Hysteria (1997 film)

Last updated
Hysteria
Directed by Rene Daalder
Written byRene Daalder
Produced byKay Salomon Marchand
Danièle Rohrbach
Starring Patrick McGoohan
Amanda Plummer
Michael Maloney
Emmanuelle Vaugier
CinematographyJean Lépine
Edited by Gaétan Huot
Music byRalph Grierson
Production
company
August Entertainment
Release date
  • 1997 (1997)
Running time
103 minutes
CountriesCanada
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Hysteria is a 1997 British-Canadian psychological thriller film written and directed by Rene Daalder, starring Patrick McGoohan, Amanda Plummer, Michael Maloney and Emmanuelle Vaugier.

Contents

Plot

The inmates of a psychiatric hospital are subjected to radical experiments by being implanted with chips that affect the collective consciousness, with the goal of creating the perfect citizen. Dr. Harvey Langston did indeed attempt to connect the brains of a group of patients, with corresponding implications for the collective consciousness. The spirit and soul of each individual is now present collectively in each patient. This allows each individual to share each other's psychoses, dreams and even sexuality, and also means that someone who is violent towards others feels their pain firsthand, which means that no one is able to have the desire to hurt others anymore. Only the spirit of Myrna Malloy is stronger than that of the others and dominates them. Myrna, on the other hand, who is in a wheelchair, depends on others to meet her needs. The passion of the former dancer still belongs to ballet.

Dr. Samuel Fry has fallen in love with his patient Veronica Bloom, a psychotic woman who, lacking the drugs the patient needs for her treatment, the doctors can do nothing about. As a result, Fry has to release her, even though she still poses a danger to herself and others. He is also aware that she will then be dependent on prescription drugs and essentially have to live the life of a zombie. Fry brings Veronica with him to Dr. Langston, as he expects help for the young woman from the doctor he admires. At this point, Fry is unaware of how radical Langston's methods have become. However, when he becomes aware of what is going on in the asylum, Fry is determined to free Veronica from Langston's clutches. But first, he has to find Veronica's spirit, which has detached itself from her body.

However, Myrna Malloy manages to redirect his love in her direction. Fry's admiration for Langston, who chose him as his successor, has also meant that his resilience to resist Myrna's co-optation is not strong enough. Gradually, he becomes a willing participant, which is also due to the fact that Dr. Langston has long since transferred his own consciousness into his colleague's younger body. The implanted humans are sent back into the community. The plan is to turn more humans into controlled automatons that depend on each other to work together in perfect harmony. On the other hand, Langston's test group is also a monster that will ensure its own survival at any cost, including violence.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by August Entertainment in association with Yellowbill Productions Ltd. and Kay Salomon Productions. Filming took place between May 13 and June 22, 1996, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [1]

Soundtrack

Release

In October 1997, Hysteria was shown at the Continental Film Festival in Panama and in February 1998 it was presented at the Fantasporto Film Festival in Portugal. The film was also released under the title Histeria in Spain.

The film was first shown on television in Germany on November 5, 2000, on Sat.1. [2]

Reception

Critical response

The German Lexikon des internationalen Films ("Encyclopedia of International Films") wrote succinctly: "Psychological thriller that combines the classic motif of the mad scientist with the theme of a collective disorder of consciousness.". [2]

DVD Talk ’s Tyler Foster said Hysteria is a film that can't quite find the right balance between the bizarre and the intriguing. [...] The film jumps around, never quite settling on a particular rhythm or style, happy to peer into whatever nook and cranny Daalder's mind drifts to at a given moment." Foster concluded that "Hysteria is a very unusual film that will only truly appeal to an extremely specific segment of the audience. It's admirably ambitious, but the bulk of the film ignores Daalder's more intriguing ideas and comes off either too conventional or too aggressively weird." [3]

Chris O'Neill reviewed the film for Experimental Conversations, stating that "Hysteria resembles a science fiction/horror hybrid and in the first 15 minutes director Rene Daalder displays a paired (sic) down, no-nonsense style of storytelling comparable to the sharpest of B features. [...] But it is clear from the outset that things are far from straightforward since the entire cast, both those portraying mentally-unstable patients and the figures who represent authoritative normality, are played with an overtly exaggerated theatricality." O'Neill also describes the film as "a heady mix of elements, and one's reaction might well alternate between frustration, bewilderment and amusement, but the film is never boring, thanks in no small part to the cast. McGoohan (in his last major theatrical role before his death in 2009) embodies the role of the renegade doctor with eccentric relish. [...] Plummer is typically off-the-wall and is allowed to be at her most unrestrained. Vaugier, receiving an 'and introducing' credit, is also equally uninhabited, both mentally and physically, as the young woman at the centre of the story. Maloney is left with the difficult task of representing the only 'normal' (and therefore vaguely sympathetic) character that the viewer can relate to: a fine and sometimes slippery line for an actor to walk, but he just about makes it." [4]

The English site mondo-digital states that "Both heady and orgiastic at the same time, Hysteria wouldn't feel out of place running alongside a later Ken Russell film or, most pointedly, the cinematic freak out [The] Mansion of Madness . The film was obviously shot with a limited budget and sometimes suffers from erratic performances, but the sheer commitment to its loopy concept carries it along quite well. McGoohan is always a riveting presence in all of his scenes, [while] Maloney keeps a firm grasp on the increasing instability of his character." [5]

Ian Jane on Rock! Shock! Pop! Dot Com claims that, "infused with some disturbingly effective moments of black comedy, Hysteria is as much a movie about dominance and power struggle as it is about an insane asylum." Jane also compliments that "the interiors [of the old gothic house that serves as the asylum] do a great job of relaying the madness inherent in the premise of the film", and that "there are a lot of little details that come together here to make this a pretty original movie. The ending feels just a tad too convenient but everything leading up to it is great." In conclusion, Hysteria is said to be "a strange mix of black comedy and gothic horror performed by a talented cast of decidedly quirky actors. It's really nicely shot and it's got plenty of atmosphere. A strange film to be sure, it's nevertheless an impressive picture." [6]

Adrian Halen of Welcome to Daisyland - Horrornews felt that "'Hysteria' was indeed an appropriate title that sets the tone from start to end" as "the movie falls squarely into a b-movie category but in doing so also holds plenty of charm in its own right." Halen culminates saying that "the movie transcends its trappings and manages to come ahead with a clear message about human nature and what can be achieved past our own egos and isolation. [...] It's bizarre, its a love story, its a madhouse, its a message... all wrapped up in one." [7]

Accolades

In 1998 Rene Daalder was nominated for the "International Fantasy Film Award" in the category "Best Film" at the Fantasporto International Film Festival.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christiaan Barnard</span> South African cardiac surgeon (1922–2001)

Christiaan Neethling Barnard was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident victim Denise Darvall into the chest of 54-year-old Louis Washkansky, with Washkansky regaining full consciousness and being able to talk easily with his wife, before dying eighteen days later of pneumonia, largely brought on by the anti-rejection drugs that suppressed his immune system. Barnard had told Mr. and Mrs. Washkansky that the operation had an 80% chance of success, an assessment which has been criticised as misleading. Barnard's second transplant patient, Philip Blaiberg, whose operation was performed at the beginning of 1968, returned home from the hospital and lived for a year and a half.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigmund Freud</span> Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis (1856–1939)

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in the psyche, through dialogue between patient and psychoanalyst, and the distinctive theory of mind and human agency derived from it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Astin</span> American actor (born 1971)

Sean Astin is an American actor. His acting roles include Mikey Walsh in The Goonies (1985), Billy Tepper in Toy Soldiers (1991), Daniel Ruettiger in Rudy (1993), Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003), Doug Whitmore in 50 First Dates (2004), Bill in Click (2006), Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24 (2006), Oso in Special Agent Oso (2009–2012), Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012–2017), Bob Newby in the second season of Netflix's Stranger Things (2017), and Ed in No Good Nick (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Dreyfuss</span> American actor

Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including American Graffiti (1973), Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Goodbye Girl (1977), The Competition (1980), Stand by Me (1986), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Stakeout (1987), Nuts (1987), Always (1989), What About Bob? (1991), and Mr. Holland's Opus (1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laughter</span> Expression of amusement

Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laughter can rise from such activities as being tickled, or from humorous stories or thoughts. Most commonly, it is considered an auditory expression of a number of positive emotional states, such as joy, mirth, happiness, or relief. On some occasions, however, it may be caused by contrary emotional states such as embarrassment, surprise, or confusion such as nervous laughter or courtesy laugh. Age, gender, education, language, and culture are all indicators as to whether a person will experience laughter in a given situation. Other than humans, some other species of primate show laughter-like vocalizations in response to physical contact such as wrestling, play chasing or tickling.

Alien hand syndrome (AHS) or Dr. Strangelove syndrome is a category of conditions in which a person experiences their limbs acting seemingly on their own, without conscious control over the actions. There are a variety of clinical conditions that fall under this category, which most commonly affects the left hand. There are many similar terms for the various forms of the condition, but they are often used inappropriately. The affected person may sometimes reach for objects and manipulate them without wanting to do so, even to the point of having to use the controllable hand to restrain the alien hand. Under normal circumstances however, given that intent and action can be assumed to be deeply mutually entangled, the occurrence of alien hand syndrome can be usefully conceptualized as a phenomenon reflecting a functional "disentanglement" between thought and action.

<i>A Confederacy of Dunces</i> 1980 novel by John Kennedy Toole

A Confederacy of Dunces is a novel by American writer John Kennedy Toole that was published in 1980, 11 years after Toole's death. Published through the efforts of writer Walker Percy and Toole's mother, Thelma, the book became first a cult classic, then a mainstream success; it earned Toole a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981 and is now a canonical work of modern literature of the Southern United States.

<i>Scanners</i> 1981 Canadian film

Scanners is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telepathic and telekinetic powers. ConSec, a purveyor of weaponry and security systems, searches out scanners to use them for its own purposes. The film's plot concerns the attempt by Darryl Revok (Ironside), a renegade scanner, to wage a war against ConSec. Another scanner, Cameron Vale (Lack), is dispatched by ConSec to stop Revok.

<i>The Fly</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by David Cronenberg

The Fly is a 1986 American science fiction horror film directed and co-written by David Cronenberg. Produced by Brooksfilms and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film stars Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and John Getz. Loosely based on George Langelaan's 1957 short story of the same name and the 1958 film of the same name, The Fly tells of an eccentric scientist who, after one of his experiments goes wrong, slowly turns into a fly-hybrid creature. The score was composed by Howard Shore and the make-up effects were created by Chris Walas, along with makeup artist Stephan Dupuis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Beradino</span> American baseball player and actor

John Beradino was an American Major League Baseball infielder and actor. Known as Johnny Berardino during his baseball career, he was also credited during his acting career as John Berardino, John Baradino, John Barardino or John Barradino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megalyn Echikunwoke</span> American actress

Ebubennem Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke, also known as Megalyn E.K., is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in television and film.

"All Happy Families..." is the 56th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the fourth of the show's fifth season. Written by Toni Kalem and directed by Rodrigo García, it originally aired on March 28, 2004.

<i>Camp Blood</i> (film) 2000 American film

Camp Blood is a 1999 American direct-to-video slasher film, written and directed by Brad Sykes. It was followed by seven official sequels, one official spin-off entitled "Ghost of Camp Blood" and one unofficial film entitled Within the Woods. Camp Blood stars Jennifer Ritchkoff as a young woman who travels to a deserted camp with her friends, only to find themselves at the mercies of a killer clown. The film had a home video release on April 4, 2000 and was released to DVD in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbeaux Smith</span> American actress

Cheryl Lynn "Rainbeaux" Smith was an American actress and musician who appeared in a number of mainstream features, as well as exploitation and horror films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Many of these films have become cult classics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Muse</span> American actor (1889–1979)

Clarence Muse was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's Hearts in Dixie. He acted for 50 years, and appeared in more than 150 films. He was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973.

<i>The Hideous Sun Demon</i> 1958 American film

The Hideous Sun Demon is a 1958 American science fiction horror film produced, directed, and cowritten by Robert Clarke, who also starred in the title role. It also stars Patricia Manning, Nan Peterson, Patrick Whyte, and Fred La Porta. The film focuses on a scientist who is exposed to a radioactive isotope and soon finds out that it comes with horrifying consequences.

<i>Men in Black</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by Ray McCarey

Men in Black is a 1934 short subject directed by Raymond McCarey starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the third entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short subjects for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

<i>The Great Moment</i> (1944 film) 1944 film by Preston Sturges

The Great Moment is a 1944 biographical film written and directed by Preston Sturges. Based on the book Triumph Over Pain (1940) by René Fülöp-Miller, it tells the story of Dr. William Thomas Green Morton, a 19th-century Boston dentist who discovered the use of ether for general anesthesia. The film stars Joel McCrea and Betty Field, and features Harry Carey, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn and Porter Hall.

<i>The Exorcist III</i> 1990 film by William Peter Blatty

The Exorcist III is a 1990 American psychological horror film written for the screen and directed by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1983 novel Legion. It is the third installment in the The Exorcist film series. The film stars George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller, Scott Wilson, Nicol Williamson, and Brad Dourif.

References

  1. "Hysteria (1997)". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Hysteria". Lexikon des internationalen Films (in German). Filmdienst. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  3. Foster, Tyler. "Hysteria (1997)". DVD Talk . Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  4. O'Neill, Chris. "Hysteria (1997)". Experimental Conversations.
  5. "Hysteria". mondo-digital.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  6. Jane, Ian. "Hysteria". Rock! Shock! Pop! Dot Com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  7. Halen, Adrian (24 November 2017). "Film Review: Hysteria (1997)". Horrornews.net. Retrieved January 20, 2022.