This was praised to me as a classic of the slasher genre, and I must admit it takes several stylistic risks that I was not expecting. Possible spoilers are ahead, although I'm fairly confident most of my readers will be aware of the plot points that this film was the first to use.
Most importantly, this film is apparently the first to use the "the calls are coming from inside your house!" ending, wherein the police discover that the harassing phone calls that have tormented a group of women all night were actually placed from another floor of the house. It also features extensive subjective camerawork from the POV of the killer, and the killer's identity and motives are deliberately left open-ended. For a film that at times seems mechanical (a fault many slasher movies share), it broaches the subject of abortion and seems surprisingly comfortable not tying up all the loose plot ends. It makes extensive use of the Christmas setting to create a feeling of dread about a holiday that, if we're honest with ourselves, we've all felt a little discomfort about for one reason or another. Overall, a tight little slasher picture with a few surprises up its sleeve: an ideal gift to give yourself on a dark night this holiday season.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment