We have ten days left in the month of October! It’s hard to believe we’re this far into the game. For this deep-dive, we’re going back in time to the 1960s and into the early seventies. As you can tell from the title, we’ll be looking at two of Hitchcock’s films as well as one of the scariest (if not THE scariest) demon child films of all time.
I’m going to throw in a trigger warning: the films mentioned all involve some degree of s**ual assault/violent misogyny. Knowing he was perversely aggressive with a handful of his female talent, it’s hard to be a Hitchcock fan. A lot of today’s microaggressions are being corrected, and it’s made clear now more than ever that vile behavior of any kind towards any person is unacceptable, but demanding sexual favors was always, and forever will be, abhorrent. I don’t want to put a damper on this edition of Spooky Scary Cinema, but I do think noting the unfortunate truth behind Hitchcock, no matter how talented a filmmaker he was, is important before proceeding. It’s like donating to RAINN before getting down to “Forever” by Chris Brown or “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly. Whoop, can of worms. Let’s watch some sixties thrillers!
Frenzy (1972)
Thank you, Peacock, for providing me with Hitchcock’s library. Peacock provides this one sentence synopsis: Circumstantial evidence holds an innocent Londoner (Jon Finch) for the work of a rapist who strangles his victims with neckties. The film takes place in London, and opens on a shot of the Thames (which made me miss the city, a lot). Like I said last week (regarding Dracula), I love older movies. Granted there’s more than thirty years between Dracula and Frenzy (give or take), but they all have a certain cadence that doesn’t exist in modern movies. There’s also a scene where two characters are in the back of a cab, and the illusion of driving through the city is so quintessentially vintage. The score of the film is certainly fun, and a handful of the locations are still standing (for example, the Hilton Hotel at Covent Garden was the Coburg Hotel back then, which was used and referenced in the movie).
Being an early seventies movie, there’s hints of the late sixties ( women’s fashion) and the early seventies (Jon Finch’s mustache). I also feel like such violence for Hitchcock was a bit obscene for the time, but would be kind of next-to-nothing by today’s standards. As it is, there is a rape scene and a violent murder, which I found very uncomfortable to witness. There are a few victims of the murderer shown in the film, and they’re each shown with their eyes open and their tongues flung out along their mouths. It leaves me shocked to remember it.
Hitchcock really seems to enjoy violence against women, and between Norman Bates and Robert Rusk, I think it’s all very Oedipal. The movie made me nostalgic for when I used to walk in London by myself, and I found parts of it to be very intense. There’s a great scene of dramatic irony between the penultimate victim and the murderer, and almost immediately after there’s a scene where the murderer is in the back of a moving truck trying to remove some incriminating evidence from the victim’s corpse. The final line of the film is also very gratifying. I wouldn’t put this movie at the TOP of the must-see list for Hitchcock’s films, but it’s compelling for at least one viewing. The crimes against women in this movie are a bit too much for my taste.
Psycho (1960)
A favorite of mine, not even for the horror genre, but in all movies. I think some people would say “Vertigo” or “Dial M for Murder” might be Hitchcock’s finest, but I think “Psycho” is the ultimate Hitchcock film. Peacock’s summary is, in a word, amusing: “A woman on the run stops at a 12-cabin motel with showers.” Good one, Peacock.
The title sequence of the film always reminded me of a James Bond movie credits roll. It’s so dynamic! The score of this film is also good. Between the Norma Bates motif, and the plucking in the iconic shower scene, it’s all just inherently sinister. I also wonder if this film was the greatest twist in a movie until Chinatown/Empire Strikes Back/Sixth Sense. Who could have predicted it? When I first watched the movie, I just thought skinny and a bit off-kilter Norman Bates was so cute. They make him just proper and sweet and nervous enough to be charming. I remember “The Social Network” had just come out the first time I saw it and I thought they could remake it with Andrew Garfield as Norman Bates. I don’t think a remake is necessary though, especially after they made a super mediocre one in the nineties.
I love the tilts and slow pans that Hitchcock employs. There’s a great slow pan when the murderer in “Frenzy” ensnares his penultimate victim, and “Psycho” has two scenes that have always stuck out to me: Detective Arbogast interrogates Norman regarding the disappearance of Marion Crane. He points out the alias she used when checking into the Bates Motel, and like a bird, Norman tilts his neck to view the guestbook with him. Later, when Sam Loomis (who I didn’t realize until this viewing is handsome) comes to the motel to look for Arbogast, Norman is seen observing the swamp behind the motel. The camera awkwardly (but magnificently) tilts and zooms onto Norman’s face as he hears Sam calling for Arbogast.
Then, of course, there’s the final ten minutes, which are the twist, two near back-to-back monologues, and the final shot of the murderer’s smirking face, superimposed into a skull, as evidence is pulled from the black abyss.
I could read books about the making of this movie, about every minute detail that went into the production of it. I think it’s a good introduction to horror movies in general, because it isn’t overly terrifying, but it keeps you on edge. I guess I shouldn’t say that so lightly, because a certain actress would go on to only take baths for the rest of her life after this movie!
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
THIS MOVIE. WHOO. WOW. OKAY. I was angry watching it. High key, murmuring at the screen, looking for details about a sequel because I wanted to know if vengeance was cast, angry. The one sentence summary (courtesy of me, not Peacock, as this was only available on Amazon) for “Rosemary’s Baby”: A young couple move into a new apartment in New York City, only to become pregnant to the delight of the eerily nosey neighbors. Mia Farrow, who plays the eponymous Rosemary, looks a bit like both Gwyneth Paltrow and January Jones (which has me wondering if the likeness is one of the contributing factors to casting January Jones in the role of 1960s jaded housewife and mother, Betty Draper, in “Mad Men”). Farrow also sang the eerie lullaby that plays over the opening and closing title sequences. The apartment they purchase is gorgeous, and was apparently inspired by (and partially filmed in) the Dakota, where John Lennon lived (and Yoko still lives) when he was assassinated some twelve years after the movie was released. It’s a very New York movie, and the style reflects the changing looks of the late sixties into the traditionally more mod miniskirts and flats (in lieu of housedresses and heels). Rosemary befriends a neighbor named Terry, who has voluminous hair that can only be acquired (presumably) through genetics and a lot of hairspray.
I don’t want to get into the plot of the movie as much, for the sake of spoilers. I will say there is another rape scene in this movie. There’s also internalized misogyny, gaslighting, and I would say emotional spousal abuse. The husband is a piece of work, and I was ready to throw hands every time he came on screen at the hour-and-a-half minute mark (through the rest of the movie really). Rosemary has to deal with everyone giving, and insisting on, their methods of treating her pregnancy, and it made me so sad for women of that time. Rosemary goes to a doctor for help, only to then be placed immediately back into the arms of those who wish to harm her, because she’s clearly a most delusional woman who cannot be believed. The audacity. It truly made my blood boil.
You couldn’t make this movie today, in my opinion, because if any sane woman heard creepy religious chanting through the shared wall of the apartment next door late at night, I’m pretty sure they’d demand to be let out of the lease by the end of the month. I’d quickly say “No, that’s enough of that” and couch surf until we got a new place. Situations like that make me wish realtors would let you spend a night in an apartment before you decide to rent it. What if it’s too cold? What if the neighbors are very weird? What if they have a bird who only sings the same line from “Break My Stride” all hours of the day?
This movie was chilling enough that I don’t know if I’d watch it again. I’d maybe watch snippets in film essays, because I think they’re fun, but I’d almost rather attempt to do what I just said would be impossible, and re-write it with a more feminist spin. I mean, someone has to pay for the consequences of their actions. It won’t be me.
I was thoroughly spooked and utterly content watching these dalliances into Hitchcock and Hellspawn. That said, I’ve barely scratched the surface of either. Hitchcock’s ouvre is expansive, and “Children of the Corn” and “The Omen” had multiple sequels. There’s plenty of material for me to stick my hand into, should I decide to go on another deep dive next Spooktober!