Death of a Virgin and Forgetting the Polish: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: a DVD screener of this film was provided by Indican Pictures

Director: Joseph Tito.

Writers: Joseph Tito and Silvio Oddi.

Cast: Natasha Allan, Daniel Baldock and Maria Grazia Cucinotta.

Release Date: Sept. 20, 2011 (DVD).

The problem with the movie Death of the Virgin is that it does not quite know what it wants to be. There are elements of a psychological horror, the underpinnings of artistic expression, a potential ghost story and a question of faith to be explored. All of them can blend together into a powerhouse product like The Omen. But when the tale is not clearly defined and the characters are as flat as a pizza, where this movie goes is uncertain.

This film can travel anywhere, including making a quest for the meaning of life. Three maidens make a trip on a bus to go find it, and they arrive at Caravaggio, an Italian monastery. The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared here some 600 years ago, and a healing spring welled forth.

What the group ends up in can easily be considered the stuff of nightmares. May (Natasha Allen) has some dark memories, told in gorgeous artsy flashback, that she would rather keep buried. Her visit to a more earthly villa may be a healing journey but it is one that gets interrupted. When a member of her traveling entourage is murdered, the place is put under lockdown. Hopefully the murder will get solved. But instead, the movie drags itself along with how May has to confront her fears.

Even technically, the problems just keep on mounting. Some scenes are too dark, the audio mixing is uneven, and camera equipment is visible. The only elements that carry this film are its beautifully framed visuals and it was filmed in Italy. At least director Joseph Tito and cinematographer Michele De Angelis have one goal clearly defined at the gate. But not even the performers, including James Bond’s cigar-girl, Maria Grazia Cucinotta (The World Is Not Enough), could save this film. They might not have had enough time to fully prepare for their roles. Some of them simply look tired. And the only actors that shined are from the bit characters; all they have to do is to look tortured.

While this film is no masterpiece, the marriage of dance and film felt like an element tossed in for effect. It does nothing for the rest of the product. With a title like Death of the Virgin, Igmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring has to come to mind. At least this Swedish work was electrifying. Parallels can be made from both products. The loss of innocence is a common theme in both films. While one story is clear in its linear approach, the other felt like a spider-web. At least a shocking surprise does come to the fore in Tito’s product: Max von Sydow does not make an appearance but another type of force does.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

Death of a Virgin at Indican Pictures w/trailer:

Death of a Virgin Film Details at Indican Pictures

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Posted in: 2011,2011 release,dvd artwork,horror movie dvd release,indican pictures,like a virgin,movie review,religion,supernatural