I am a huge lover of all films, especially classics and horror flicks. I had heard about this film for years and was really excited when I rented it, but was thoroughly unsatisfied by the product. Where do I begin...
The setup is very compelling. I loved seeing Jane as a talentless brat and Blanche as the quiet older sister who grows up to become the hottest actress in Hollywood while Jane turns into a drunk laughingstock. Then when it looks like Jane cripples Blanche, I was horrified and my eyes were glued to the screen. It was all downhill from there.
First of all, I have to take issue with Bette Davis's performance. I know that's sacrilege, but I couldn't stand her. I'm not sure how much of the blame should be divided among her, the screenplay and the director but her character was so over-the-top that it just became cartoonish at times. Some would of course argue that that's to the film's benefit, because they love the black comedy. I've heard that the film is a favorite of drag queens, and I can see why. But I think it severely undermines the film's merits as a HORROR movie, which is how it's almost always qualified. If they wanted to go the black comedy route, they should have gone farther with that b/c I thought as they did it things just didn't mix. Davis's caricature was such a glaring contrast to the sincere performance of Joan Crawford, as well as pretty much everything else in the movie.
Speaking of Crawford, though, I found her character mind-boggling at times. So it was established that Blanche has been trapped by Jane for all the years since the accident. Why couldn't she just leave? Surely the top actress in Hollywood would be able to afford personal care! Some fans might say that's answered at the end of the movie, but I'll come back to that. When Jane was torturing her that much, why couldn't Blanche at least call the police and say she was being held against her will? It's mentioned during the movie that Jane's started going insane, so maybe it hasn't been going on that long, but if Blanche doesn't even get any visitors ever, she must sense something's wrong. And then when Blanche goes through the INCREDIBLE ordeal of getting to the phone downstairs when she's home alone after Jane's taken out her phone, why doesn't she use that to CALL THE POLICE! Some might say she was concerned about Jane and wanted to get a doctor for her, but I'm sorry, when a character's such a one-dimensional doormat, I stop caring about here. If the ending is supposed to justify all this, well I think whatever Blanche did was more than made up for by the endless abuse Jane subject her to, and I don't see how anyone could reasonably argue otherwise.
When Elvira found Blanche, I was relieved thinking at least the movie was going somewhere now with Blanche about to be rescued. BUT WHY DID ELVIRA LEAVE THE HAMMER OUTSIDE WITH THAT PSYCHO RIGHT NEXT TO IT? Gee, who thought Jane would bash her head in? I was again happy when Edwin found Blanche, but he just ran off stammering! What the hell was the point of him even being in the movie? I'm thinking there just wasn't enough story to fill out a film otherwise. I thought he was just an annoying fat guy, and he turned out to be an annoying heartless fat guy. How did Victor Buono get an Oscar nomination for that? Why am I not surprised that people never saw or heard of Mr. Buono again after this movie?
While the movie had glaring flaws, I thought it would at least be great to see Blanche saved and Jane killed at the end. But instead, one of the worst twists in history was thrown at us! The only things the film had in its favor at any point were a sympathetic heroine and a contemptible villain. So what do they do at the end? Make Blanche responsible for her own trouble and Jane a lovable loon! Even if Blanche paralyzed herself, Jane kept her a prisoner, starved her, beat her, and berated her endlessly. And let's not forget SHE MURDERED ELVIRA! I'm not buying the mental illness excuse the movie tries-Jane was a monster her whole life and apparently towards the end became a monster unable to handle how pitiful she was. The pathetic attempt at shocking viewers just made me wish I'd never met either sister! Oh, and by the way-Jane's giddy dancing at the end? A RIPOFF of the INFINITELY superior Sunset Boulevard!!!!!!!
The setup is very compelling. I loved seeing Jane as a talentless brat and Blanche as the quiet older sister who grows up to become the hottest actress in Hollywood while Jane turns into a drunk laughingstock. Then when it looks like Jane cripples Blanche, I was horrified and my eyes were glued to the screen. It was all downhill from there.
First of all, I have to take issue with Bette Davis's performance. I know that's sacrilege, but I couldn't stand her. I'm not sure how much of the blame should be divided among her, the screenplay and the director but her character was so over-the-top that it just became cartoonish at times. Some would of course argue that that's to the film's benefit, because they love the black comedy. I've heard that the film is a favorite of drag queens, and I can see why. But I think it severely undermines the film's merits as a HORROR movie, which is how it's almost always qualified. If they wanted to go the black comedy route, they should have gone farther with that b/c I thought as they did it things just didn't mix. Davis's caricature was such a glaring contrast to the sincere performance of Joan Crawford, as well as pretty much everything else in the movie.
Speaking of Crawford, though, I found her character mind-boggling at times. So it was established that Blanche has been trapped by Jane for all the years since the accident. Why couldn't she just leave? Surely the top actress in Hollywood would be able to afford personal care! Some fans might say that's answered at the end of the movie, but I'll come back to that. When Jane was torturing her that much, why couldn't Blanche at least call the police and say she was being held against her will? It's mentioned during the movie that Jane's started going insane, so maybe it hasn't been going on that long, but if Blanche doesn't even get any visitors ever, she must sense something's wrong. And then when Blanche goes through the INCREDIBLE ordeal of getting to the phone downstairs when she's home alone after Jane's taken out her phone, why doesn't she use that to CALL THE POLICE! Some might say she was concerned about Jane and wanted to get a doctor for her, but I'm sorry, when a character's such a one-dimensional doormat, I stop caring about here. If the ending is supposed to justify all this, well I think whatever Blanche did was more than made up for by the endless abuse Jane subject her to, and I don't see how anyone could reasonably argue otherwise.
When Elvira found Blanche, I was relieved thinking at least the movie was going somewhere now with Blanche about to be rescued. BUT WHY DID ELVIRA LEAVE THE HAMMER OUTSIDE WITH THAT PSYCHO RIGHT NEXT TO IT? Gee, who thought Jane would bash her head in? I was again happy when Edwin found Blanche, but he just ran off stammering! What the hell was the point of him even being in the movie? I'm thinking there just wasn't enough story to fill out a film otherwise. I thought he was just an annoying fat guy, and he turned out to be an annoying heartless fat guy. How did Victor Buono get an Oscar nomination for that? Why am I not surprised that people never saw or heard of Mr. Buono again after this movie?
While the movie had glaring flaws, I thought it would at least be great to see Blanche saved and Jane killed at the end. But instead, one of the worst twists in history was thrown at us! The only things the film had in its favor at any point were a sympathetic heroine and a contemptible villain. So what do they do at the end? Make Blanche responsible for her own trouble and Jane a lovable loon! Even if Blanche paralyzed herself, Jane kept her a prisoner, starved her, beat her, and berated her endlessly. And let's not forget SHE MURDERED ELVIRA! I'm not buying the mental illness excuse the movie tries-Jane was a monster her whole life and apparently towards the end became a monster unable to handle how pitiful she was. The pathetic attempt at shocking viewers just made me wish I'd never met either sister! Oh, and by the way-Jane's giddy dancing at the end? A RIPOFF of the INFINITELY superior Sunset Boulevard!!!!!!!