DON’T LOOK NOW 1973
I take a deeper dive below!
Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now (1973), starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, is a haunting meditation on grief and loss. It blends a deeply unsettling experience of psychological trauma with elements of the supernatural and the uncanny. Cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond’s evocative use of Venice’s shadowy canals and labyrinthine streets creates a visual metaphor for the characters’ emotional entrapment. At the same time, Pino Donaggio’s haunting score intensifies the film’s atmosphere of dread and sorrow.
The film follows John and Laura Baxter, grief-stricken parents who travel to Venice after the tragic drowning of their daughter. There, they encounter two sisters, Heather and Wendy, played by Hilary Mason and Clelia Matania. One is psychic and claims to communicate with their child. They serve as both guides and enigmas—they claim to connect Laura to her deceased daughter but also introduce a sense of unease with their eccentricity and otherworldly insights. Their presence highlights the tension between belief and skepticism, as Laura embraces their messages of hope while John resists, clinging to rationality. While John begins seeing unsettling visions of a red-coated figure, a red-coated serial killer is terrorizing Venice, leaving mutilated bodies in the canal.
Ultimately, the sisters act as mirrors to the Baxters’ grief, underscoring how loss can blur the lines between reality and illusion in this masterpiece of 1970s high-art horror.
Known for its groundbreaking editing, atmospheric use of Venice, and shocking climax, the film redefined 1970s horror by blending emotional depth with cinematic innovation, establishing its legacy as a masterpiece of supernatural storytelling.