Narcissa Sentinel (Bette Cassatt) is a wealthy woman with a strange family secret. Suffering from a horrible disease which has made her bedridden, our compassionate but naïve Doctor Ethan (Brenden McDougal) is summoned into the small town of Harbor Ridge to examine Narcissa and see if he can help her. Immediately forced upon arrival to go to her remote home on the outskirts of the town, he must get finer clothing to wear at Felix’s (Omar Ott) shop before the journey. He then meets Felix’s beautiful, intelligent tomboy friend Ingrid to get a horse to take him there. She tells him about the superstitions of the Sentinel property and of Narcissa’s reputation before he treks the rest of it alone. Ignoring the warning signs of the strange things he saw in the woods on his way there, he arrives and finds himself able to stay there indefinitely to care for Narcissa, despite her very noticeable and sudden improvement. The plot thickens as we learn of Narcissa’s diabolical secret to being healthier, Ethan’s questionable ethics, an impending curse from the dead, an awkward love triangle, and an unquenchable thirst for murder.
Eric Thornett's A Sweet and Vicious Beauty is a lengthy horror film made by horror fans, for horror fans. It is not for the faint of heart, and I believe a real, die-hard horror fans will really appreciate what it has to offer. One of the best parts about this film was the strong two female leads amidst the time period where it was more male-oriented. The antagonist and protagonist were equally strong in their own respect and it worked very well on screen. A Sweet and Vicious Beauty has a little bit of everyone’s favorite nightmares if you’re feeling adventurous. There are ghosts scratching at your bed room door, walking headless corpses seeking revenge for their deaths, and LOTS of gory, grotesque murder sequences. They don’t cut any details out, like any Hollywood movie would do. This film definitely pushes the boundaries through a bountiful and graphic murder streak in a short time period, questionable medical ethics, and obscene, taboo rituals.
It stayed true to themes and traits to classic horror; particularly the superstitions behind crows, a soul’s last breath, and the color red. The imagery in this was superb. I love the gothic aesthetic and some of the dramatic flair the cast brought to the table. Most of the choreography and imagery in the scenes were very eye catching and downright creepy, and it made me fall in love with the genre all over again. It had a very old school gothic horror feel similar to a Hammer Horror film. I especially loved how the film ended, there was one last twist and the final scene was very creepy and nostalgic of 80’s horror. Although there were some effects that were a little too over the top, and maybe some scenes could have been condensed or more concise with the script without taking too much away, it was quite an enjoyment to watch.
A Sweet and Vicious Beauty is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.