The Stepford Wives, 1975

Katharine Ross plays a wife in a family that recently moves from New York City to Stepford Connecticut to evidently get away from the big city atmosphere (it's never explained fully). Once she arrives, her husband quickly becomes a member of an all male club and Ross finds herself in an environment where women seem more interested in the latest kitchen cleaner than their own independence and happiness - and then it gets a bit more menacing after she discovers the truth. After watching, I'm not sure I would classify this as horror, more a psychological thriller at most. It's a slow moving piece initially and really never picks up the pace until the very end. Ross is great as the wife and really all the roles are wonderfully acted, especially Patrick O'Neal as Dis, the leader of the men, who is unfortunately woefully underutilized in what could have been an even greater role. He's menacing looking without being overtly threatening, and that's the only part of the movie I wish had been exposed more. I liked the movie but felt like it missed some of the potential of delving into Joanna's terror of being consumed, and really, in Bobbie's scene with the knife, it felt so underplayed for what was really happening. In spite of that though, I did like it and recommend it. The only caveat is the quality of the film, it's really terrible and is extremely grainy. It looks as if it were transferred from VHS and that's a terrible disservice to a decent film. The 2004 remake, by the way, is many many times worse and sucks in every way so bypass that like the plague.

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