‘The Face of Horror’ Review: An Intoxicating Tribute to the Gothic Horror of the 60s Overflowing With Furious Vengeance [TIFF]

The Bible says Eve was created from Adam’s rib. As in, women were born from a man.  

What a crock of shit.

Anna Biller (The Love Witch), back with her first film in a decade, takes aim at just how absurd that idea is with an intoxicating tribute to the technicolor horror of the 60s, The Face of Horror. A tragic ghost story full of sex, murder, betrayal, and furious vengeance, it marks Biller’s epic return to the screen as she screams loud enough so that the nosebleed seats can hear; Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Based on the 1825 kabuki play Yotsuya Kaidan by Tsuruya Nanboku IV, Biller’s The Face of Horror transports audiences to a time of knights, kings, and gothic castles. A period when women were valued purely for their looks and their ability to bear children. Because so much has changed, right? There, we meet Eleanor (Kristine Froseth), a beauty who is more than aware of the perceived value she has in the world. Disgraced knight Edward (Jonah Hauer-King), meanwhile, wishes to take Eleanor’s hand in marriage. Denied by her father, he slays the man, as well as the husband of Eleanor’s sister, Beatrice (Ellie Bamber). Unbeknownst to the siblings, of course. After a few short years, though, Edward grows bored with his wife and their poverty after an illness makes her eyes puffy and gives her a bad cough. He soon meets Lady Isabel (Bella Heathcote), and the two fall madly in lust. They hatch a plan to rid themselves of their significant others. But Edward is about to learn Eleanor is so much more than her looks.

Right from the moment the opening titles lunged at the screen in blood-red font against the backdrop of a dark castle and set to the tune of Gabriel Andrés Gallegos’ dramatic orchestral score, I was hooked. I’m also a sucker for the gothic horror films of the 60s, so that tracks. And Biller captures the vibe of the era beautifully.

If you’ve seen her previous work, then you have a good idea of what to expect from Biller’s latest in a visual sense. Luscious color. Stunning costumes that pop off the screen. Gorgeous sets. And entrancing characters with a danger hidden behind their eyes that only a fool would dare cross. looks so much like one of Roger Corman’s colorful Poe adaptations, I half expected Vincent Price to appear on screen at any moment. Alas, he did not, but that’s okay, because the cast stuns anyway.