Films to Love: Chills and Thrills
As we approach All Hallow’s Eve, it’s customary to break out the Halloween classics. Of course, most of those classics are rather gory in nature. Some are hokey. Some are corny. And then some are real chilling and thrilling.
I prefer thrillers rather than the bloody, pop out at you, gross movies that tend to be very popular at this time of year. Nothing against those movies. I’ve watched them, too, but I just prefer something that leaves me on the edge of my seat psychologically more so than just covering my eyes and asking my husband or brother when it’s over.
Today I’m sharing a few options that might shake up your playlist this weekend. They all revolve around the concept of gaslighting. Loosely understood, gaslighting is a psychological game played upon a person to make them question their reality and their sanity.
There’s a psychological complexity and terror that goes along with gaslighting. To make someone question their cognizance so fully that they doubt themselves entirely is something none of us believe can ever happen to us. Yet, there have been times documented throughout history where such a phenomenon has occurred. And, for those in the movie making industry, this has provided ample fodder for films.
The nature of suspense insists that I only provide you with enough plot line to whet your appetite. It would not do to give so much away that you know how these well constructed plots unfold.
Gaslight
It’s appropriate to start the conversation of gaslighting with a movie that lays out precisely how insidious and horrible it truly is.
Starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, and Joseph Cotton, Gaslight is a psychological thriller helmed by George Cukor, who has a knack for extracting masterful performances out of his actors, particularly the women.
Ingrid Bergman plays Paula Alquist, a somewhat fragile young woman who has been sent to Italy to study opera singing. Paula was raised by her aunt, Alice, an accomplished opera singer, who was murdered in her home in London when Paula was only fourteen years old. This incident has left Paula somewhat scarred, but the Italian landscape seems to be aiding her healing.
As Italy is the perfect backdrop of romance, Paula meets Gregory Anton, played by Charles Boyer- who doesn’t need to do much more than open his mouth to be devastatingly attractive. After a whirlwind romance of two weeks, they marry. Paula insists that they return to London and live in Alice’s vacant house.
This is where it all starts to go downhill. The newlyweds move into the townhouse. As the house seems to conjure up memories for Paula, Gregory insists that all of Alice’s belongings and furniture be moved in to the attic. However, this only seems to augment Paula’s anxiety. A series of unexplainable events start to occur. Misplaced items, missing things, gaslight dimming inexplicably. Whenever Paula voices her concerns, Gregory logically explains them away. She must have forgotten that she took the brooch out of her purse. She must have forgotten that she moved a painting from the sitting room. She must have imagined the lights dimming or the footsteps in the attic.
It all makes sense. Everything that he says. And it shakes Paula to her core. Slowly, she begins to isolate herself, believing that she is becoming a kleptomaniac. Her anxiety is through the roof. And her husband, who has been so understanding, seems to be more and more concerned for her mental health.
Because this movie is a classic, many films since have built upon the same foundation laid out in this plot. However, even though you may guess at the ending, Gaslight is a worthy watch for several reasons. First, it is the first of its kind. It set the stage for myriad movies to follow in its wake. Second, the performances are exceptional. Ingrid Bergman is stunning as a disillusioned, fragile, anxious woman who questions her reality with increasing frequency. Charles Boyer is superb. He’s quiet, thoughtful, tender one moment, passionate, angry, and irrational the next. Yet, he pulls off this dichotomy without a hitch, which is no small feat. And then, small though his role may be, there is Joseph Cotton who is stalwart and observant. Third, and final, the construction of this film is worth examining. It takes its time, building the psychological maze, mounting in its suspense to the perfect climax.
Dial M for Murder/ A Perfect Murder
If you’re interested in a double feature, you can’t beat these two.
I don’t think it would be a proper post about psychological thrillers without including at least one Alfred Hitchcock film. Dial M for Murder is a Hitchcock classic starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, and Robert Cummings.
The basic premise of this movie deals with the avarice of man. Ray Milland plays Tony Wendice, a retired tennis player who is fed up with his lot in life. He’s married to socialite Margot (played by Grace Kelly) who is quite a wealthy woman in her own right. He’s not particularly happy in his marriage. Though he doesn’t treat her badly, per se, his cruelty displays itself in the things he says and implies whether alone together or in mixed company.
Margot is an unhappily married woman. As is too often the case, she has entered into an affair, a rather serious one. Tony discovers this and hatches a plan to murder his wife.
However, the plan goes awry when the man he sends to murder Margot gets killed by her in the struggle for her life. With some quick action thinking, Milland constructs an entire plot that implicates his wife as the murderess. I’ll just stop it there because I do not wish to give anything away.
A Perfect Murder is not a faithful retelling of Dial M for Murder, but the premise is so entirely similar that they are often grouped together, with The Perfect Murder being referred to as a remake.
A Perfect Murder stars Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen as the principle players. Michael Douglas plays Steven Taylor who is married to Emily, Gwyneth Paltrow. There’s is not a happy marriage. And while he does have a successful career, it’s Emily’s money that they live very poshly on in Manhattan.
Because the marriage is an unhappy one, Emily has turned to David Shaw, Viggo Mortensen, to seek some meager happiness in her life. She believes herself deeply in love with him. Shaw, however, is not the trustworthy man she believes him to be. He’s an artist seeking a patron. There’s rather a lot more sinister aspects to his background, which unfolds in the film, but the gist of it is that he’s pursued Emily for more than a heartfelt romance.
Steven discover the affair. Uncovering the unsavory bits in Shaw’s past, he blackmails him to murder Emily. He lays out the plot step by step. Nothing can go wrong. And yet, everything does. Massively.
A Perfect Murder adds some really good twists and turns into Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder plot line. However, I do believe that it does it so well that Alfred himself would give it the stamp of approval.
What I appreciate the most about these two movies is the resilience of the women. They undergo traumatic ordeals; they’ve each kill a man. Understandably, they are fully shaken to the core. Their concept of safety and comfort has been obliterated. And, in this vulnerable point, their nefarious husbands manipulate and gaslight them. It is to their husbands’ benefits for their wives to question their realities. However, while both women do go through a time in which they doubt themselves, both films are a testament to the resilience of a woman.
There is plenty of suspense, intrigue, and thrills in both. With the evolution in filmmaking techniques as well as our culture, all those aspects are more prevalent in A Perfect Murder. But make no mistake, Dial M for Murder is a worthy watch as well.
The Invisible Man
And, speaking of the resilience of a woman, The Invisible Man is a must watch. Many movies today are referred to as Hitchcockian, but few ever live up to that title. The Invisible Man is one of the best and well worthy of such an accolade. It is not gory or grotesque visually in anyway. Quite the opposite. It’s stunningly beautiful. Yet, in the midst of all that beauty, something is decidedly amiss.
Like A Perfect Murder, The Invisible Man is a bit of a remake; I would even call it an upgrade. The plot is very loosely based upon H.G. Wells’ science fiction novel The Invisible Man, in which a man has procured the ability to become invisible and whilst in that state, commits acts of extreme violence.
The Invisible Man adopts this idea and carries it even further. Since there have been so many modern advancements in technology, the writer/director Leigh Whannell creates the character of Adrian Griffin (Griffin was also the name in Wells’s book), a brilliant optics engineer. The story revolves around his wife, Cecilia.
From the opening seconds of the film, you will find yourself on the edge of your seat. This movie is a nail biter. Coupled with the stellar performance by Elisabeth Moss, who almost single handedly commands the audiences undivided attention, and you will be glued to your couch for the duration.
Cecilia has drugged her husband and is sneaking out their multi-million dollar mansion situated on the idyllic coastline of Northern California. No words are spoken for the first minutes of the movie. Rather, your holding your breath with Cecelia as she gathers her carefully hidden belongings and sneaks out of the house, across their extensive property, through the woods, and to a deserted road. All the while she keeps looking behind her, certain that her husband may appear at any moment. And, of course, she’s right. He does, but just as she gets into the car with her sister.
Cecelia makes her get away and finds refuge at the home of a friend, police detective James Lanier. Paranoid, fearful to even walk to the mailbox at the end of his short driveway, Cecelia is recovering as best as she can. Then the news comes.
Billionaire Adrian Griffin has committed suicide and left her his money. While those around her believe this news to be glad over, Cecelia doesn’t trust it. However, with the encouragement of her friends, she begins to slowly make her way out into society again. That’s when things start happening. It’s always when she’s alone. So when she tries to explain this presence she perceives, her friends explain it away as her recovering from the trauma and abuse of so many years. In a way, her friends gaslight her. They are not being cruel, but seem to give her common sense answers to everything she raises. But as the days go on, her paranoia increases to disruptive levels. She is experiencing things which she cannot explain, and no one believes her because what she’s saying is too outlandish.
Of all the films in today’s post, I will say that The Invisible Man is the most horrific because of how horribly insidious it is. The horror goes straight to the core. You will certainly feel those icy fingers coursing up and down your spine. So, if you’re on the lookout for a good scary movie without all the gory bits, check out The Invisible Man.
Honorable Mention:
Midnight Lace
Another brilliant example of gaslighting on full display is Midnight Lace starring Rex Harrison and Doris Day. I’ve written about the movie extensively in Films to Love: The Drama of Doris Day. There are a couple of good recommendations there.
I know these are not the customary movies one might find on their Halloween list. However, I do think they each showcase the true horror people are capable of inflicting upon one another. In some ways, it may seem mundane and ordinary, but therein lies the terror.
Last year I devoted a post to the movies I think are perfect watches for Halloween. Films to Love: Ghosts and Giggles has a little bit of it all. So, if you missed that one, you should check it out.
