Jodie Foster’s other, less famous mid-’70s movie in which she plays a child grown up too fast asks if the kids are all right, and offers no comforting answers.
This movie creeped me out when I first saw it years ago.
Also, make it a triple feature and add in Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, which really nails the part shown here about how an entire town can cover up a creeps crimes.
I saw that for the first time last year. That was also the first time I’ve ever truly been unnerved by a Hammer film. You can cut the tension in it with a knife.
I say this as someone who truly loves Hammer, it's probably their highest quality movie. I made a couple of friends watch it last year and one of them got visibly angry. It is effective and real in a way you don't really associate with Hammer. I mean, I love Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein but this is a whole different beast.
I watched this a few years ago on Shudder (truly one of the great streaming services), and was shocked even learning about it. How is it that a movie with Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen just... disappeared? I would have expected to have seen it on the shelf at the video store at least.
Regardless, it's a really great, creepy, unpredictable movie, and I was really taken with how it let itself shift and change direction without a misstep. And through it all, they kept it intensely focused on this child who is also kind of an adult and how there are just so many people who won't mind their business. And through it all, I don't remember her backing down or flinching, so not only is this CHILD talking back to this adult who runs the town, but it's also a GIRL doing it. It just all felt so satisfying while simultaneously making me feel scared for her.
Also, having Mario be the weaker of the two and with a (polio vaccine inflicted?) limp, was an interesting choice, as it prevents him from ever feeling like she's safe now that a MAN is here.
I first saw this when it played late at night on a local TV station. It's almost better as a film you just stumble across and find yourself stunned by what you see. (But that didn't stop me from writing the piece.)
I could totally see this being something you find on TV but miss the opening credits for and then you spend your life unsure if what you saw was real or not.
In addition to her gravely voice mentioned in the quotes, the picture accompanying this article even sort of looks like adult Jodie Foster playing dress up as a 13 year old. It's strange to see someone already look so much like their "serious" adult selves.
I have meant to watch this for years, just based on Lynch referencing it in Peaks (I feel sure he was referencing this rather than the nursery rhyme, though I probably *shouldn’t* feel sure). Now that I’ve read this review, the reference seems apt and I can’t help wondering if Foster’s character was a formative influence for Laura Palmer.
This movie creeped me out when I first saw it years ago.
Also, make it a triple feature and add in Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, which really nails the part shown here about how an entire town can cover up a creeps crimes.
I saw that for the first time last year. That was also the first time I’ve ever truly been unnerved by a Hammer film. You can cut the tension in it with a knife.
Ooh. Haven't seen that one. Will add it to the list.
I say this as someone who truly loves Hammer, it's probably their highest quality movie. I made a couple of friends watch it last year and one of them got visibly angry. It is effective and real in a way you don't really associate with Hammer. I mean, I love Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein but this is a whole different beast.
I watched this a few years ago on Shudder (truly one of the great streaming services), and was shocked even learning about it. How is it that a movie with Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen just... disappeared? I would have expected to have seen it on the shelf at the video store at least.
Regardless, it's a really great, creepy, unpredictable movie, and I was really taken with how it let itself shift and change direction without a misstep. And through it all, they kept it intensely focused on this child who is also kind of an adult and how there are just so many people who won't mind their business. And through it all, I don't remember her backing down or flinching, so not only is this CHILD talking back to this adult who runs the town, but it's also a GIRL doing it. It just all felt so satisfying while simultaneously making me feel scared for her.
Also, having Mario be the weaker of the two and with a (polio vaccine inflicted?) limp, was an interesting choice, as it prevents him from ever feeling like she's safe now that a MAN is here.
I first saw this when it played late at night on a local TV station. It's almost better as a film you just stumble across and find yourself stunned by what you see. (But that didn't stop me from writing the piece.)
I could totally see this being something you find on TV but miss the opening credits for and then you spend your life unsure if what you saw was real or not.
In addition to her gravely voice mentioned in the quotes, the picture accompanying this article even sort of looks like adult Jodie Foster playing dress up as a 13 year old. It's strange to see someone already look so much like their "serious" adult selves.
Thanks for putting this on my radar.
I have meant to watch this for years, just based on Lynch referencing it in Peaks (I feel sure he was referencing this rather than the nursery rhyme, though I probably *shouldn’t* feel sure). Now that I’ve read this review, the reference seems apt and I can’t help wondering if Foster’s character was a formative influence for Laura Palmer.
This has been on my radar for years. I keep meaning to watch it, but then never get around to it.