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Reviews
Communion (1976)
I had no idea
I try to avoid giving every movie I like a 10. But this one has stayed in my thoughts for weeks and not only did I enjoy it while it lasted; it got me thinking and now I am interested in several aspects of this movie and have spent time looking into it, and I think it's really something. There's the plot, the characters, the style or type of movie, and the creepiness factor of its atmosphere and feeling. Those aspects are just great: totally hit my sweet spot and work together well.
It knocked them all out of the park.
Titled Communion, or Holy Terror, or Alice, Sweet Alice, I found it on YouTube at no charge.
Let's start with the plot. During viewing I was surprised a few times about what was going to happen next. I was never bored. It's not too fast or too slow for me. It unfolds and the surprises made sense. They were satisfying. At the end of the film, I felt that I had followed a few great twists that are all tied up in a bow at the end. Nice. Yay. Good job.
But wait, is there more to it? I didn't even consider that option until I read someone else's reaction. And I am interested in what other people think about the film, too. Because it can be interpreted differently. And I find myself looking at the same events from different angles. It was obvious while watching that a hundred implied but not shown plot points could have happened or of course a character could have thought that something else had happened, and each possibility can change our understanding of guilt or innocence or shame or motivation. So there's the clues about what has happened, which turn out to be explained differently than you might think, yet it makes sense, they are not just for the sake of a surprise. And it all adds up to a plot I am still thinking about weeks later.
And then the behind the scenes thoughts. Who are these actors: what else have they done? Why have I never heard of this movie? I would definitely like to see more of them. What else did they do? The only one I heard of is Brooke Shields. And she is good. But they are all good. I think maybe she became a worse actress later. Here she's a kid. It was her first movie.
Every character when introduced, could be interpreted as normal, but you know without question that somebody is going to be a real messed up mess but you don't know who. If they seem too normal, maybe just maybe they aren't normal at all, but secretly evil. Do we have the good sister and the bad sister dynamic with the girls, that's also there with their Moms, or has one of them or even two or three spiraled into madness? If a character does seem plain out evil, well... even that made me think maybe they are just misinterpreted. I could never tell for sure what a character was capable of until I saw them do it. And everything seemed perfectly in line with their characterization. And the camera work was part of this feeling. Someone would be doing something straightforward, but then the angle would go weird or someone would go hysterical and suspense stayed just within reach. Are we dealing with sibling rivalry and parental dynamics or psychopaths? Are these normal people or is one of them a demon? And once the obvious evil is shown, is it of supernatural origin or the mundane horror of twisted human psychology? After all, it's tough to be a kid, or to be a parent; especially in this movie. The characters are so good that you can't tell until it happens whether they are even a minor or major part of the story. It's best to start this movie with no idea who will be the first victim.
The Catholic imagery is great for atmosphere and perfect for blurring the line between natural and supernatural evil. I don't know why it was set in the past of 1961 (released in 1976) but that is when America had a Catholic President headed for tragedy.
It's a balance: not too bloody for me but somebody dies, not too much killing, but enough. I would not call it a slasher but it's leaning that way. Some say it's important in creating that genre. And I am not a fan of things jumping out so that doesn't happen to excess either. I don't like horror movies more modern than this. This is my style.
Zane Grey Theatre (1956)
Joan Crawford Can't Save It
Odd; even Joan Crawford can't make this episode watchable. I only watched this one episode, entitled One Must Die, so I have no comment on the series as a whole. It's 24 minutes but it felt like I knew the twist for firty five minutes and was just waiting for the plot to catch up to me.
Joan does a great job playing two characters, at first. Then she falters just a little distinguishing between the two. But if you know the twist, which was painfully obvious to me; maybe it was an acting choice. She doesn't make bad acting choices, but this means she gets an A minus this time; not bad at all. She isn't the problem.
When she goes to confront the dog, I wanted her to shoot it. That is because it all seems fake. A fake looking exterior of the mansion, complete with too obviously distressed shutters, fake looking interiors; false ending- Did you know that a character could have a cathartic moment or realization without destroying anything? The writer doesn't. And all the main man had to do was to use a blanket and save lots of expense.
It's interesting to see Joan with a Western hairstyle but you don't need to watch this just for that. There should have been a little more subtlety between the stark contrast of the lens when it's on her and when it's not.
Queen Bee (1955)
Queen Bee
Well, she's a movie star and that's clear from the first entrance. The other characters are a bit flat, but that feeds right into the storyline. I would have appreciated some more oak tree exterior shots and mansion exteriors or interiors but there are some of each. And a grand staircase with a chandelier. But why not linger some more on those fabulous gowns? Those opportunities were missed. The long shots that show some characters in the foreground and others in the background are fantastic. What I liked most is that I really had no idea where the plot would go, and then it would turn a corner and I would not know, again. Yet, it all makes sense and is satisfying from start to finish and it's not slow or dull. Some have described the film as camp but I don't think that's true, except for those that just can't take the 1950s films seriously. For some reason the Southern vibe is missing more than half the time but for me it doesn't matter where the movie takes place. Watch Crawford own the screen.