Cassandra (1987)
Directed by Colin Eggleston
Written by Colin Eggleston, John Ruane, Christopher Fitchett
Produced by Trevor Lucas, Steve Amezdroz, Mikael Borglund, Phil Gerlach
Starring Tessa Humphries, Briony Behets, Lee James, Shane Briant, Kit Taylor, Susan Barling, Tim Burns, Dylan O’Neill, Tegan Charles, Jeff Watson, Jeff Truman, Natalie McCurry, Kate Carruthers
Violent visions of current deaths through their murderer’s eyes and nightmares of a suicide years preremote haunt a young woman (Humphries), who clairvoyantly watches without comprehending the contraction of her personal circle spiraling serially to her as his ultimate victim. Evocatively enthralling, sometimes misleading POV shots, a few exquisite interiors, soapily familial arcana, and bountifully disposable red herrings are among the highlights of Eggleston’s penultimate picture, which benefits from his dynamic direction and sightly photography by DP Garry Wapshott, cut with painstaking care to jarring effect by Josephine Cook. Regrettably, their efforts are misspent on mustily miserable SFX, a third act comprised entirely of clichés, and the worst of histrionics that vary at any given minute from good to goofy. Natheless, this oddity is bound to satisfy enthusiasts of grisly, offbeat pulp.
Recommended for a double feature paired with the superior Eyes of Laura Mars, or coetaneous, similarly stylish and flawed White of the Eye.