The Dark Angel (1989): A Gothic Nightmare Worth Revisiting

Uncle Silas is one of author’s Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s best, and best loved novels. It’s a Gothic nightmare filled with memorable, broadly drawn characters, an immersive sense of atmosphere, and a command of language and pacing that is nothing short of masterly.

Although Le Fanu was best known for his ghost stories, Uncle Silas hasn’t a single element of the supernatural or the uncanny. Instead, Le Fanu weaves a tale of greed, corruption, illusion, and tremendous evil preying on the innocent. The book tells the tale of an adolescent girl named Maud, an heiress living with her reclusive father, in their formidable mansion. After her father's sudden death, she becomes the ward of her uncle Silas, a once infamous gambler, and who now claims to be a devout Christian, living a quiet, secluded life in his mansion, Bartram-Haugh. But soon after moving in with him, Maud begins to sense that something is amiss, with her uncle Silas behaving strangely, even sinisterly, while Bartram-Haugh, with its history of murder, seems to be haunted by an air of menace and evil.

The novel has been adapted to the big and small screens many a time, but one of the most effective, and provocative versions, is The Dark Angel, a mini-series which aired on the BBC in the winter of 1989.

This version is almost forgotten now, but upon release, it was quite a sensation, and later, when it came out on VHS, it turned into a cult classic. And for good reason.

The Dark Angel, takes Le Fanu’s slow-burn novel, and turns it into a hallucinatory, intense Gothic thriller, or as the promotional material calls the series, "the archetypal Gothic thriller."

Veteran TV director Peter Hammond, and writer Don MacPherson, attack the material with manic energy, leaving no opportunity to explore the darkest and seediest aspects of the original novel, sometimes stylishly, sometimes with what borders on bad taste. But throughout the three episodes that make up the series, there is never a dull moment, or an uncaptivating scene.

Maud is played with earnest innocence by Beatie Edney, and like all the other characters from the novel, is more or less an exaggerated version of the original character.

Peter O’Toole, as Uncle Silas, delivers one of his typically uneven performances from the 1980s, oscillating between brooding charisma, and annoying hamminess. But in his quieter moments, O’Toole is a scary, unforgettable Silas, a vicious, calculating scoundrel, masquerading as a tortured Byronic figure.

But the real star of this adaptation is Jane Lapotaire as Madame de la Rougierre, Silas’s emissary and dark accomplice. Lapotaire delivers a performance so sinister, so mesmerizing, that it has to be seen to be believed. A performance that is kinetic, exaggerated, and grotesque, yet never unbelievable or risible. It is a near magnificent acting feat, and showcases the breadth of talent of Lapotaire, one of the most underrated actors to come out of Britain. Lapotaire takes a character that was merely intriguing in the novel, and transforms her into a force of cruel nature, a sadistic villain who nonetheless manages to be entrancing and even sympathetic.

And although director Peter Hammond’s excesses, and the series’ overwrought tone threaten to overwhelm the viewer at any moment, by the end of the three hour tale, one is left with a sense of a dark journey worth taking, through a haunted, grotesque, and occasionally beautiful nightmare.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa.

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Film Review: A PERFECT MURDER (1998) *** and a 1\2 out of *****

Remaking classics is an unenviable task. Be too reverent to the original, and you are accused of being lazy. Deviate too much, and you can be criticized for being disrespectful.

Remaking Hitchcock, on the other hand, is a near impossible task. As Hitchcock is almost universally hailed as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, filmmaker of all time.

Most sane filmmakers avoid that choice, and those who take the plunge, mostly fail miserably. Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of Psycho being a case in point.

1998's A Perfect Murder, is a surprising exception.

Based on the same Frederick Knott play that Hitchcock's 1954 Dial M For Murder was based on, A Perfect Murder achieves the almost impossible. It is a remake of a Hitchcock film that is superior to the original in every way.

At first glance, that assessment may seem hyperbolic, but a closer and honest look at Hitchcock's original film reveals more.

Dial M For Murder is, arguably, one of the master filmmaker's blandest and sloppiest films. Hitchcock, who always liked a challenge, tried to turn the original play the film was based on into what he termed, “pure cinema”. But, alas, Hitchcock failed on almost every front. Dial M For Murder comes off as stagy, stiff, and surprisingly boring, a rare misfire from the master of suspense. The only real high point in the whole film is Ray Milland's wonderful performance, a nasty but never hammy exercise in sheer, dark charisma.

A Perfect Murder, adapted by Patrick Smith Kelly, and directed by veteran action director Andrew Davis, is one of those rare modern Hollywood movies in which the ingredients gel, and everyone involved perform way above their pay grade.

Davis, mainly known for his action pictures in the 1980s, and the 1993 blockbuster The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford, had nothing in his oeuvre to indicate that he was capable of making a film like A Perfect Murder, an elegant, lean, and tremendously assured thriller.

The concept is the same as in the Hitchcock original. An aging man about to lose his fortune hires his wife's lover to kill her so he can inherit her considerable estate. He meticulously plans her murder, thinking nothing would go wrong. But things do go wrong, and a cat and mouse game ensues.

While Dial M For Murder was talky and stagy, A Perfect Murder is visually-driven and kinetic. Dial M For Murder comes off as bland and slow. A Perfect Murder, on the other hand, is stylish and compelling. And while Michael Douglas doesn't come close to Ray Milland's mesmerizing portrayal, he delivers an assured and understated performance, arguably one of the best of his career.

Gwyneth Paltrow as the wife doesn't fare much better than Grace Kelly did in the original, as, in both movies, the character is underwritten and uninteresting, mostly a mcguffin to get things rolling.

Viggo Mortensen as the lover fares better, delivering an enjoyable performance that does much with very little.

But the real star here is director Andrew Davis, who delivers a near classic late in his career, the kind of stylish, lean thriller no one could have expected from the journeyman director. Here, Davis is in complete control of the material, crafting a film that hums along so well, it deceptively hides the scope of his achievement, which is making the kind of film that is mostly a lost art. The elegant, twisty, and far-fetched thriller that could only come out of Hollywood at its best.

And while the script by Patrick Smith Kelly works well enough, it isn't perfect, with a somewhat problematic third act, and the bizarre inclusion of a middle-eastern detective, played with jarring portentousness by David Suchet.

But these are minor quibbles. A Perfect Murder is pure, high-caliber entertainment, and one which should not be missed by fans of classic thrillers.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2024.

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Movie Review: IT STAINS THE SANDS RED (2016) *** and a 1\2 out of *****

Amidst the numerous movies and TV shows released in the wake of The Walking Dead’s success, one stands out.

It Stains The Sands Red, released in 2016, takes the zombie movie template and energizes it in many subtle and inventive ways.

Directed by Colin Minihan, and written by Minihan and Stuart Ortiz, It Stains The Sands Red, uses its modest budget and limited locations to great effect. But the secret ingredient, is actress Brittany Allen.

Allen, playing Molly, a lost soul who drowns her sorrows in booze and toxic men, delivers a performance that's nothing short of dazzling.

Her character, a quote unquote bimbo, who, after being left stranded in the deserts of Las Vegas, with a tenacious zombie on her tail, could have become an annoying, tiresome character, in the hands of a less capable actress.

But Allen takes the role and runs with it, delivering a portrayal that is equal parts funny and moving.

Director Minihan, milking the minimalist concept for all its worth, directs the film with a keen eye for visuals, and a deft handling of pacing and tone. This is basically a two-hander, between Allen's character, Molly, and the zombie chasing her, nicknamed Smalls, terrifically played by Juan Riedinger. And in the hands of Minihan, the film stays compelling, moody, and superbly entertaining.

There are a few dull moments in the middle section, and the sequence with the two prison escapees comes off as off key and gratuitous, but, for the most part, It Stains The Sands Red, manages to utilize the zombie genre playbook to its advantage, while adding depth, pathos, and plenty of invention, to create a mesmerizing tale of survival and redemption.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2024.

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Movie Review: DOG GONE (2023) *** and a 1\2 out of *****

Netflix isn’t exactly known for its quality family content.

But every once in a while, they seem to make a genuinely family-friendly show or movie that wears its heart on its sleeve, and seems to have no agenda but to entertain, and provide something that family members can enjoy together.

Their delightful reboot of the Benji franchise, released in 2018, and directed by Brandon Camp, the son of the late Joe Camp, the creator of the original franchise, was one such movie.

Another pleasant surprise is Dog Gone, released in 2023.

Adapted by Nick Santora from the book Dog Gone: A Lost Pet's Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home by Pauls Toutonghi, and directed by veteran director Stephen Herek, Dog Gone, is one of the best family movies to come out of Hollywood in years.

The plot revolves around a father-son duo, who start to overcome their differences while hiking the Appalachian Trail, as they search for their lost dog, Gonker, so they can give him the monthly medicine he needs to survive Addison's disease.

The father-son duo, played respectively by Rob Lowe and Johnny Berchtold, form the heart of the movie. The son, Fielding, sees himself as a free spirit who doesn’t want to be hemmed in by traditions and the 9 to 5 rat race. While the father, John, wonderfully played by Lowe, sees his son as an unrealistic dreamer, head in the clouds, who doesn’t want to face the realities of everyday life, and what it takes to build a steady career.

Their conflict, while cliched, is handled with subtlety and just the right amount of humor, making us care for both characters while acknowledging their foibles and philosophical blind spots.

The script by Santora is surprisingly taut and layered, delivering a story that entertains without being frivolous, lets us get to know the characters without drowning us in exposition, and, most importantly, moves us without veering into overt sentimentality.

But the film’s secret weapon is Rob Lowe, who, as actor and co-producer, manages to instill the film with just the right tone. His performance anchors the film in both humor and drama while never losing a step, and it is Lowe who carries the film through with plenty of charm and craftsmanship.

And Kimberly Williams, a veteran of family films, who manages to add energy and heart to almost everything she is in, also gives an endearing and memorable performance as Fielding’s mother, Ginny.

Berchtold, while delivering a likable and believable performance as Fielding, seems slightly miscast, as the role needed someone funnier and warmer. But his portrayal is nothing less than heartfelt, and his chemistry with Lowe is undeniable.

And thanks to director Stephen Herek’s assured and straightforward direction, Dog Gone comes across as visually arresting and terrifically paced, and moves smoothly from one plot twist to another.

With Dog Gone, Herek, who also directed the live-action adaptation of 101 Dalmatians, manages to make a family movie par excellence, the kind of film the modern day Disney studio wishes it could pull off.

Dog Gone is heart-warming, smart entertainment for the whole family, the kind they don’t make enough of nowadays.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2024.

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Film Review: KING OF NEW YORK (1990) *** and a 1\2 out of *****

Abel Ferrara is a maverick. Ever since he burst onto the scene in 1979, with his controversial punk slasher, Driller Killer, he has been making movies that are, in turn, stylish, thought-provoking, repulsive, and always fascinating.

Ferrara, dubbed the poet gangster of cinema, by actor Laurence Fishburne, has a tendency to overdo, to push things too far, sometimes to the detriment of the picture. But he rarely makes a film that is without merit, and is an artist to be reckoned with.

King of New York, released in 1990, is one of Abel Ferrara’s most accessible films. Part crime thriller, part social drama, it’s a strange and mesmerizing mishmash of genres and styles that is nothing short of compelling.

Frank White, played by a hypnotic Christopher Walken, is a former drug lord who returns to New York city after being released from prison, seeking to take total control of the criminal underworld, in order to give back to the community and help the poor of the city.

White, as played by Walken, is a fascinating character. Imagined by Ferrara to be a cross between Nicky Barnes, a Harlem gangster, and Joey Gallo, an Italian mobster, White is a brutal, complex figure, who revels in using force and violence, while seeing himself as a kind of dark knight in shining armor, who gives the poor and the lost, especially from black neighborhoods, a second chance, by recruiting them for his drug operation. He is an ends justify the means kind of guy, who would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Ferrara, and writer Nicholas St. John, try to tell a multifaceted story about the drug wars, government corruption, loyalty, and personal courage in the face of evil, and fill the film with characters that range from the realistic to the cartoonish.

Despite being shot quickly and on a modest budget of 5 point 3 million dollars, Ferrara, a visual stylist extraordinaire, manages to portray New York in the film in a way that is rarely shown in movies. As a beautiful, nocturnal landscape. Part noirish dream, part hellish nightmare. His vision of drug cartels as a kind of dressed to the nines tribal groups, who mostly speak through guns and violence, is alluring but somewhat fantastical, and his tendency to linger on the seedier aspects of criminal life borders on the distasteful.

But that is Ferrara’s style. Plenty of style, a dash of philosophical musing, and a touch of vulgarity. It’s a potent if not always palpable mix, that nonetheless makes his movies look and feel like no one else’s.

The terrific cast, led by Walken at his most ebullient and eccentric, includes an understated Wesley Snipes, and Laurence Fishburne, in an over the top but highly enjoyable performance.

Upon release, the film was criticized for its violence, and rightly so. As Ferrara’s tendency to push things too far and let some scenes overstay their welcome, is present here. And the sprawling story, covering a multitude of issues and characters in under two hours, make the film feel unevenly paced and, to some degree, tonally erratic. But these flaws don’t take away from the overall effect of the film, which is to mesmerize and captivate.

With the glut of movies made about the drug lords in the 1990s, King of New York stands out, because of its style, its sheer visual and aural power. It grabs you, and doesn’t let go, right up to its haunting final shot.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2024.

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LAST SEEN: A New Mystery Podcast

The Complete Mystery Podcast, Last Seen, is now available.

When a friend asks for help in finding her missing sister, William Last, a quiet man struggling with a troubled past, has to embark on a journey that will lead him into the darkest corners of reality, and beyond.

Last Seen is a fiction podcast for fans of dark mysteries with a touch of noir and the otherworldly.

Written by Ahmed Khalifa. Produced by The Dark Fantastic Network.

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Before They Were Famous: Frank Darabont's Buried Alive

Frank Darabont, the Oscar-nominated writer director of such films as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, and the man behind the first season of the ground-breaking TV series The Walking Dead, cut his teeth writing horror films, like The Blob (1988) and A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors (1987).

But before he directed such critically-acclaimed films as the two aforementioned Stephen King adaptations, he made his directorial debut with Buried Alive, a TV movie produced for the USA cable network, and released in 1990.

On the surface, the film, about a woman who poisons her do-gooder husband to run away with her sociopathic lover, only to discover that her husband isn’t quite dead and is back for revenge, sounds like just another cheesy 90’s made-for-TV movie. Cue the bad synth score, the has-been TV actors struggling through their middle-ages crises, and the horrible dialogue. But, Buried Alive proves to be much more than that.

Milking the limited budget and the twisty script by Mark Peter Carducci for all their worth, Darabont injects this modest thriller with tons of energy, style, wit, and transforms what could have been a forgettable B-movie into a minor suspense classic.

Good performances by Tim Matheson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and William Atherton, and the moody score by Michael Colombier, also help. But this is Darabont’s show, and you can see glimpses of his filmmaking prowess showing through the trappings he tries to transcend.

An atmospheric piece of American Gothic, Frank Darabont’s Buried Alive is worth rediscovering.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2024.

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