The Shout (1978)
The vibe of this film is right up my alley--think the kind of dreamy (yes, "dreamy" is one of my favorite descriptors and I know I use it a lot. I am open to synonym suggestions!) horror of
Picnic at Hanging Rock,
The Last Wave, or
Images.
A man named Anthony (John Hurt) lives a mediocre life with his wife Rachel (Susannah York). One day a man named Crowley basically invites himself to lunch with them and from there he ingratiates himself into their lives. He claims to have learned ancient magic from an Aboriginal tribe--including the ability to use a deadly shout (a la the title) capable of killing any living thing in earshot and the ability to bewitch anyone if he has an item of theirs. While first assuming him to be an eccentric, the couple soon comes to realize that Crowley's stories may be more true than they believed.
This one didn't quite rise to the level of the films I mentioned in my first paragraph, but I really enjoyed it. The casting is perfect. John Hurt always looks a bit sickly to me, and next to him Alan Bates' bombastic performance makes Crowley feel more like a force of nature than a person. York does well as Rachel (though the character doesn't get as much agency as her male co-stars, as she becomes the "prize" to be fought over by them). There's fantastically creepy (and instantly iconic) sequence where she crawls across the floor in an odd way that instantly elevates the film's sense of foreboding. (Included below, but in spoiler text if you don't want that part spoiled for you and also the image contains some nudity but in silhouette---please let me know if you guys think it's too NSFW).
The film makes great use of its various settings--the ramshackle house in which Anthony and Rachel live; the local mental hospital (where Rachel works and which hosts strange cricket games for its patients); and the sweeping sand dunes near their home.
I had only two qualms with the film.
The first was that I wish Rachel had been given more character development. Very early on in the film she mostly becomes a trophy to be fought over by the male characters. If the film had explored the idea that maybe Rachel was somewhat willing to be seduced by an outsider, that could have been interesting. Instead she becomes a pawn to be manipulated. York plays the part well, but it feels like a missed opportunity to flesh out the couple's marriage in a deeper way.
The other complaint was some of the exoticizing of Aboriginal culture. In a film like
The Last Wave, Aboriginal culture is presented at times as mysterious, but there are actual Aboriginal characters and the culture and their beliefs are regarded with respect. In this film, it's a bit more woo-woo, and leans into the idea of indigenous people as "magical savages". For example, it's true that there's evidence that Aboriginal societies practiced infanticide, but in the film it's presented as something that Aboriginal parents did on a whim. I get that the film needed a supernatural foundation for its story, but it felt a bit clunky. I actually preferred some of the weirder touches, like the idea that souls are tied to rocks in the dunes, leading to a strange conversation between Anthony and a local cobbler whose stone was impacted by Anthony and Crowley's actions.
While not top-tier 70s horror, I would definitely recommend it. I watched it on Amazon Prime.
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