LEMORA: A Deep Cut That Still Draws Blood
Every horror fan has got their pet obscurities, thoselittle "deep cuts" of genre cinema that only the faithful know andobsess over. Sometimes these films linger in the memory for nostalgic reasonsbut there are particular ones that inspire devotion because they manage achievean impressive effect with meager resources. Lemora is one of those films, an American take on gothic horror thatpunches far above its weight class in artistic terms.
Lemora isa surreal blend of arthouse mysticism and gothic horror trappings. Theadolescent protagonist is Lila Lee (Cheryl Smith), an angelic-looking younggirl whose gangster father murdered his adulterous mother and disappeared intothe backwoods. She has been adopted by a fire-and-brimstone preacher (played bywriter/director Richard Blackburn) who has made her the star singer in hischurch and keeps her under lock and key, brainwashing her with his joylesslystrict take on Christianity.
Lila's living purgatory takes a turn for the surrealwhen she receives a letter from a woman she doesn't know - she refers toherself as Lilith, claim's Lila's father is on his death bed and that his dyingwish is to see her. She also tells Lila she must come alone and tell no else.Lila slips off into the night, beginning a dreamlike, nocturnal odyssey thatleads her to a decaying mansion owned by Lemora (Lesley Gilb). This woman notonly holds the secrets to her father's whereabouts but also seems determined toseduce the impressionable Lila into the outer limits of everything herchurch-driven life forbids.
Discussion of plot details will cease at this point: itis better to experience Lemora thanto have it described to you. Blackburn has created a film that reaches for acombination of Mario Bava, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Jean Cocteau and Night Of The Hunter on a poverty rowbudget with an amateur cast. The surprising thing is that he is mostlysuccessful: he achieves a tremendously creepy atmosphere through darkly-huedcinematography by low budget vet Robert Caramico and gorgeous period decor,creating a mood that the horror-minded will automatically want to buy intobecause it's so seductive.
Better yet, the film is anchored by its two stunning lead actresses. Smith, who would later become a grindhouse fave in films like Caged Heat and Massacre At Central High, is not only angelic-looking but delivers a wonderfully naturalistic performance that makes her believable and sympathetic throughout her strange journey. Her nemesis is just as impressive: Gilb's deadpan theatricality takes a little while to get into but it turns out to be the perfect approach for a character who has seen more than most of us will ever see.
It should be noted at this point that Lemora is not for all tastes. It ispaced in a very deliberate fashion and some of the support performances leantoward a community-theater style of exaggerated luridness. Both aspects mightalienate viewers used to a slicker, more spoon-fed approach to filmmaking butthis is not really for them anyway. It is designed for the mind that canappreciate the surreal, the gothic and how both of the aforementioned can beused to address the dark side of life. If you are willing to go for the ride, Lemora is one of those horror genredeep cuts that retains its sharpness.
DVD Notes: your best bet for Lemora on home video is the Synapse Films DVD. It has the best-looking transfer of this title to date, really capturing its primary color lighting scheme, and also includes a commentary track featuring Blackburn and Gilb.