Disturbingly dark

I didn’t expect this one to go so dark. Young Charlie is the sweetest, most wholesome, innocent teenaged girl and by the end Uncle Charlie is literally trying to murder her, right there in her home amongst her entire family including two young children.

Most horror films don’t even go that nasty, you’d have to dig out sick European arthouse fare like Funny Games to see happy families getting butchered.

Blind luck saves her from being gassed in the garage, then he tries again on the train and only through more blind luck does she manage to turn the tables and shove the bastard out.

I know a major part of the story is Young Charlie losing her innocence and growing up quickly, but that level of malevolence from her own uncle, who she idolised, is going to leave deep psychological scars and trauma.

I wonder if the shadow of WWII was hanging over this production, there was a level of malice and cruelty that you don’t often see from Hitchcock. I think the lighthearted tone of how the film starts, and all the comic relief with the father and Herb throughout, jarred with the fact this nice family had let the devil into their home.

I’m glad Young Charlie survived but the poor girl’s heart has been broken and her innocence shattered. Uncle Charlie being increasingly mean to her and then trying to kill her was like watching someone kick a puppy that just wants love, and then try and shoot it. It made my skin crawl.

Why do I care so much about her? Damn you Hitchcock and your filmmaking genius! ((✊🏻))