Cinema Image's DVD of Penny Dreadful could be called something like "Supernatural Terror from the Beyond"....and for good reason. Penny Dreadful, directed by Bryan Norton, is a classic haunted house story with a twist. It is set in present day New York and the location work is incredible, with rich autumnal hues that make Greenwhich Village look postcard prefect. on top of that, the writing, acting and cinematography are all first rate. A young couple temporarily inherits a Brownstone in New York and discover it's haunted. But by what or whom?
"Penny", sporting a welcome cameo by Friday the 13th 1 and 2 alumni Betsy Palmer as an amiable psychic and Warrington Gillette as an uptight husband, is big-budget and lush and is effective enough to not rely on overt visual effects. The SFX are great, and the best part are that they don't look like FX at all. The revelation of the nature of the hauntings is a simple, excellent idea I haven't seen before. Little plot details and lines of dialog pay off and are referenced later in the film, so for once, we have a movie that doesn't cheat! All the clues are present for the viewer to figure out the final reveal. But, Norton is so skilled at letting the audience fall for his screenplay's subtle misleads, it of course makes you feel like a fool for not figuring it all out. All this capped by a nice downbeat ending (poor Jessica) and you've got something worthy of a top tier Twilight Zone episode. The only spoiler is a visual "added explanation" over the end credits that's not needed if you've been paying attention.
Good, classy work though.
"Penny", sporting a welcome cameo by Friday the 13th 1 and 2 alumni Betsy Palmer as an amiable psychic and Warrington Gillette as an uptight husband, is big-budget and lush and is effective enough to not rely on overt visual effects. The SFX are great, and the best part are that they don't look like FX at all. The revelation of the nature of the hauntings is a simple, excellent idea I haven't seen before. Little plot details and lines of dialog pay off and are referenced later in the film, so for once, we have a movie that doesn't cheat! All the clues are present for the viewer to figure out the final reveal. But, Norton is so skilled at letting the audience fall for his screenplay's subtle misleads, it of course makes you feel like a fool for not figuring it all out. All this capped by a nice downbeat ending (poor Jessica) and you've got something worthy of a top tier Twilight Zone episode. The only spoiler is a visual "added explanation" over the end credits that's not needed if you've been paying attention.
Good, classy work though.