I SAW THE NIGHT-TIME WINDS (A CLASSIC EXPERIENCE IN TERROR)

Writer/director Ansel Faraj's The Night-Time Winds is a 2017, Hollinsworth production, now available for viewing on YouTube. 

This exquisite, black-and-white vision recalls the atmospheric glory of such comparable endeavors as The Haunting (1963), The Uninvited (1944) and The Innocents, bracketed by a cozy, Dark Shadows structure and a prevailing dread that Poe would endorse. (On another level, The Night-Time Winds would fit right in with Faraj's Theatre Fantastique.)

The Night-Time Winds features two sisters: Sheila (Kelly Kitko), a horror author who resides in an old, ornate mansion; and the other, Wendy (Kate Avery), who's come to visit. Sheila's blind, decrepit grandfather-in-law, Jonas Bishop (Nathan Wilson), once roamed the halls, but has since passed on, or has he? Sheila warns Wendy that it's best not to wander the home at night, and the whispering winds enforce that ominous warning, but how much of the threat is real, how much imagined?

The sisters do have their quirks, after all, with Sheila living in constant fear and Wendy exuding an evident, psychotic side. In fact, we learn via flashback that Sheila's spouse, Brian (also played by Wilson), was murdered in an alleged, botched robbery, and it appears that the sisters' mother (Elyse Ashton) died of fright, thanks to Wendy's unstable behavior. 

Ultimately, an elderly caretaker named McCray (Christopher Pennock) holds the key to the peculiar situation, revealing that the most terrifying specters often dwell within us. 

Though The Night-Time Winds is only forty-five minutes long, it rivals the evocative impact of its longer counterparts. Much of its success comes from Faraj's clever script, in addition to his well-paced direction and gorgeous photography, as well as the movie's nuanced performances. (Kitko and Avery are quite credible as the sisters.) Bill Wandel's score is also a plus, as it taps the eerie flow of Robert Cobert's works, and Adriana K. Martinez's makeup for old Mr. Bishop is the stuff of nightmares, giving Wilson's intricate portrayal an extra-creepy layer. Then there's the amazing abode, filmed at a number of California locations (abetted by some green-screen embellishment), which is so mesmerizing that it becomes a character all unto itself.

Be wise and try this one on for size. If you're a Faraj fan, you know you're in for a treat, and if you've not yet experienced his quality work, then The Night-Time Winds will surely make you an eternal devotee. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrYzf2PWER0&t=1382s

PINUP TIME/TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: FARRAH & DON (RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT PREMIERE)

 

I SAW LIZZIE (THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN)

For the sake of adding another notch to my Lizzie Borden, movie belt, I've visited the 2018 production, Lizzie, directed by Craig William Macneill and written by Bryce Kass. 

This speculative venture works rather like Mary Reilly (the Jekyll/Hyde tale, as retold through a servant's vantage). In this instance, it's Kristen Stewart's Bridget Sullivan, aka Maggie, who pulls the viewers in, though Chloe Sevigny's Lizzie Borden is ever present. In fact, she's the anchor, the allegorical pendulum, who motivates and inspires Maggie throughout the slow-burn, character-driven plot. 

The ladies are joined by Jamey Sheridan's Andrew Borden; Fiona Shaw's Abbey Borden; Kim Dickens' Emma Borden; and Denis O'Hare's John Morse. They create the expected, dysfunctional clan and instill the movie's harsh, haunting ambience. In some respects, Lizzie's staging would have worked (or could yet work) as a play and a powerful one at that, just based on its saturating setups and refined engagements.  

In this version of the legend, Lizzie and Maggie grow intimate (indeed, a significant, forbidden merger for the time), but then, Maggie is also intimate with Lizzie's father. The dynamic causes ample tension, with Mr. Borden not approving of his daughter and maid's "sinful" attraction to each other. That Lizzie's mother backs his disdain makes matters all the worse. It's this parental denouncement that triggers Lizzie's breakdown and revolt, with Maggie willing to assist, but does the unassuming housekeeper hold the required edge to fulfill the violence required?

The tension reaches a feverish pitch in what becomes (in my bold estimation) the most brutal depictions of the slayings, not so much for the blood spilt, but rather the blunt brutality invested through the performers. In other words, the ax attacks feel real ... perhaps, a little too real.

Nevertheless, the journey leading to that monstrous moment makes Lizzie one to watch and (if one has a penchant for the macabre) relish. I'm surprised I didn't hear about this one over the years, but I'm glad to have discovered it. 

For those interested, Lizzie is available on Amazon Prime, Tubi, Pluto TV and the Roku Channel. If you're hooked on the revived interest in Lizzie Borden, you've good cause to watch it.

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

I SAW THE LIZZIE BORDEN CHRONICLES

Lifetime's The Lizzie Borden Chronicles is a 2015 miniseries sequel to the channel's 2014 ratings winner, Lizzie Borden Took an Ax. It's fictional through and through, and since it doesn't pretend to be anything but, its proves engaging in a diabolical, off-the-cuff way. 

Christina Ricci's Lizzie murders by gleeful choice, not because she's some silly victim of circumstance. All the same, there are moments when she does skim Dexter Morgan's conscientious turf (with sporadic allusions to Psycho II, III and Bates Motel throughout). On the backdrop side, her journey carries the ornate aura of Houdini & Doyle (another excellent bit of miniseries fiction pinched from reality's annals).

For the eight-episode run, Lizzie and her sister, Emma, portrayed by Clea (Carnivale/Ghosts of Mars) DuVall, who also reprises her role, are placed dead center of the progressing intrigue, at one point using a shared alias to conceal their tainted legacy. 

There's no hiding the truth, though, as a wee skeleton stashed in the Borden basement reveals. It links to Emma and is found by the sisters' Willy Loomis-esque stepbrother, William, played by Andrew Howard. In the interim, John Heard's William Almy, once their dad's business partner, snoops and configures the situation. Lizzie fixes it so that the two face brutal turns.

Cole Hauser's Charlie Stringo, a tough-guy Pinkerton agent, has his own cause to snoop, which drives the story down a deeper, sordid path, granting Lizzie further opportunity to do her grisly, means-to-an-end thing. 

Stringo is surrounded by many others who influence the crafty murderess: Olivia (Penny Dreadful/Dimensions) Llewellyn's Isabel Danforth; John Ralston's Ezekiel Danforth; Jeff Wincott's Marshal Hilliard; Jesse Schram's Nance O'Keefe; Dylan Taylor's Leslie Trotwood; Amy Forthyth's Aideen Trotwood; Kimberly Sue Murray's Adele, Frank Chiesurin's Spencer Cavanaugh; Michael (Scanners/Highlander II) Ironside's Warren Stark; Bradley (Disquiet/Crawlspace 2022) Stryker's Slipjack; Jonathan (Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul) Banks' Mr. Howard; Kenneth (Twin Peaks/Survival of the Dead) Welsh's (anonymous) lawyer; Rhys Corio's Chester Phipps; Ronan Vibert's Dr. Vose; Adrian G. (X-Men: Origins/Apocalypse) Griffith's Frederick Lowell; and on the super-legend end, Matthew Le Nevez's Bat Masterson and Chris Bauer's Tom Horn. 

Unlike Lizzie Took an Ax, DuVall occupies as much time as Ricci for this follow-up. In addition to the wee-skeleton component, she falls in love and even enters an electroshocking, asylum stint, but to reveal any more would spoil the plot. The Lizzie Borden Chronicles is meant to be experienced for its stream of intersecting surprises, and as a work of fiction, those surprises come from a variety of wry angles.

A substantial portion of the series' success is due to its groomed writers and directors, with Barbara Nance, Richard Blaney, Gregory Small, David Simpkins and Jason Grote acting as its raconteurs and as its directors, Howard Deutch, Constantine Makris, Stephen Kay and Russell (Highlander I & II/Razorback/The Shadow 1994) Mulcahy. The creative strands assure quality storytelling, enough so that it's a bloody shame The Lizzie Borden Chronicles lasted only one season. 

For certain, the series keeps one on one's toes, but again, one needn't seek it for accuracy. It's a make-believe tangent and deals the gruesome goods as it sees fit, veering from its somber, 2014 springboard more often than not. (If the truth be known, it could be viewed without one having seen the movie, as long as one knows the basic, Borden legend. Who doesn't?)

The Lizzie Borden Chronicles is queued on Tubi and Amazon Prime for mystery and horror fans to engage and enjoy.🪓 

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

I SAW LIZZIE BORDEN TOOK AN AX

To continue my Lizzie Borden, film spree (see September posts for Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story and The Legend of Lizzie Borden), I delved into an interesting, Lifetime gem from 2014: Lizzie Borden Took an Ax. 

Directed by Nick Gomez and scripted by Stephen Kay, Lizzie Borden Took An Ax distinguishes the legend with bluesy, musical segues and at the outset leaves the murders open to interpretation. In other words, did Lizzie, portrayed by genre favorite Christina Ricci, kill her parents? For all intent, the evidence points to such, if only based on the accused's peculiar behavior.

Lizzie is depicted as a thief who disrespects her parents, in particular her domineering father, Andrew, played by Stephen (James Dean/Pontypool/A History of Violence) McHattie. She even tries to seduce him to have her way, all to no avail. (The relationship, as rendered in this version, alludes to Natalie Wood and William Hopper's in Rebel Without a Cause, though much more succinct per Lizzie's self-serving actions.) 

The supporting cast complements Ricci quite well, lending ample compassion and trepidation toward its prime figure, with McHattie giving a standout performance, joined by Sara Botsford as Abbey Borden; Clea (Carnivale/Ghosts of Mars) DuVall as Emma Borden; Adria Wilson as Nance McNeill; Shawn Hillard as Marshal Hilliard; and as opposing, legal opponents, Bill (The Rocketeer) Campbell as Andrew Jennings and Gregg (Rich Man, Poor Man: Book II) Henry as Hosea M. Knowlton, both of whom give the movie's second half a satisfying, Perry Mason flavor. 

The flashback-finale sequence hits a strong chord, with a conclusive view of what did happen. It's quick, jarring and indeed, serves its grisly purpose, capping off the production in a way that feels only fitting. As a result, one may not hold much empathy for Lizzie, but the outcome is more sincere than the ambivalence presented in the Netflix series, where a male-dominated society receives the main blame. 

🪓

One can catch Lizzie Borden Took an Ax on Amazon Prime. 

(BTW: Lizzie Borden Took an Ax proved popular enough to spawn a Lifetime sequel/miniseries. I plan to post on it soon. Stay tuned.)