This movie has a lot of good things for sure: technically is very well executed. great cinematogrpahy that vies us an atmosphere of tension. the use of the light is great. the sound with the thunderstorm also. the art direction, the setting in the house is also very well built. the directing is almost flawless: there are great shots here, and well made even in the dark. the way we see Helen moving around the house is made for us to really feel what she's passing through - even though she doesn't speak.
the film has a message for me: the idea of strong women vs men that need to pretend to be strong in order to be accepted. in 1946 i don't think a lot of movies would have the guts for this. this one has: it portraits some of these men like if they're in a battle to become the biggest alpha. most of the dialogues between men in this movie seem to be about dominance. that's very interesting.
helen's character is very deep and interesting and Dorothy Mcguire does an excellent job. Really great. We can feel Helen is someone real, she's smart and witty she's capable she almost seem real. "wait until dark" 20 years later had audrey hepburn doing a very real blind character - but i think that film is better than this one.
the problem with this: well...this could have been we craven's "scream"made in 1946. sidney prescott could have been an helen of modernity. the movie wants us to belive in that dark, scary atmosphere where no one can trust each other, where there's a killer on the loose and anyone can be a suspect. the problem: it spends too long establishing connections between the characters. at a certain point is boring. the film seems to want to scare us to make us feel uncertain and most of its length. the diretion, the light the music, the storm outside are all signs of this. even the vulnerability of the main character.
but it spends too long managing subplots. some of these characters weren't that important. some of these subplots should have been quicker. the film starts well, ends well but lost me a bit at the middle. it should have worried more about its scary story and less about the relationships between the characters. it should have had a way bigger slasher fel (that it has at certain moments) and less dialogues in between them.
i understand their importance but the atmosphere felt a bit flat for me in those moments. too bad. this could have been an easy 9 or 4 and a half stars if the movie worried more about the scares and suspicions, and less about what the characters thought about each other. still some people will love this and it should be checked.
the film has a message for me: the idea of strong women vs men that need to pretend to be strong in order to be accepted. in 1946 i don't think a lot of movies would have the guts for this. this one has: it portraits some of these men like if they're in a battle to become the biggest alpha. most of the dialogues between men in this movie seem to be about dominance. that's very interesting.
helen's character is very deep and interesting and Dorothy Mcguire does an excellent job. Really great. We can feel Helen is someone real, she's smart and witty she's capable she almost seem real. "wait until dark" 20 years later had audrey hepburn doing a very real blind character - but i think that film is better than this one.
the problem with this: well...this could have been we craven's "scream"made in 1946. sidney prescott could have been an helen of modernity. the movie wants us to belive in that dark, scary atmosphere where no one can trust each other, where there's a killer on the loose and anyone can be a suspect. the problem: it spends too long establishing connections between the characters. at a certain point is boring. the film seems to want to scare us to make us feel uncertain and most of its length. the diretion, the light the music, the storm outside are all signs of this. even the vulnerability of the main character.
but it spends too long managing subplots. some of these characters weren't that important. some of these subplots should have been quicker. the film starts well, ends well but lost me a bit at the middle. it should have worried more about its scary story and less about the relationships between the characters. it should have had a way bigger slasher fel (that it has at certain moments) and less dialogues in between them.
i understand their importance but the atmosphere felt a bit flat for me in those moments. too bad. this could have been an easy 9 or 4 and a half stars if the movie worried more about the scares and suspicions, and less about what the characters thought about each other. still some people will love this and it should be checked.