Full Circle
Tags: gothic, haunting

Plot synopsis:
Julia Lofting (Mia Farrow), her husband Magnus (Keir Dullea), and their young daughter Kate (Sophie Ward) eat breakfast and Kate starts to choke on a piece of an apple. When the apple refuses to dislodge, Julia reaches for a knife and tries to perform a tracheotomy on Kate's throat, but fails and Kate bleeds to death.Distraught by the death of her only child, Julia leaves her husband and moves to a new house; a mysterious old row house in a low part of London. An upstairs room contains a child's possessions. As she unpacks, Julia finds a mechanical clown toy with sharp, clanking cymbals and accidentally cuts her finger on them.In a nearby park, Julia thinks she sees Kate, but the girl disappears. She hears strange noises in her house, blaming them on Magnus, who she believes is spying on her. When Julia takes photos of the child's possessions in the room, she is baffled when there is nothing in the frame of the developed photo and sees that the items cannot be photographed. A radiator in the house mysteriously turns on by itself. Later, Julia sees the girl in the park, but finds a mutilated turtle and a knife where she stood.Magnus' sister, Lily, asks Julia if her friends can use her house to conduct a seance. The medium, Mrs. Fludd, explains that spirits need to control someone to carry out physical acts. During the seance, Mrs. Fludd becomes frightened and tells Julia to leave the house immediately. Moments later, one of Lily's friends, Miss Pinner, falls down the stairs.While Julia is out, Magnus breaks into her house to find her. He sees something and follows it to the basement, but is killed after falling from the staircase - his throat cut on a broken bottle.A neighbor tells Julia the house once belonged to Heather Rudge, who moved away after her daughter Olivia choked to death (in a similar manner to Kate). Julia visits Mrs. Fludd, who has taken ill since the seance. She tells the medium she is convinced her house is possessed by Kate's spirit, but the medium tells her she saw a boy in the park, bleeding to death. When Julia finds an article about a boy, Geoffrey Braden, murdered in the park, she visits Greta Braden, Geoffrey's mother. Mrs. Braden tells her a vagrant was executed for the crime but that the other children in the park murdered her son. She says she and her companion have been following the lives of the children, now adults, and asks Julia to visit the remaining two, Captain Paul Winter and David Swift. Winter dismisses her after she says she's seen Mrs. Braden. Outside she sees Miss Pinner, who denies seeing anything frightening in the house. Julia next visits Swift, an alcoholic, who admits that Olivia had power over him and the other children. She made them each kill an animal, then made them watch as she murdered Geoffrey. He says he told only Mrs. Rudge.That night, as she sleeps, a child's hand caresses Julia's face and holds her hand. The phone rings and when Julia tries to answer it, a child's hand pushes hers away, causing her water glass to fall and break. Later, Swift is shown leaving his apartment. He slips on a broken bottle in the stairwell and he falls over the railing to his death.Julia tells her friend, Mark (Tom Conti) what she has discovered but he doesn't believe her. That evening, her heater won't turn off. She tries to unplug it and shocks herself. Mark is later electrocuted when a lamp falls into his bath. Julia visits Mrs. Rudge in a psychiatric home. Mrs. Rudge confesses that she killed Olivia after learning about the murder. As Julia rushes out in fear, she looks over her shoulder at Mrs. Rudge, who sees Olivia's eyes. Mrs. Rudge dies of a heart attack.At home, Julia sees the ghost Olivia in the bathroom mirror, then in the living room on the floor playing with the clown toy. She takes it from her, offers her a hug and asks her to stay. In the final shot, Julia is seen bleeding to death, her throat apparently cut on the sharp edges of the cymbals.

Review: While it does open with a bang and ends with a bang (probably the films' most powerful and haunting sequences), Locraine goes instead for an interesting psychological analysis of a grieving mother's crisis over her daughter's death.
Staring with small things that go grow more and more nasty as the story progresses, and the line between fantasy and reality becomes more and more blurry, The events that go on through the film may well be figment of her imagination, and the fact that, by the film's shocking climax, you still don't know for sure if it did happen at all, only adds to it's creepiness and strange atmosphere.
In fact, it does move a little too slow for it's own sake, but Mia Farrow's gripping, strong performance and Locraime's visual flourishes help it from becoming uninteresting.
Nevertheless, one can still see it's impact on the film, particularly on making the wintry streets of London and the old-dark-house setting even more menacing.The film also benefits from having a lovingly melancholic and often genuinely spooky score by Colin Towns, which blends perfectly with it's visual brilliance, as well as perfectly capturing the characters' emotions.
I am a very big fan of slow moving, atmospheric horror movies.
I agree with Scott Davies's comments,this film is really a masterpiece,and it's probably one of the best ghost stories ever made,but it's also one of the best "horror" movies of the 70's.
The story is complex and moving,the acting is very good (Mia Farrow's performance is amazing),the direction is elegant,the use of Cinemascope,the sets and peter Hannan's cinematography are wonderful,and colin Towns's famous and beautiful soundtrack perfectly fits the sad and chilling mood of the film.
Mia Farrow plays upper class woman who lost her eight year old daughter due to tragic circumstances.Her grief is immense.She distances herself from her wealthy husband Keir Dullea and begins to live in a flat on the outskirts of London.When paranormal party séance starts she begins to see sinister manifestations of children around her.As the story begins to unravel it seems that it's connected with brutal torture and murder of a small boy many years ago...Adapted from excellent and truly creepy Peter Straub's novel "Julia" this slow-moving ghost story is effectively eerie.The acting is fantastic and the conclusion is unforgettably devastating.The piano-and-strings score by Colin Towns adds a lot to subtle atmosphere of dread.8 spectral visions out of 10..
"The Haunting of Julia" features that undercurrent of melancholy (or pessimism, depending on your point of view) that weaves itself into so many 1970s horror films, such as "Don't Look Now").
The Haunting of Julia is an absolute must see for those who love eerie gothic style ghost stories that are intelligent and entertaining.
A failed adaptation of Peter Straub's eerie book "Julia", which had a tough time getting released in the States (in the early 1980s, it made the rounds of the Los Angeles art-house circuit under the title "The Haunting of Julia", not much of an improvement over "Full Circle").
Excellent adaption of Peter Straub's haunting (in SO many ways!) and gothic novel.Mia Farrow is well cast, and supported by tight direction and an intelligent script.Read the book first, however...
As soon as I watched this movie, I ran to the bookstore to purchase Julia, by Peter Straub.
This movie follows Julia Lofting, who recently lost her only daughter (and the only thing holding her shaky marriage together).
The ending makes much more sense in the movie than in the book, but otherwise the details really help you appreciate this already decent thriller.6 out of 10:  Confusing at times, film quality is poor and really distracts the viewer at times..
The Haunting of Julia does not benefit from an interesting atmosphere either, as while some attempt is made to build one with a musical score; it never really comes off.
Mia Farrow is a very frail, timid woman who moves to a very large, built to be haunted house after her daughter dies and, surprise, it turns out to be haunted by a young blond girl who (gasp) looks just like her daughter!!
okay, three: The views of London, A Wonderfully romantic old house, and Tom Conti's portrayal as Mark, an antique salesman, and a mutual friend of Julia (Mia Farrow) and her husband Magnus.
Timing and transition are very important, but almost nonexistent in this movie.For example, one minute, Julia's in bed, grieving the sudden loss of her daughter, and the next minute, she has rushed out the door, gotten a cab, and purchased this huge Victorian house because she's leaving her husband...
sure, happens all the time...Secondly, just WHO are we supposed to be focusing on here: is it Julia's husband Magnus and his sister (because he seems to be plotting to prove that Julia is mentally unstable and his sister doesn't want him to, but neither idea ever develops); is it the sudden death of Julia's daughter?; the death of the young boy in the park?; the death of the little blonde girl haunting the house (who is not Julia's daughter)?; the mother of the young boy who died in the park?; the mother of the young girl who died in the house?, or the piano salesman who was supposed to have seen it the little blonde girl get killed?
It appears that Julia's husband gets into her basement when she isn't home, and while he is searching for her, the spirit of this elusive little blonde girl finds him and kills him.
Mark, the one that's supported Julia and protected her when no one else would, is suddenly electrocuted one night in the bath tub, when the spirit of this little blonde girl pushes a lamp into his bath water.Fourthly, the plot of this movie is terribly slow, and thus hard to pay attention to, the "creepy" music is so overkill that it drowns any suspense that would be created at tense moments.
The audience is not allowed to feel the tension for themselves because the music takes it all over before we've even had a chance to see what's happened.In my opinion, Tom Conti is a wonderful actor, and his performance in this movie does add some humor and vulnerability to a film that is otherwise..
After the accidental death of her daughter, Julia (Mia Farrow) leaves her domineering husband Magnus (Keir Dullea) and moves into an old house.
But when people around her are murdered, Julia realizes this isn't her daughter she's dealing with.I wish I understood the logic behind casting Americans Mia Farrow and Keir Dullea and then making them speak with British accents the whole film (when they remembered).
It's based on Peter Straub's first novel "Julia." Haven't read it but I see many people who have saying it's better than this film.
After reading Peter Straub's "Julia," I searched and searched for this movie, and finally found a copy.
In the prologue, her young daughter starts choking on an apple and Farrow, in a panic, tries to slice into her throat with a knife, thus making sure she's quite dead.
Haunted by guilt, she ends up leaving her husband (2001's Keir Dullea) and moving into an old mansion in London.
In this TV horror, Mia Farrow plays Julia Lofting, a wealthy American woman living in London, who separates from her husband and moves into an old house in Kensington after the untimely passing of her daughter.
But, as soon as she moves in, she sees apparitions of a young girl and believes it is her daughter, until being told otherwise.It is a dreary movie with a dark setting, poor acting, and muffled dialog - you could hardly make out what the actors were saying.
The Haunting of Julia (1977) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Mia Farrow plays Julia Lofting, a woman suffering from depression after her daughter choked to death on an apple.
After being released from a hospital Julia decides to leave her husband and buy a house on her own where she just sits around crying over her loss but soon a vengeful ghost starts to visit her.
THE HAUNTING OF JULIA appears to have quite a few fans and while the opening thirty-minutes are great the film quickly falls apart and runs out of fresh ideas.
But the acting is good enough to keep me engaged, with plenty evidence why Farrow was in demand for close-ups.The score is decent, but it misjudges several scenes - especially the mirror reveal toward the end - with cheery/wistful plinky-plinky synth.Overall, a good story that undersells itself at the start.
Julia then spirals down, her marriage diminishes, and she is then visited by a ghost of a little dead girl who isn't really nice.She wants the little dead girl to be her daughter-replacement, not realizing the child isn't alive, as she only gets glimpses of her.
Featuring Mia Farrow as a woman experiencing strange things following the death of her daughter, it comes out a little confusing.
Mia Farrow is so good in this type of film.
She plays a fragile and innocent Julia, who loses her daughter to a choking accident in the first few minutes of the film.
We then learn that she and her husband are now separated, presumably because of the stress and tension caused by the loss of the little girl and Julia's short stay in a sanitarium following the tragedy.
Then she starts seeing a ghost who is an evil little girl.This is well-done and serious with good acting...but it just doesn't work.
Those interested in Mia Farrow may find something rewarding in the film; there is little else here that is worth a look..
Mia Farrow looks and acts too bland in her role, and this movie is far, far too slow and drawn out.
After the death of her daughter, wealthy housewife Julia Lofting (Mia Farrow) moves to London to re-start her life.
All seems well until she is haunted by the sadness of losing her own child and the ghosts of other children.This is the second film of director Richard Loncraine, and the first film adaptation of a Peter Straub novel.
The movie is a good film.
Nothing wrong with the film but I think they dragged it out to much in the beginning with Julia moving, her new boyfriend (or whoever he is) and her soon to be ex-husband, barely any ghost stuff going on etc...
Then it became this film about Julia trying to find out who the kids are the medium talked about because she bought the house and found it highly important to know.
I rented it based on the fact that it was a ghost story, and it had Mia Farrow in it (which probably meant it wasn't going to be a teen motivated film).
The story is about Julia Lofting, who loses her daughter early in the film, and spends the rest of the movie trying to make up for it in some way.
The book made Julia sound like a looney running around yelling THERE'S GHOSTS IN MY HOUSE!
Me, I enjoyed it immensely.Based on a story by Peter Straub, the film works best when it creeps up on you.
The film's most frightening moment (for me) is when Farrow's husband breaks into her house and hears footsteps creaking about, this short scene manages to sustain the tension for a surprisingly long time before the payoff.The acting is pretty good.
Tom Conti is about the only normal person in the entire film, and he creates a believable person in his antiques dealer (originally, he's obviously smitten with Farrow, later on he's untrusting of her stories of ghosts and views her with some unease).
Added on to this is a subtle ending which is left unexplained (I'm not sure if Farrow is aware of what's going on), and THE HAUNTING OF JULIA is a chilling, above-average ghost story..
Well I haven't seen too many movies starring Mia Farrow.
Trying to get over the loss of her daughter Julia leaves her husband and goes to live on her own.
It's based on a book which probably explains things a bit better than the movie.
Soon Julia uncovers a dreadful past in the house; a little girl named Olivia used to live there but died.
Soon Julia's husband and friends begin to be killed in strange ways and she suspects Olivia's spirit may be behind it.
The acting was extraordinary; Julia (Mia Farrow), had previously played the main character in Rosemary's Baby and was just as good in this film.
This movie deserves better ratings, it's a great little film that's totally worth watching.
It was based on the novel 'Julia' by horror and mystery author Peter Straub..
Peter Straub is one of my favourite writers of horror and Full Circle (aka The Haunting of Julia) (1977) is the best adaptation into film I've seen of his work.
It has all the elements of a ghost story, so many in fact that on a superficial review of the exposition you could be fooled into thinking it is a clone of films involved with hauntings.
Like The Changeling (1980) – a highly competent haunted house film - it involves a spectre attached to a location into which a recently bereaved character moves, just as the realisation of both plots have the main protagonists uncovering the dark secrets held by the house.
Watching Julia Lofting, played perfectly by Mia Farrow, being subsumed by her obsession with the evil child she is ultimately responsible for evoking, is one of growing dread.
After a little research I discovered that the book was republished with the film's title, so I imagine the two parties involved in adapting the book for the screen, attempted to redirect the attention of the audience towards the narrative, one which involves a cycle revolving around an evil child and the revenge it takes upon those who had let her down in life; I'm also reminded of the haunting shot that ends the film: the camera circles around the main character, panning to reveal the bloody and circular wound cutting Julia's throat leaving her very dead.
Although the book is remarkably true to Straub's novel and actually manages to fit in a great deal of the content, it has some moments of its own, like a scene early on in the London residence, where she's seen building a house of cards; as the camera closes in on Julia's face, the card house naturally topples and you see that the playing cards actually contain identical images of her dead daughter's face.
What makes this film worthwhile, however, is the fact that in spite of the dense plot the sense of horror develops slowly and aside from Magnus' early death there is little actual violence or even appearances of supernatural entities – it is implied and a sense of dread gradually leads you the horrific closing of the circle suggested by the title..
During the first scene of the film, it appears she has a happy life as she has breakfast with her daughter and husband.
However, only a few minutes into the film, Julia's daughter starts choking on a piece of apple and cannot breathe.
But I'm beginning to think that this may actually be a sample of the movie-going community, some of them perhaps even twelve years old or more.Apparently, this is an adaptation of a novel by Peter Straub, who also supplied the goods in the dazzling GHOST STORY.
MIA FARROW is as vulnerable as ever, and KEIR DULLEA her son-of-a-bitch husband – he should probably have stayed on Jupiter.The traumatic loss of a child has of course long since become a stock-and-trade of horror movies, the idea being that it makes the bereaved mother more susceptible to supernatural influences (especially dead children).
unforgettable.There are some death scenes throughout, and I can't help to think the movie would be more effective and more creepy without them.
This is probably a different reaction then the one I had to the book.I think people who are only familiar with modern horror movies may find this movie a little slow, but almost every scene does have to do with the plot or the characters in some way.Don't expect it to scare you, it is not that kind of story.
To date there have been only two films based on books by bestselling author Peter Straub: "Ghost Story", which was an appalling mess, and this one.
"Full Circle" is derived from "Julia", Straub's second published novel and first foray into the horror genre--and, while certain arbitrary departures from the book prevent this film from being totally effective, it does capture the formidably spooky atmosphere of Straub's prose.
She's every bit as persistent, and as fragile, as her counterpart in the novel; desperate for some sense of resolution after the tragic death of her nine-year-old daughter, Julia puts herself at greater and greater risk as she pursues the ghost that haunts her newly-purchased London townhouse and the park adjacent to it.
Keir Dullea delivers an adequate performance as this diminished Magnus, but he's only an incidental character here--not a link to the troubled history of Julia's house, as he was in the book.
"Full Circle" (which played U.S. theaters in 1981 as "The Haunting of Julia") will please most fans of Peter Straub and intelligent horror in general.
When you finally get to see the ghost girl, in spite of all the evil things you know that she has done, you do not feel any fear.This movie OUGHT to be scary and entertaining, because it is about a ghost child in an old house, and there is also a mystery that Julia (the main character) is trying to unravel by visiting people who might know what happened thirty years ago...
Nutshell overview (no spoilers or give-aways): After losing her own daughter to a random act of providence, Julia (Mia Farrow) isolates herself to try and make some sense of life afterward.