Seizure is a 1974 horror film directed by Oliver Stone (The Hand), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Edward Mann (The Mutations; Blind Man’s Bluff; Island of Terror). Shot in 1972, it was promoted as Seizure! and is also known as Queen of Evil.
In 1991, Stone commented: “You have to stretch to like it. It wasn’t great. I felt back then the same as I do now, that I always wanted to direct, and the horror genre was easier to break in with.”
The movie stars Jonathan Frid (Dark Shadows), Martine Beswick (From a Whisper to a Scream; Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde; Prehistoric Women), Hervé Villechaize (Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood), Henry Judd Baker, Troy Donahue (Shock ‘Em Dead; The Chilling; Monster on the Campus), Mary Woronov (The House of the Devil; Night of the Comet; Eating Raoul).
Plot:
Over a weekend, horror writer Edmund Blackstone (Jonathan Frid) sees his recurring nightmare come to chilling life as one by one, his friends and family are killed by three villains, led by Martine Beswick as the Queen of Evil, Hervé Villechaize as Spider and Henry Judd Baker as Jackal…
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“There’s much to appreciate in Seizure, including the surreal, avant-garde feel of the piece as a whole. There are moments that are downright kinky, and there’s even an Alice in Wonderland quality to the brutality and humour of the picture. But it’s all kind of half- thought-out, and poorly executed.” John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of the 1970s
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“Inexpertly made on a low budget – you can see shadows of cameras in some scenes – the film has aged poorly, but like so many of Stone’s works, its excesses … are perversely enjoyable. The cast handles the bizarre material rather well, particularly Frid.” Mike Mayo, The Horror Show Guide
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“It’s hard to tell what we’re supposed to take seriously. Unexplained ghosts come out of nowhere. The twist endings are no fun. But something about this combination of Hour of the Wolf and Last House on the Left keeps you watching.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers
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“The script appears to be straining to say something about the creative imagination, but exactly what never emerges from the indifferently muddle which is distinguished only by Frid’s performance.” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror
“Flashy but disjointed and ultimately unsatisfying.” John Elliot, Elliot’s Guide to Films on Video
For a trailer, the film free online, technical specs and more, please visit page 2
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