Dave flicks through the TV guide and stumbles across a hokey horror romp from the USA Network.
L.A. born filmmaker Marina Sargenti burst onto the horror scene at the dawn of the ’90s with the feminist teen shocker Mirror Mirror (1990). A good if formulaic debut, it at least offered the promise of an ambitious female creative who could craft an eye-catching picture with limited resources [1]. Alas, given the male dominated nature of the movie business, Sargenti’s career fizzled by the end of the decade. Episodic television weaves its way through her tragically short directorial resume, although it’s her sophomore feature – lensed in the immediate wake of Mirror Mirror – that stands as an ironic allegory for the stifled opportunities that fell her way.
CHILD OF DARKNESS, CHILD OF LIGHT is a USA Network movie that’s based on Virgin, an early novel by prolific American author James Patterson.
The novel is an entertaining airport read; a derivative mix of Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Omen (1976), albeit with a bit of an edge thanks to its strong lead character, Anne Fitzgerald. A nun turned private investigator, Fitzgerald is hired by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate the bizarre occurrence of what seems to be a pair of immaculate conceptions.
On the face of it, a straight adaptation of Virgin was an ideal project for Sargenti. Sadly, Child of Darkness, Child of Light‘s production company, the G.C. Group – who had recently wrapped the recommendable Nightmare on the 13th Floor (1990) in tandem with partner Wilshire Court Productions – had different ideas. Their screenwriter, Brian Taggert, binned Patterson’s holy sister sleuth, and replaced her with the decidedly beige Father Justin O’Carroll (Tony Denison). It’s the most glaring of the many tweaks made to Patterson’s book, all of which dilute a compelling premise down into generic movie-of-the-week territory.
Indeed, the whole shebang is constructed like an episode of a Dick Wolf television show, with dull exposition driving every scene into the path of the next commercial break. In fact, Father O’Carroll and his eventual cohort, Sister Anne (Sela Ward), almost come across like a proto Benson and Stabler.
Blessed (sorry) with a crisp running time, once the liberal use of ravens and shadowy men lurking in the shadows has dried up, the final reel of the film thankfully shows signs of life. The always dependable Viveca Lindfors is on hand to deliver some genuine chills, and Jay Gruska’s score gathers a haunting and cacophonic momentum.
There’s no escaping Taggert’s terrible dialogue, though (“I’ll put it for you more bluntly – the girl has never even masturbated”). The scribe of Scottish descent had impressive pedigree too, having penned Visiting Hours (1982), Of Unknown Origin (1983), The New Kids (1985), and Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986) across the preceding decade.
May 1991, however, was clearly a month to forget.
Child of Darkness, Child of Light premiered and received a mediocre reaction in the press. And just under three weeks later, Taggert’s next teleplay was met with even greater disdain.
The film?
Omen IV: The Awakening (1991).
Better the Devil you know, as they say…
USA ● 1991 ● Horror, TVM ● 85mins
Tony Denison, Sela Ward, Sydney Penny, Kristin Dattilo ● Dir. Marina Sargenti ● Wri. Brian Taggert, based upon the novel ‘Virgin’ by James Patterson
[1] Incidentally, women comprised over 60% of Mirror Mirror‘s cast and crew.
The Schlock Pit 