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Anguish (film)
Encyclopedia
Anguish is a 1987 Spanish produced horror film
starring Zelda Rubinstein
, Michael Lerner
, Talia Paul, Angel Jove and Clara Pastor.
).
Anguish's main story concerns Alice Pressman (Zelda Rubinstein), a grasping, overprotective and psychotic woman, and her crazed son, John (Michael Lerner), a serial killer who Alice controls through hypnosis
and some never quite explicated paranormal
domination. Her son is extremely myopic and progressing toward blindness. Alice believes that collecting eyes will mend her son's vision, and believes her own fantasy that he is a well-respected ophthalmologist (he is actually an orderly
employed at an ophthalmologist's office). She sends him to collect eyes from living victims, which he does at a local theater showing The Lost World.
When the camera pulls back, a second story is revealed. Alice and Michael are the stars of The Mommy being watched by two teenage girls in a movie theater. In that theater, there is a man watching The Mommy with crazed intent.
Although the main focus of Anguish is the story of The Mommy, all the stories eventually intersect to gruesome effect.
On videos of the film, there appeared a warning that watching it could be hypnotic, or cause headaches.
Sant Jordi Awards
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
starring Zelda Rubinstein
Zelda Rubinstein
Zelda Rubinstein was an American actress and human rights activist, best known as eccentric medium Tangina Barrons in the movie Poltergeist and its sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side , and Poltergeist III . Playing 'Ginny', she was a regular on David E...
, Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner (actor)
-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
, Talia Paul, Angel Jove and Clara Pastor.
Plot
In Anguish's complex and intertwined plot, viewers watch an audience watching a movie nested inside Anguish called The Mommy, in which much of the story takes place in yet another theater auditorium, where that audience watches yet another movie (the silent classic, The Lost WorldThe Lost World (1925 film)
The Lost World is a 1925 silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name. The movie was produced by First National Pictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time, and stars Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. This version was directed by Harry O...
).
Anguish's main story concerns Alice Pressman (Zelda Rubinstein), a grasping, overprotective and psychotic woman, and her crazed son, John (Michael Lerner), a serial killer who Alice controls through hypnosis
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
and some never quite explicated paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
domination. Her son is extremely myopic and progressing toward blindness. Alice believes that collecting eyes will mend her son's vision, and believes her own fantasy that he is a well-respected ophthalmologist (he is actually an orderly
Orderly
A medical orderly , is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and/or nursing staff with various nursing and/or medical interventions. These duties are classified as routine tasks involving no risk for the patient.- Job details :Orderlies are often utilized in various hospital...
employed at an ophthalmologist's office). She sends him to collect eyes from living victims, which he does at a local theater showing The Lost World.
When the camera pulls back, a second story is revealed. Alice and Michael are the stars of The Mommy being watched by two teenage girls in a movie theater. In that theater, there is a man watching The Mommy with crazed intent.
Although the main focus of Anguish is the story of The Mommy, all the stories eventually intersect to gruesome effect.
On videos of the film, there appeared a warning that watching it could be hypnotic, or cause headaches.
Cast
- Zelda RubinsteinZelda RubinsteinZelda Rubinstein was an American actress and human rights activist, best known as eccentric medium Tangina Barrons in the movie Poltergeist and its sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side , and Poltergeist III . Playing 'Ginny', she was a regular on David E...
— Alice Pressman, the Mother - Michael LernerMichael Lerner (actor)-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
— John Pressman - Talia Paul — Patty
- Ángel Jovè — The Killer
- Clara Pastor — Linda
- Isabel García Lorca — Caroline
- Nat Baker — Teaching Doctor
- Edward Ledden — Doctor
- Gustavo Gili — Student #1
- Antonio Regueiro — Student #2
- Joaquín Ribas — Student #3
- Janet Porter — Laboratory Nurse
- Patricia Manget — Nurse at Clinic #1
- Merche Gascón — Nurse at Clinic #2
- Jose M. Chucarro — Caroline's Boyfriend
- Antonella Murgia — Ticket Girl
- Josephine Borchaca — Concession Girl
- Georgie Pinkley — Laura
- Francesco Rabella — Don
- Diane Pinkley — Popcorn Woman
- Benito Pocino — Popcorn Man
- Víctor Guillén — Sleepy
- Evelyn Rosemika — Bathroom Woman
- Michael Chandler — Projectionist
- Vicente Gil — Taxi Driver
- Michael Heat — Inspector
- Pedro Vidal — Police Officer
- Robert Long — Police Officer
- Jaime Ros — Police Officer (as Juame Ros)
- Miguel Montfort — Police Officer
- Jordi Estivill — Police Officer
- Alberto Merelles — Police Officer
- Javier Moya — Police Officer
- John Garcia — Police Officer
- Kit Kincannon — Salesman
- Tatiana Thauven — Ticket Girl
- Joy Blackburn — Concession Girl
- Marc Maloney — Elderly Man
- Jasmine Parker — Elderly Woman
- Jean Paul Soto — Manny
- Javier Durán — Moe
- Marc Auba — Jack
- Randall Stewart — First Murder
- Eva Heald — Granny
- Rose Sherpac — Granny's Friend
- Emy Matías — Hairy Woman
- Elisa Crehvet — Ann
- Mingo Ràfols — Chicano
- Maribel Martínez — Hysterical Woman
- Gustavo Guarino — Hysterical Husband
- Frank Craven — Sleepy
- Mário Fernández — Black Boy
- May Vives — Blond Girl
- Craig Hill — Doctor at Hospital
- Anita Shemanski — Nurse at Hospital
- Fiacre O'Rafferty — Projectionist
- Maria Ricard — Patty's Mother
- John Shelly — Patty's Father
- Ricardo Azulay — Police Commander
- Joe Wolberg — SWAT Commander
- Steven Brown — SWAT Man
- Fabia Matas — SWAT Man
- Mark Parker — SWAT Man
- Philip Rodgers — Medic
- Joan Lloveras — Medic
- Ignacio García — Medic
- Jose Luise Amposte — Police Officer
- Eric Pier — Police Officer
- Clause Braum — Police Officer
- Jorge Ferrer — Police Officer
- Jorge Torras — Police Officer
- Pep Cukart — Police Officer
- Tito Álvarez — Police Officer
- John Heald — Police Officer
- Angelika Thiblant — Nurse in Street
- Elvira Salles — Nurse in Street
- Tatiana Gari — Nurse in Street
- Margarita Borchaca — Nurse in Street
- Julia Carrasco — Nurse in Street
- María Guerín — Nurse in Street
Won
Goya AwardsGoya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
- Best Special Effects (Francisco Teres)
Sant Jordi Awards
- Best Film (Bigas Luna)