The Devils (1971)

If you've seen The Devils a long time ago and wondered why I would include it alongside the many other horror movies I have chosen to watch at this time of year then I would suggest to you that it's time you revisited The Devils. This is a horror film, and it's as powerful and wild to watch today as I'm sure it was when first released in 1971. In fact, having heard all about it for many years, both the content and the power of it, I was worried about it feeling a bit dated and diluted nowadays. Trust me, this is one that remains a test for hardy viewers.

What you need to know is that Oliver Reed portrays Urbain Grandier, a holy man who has his own particular way of living a holy life. He doesn't deny himself some pleasures of the flesh, but he does try to ensure that those around him are safe and spiritually-nourished. Vanessa Redgrave is Sister Jeanne, a woman who becomes obsessed with Grandier, believing that he can be her saviour. It's not long until frustration and resentment lead to some accusations that allow some powerful figures to cut Grandier down to size.

While Ken Russell isn't a director I will always respond positively to, it's undeniable that he has directed a number of features throughout his career that different people could refer to as masterpieces. This one would be my choice, and I know I am far from alone with that opinion. Based on a play by John Whiting, itself based on a novel, "The Devils Of Loudun", by Aldous Huxley, Russell fearlessly looks at religious hypocrisy and the kind of ridiculous show trials that could be used to get rid of anyone deemed to be a threat. It could all be laughable, and there are some fleeting moments of amusement here, if it wasn't all so cold-hearted and deadly.

Reed is as brilliant as he needs to be in his role, embodying his character with the gravitas and brooding presence of, well, peak Oliver Reed. Redgrave also does very good work, as do Gemma Jones, Georgina Hale, and the many others portraying women who feel themselves getting a bit flustered and faint in Reed's presence. Dudley Sutton and Brian Murphy are familiar faces in supporting roles, but the other key player to mention is Michael Gothard, playing one of the most cretinous and punchable villains I have seen in any film of any genre.

It's a shame that we STILL cannot see the full and uncut version of this (the controversial content has ensured that Warner Bros. keep doing their best to control what version is available), but it's a testament to the film, and to Russell, that what we have is already such an incredibly powerful work, full of astonishing imagery and moments that convey absolutely horrendous pain and trauma. Part of me never wants to watch this again, but another part of me thinks that I could watch it every day for the rest of my life and never get sick of appreciating the blend of the beautiful and the grotesque.

I implore others to avoid making the same mistake that I did. Watch this as soon as you possibly can, and see it in the best possible quality. It's a masterpiece. And to the devil with those who say otherwise. 

10/10

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Netflix And Chill: Wicked Little Letters (2023)

Based on a true story, one that scandalised at least parts of the UK, Wicked Little Letters is all about, well, exactly what the title says. It's the 1920s, and people in the Littlehampton start to receive anonymous letters full of choice insults and hatred. Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) is the pious spinster who seems to be targeted by these letters, which makes her foul-mouthed neighbour, Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), the number one suspect. The police believe they have their criminal, although one officer (WPC Gladys Moss, played by Anjana Vasan) thinks there may be cause to look elsewhere.

Having been documented in the press of the time, and subsequently in a couple of books on the subject, writer Jonny Sweet has a good central premise to work with. I don't know how close to the truth this gets, it may be as far removed from it as we are from the moon, but there are many moments that certainly play out as you can imagine, reflecting prejudices and behaviours as sadly prevalent today as they were decades ago.

Director Thea Sharrock knows the value of her talent pool, in both the writing and the cast, and everyone involved knows the value of some cracking swear-words sprinkled liberally throughout every scene. I am not saying that swearing is big or clever, but it can be bloody funny, especially when the words are being uttered by people seemingly unable to comprehend the flavour of the language being used.

Both Colman and Buckley are very good, as you would expect. The former gets to act very still and oppressed for the majority of the runtime, the latter is an enviable free spirit looking to enjoy a new life that should make things more comfortable for her daughter (played by the very talented Alisha Weir). Vasan is on par with the two leads, her expressions often showing her true reactions to the prejudice she has to deal with on a daily basis. There are also wonderful performances from Timothy Spall (being entertainingly loathsome), Hugh Skinner and Paul Chahidi (as unimaginative members of the police force), and Eileen Atkins, Lolly Adefope, and Joanna Scanlan, playing women who also want to help uncover the true identity of the letter-writer. Malachi Kirby also does well, and has some surprisingly sweet moments amidst the rudeness, and viewers will spot familiar faces such as Gemma Jones, Tim Key, and Jason Watkins joining in with the profane fun. 

While it is all about letters filled with rude words, this is a film also all about the danger of jumping to conclusions, and just how easily someone can use their position in society to demonize and ostracize someone they view as being a lesser member of the community. It shows how little it takes to turn people against others, while using some truth, some half-truths, and a whole lot of lies. Sound familiar? Because it does to me, especially during a time when the UK has seen such rioting and disruption caused by almost the exact same tactics. Wicked little social media posts, you might say.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: God's Own Country (2017)

The easiest way to describe God’s Own Country is to label it Brokeback Yorkshire Moors. It is a tale of repression and frustration in a lonely and uncomfortable natural environment, but it’s also something that explores a very British resignation to accepting the status quo, the notion of family ties that keep you firmly rooted in one place, and a small serving of xenophobia.

Josh O’Connor plays Johnny Saxby, a young man who spends his days doing a lot of work on the family farm, where he lives with his stern father (Ian Hart) and his grandmother (Gemma Jones). With very little else to occupy his time, Johnny spends most evenings getting blind drunk at the nearest pub. He sometimes manages to make time for a quick sexual encounter with another man, but the focus is on getting it done quickly before anyone notices. When the farm takes on hired help for a week or so (a Romanian migrant worker named Gheorghe, played by Alec Secareanu), Johnny has someone to take his resentment out on, but also someone who can keep him company as they share time together with nobody else nearby. 

Written and directed by Francis Lee, making his feature debut after serving up a few shorts (and having worked as a jobbing actor for a couple of decades before those), God’s Own Country is a slow and deliberate study of someone trying to spend time ignoring their own feelings, despite being on their own most of the time. Soundtracked by animal noises and the near-constant wind blowing over the fields, it is a film highlighting how people can acclimatize to their situation so well that they then struggle to deal with parts of themselves that seem incompatible.

While the cast all do good work (Jones and Hart both doing their usual excellent work, Secareanu holds his own impressively as a relative newcomer on the scene), the star of the show is O’Connor, working hard to show the vulnerability and pain in a character who spends some time being as unpleasant as possible to those around him: lashing out because they’re there, and he feels trapped.

Although it isn’t unrelentingly gloomy, this is a bleak tale that only gives viewers a very occasional sense of hope. That is in line with how the main characters may see their lives, all clouds and fleeting moments of sunshine, but Lee tries hard to reward viewers who sit through so much misery. Whether it’s the saving of a weak newborn animal or the potential repairing of a sorely-damaged family unit, there are scenes here that do just enough to remind us that small acts can be hugely rewarding, and that one small change can make a massive difference to someone who has only ever known a constant timetable they thought they would be enslaved to forever.

Sometimes painful to watch, sometimes frustrating, God’s Own Country is also sometimes (just sometimes) uplifting. And it is always moving and engrossing. Highly recommended.

8/10

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Fragile (2005)

Jaume Balaguero is a considerable talent in the horror genre. Just check out his filmography if you don't believe me. And here he is, working once again with writer Jordi Galceran, to provide more thrills and chills for fright fans, with a tale that takes place in a hospital for children that's due to be closed down.

Calista Flockhart stars as a nurse, Amy Nicholls, who comes to work in the hospital for its last few days of operation. The children left in the hospital seem to share a collective fear of some presence in the hospital, something that may be connected to the abandoned second floor, and Amy starts to share their apprehension, to say the least, as she finds out more about her new workplace from a young girl named Maggie (Yasmin Murphy).

From the very first scenes to the final shot of the movie, Fragile is a film concerned with keeping viewers creeped out. There are moments to make you wince, and there are one or two gore gags, but the focus is always on genuine scares that mount up to create an atmosphere of real dread.

With a title relating to a number of different elements within the movie, it's hard not to jokingly refer to the lead role as the one that Flockhart was born to play (considering how often her fragile physical appearance has been the subject of celebrity gossip mags in previous years) but I'll try to restrain myself. Yet, it's equally hard not to want to scatter extra praise on her performance in an attempt to compensate for those who will write her off as "Ally McBeal". She's excellent here, and really IS perfect for the role. Richard Roxburgh, Elena Anaya, Colin McFarlane and Gemma Jones are all also very good, while young Murphy holds her own alongside her adult co-stars.

The script, co-written by Balaguero and Galceran, stumbles here and there (especially during one particularly awkward scene between Flockhart and Roxburgh), but those mis-steps are easily forgotten as the tension ratchets up and up, and everything slots into place for a finale that could go in any direction.

Reminiscent of great modern ghost stories such as The Devil's Backbone, The Orphanage, and A Tale Of Two Sisters, this is an impressively straightforward horror that should be a high priority for any fan after something genuinely creepy. Balaguero may have disappointed me slightly with Darkness, but he's made up for it many times over in the intervening years. This is another reason to look forward to everything he does.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Fragile-Fangoria-Frightfest-Calista-Flockhart/dp/B003T04NC4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413710281&sr=8-2&keywords=fragile