Mirrors and Mindbenders!
By Kristin Battestella
What
do we see when we watch horror? Take a bizarre look into the
deceptive reflections, dopplegangers, demetia, and through the
looking glass scares with this quartet of old time crazies and more
recent optical thrillers.
Alone
in the Dark – A cult cast featuring veteran Jack Palance
(City Slickers), minister
Martin Landau (Mission: Impossible), unusual doctor Donald
Pleasence (Halloween), and
his new protege Dwight Schultz (The A-Team) adds
class to this 1982 slasher full of topsy turvy patients. The solemn
mental hospital locale is pretty but cluttered with knickknacks,
loons, and converted with buzzed entries, faulty electrical systems,
and bizarre treatments. Medical textbooks don't apply in this ward!
This perilous crowding contrasts the new, open, family farmhouse
potential, which soon finds itself in a fearful switcharoo. Who's a
patient or employee? Who's harmless or dangerous? Some crazy rambling
is confusing to start, but shadowed dorm rooms with spooky, whispered
plotting create a paranoid atmosphere – especially when such
heavyweight gents are doing the evil planning. A touch of hot pink
sideways pony tails and punk bands remind us of the early eighties
hip, but any datedness is quickly forgotten as violence, escapes, and
riots escalate during the titular blackout. The crazy inside spreads
outside quickly with one flick of the switch, and flashlights,
lanterns, candles, and fire sell the precarious mood. Daylight
doesn't alleviate the killer tendencies or child peril, and except
for a fittingly sardonic little girl, the frightful is played
seriously. While some jump scares and teen sex may seem commonplace
now, these early genre staples are well paced and plenty of
surprises, siege horror, creative weapons, and simmering kills make
up any difference. Not only is there no cheap nudity or excess like
today, but progressive talk about the pitfalls of wind power and
nuclear energy add to the social commentaries at work. The fragile
balance of polite society cracks pretty quickly once the kill or be
killed terror flourishes here.
Mirror
Mirror – Ironic
country music and frightful orchestration accent the bloody period
introduction of this 1990 teen creeper. Yes, that’s a generic title
complete with a barebones DVD and no subtitles, but the spooky mix of
antiques, hats, and shoulder pads make for a gothic mid century meets
eighties style. Like dentistry, the innately eerie mirror aspects
pack on the macabre along with blue lighting, distorted demonic
voices, gruesome dreams, and bugs laying on the atmosphere. The
30-year-old looking teens in too much denim are mostly tolerable
thanks to relatable new kid in town outsider feelings and feminine
spins. Rainbow Harvest (Old
Enough) is perhaps too
wannabe Lydia from Beetlejuice
and there is no sign of
authority or investigation whatsoever,
but the dark tone, a
bemusing Yvonne De Carlo (The
Munsters) handling the
research, and the neurotic Karen Black (Burnt
Offerings) make up any
difference. This is a solid R, but the blood, nudity, water frights,
and dog harm are done smartly without being excessive. The familiar
Carrie, Teen Witch, and
The Craft designs will be
obvious to horror viewers, but it’s a fun 90 minutes of out of
touch parents and teachers, high school cliques, and escalating
creepy crimes. The titular evil from the other side takes hold for a
wild finish – but never, ever put your hand down that garbage
disposal, ever!
Oculus
– Family scares, guns, and glowing eyes creepy get right to
it as siblings are trying to both remember and forget their past
tragedy in this 2013 mindbender full of askew dreams, unreliable
memories, statues covered in sheets, and one cursed antique mirror. I
would have preferred leads older than their early twenties –
clearly appealing to the young it crowd – and despite an
understandable awkward or instability, Karen Gillan (Guardians of
the Galaxy) and Brenton Thwaites (Gods of Egypt) are too
wooden at times. Fortunately, the more mature Katee Sackoff
(Battlestar Galatica) and
Rory Cochrane (Empire Records)
and child support Annalise Basso (The Red Road) and
Garrett Ryan (Dark House) do better. The non-linear past and
present retelling, however, is confusing – the parallel plots
aren't quite clear until the paranormal investigation brings
everything together in one location with elaborate equipment,
carefully orchestrated timers, and fail safes for a night of ghostly
activity. The video documentation makes for smart exposition at the
expense of a larger cast or showing the accursed historical events –
replacing the tried and true research montage for today's audiences
without resorting to the found footage gimmick. There are no in your
face camera effects or zooms with booming music when the frightful
appears, and the viewer is allowed to speculate on the seen or unseen
reflections, there or maybe not whispering, and distorted blink and
you miss them doppelgangers. Is there a psychological explanation or
is this all supernatural? Although the recollections or flashbacks of
the crisscrossing events should have been more polished – are we
watching two, four, or six people as this battle replays itself? –
the paranoia builds in both time frames with canine trauma and
alternating suspense. Yes, there are Insidious similarities,
the product placement and brand name dropping feels unnecessary, and
the uneven plot merge cheats in its reflection on the warped or evil
influences at work. The finale falters slightly as well, however,
there is a quality discussion about the titular manipulation, and the
time here remains entertaining as household horrors intensify. WWE
Studios, who knew?
The
Psychic –
There are numerous titles – but no subtitles – for this 1977
Lucio Fulci (Zombi
2)
giallo tale along with a typical driving montage, dated seventies
euro pop, and the expected dubbing, accents, and vocal iffy.
Fortunately, the graphic opening suicide, great looking cars, classic
planes, country estates, hats, furs, and eponymous witnessing more
than make up for any audio technicalities. Then upscale technology,
radio, tape recorders, and answering machines add to the
sophisticated style and Italian flair while a simmering, eerie score
sets off the paranormal visions. Swift editing intercutting between
the fearful Jennifer O'Neill (Summer
of '42)
and the fragmented imagery is layered with red, blood, violence, and
screams, but her husband, doctors, and police remain skeptical even
as evidence is found. Are these episodes stress, dreams, coincidence,
obsession, or intuition? Our young wife plans on redoing an abandoned
villa, but finds more secrets about the victims and the living amid
the cobwebs, covered furniture, and mirrors. Has something occurred
here or will it? Who is suspect? The Italian names may be tough for
some, and the slightly obvious, tame for today story plays loose with
terms like physic, clairvoyant, premonition, and what these powers
actually are. There are convenient, self fulfilling prophecy plot
points, too – secretaries who happen to know the facts, others do
the legwork research, taxi driver connections are easily found.
However, it's interesting to see that images and memories can be
distorted, foretold objects misconstrued, or that the facts don't
always come together as we thought. Although the heavy opening
implies the 90 minutes plus will be full on horror house gore, the
time is largely spent on the mystery investigation before punching it
up with some shock moments in a superb action finale. Not everything
here is as the audience may expect, and plenty of clues and surprises
make for a nice little paranormal pursuit.
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