A young man kills an old man, for no other reason but because he got
freaked out by one of the man's eyes. He claims he is not insane though,
thinks it's perfectly normal to kill somebody else because of his eye, and
to prove that, he describes his deed in every detail, how controlled he
went about it, how much patience he had, how he disposed of the body
(under some floor planks) and the like. Then the police comes by, because
neighbours reported some screams out of his house, and the young man
remains totally cool when they question him, even invites them to have a
tea with him when they want to go ... and finally he breaks down when he
thinks he hears the old man's heart beat under the floorplanks ... The
very impressive (and well-known) story by Edgar Allan Poe is turned into a
triumph of style in this adaptation. Basically, the movie shows little
interest in its characters but focusses on its backgrounds (which often
border the expressionist or the surreal), or on objects and structures
that are usually neglected in films like this - which gives the film just
the right disorienting atmosphere to get the feeling of its narrator's
madness. And the fact that James Mason's narration comes across as quite
as powerful doesn't hurt one bit, now does it. Absolutely recommended.
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