More Favourite Horror Flicks, Alphabetically: The Fury

The Fury

Dir: Brian De Palma. Cast: Kirk Douglas, Amy Irving, Andrew Stevens, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress & Charles Durning. 1978

Like the idea of horror movie as opera? If so, this one’s for you.

Brian De Palma followed his hit Carrie with this blood and thunder adaptation of the John Farris novel of the same name. Both films use telekinesis in their plots concerning teens with psychic powers, only here we’ve got two teens trying to reach each other physically while a dastardly plot set in motion by a secret government organization goes off the rails. 

With its intricate plot and heightened tone, The Fury is often dismissed as a mess, but I love its operatic histrionics which are matched by one of John Williams’ finest scores. It’s certainly over the top, but what Brian De Palma movie isn’t?    

Fine performances, classical fimmaking, excellent make up effects from Rick Baker and William J. Tuttle (despite a brief bit of seam showing), and an ending that theatre-goers talked about long after they’d exited the theatre make this a favourite with some wise deviations made from its source novel.

My Favourite Horror Movies, Alphabetically: Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby
Dir: Roman Polanski. Starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, and Sidney Blackmer. 1968

Ira Levin’s novel Rosemary’s Baby was the first I read non-stop, staying up all night when I was a young teen to reach its end. Roman Polanski’s film adaptation is well documented as being incredibly faithful to its source, and happily for me, that translates into the film having the same power to fascinate as the book. A look at contemporary witchcraft and devil worship, the film is also a true feminist tale in that it clearly illustrates the way a woman can be used by men and even other women as a vessel, as well as demonstrating how society can perceive a pregnant woman as paranoid and unstable. A wholly engrossing experience, Rosemary’s Baby is the best kind of paranoid entertainment, the kind wherein everything that has come in earlier scenes gains new meaning as the plot reveals itself.