Discover 'The Seventh Victim' Classic Horror From Val Lewton
Producer Val Lewton's 'The Seventh Victim' Disturbs As Unsettling Examination Of Cults
“I runne to death, and death meets me as fast, and all my pleasures are like yesterday.” - From The Seventh Victim
If you love classic horror movies, you most likely well know his name. Hollywood creative Val Lewton earned a powerful reputation for himself as one of the most popular and prolific horror movie producers acting in the 1940’s.
Many of his most famous films, such as, Cat People, The Curse of The Cat People, Isle Of The Dead, The Body Snatcher and I Walked With A Zombie, continue to gain loyal fans more than eight decades later from their initial release. Cat People meowed such a feline growl, it was remade and well received years later in 1982 starring Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell.
Cults, whether they appear in a fictitious capacity or featured in a real life crime, fascinate us as some of the more disturbing and dark societal elements. While today we’re more than accustomed to films exploring the dangerous power of cults, back in 1943 when The Seventh Victim premiered, audiences weren’t well versed in cultist craziness.
Real life deadly cults such as those led by Charles Manson, David Koresh and Jim Jones would shock the public far into the future. Val Lewton’s spooky film, though fiction, gives a realistic, scary look into just how a cult targets a person and the deadly influence they can have on their life, family and personal choices.
Cult Movies On Cults
Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen are among the satanic saturated films released in the organized evil loving 1970’s. Yes, the seventies definitely went satanic silly in a big way. During that disco dancing decade, it seemed every other horror film had something to do with the devious dealings of the devil. The Ernest Borgnine and John Travolta starring The Devil’s Rain is yet another 1970’s devilish dish which traverses the connection between devil worshippers and their crazed cultish doings.
And then there’s the pure devil cinematic departures. Although the iconic classic The Exorcist remains a powerhouse satanic fueled vehicle to be sure, however, there’s no band of evildoers - no cults - afoot to help thrills along. The cult movie - even without the devil trappings - is one which disturbs and unsettles us. It needs no religious nor supernatural trappings to fuel its impact. An organized band of individuals intent on capturing, controlling or silencing someone is scary enough without help from the other side.
Her Missing Sister
Actress Kim Hunter, best known as the kindly ape scientist Zera in the original Planet of The Apes opposite Roddy McDowall, makes her film debut here. Mary Gibson is on a mission to find her older sister, who’s recently gone missing. After connecting with her sister’s boyfriend, later on to find out that her sister secretly married him, dark happenings start mounting up. She’s befriended by a private detective who ends up murdered, and of all people, her still missing sister seems to be the prime suspect.
The true visceral power of The Seventh Victim lies in the classic missing person mystery. Kim Hunter’s character desperately searches for her sister, but when she finally locates her, more questions and mysteries arise. Once the cult variable enters into the equation, things become more complex and bizarre. Director Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby stands as a modern exploration of cults, while Val Lewton’s The Seventh Victim remains a highly influential landmark production.
Val Lewton’s fright flicks are famous for their gloomy atmosphere and complex narratives. This one is no different. Several prominent critics list this film as his best and most disturbing movie. Others have even said it’s an influence on Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Psycho, especially Janet Leigh’s terrifying shower scene. Is this one so shocking? Be brave and take a look and judge for yourself just how much The Seventh Victim stacks up to the rest of Lewton’s offerings. I guarantee you’ll be more than intrigued and pleased with this terrific, terror tale.