The Pyx

I really enjoyed this somewhat little known Canadian film about a Montreal police detective hot on the trail of a prostitute's death. Christopher Plummer does an excellent job as the cop trying to find out who killed Karen Black. Black is dead in the beginning of the film ,and the film alternates between what Plummer is doing in real time and flashback-type sequences with Black going through everything that happened up until her death. Black is lovely and adequate in her role, and the point of view used with her AFTER she was killed was quite inventive. But it is Plummer's performance which really seizes the film and makes it into something more than a regular murder mystery movie. Plummer discovers by piece by piece of evidence that Black became the victim of some sort of cult. Director Harvey Hart does an able job with the script creating tense scenes when needed and alternating shooting continuity between the two story lines. The film should not be over-looked. The biggest problem with the film for me is the opening credits which seems to drone on forever and accompanied by the most boring film song I have heard in a long. long time.

Prostitute Elizabeth Lucy (Karen Black) is found dead at the beginning--she fell (or was pushed) from the top of a building. Police sergeant Jim Henderson (Christopher Plummer) investigates and finds himself involved in satanic rites, ritual killings and more. Also there are flashbacks to the last few days of Lucy's life to see what happened to her.

Interesting but very confusing. It starts off pretty good with Black singing (and doing a credible job) over the opening credits and throughout the film. Then it gets very involved, the story gets muddled and murky and leads to an unsatisfying end. To be honest I'm STILL not sure what happened! Also there's bad overdubbing of voices, poor direction and a hysterically bad score at the end which sounds like a bunch of Munchkins signing! The acting is pretty good considering the material. Plummer (a great actor) looks miserable and gives a rare bad performance. Black however was just great. It's a very difficult role and she pulls it off. I kept watching solely for her. So--if you do want to see it see it for Black.

Be warned: The St. Clair DVD is in terrible shape. It (obviously) inserts a new title (calling it "The Hooker Cult Murders"!), has faded color and jumps VERY badly at the beginning. Also the sound quality is poor and the movie ends a full nine minutes before it's 111 min running time. That may have some reason for me not understanding it.

Like Larry Cohen's bizarre (and wonderful) GOD TOLD ME TO (1975), THE PYX is an interesting mixture of horror and detective thriller. After a hooker (Karen Black) supposedly commits suicide by jumping from a high-rise building to her death, cop Christopher Plummer investigates and uncovers a strange religious cult led by Jean-Louis Roux. These scenes are intercut with events from the previous 24 hours, in which Black is encouraged by her sinister madame (Yvette Brind'Amour) to join the cult. Unfortunately, despite Black excellent performance, most of these scenes are plodding and dull, due to the fact that we know Black's fate. Also, these scenes are often inserted during the more interesting investigation scenes with Plummer, who also gives a fine performance. Still, there's enough unusual about THE PYX to make it worth watching. The Montreal setting with its mixture of English and French dialogue gives the film a disquieting atmosphere, and the cop scenes have an almost documentary feel about them. The badly panned-and-scanned US video release destroys Rene Verzier's camera work (as well as make one or two moments quite confusing).

The effects aren't great and the movie jumps around in time a lot - if you aren't bilingual (English and French) then you might not get it right away. However, it's original, and Karen Black is beautiful as a heroin addicted hooker. I love the shots of Montreal in the 1970's throughout the film. I plan to watch this again someday.

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 1/1 Casting - 1/1 Directing - 0.5/1 Story - 1/1 Writing/Screenplay - 1/1

Total Base Score = 4.5

Modifiers (+ or -) Originality: 1

Total RealReview Rating: 5.5 (rounded up to 6 for IMDB)

THE PYX opens with the death of a prostitute named Elizabeth Lucy (Karen Black). Dt. Sgt. Jim Henderson (Christopher Plummer) is on the case. What, at first, seems like a typical murder, develops into something that Henderson can't explain. As he digs deeper into the mystery of Elizabeth's death, he must face the possibility that occult forces are at work.

The atmosphere of this movie grows increasingly thick with gloom and dread. Ms. Black is quite good in her doomed role, as is Plummer as the dogged investigator. His facial expressions during the finale are perfect and unforgettable.

The music by Ms. Black is tragic and haunting...