Gary K’s review published on Letterboxd:
Film 38/39 - Extra Credit #1
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I had picked up the Arrow American Horror Project vol. 1 a while back so I had this on blu ray already and was happy to fire it up yesterday.
The introduction from Stephen Thrower set the stage and adjusted my expectations. Rather than some black magic/witchcraft 70s jam, this was actually a dark psychodrama about a woman - played brilliantly by the wife of the screenwriter Millie Perkins - suffering from alcoholism and childhood trauma and a severe psychotic break. Following Perkins’ character, this is a totally weird, bonkers slice of whatthefuckery to be sure.
Perkins’ performance anchors the film and without her the film wouldn’t have worked whatsoever. As is, I can’t say I really liked the movie, but her performance is terrific and the film is shot in anamorphic widescreen which I didn’t expect at all and provides an opportunity for some beautiful compositions and camera movements.
This isn’t even a descent to madness, as from the first frame it’s clear that the main character is already deeply damaged, so there isn’t much of an arc for her, but the movie takes its time showing us what lead to this for her and the flashbacks are deeply disturbing. It wasn’t a “fun” watch, but certainly an interesting mid 70s curio.
