THE WIZ (1978)
I have to revisit this every so often, but the G-rated (?!) THE WIZ (1978) was one creepy movie. My father took me to see it in the theaters, so I likely have additional Gen X childhood trauma associated with it, but having done a rewatch or two over the decades, I can say that for all of the Broadway music numbers, THE WIZ is a terribly creepy movie.
It's a great example of the eeriness of liminal spaces, as there a ton of liminal shots throughout the movie.
There's also the isolation of Dorothy et al. between the song and dance numbers, where the NYC/Oz environment is devoid of people.
The set design is full of creepy stuff, too. Even the early scene with the graffiti munchkins prying themselves off the walls and saying "Toto!" over and over again as they crowd in on Dorothy is creepy.
The Peddler (and his creepy flute theme) is particularly creepy, and the subway scene is monumentally creepy.
When the Tin Man sings one of his songs, there are these female wooden heads who sing along. And when he's on a stage, there are these ghastly-looking faces on the stage who moan/sing along with him.
There are the prostitute-like Poppies who drug up Dorothy & the Lion, clearly with intent to kill, and so on.
THE WIZ is a horror-adjacent movie, and is easily one of the most unnerving of Oz movies. It's like they wanted to give people the heebie-jeebies or something.
The design aesthetic of it is very, very creepy. It's on Prime right now, and you might want to give it a watch. You'll see what I mean.
Having seen it on the big screen when I was eight years old, I'm sure I'm still carrying some dread from back then. But even now, all these years later, while watching it, I still get skeeved out by it.
And to think it's a G-rated movie, that's almost unbelievable, in retrospect.
It's a great example of the eeriness of liminal spaces, as there a ton of liminal shots throughout the movie.
There's also the isolation of Dorothy et al. between the song and dance numbers, where the NYC/Oz environment is devoid of people.
The set design is full of creepy stuff, too. Even the early scene with the graffiti munchkins prying themselves off the walls and saying "Toto!" over and over again as they crowd in on Dorothy is creepy.
The Peddler (and his creepy flute theme) is particularly creepy, and the subway scene is monumentally creepy.
When the Tin Man sings one of his songs, there are these female wooden heads who sing along. And when he's on a stage, there are these ghastly-looking faces on the stage who moan/sing along with him.
There are the prostitute-like Poppies who drug up Dorothy & the Lion, clearly with intent to kill, and so on.
THE WIZ is a horror-adjacent movie, and is easily one of the most unnerving of Oz movies. It's like they wanted to give people the heebie-jeebies or something.
The design aesthetic of it is very, very creepy. It's on Prime right now, and you might want to give it a watch. You'll see what I mean.
Having seen it on the big screen when I was eight years old, I'm sure I'm still carrying some dread from back then. But even now, all these years later, while watching it, I still get skeeved out by it.
And to think it's a G-rated movie, that's almost unbelievable, in retrospect.
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