A
Stylish, Mean-Spirited Horror Film from Gerard Kikoine
director:
Gerard Kikoine
starring: Robert Vaughn · Donald Pleasence · Karen Witter
· John Carradine · Nia Long · Ginger Allen
While it's always
fun to watch Robert Vaughn spin out-of-control (ala KILLING BIRDS), and
interesting to see Donald Pleasence with a head of hair, and John Carradine
in his last theatrical role after 350 previous films... make no mistake,
this movie really belongs to Karen Witter. She brings elements of anxiety
and utter fear to her character of Janet Pendelton, a new teacher at Rvenscroft
Institute, a correctional school for girls. She becomes apprehensive after
discovering an inordinate number of girls have gone missing. In actuality,
they're being buried alive behind a brick wall in the basement. Spurred
on by a series of horrific hallucinations, Janet begins to investigate
but soon discovers the staff may be quite insane.
Karen Witter later
changed her name to Karen Lorre after marrying mega-producer Chuck Lorre
[responsible for numerous TV sitcoms including 214 episodes of Big
Bang Theory, 245 episodes of Two and a Half Men, 125 episodes
of Milke and Molly, et al).
Director Gerard Kikoine
is generally considered the King of the 3-Dimensional camera angle, as
he often frames his shots with an emphasis on multiple images at various
degrees of depth. He probably became so accomplished with this type of
camerawork due to years in hardcore (XXX) production where constant close-ups
within a defined 'field of perception' are the rule not the exception.
Even though he has moved on to mainstream motion pictures today (FLESH
AND FIRE, the DRAGONARD
series), Kikoine's early adult films (like THE
ARRANGEMENT) are exceptional.
A
French/British production in English language; fullscreen format, uncut
versions (91 min.), DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT, playable
on any American machine. Extras include trailer.
Graphic
Violence/Nudity/Sexual
Brutality:
Intended for Mature Audiences
