Seizure (1974)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers:

Edward Mann (writer)
Oliver Stone (written by)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

She deals in death

Plot:

Jonathan Frid portrays a horror novelist who has a recurring nightmare about three figures out of his...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Nightmare | Writer | Country | Reference To John D. Rockefeller

Cast

Jonathan Frid	...	Edmund Blackstone
Martine Beswick	...	Queen of Evil
Joseph Sirola	...	Charlie Hughes
Christina Pickles	...	Nicole Blackstone
Hervé Villechaize	...	Spider, the dwarf
Anne Meacham	...	Eunice Kahn
Roger De Koven	...	Serge Kahn
Troy Donahue	...	Mark Frost
Mary Woronov	...	Mikki Hughes
Richard Cox	...	Gerald
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Henry Judd Baker	...	Jackal, the giant (as Henry Baker)
Lucy Bingham	...	Betsy, the maid
Alexis Kirk	...	Arris
Mike Meola	...	Gas Station Attendant
Timothy Ousey	...	Jason Blackstone
Timothy Rowse	...	Milkman

Also Known As:

Queen of Evil
Tango macabre (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

UK:98 min | USA:94 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Laurentides, Québec, Canada

Company:

Astral Bellevue Pathé

Quotes:

Gas Station Attendant: I can't take credit cards.
Charlie Hughes: Why?
Gas Station Attendant: They had it counted for the investigation.
Charlie Hughes: Listen idiot, this is a VIP card.
Gas Station Attendant: Look Jack,
Charlie Hughes: No Charles Hughes, not Jack, did I say my name was Jack?
Gas Station Attendant: Jack, I don't think you would like being called an idiot.
Charlie Hughes: Wait a minute, wait a minute, my name is not Jack. It's Charles Hughes!
Gas Station Attendant: I don't care if your named was Rockefeller, nine dollars and twenty three cents.
Charlie Hughes: No not Rockefeller, Hughes, Charles Hughes, do you know what that means? You see that sign up there? I own two percent of that sign. That sign licenses you to sell gasoline. On Monday morning, that sign no longer licenses you to sell gasoline, because I own two percent of that sign...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nightmare in Canada: Canadian Horror on Film (2004) (TV)

A Very Watchable Failure

OK, this was Oliver Stone's first movie, so I'll cut him some slack (although Satyajit Ray and George Lucas didn't need any pity points for their stellar debuts, "Pather Panchali" and "THX 1138", respectively). Though attempting to make a low-budget horror film with serious undertones about the dark recesses of the unconscious mind, he has instead put a group of very capable actors into a series of macabre scenes - some of which are quite good - but that don't add up to much. And as for serious subtext, the movie ends up with about as much depth as a young adult horror novel. In addition, I didn't like the twist ending, as this same twist was used in literature over a hundred years previous.

The true strength of the movie comes from the casting of several iconic actors and actresses from various places ("Night Shadows" and elsewhere). Though I had not seen any of these actors elsewhere, I give complements to the performances of both the dwarf actor Herve Villachaize and Martine Beswicke as the Queen of Evil. Beswicke, in particular, is the most darkly beautiful actress I have ever seen, and I could not keep my eyes off her whenever she was in a scene. Casting her as the ultimate villainess was a stroke of genius. I'm even tempted to say that her performance is the one best reason for seeing this movie (which is surprising, because Stone has never been very good at creating compelling female characters). Otherwise, there is little here to predict Stone's master craftsmanship on virtually all his films from the late '80s through early '90s.