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mariocki · 3 years ago

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False Face (Scalpel, 1977)

"Course, Daddy always said I was a fool, running for public office all the time."

"Bradley, your Daddy is dead, which is what I'm celebrating tonight."

"I wonder why he hated you so much."

"Oh, God, don't you know? I do the devil's work. I change the faces that God intended, I cater to man's vanity and to his lust. Oh, I mean it! He thought I was some kind of Frankenstein making monsters down at the county hospital."

#false face #scalpel #1977 #american cinema #horror film #john grissmer #joseph weintraub #robert lansing #judith chapman #arlen dean snyder #david scarroll #sandy martin #muriel moore #stan wojno #laura whyte #larry quackenbush #mimi honce #tad currie #warde q. butler #bob cobert #sickly southern gothic psychological thriller‚ in which Lansing's increasingly disturbed plastic surgeon creates a double of his missing #daughter in order to cash in on an inheritance and‚ uh‚ act out some rather distasteful fantasies. it's sleazy and grim but shot with real #style by director Grissmer (later to helm iconic splatter slasher Blood Rage) and particularly dop Edward Lachman‚ who suffuses the film #with deep yellows and greens which seem to reflect the corruption and sickness which snakes through the narrative like spreading gangrene #Lansing's laidback performance took me by surprise at first but actually it suits the detachment of his character‚ a man seemingly unaware #or uncaring of the terrible things he does (there's a particularly satisfying scene in which he describes his wife's death whilst flashback #footage completely contradicts his words). a tough role for Chapman playing dual parts but she's excellent and keeps you gussing #full of twists and turns‚ some expected some absolutely not‚ and with a solid look and strong cast that bely the grubbier elements of the #plot. also Mrs Mac! she only really has one scene of note but hell I'm always down to see a young Mrs Mac

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