This is what people call a “core memory”. Watched this probably 50 times as a kid as it was one of maybe 10 vhs tapes we had in the early years to play over and over again, but my last viewing maybe 1986? No doubt taped off PBS. Every 4 minutes I was frozen as the memory of that scene came back to me. Yes, yes, I remember the heart key, oh yes I remember the hair brushing… This was…

So much to love about this- the shots in the snow, her blue dress, the shadows, his shadows, the camera floating through rooms, the occult leanings (should have leaned further this way), the two deaths that are a no-no in horror movies, the torches, the scoffing Roma, the candles, the midnight ritual, Defoe’s silvery wig, the final death scene, his way of turning pivotal scenes b&w, the archways, the rats, the tongue, the handwriting. 

Happy for Eggers getting another shot…