By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Prior to this evening, I had never heard of THE MANIPULATOR. My husband and I went over my brother’s and he had a fifty pack of Drive-In Classics and judging by the synopsis alone, I chose this one.
On the surface, the film follows B.J. Lang (Mickey Rooney) a make-up man from Hollywood, who has gone mad. He kidnaps Carlotta (Luana Anders) and ties her to a chair in a warehouse filled with mannequins, make-up and theater props. He dresses like Cyrano de Bergerac and quotes from the play continuously.
Now, despite the existence of the play within this film’s universe, the production, in actuality, is a dark retelling of the classic. Only here, Cyrano is a disgusting and insane rapist; and Roxanne is a confused victim with a touch of Stockholm syndrome. The entire film is surreal and bizarre. It’s filled with creepy imagery and carries a sinister tone. The images of evil naked people in white make-up howling in laughter, a wandering toddler being taken in by a group of insane Hollywood types, strange colors, weird angles and the unnerving cackling of inanimate objects, all combine perfectly to provide an effectively unsettling atmosphere.
I’ve seen some reviews that throw the film aside as pretentious trash. It’s not. It’s actually the opposite of pretentiousness. ROXANNE (1987) was an ostentatious and unnecessary retelling of CYRANO DE BERGERAC, but THE MANIPULATOR was an edgy, dark captivating little gem that flipped the play on its head in such a unique and daring manner.
When watching, I was surprised to see how many striking similarities I noticed to popular horror flicks that were made long after its release. In one scene, a creepy choir dressed in suits appears in a vision. Their presence along with a few other key moments within the production stood out as something reminiscent of THE SHINING (1980).
In a later scene, as B.J has a meltdown, there are close-ups and strange camera angles shown of objects and statues that are seemingly laughing. Immediately, THE EVIL DEAD (1981) came to mind.
Luana Anders portrayal of Carlotta brought my mind to TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSSACRE’s (1974) heroine Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) or TOURIST TRAP’s survivor Molly (Jocelyn Jones). The 1970s had an unaffected and raw manner in the way they portrayed the devastation caused to victims after dealing with an insane ordeal. I truly miss that. It makes sense that one could and potentially would descend into madness after enduring something unimaginable. Nowadays, filmmakers are more inclined to take the route of having the female turn badass and mow the villain, but the far creepier conclusion is to show the ramifications of the damage done. That is what sits with the viewer after the credit rolls. When you know that the protagonist survived, but is otherwise destroyed, there is a level of dread that is somehow worse than if the hero had just died. It’s that type of ending that can make a good film into a great one. When the lead actress can emote in a believable way and builds on the sympathetic nature of their character throughout the film, the final blow is an awesomely hard one to take. I love movies that do that – and so few of any new productions have the balls to do it.
Overall, THE MANIPULATOR was fantastic. Mickey Rooney was brilliant as the antagonist. Typically when the villain is insane, (e.g. Norman Bates from PSYCHO [1960]) I will feel sorry for them. Here, that is not the case. B.J. is such a diabolically, evil, deviant that it is impossible not to cheer for his demise.
Anders, contrarily, did an amazing job capturing the favor of the audience even while her character descended into madness. There are so many scenes where Carlotta is surrounded and in confined spaces. Anders conveys the claustrophobic situations so effectively that even in a V neck nightgown, I felt as though I had a turtleneck on. I felt one again as though I was watching Olivia Hussey in BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) as I just kept repeating to myself, “Get out of there!!” The tension is palpable.
I can’t recommend this movie enough. I did notice it was free on YOUTUBE so if you’re looking for a weird LSD trip into the madness of a psycho-sexual criminal pervert or if you just want a horror take on an old classic, check this out.
SCARED STIFF RATING: 8.5/10
