The Mafu Cage (1978) aka Deviant aka Don't Ring The Doorbell aka My Sister, My Love aka The Cage

3.5 / 5 Jun '11
Tagline: A Psychological Thriller
Directed by: Karen Arthur
Written by: Don Chastain, Éric Wesphal
Actors include: Lee Grant, Carol Kane, Will Geer
Genre: Drama, Exploitation, Horror
Length: 102 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one odd duck of a film, it's not going to be for everyone but to select few it should be entertaining. The story is originally from a play which is somewhat evident by the claustrophobic feel to the film. The film takes place in a bizarre home where two sisters live together. Ellen (Lee Grant) is the normal sister who vows to look after Cissy (Carol Kane) when their Father dies. Cissy has problems to put it lightly, she was in Africa apparently and is rather "wild" living in their jungle like abode with a pet Monkey called Mafu (who is kept in a cage, hence the title). Cissy is into drawing a picture of Mafu, but when the picture is finished look out! The story has weird themes of incest, mental illness, manipulation and all kinds of good exploitation like stuff. Considering all that is going on it somehow manages to refrain from being too sleazy and although it is a bit slow to start it does keep a decent momentum. It's more like a weird drama rather than an actual horror film but it definitely has elements from the genre. Rather twisted and strange most definitely and it's quite something to see Kane's performance, worth it for fans of weirdness.

Availability:  On DVD

The Spell (1977)

4 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Lee Philips
Written by: Brian Taggert
Actors include: Lee Grant, Susan Myers, Helen Hunt
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Drama
Length: 86 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Imagine you are a 15 year old girl named Rita that is slightly overweight. Now imagine you have a perfect thin little sister aged 13 (in this case played by a young Helen Hunt) who can do no wrong in your Parent's eyes. Now imagine that you are teased constantly at school, then when you get home your Father seems to hate you as does your sister also because you are overweight. It's oddly very realistic seeming...this sort of thing does go on and it's very much the way it's portrayed here, the acting in this is quite impressive really. When things start to go wrong with those who make fun of the 15 year old people are getting scared...could Rita have anything to do with this? It definitely does echo Carrie in several ways but I wouldn't exactly say that this is a rip-off, it's quite different. This isn't filled with blood and torment (though the boiling from the inside scene is quite a treat), it's more of a drama with horrific elements but it's a good drama. It's a rather intense tale and for a made-for-tv movie it's quite good really and it's available to watch for free on the internet...who can argue with that?

Availability:  Not on DVD but available to watch for free online here:  http://www.hulu.com/watch/92741/the-spell