Comet's Cosmic Reviews

Geia sas, film friends! I have decided to commence a thread reviewing and recommending random films I have enjoyed for various reasons throughout the years. I will try and steer away from the massively popular films and select those that are not so much in the limelight.

I have an eclectic taste regarding film so please bear with me.

Without further ado, here we go.




Walkabout (1971)


Director - Nicolas Roeg

Cast - Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg and David Gulpilil

Grade B-

Walkabout is a 1971 Australian film about a teenage girl and her younger brother, who through a dark and twisted tragedy, find themselves stranded deep in the Outback.

They come across an Aboriginal boy, who despite being unable to communicate with them, helps, aids and guides them along.

Both harsh and beautiful, Walkabout is a film that appears simple and straight-forward but possesses moments that instills a deeper meaning and message inside you through tragedy and harsh reality. It exposes a fear deep inside of us and allows one to appreciate and respect life and to not take it for granted.

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"Astronomy compels the soul to look upward, and leads us from this world to another" - Plato

The Spiral Staircase (1946)

Director - Robert Siodmak

Cast - Dorothy McGuire, George Brent and Ethel Barrymore

Grade B+

The Spiral Staircase is a 1946 psychological thriller about a serial killer in a New England community who looks to make Helen, a mute girl, their next victim.

Suspenseful, terrifying, creepy and shocking are just a few words to described this dramatic thriller. Siodmak generates suspense at every turn while keeping you on the edge of your seat and eyes fixated on the screen.

McGuire delivers a limpid performance dripping with emotional power as Helen, the mute live-in helper for a dysfunctional family. Helen senses danger all around and is shown to be vulnerable due to her disability---which only adds and builds to the suspense.

The Spiral Staircase masterfully plays with your fears and emotions like an instrument in this timeless classic.

Two really good films. Walkabout has been a film I've liked for a long time now, but The Spiral Staircase was a film I only discover a year or so ago.

What were your initial thoughts and reaction when you viewed The Spiral Staircase for the very first time?

I've only seen it once, but I thought it was a good 40's thriller, though not exactly surprising. It reminded me of Gaslight, The Haunting and films like that, in terms of atmosphere.

Bad Bascomb (1946)

Director - S. Sylvan Simon

Cast - Wallace Beery, Margaret O'Brien and Marjorie Main

Grade C+

Bad Bascomb is a 1946 Western about a notorious and violent outlaw who hides within a Mormon group to avoid the law. The ill-tempered man befriends a young girl and a transformation on him commences, causing him to slowly but surly change his ways and open up in a way he never had before.

Margaret O'Brien is adorable as Emmy, and the chemistry between her and Beery is a treasure as you can see him transform from furciferous and crosspatch to a man with feelings, emotion and someone capable of kind and noble actions.

Bad Bascomb is far from a memorable masterpiece, but it touches the heart and shows people from any background can change for the better.

Anyone else thought Walkabout was also about a sexual journey? The aborigin boy taught her how to survive in the desert but he could not teach how to love.