Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Starring Mia Farrow & John Cassavetes
131 mins; M; DVDRoman Polanski has had a chequered career in the US – several years after his wife Sharon Tate was brutally
murdered by crazed Satanists, he was forced into exile after plying a fourteen year old girl with alcohol and raping her. The fact that this is where the attention on him has been is a pity because the man is a very good director, though falling short of greatness with all his films,
Rosemary’s Baby being no exception. The film, which made a star out of Mia Farrow, was also one of the first films that looked at Satanism from a purely psychological viewpoint – fifties Hammer films and Italian exploitation had done it before, but not with such intelligence. Based on Ira Levin’s novel of the same name, the film begins with young married couple Rosemary (Farrow) and Guy (Cassavetes) Woodhouse moving into a small New York townhouse. The place has quite a colourful background but the stories of murder and mayhem do little to discourage the pair. When they arrive, their neighbours the Castavets (played by Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of this sinister eccentric) welcome them with open arms and there is an eerie sinisterness about how they accept the Woodhouse’s into their lives. When Rosemary falls pregnant, Guy, a struggling actor, is too busy to notice her increasing neuroses about her unborn child and neighbours, which morphs into a paranoia after her old friend sees her and gives her a book about witchcraft, earmarking pages that suggest the Castavets groomed Rosemary to bear the child of Satan.
After forty years, the initial impact of
Rosemary’s Baby has evidently been lost. However there is so much to praise the film for – the performances are quite exemplary, the direction is stylish and the film does maintain an eerie atmosphere. William Castle, (
House on Haunted Hill) is on board as producer after being denied a shot at directing it – it seemed his brazen techniques weren’t seen as beneficial for a film that required subtlety to get its point across, and Polanski pulls it off with evident skill. It’s also interesting to analyse the ending from two different perspectives and perhaps this is where Polanski fails – he shows us too much when we see the Satanist meeting in the Castavet’s apartment. The film had, from that point, been ambiguous in its meaning and the satanic themes were only ever hinted to – it could have been simply paranoid events unfolding in Rosemary’s head. Despite its faults
Rosemary’s Baby is an excellent horror film that, forty years on, remains essential viewing.
8/10The Shining (1980)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd
115 mins; MA15+; DVD/VHSEasily the best horror film of all time,
The Shining is a flawless adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling novel and launched Jack Nicholson into superstardom. Writer Jack Torrance (Nicholson) takes up a job as an off season caretaker for the remote Overlook Hotel and heads to the Colorado mountains with his wife Wendy (an exceptionally ugly Duvall) and young son
Danny (Lloyd). Torrance’s employers recount him a history of the hotel and some of its sinister secrets however this doesn’t seem to deter Torrance and he assures that his wife (‘a self-confessed horror buff’) would make light of the stories also. Danny, who has the ability to ‘shine’ (or, for those laymen out there, psychic) has visions of the brutal murders that occurred in the hotel before. As the days, then weeks, go on, Jack begins a gradual descent into madness. He becomes abusive towards Wendy and Danny, before exploding into an outrageous fit of violence.
The Shining holds as one of the most visionary, stylish and harrowing horror films ever made, far surpassing these similar qualities found in its predecessors –
Rosemary’s Baby, Night of the Living Dead and
The Exorcist to name a few. Kubrick charts Jack’s descent into the realms of psychosis so well that the film manages to shock over twenty-five years on and Nicholson’s performance is the best of his career. It’s a shame, then, to note that King himself (who had no involvement in the writing or production of the film) disliked it so immensely that he participated in a 1997 remake helmed by Mick Garris which, needless to say, is far inferior to Kubrick’s outstanding work.
10/10 One of the most enduring antiheroes of horror cinema, Hannibal Lecter has made it to the screens again, albeit a far sight younger, in Hannibal Rising. In honour of this new film, we will review all of the movies that have the good Doctor as their star. They will be written in order of their respective production dates, rather than chronologically.
Manhunter (1986)
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring William L Peterson, Brian Cox, Dennis Farina
119 mins; M; DVDAn overlooked Lecter film and for good reason, Michael Mann’s
Manhunter is a convoluted exercise in style-over-substance that could (but, thankfully, didn’t) have led to the single-handed slaughter of Hannibal in cinema. We are introduced to the brilliant psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox) who, needless to say, has a penchant for consuming human flesh. Based on Thomas Harris’ novel
Red Dragon, a killer known as the Tooth Fairy stalks families and FBI agent Will Graham must enlist the help of Hannibal from his prison cell in order to catch the murderer. However, Hannibal doesn’t give up information quite so easily and, from his maximum security cell, engages Graham in an uneasy emotional exchange.
Manhunter, at its peak, contains some very worthy performances, not necessarily of Peterson (CSI) and Cox, but of its supporting cohort – Dennis Farina (Law and Order), Kim Griest as Graham’s wife and Joan Allen. It is very stylish but with little to complement this, it remains an inferior thriller, certainly unworthy of the praise it has received.
5/10The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn
115 mins; MA15+; DVD/VHS
The first horror film to win Oscars in all five major categories (pictur
e, director, screenplay, actor and actress) and the third ever film to do so (after
It Happened One Night and
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), it goes without saying that
Silence of the Lambs is a superior thriller. The film showcases some of the most intense performances within the genre, Demme’s direction is superb and Ted Tally’s screenplay from Robert Harris’ bestselling novel is a major asset.
The film introduces Anthony Hopkins to the role as the deranged Hannibal and the Welshman pulls it off with uncanny skill. The plot isn’t that different to that of
Manhunter/Red Dragon – a killer known as Buffalo Bill begins to murder women and dump their bodies and the only person brilliant enough to capture him is his criminal equal Lecter. However, this time it is female agent Clarice Starling (Foster’s career-defining performance) sent to analyse him and gather information to assist the case. However, as in
Manhunter, Hannibal is not satisfied with giving information for nothing, and begins to forge a morbid relationship with Clarice, exchanging homicidal insights for snippets about the FBI agent’s private life.
It would be interesting to see
Silence’s success had
Manhunter been a more commercial film – granted,
Silence is better-done, but part of its wild success was its originality. Were the accolades
Silence received undeserving? Certainly not, however it is important to remember that this has been done before and was done better in 2001. The script does occasionally get bogged down in detail, but then startles us awake with a disturbing set piece.
Silence remains essential because it was the first film to chart the story of Hannibal Lecter with great success and contains tour-de-force performances from A-list stars performing above and beyond their powers, but not necessarily because it is the best film of the series.
7/10Hannibal (2001)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta
126 mins; MA15+/R18+; DVD/VHSRidley Scott is at the helm of this third instalment in the outstandingly successful series and, on the first frame, he redefines it – stylistically, this is more
Manhunter than
Silence, however it retains a similar intensity of background story, acting prowess and direction as its 1990 counterpart.
Hannibal is at once an arthouse film as Anthony Hopkins reprises his role as the brilliant Doctor, running loose along the Italian countryside. As the FBI attempt to catch up with him, Hannibal attempts to lure Agent Clarice Starling (this time played by Moore) into a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Hannibal is arguably the strongest instalment of the series, perhaps even more than its award-hogging predecessor. It was a long time coming, too, over a decade had gone without mere cinematic mention of Lecter;
Hannibal’s commercial mediocrity may account for filmgoers going in with too-high expectations. However, Scott takes us beyond the psychological thrills of
Silence and truly immerses us in the mind of a madman with a series of blackly comic, violent and sickening deeds the titular antihero commits. The acting is brilliant and the show-stealer is Ray Liotta as Starling’s rival FBI agent Krendler, his best role since
Goodfellas. The film is exceptionally grisly and the final scene had the film amped up to an R18+ rating while in cinema. There are two DVDs on release in Australia – a two disc edition classified R18+, while the single-disc is MA15+. Very highly recommended and should be a film no cinemagoer should miss. 9/10
Red Dragon (2004)
Directed by Brett Ratner
Starring Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes
119 mins; MA15+; DVD/VHSHannibal returns to the screen in this remake of
Manhunter which, needless to say, is superior to its 1986 inspiration.
Silence’s scriptwriter Tally is also on board, along with Hopkins, Norton as Will Graham and Fieness as the Tooth Fairy. There is little by way of plot change here and the performances are typically brilliant. The supporting cast of Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman (who was awarded an Oscar for his role as Capote in the film of the same name) and the always-excellent Harvey Keitel are great. Visually, the film is reminiscent of
Silence rather than the stylish aesthetics of
Hannibal or
Manhunter, with most of the action and character development taking place in the bowels of Hannibal’s prison cell.
Red Dragon manages the slow-burn intensity of horror well, though not quite as brilliantly as
Hannibal. A very worthy entry to the series and could safely take the place of
Manhunter as Thomas Harris’
Red Dragon.
8/10
Hannibal Rising (2007)
Directed by Peter Webber
Starring Gaspard Ulliel & Gong Li
126 mins; MA15+; Cinema (DVD release late 2007)It’s never a good sign when a film comes out literally a month after the book it has been based upon, nor when its release date is firmly in the realms of financially-destructive February. However,
Hannibal Rising is much better than these signs would have you think, not least for Thomas Harris’ own script.
There is no Hopkins to be seen here; the film recounts the early life of
the murderous doctor and no amount of airbrushing can emulate the youthful and delightfully unhinged persona of Ulliel in the titular role. After witnessing his parents be murdered during the Second World War, a very young Hannibal (no more than nine or ten) and his little sister are held hostage by a group French partisans escaping the Nazis. When hunger strikes, the group kill Hannibal’s sister and eat her. Fast forward eight years and, after running away from his orphanage, Hannibal takes refuge in Paris with his aunt (Gong Li) and begins to exact bloody revenge on his sister’s, er, diners.
with his Oscar win for The Departed, making it his first golden statuette despite five (Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and The Aviator) unsuccessful Best Directing nominations. Master of the gangster genre after creating films such as Mean Streets (1973), Casino (1995), Gangs of New York (2002) and his best film Goodfellas (1990), Scorsese has also dabbled in a number of other genres – from comedy (After Hours) to epic period pieces (The Aviator). 
with his Oscar win for The Departed, making it his first golden statuette despite five (Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and The Aviator) unsuccessful Best Directing nominations. Master of the gangster genre after creating films such as Mean Streets (1973), Casino (1995), Gangs of New York (2002) and his best film Goodfellas (1990), Scorsese has also dabbled in a number of other genres – from comedy (After Hours) to epic period pieces (The Aviator). 
hurch into frenzy was that of Jesus having pre-marital sex with Mary Magdalene. In 1990, Scorsese directed the Mafia film Goodfellas, which was nominated for best picture and director, among others. Joe Pesci won the best supporting actor Oscar for his portrayal as the trigger-happy psycho Tommy. After directing a remake of Cape Fear in 1991 and The Age of Innocence in 1993, Scorsese returned to the Mob genre with Casino, the story of Mafia involvement with the Las Vegas gambling scene. In 2004, he directed Cate Blanchett to an Oscar with his Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator. 
