31 (or so) Days of Terror: Gothic

In honor of Halloween, The Serial Wordsmith presents 31 (or so) reviews of strange and offbeat Horror Films

Yes dear readers, the season of fear is upon us once more! The leaves are changing color, the air is getting colder, and the boundary between worlds grows ever thinner. And, as is the wont of my profession, we turn our attention to all things cinematically terrifying. So where better to begin a month-long look at strange and offbeat horror than with that classic of the canon, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In particular, Director Ken Russell's 1986 film dramatization of the dark and stormy summer that inspired the young Ms. Godwin's famous novel.

The setup of the plot should be familiar to any student of Horror Literature. In the summer of 1816, the English poet Percy Shelley along with his fiance Mary Godwin and her cousin Claire Clairmont go to visit his friend Lord Byron, who's been exiled with his doctor Polidori to Switzerland. Trapped inside by inclement weather, the five amuse themselves by reading ghost stories and drinking. Eventually they challenge one other to create original scary tales and the libertine Byron suggests they conjure an actual ghost for extra inspiration. As the storm rages outside, the five Romantics begin to feel their villa haunted by something as they're plagued by visions and nightmares. But has a monster from beyond the grave actually been raised or have they just imbibed too much drink?


The thing I find most interesting about Gothic is despite the cast being made up of famous figures of Romantic Lit, the setup is the most basic for Horror movies. Group of friends go on vacation to isolated location, are stalked by monster in the night, one final girl remains at daybreak. The five even roughly fit into the classic Horror archetypes. Claire is the slut, Shelley the stoner, and Polidori's the nerd. It's 19th Century Cabin in the Woods. Byron would fill the Jock role, but Gabriel Byrne's performance as the infamous mad & bad poet puts him closer to a kind of rebellious teen criminal, James Dean in a frock coat. Nonetheless, he still fills the role of nominal "leader". Of course they inhabit these roles in period-accurate fashion. Clare's sluttishness consists of throwing herself at Byron like an eager puppy and Shelley gets high by drinking barbiturates and pontificating.

The Five Romantics invoking their ghost
From left to Right: Mary, Polidori, Byron, Shelley, & Claire

But it's Mary not yet Shelley whose role is of most interest to Russell.  Her role would be that of "virgin" and she fulfills some aspects of it, being uninterested in visiting the haunted location to begin with and the only one to keep a level head during the supernatural chaos. But by this point in her life May has already lost one child, and her disinterest in her fiance's more fanciful pursuits comes from grief. Indeed, one of the main thematic thrusts of the film is Mary's coming to terms with her lost child. Knowing this helps inform her motivation throughout the film and the other horror archetype she embodies, the final girl.

One of the major themes of gothic horror is fear of the past. Misdeeds you've committed will come back, quite literally, to haunt you. Guilt will torture and eventually destroy us, usually through supernatural means. It's why ghosts so often appear in gothic stories. And if the title wasn't enough of a giveaway, this is very much a gothic horror story. By invoking this ghost these five Romantics are bringing their subconscious thoughts, their repressed fears and desires, into reality and giving those thoughts the power to destroy them. It's why Russell employs the ambiguous surreal atmosphere. Whether there actually is a monster or they're just imagining the whole thing doesn't matter, it's what the characters are feeling that's most important.

Eye Boobs. That is all.

That narrative focus on thoughts and feelings over concrete actions is why Russell's use of a dreamlike (or nightmarish) atmosphere fits so well. Consider his depiction of the supposed monster. We the audience are never shown the monster, it's only suggested through shadows at the window or noises down the halls. Russell employs the key tool of horror filmmaking, letting the audience's imagination fill in the gaps. Because whatever we imagine will be much worse than anything he can show. This is strengthened by how Russell films the massive villa these events take place in. He consistently places the camera far away from the players, letting the richly furnished rooms engulf them. Much like the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, this makes the villa seem much larger than it actually is and gives the impression that our five Romantics are wandering around the innards of some great architectural beast. It's a haunted mansion that doesn't need to show its ghosts.

But getting back to Mary Shelley. Even though everyone does survive the night, Mary unquestionably is the final girl. And this is because she's the only one of the five who is able to exorcise their ghost. As the thunder roars and the monster seems to be closing in, the cast has gone to shambles. Claire has devolved into nude animalistic lust, Shelley and Polidori are near suicidal and Byron is angrily desperate for anyway to banish the monster they've summoned. It's Mary, only Mary who has already suffered the loss of her infant child, who is able to keep her head. And in the delirious finale, come to terms with her fear and loss. She keeps the ghost, implied to be the angry ghost of her dead child, from consuming by channeling it into another ghost story. She repents for bringing the dead to life by writing the tale of someone who else who does and the consequences thereof. Again, all implied because this isn't the kind of film to just spell things out.

Gothic is a unique horror film. Despite using the tropes of the average slasher flick, its ambiguous narrative and Romantic heritage elevate to something special. By focusing on this famous stormy night of inspiration, it draws attention to the neuroses and inner demons of the creative mind especially those who create scary stories. Those expecting some of Ken Russell's trademark weirdness will probably be dissappointed as those moments are few and far between. But it's made up for with an appropriately dread-filled atmosphere and a great central performance from Natasha Richardson as Mary Shelley. Richardson conveys the many different shades of Mary with aplomb, showing her as someone able to intellectually match her poet husband but is also hiding the deep grief that powers her character arc. And impressively, shows varying degrees of terror throughout the ordeal. Not something many in horror can do, usually sticking to just one "scared' mode.

Highly recommended, but may be too cerebral for those just seeking a good scare.

Final Score: 4/5