Don't Look Now

Don’t Look Now is a film that stands entirely apart from both 1970s British cinema and the work of Londoner Nicolas Roeg, who typically steered clear of horror films.

Previously known for the artistic Performance and the psychological Walkabout, the director opted for a completely unexpected combination of Gothic horror and Italian giallo.

At the center of Don’t Look Now is a married couple – Laura (Julie Christie) and John (Donald Sutherland) – who lost their young daughter in a tragic accident. To distance themselves from their memories, the couple moves to Venice, where John takes on the task of restoring a church. Laura, meanwhile, meets two eccentric sisters – one of them, the blind Heather, claims to be a medium and says she can put the mother in touch with her deceased daughter.

Although Roeg draws on the repertoire of horror film tropes, the monster in his horror film is neither a ghost nor the masked killer characteristic of giallo films, but grief itself – presented here as an unstoppable, terrifying force that destroys everything within its reach. Thanks to AnthonyRichmond and Graeme Clifford’s experimental editing, Venice in Don’t Look Now becomes a vast, inescapable Gothic castle, where the characters themselves take on the role of lifeless ghosts. It is a heavy and overwhelming, yet exceptionally thoughtful study of grief that – rather than simply scaring the viewer – methodically breaks their heart.

Age Rating: 18+