In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Monday 28 April 2014

Harlequin (1980)

aka Dark Forces in the USA

Harlequin freaked me the hell out when I was a kid. It wasn't a monster in the attic or under the bed kind of scare, it was the more terrifying psychological kind that takes a youth’s sheltered worldview and shatters it like glass. Every tiny shard contained within it the reality that some things just can’t be explained, so you better get used to it.
I wasn't expecting it to hold up to adult scrutiny, but in some ways it does and most certainly doesn't in others. You’ll need to disengage the part of your brain that says ‘This is nonsense,’ when the parlour tricks go OTT and instead engage completely with the “deep end” of events.

3½ remissions out of 5

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