Friday, May 16, 2025

Death in Tilda's Hands


I'm pretty sure I talked about how Tilda Swinton should do more horror movies when I reviewed her turn in the wonderful ghost story The Eternal Daughter a couple of years ago -- I'm sure I could go find proof of that and quote myself, it's just a google away, but let's just believe me when I say that I said it. Anyway so I'm happy with this morning's news, I am! She's going to star in the new movie from A Ghost Story and The Green Knight director David Lowery -- and that in itself is a thrill! -- and it's an adaptation of the 2020 book Death in Her Hands by beloved author Ottessa Moshfegh. (As a weird aside I had a signed first edition of this book that I never read because it was worth too much that I had listed on eBay for a couple of years and which finally sold just about a month ago -- I wonder if whoever bought it has a heads-up on this project?) Anyway here is how the plot is described:

"She’ll play recent widow Vesta Gul, who comes across a chilling handwritten note in the woods near her home: “Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body.” Except there is no body. No blood. Unmoored by the death of her husband and armed only with a camera, her dog Charlie, and her vivid imagination, Vesta becomes obsessed with uncovering Magda’s identity and fate. As her inner world begins to eclipse reality, the mystery of Magda threatens Vesta’s grip on her own life "

So it sounds like gothic old-fashioned kind of horror -- psychological obsession et cetera -- which will be perfect for Tilda. I really don't understand why she hasn't done more horror -- she's practically one of Guillermo Del Toro's ghouls come to life with the right lighting, and I say this with a heart bursting of love and appreciation. I wish I was one of Guillermo Del Toro's ghouls come to life! Instead I'm just, like, an extra in the Thriller video at best.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love this author and book.