La reine du mal

Original title: Seizure

1974
PG
1h 38m

IMDb RATING

4.7/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

Jonathan Frid portrays a horror novelist who has a recurring nightmare about three figures out of his book who terrorize him and his family and friends during a weekend of fun. Then the dream becomes reality and it never ends.

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Horror

A horror story writer, Edmond Blackstone, suffers from a recurring nightmare in which three bizarre figures terrorize him and his family. When Blackstone begins to write, the three figures a... Read allA horror story writer, Edmond Blackstone, suffers from a recurring nightmare in which three bizarre figures terrorize him and his family. When Blackstone begins to write, the three figures appear at his home and the dream becomes reality.A horror story writer, Edmond Blackstone, suffers from a recurring nightmare in which three bizarre figures terrorize him and his family. When Blackstone begins to write, the three figures appear at his home and the dream becomes reality.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.7/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 1:02

Trailer

Photos23

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Storyline

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Trivia
In a 2007 interview with Maitland McDonagh, actress Martine Beswick related that La reine du mal (1974) was filmed within a lakeside house in Quebec, which also served as housing for the cast and crew to save on hotel costs, as well as to intensify the feeling of claustrophobia sought by director Oliver Stone. The house's plumbing noise would frequently ruin takes, so no one was allowed to use sinks, showers or toilets during shooting. "It was a little hairy, to say the least... everybody was a little crazed. I mean, the moods! The things that happened! And then the drinking. Everybody took to drinking. We'd have gallons of wine. I started making sangria. I became truly the Queen, I really did. I took over; the crew would eat stuff and leave dirty plates all around everywhere. I'm going, 'This cannot work! So I started leaving notes everywhere: 'If you do not clean that I will kill.'

Quotes
Gas Station Attendant: I can't take a credit card.
Charlie Hughes: Why?
Gas Station Attendant: They have a counterfeit investigation.
Charlie Hughes: Listen idiot, this is a VIP card.
Gas Station Attendant: Look Jack, I...
Charlie Hughes: No wait a minute, Charles Hughes, not Jack. Did I say my name was Jack?
Gas Station Attendant: Jack, I don't particularly like being called an idiot.
Charlie Hughes: Wait a minute, wait a minute, my name is not Jack. It's Charles Hughes!
Gas Station Attendant: I don't care if your name is Rockefeller; nine dollars and twenty three cents.
Charlie Hughes: No no, not Rockefeller. Hughes, Charles Hughes, do you know what that means? You see that sign up there? I own two percent of that sign. That sign licenses you to sell gasoline. On Monday morning, that sign no longer licenses you to sell gasoline, because I own two percent of that sign, which means I own two percent of you. I don't want my two percent of you, so I'm going to get rid of it now! You understand what I mean? I hope you do, because there's a grade 'B' gasoline station down the road, selling grade 'B' gas to grade 'B' people, maybe you can get a job there fixing flats understand?
Gas Station Attendant: Nine dollars and twenty three cents, cash!
Charlie Hughes: Aha. Here's ten, Big Shot. Keep the change, because you're gonna need it! Remember the name? Hughes!
Gas Station Attendant: Hughes. Charles Hughes. Mr. Hughes? Screw you!

Alternate versions
The UK video, released in 1989, included almost 4 minutes of extra footage

Connections
Featured in Seizure: An Interview with Richard Cox (2014)

User reviews30

Featured review

4/10

A Very Watchable Failure

OK, this was Oliver Stone's first movie, so I'll cut him some slack (although Satyajit Ray and George Lucas didn't need any pity points for their stellar debuts, "Pather Panchali" and "THX 1138", respectively). Though attempting to make a low-budget horror film with serious undertones about the dark recesses of the unconscious mind, he has instead put a group of very capable actors into a series of macabre scenes - some of which are quite good - but that don't add up to much. And as for serious subtext, the movie ends up with about as much depth as a young adult horror novel. In addition, I didn't like the twist ending, as this same twist was used in literature over a hundred years previous.

The true strength of the movie comes from the casting of several iconic actors and actresses from various places ("Dark Shadows" and elsewhere). Though I had not seen any of these actors elsewhere, I give complements to the performances of both the dwarf actor Herve Villachaize and Martine Beswicke as the Queen of Evil. Beswicke, in particular, is the most darkly beautiful actress I have ever seen, and I could not keep my eyes off her whenever she was in a scene. Casting her as the ultimate villainess was a stroke of genius. I'm even tempted to say that her performance is the one best reason for seeing this movie (which is surprising, because Stone has never been very good at creating compelling female characters). Otherwise, there is little here to predict Stone's master craftsmanship on virtually all his films from the late '80s through early '90s.

* INTERESTING SIDENOTE: the newscaster voice narration at the end of the movie as the credits roll is that of Oliver Stone himself.