Flick of The Day: Don't Look Now

The psychological thriller is a delightfully dark genre and something I am a big fan of. It relies on the psychological state of the protagonists to drive the plot and thus has led to some great films down through the years. Here at The Daily Flick, we've previously reviewed some of the best of them such as Les Diaboliques and The Vanishing and today we add another to the list. Director Nicolas Roeg made several complex and difficult films during his career but perhaps none more so then today's flick of the day and perhaps one of the scariest psychological horror film's of all time, Don't Look Now.

Don't Look Now (1973)

Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie star as a young English couple who are struggling to come to terms with the sudden drowning of their young daughter which opens the film. Based on a story by Daphne du Maurier, this is a classic tale of loss and the effects of grief. In an attempt to move on, they move to a crumbling Venice, shot in Winter time, where Sutherland's John has been hired to oversee the restoration of an old church. However, Venice is full of reminders of their daughter while all the while the city is struggling to cope with a series of grisly murders. John begins to see fleeting glimpses of a young girl in a red raincoat, similar to the one his daughter died in. Christie's Laura becomes involved with two elderly sisters, one of whom claims psychic powers and an ability to contact their daughter. As the film moves toward a climax, the labyrinthine streets of Venice seem to close in and the red coated figure makes increasing appearances culminating in a shocking ending. 

There is something deeply unsettling about the Venice which the grieving Baxter's inhabit. It is full of dark alleys and gothic architecture which seems to close in on the pair by the end in an almost hellish vision. The sound seems to have been recorded to disorientate the viewer with steps reverberating off walls, leaving you unsure of where the sound is coming from. For a horror film, this does not rely on gore or grisly horror to touch the audience's nerves but rather builds up a heavy atmosphere and uses Venice itself as a tool of the supernatural. It is because of this that it is a far better and indeed far more unsettling film then many of its glossier and more obvious contemporaries.

Sutherland and Christie deliver career best performances as the grieving couple and there seems to be genuine chemistry between the two. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the film is the graphic love scene between the two, indeed rumours best ignored have persisted with the idea that the scene was not simulated something denied by Sutherland. Regardless it is central to the plot and today it appears more touching and human then in any way shocking. It is a testament to Roeg's abilities as a film-maker that the film still hold the power to frighten even today with an ending that will stick with you.

All in all, this is a landmark film in the genre, using atmospherics to create a haunting meditation on the grieving process and the supernatural. It has two strong performances from the leads and a steady hand from the director. It doesn't rely on cheap tricks and theatrics, leading to a shocking ending. A must see but remember, don't look now.

Flick of The Day: Stir Of Echoes

Today's flick of the day is a psychological thriller from writer/director David Koepp, Stir of Echoes. Koepp was one of the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood, writing some of the most profitable films of the 1990's such as Jurassic Park and Mission Impossible before stepping into the director's chair for this his second feature.  This film showed his promise as a director, something proven by one of his later features, the lovely Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais.

Stir of Echoes (Special Edition)

Starring the always watchable Kevin Bacon as Tom Witzky, a blue collar telephone company worker living in a working class neighbourhood of Chicago. One Saturday night, after a party in a neighbour's house Tom dares his sister in law, a trainee hypnotist to prove that hypnosis works by hypnotizing him. While under, she plants in his mind the suggestion that he be more open. Of course, as you can guess, this has unintended consequences. Suddenly, Tom is haunted by nightmarish visions around the house he shares with his pregnant wife, Maggie and their young and quietly odd son Jake. He begins to see a young girl around the house who had disappeared from the neighbourhood some 6 months previously. Jake shares the same visions, with an ability to communicate with the girl, called Samantha. As Tom's life gradually begins to fall apart with his mental health, the film races toward a thrilling conclusion.

The success or failure of a film's release can so often come down to luck. Sometimes you just capture an audience's taste and imagination at the right time and you make a lot of money. Sometimes you don't. The quality of your film doesn't change with either outcome. This film was desperately unlucky, released just a few weeks after M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense which was one of the biggest film's of the year and unfortunately enough for the team behind Stir of Echoes, both film's involve a child protagonist who communicates with the dead. The success of The Sixth Sense very much crippled any chance of Stir of Echoes being seen by a larger audience. With the benefit of hindsight, it is possible to say that this is the better of the two films with Sixth Sense relying on cheap theatricality for it's thrills.

The real strength of this film is that unlike so many films of this genre, it does not go down the route of gore and cheap shock tactics to keep the audience engrossed. Instead, Koepp chooses to explore the pysche of the main character, Tom. He is aided in this by a fine performance from Bacon, giving a realistic portrayal of a hard working family man who is being destroyed by his demons. 

"Whatever door you opened in my brain, I want you to shut it - now!"

The film is genuinely creepy at times and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. If it has any flaws, it is that the ending when it comes is a little predictable though it wraps up the plot nicely. All in all, a film worth seeing if you enjoy tense psychological thrillers. There is a strong central performance from Kevin Bacon and subtle direction from David Koepp who knows how to weave a mystery compelling enough to keep you enthralled.

Flick of The Day: The Vanishing / Spoorloos

Horror is a genre I tend to avoid, particularly the current "torture porn" craze epitomised by movies like Hostel and the Saw series. Gore and cheap theatrics do nothing for me but to each his or her own. That said, it is is human nature to enjoy the odd moment of fear once in awhile and scary movies tick this box. Today's film is a deeply disturbing psychological thriller from the Netherlands with a truly frightening ending, The Vanishing.

The Vanishing - Criterion Collection

A hit in Europe on its release in 1988, this thriller directed by George Sluizer garnered great reviews upon its American release, so much so that it was remade in 1993, in a vastly inferior version starring Kiefer Sutherland and Jeff Bridges. The original is much less polished and is all the more chilling for it with a great ending. A young Dutch couple Rex and Saskia, played by Gene Bervoets and the lovely Johanna ter Steege, are travelling through France on a long hot Summer in 1984 as the Tour De France winds it's way through the French countryside. Stopping at a busy service station, Saskia goes to get a drink in the shop and disappears, never to be seen again. Rex initially waits and then searches for Saskia, to no avail, she has disappeared without a trace. Years pass, and Rex is unable to let it go, whether for love or obsession he has to know what happened to Saskia. We are introduced to Raymond, a truly creepy and disturbing creation of the late Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, your average family man with two children who enjoys experimenting with chloroform and trying to trick women into the back of his car. After 3 years, Rex begins to get taunting letters in the post. The killer is intrigued by his obsession with what happened to Saskia and eventually chooses to make contact with an offer of information. This leads ultimately to a shocking and affecting conclusion that will leave you thinking long after the credit have rolled.

An examination of evil and its ability to lurk beneath the surface of even the most innocuous fronts. Director George Sluizer created a minor classic with this film. It examines one man's obsession with wanting to know what happened and the dangers of knowing too much. It is also deliberate in its examination of the psychological trauma of losing somebody close to you. Rex never really recovers from losing Saskia and it leads him to making poor judgements, all in an attempt to know. The film has at times an almost documentary feel to it as it switches focus with an extended flashback, seemingly answering all of the viewers questions before its chilling finale which throws everything into the wind. Dark, disturbing, but inevitable given what has come before.

Raymond is a stunningly evil creation, perhaps because his evil is so subtle and under the surface. This is not some overtly psychotic character with a blood lust, such as you might see in many of Hollywood's creations.

"My daughter was bursting with pride. But I thought that her admiration wasn't worth anything unless I could prove myself absolutely incapable of doing anything evil. And as black cannot exist without white, I logically conceived the most horrible deed that I could envision right at that moment. But I want you to know, for me killing is not the worst thing"

All in all, this is a truly frightening piece of work with some fine central performances and subtle direction from Sluizer. It is worth seeing if only for the ending deemed too shocking for American audiences and altered for the far less subtle and ultimately run of the mill remake. Well worth a look.