I have a superb and seldom seen recommendation for you guys today. This is exactly the type of near impossible to find treasure that keeps me so enthusiast about Netflix Streaming. 1969's I START COUNTING (based on a novel by Audrey Erskine-Lindop) is a coming of age horror/thriller and it fits nicely as a sort of missing link between HITCHCOCK's SHADOW OF A DOUBT and 1985's SMOOTH TALK. It stars a young JENNY AGUTTER, who you're sure to know from AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, and it's directed by DAVID GREENE who also helmed THE SHUTTERED ROOM (1967). From what I can tell it never made an appearance in the US, either in theaters or on television. The subject matter does walk a fine, leering line sometimes but to me, it reads more frank than exploitive.
AGUTTER plays Wynne, a fourteen-year-old who has developed a fervent crush on her much older (he's 32) half-brother George (BRYAN MARSHALL). This situation would be complicated enough but as Wynne's obsession leads to stalking she also finds many a reason to suspect that George is directly responsible for all of the dead ladies that have been popping up all over town. Rather than allow George's apparent violent, deviant side to dissuade her though, Wynne grows more and more infatuated and condoning while her courting of danger escalates. Again and again she finds herself gravitating towards the abandoned wreck of her childhood home, a place that she has been warned never to go. Eventually she discovers that her dark imaginings are a couple shades lighter than what's going on in the real world and that her yearnings have clouded her view.
I START COUNTING does a beautiful job of capturing the confusion of being trapped in a limbo between a dissolving childhood and an alluring, yet threatening adult world. It's quite a character study as we are granted near full access to Wynne's haunting memories and current fantasies. It's a beautifully shot film utilizing an almost uniform palate of gray and beige hues and the soundtrack and locations bring to life an idiosyncratic bubble of history during radically shifting social mores. (Wait until you get a load of the record store Wynne's other brother Jim (MICHAEL FEAST) works at!) Best of all, I START COUNTING delivers a pretty steady pulse of suspense and even a few punches of horror. Its focus on the psychological, strong use of symbolism and willingness to jump freely between what's going on in reality and what's going on in Wynne's head insures that the viewer always has something to chew on.. You may figure things out before Wynne does but that just makes things all the more nerve racking. I don't want to ruin too much, so I'll say no more. Now get watching!
Oh, thanks for this! I am a HUGE fan of David Greene's TV movie work, mostly his fluffier stuff, but man, he could *go* there when he needed to! And I love The Shuttered Room, so this should be a pretty good little movie.
Oliver Reed is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. I re-watched Burnt Offerings last week and was blown away by his performance, and he's also quite good in the Shuttered Room. I can't even imagine being on the set with both Greene and Reed, two larger than life personalities. Jenny must have some tales to tell!
I watched this recently and was very impressed with it, especially the acting. Jenny Agutter was amazing as the 15 year old guided by her hormones and not her brain. Some very creepy moments as well with the brother and the old house she keeps visiting although forbidden.
I was very pissed at Netflix for giving away a character death in the description (as if it is a major plot point), when in fact it is supposed to be a shock moment in the END of the film! Talk about a spoiler…
Dasklyter,
I agree Agutter is amazing in this movie. She's just very natural seeming without all the self aware quirks you'd usually find in a actress that age (I think she was actually 16 or 17 when this was filmed)
Thankfully I did not read the Netfliz description but I did have an inkling that things were not going to turn out as she had been imagining. I found the ending to be really suspenseful.
ABN,
I thought about you immediately when I learned this was from the director of "A Vacation in Hell" !
Never heard of, nor obviously, seen this film before. Great find, thanks…I so still have a crush on Jenny Agutter!!!! I also loved the "mod" look of this film…what a cool looking Catholic church….and basketball played in panties…I could go on and on!!!!!
Regarding the soundtrack….
It's been a while since I saw this, but I remember really disliking the theme song a lot.
Great movie.
Great cast.
Baaaad theme song.
Watching this on Netflix now. It's still early in it, but so far the vibe reminds me of Run, Stranger, Run…Which is one you need to check out, if you haven't.
T, I have RUN STRANGER RUN on VHS! I may have to take your advise and write about that one soon! Good call!
Run, Stranger, Run is one of my favorites, Unk! It makes me think of the beautiful little town where my Dad grew up on Lake Superior…Somehow I love movies where nasty things happen in really cozy places.
My old VHS of R,S,R almost broke my VCR last year, so I had to replace it via Amazon Marketplace…If we don't get a DVD any time soon might be worth my while to order two or three backup tapes of it, just in case.
I just watched this because you all wrote about it here and I did enjoy it. It's not scary but it does have some creepy elements. I liked the camera work a lot.