#deviation

Recently watched: The Mafu Cage (1978). Tagline: “A terrifying love story.” Basically, nothing I say can prepare you for this truly disturbing and hypnotic oddity. Ellen (Lee Grant) and Cissy (Carol Kane) are two adult sisters leading an isolated, codependent existence in a palatial mansion somewhere in Los Angeles. We gradually learn that both their parents are dead; they grew up in the jungles of Africa, there’s a vague sense of unspecified trauma in their past, and that their father was an anthropologist who studied simians. Cissy still yearns for Africa and has seemingly never adjusted to life in the US. Level-headed, responsible and maternal Ellen combines her career as an astronomer at Griffith Observatory with caring for mentally fragile Cissy, who is childlike, ethereal – but also capable of shocking brutality. When Ellen develops romantic feelings for a male colleague, the sisters’ delicate equilibrium swiftly unravels with horrific consequences ... (Note that while Kane (pictured) has the showier role, Grant is equally remarkable. Both actresses are exemplary). The Mafu Cage is “horror adjacent” without being remotely kitsch, camp or exploitative: it's a deeply cerebral psychological meditation on insanity and claustrophobic, dysfunctional family dynamics. I’d argue relevant reference points would include What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) by Robert Aldrich, Secret Ceremony (1968) by Joseph Losey, That Cold Day in the Park (1969) and 3 Women (1977) by Robert Altman and the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens. Unsurprisingly, the distributors were flummoxed about how to promote this curiosity: it was marketed as a horror flick under various titles including Don’t Ring the Doorbell (“Chop, chop … Slice, slice … Another man would be so nice!”), My Sister, My Love and Deviation. The Mafu Cage was little seen at the time but has gradually been embraced as a cult film. Warning: some of the images in The Mafu Cage will haunt your subconscious forever! A bonus: the supporting cast includes Will Geer (Grandpa Walton)! Watch it here.

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