I'm not sure why I still get excited abut seeing Cameron Mitchell in the cast of of a movie. (It must be because of Space Mutiny.) I mean, I like the guy, but in Haunts, much like The Silent Scream, he gets top billing and just isn't around all that much. Maybe that's just his thing? And the plot description on Amazon is a little misleading... "May Britt plays a seemingly innocent farm girl convinced that her slovenly uncle (Cameron Mitchell) is the man responsible for the bloody scissor-murders of several local girls." First off, May Britt was in her mid-forties when Haunts was made, and I don't think you'd ever *really* suspect Cameron Mitchell - the synopsis actually swerves you more than the actual film. Plus, the box art makes it look like the devil will be involved, what with the goat head outline and cross prominently featured. But not such luck - Britt does milk some goats I guess, but that's about the extent of it.
At any rate, Haunts is a psychological thriller that is really a product of it's time - it's moody, slow, and plods along, but still gets pretty nasty at times. I feel like that's a kind of unique cocktail that you mostly see in 70's films. It's not particularly well done - some of the twists just kind of come out of nowhere, and it's not that technically proficient from a filmmaking standpoint. But it's still pretty effective at times. It actually reminded me of a more amateurish Let's Scare Jessica to Death. They've got kind of a similar vibe, and both focus on women with a shaky mental stability. Although Jessica is made with a lot more skill (and probably money) and has a better story and more engaging cast.
Haunts kicks off like a slasher. Some random family is eating dinner, and they send their daughter out to the pantry (which is outside - I never knew that was a thing). When she gets there, she's accosted by a scissors-wielding maniac. Luckily, she screams and gets away - but the poor woman who was brought to the pantry by the killer was not so lucky. The police search the woman's body and find that she was not only stabbed to death, but she had also been raped. So, this small town is now on high alert, as they are under the reign of terror of a vicious serial killer/rapist.
Eventually, our story hones in on Ingrid (Britt) - she's a religious, quiet type that seems pretty fearful of the world. Doubly so now that there's a known killer on the loose. Ingrid is plagued by memories of some unknown trauma - these are shown to us in very disorienting, fragmented flashbacks - but it's never clear exactly what is going on. But luckily her uncle Carl (Mitchell) is hanging around to protect her... although he doesn't always do a great job. Basically, we follow Ingrid around as she attempts to navigate her way around town (milking her goats, going to church) and avoid ending up being the next victim of the crazed killer.
Haunts is the kind of movie that's tough to talk about with getting all spoilery. But I can say that the message of the film seems kind of muddied, unless the whole moral of the story is "shit happens." You get kind of conflicting viewpoints/perspectives on Ingrid, the killer, and even the townsfolk, but none of their stories end up in a very satisfying or cohesive way.
It's a pretty dark movie too - both in tone, and the fact that you oftentimes can't see what is going on. This is a particular issue during the nighttime scenes. There just isn't a lot of "fun" in the film. Most of the horror is of the psychological variety, where you just watch a lonely and paranoid Ingrid deal with her traumatic past, and occasionally get attacked by a serial rapist. And her past (the flashbacks) are so obtuse that it becomes a bit frustrating after a while. They are edited so quickly and presented with zero context... so it's less ominous than confusing. Which I don't think is what they were going for.
While Haunts is not expertly made, it's not without it's charms. Despite being made in the Hollywood system (by American International Pictures and shot in Mendocino, CA), it has a regional feel to it. It's not a slick production in the least, which actually kind of adds some grittiness to Ingrid's isolation and fear. And Britt does a good job as Indgrid - her loneliness and pain comes through in all of her actions. Not just in her lines, but the way she carries herself. And even though her thick Swedish accent is distracting at times, it represents another way that Ingrid is distant from the other townsfolk. Cameron Mitchell is good in his supporting role, but the rest of the cast ranges from not very good to just okay.
So overall, Haunts is a mixed bag. There are certain elements that just don't work, but it still manages to be intriguing, even if it kind feels a little too ambling for its own good. If you're not in a real discerning mood and are feeling like some moody 70s-ness...
I would recommend this film.
No comments:
Post a Comment