2010 Geek Fright Fest: Stir of Echoes

Stir of Echoes (1999)
Rated R (for violence, brief nudity, and language)

Directed by David Koepp

Starring:
Kevin Bacon
Kathryn Erbe
Illeana Douglas
Jennifer Morrison

Loosely based on Richard Matheson's novel of the same name, Stir of Echoes is the story of working-class Chicagoite Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon). He's a typical no-nonsense guy - he loves his wife, Maggie (Kathryn Erbe), and son, Jake, likes to drink beer and hang out with his friends, and he definitely doesn't believe in the supernatural. This causes him to clash with his wife's sister, Lisa (Illeana Douglas), who is into the unexplained. (One of my favorite lines in the film: "What I don't understand is how a person who's spent most of her life in college can believe all that superstitious crap.") She convinces him to try hypnosis, which he thinks is a crock, and slips a hypnotic suggestion into the mix that completely opens his mind. He begins to have strange, unexplained visions and sees the ghost of a young girl, who is clearly trying to communicate with him. Tom becomes obsessed with learning the ghost's secret, much to the horror of his wife.

The film opens with a child's voice humming The Rolling Stones song "Paint it Black". Jake Witzky (Zachary David Cope) is sitting in the bath tub and appears to be having a normal conversation with an unseen friend . . . until he asks, "Does it hurt to be dead?" Immediately, the audience knows what it's in for - a good old-fashioned ghost story.

Tom starts out with "real world" problems. He's just discovered his wife is newly pregnant, which isn't the happiest news for him, considering money is tight. The pregnancy also means that he is unable to join his buddies on their band's tour. This brings up major issues of inadaquacy for Tom, as he never expected to end up being "so ordinary". After his hypnosis, the ghost's influence over his life becomes the most important thing that has ever happened to him and his drive to see it through to the end represents his fight to do something extra-ordinary.

The director handles the hypnosis scene brilliantly. Initally, you're watching the film the way an audience typically would, but as Tom closes his eyes, you are looking from his point of view. When he shuts his eyes, the scene fades to black the way eyes normally close. You are being hypnotized as well. The scene stays black until Lisa instructs him to imagine a theater. Initially, we see an empty stage and other people sitting in the audience. Then, Lisa's instructions get more specific: a movie theater, you are alone, and everything in the room is black. The scene adjusts to her instructions in much the same way your mind shifts as you learn more details. It is an ingenious way to show what is happening in Tom's mind and to subconsciously make the hypnosis seem legitmate, since it is happening to you.

Tom begins to experience a number of odd occurances after his hypnosis. He chalks it up to residuals from the experience, but he still feels strange. After placing a call to Lisa, he finds out why. While hynoptizing him, she gave him a post-hypnotic suggestion that when he woke up, his mind would be "an open door". She laughs off his worries, telling Tom that the suggestion was harmless and at most could jumpstart some latent abilities he wasn't aware he had. The weirdness continues for Tom, though. The premonitions and hallucinations get steadily worse as the ghost reaches out more to him. As he delves deeper into what happened, he becomes steadily more obsessed.

As with many movies in the ghost story genre, the child is initally the only one who can see (and communicate) with the ghost. The difference with this film, however, is that Jake has far more interaction with the ghost than simply hiding from it under the covers. He talks to the ghost frequently, taking her advice on babysitters, and even chastising her for switching his favorite kid's show to a scary zombie flick that he is not allowed to watch. Cope is an excellent child actor, which makes it a shame that this is his latest acting credit. Unlike most child actors, he doesn't play the role sticky sweet or unnaturally creepy. He's a regular kid . . . who just happens to talk to ghosts.

Along with Cope, the rest of the cast is excellent. His turn as Tom is a surprising one for Bacon, who usually plays the slick and smarmy type. He has a convincing Chicago accent and seems genuine in his role as a working-class family man with fast-fading dreams of being a rock star. Illeana Douglas shines, as always. She is a brilliant character actress and I love to see her in roles like this. As Lisa, Tom's dippy sister-in-law, she is both ridiculously new-agey and bitingly sarcastic. It's an odd combination, but Douglas makes it work with her delivery. I was suprised at Kathryn Erbe's performance in this movie. I know her predominately from her role as Detective Eames on "Law and Order: Criminial Intent", which she plays pretty blah. In this film, Erbe is decidedly softer and more approachable. Jennifer Morrison (Cameron on "House") only has a few scenes, but is appropriately creepy as the ghost and her murder is heartbreaking in the final flashback.

Director David Koepp has more experience as a screenwriter (Stir of Echoes is his only his third directoral turn.), which makes this film even more impressive. The actors' performances are right on target and the mood is consistently suspenseful. Koepp relies heavily on repeated images. The same images appear in all of Tom's visions, expanding a little at a time. In this way, the audience learns the ghost's story piecemeal, as he does. "Paint it Black" is repeatedly heard and figures heavily into the denouement. There are classic scares - the ghost appears in mirrors, the color red signifies trouble, and the ghost's presence induces icy breath. Koepp does some interesting things that I haven't seen done with ghosts in other films, however. As Maggie gets ready to take a bath, the ghost sits on the edge of the tub, swirling the water with her hands, like you would to test the temperature. When she steps in, Maggie gasps from the cold water. The ghost also appears in the child's TV program Jake is watching and switches the station when he announces he doesn't want to talk. It is this combination of commonly used plot devices and unusual elements that keeps this film both a classic ghostly tale and a modern horror flick.

Fright Rating: 2 gasps out of a possible 5

Stir of Echoes is the perfect movie for ghost story lovers and viewers who scare easily. There is very little blood and guts, and the ghost's appearances are relatively mild. The majority of the scares come from suspenseful build-up and not frightening visuals. (This film is Rated R however, so it's not for kids or teens.)

2010 Geek Fright Fest: The Tenant

The Tenant (1976)
Rated R (for language, sexual content, and violence)

Directed by Roman Polanski

Starring:
Roman Polanski
Isabelle Adjani
Melvyn Douglas
Shelley Winters

Coming off of Rosemary's Baby, I watched Polanski's third film in his "Apartment Trilogy", The Tenant. Based on a 1964 French novel, Le Locataire Chimerique, by Roland Topor, The Tenant is the story of Trelkovsky, a Polish emigre to Paris who moves into a shabby, run-down apartment. He begins the film as a shy, well-mannered man who keeps to himself and ends up paranoid and hallucinating.

As the film begins, Trelkovsky inquires about an apartment his friend has told him about. After much cajoling (and a little bribery), he persuades the concierge to show him the apartment. The concierge, played by veteran actress Shelley Winters, informs him that the previous tenant, Simone Choule, "threw herself out the window" and then chuckles, gleefully running to the window to show him the skylights broken by the woman's fall. "She's not dead yet," the concerige says, "but she may as well be." When Trelkovsky asks what would happen if Simone got better, she replies, "She won't."

He decides to see Mademoiselle Choule at the hospital after speaking with the building's owner about the apartment. He is instructed not to speak to her because she just got out of a coma, but he is allowed to sit at her bedside. The woman is heavily bandaged and missing a front tooth. Trelkovsky is surprised by one of Simone's friends, Stella (Isabelle Adjani), who desperately pleads with her to speak. Suddenly, Simone lets out a terrible croaking scream and the two are instructed to leave by the head nurse. He later finds out that Simone has died of her injuries. This leaves him free to occupy her apartment.

Things begin to get stranger after he settles in. The neighbors continually complain about Trelkovsky making noise, even when he is not at home. He frequently sees neighbors staring at him from the window of the communal bathroom on the other side of the building. When rearranging furniture, he finds a tooth wrapped in cotton gauze and hidden in a hole in his wall behind an armoire.

The weirdness takes its toll on Trelkovsky. He begins to obsess about not making noise and he experiences bizarre compulsions and hallucinations. He comes to believe that everyone is conspiring against him, trying to force him to share Simone Choule's fate.

Unlike Rosemary's Baby, The Tenant starts out unsettling. The film is very bleak and moves steadily towards the bizarre. It's a thriller with a dash of French existentialism thrown in for good measure (think Camu's The Stranger meets Suspiria). Though it has some similar themes (paranoia, supernatural surrealism), it is easy to see why this film isn't as popular as Rosemary's Baby, especially here in the US. It's a decidedly European film with some very weird elements. While it is a beautiful and well-crafted film, it's definitely meant for film buffs and not casual viewers.

Fright Rating: 2 gasps out a possible five (mostly for sheer weirdness)

2010 Geek Fright Fest: Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Rated R (for language and brief nudity)

Directed by Roman Polanski

Starring:
Mia Farrow
John Cassavetes
Ruth Gordon
Sidney Blackmer

Polanski's Rosemary's Baby is an extremely faithful adaption of Ira Levin's novel of the same name, published in 1967. It centers on Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), the meek wife of a struggling actor, Guy (John Cassavetes). They jump at the chance to move into an apartment at the beautiful old Bramford, despite the building's sordid history. The one downside is the nosy elderly couple that lives across the hall. Guy becomes very fond of Minnie and Roman Castevet(right around the time his career starts to look up), but Rosemary is unsure. She is delighted to find out she is pregnant, but increasing more suspicious of her neighbors as they take a decidedly unnatural interest in the baby's well-being. As her pregnancy progresses, things become more and more strange, but there seems to be no one for Rosemary to turn to. She becomes convinced that the Castevets are out to harm her baby, even as her husband and friends begin to question her sanity.

Polanski has a great knack for creating a paranoid feel. The Woodhouses' ability to hear their neighbors through the wall starts out as humorous, but steadily takes on a more sinister feel. When Rosemary is helping Minnie wash dishes after their first meal together, she looks over her shoulder to see smoke wafting through the living room as her husband and Roman discuss unheard matters. The shot is off-center, which is a time-honored director's trick to make the audience unsettled. Rosemary's first inkling of trouble is evident when Guy announces he plans to return to the Castevets' apartment and he encourages her to stay home. It reinforces the unease she felt while he and Roman were talking. When Minnie and her friend, Lara-Louise, stop by unexpectedly, Rosemary is initally irritated, but quickly becomes alarmed when Minnie gives her an elaborate filligree charm filled with something called "tannis root". She has seen this charm before, and the last person who wore it is dead. After Minnie hands it to her (clearly avoiding looking at her, as though she is ashamed), Rosemary stares wide-eyed at the charm and in a choked voice, says, "It's lovely."

The film builds tension slowly, but when the Woodhouses decide to have a romantic evening hoping to conceive a child, Rosemary experiences a terrifying and surrealistic dream that appears to have been designed by Salvador Dali himself. This is the turning point and after that night, nothing is the same for Rosemary.

As most films do from this era, it seems dated, but the beautiful 60s fashions still seem chic, especially with the popularity of "Mad Men". The improvements made to the apartment after the Woodhouses move in are still fashionable too, in a Mod way. I would have loved to live there myself, without the Satanists of course.

Farrow is pitch perfect as Rosemary. She begins as a happy housewife who adores her husband, but by the end of the movie she denigrates into a paranoid waif suspicious of everyone who crosses her path. Her thin frame helps make Rosemary's decline in health realistic and she seems genuinely and increasingly frightened throughout the film. Cassavetes is excellent as Guy Woodhouse, Rosemary's selfish and unlikable husband. He is quick to make fun of others and callously diffident to his wife. It is not such a far stretch to imagine he'd sell his own soul (and his child) to further his career.

It is Gordon that truly shines in the film however. Her portrayal of Minnie Castevet definitely deserved the Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress. Gordon's nasal New York accent and blurred lipstick made her character come to life. She is initially annoying (and nosy!), but seems innocuous enough. A classic moment: when Guy fears that Rosemary is awake during a ritual, Minnie says, "She don't see. As long as she ate the mouse, she can't see nor hear. She's like dead. Now, sing." Even in the midst of a Satanic rite, Gordon's portrayal never waivers. Minnie is still the nagging New York housewife. It is this sense of normalcy in the midst of evil that makes the outcome of the film so diabolical.

My favorite part of this film is the beautiful cinematography. Polanski uses light to accentuate the mood of the scene and the colors are gorgeous. Films of this era with European directors usually have this kind of saturated camera work and Polanski's film is no exception.

Fright Rating: 1 gasp out of a possible five

The film has no gore and no real dicernable scares; it is all about suspense. Rosemary's Baby is a classic, and a must-watch for film buffs and horror movie fans. (Even though it's a classic, it's still rated R, so it's not for children.)