13 pasos al terror

I remember seeing The Attic on TV when I was 10, and I'll have to admit, it did give me nightmares. Now at 28, I decided to drop it in my Netflix queue just for laughs to see if it would still freak me out. Now I have a different perspective about it.I really agree with the last comment I read. This film is hard to classify, and in my opinion, could have been so much better. The two actors, Carrie Snodgress and Ray Milland keep it from being completely unwatchable. Snodgress does an exceptional job portraying Louise, that she actually makes you feel bad for her. All through the movie, you almost wish someone would throw her a bone and get her out of that dreadful house. It isn't really a horror movie, but it does have a creepy feel to it in some places. Ray Milland's sadistic portrayal of Louise's father,Wendell, contributes to that.

Depression surrounds poor Louise as she battles taking care of her abusive father who holds some sinister secrets in The Attic.

Louise is a very sad and lonely person who was stood up at the altar by the love of her love. almost 20 years ago, something she has not been able to get past. In the midst of her depression involving that, she is also being forced into retirement at the library she works in and is being replaced by a "younger model". On top of ALL of this, she has to take care of her tyrannical wheelchair-bound father who verbally abuses her at every turn. He attacks her appearance, the way she speaks, the job she has, etc.

Throughout the film, we see Louise fantasizing of killing her father in different ways. She also starts obsessing over the young person replacing her at the library named Emily. Emily has it all. Youth, a new position at the library, and a fiancee she is madly in love with. When a younger guy shows interest in Louise, things start to take a positive turn for her and her passive ways. But it isn't long before her father makes things worse for her and reveals some dark secrets of his own. All this leads to Louise breaking down further and a satisfying ending.

The compelling thing about this movie is the character of Louise. It is her mental health and overwhelming sadness that drew my attention throughout and kept me interested to see where it was going. I think we can all relate to a time when things weren't going well for us in our lives, and her general depressed mood definitely made me feel for her. Carrie Snodgress delivers a very emotional and powerful performance as Louise, the lonely and timid librarian who seems to have a dark cloud constantly hanging over her head.

The Attic is a very effective horror film. Extremely slow moving at times, but I never lost interest in following Louise's journey. It's only available on VHS at this point making it virtually impossible to find, but if you get the chance it is a recommended watch for sure!

7/10

Louise is a poor lonely middle-aged librarian prone to odd behavior, outrageous daydreams and suicide attempts. For the last 19 years she has taking care of her abusive wheelchair bound father and hopes beyond hope that her fiancée, who seemingly stood her up at the altar, returns to take her away. I thought that the story was interesting and in many ways parallels Psycho, there's even a nod in the movie. The acting is passable and the leads seem to mesh well. The direction is a bit plain and simple with little or no pizzazz. The biggest drawback is the music. Half the time the music distracts you away from the scene and the rest of the time it lulls you to sleep. Dig that crazy chimp music. The editing draws many of the scenes out for far too long. I kept thinking to myself that the story interested me but the script needed to be fleshed out some more and a bit of the fat trimmed coupled with a decent music score and a little vision, they could have pulled off something interesting.I even liked the obvious twists. Remake anyone?

Well-done psychological thriller is slow in going, but ultimately a rewarding and emotional character study.

Lonely spinster has been living under the eye of her over-bearing father ever since her beloved fiancé disappeared years earlier. But now that she is gathering her will power, will she be able to take control of her life and uncover the secrets from her past?

While many have billed this film as a horror movie, it's really not. The Attic is a highly tense drama that builds to some good thriller qualities, especially toward its climax. Director George Edwards creates a feeling of intrigue and mystery with this film, while adding some occasional Gothic touches. The musical score and theme song also add to the film's over all shut-in mood.

The true highlight of this movie though is its great cast. Veteran actor Ray Milland is appropriate and menacing as the heroine's invalid old father. His performance is quite good and this stands out as one of his better B film roles. However the true star of this film is the late Carrie Snodgrass. Snodgrass gives a stirring, heart-felt performance that makes her character truly sympathetic. In fact, she is so good in her role that she gives the entire film a bit of a solemn, moving note. This is perhaps one of Snodgrass's best roles ever.

The Attic has became a some what lost film over the years and it shouldn't be. It's a rare thriller that actually reaches an emotional level with its audience.

*** out of ****

Plot is a little slow Storyline varies too much, too many scenes that have nothing to do with the actual story. Some of the acting is not that great, but this is a 70's movie so it's about par for the course. Not too bad of a movie overall...