With this holiday weekend coming to a close, I decided to
kick back and watch some different movies I found on Shudder over the past few
days. One of the more interesting ones comes from writer William Peter Blatty,
of Exorcist fame. While this one did
not deal with demonic possession, it did deal with a disturbing subject matter.
That movie is the 1980 cult classic The
Ninth Configuration.
Plot/ A new commanding officer arrives at a remote castle
serving as an insane asylum for crazy and AWOL U.S. Army soldiers where he
attempts to rehabilitate them by allowing them to live out their crazy fantasies
while combating his own long-suppressed insanity.
When I saw this one on Shudder, I had no idea what to
expect. What I found was extremely different from anything that I could have
imagined coming from the mind of Blatty. The
Ninth Configuration is a subtle mixture of comedy, horror, and drama that
makes for an entertaining evening. Completely different from The Exorcist, this movie offers an
interesting and intelligent look at mental illness and creates a narrative that
is a valuable tool for understanding. The cast is tremendous, the performances
solid, and the storyline offers many different angles into the mindset of the
characters. Yes, some of it does feel dated at times, but that is really not a
problem, as the overall power of the message comes through clearly. In the end,
this is an underrated gem, and a movie that must be seen. Sure, it is not a
mindless entry and it will require some thought while viewing but that is
perfectly fine with this one. Check it out!
No comments:
Post a Comment