Midlands Review of Cry of the Magpie
midlandsmovies • October 8, 2020
Cry of The Magpie
Directed by Anthony Michael Tracy-Winson
2020
Mr Stitch Films
Lurid fashion and dark suburban psycho-drama abound in Cry of the Magpie, a new 70s-inspired film from Midlands writer-director Anthony Michael Tracy-Winson.
Originally shot in 2018 in Nottingham, the director has split his feature into a 4-part online series and the film introduces us to Elizabeth Pike (Tiffany Ellen Robinson) who is released from a psychiatric hospital after 15 years.
She has finally admitted that a crime she witnessed never actually happened and so is handed into the custody of her older sister Margaret (Sarah Ellis). Returning to their childhood home, Elizabeth appears withdrawn and having trouble adjusting to her new life, but are there more sinister forces lurking in this suburban home.
Set in the 1970s, the director has brilliantly captured the look and feel of the period. With the film in a 3:4 television ratio and the grainy shots colour graded to muted brown and burgundy, it looks as if it comes straight from that era. And this great stylistic choice really sells the atmosphere - whilst the colour palette is helped by appropriate decade-specific fashion and the use of old vehicles and background props.
Set in a suburban home it nods to the “Domestic Gothic” of the 70s films from Amicus Productions. Unlike the similar UK-horror company Hammer films, Amicus’s movies were usually set in the present. And Cry of The Magpie explores this seedy side of domestic life too.
The house itself is an amazing recreation of gaudy home furnishings and patterned wallpaper. Apparently the director himself redecorated the location in a 70s style and again, it all feeds superbly into the tone of the film.
As the story continues Elizabeth has a creepy run-in with a Mr. Anderson (the gardener) as well as entering a state of paralysis to which the doctor recommends a bath to help.
With films like Matthew Holness’ Possum and Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria, there’s been plenty of nods to the classic horrors of that decade recently. And this film uses similar slow zooms, eerie organ sounds and a few stairwell and dinner table nods to movies like The Shining to capture the same unnerving ambiance.
Ending on a spooky encounter, the film freeze frames for the credits leaving the audience with a mysterious cliff-hanger for the next instalment.
With lots to recommend, the film’s best aspect is its very unique style. Spot-on in every aspect of its tone, I felt the production design and wardrobe were a glorious delight. It has a slow but measured pace, which fits with the mood of the time, and there’s a real sense of intrigue into this dark domestic environment. Much like our lead, the film in the end makes its audience revisit something familiar but also keeps us on the edge for more terror in this excellently made house of horrors.
Michael Sales
Up! (1976) Dir. Russ Meyer Well, bi-Adolf Hitler BDSM is not something (a) I thought I’d ever see 5 minutes into a movie and (b) ever expected to write in my lifetime to be fair but this spicy start is pretty standard for the work of exploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer. Up! is a kind of r*pe-revenge softcore p*rn film (there’s gonna be a fair bit of self-censorship in this review so apologies in advance), the type Meyer is known for. I’d describe the plot in more detail but it’s mostly a convoluted and incoherent mess of double-crossing, murder, violence and lots and lots of humping. In short, a man called Adolph gets murdered and a woman investigates (kinda) the circumstances but as she does so, a group of locals blackmail, attack and screw each other with the murder mystery barely mentioned throughout. With so little narrative, it could be argued if it’s essentially p*rn? To be fair, not far off. It’s about extreme as you can go without simply making a s*x film. Is that a…no, it’s a belly button hole. Bookending the film (and also seen at various points throughout) is a Greek Chorus - simply a busty fully nude woman of course - who delivers dialogue like “Pummelling the scrotum with joyous supplication” and other such poeticisms. This artistic flourish is mostly pointless - the actress herself saying the words were tough to learn because it was utter nonsense. On a technical level, the editing is surprisingly well done and the 4k image is frankly fantastic. Someone somewhere must be putting together a post-modern take about the beautiful landscapes and cinematography of Meyer’s * ahem * output. But it definitely does have a kitsch artistry. It has certainly provided plenty of cinematic influence though. Elements of Tarantino grindhouse sensibilities are on show - Meyers likes bosoms as much as Quents likes feet - and there’s even a leather gimp early on. I can also see how its had an impact on Ti West X’s with a focus on sexuality and the body as well, more obviously, Anna Biller’s feminist-twist The Love Witch (2016). Suffice to say it’s not for the weak of heart. I think in this day and age you can’t go into this completely blind to its style, period and context though. It's an X-rated Carry On style that was bad taste then and it’s bad taste now. It revels in its sleaziness without a single hint of shame or apology. Simply saying 'deal with it'. The main negative though is the absence of plot - if the film can even be looked at like that - which is barely present. This is a shame as the whole thing could do with a bit more coherence rather than endless shagging. But it’s far from titillation, it’s mostly clowning - albeit a very adult version of it. More saucy than sexy. Trying to review this through modern sensibilities is almost impossible. It’s as offensive can be from the first scene through to the final credits - heck even this 4k menu is simply one of the film's many s*x scenes. But there are some progressive themes as it doesn’t shy from confronting sexual freedom, bisexuality, gay sex, BDSM and consensual exploration. There's moments of comedy thrown in and I enjoyed a frankly hilarious 5-minute monologue explaining the culprit’s intentions, which was a ludicrous way to deliver a slasher-style ending. I suppose the main thing about Up! (and Meyers’ work overall) is there’s a sort of love it or loathe it quality about the whole shebang. But it’s so unlike anything being made today - for good or bad - that it’s never anything other than unpredictably fascinating. More explicit than most Meyers films - in fact more than any film - it’s a lewd, rude and crude (s)exploration with a satirical edge and campy enjoyment bouncing from every frame. ★★★ 3 / 5 Michael Sales Severin Films releases Russ Meyers' UP! (1976) and MOTORPSYCHO (1965) on 28 April 2025 in newly restored and scanned 4k with hours of new and archival Special Features https://severinfilms.co.uk/
On the 24th of April, the Midlands Art Centre opened its doors to Gobby Flicks Productions for a night of live comedy. Proceeds were raised towards the production of new short comedy films, directed and written by women.
Ti West’s The House of the Devil makes a wonderful companion piece to his film The Innkeepers. Both maintain the director’s referential approach to horror, incapsulating it in a slow burning 90 minutes that manages to build and maintain tension while cheekily winking to the audience and showing the mechanisms behind the scares.
Read the full list of nominees for the Midlands Movies Awards 2025