House of Psychotic Women: Rarities Colle — House of Psychotic Women( Blu Ray boxset)

Here’s a follow-up to Severin’s 2022 box set House Of Psychotic Women Rarities Collection. It’s once again curated by Kier-La Janisse, who penned the 2012 book House of Psychotic Women, which looked at female neurosis in horror and exploitation films. This recent Blu-ray collection brings together four more films from around the world, focusing on unhinged/unbalanced women. The set also takes in ten plus hours of extras- taking in new commentaries, introductions, interviews, short films & more.

If you're familiar with Severin’s standard boxset design, you know what to expect here; each of the films comes in its own Blu-ray, then these are presented in a thick card pull-off top box.

 

First up, we have 1994’s Butterfly Kiss, a British road movie about an unpredictable female serial killer who hooks up with a meek/ naïve garage cashier. It’s a thriller/ dark comedy which feels like an on-speed Mike Leigh, with a kinky/ bloody elements woven in.

It was directed/co-written by Blackburn-born Michael Winterbottom- he has thirty features to his name, including psychological drama I Want You( 1998), refugee drama In This World (2002), and Eleven Days In May(2022), a documentary regarding the eleven-day bombing of the Palestinian territory of Gaza in 2021.

The one-hour, twenty-minute film is largely set around British roads and the garages/ services dotted along them. After the monochrome credits, we follow the short red-haired/ clearly not a hundred per cent right Eunice (Amanda Plummer) asking in a garage petrol station if the cashiers are named Judith, and if they recall a certain song.  This, as you can imagine, doesn't get her very far, that is, until she encounters Miram (Saskia Reeves)- a cashier with leaning difficulties and a hearing aid.

As the film unfolds, the pair encounter a selection of characters along the road, and more than a few of them end up dead at the hands of Eunice, who we find out has chains pierced & hung from the top half of her body under her clothes.

Some of the actors playing said characters will be recognisable to Brits of a certain age. There’s Ricky Tomlins (The Royal Family, Brookside) as a lonely lorry driver, and Paul Bown (who played geeky male lead in 80s/90s sitcom Watching) playing a hitchhiking lover.

Both leads are excellent. Plummer well and truly slips into the role of the troubled and psychotic Eunice, being very unpredictable and at times downright unhinged. Reeves shifts from being a timid/ meek young woman living with her elderly Gran, to be an apologist for Eunice, to being well and truly pulled into her violent darkness. 

The film soundtrack features a blend of 90’s indie pop rock, like more than a few tracks from The Cranberries, and brooding/ uneasy drone-based. The former dates the film a little in places, but not enough to ruin key/ troubling scenes, as more often than not these are set against the drone score.

All in all, Butterfly Kiss is an effective and troubling ride, with a very downbeat resolve.  As a side note, I wonder if it was an influence on Ben Wheatley’s 2012 Sightseers, as it follows a similar relationship, a similar tone, and at points similar plot beats.

 

Extras-wise, we get a good selection of things. First off, we get a commentary track from author/ commentator/filmmaker Kat Ellinger- and as we’ve come to expect from her, it’s a wonderful, observed and researched track that really adds to one's appreciation of the film. She starts off talking about how this is director Michael Winterbottom's first feature film, and his previous career had been in British TV. She comments on the films shot on monochrome VHS credits, and how, like the rest of the film, these avoid telling a full story.   She talks about how Mike Leigh and similar downbeat British drama director Ken Loach were influences on the director. She discusses how the film was made during a time of apathy in the UK, and how it gives a non-traditional/ conventional take on a serial killer film. We find out the film had a budget of just four hundred thousand pounds.  She discusses why she thinks the film is neither a romantic nor a lesbian picture, as some have claimed.  Later on, she talks about how the director was going to use two unknowns/ non-actors to play the leads, so that the audience would be uncertain if the film was a documentary or not. She discusses the idea of a British road movie and how this is a difficult proposition, as our roads are rather unchanging, with rare landmarks. All told, an excellent track from Ms Elliger.

Otherwise, on the new extras-wise we have the following: two intros- one by Kier-La Janisse, Author Of House Of Psychotic Women (5.13), and one by the film's script writer, Frank Cottrell-Boyce (3.13). Between Everyday And The Extreme (22.01) interview with director Winterbottom. No Judgement (21.27) interview with actress Amanda Plummer. You're Not Judith (14.51) interview with actress Saskia Reeves. Pestilence Through Petrol (8.56) interview with the film’s producer Julie Baines. Front Light And Black Sky (17.51) interview with the film’s cinematographer Seamus McGarvey.  Short 1998 film by Ruth Lingford Pleasures Of War (11.36), and a trailer.

 

 

Second up in the box set, we have Morgiana- the film sits somewhere between flamboyant costume period drama, dark fairy tale, and gothic horror. It’s a grim-to-acid-tinged slice of Czech New Wave cinema. The early 1970s film liberally flip-flops between melodrama, odd-angled to tripped-out folk tale, and demented-at-times psychodrama-fed horror.

Appearing in the year 1972, Morgiana was directed by Juraj Herz, who was born in 1934 in Kezmarok, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia).  Between the late ’60s & the early 2010’s he had twenty-eight features to his name. These went surreal horror film The Cremator (1969), which followed a demented cremator in WW2. Onto dark & gloomily surreal Beauty And The Beast (1978), through to mafioso crime comedy Bulldogs And Cherries (1981), and bloodsucking car horror mystery Ferat Vampire (1982).  He’s seen as an important figure in the darker/horror-fed side of the Czech New Wave.

Morgiana is set in the 19th century and focuses on wealthy twin sisters Klára & Viktoria- both played by actress Iva Janzurová.  Klára is a bright and positive figure who gets shown interest by a selection of men/ suitors. While Viktoria is a thick black-wigged & pale-faced character, who is shrouded in dark hate, jealousy, and general evilness.

The film opens with the funeral of their father and the reading of his will- he has left his large house to Viktoria, and fairly soon she moves into her father’s house, leaving Klára in her own large house. Though all is not well with the nicer of the two sisters, as she is slowly but surely getting more & more unwell. Is it something to do with Viktoria?, some strange illness?, or is something else going on here?

 Iva Janzurová really is excellent playing the dual roles, and to be honest, until I did some research, I thought it was two different actresses playing the roles- as she gives each their own mannerisms, stance, and presentation. The surrounding cast is all good too- with other memorable characters/ actors being the awkwardly chuckling & large sideboarded Doctor played by Karel Augusta, and Nina Divísková who plays devious, thinking on her toe’s blackmailer Otylie.

Visually, the film moves from the gothically shadowy to bright sunshine-lit period drama with often large/ flamboyant dresses & overdone make-up. Onto odd angled- we get some great cat-like POVs, and trying to walk in a trip shooting. At points, the acting & presentation of the characters comes across as overdone- bringing to mind silent movie acting, and others it’s decidedly darkly camp/pantomime-like. And this makes the film a very distinctive/ unusual experience.

Towards the middle of the film, the plotting gets a little muddled- as we get other characters added into the mix, and we don’t always get a good/ clear resolution as to what happened to them/ who exactly they were. Also in the film's second half, we get an overuse of repetitive horn & bounding piano cues- so much so it almost feels industrial music like in its presentation- I understand the reason for this, but it does get a little tiring at times. I’d say these are the only slight issues with the film, and otherwise, Morgiana is an effective/ at times unbalancing film.

 

New extras-wise, for this disc, we first get a commentary track from With Stranger With My Face Festival Director Briony Kidd and Cerise Howard, Co-Founder Of The Czech and Slovak Film Festival Of Australia. They begin talking about how the film is the last hurrah of the Czech New Wave, and comment on the contrast between the period set post credits & the modern art set credits.  They touch on how everything in the film is so exaggerated and about style, and less about reality. They discuss the dual performance of Iva Janzurová, talking about each character's nuanced facial expression. They talk about how the characters' dress looks like they have just stepped out of an Art Nouveau picture, and the way the film warps gothic conventions. Later on, they discuss the film's treatment of femininity. We get bios of the film's actors, and more. It’s an ok track- though it has a fair few gaps, and at times comes across a little repetitive & dry.

Otherwise, we have the following new extras: Little Drop Of Poison (14.42) interview with actress Iva Janžurová. The Stone Forest (6.25) A Short Film On Shooting Location Pobiti Kamani, Animated By Leslie Supnet And Narrated By Kier-La Janise. Intro from  Kier-La Janisse (3.36)

On the archive side, we have Nightmares (26.22) Juraj Herz' 1970 Vampire Rock Musical Made For Czech TV- this sadly has no subtitles. Rest In Peace (13.18) a 1998 short film from Rachel Amodeo- with new 2K Scan

 

The third picture in the set is 1959’s The Savage Eye, which is the most experimental/ unconventional of the films offered up here. The monochrome picture follows a recently divorced woman through the streets of urbane LA- it features no formal character dialogue, with a female and male voice over spouting beat generation/ grimly philosophical texts. There is some sort of shape/ flow to the plot, though it darts around timelines, with often sudden, jarring shifts.

The film was directed/ written by three people: Ben Maddow, Sidney Meyers, and Joseph Strick. Passaic, New Jersey-born Maddow was a formerly blacklisted screenwriter with credits like noir The Asphalt Jungle (1950), western The Way West (1967), and supernatural horror The Mephisto Waltz (1971). New York-born Sidney Meyers had five directing credits to his name- his only other feature was The Quiet One(1948) a documentary regarding the rehabilitation of an emotionally disturbed African American boy- he’s most known as an editor, with credits such as workplace drama Edge Of The City (1957), and  Henry Miller bio/ drama Tropic of Cancer (1970). Finally, Braddock, Pennsylvania-born Strick had nine director credits to his name- these went from crime drama The Big Break (1953), bleak drama Road Movie (1973), and confessional documentary Criminals (1997).

The Savage Eye runs at around the one hour and eight-minute mark, though due to its decidedly shifting/unpredictable/ at points unevenly paced structure seems longer. It opens introducing us to the film's lead/ main focus, Judith McGuire (Barbara Baxley), a mid-thirties woman, who we find out fairly soon has recently been devoiced. The film opens in a bus station, just as she is locating her bus and getting on it. Straight away, we drop into the back and forth between the two narrators- Judith, and a male voice who is simply known in the credits as The Peot (Gary Merrill).

After the bus, she goes back to her apartment- talking about how she, like many women in her block, survives on alimony cheques from her ex-husband. As the film unfolds, she moves through crowds, walks past car crashes just as battered/ bleeding bodies are pulled out, goes to a boxing match with her new, having-an-affair/ older date, watches a burlesque stripper show, etc.  Over the top of this, the pair lock into philosophical-to-beat generation like poetry- regarding everything from the meaning of relationships, mortality, trust, and beyond- some of it hits quite well, with an interesting balance of image and text, but some of it comes off as having been more than a tad pretentious.

I’d say the visual side of things is the more consistent/ varied part of the film, as there’s a fair bit of shift in that. Though, as I mentioned earlier, the pace of the whole thing is decidedly erratic. All in all, The Savage Eye is an interesting, if not wholly successful, cinematic curio.

 

Extras-wise wise for this disc, we get just a few things. First is a commentary track with film curator/historian Elizabeth Purchell, and this is excellent, as it really opened up the film to me/ made me appreciate more what we have here.  She starts off by talking about how it was the first truly independent American film, and how it melds its different genres in quite an abstract way. She talks about how the film has an almost found footage quality- though it’s not and compares its feel to the work of outsider exploitation auteurs like Doris Wiseman, Andy Milligan, and Ray Dennis Steckler. We find out it was shot over several years on weekends, with its concept changing over time. He talks about the fascinating history of the giant spinning woman statue in the film, before giving an in-depth bio of each of the film's three directors. Later on, she touches on the film's premiere, which took place in NYC on June 6^th 1960- it took nineteen point nine thousand dollars in its first week, having a three-month run in the city. She talks about how most New York critics loved the film, though she quotes from one of the less positive reviews from the time. I believe I’ve heard one or two of Ms Purchell's tracks in the past, and once again this is a most interesting/ informative affair, which I can see myself playing again.

The other two new things are: Judith X (16.06), Locations Video Essay by Esotouric's Kim Cooper. Trailers From Hell Commentary By Kier-La Janisse (3.40).

On the archive side, we have:  Interview with Co-Director Joseph Strick (17.06), Interview with Joseph Strick regarding his short film Interviews with My Lai Veterans. Two short films- Interviews with My Lai Veterans (27.06) from 1970. Miss Candace Hilligoss' Flickering Halo (14.33) from 2011.And a trailer.

 

Film number four in the set is Spain’s The Glass Ceiling. This early, slow-burning/ moodily building 70s film that blends mystery/ giallo tropes, with an are-they-going-to-be-made or not thriller, and lightly uneasy drama.

The Glass Ceiling ( El Techo De Cristal) is from the year 1971, and is largely based around an apartment block. It was the fourth feature film from the Basque Provinces, Spain born  Eloy de la Iglesia. Between the mid-sixties and early two thousands, he had twenty-two features to his name. These include video nasty charting, serial killer exploitation, slightly arty drama, meet thriller The Cannibal Man (1972). fairy tale anthology film Fantasía... 3 (1966), claustrophobic romantic drama lgo Amargo En La Boca (1969), early Spanish Giallo No One Heard the Scream (1973), brutal biker gang Sci-fi To Love, Perhaps To Die  (1973), drug addiction and juvenile delinquency fuelled drama El Pico (1983) and its sequel El Pico 2 (1984).

The one-hour and thirty-five-minute film opens with soundtrack-less opening credits, which finds an unseen figure walking around a semi-rural set apartment block. Moving from looking up at shadowy windows down to gravel-covered ground, where on one corner of the building is a dog kennel, and on another corner a pig pen.

We then shift up to one of the apartment windows where businessman Carlos (Fernando Cebrián) is getting ready for a trip- his wife Marta (Carmen Sevilla) is packing his case, before wishing him a farewell.

Marta and her white cat are initially fine- watching TV, getting a delivery from a pushy/ sexual trying it on delivery man. The issues start off late at night, as she lies in her bed, she wonders why someone is pacing back and forth above her.

As things unfold, Marta starts to believe that one of the male neighbours has been murdered- and with this she becomes more & more obsessed. And subtly notching up tension, we get the click/ brief freeze of photos being taken of Marta, by someone unseen.

Also living in the apartment block we have the dark-haired/ constantly asking to put food in Marta’s fridge, Julia (Patty Shepard), and landlord/ potter Ricardo (Dean Selmier). There’s also flirty pig-tailed milkmaid Rosa (Emma Cohen), who doesn’t live in the apartment, but often turns up.

 Sevilla is excellent as Marta, with her believable character arc, going from normal/ balanced to a washed-out/mentally tired. The rest of the cast is all fairly good, too.

As the film moves into its second half, we get more exploitative elements brought in, like darting shots of female nudity, piles of lopped off fresh & body parts- but throughout, the sense of mystery/unease is cultivated well. Meaning if you enjoy slow burn/well-acted low-key/ moody blends of mystery, giallo and drama, The Glass Celling will appeal.

Extras side for this last disc, we have a few new things. First off, there’s a commentary track from  Shelagh Rowan-Legg, Author Of A Forthcoming Monograph On Director Eloy De La Iglesia, and Faculty of Horror's Alexandra West- this is fine, with some worthy observations/ facts.  They begin by revealing that this is the first Eloy de la Iglesia film either of them had seen, but found it a layered affair, which was evocative of what had gone before/ happened later, declaring it a fun watch. They give a brief history of the killer/ stalker POV shot use.  They discuss the film's location- where the city meets the countryside, and how this is used. They comment on the film's lead character, and Carmen Sevilla herself, who was one of the great Spanish actresses- she was often held up as the perfect Spanish woman. Later on, they give a brief history of the censorship of crime films during the Francisco Franco regime. They comment on the film's great leisure ware, discuss the director's filmography, and more.

Otherwise, on the new side, we have: Introduction by Kier-La Janisse (6.19). Connected At The Soul (16.36) Patty Shepard as remembered by her Sister, Judith Chapman.

On the archive side: Alternate Scenes From The TV Version (1.01), trailer, and 1976 short film Anta Mujer (26.26).

 

House of Psychotic Women: Rarities Collection Volume 2 serves up another great selection of films from around the world, each giving its own distinctive take on female madness. Each picture gets a classy print and informative/interesting extras. Role on vol 3 of this series! - and I must get around to checking out Ms Janisse's book!