THE STORY – Follows Edward, a solipsistic knight errant who murderously schemes with his squire to seize a farmer’s estate by marrying the farmer’s daughter — quite literally over her father’s dead body. Blinded by grief and courtly love, the guileless Eleanor accepts Edward’s hand, but it’s not long before the rogue’s insatiable libido pulls him towards more royal aspirations in the form of a wealthy countess, and so yet another murder of convenience foments.
THE CAST – Jonah Hauer-King, Kristine Frøseth, Ellie Bamber, Leo Suter, Ben Radcliffe & Bella Heathcote
THE TEAM – Anna Biller (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 120 Minutes
They don’t make movies like they used to. With the advent of digital cinematography and all sorts of new technology for lights, camera rigs, and visual effects, it’s easy to think that they never will again, but some people are keeping the old ways alive. First among them is Anna Biller, the feminist auteur behind 2016’s “The Love Witch,” as accurate a recreation of 1960s cult horror films as has ever been made in the decades since. Fans have had to wait a decade for her follow-up feature but that wait hasn’t been in vain. “The Face of Horror” does for the horror films of the 1940s and 50s exactly what “The Love Witch” did for those of the 60s, recreating the aesthetics and filming techniques of the period near flawlessly, even if it means slowing the film’s pace to what modern audiences would consider a crawl.
Adapting the classic Japanese ghost story “Yotsuya Kaidan” to 14th Century England, “The Face of Horror” tells the story of Edward Carnifex (Jonah Hauer-King), a knight stripped of his title desperate for wealth and power. He’s so desperate that he kills the father of his beloved farm girl Eleanor (Kristine Froseth) in order to marry her and assume his position as owner of the farm, even if he has no intention of doing any work. He seemingly loses interest in Eleanor as soon as she bears a child, which causes Eleanor to worry even more about losing him after she loses her looks. When Edward saves the young Countess Isabel (Bella Heathcote) from a bandit, he senses a path towards the wealth and power he has so long sought, and she senses a way out of her arranged marriage. The only thing standing in their way is Eleanor.
Every tiny detail of the film’s look brings to mind Old Hollywood productions, right from the opening scene following Edward as he pillages his way through the countryside, which brings to mind the verdant colors and cheesily enjoyable period costumes of such classics as “The Adventures of Robin Hood” and “The Court Jester,” while the medieval interiors and oppressive nighttime atmosphere recall Roger Corman’s Poe adaptations. The color grading looks for all the world like three-strip Technicolor, with blinding whites and searing reds that pop off the screen. Biller even brings back the famed three-point lighting technique that made old starlets’ eyes sparkle, creating a dreamy reverie for Eleanor as she makes herself beautiful for Edward.
Even the ensemble members seem to have been cast for the way their faces read onscreen: They all look plucked straight from the old Hollywood Canteen. The leads, though, each possess a quality that makes them more accessible to modern audiences. Hauer-King has the lithe body of Erroll Flynn with a wily self-awareness that emphasizes the childish nature of knights errant. Heathcote delivers even her most ridiculous lines with a perfectly straight face, leaning into the countess’ youthful hauteur. Ellie Bamber, as Eleanor’s self-possessed sister, looks like Joan of Arc reincarnated, but has deeper reserves of feminist strength.
Great as the cast is, they all pale next to Froseth, who tackles the role with infectious gusto. The actress’ wide-eyed, cherubic face gets contorted into all sorts of wildly expressive shapes, especially in the film’s go-for-broke last act. When Eleanor becomes a classic movie monster in the film’s last act (aided by some spectacular prosthetics), Froseth fully unleashes her wild side, screaming with all the fright and rage she can muster. Channeling the innocence of Old Hollywood ingenues by way of a comic exuberance all her own, Froseth is a revelation, fully on Biller’s respectfully campy wavelength without holding back on the genuine emotion that has always been the backbone of this story.
Biller wrote “The Face of Horror” in response to the death of someone close to her, and that leads to surprising depths of emotion for a film so openly campy and often downright silly. While Biller’s sense of humor finds its way into every corner of the film’s production, from the dialogue (modern inflections and turns of phrase inspire laughter from contrast) to the look (a scene of Eleanor undressing Edward is a riot) to the sound design, which at times goes ever so slightly out of sync in a way that perfectly emulates old-school ADR. While her impressive recreation of period filmmaking styles has put Biller on the map, the depth of her recreation goes so much further than it has to; there’s no reason for the film to drop dead in its tracks for a traditional British panto performance other than that it’s exactly what a film from this period would have done, and the execution is a treat for classic film fans. While the pacing of the film may give modern-day audiences some difficulty, the care Biller has put into crafting “The Face of Horror” makes it a near-perfect version of itself. Especially for fans of Old Hollywood, it’s a must-see.
