major flaw that shorts it out of perfection. After Julia (Mia Farrow) loses her daughter in a violent choking incident, she leaves hubby Magnus (Keir Dullea) and settles into an old house in London. She keeps company with antique dealer Mark (Tom Conti), and hosts a seance in her new home. The medium flips out, mutters about a dead child, and Julia assumes she is talking of her lost daughter. Wrongo. It seems Julia has moved into the one house in the neighborhood where the local evil child lived and died years before. Julia then investigates the forty year old murder of a little boy in the local park, and the question is posed: who is haunting Julia? Her daughter, the murdered boy, or the evil child?
The music here, by Colin Towns, is a creepy blend of simple piano and basic instruments, but it will send chills up your spine, almost becoming a character itself. Dullea is okay as the paranoid husband considering what he was given, he should have had a long and noble career after "2001: A Space Odyssey." Conti's "best friend" character Mark seems to have been an add-on. While the script's pacing is a bit slow, too many questions are brought up that are never answered. Another problem, without giving away too much, is the identity of the killer, who is tipped off right away by the film makers. The film makers kill this bit of suspense early, and yet still act as if the audience is still in the dark as to who is committing the murders. A final chilling shot, with end credits off to the side, really makes this film. The dreary London settings work here, as do the rest of the cast. Dullea, who should have had a long and noble career after "2001: A Space Odyssey," is good with what he is given. Farrow should always come back to the horror genre, she has a proven track record. After "Alice" and "September," I cannot bear to watch her in much of anything else. This film is one of only a few projects based on Peter Straub's works, and that is a shame. "The Haunting of Julia" is definitely a creepy little chiller, I highly recommend it.
