A Whisper in the Dark (1976)

- Un sussurro nel buio
A gem I'm glad to have discovered, 24 October 2005

Luca is Martino's imaginary friend. Martino talks to Luca, plays with Luca, and insists the family set a place at the table for Luca. Martino's obsession with Luca seems unhealthy and troubling to his parents. Luca happens to be the name they were planning to give to their child who died before being born. How could Martino possibly know about the miscarriage? The parents call on specialists to help Martino forget about his imaginary friend with disastrous results. Maybe Luca isn't so imaginary after all.

A Whisper in the Dark is one of those relatively unknown, subtle, beautifully filmed, and, for the most part, well acted films with a haunting finale that it's always a joy for me to discover. Unknown? I don't think I had ever heard of it until NoShame announced their DVD release. Subtle? Don't expect a lot of in-your-face horror. This movie takes its time delivering the chills. Those who have seen the film will understand it when I use the "kissing game" as a perfect example of subtle, yet effective horror. Beautifully filmed? The Venetian locations are simply stunning. Well acted? With two notable exceptions, the acting in A Whisper in the Dark is very good. Normally, children and horror do not mix very well. The kids in this movie are perfect without being too cute or too annoying. Most of the rest of the cast is fine with Nathalie Delon being the standout as the children's mother. Haunting finale? The movie has one of those ambiguous endings that I just love wrapping my mind around.

My biggest complaint comes from the performances of two of the movies main actors – Joseph Cotten and John Phillip Law. Why is Cotten even in this movie? He seems so out of place even with the little screen time he has. Normally, I enjoy his work, but not here. As for Law, I've read other reviews of people praising his work in A Whisper in the Dark. Apparently, they saw something I completely missed. I thought he was terrible.

Finally, a word about NoShames DVD. I've come to expect nothing but the best from NoShame and their treatment of A Whisper in the Dark does not disappoint. The transfer looks great. The special features, although modest, are also nice. It's definitely worth a purchase for fans of Italian horror.

8/10