Kelly Curtis in La Setta

In 1991, Kelly Curtis starred in a horror movie called La Setta. The film has been released with several different titles (the literal translation is The Sect) including The Devil's Daughter and Demons 4. It was directed by Michele Soavi, a cohort of famed Italian director Dario Argento (who co-wrote and co-produced the film).

La Setta is an engrossing, beautifully shot film which offers a fantastically unique viewing experience. Kelly Curtis is the star (alongside the prolific Herbert Lom) and simply put she does a great job here. The daughter of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis and the sister of the famous Jaime Lee Curtis, Kelly Curtis prior to this mostly contented herself with small roles in various film and TV projects. Somehow, she came to take the lead role in La Setta and proved herself quite worthy. Director Michele Soavi favor the actress with many close-ups and she looks great throughout the movie.

In the most basic terms, Kelly Curtis is more physically attractive than Jamie Lee Curtis. There, I said it. Why? Mostly because Kelly Curtis looks more like Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis resembles Tony Curtis. Kelly Curtis also gives a very organic, natural performance in La Setta which I can only view positively and consider somewhat more watchable overall than the typical Jamie Lee Curtis performance.

Anyways, La Setta is an incredible film. I guess some people have unjustly compared it to the other work of Michele Soavi and Dario Argento, which is quite unnecessary. La Setta stands on its own whether or not one is familiar with the other work of the people involved. It is a magnificent film.

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Here are some images of Kelly Curtis in La Setta:

Meg Foster in Welcome to Arrow Beach

In 1974, Meg Foster starred in the horror film Welcome to Arrow Beach. Simply put, the movie is under-seen and underrated by many. I actually had some superficial reservations about seeing the movie based on a number of negative and lukewarm reviews I had read, both from professional and amateur critics. As is often the case, I should have known better to put any stock in what the reviewers had written. I very much enjoyed Welcome to Arrow Beach and found it to be quite entertaining, well-paced, solidly assembled and highly watchable film (I was watching the uncut version and I can see why people would potentially hate a heavily edited TV version). Great performances were given all around but, of course, I was watching the movie because of Meg Foster...and to this end I was certainly not disappointed in the least!

Meg Foster and Laurence Harvey

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Here are some images of Meg Foster in Welcome to Arrow Beach:

Meg Foster and David Macklin

Kitty Winn in Mirrors (1978)

I first became interested in Kitty Winn after watching The Panic in Needle Park, in which she gave an outstanding performance. Shortly thereafter I watched The House That Would Not Die and I was again very pleased with her work. Knowing that she was featured in the horror classics The Exorcist and Exorcist II, I had always wanted to see the final starring role of her career in the psychological voodoo horror movie Mirrors from 1978.

When I finally did get a chance to view Mirrors, I was not disappointed. I didn't have high expectations for the film, I just simply sat down and watched it not knowing what to expect exactly. Mirrors turned out to be engaging and rather engrossing. The movie is filled with great camera work, great New Orleans scenery and interesting imagery throughout. Kitty Winn is a very intriguing actress and she handles her part well. Her eyes are very expressive and she uses them to great effect. I feel like Kitty Winn was very deserving of this starring role; it's just too bad the movie did not experience wider popularity. I love the warmth of vhs, but I'd still love to see the film in remastered form and I think a dvd release could help this film find an audience.


Here's a few images of Kitty Winn in the 1978 film Mirrors: