Horrific Period Pieces
by Kristin Battestella
Steeped in gothic mood and bleak
atmosphere, this trio of films past and present provides both period
piece sophistication and slow burn horrors.
Black Torment – Black
screen panting and tense chases through the brush with music to match
every snapped branch and booted footstep open this 1964 eighteenth
century ye olde horror. It's not a Hammer production, though it
certainly feels like it with brutal strangulations, newlyweds in
carriages, tricorn hats, bosomy frocks, and angry barons in powdered
wigs. Heraldic notes and a lovely country manor house with grand
columns and chandeliers belie the ornery blacksmiths, crippled
nobles, and village tales of murder and violence. Sign Language is
the only way to communicate, but the invalid can see and hear all the
whispering servants, giggling maids, and witchcraft rumors – not to
mention some casual innuendo about drinking and getting merry with
the oh so fashionable butler. Ominous letters, cryptic family
mottoes, eerie ancestral portraits, and footmen carrying the clearly
pained but unable to object patient create tension amid noises in the
night, a missing family bible, and suicidal history. There's romance
but also secrets, screams, barred windows, and phantom ladies walking
the grounds. Who's imagining what or driving one to madness? Despite
obvious doppelganger red herrings, the mystery builds a sinister
atmosphere with wheelchairs and evil suspicions while lingering
recollections of a first wife provide Rebecca
shade.
Necking
in the stables and townsfolk versus ruling gentry intensify as the
seemingly law abiding local militia is also beholden to our baron
regarding horse chases and murder accusations. Misunderstandings on a
man said to be in two places at once escalate with tell tale ink,
staircase frights, fainting spells, fatal revelations, and churchyard
toppers. Slow spins, blurred images, askew angles, and up close
camera shots of terrified eyes and sweating temples accent the out of
control ill tempers and brain fevers while entertaining visions,
muskets, and climatic sword fights set off the titular frights with a
little foaming at the mouth for good measure. Although the dim,
elusive print is in need of a good restoration, this sophisticated
period piece pot boiler with horror pacing and flair is well worth
the watch for mid-century gothic fans.
The Little Stranger – Lenny Abrahamson (Frank) directs
Domhnall Gleeson (The Force Awakens), Ruth
Wilson (I am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House), and
Charlotte Rampling (Zardoz)
in this 2018 adaptation of the Sarah Waters novel. Post-war
razors, old telephone ring rings, vintage lamp glows, and doctor bags
set the scene before house calls to the lovely but overgrown country
manor sheltering a burned RAF pilot and a fearful servant. Damaged
plaster, a disused service bell system, quaint antiques, and a fine
staircase provide former grandeur – our doctor's mother was a maid
at Hundreds Hall before the 1919 parasols and garden parties last
hurrahs. This fallen Old World charm versus Second war torn onward
crossroad is firmly felt, and some cannot let go of the past. Layered
dialogue provides the catching up exposition on family deaths, new
medical treatments that could heal the wounded, and the once wealthy
now like everyone else unable to afford upgrades and estate taxes.
Our poor country doctor is more formal and button up in his suit, a
stoic spire in the center of the frame interfering with family
affairs or land sales when not spending holidays making their tea.
Extreme, distorted, close up shots reflect his invasion of this space
where the manor's past is still very much in the present, and his
narration recalling a visit there as a boy parallels current events –
he's “admitted” at the top of the stairs rather than waiting at
the bottom, spoiled like a proper little gentleman, and made to feel
like a part of the house. Mirrors and careful editing reflect the
intermingling while the forties gowns inspire a past within the past
trying to recapturing that pre-war class feeling. Awkward parties
mixing old philosophies and new pretentiousness begat sudden dog
attacks, blood, and screams. Real life troubles, barely understood
shell shock, and fears that there's something in the house that wants
them dead affect everyone's state of mind, and although our doctor
has new opportunities in the city, viewers wonder if his dancing and
romancing the daughter is just to complete his mastery of the home.
Everything is happy away from the leaky house with knocking sounds,
disturbances in the night, and names of the dead inscribed on the
walls yet he wants to stay while she's ready to leave once the bells
ring by themselves and old speaking pipes echo from the nursery. Many
incidents are told rather than seen, which adds to the psychological
versus supernatural mystery as more of the manor is explored. After
such hear tell subtlety, the scares are more intense when they do
happen – slamming doors and desperate pounding are traumatic for
the person experiencing the out of control malevolence. Are the
ghosts and poltergeists real or merely hysterical women in some
collective episode? Memories and self harm escalate to emergencies in
the night, fatal falls, ghostly interventions, and who can't or won't
let go extremes without the need for anything over the top thanks to
fine performances and period touches.
This may be slow for some but the characterizations and drama don't
rely on run of the mill in your face scares. Elements left
unexplained create discussion, and this should probably be
watched twice for the subdued setting of the scene – which is
perfect for audiences that don't expect chills a minute and can enjoy
a simmering sense of dread.
Lizzie
– Maid Kristen Stewart (Twilight)
gets steamy with the titular turn of the century murderess Chloe
Sevingy (American Horror
Story) in this 2018 biopic
accented with fine costumes, rustic lighting, and vintage Victorian
interiors. Six months before the screams and blood, the buttoned up,
repressed daughter is already defiant against the patriarchal
oppression by going to theatre parties unaccompanied where low cut,
colorful frocks contrast the tight collars and immediate sexual
tension at home. The Bordens can't have anything too extravagant
despite being able to afford it, and Lizzie prefers the barn and
animals to people, reading aloud in an innocent but antisocial
loneliness. While some dialogue is a little too modern, our eponymous
lady has a progressive, forceful, even masculine energy that can't be
contained with fainting spells. Our old maid is called a lesbian
abomination but in turn rightfully calls her perverse, abusive father
a lying coward before creaking floorboards, broken mirrors slid under
the door, revenge injuries, and burned documents reveal the truth.
The up close camera often peers through the window, catching the
glances as each lady looks at each other – the audience is in on
the intimate possibilities but when your employer suggests his
servant leave the door to her hot attic room open, she can't exactly
say no. The strict orders and behind closed doors implications are
uncomfortable enough without the often seen exploitative, degrading
visuals, and the women bond during intimate undressings and corset
tightenings. Theft and rebellious acts increase amid suspicious
business deals, threatening letters, and whispering relatives. The
women have to eavesdrop to learn what the men are planning for them
before violent punishments and one and all sitting at the dinner
table like nothing has happened. Is murder the only way out of the
hypocrisy? Were the violent tendencies always there or could you be
crazy in love enough to kill? The ax is shown throughout the pot
boiler, and although the stifling camerawork may be disorienting to
some viewers, it mirrors the closeness when it is both welcomed by
the women or invaded by nasty men. Regardless of height the
unprotected ladies must look up to the creepy uncles, diminished and
fearful of physical violence. Retro photo pops accent the bludgeoning
editing before jail and witnesses on the stand provide the fallout
from this infamous hatcheting. Premeditated accomplices, church
bells, deliberate nudity, and out of control horror are worth the
wait once the finale reveals the symbolically sexual posturing,
vomit, and splatter. Some people just don't have the stomach for this
sort of thing while others so smooth have thought of everything.
There is some unevenness with the characters – probably from when
the project was envisioned as a television piece with bigger roles –
and the killer romance meets Victorian women's lib messages are
mixed. However despite liberties suggesting what went on in this
congested house and a decidedly quiet, not mainstream style that
won't be for everyone, this interesting perspective will have viewers
studying this disturbing murder case with a sympathetic, personal
anew.
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