~Review by Marie Robinson
Francis Ford Coppola is one of the most brilliant and acclaimed
directors in film history, and he likes horror! He did, after all, make
one of the greatest vampire films, and one I often consider to be my
favorite movie. Well, kiddies, Coppola has made his return to horror in
the form of Twixt.
It stars Val Kilmer as Hall Baltimore, a
horror writer who is hard pressed for money. While on a book signing
tour he stops in a strange, small town whose quirks include a pack of
homeless Goth kids who hang out on the other side of the pond, a clock
tower with seven faces, and an old inn where Edgar Allan Poe once stayed
and was also the site of a grisly murder.
Baltimore has a lot on
his mind. He is tired of penning the witchcraft thriller novels that he
has become known for and wants to write something truly inspired. His
editor and his wife are skeptical and unsupportive of this new
direction—they’d rather he stay where the money is. On top of this,
Baltimore is still grieving the sudden loss of his teenage daughter. All
this stress brings Baltimore into the loving embrace of a bottle—well,
many bottles.
Lucky for him, he has stumbled a spectacular place.
The bland ghost town turns into a world of gothic enchantment by night,
that is, in dreams brought on by intoxicated slumbers. In this
unconscious realm Baltimore meets a young girl named V (Elle Fanning)
who seems to be both shunned and pursued by the ghostly inhabitants of
the infamous bed and breakfast. Baltimore also makes a friend in every
horror writer’s greatest influence, Edgar Allan Poe, himself who tells
him the tale of the town’s murdered children.
Baltimore begins to
realize just how strange the town is during the daylit hours when the
sheriff takes a special interest in him. He claims to be a horror
writer, himself, and expresses his wishes to collaborate on a book with
Baltimore. The inspiration comes from the corpse of a teenage Jane Doe
in the morgue, with a large wooden stake jutting from her chest.
Coppola
claims the idea for Twixt—which was originally titled Twixt Now and
Sunrise—came to him in nightmares with Poe-like imagery. Apparently the
film got a small theatrical release in the States but I didn’t hear
about it until it was due for DVD. It hit the shelves this last Tuesday
on the 23rd.
Twixt is highly stylized to provide the gothic
atmosphere Coppola wanted to achieve. He transferred it from his dreams
to those of Kilmer’s character Hall Baltimore. This surreal dreamscape
is draped in heavy shadows contrasted by the eerie glow of porcelain
skin and bits of accent color that come from lanterns, windows, and, of
course, blood.
This is definitely a bizarre film. The story is
soft and slow, feeling more like poetry than prose. If there was just a
little less bloodshed and dark subject matter I would totally suggest as
a good movie to start your kids kick on horror! The style of it reminds
me a bit of Dracula, and it is a return to vampires for Coppola; but
this time, rather than drawing from Bram Stoker, the writer in question is assuredly Edgar Allan Poe.
Who
knows why this film went under the radar but I think it is worth a
watch. And with very mixed reviews, you’d be best to just decide for
yourself how you feel about this new film from one of the masters of
cinema.
4 comments:
Christine, did you fall about laughing when you read the com-girl-ts that i left over on "The Mikes" reveiw of "Red Rock West" on "From Midnight With Love" ! ?, what you wrote was funny too. Its Kismet baby, you and me were girl-t for each other ! ! !.
This has been on my radar for some time now - it looks like a stunning film.
James - I agree, I'm anxious to see this one too!! Hope all is well! I'll be in touch :)
I've known about this film for a while, but it hasn't been a priority until now. Did Elle Fanning turn in good work on this? Gosh, I hope so. I sort of fell in love with her after Super 8. I'm also very happy to hear that the film is stylized and surreal, but you honestly had me at "gothic atmosphere."
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