sun-dog

This is a riveting tale of a beautiful young woman emotionally crippled by her abusive, controlling parents. The plot has many unexpected twists and as more is revealed about Evelyn Dick's life the story is increasingly compelling. She leaves the film almost as much an enigma as when she enters it. Good performances -- Kathleen Robertson is stunning in the lead role, and Brenda Fricker turns in a wicked performance reminiscent of some of Kathy Bates' characters. I enjoyed the use of high and straight-overhead camera angles and the use of stark lighting in many of the scenes. The costuming was terrific and the director made good use of the details in the closeup work. Visually a feast, all-around very good!

Or, Oliver Stone meets George Romero... This film is visually cool, very creepy, and has a great soundtrack. Rob Zombie's genius for creepy music video translates very well to this full-length horrorfest. The plot and script are standard, but the shock-rock-video style in which it's done give it a gritty, apocalyptic feel. Zombie's nuke-hued color-negative dissolves juxtaposed with archival black & white footage of famous serial killers is grab-you-by-the-shirt stuff. It sticks with you. The bad guys' characters are fairly well-developed and nicely played, rounding out a satisfying collection of genetically challenged backwoods killers. And who hasn't encountered a tourist attraction like Captain Spaulding's? :)