Twixt (2011)
Dir. Francis Ford Coppola – 88 minutes
Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern , Elle Fanning.
Original Review from UK Horror Seen 2013 !
Francis Ford Coppola really needs no introduction , a writer , director , producer . He is also a successful businessman and vintner as well being a septuagenarian .
So why I wonder did he decide to return to directing with the 2011 film Twixt ? I know he hasn’t *been away* but I wonder why go through the whole writing/producing/directing process at that age and why anyone didn’t say STOP , STOP THIS NOW!
Well apparently the whole influence for the film was he had a vivid alcohol induced dream and upon awakening this was conceived .
Anyhow – onto the film .
Failed author and alcoholic Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer) arrives in a small town to do a book signing in a hardware store . While there he gets talking to the sheriff (Bruce Dern) who tells Hall about a mass murder many years ago and also explains he has a fresh corpse back in the morgue that has died in suspicious circumstances .
He decides to stay on in town and try to write his next book . Help comes in the form of alcohol induced dreams (sound familiar?) that feature the ghost of a girl named V (Elle Fanning) and some great advice from Edgar Allan Poe who acts almost like a spirit guide . He is also being haunted by the memory of his dead daughter and harassed by a wife after money .
Then we also have the puzzle of the seven faced clock tower and how about all them kids across the lake with their leader Flamingo.
The positive in this film is that it looks fantastic , the colours are beautiful . The dream sequences are very reminiscent of Twin Peaks and using very deep reds and bright whites whilst everything else is monotone really works well . Also the performances of Fanning and Dern are above average .
Now Val Kilmer . Where do you start with him ??
How does this man still get work? He is appalling in the role of Hall and it seems to be just another payday for him . He delivers lines with the fervour and zeal of a dead squirrel , he plays the drunk parts straight and the emotional parts drunk . Can he act or could he ever ? He honestly looked like he couldn’t be arsed with anything throughout the film .
In the UK we have a chocolate bar named Twix – and for 88 minutes I would have much rather have sat eating a Twix than watching Twixt . And I imagine looking at Kilmer’s ever increasing bulk that he is partial to a Twix or fourteen .
Now when Coppola dreamt this he didn’t know how this would end , and it seems he just winged it because the ending is as bad if not worse than the rest of the film .
A huge disappointment , because this had promise . Hugely disjointed and when its over you have more questions than answers . And when you have someone with the talent of FFC behind it , then you wonder just what went wrong .
A poor 3/10
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