Sisters

Year: 1973
Director: Brian De Palma
Writer: Brian De Palma, Louisa Rose
Genre: Horror: Mystery, Black Comedy

Coming into Sisters I had no idea of what to expect other than, well, sisters. What I ended up seeing was a wholly enjoyably odd feature. However, try and tell me to peg exactly what about it was so good and it might be hard to say.

At the start of the film you see people competing in a simple gameshow. Two of the people featured in the game show decide to come home together and from that slightly unusual introduction things get much weirder. On the next day, the man wakes up to hear the gal from the show arguing with another woman. Although he wants to sneakily leave, the woman then finds him and begs him to stay, so he does. Unfortunately, he ends up being murdered by the creepy other girl. This kicks the whole film off.

What I enjoyed so much about the film was that it was hard to get a clear idea about what was even going on. Was the woman who witnesses the murder making this whole scene up or did it really happen? Are there really two girls or is there only one? Who is the other girl - is she the sister as the title suggests? Is it actually someone else who is pulling the strings? I loved being in a weird sense of reality and never being sure of what was what. Despite this description though, it was a fairly straightforward film. It wasn't all trippy or reality-shifting like some.

Perhaps the most unexpected thing about Sisters is how funny it is. There's no doubt that the desire when making this film was to have a lot of amusing stuff along a seriously messed up mystery. I consider it black comedy since it shouldn't really be as funny as it is that there was what was at one point called a  "racially-charged murder". Despite a lot of things that aren't at all funny about the movie the characters managed to be big jokes sometimes. I really enjoyed the dichotomy.

Sisters is a movie I'd happily recommend. After seeing it I now want to watch a lot more of Brian De Palma's work. Beyond this, I've only seen Carrie, Phantom of the Paradise, and Scarface.

Lady in White

Year: 1988
Director: Frank LaLoggia
Writer: Frank LaLoggia
Genre: Horror: Mystery

I came into Lady in White with little to no expectations and was pretty blown away. This means that I definitely recommend it. Either way, let's talk a little about what makes the film tick. It starts us off with a young boy in school who is hassled by a handful of bullies, as well as his brother. His life seems ultimately regular though. That is until the bullies lock him up in a school storeroom late at night where he is witness to a creepy fellow sifting around in there.

Then, the story branches out into separate but overlapping tales. There is the regular life of the boy that is changed due to that event. Then there is the repercussions of that event that get someone else wrapped up in a great deal of trouble. Then there is a ghost story happening too. Despite these very different tales all happening at the same time it never gets confusing and they are woven into one narrative quite skillfully.

The ghost story feels almost kiddish in many ways, but maybe that's due to the fact that children are the ones exploring it. If you get beyond that though it's obvious this isn't the kind of film you want to tuck your kids away with at night. It features a whole lot of more serious commentary. There is the cruelness of racism as well as some other seedy parts of humanity on display.

Overally Lady in White is a cinematic treat. I would recommend it to any moviegoer, not just horror fans. As it stands, the horror content is pretty soft anyway so that's not the focus. The focus is more mysterious and dramatic.

Eyes Wide Shut

Year: 1999
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick
Genre: Drama: Mystery

I wasn't sure what to expect when watching Eyes Wide Shut. At over 2 hours long I thought it must be some sort of twisted epic... some sort of exciting sensual ride which I would emerge confused from. What the movie actually is is a pretty straight forward dramatic mystery. While I'm sure it titillated and disturbed audiences to me it seemed a rather dull exercise. Or, perhaps a very grandiose attempt to tell a simple story.

That doesn't mean I don't like it. In Eyes Wide Shut the main character is having a nice married life with a young daughter. However, things change as one night she reveals how much she had desired to cheat on him once, but didn't. The thought festers in his mind as he obsesses on it throughout the day. He comes across an old friend of his who inadvertently lets him in on a very secretive party he will be at. For some reason, this becomes the main character's obsession - to break into this party.

From then on things get all mysterious and creepy about the party and what happens to those outsiders who infiltrate it. Personally I don't quite get what the point of the story was. It all comes to pass one way or another and we are left back in the very plain husband and wife world. What was the point of showing such grandiose things? Why all the decadence and secrecy for something which we will never truly know? Maybe that's the point of it, but it just seemed to end on a very dull note.

Still, the characters are compelling and I was drawn into seeing what would happen. It's an okay film but not really worth watching unless you're having a Kubrick-athon or have read the novella it was based off (Traumnovelle).

Psycho

Year: 1998
Director: Gus Van Sant
Writer: Joseph Stefano
Genre: Horror: Mystery

Everyone and their mother knows Psycho. Being one of Alfred Hitchcock's seminal pieces is certainly no small matter. From what I know, when Psycho came out in 1960 everyone was stunned when the heroine was killed about halfway through the movie. That shower scene has gone on to be one of the most famous and recognizable moments in any film. With a movie as important to the genre as this it seems strange anyone would even dare to remake it.

However, the remake did happen and it follows the strict plot of the original. If you were to play the original alongside it most aspects would remain unchanged. Because of this, the movie is quite good. It's a testament to the original's story and method of storytelling that it still works well today. But then, if the original was such a good film then why waste the time remaking it?

There's a saying that if something isn't broke then don't fix it. Psycho wasn't broken and there was no need to go in and spice the film up with more current actors. Sure, they fulfilled their parts well but why watch this? The original is perfectly watchable today. Unless someone can't view the black and white version it is silly to need to watch this one. Even the shower and stair scenes are replicated as best as possible. They were made to look just as hokey as they did back then.

Basically I feel that there's no reason to watch this movie. If you're going to check out Psycho you should go with the original.

Following

Year: 1998
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Mystery, Drama

I'm starting to think I'm not a fan of Christopher Nolan. I'm sure that's blasphemous to say in the film community but I just can't get into his movies. He seems to really like nonlinear storytelling, which I suppose is fine, but I don't like how the eventual reveals are meant to be huge deals. I've seen Memento and Inception and didn't enjoy either of them. I'm sure that will lose me a few fans right there.

Honestly, I just don't find the point to these films. But this is not a discussion of those other movies this is a discussion of Following. I wasn't grabbed right at the start and never ended up getting grabbed. I had a bit of trouble distinguishing between characters. Because I did have this issue may mean that was purposeful and "significant" but I never caught on to the significance. I'm not a stupid movie-watcher by any means it just never clicked.

As for the story that was being told nothing really interesting seemed to be going on. I'm not really a fan of crime or mafia/gang drama as is so that may have been why. I liked the look of the film, at least. It was very attractively done in black and white. I'm not sure if that was necessary but I suppose it was an unusual noir tale.

So, fans of Memento would probably find a great film here. If not though, then feel free to skip right over this.