Tag: psychological thriller

Dramas

Don’t Look Now

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Don’t Look Now, 1973

I thought I was through with being scared by Nicolas Roeg after watching Anjelica Huston peel her face off in The Witches, but it turns out, there was one more bit of nightmare fodder waiting for me. Don’t Look Now (Disc/Download) is a gorgeous, moody thriller based on the story by Daphne du Maurier, and perfect for those times when you want a dash of sexy sophistication with your horror.

Although I love the Venice of David Lean’s Summertime, Roeg’s Venice in Don’t Look Now feels much more authentic to the Venice I’ve personally encountered. This is a decaying city, full of narrow dark alleys, crumbling mosaics, and murky water. It’s also the perfect place to stage a horror film because one never knows what’s hiding in the shadows, or what you’ll find around the next corner. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie are fantastic together, playing a married couple still grieving the death of their young daughter, living in Venice while Sutherland works to restore a church. During a lunch break, they encounter a blind clairvoyant who informs them their dead daughter’s spirit is still with them. Also… danger is imminent. Roeg plays with time in a really interesting way, flashing backwards and forwards to knock the viewer off balance. You aren’t really sure where you are until the thrilling climax makes everything clear. In one second, this ghost story becomes something much more sinister.

Don’t Look Now is filled with flashes of red, usually in the form of a little girl’s raincoat. Let’s make an appropriately macabre Italian cocktail with a splash of Campari and a few grapefruit bitters. While watching Don’t Look Now, I recommend drinking this Death in Venice cocktail.

Death in Venice

½ oz Campari

3-4 dashes Grapefruit Bitters

5 oz Prosecco

Pour Campari and grapefruit bitters into a chilled flute and top with Prosecco.

This film caused a lot of controversy at the time of its release because of its very “aerobic” sex scene, a scene I actually thought was well-constructed. Roeg cuts back and forth from wild passion to the mundane task of getting dressed for a night on the town, from biting and clawing to putting on socks. This scene represents a lot of what I like about this movie—it mixes the terror of death with the everyday business of living. Maybe that makes it even scarier, for that flash of red can appear on even the most ordinary of days. Cheers!

Classic Films

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962

When I start to feel fatigued by feel-good sibling stories, I turn to movies that show us the darker side of familial bonds. After all, sisters don’t always perform cute song-and-dance numbers like Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen in White Christmas.  Sometimes, sisters are merely two women who share some DNA and nothing else. And then there’s a darker sub-category, exclusively reserved for the Hudson sisters in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Disc/Download).

This film had been on my watch list for a long time, and I finally took the plunge last summer after watching Ryan Murphy’s Feud miniseries. Surely, I thought, the movie isn’t nearly as bonkers as the making of the movie. Oh, how wrong I was. With over-the-top performances from Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, this tale of an aging child actress imprisoning (and torturing) her paraplegic sister in a Hollywood mansion is equal parts scary and campy. With a perfect blend of horror and suspense, the audience is taken on Baby Jane’s journey into madness, as resentment turns to homicidal rage. Davis’s clown makeup is truly terrifying, and she’s absolutely brilliant in the role of a washed-up vaudeville star. Crawford provides the melodrama, as intense as those trademark eyebrows. I’m sure Blanche was probably wishing she’d invested in an elevator before her little sister went crazy, however after a recent viewing of Olivia De Havilland in Lady in a Cage, I’m rethinking that idea. Baby Jane looks like the type to cut the power.

As many people are aware, Joan Crawford was not just an actress, but also a cola executive! Through her marriage to Pepsi-Cola’s president and CEO, she held a seat on the board of directors and often shilled the beverage in print ads and appearances. This week, I’m making a drink in honor of “Miss Pepsi” herself. While watching What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, I recommend drinking this Paralyzer cocktail.

Paralyzer

4 oz Pepsi

1 oz Coffee Liqueur

1 oz Vanilla Vodka

2 oz Milk

1 Maraschino cherry

Fill a glass with ice, and pour in the Pepsi. In a shaker, combine coffee liqueur, vodka, and milk. Gently pour over the Pepsi slowly. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

This drink definitely seems like something Jane would’ve enjoyed while posing next to her lookalike doll, or perhaps carried on a silver tray for her big sis. I don’t know how well it pairs with “dead rat”, but if you’re #teamCoke like me, you’ll still get a good scream. Cheers!