Roberta Findlay is somewhat notorious for not liking actors, other humans, or being particularly interested in filmmaking - and yet she's made her mark on genre cinema from the sensational Snuff to the grimy Tenement to several hardcore films. Whether she appreciates them now or not, Findlay did have a knack behind the camera and lent a certain grit and energy to her films. 1985's The Oracle is no exception - combining supernatural thriller with murder mystery into a sleazy, rubbery anti-Christmas tale.
The set up is scooped up from films like Rosemary's Baby or The Sentinel - a yuppie couple moves into a swanky apartment only to realize things aren't as nice as they seem. In this case Jennifer - Caroline Capers Powers - is gifted a planchette (pictured above) owned by the former resident who happened to be a powerful medium. Jennifer brings out the planchette to impress her guests at a Christmas Eve party only to freak herself out when it seems spirits are communicating through her as well. Jennifer gets clues regarding a murder through the planchette which increasingly gains a hold on her - magically dispatching with anyone who tries to dispose of it. Androgynous murderer Farkas is introduced, gloopy special effects are employed, and Jennifer's husband remains an absolute prick about it until his bitter end.
The budget constraints are obvious in The Oracle and it isn't an undiscovered classic but it is a fun movie that is absolutely worth your time. I am somewhat biased as just the nature of shooting in NYC during this era elevates just about anything in my opinion. In a scene where Farkas picks up a hooker on Christmas Eve, she's standing outside a 42nd Street go-go joint with a display saying "Where's the Beef? It's Here on Stage!" After some brutally sleazy hotel knife-work, Farkas grabs some late night eats at an absolutely immaculate dining car. Jennifer visits an occult bookstore called The Magickal Childe to learn more about the planchette and the supernatural occurrences taking place around her (the proprietor of which sounds a lot like Zacherley to me) - this was an actual store in Chelsea run by occultist Herman Slater and patronized by the likes of Robert Mapplethrope. I'm also a huge fan of the effects utilized here - they occur somewhat sparsely considering the run time, but they are wonderfully bonkers. They run the gamut from the ridiculously lazy - a pair or rubber monster hands from a Halloween shop pull an unsuspecting victim's head off - to the wildly inspired - a maintenance man hallucinates a series of toothy, tentacled slimeballs covering his body causing him to knife himself to death.
My main complaints with The Oracle is that it might run 10-15 minutes too long and there's an extended series of chases that aren't very interesting - though one features both Farkas and Jennifer visibly winded which is pretty funny. All is forgiven by the end which is suitably spooky and features a full puppet special effect that I thought was charming. This would make a great addition to whatever Christmas horrors you plan on watching but is a solidly sleazy watch any time of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment