I've read that Oliver Stone has disowned Seizure. Understandable perhaps, unlike a lot of his later work its not a big film or a loud one, it doesn't declaim from on high on issues of society or politics. Rather its a small film, and a slightly pretentious one, not an important film and not the kind of pretension that can readily be spun to something greater. But its an interesting film, a decent little work of weird horror cinema, somewhat compelling and assured in its style. It tells of author Edmund Blackstone, writing a children's story but plagued by nightmares. His worries come to a head as he invites friends round for a weekend, when it transpires that three lunatics have escaped from an asylum, lunatics that mirror his imaginings and come to torment him and his guests with malevolent games. And as things go on it turns out that these aren't any ordinary escaped lunatics but something stranger, incomprehensible and unbound by space, an inescapable menace. The home invasion becomes fantasy, but what is really going on? It's an interesting set up and happily the cast is eclectic and well up to making it come alive. Jonathon Frid is the cold centre of the film as Edmund, Christina Pickles caring and affecting as his wife, afflicted more strongly by events. Joseph Sirola is a grand brassy grotesque as monstrous millionaire and cuckold Charles Hughes, Mary Woronov meanly spiky as his wife, Troy Donahue a suitably arrogant philanderer. Roger de Koven pleasant as the most likable of the characters, Ann Meacham his sadly disturbed wife good too. The villains really drive the film though, Herve Villachaize quirkily vicious as Spider, Henry Baker a strong and silent figure as Jackal, and best of all the alluring Martine Beswick black gowned as the Queen of Evil, her every word, every move dripping with cruelly regal poise. With all the cast gunning and sharing decent chemistry things can't help but grip, and a well handled pace ensures the films strong hold. The direction is quality too, freeze frames and snappily edited (Stone shares editing duties) close ups give violent scenes a punch, while rich and moody blues and oranges instill interesting atmosphere. Sadly there are notable flaws though. The film touches on an array of interesting themes, the isolation and arrogance of the artist, the notion of subconscious as ultimate judge, the enduring resonance of stereotypes in the imagination and more, but while such themes are a fun spice the film often tells rather than showing, with variously labored passages of writing. There's also an unfortunate lack of grue, with violent scenes either cutting away or having the nastiness just out of frame. Were the film generally saner and quieter this wouldn't be an issue but as is it comes across as pulling its punches. The ending is a tad off as well, a reasonable use of a slightly pat twist, but it doesn't really tie everything together and slightly exacerbates the problem of the aforementioned labored themes. Still, its a good little film. Creepy, well paced and engagingly weird, cult cast put to good use and passages of effective tension. Definitely worth a watch for enthusiasts of low budget 70's oddities and in general terms a worthy opus, but certainly flawed and no classic or anything
