Curtis Harrington is the most. i'd say to die for but that would be a pun that waxes ironic. but Harrington makes creepy psychological horror that is hard to resist not only because of the morbidity of their fascination but because they are so elegant, refined and obviously tailored to be so entertaining and fun.
'What's The Matter With Helen' is a lot of creepy fun but it is also very stylish and extremely well crafted stuff. not only are Reynolds and Winters outstanding and memorable, but the production design and screenplay are above par. not to mention one of the wickedest and slyest sense of humour in dark comedy. the humour is so sly and subtle that it never relies on obvious or out and out gags. most people would hardly even realize there is even humour at play here.
there have been complaints about there being too many plot holes within the story here. i disagree. you just have to pay more attention to the situation. if there is any fault here with the story is that there is possibly too much happening for the viewer to comprehend easily on one viewing. but the plot is coherent and tied together correctly, it just gets a little hard to follow with all the events that transpire. but in the long, it all makes perfect sense. there is also a real sense of believable timing here like in the suddenness of Helen's homicidal rage.
as with Harrington's 'Auntie Roo', i feel like i'm giving short change by only rating this with eight stars. his film's have so much quality you feel they warrant more consideration. possibly so. maybe time will tell. where i'm concerned, Harrington's film's feel too entertaining and are too much fun, and that seems to be the ultimate point to them, which makes their contributions seem somewhat light and superficial. as far as entertaining fun goes, they are cinema classics.
at any rate i think this film is a real hoot and holler. there may be better horror films and thrillers than this, but few as perfectly done and few are as fun as this.
'What's The Matter With Helen' is a lot of creepy fun but it is also very stylish and extremely well crafted stuff. not only are Reynolds and Winters outstanding and memorable, but the production design and screenplay are above par. not to mention one of the wickedest and slyest sense of humour in dark comedy. the humour is so sly and subtle that it never relies on obvious or out and out gags. most people would hardly even realize there is even humour at play here.
there have been complaints about there being too many plot holes within the story here. i disagree. you just have to pay more attention to the situation. if there is any fault here with the story is that there is possibly too much happening for the viewer to comprehend easily on one viewing. but the plot is coherent and tied together correctly, it just gets a little hard to follow with all the events that transpire. but in the long, it all makes perfect sense. there is also a real sense of believable timing here like in the suddenness of Helen's homicidal rage.
as with Harrington's 'Auntie Roo', i feel like i'm giving short change by only rating this with eight stars. his film's have so much quality you feel they warrant more consideration. possibly so. maybe time will tell. where i'm concerned, Harrington's film's feel too entertaining and are too much fun, and that seems to be the ultimate point to them, which makes their contributions seem somewhat light and superficial. as far as entertaining fun goes, they are cinema classics.
at any rate i think this film is a real hoot and holler. there may be better horror films and thrillers than this, but few as perfectly done and few are as fun as this.