So, will Francis Ford Coppola‘s remix-ready gothic horror pic “Twixt” be a game changer or simply another B-movie with above average talent? Judging by the first trailer for the film — which is the same footage they showed at Comic-Con just over a week ago — it looks like it’s somewhere in between.
There is a B-movie William Castle-ish vibe that runs through the trailer, but there is something worryingly low budget about the majority of it. Dare we say, at its worst it plays like “Atlas Shrugged.” However, the brief glimpses at the darker fantasy scenes are much more exciting, and seem to be the sections that find Coppola at his most inspired and moody with a great, ghoulish atmosphere. Starring Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Bruce Dern, Ben Chaplin, Don Novello, David Paymer, Anthony Fusco and Alden Ehrenreich (who already looks aces as the Flamingo Kid) the story follows a third rate horror writer (Kilmer) with a declining career, who arrives in a small town as part of his book tour and gets caught up in a murder mystery involving a young girl (Fanning).
Overall, we’re beginning to wonder if Coppola is getting almost too comfortable being able to self-finance his own films. While Coppola is certainly following his own muse one gets the feeling that with nothing at stake, there is no need for the legendary director to second guess anything he’s doing. That, or we hope the stilted line readings are part of the “charm” of the picture.
Boasting a score by electronic musician Dan Deacon, Coppola is planning some kind of tour in which he will re-cut and re-sequence the film fresh for a new audience. He’ll hit Toronto in September to premiere the movie. Check out the trailer below, and yes, that’s Tom Waits narrating. [via Quiet Earth]
