13 Nights of Shocktober: Twixt (2011)

 by A.J.

Night 8: Ghost Story Night

“Our work must be the grave that we prepare for its lovely tenant.”

Twixt (2011)

My podcast The Directors’ Wall, co-hosted by Bryan Connolly, recently wrapped up season 2, covering the career of Francis Ford Coppola and we ended on a high note with Coppola’s most recently released film, Twixt, which we both enjoyed very much. We also reviewed Coppola’s re-edit titled B’twixt Now and Sunrise: The Authentic Cut. While both begin the same, major changes to the ending give B’twixt a more open ended “arthouse” conclusion (or lack thereof). The emphasis is on the main character’s emotional journey to confront the tragedy in his past and the horror plot is downplayed. Coppola’s original cut of Twixt, we both agreed, captures the character’s emotional journey while also being a lively and fun horror movie. Currently, only B’twixt is available to stream, but Twixt, if you can find it, is the version we both recommend. Our discussion contains major spoilers, but if you don’t mind (or care) or think it might peak your interest please give it a listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

A brief spoiler-free summary and review:

Released in 2011, Twixt marked Coppola’s return to the horror genre for the first time since Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992. Twixt tells the tale of third-rate horror novelist Hall Baltimore, played by Val Kilmer, who stops on his book tour in a small town with a dark past and a recent mysterious murder. The local sheriff, played by Bruce Dern, thinks that the murder is tied to a group of goth teens, led by Alden Ehrenreich, who he believes are vampires, and wants to collaborate with Hall on a book about the murder. Hall is desperately in need of money, so he reluctantly agrees. 

Coppola effectively creates an eerie atmosphere through striking dream sequences, encounters with strange characters, and touches like the body in the morgue with a giant stake still stuck in it and the seven-faced clock tower that tells seven different times. The dream sequences are what really make the movie. They are not so much in black and white as they are drained of color, except for certain things like a red carpet or yellow lantern. In these dreams Hall wanders in the woods and meets V (Elle Fanning), a ghost and victim of the long ago murders. In the dreams Hall is also visited by Edgar Allan Poe, played wonderfully by Ben Chaplin, who discusses writing techniques, the nature of tragedy and melancholy, and also reveals the secrets of the terrible murders that happened in the town decades before. There are also some funny moments like Hall’s video calls to his wife and then his publisher and an out of control Ouija board session. These scenes add in some comedy without turning the movie into a horror-comedy. Twixt is not especially violent and not especially scary, but it is eerie and creepy and entertaining and the kind of movie you should settle in with on a Shocktober night.