While browsing the selection at a local video rental store in town (Wild and Woolly Video), I came across ‘The Visitor.’ The awesome cover art made me pick it up, and after glossing over the back of the box I learned that it was a Drafthouse Films release and involved John Huston (director of ‘The Maltese Falcon’), Lance Henrikson (Bishop from ‘Aliens’), and number of other notable actors and directors of it’s era. It also seemed to be a mash-up of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, ‘The Birds’, ‘Damien: Omen II’ as well as other 70’s genre films. That alone was enough to spend a few bucks renting it, but after watching it I realized it had been re-released by Drafthouse not because it was a great film, but because it’s an insane piece of “how did this ever get made” cinema history. It’s a film I’ve thought about many times since watching it, and that was reason enough alone to warrant a video review to hopefully expose this movie to the right group of fans who can appreciated it for what it is.

If this video review makes you want to seek out this film, make sure to pickup the Drafthouse Films release or get their digital download, as the special features contain some great stories about the production including a producer getting held at gun-point and forced to rehire director Giulio Paradisi. After watching the film and hearing stories from the screenwriter, it’s clear to see why they wanted to get rid of him.