Seizure (1974) Movie Review
Written by: ML
Edited by: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Oliver Stone
Producers: Garrard Glenn
Writers: Oliver Stone, Edward Mann
Date Released: 1974
Cast:
Jonathan Frid as Edmund Blackstone
Martine Beswick as Queen of Evil
Joseph Sirola as Charlie Hughes
Hervé Villechaize as Spider
Christina Pickles as Nicole Blackstone
Roger De Koven as Serge Kahn
Troy Donahue as Mark Frost
Mary Woronov as Mikki Hughes
Richard Cox as Gerald
Henry Judd Baker as Jackal
Anne Meacham as Eunice
Timothy Ousey as Jason Blackstone
Rating = 1/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The story is about an author who was having recurring nightmares about the monsters he created. One day when he woke up, his nightmare came to life. They have friends over at his house and the monsters began to disturb their peace. There were several deaths and when only five of them were left, they were forced to participate in a death game where only one will survive by sunrise. The only problem was the son who was kept secret. The question remains as to who will stay alive: the father or the son.
Gore Factor
This movie features scary characters who bring death to the house. The midget was so creepy, especially when he appears at the window. The jackal was terrifying as well. Some notable scenes include the poor dog hanging on the tree, the man shooting at the door and accidentally killing the person on the other side, the woman’s face becoming rotten, the jackal squeezing a man’s head with brains on his hand, the knife fight which ended up with throat slitting, the jackal chopping a man’s head off, and the scary face of the evil queen in bed.
The Grave Review
The title of this movie, Seizure (1974), can be explained by the way the victims were “seized” through death games.
There were a lot of problematic parts in the film. The story was not clearly established. It went straight to the recurring nightmares and the invitation to a house party. There were so many characters and they were not introduced properly. Even the main characters were poorly developed.
In terms of acting, they all lack emotion. Being seized by creatures and fighting to the death did not scare them at all. In fact, they even had time to tell stories to each other. No one was shocked and no one questioned what was happening. No one got scared. No one even screamed. They just gave in to the seizure with open arms.
The transitions per scene were all abrupt and disconnected to the whole premise. It would seem like the cuts were made just to get to the next scene. The chase sequences were all too dark and shaky as well.
The only interesting part of the movie was when Serge was explaining the origins of the monsters and relating them to fear. But then again, the lack of backstory as to why they came to life from the author’s nightmares was questionable.
The ending was shocking with the way the man gave up his son for selfish reasons. It led him to wake up from that nightmare, only to die in his sleep.
Overall, this movie is still recommended for those who enjoy death games and survival horror.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Seizure (1974) two graves out of five graves.
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