A gothic horror film that blends the occult and the surreal into a tale of trauma and terror and tragedy.

• Scare factor: ★★★☆☆
• Gothic factor: ★★★★☆
• Surreal factor: ★★★☆☆
• Occult factor: ★★★★☆

The Cursed Medallion, also called The Night Child, and Together Forever and Il medallion insanguinato is an Italian horror film that mixes gothic influences with the occult, evil and curses and themes like trauma and tragedy. It stars Richard Johnson, Joanna Cassidy, Lila Kedrova, Ida Galli and Nicoletta Elmi. It was directed by Massimo Dallamano, with cinematography by Franco Delli Colli and music by Stelvio Cipriani. 

Duration: 81 minutes.

Plot

Michael Williams is a documentary maker who travels to Italy to make a documentary about occult art. After the traumatic death of his wife, the doctor advises to take his traumatized daughter Emily with him and her nanny Jill. Michael is especially interested in a specific painting where the devil looks down on angry villagers, a burning woman who is falling and a young girl wearing a neckless with a medallion. 

Emily also wears a medallion that resembles the one in the painting. Michael once gave the medallion to her mother when they were in Italy and now he gives it to Emily. But the nightmares Emily suffers from only get worse when they get to Italy and the painting has a strange history as Michael is been told by the Contessa Cappelli, who is also a medium. 

While Emily is acting stranger and stranger, the American producer Joanna of the documentary falls for Michael to Emily’s dismay. The Contessa tries to warn Michael that he is in danger as is his family, after she has seen some disturbing visions. The cursed medallion shows it’s true evil nature when deadly accidents occur. 

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Short Review

The story is a slow burn that slowly descends into dread by the firm grip of evil. With plenty of omens, warnings, both visually as spoken out loud by the Contessa predict the doom that will befall Michael and his family. The atmosphere that something terrible is going to happen caused by supernatural evil is very palpable. It has a gothic vibe, due to the isolation of the small family in Italy and the history of the depiction of the painting make it even more horrifying. 

The painting is a disturbing picture of a woman that reminds Michael of his wife and the young girl that is wearing a medallion. The history about that girl and the origin of the painting are the basis of the whole plot. A cursed object that has caused death through the ages from 1774. And now Michael and his family fall victim to this evil. 

While the story is clear, the dreamlike soft-filtered shots of a frightened and upset Emily are disturbing and surreal. There is clearly something wrong with Emily but it’s easy to think it’s just trauma related to her mother’s death. The bond with her father plays an important role in the story and feels like the Elektra-complex. But as the ending shows Emily’s disturbing behavior started even before that terrible accident of the fire that killed her mother. The relationship between Emily, Michael and between Michael and Jill and now Joanna are of importance as well as they form the focus of the story. 

Now the evil forces are back at work and are cause for some supernatural occurrences that set in motion an inevitable ending. But the horror is subtle. Not without deaths, but they are without gore. The intense play of Emily’s character and the way her emotions are shown are cause for horrifying scenes. The way the camera zooms in fast and intense make Emily’s disturbing scenes even more frightening. 

The cinematography is subtle and focuses on the behaviors of the characters, the colors and tones play an important role in the atmosphere that serves as a contrast to the evil painting. The building where the painting suddenly appeared is old and has an eerie vibe in contrast to the idyllic scenery wherein it lies. The music is light and dreamy but the ominous drums keep reminding you of the impending doom. 

The Cursed Medallion is a story with a small cast in a small setting that revolves around a cursed medallion and an obscure painting that might be cursed as well. It’s all very subtle and much is left to interpretation, the gist of the story is clear and it has a strong foundation to build a tragedy and a curse that no-one can escape from.