Angelica is a 2015 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein (Teeth), based on a novel by Arthur Phillips. It stars Jena Malone, Janet McTeer and Ed Stoppard.
In Victorian London, innocent shop girl Constance falls in love and marries Doctor Joseph Barton, a medical researcher. She has a sexual awakening with her husband, but their passion is cut short after the life-threatening birth of daughter Angelica. Their puritanical doctors order abstinence, condemning Constance for lascivious appetites. Sexual repression leads to obsession, and Constance becomes increasingly protective of Angelica. Joseph’s secrets fuel the growing conflicts.
Then, late at night, the household is disrupted by what appears to be a paranormal predator. The eerie visits multiply, evermore menacing and vividly evoking Constance’s deepest fears. To cleanse the home of its terrors, she reaches out to spiritualist Anne Montague.
However, the arrival of this charismatic woman brings, even more, complexities to the deteriorating Barton household. Constance places her deepest trust in Anne, and together they fight against a force that may be more sinisterly human than supernatural…
Angelica is released in the US on VOD and in limited theaters on November 17th, 2017.
Reviews:
“Superficially a Victorian ghost story that draws its influences from classic Gothic literature, the psychosexual themes of the film remain pertinent to this day, yet amongst all the snickering and giggling evoked by the overzealous employment of melodrama and the frankly ridiculous manifestations Constance’s repression takes, the message gets lost amongst the farce.” Patrick Gamble, Cinevue
“Angelica has venereal repression on its mind, using Victorian Britain as the canvas to paint. Hamstringing proceedings is the lack of real scares or any kind of tension building. Hysterical, dialled up acting can’t compensate for clumsy filmmaking.” Hemanth Kissoon, Filmaluation
“Sex, or the lack thereof, visions and hysteria in Lichtenstein´s slow-burning Victorian gothic, all work as in the home invasion subgenre (albeit transferred on the protagonist’s mind), and follow a downward spiral of hysteria and paralyzing paranoia with a rich inventory of phallic symbols.” Martin Kudlac, Screen Anarchy
Main cast:
- Jena Malone – The Neon Demon; The Ruins
- Janet McTeer – The Woman in Black
- Ed Stoppard – The Frankenstein Chronicles; The Little Vampire
- Tovah Feldshuh – The Walking Dead; Silver Bullet; The World of Darkness; Scream, Pretty Peggy
- Glynnis O’Connor
- Charles Keating
- Henry Stram
- Daniel Gerroll
- James Norton
- Stephanie Inorio
- Pela Kolodziej
- Connor Inorio
- Vincent Sanchez
Filming locations:
London, England
New York City, New York
Film Facts:
Angelica was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival 2015.
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