Director: Georges
Franju
Notable Cast: Pierre
Brasseur, Pascale Audret, Marianne Koch, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dany Saval,
Jean Babilee, Georges Rollin, Gerard Buhr, Maryse Martin, Serge Marquand,
Lucien Raimbourg, Robert Vattier, Jean Ozenne, Philippe Leroy
One of the beautiful aspects of writing about cult film is
that, with an open mind, there is a lot of surprises out there in the historical
landscape of the art and so much of it is overlooked. Spotlight for a Murderer is one of those films that creates a
special moment of discovery for me. Arrow Academy is a label fairly new to me
as Blood Brothers has mostly dedicated its time to genre films more often than arthouse
cinema, but Spotlight for a Murderer
is one that appeals to both the genre side and the arthouse side. A 1961 French
murder mystery flick, this gem is at times a noir, a gothic horror flick, an
Agatha Christie inspired thriller, and a satire on all those things. It adheres
to the tropes, but does so in a manner that indicates it knows it is
accomplishing just that and starts to toy with its audience in the meantime.
The film is highly engaging and is practically self-aware which makes it the
perfect kind of cult film, in the know but well executed enough to exist on
multiple levels. Needless to say, for those who enjoy any of the above listed
genres or styles, Spotlight on a Murderer
is a film primed for your collection.