Seventy-8 (2004) Reviews

• Something very different...

  sgcim2016-03-21

  I found this film on the Free Flix Roku channel, so it could've been a POS or an undiscovered gem. IMHO, I think it's an undiscovered gem. There are no reviews of this anywhere, but I'd call it a talented filmmaker's first film that attempts something vaguely Hitchcock related in its use of evocative B&W. Events that take place in the past are filmed in a kind of purposely dated looking Color, which generally is shot on what looks like home cameras. The events of the present are shot in a dark, evocative B&W that recalls Psycho; the lead character even reminds me of a Norman Bates-like character, only he is retarded (with an IQ of 78) instead of nuts. The plot is pretty original for a thriller/mystery/drama with no supernatural elements, although the ending is vaguely surrealistic, taking place in a movie theater with an audience all wearing black/white jester masks. The plot is also kind of involved, mixing snuff films with the main character's troubled past, and a economically devastated town. These three elements are mixed together in a very odd way, that you have to pay close attention to if you want to understand the movie. The acting, direction and cinematography are excellent. Though the music is kind of diatonically simplistic, it resembles Psycho only in the fact that it only uses strings, enhancing the B&W, dark atmosphere. There is also some resemblance to "Peeping Tom", in that everything is being filmed by mysterious characters who aren't revealed until the strange finale in a movie theater, where the marquis features the title of the movie itself as the film being shown!

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