The Ugly

Simon is a killer. Unfit to stand trial. He has been locked away for five years, watched by the sinister Dr Marlowe...

The Ugly, New Zealand, 1997

Director/screenplay: Scott Reynolds
Production company: Essential Productions
Producer: Jonathan Dowling
Director of photography: Simon Raby
Production designer: Grant Major
Editor: Wayne Cook
Music: Victoria Kelly
Special effects: Richard Taylor

With: Paolo Rotundo (Simon Cartwright), Rebecca Hobbs (Dr Karen Schumaker), Roy Ward (Dr Marlowe), Jennifer Ward Lealand (Evelyn Cartwright), Vanessa Byrnes (Julie, aged 25), Paul glover (Phillip), Christopher Graham (Robert), Jon Brazier (Frank), Sam Wallace (Simon, aged 13)

35mm, colour, 90 minutes, R18—Contains violence

Simon is a killer. Unfit to stand trial. He has been locked away for five years, watched by the sinister Dr Marlowe. Enter Karen, an enthusiastic but formidably intelligent psychologist. She will interview Simon – who wants to prove that he is cured. He seems sane. Seemingly incapable of ferocious acts of violence. He tells her of a terrifying force within him, which drives him to destroy those around him. He says this force has gone. Karen listens to his story. At first she trusts him, even believes him. But then her trust gives way to scepticism. His confession is replaced by deception. The interview unleashes demons from Simon's strange internal world – threatening Karen's previously stable sense of reality. She wants the truth. But she finds that truth can be the most terrifying thing of all.

“A tricky, stylish horror item from debuting Kiwi writer-director Scott Reynolds, The Ugly centers on the interrogation of a serial killer by a psychologist... Reynolds is evidently a movie-literate buff who pilfers from the best prototypes of the horror genre. But he has ideas of his own, even if they’re not always fully realized in this ambitious first film. The setting is an amazingly scrungy mental hospital that makes the institution in The Silence of the Lambs look like a luxury hotel. Presided over by the unctuously sinister Dr Marlowe, the inmates suffer at the hands of brutal guards who look as if they’ve strayed in from the set of a Mad Max film. Simon Cartwright is a confessed serial killer arrested five years earlier but never able to stand trial because of his mental state. Enter attractive, self-confident Dr Karen Schumaker, who has earned a reputation, and made headlines, by getting through to another killer. Marlowe is disdainful of her chances of success with Simon, and after grudgingly allowing her to interview the prisoner, watches the procedure via a two-way mirror. Simon readily admits he enjoys killing, explaining that he’s ‘The Ugly.’ … The picture continues teasing and tormenting the audience right up to the end. During the long interview scenes, Reynolds gradually turns the screws of suspense, using psychedelic flashes to depict almost subliminally the evil beneath Simon’s placid surface. On brief occasions, the prisoner’s face appears to be horribly scarred... Though occasionally Reynolds makes obvious use of some of the more celebrated clichés of the horror genre, he shows enough imagination to have created a distinctive entry in the crowded slasher field. Visually, the film is interestingly designed, with a predominance of the colour blue except in some key scenes when red is powerfully used. Rotondo has a brooding presence as the sometimes charming, sometimes chilling Simon, while Emma Thompson look-alike Hobbs is a good foil as the complacent, but ultimately terrified, shrink. Technical credits are smooth.” — David Stratton, Variety, 5/10/97

“Superb filmmaking. Some of the most creative use of editing and storytelling that I have seen. One of the top three films I saw in 1999… Between the stunning cinematography from Simon Raby, outstanding score by Victoria Kelly and stellar editing of Wayne Cook, we see glimpses of why and how Simon Cartwright is involved with the power called ‘The Ugly’. Director Scott Reynolds is definitely skilled in all phases of filmmaking. He has captured truly memorable performances from all his cast. Scenes explode with suspense and grip our emotions. He’s crafted images that are unique and burn into our minds. The night-time shot of the mother, standing in the doorway, belt gripped in hand, bathed in blazing red light is straight out of hell. At first you could mistake her black silhouette for the Devil. The visitors, who are Simon’s dead victims, return to haunt him. Reynolds vision for showing us the dead is startling. Reynolds chooses to present these ghastly images with a flash like popping on and off, shaky camera, scratchy-light blurring visual effect and a starkness of light on the corpses. This, combined with special make-up effects artist Richard Taylor’s use of black blood running from the corpses mouths is haunting and terrifying… I felt deeply intertwined with the characters, which are exceptionally cast. The film totally benefits from having a group of unknown actors from New Zealand. There is so many good performances but Jennifer Ward-Lealand excels as the downright nasty mother, she will get under your skin. Sam Wallace who plays Simon at age 13, delivers memorable scenes. The actresses who play Julie, Beth Allen age 13 and Vanessa Byrnes age 25, will both warm your heart. Actor Roy Ward who plays the oddball mental institution Dr. Marlowe is perfect. He comes off as highly intelligent but completely warped. Finally, Paolo Rotondo as Simon Cartwright age 25, is mesmerizing. One minute he seems like a lost and lonely soul, the next he’s a demented, violent psychopath. It’s rare that you find someone who can elicit such powerful emotion from both ends of the spectrum. He’s totally convincing… The film is a masterpiece.” — Terry Wickham, Fears Magazine, May 2000

“A remarkable fusion of psychological horror with artsy supernatural thrills, The Ugly is a New Zealand import… whose reputation could easily build through word of mouth and the repeated viewings it richly deserves. Dr Karen Schumaker, a psychiatrist currently riding the wave of a media frenzy after freeing a noted serial killer, is called in to an institution at the request of its most notorious inmate, Simon Cartwright. The head of the institute immediately reveals his disdain for Karen but begrudgingly allows her to question his patient. Through a startling mixture of flashbacks, shock cuts, and surreal fantasy images, Simon gradually unveils a nonsequential history of what made him the psycho he is today… Not surprisingly, Simon also turns out to be more clever and manipulative than he appears, and Karen finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into his seductive mania and ultimately must question the reality of what she sees around her. While the premise may seem to tread on established serial killer favourites like Seven, Silence of the Lambs, and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Ugly has quite a few nifty original surprises tucked up its sleeve. Most obviously, the film's startling use of colour gives it a texture and haunting resonance unlike any other in recent memory; the blood spilled during the violent killings is black as pitch, dreamlike red lighting appears from nowhere, and eerie pools of blue often appear in the background to preclude the ghostly appearances of Simon's tormenters. The film also manipulates its audience through skillful use of sound, both through a subtly modulated Dolby soundtrack and, in one memorable sequence, alternating between deafening club music and complete silence to reflect two different characters' points of view. The two central performances are also extremely strong, and hopefully these actors will be seen again... Most amazingly, this is director Scott Reynolds' first feature film; one masterpiece out of the gate your first time around isn't too shabby, and he's definitely one to watch.” — www.mondo-digital.com/theugly.html

Screenings: The Ugly screened on 13 April 2005 as part of a horror season selected by writer and reviewer Ian Pryor; and on 26 October 2005 as part of writer/director Michael Bennett's selection.