Sometimes we endure horrific experiences in life. Something so horrible, that we strive to believe what we need to, to cope with a tragedy. Whatever that can help us through the day. Something that isn’t always seen. Something hidden just under the surface. Or something that we just don’t want to see… The movie I am diving into today touches on these themes boils and ghouls.
So let’s pop the popcorn, crack open a beer and dim those lights. IT’S MOVIE TIME!
SPOILER FREE SYNOPSIS
Set in the Victorian era, Constance (Jena Malone, The Neon Demon, The Wait), a beautiful and young store clerk becomes smitten with a well to do young man. They hit it off rather well and soon she elevates her status and becomes Mrs. Dr. Joseph Barton (Ed Stoppard, Blackwood, The Frankenstein Chronicles). Everything is as it should be. The couple soon welcome their first child into the world. But quickly thereafter, strange and supernatural occurrences begin to swirl around the couple’s humble abode. These occurrences all seem to be concentrated around their daughter Angelica. Can Constance find the cause and protect her innocent daughter before it’s too late? Or is it all her head?
Angelica was drafted into a screenplay, by writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein (Teeth) from Arthur Phillips’ novel of the same name. Creating a truly compelling period piece, reminding us of a bygone society where wealth and status were the only things that truly mattered. With an almost Austen-esque approach. The cast was rounded out nicely with a great performance by Janet McTeer (The Woman In Black) who played Anne, the woman charged with assisting Malone in her efforts to destroy this terrible spirit. Dick Pope was the man behind the camera, depicting a dark and dreary time of uncertainty. The costume design by Rita Ryack was the last piece that really helped solidify the time period, with her amazing dress designs.
Angelica is a very slow burn. Using the first two acts to build character development. Exposing the marital issues between the young couple and Malone’s attempt to understand the supernatural forces-only she can see, that have been terrorizing her family. Which also leads others in her family, to think she is going mad. The disturbing and surprisingly twisted ending left me unsure of how I felt about the entire experience. This film is not really a horror film, in its simplest form boils and ghouls. But it still has all of the basic elements of an old-fashioned haunting film. This flick is so much more than that. Because Angelica, while not breaking any new film ground, once again proves that the scariest monsters out there, are inside of us all.
IMDb: 6.1/10
ZombiSurvivor: 6.2/10
Angelica is out in select theaters and VOD this Friday!
Here’s the trailer.
As Always, Thanks for Reading!
STAY SCARED!
-ZS
