NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

chaos-rampant I'm not one who separates between art and exploitation, Texas Chainsaw can be said to be both and it's high on my list of favorites. I buy into Cannibal Holocaust's raw power in a big way. I also look out for films about sex, in my view good film works on pretty much the same standards as sex. Like film, good sex is internal, there can be as in any film, roles, a story, attractive presentation, but the real spark is when you lose the superficial walls of who you think you have to be and there are only valleys of vibrant now.This is all from the outside. It isn't about sex so much as delusion and power dynamics, a Lord of the Flies offshoot notoriously banned in a score of countries for its frank depictions of pubescent sex. But does it matter? Power lies not in what the story is about but how it penetrates. This is sloppy, panting without passion. Meandering through nature as poetry. Worse, it's pretentious — instead of showing her being raped, a snake crawling on the girl, symbolic of spoiled purity. Later she falls down a rabbit hole.It is art. All art exploits the curiosity of looking, nothing more to it. It's what you draw our eyes to that matters.

a_caliente_girl OK, I have mixed feelings but I still gave it a 10. I gave it a 10 because the scenery and story was strong and hooks you easily. My mixed feelings come from the facts behind the actors- The movie was released 5/6/77. Eva was 11 yrs, i month old when it was RELEASED. Laura was 12 yr, 1 month. The boy was over 18. How can an 18 yr old boy/man legally have sex with a girl under 12 and one that was probably under 12 when the movie was being made? Ddi anyone else figure out their ages? Amazing. But still worth a look even if you get the edited version. Even some scary parts. Not bad for an old 70's flick!!I also have a 12 yr old daughter so I guess I am biased on my opinion there.

EVOL666 I really don't know how to judge MALADOLESCENZA. Of course there is huge controversy surrounding the material shown, and for good reason. The relatively explicit sexualization of underage actors is going to be a point of contention for many viewers. Being a hard-line anti-child pornography advocate myself, it's hard to dismiss the explicit nudity and sexuality portrayed in this film. But as someone that takes a strong stance against child-exploitation - do I consider this film kiddie-porn? I have to honestly say no. Does it cross the line of "good taste"? Yes. Is there any "artistic-merit" in this film? Again, yes. I haven't been this torn by a film in a long time...Note that I saw the film with no subtitles or dubs, so I may have missed a bit in translation, but the basic storyline concerns a young boy and girl who begin "coming into their own" against the backdrop of an adultless forest. After their first sexual encounter, another young girl enters the picture that is a bit of a control-freak and the boy and the "new-girl" begin tormenting the "old-girl" by hurting her feelings in every way possible, while still pretending to be her friend...Personally, I can understand the controversy surrounding MALADOLESCENZA, but I can't honestly view the film as a piece of child pornography. I think that it's a harsh coming-of-age tale that deals with adolescent sexuality in an uncompromising and realistic (and even often beautiful) manner. I wasn't much older or more experienced than the actors in this film when I had my first sexual encounter - so I can relate to the film on a nostalgic level. Is it unnecessarily "graphic" - yes. I think that the same story could have been told with less nudity and sexualization, but it may not have had the same impact had those scenes been cut. I've seen many films that blur the lines between art and sleaze, and MALADOLESCENZA is one of the few that I truly found noteworthy. I think that along with the works of such directors as Larry (KIDS, KEN PARK) Clark - MALADOLESCENZA is a film that will probably be too harsh for "mainstream" viewing - but I still found it to be hauntingly beautiful yet strangely disturbing at the same time...8/10

Falconeer Once in a great while a film comes along that is so unique and controversial that one must take notice. Maladolescenza is such a film. A powerful study of that specific time in life when one is still a child, but just at the threshold of becoming an adult. Laura is around 12 years old, hopelessly in love with Fabrizio, a boy a few years her senior. It is summer, and the two spend their days in a fairytale-like forest, where Fabrizio imagines himself King, looking for his Queen that will stay by his side for all time. Even though he treats her savagely, she wants to stay with him. Of course she must return to her home in the evenings. Watching the way Fabrizio terrorizes this sweet girl is not easy. The film takes this route for a while, with only these two characters present. The character of Laura is established as the victim, And Fabrizio is the abusive and controlling bully. Then one day another little girl appears. The doll-like Sylvia is stereotypically beautiful, and just too "glamourous" and sexual for a twelve year old. So much so, that it is downright creepy. Sylvia is also arrogant, and incredibly vicious, in the way that only girls of this age can be. It seems that Fabrizio has met his match in Sylvia, and when the two of them join forces the result is utterly sinister. Together they begin a campaign of sheer terror against the hapless Laura, who just doesn't get the reason for all the cruelty. And when given the chance to walk away from the increasingly painful situation, she doesn't do it, choosing instead to stay, most likely out of the desperate need to belong and to be accepted by her peers. Laura must stand by and watch the boy she loves have sex with the spiteful Sylvia, in one of the films most shocking scenes, as Sylvia asks in a sugary sweet voice, "Don't you wish that it could be you?". In another equally disturbing scene, the pair torture and kill a bird by shooting arrows through the creature while again, Laura watches in silent horror. More disturbing still is that the scene is not simulated. One thing that makes the film so powerful is the way it constantly swings back and forth between scenes very beautiful, such as the kids playing and laughing as pretty music plays, before the scenes change into horror. Throughout the film I kept remembering another film similar in theme; "Lord of the Flies", another film which deals with the dark side of children. However "Maladolescenza" goes further into the theme, examining the absolute horror of "innocent evil." It is filled with so much disturbing imagery that I was tempted to turn it off. However that would have been impossible; The film is morbidly fascinating, strangely hypnotic. Notorious for it's depictions of graphic sex, and deservedly so. The nudity is explicit, and there is not one sex scene that plays without some undercurrent of violence and hostility. The whole thing is violent from start to finish, but the violence is mostly in the psychological mind games and power struggles within the group. In one scene, the much-abused Laura puts on the pretty dress of Sylvia, while the girl is off with Fabrizio, and admires herself in a gold mirror, also belonging to Sylvia. She poses herself in the same arrogant way, wanting so much to be strong, to be in the other girls place. Needless to say the film ends in an equally tragic and horrific way. I wanted to dislike this film, but it's power cannot be denied. I don't know anything about the filmmaker, or what his intentions were. Was he some twisted pervert, or a man with a truly dark and brilliant vision? Who knows? I guess the only thing that matters here is the end result; a film of extreme power, and insight, and beauty. "Maladolescenza" seems to have a profound message concerning the painful experiences of youth. It understands what it is like for a boy Fabrizio's age to be consumed with the conflicting and overwhelming feelings of love, lust, hate, insecurity, and terror at the thought of being left alone. I doubt there will ever be another film quite like this unique work. Certainly a milestone in underground cinema that will unfortunately only be seen by a very select few.