Hall Baltimore is a horror novelist whose specialty is witchcraft. In a creative and financial crisis, Baltimore begins a promotional tour for his new novel, ending up in a small town called Swan Valley. Here he will meet the local sheriff, a half-crazy man who involves him in the investigations of a girl assassinated with a wooden stake in the heart. While on the other side of the lake a group of young people spend their time having orgies and worshiping evil, Hall Baltimore will get emotionally involved with the ghosts of that country and those living inside him.
Universally known as one of the greatest living directors, Francis Ford Coppola is a true myth of the seventh art. He has over twenty films to his credit, including absolute masterpieces such as the saga of "The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now," and "The Conversation." In his long career, he has also explored, in his own way, horror cinema with "Dementia 13" and the faithful reimagining of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula." In 2011, after a couple of introspective and personal films, Coppola returns to the genre we love so much with a film that split the public in two: "Twix."
It is the story of a horror novelist in a creative crisis who, during the promotional tour of his book, will end up in a town where evil seems to lurk. Hall Baltimore, with the help of the crazy sheriff of the country, takes to heart a bizarre murder and, thanks to the strange stories circulating about those places, glimpses a glimmer of light for his new novel. But first, he will have to deal with his painful past.
Watching "Twix," some things typical of the director immediately stand out. One above all is the masterful management of colors. As already happened in other previous works, images in black and white characterized by a single chromatic element are often present: in "Rusty the Wild," there were the fish, in "Family Secrets," the memories, here we have Edgar Allan Poe's lantern, V's makeup, and the blood, elements that take on color in Hall's black-and-white dreams.
It is not a true horror film; it is a film about vampires but that in reality does not talk about vampires. It talks about the pain of a man who cannot exorcise the loss of his daughter except by drowning his sorrows in alcohol and searching for a solution to his guilt. Until he finds a gap thanks to Edgar Allan Poe, who, like a Dante's Virgil, guides him through the dark forest of his personal hell, showing him the horrors of that country and the horrors hidden within his mind. "Twix" is a very personal film for Coppola, addressing the theme of the loss of a son, just as it happened to the director during the filming of the film "The Gardens of Stone" in a similar way to that shown in the film.
Visually stunning, the film unfortunately lacks in understanding. If at first the plot seems linear and gripping, as soon as Baltimore meets V in the woods, everything changes. At the beginning, one plays along, gets passionate, and seems to witness the Lynchian version of "The Seme of Madness" (many elements recall it, such as the motel, the children, and the bell tower, as bizarre as the Byzantine church) with crazy characters and speeches without head or tail. Then, however, there are no more twists, and the film continues in this way, continuously alternating the protagonist's dreams with reality, creating a lot of confusion and a consequent drop in attention.
However, despite the plot's flaws, the film remains an interesting product, naturally not at the level of many of his previous films. It is beautiful to see an artist like Coppola, who could lie down from morning to evening living on the glory of past works, trying to renew his style while always maintaining sobriety and class. And if you overlook the slightly messy plot, you remain fascinated by the staging.
The cast of declining and rising stars is composed of Val Kilmer, bloated as never before, Bruce Dern the giggling character actor, a monotone Ben Chaplin, and the young Elle Fanning, sister of the more famous Dakota, who risks outshining her sister in skill, the only one who truly stands out in the film.
Some scenes of the film were shot in 3D.
Add half a pumpkin to the final rating.
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