The Yellow Wallpaper (film)

The Yellow Wallpaper is a 2011 Gothic thriller film directed by Logan Thomas.[1][2][3][4][5] It is based on the 1892 short story of the same name written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

The Yellow Wallpaper
Directed byLogan Thomas
Produced byLogan Thomas
Aric Cushing
Written byLogan Thomas
Aric Cushing
Based onThe short story by
Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
StarringAric Cushing
Juliet Landau
Alex Schemmer
Dale Dickey
Veronica Cartwright
Michael Moriarty
Raymond J. Barry
Jessi Case
Gena Kay
Joseph Williamson
Music byLogan Thomas
Release date
  • January 2011 (2011-01)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

The film is an “Origins Myth" rather than a direct adaptation of the famous Charlotte Perkins Gilman story, drawing from the original short story and a number of Gilman's other gothic works (The Giant Wisteria, The Unwatched Door, etc.).[6] Also, the film is an original narrative of events that unfold around the actual writing of “The Yellow Wallpaper” short story.[7] The film's plot is greatly expanded from the bare bones of Gilman's often-anthologized short story.[8] It stars Juliet Landau as Charlotte and Aric Cushing (as her husband John), Golden Globe winner Michael Moriarty as Mr. Hendricks, Veronica Cartwright, Raymond J. Barry, and Independent Spirit Award winner Dale Dickey. The story surrounds Charlotte and John, who retreat to a countryside house in an attempt to start their life over after a devastating fire takes the life of their daughter.[9] Soon the spirit of the deceased Sarah and other spirits are haunting the place.[10] There are feral dogs, an interaction with a dead man in armor, and a shout out to classic, early genre vampire fiction.[11]

Production

Most of the scenes in The Yellow Wallpaper were shot in Eatonton, Georgia, in and around an isolated Civil War-era house.[12][13] The farmhouse's location is undisclosed, meant to represent, as the director puts it, ' a space outside of space'.[14] Jessi Case recalled being a little frightened of the house where the film was shot. 'The stairs leading to the attic, where we filmed a lot of the scenes, were very narrow and it was very hot. They didn't want me to go outside because my hair would poof up'.[15]

Michael Moriarty said of the film: "The Yellow Wallpaper is going to be a wonderfully haunting film, profoundly Gothic. It's a low budget production, but exceptionally well written."

After the shooting of the film, Michael Moriarty retired from acting, after an illustrious career in which he won a Tony award, numerous Emmy awards, and a Golden Globe award. It was his last feature film role.

The script was written in three months by Logan Thomas and Aric Cushing, and Cushing said his goal was to popularize Gilman's work.[16]

Director Thomas used the Digital Sony 950, and the film is the first ever period feature film to be shot with this digital format. Thomas is becoming known as a "visualist" director in the tradition of David Lynch and Ridley Scott.[17]

Juliet Landau, during an interview, compared her role to Nicole Kidman's role in "The Others".[18]

This was Kyla Kennedy's first role at the age of 3, before going on to work on shows such as The Walking Dead and Speechless.

The film is a seminal role for actor Aric Cushing and the last film role of actor Ted Manson, who also appeared in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt.

A companion book to the film was written, The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Gothic Stories,[19] by Aric Cushing. The book features two stories previously unpublished since their inception, and seemingly lost. The essay in the beginning of the book was written by Cushing entitled "Is the Yellow Wallpaper a Gothic Story?"[20]

Release

By the time the film was released, Blockbuster Video was beginning to have problems and mass shutdowns of their brick-and-mortar video stores. The film was picked up by Netflix, iTunes, and various distribution outlets in the United States and subsequently released on Amazon.[21]

Aric Cushing said of the release of the film: "In the 1990s the trend in acquisition, as well as public consumption, was independent films. You could write, produce, and distribute a movie and make money. Redbox and Amazon has now killed that almost completely."[22]

Upon the film's release, reviewers were polarized with such statements as "'Even as straight horror without any implications of living up to an established narrative, “Wallpaper” plays against some traditional horror conventions – and not in a good way.'"[23] and "the film is atmospheric but feels at times that it is too languid in its approach."[24] While other reviews commented, "'Luckily, the cliches are kept to a minimum, and as it turns out it's actually a rather unique take on the material, deftly blending psychological terror into the mix in a manner not unlike The Shining.'"[25] and "The idea of male dominance and male-dominated culture is a favorite issue of Gilman’s, as well as the idea of there being no escape.  That issue runs through most of her works, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” is no different.  The movie version may be tamer, but the underlying theme is indeed still there.  And while there are definitely similarities and differences between the two, when it comes down to it, in the end both women end up becoming the woman behind the wallpaper."[26] Cushing commented in the introduction to his book Lost Essays, the film was both loved and loathed.[27] The director Logan Thomas's comments on the film after the release were, "we never thought of it as a horror movie, more of a gothic mind bender"[28] and, commenting on his new feature film There's No Such Thing as Vampires, "I certainly didn't want to do another slow-burn movie that was a head puzzle like The Yellow Wallpaper".[29]

Cast
  • Aric Cushing as Dr. John Weiland
  • Juliet Landau as Charlotte Weiland
  • Dale Dickey as Jennie Gilman
  • Raymond J. Barry as Dr. Jack Everland
  • Veronica Cartwright as Catherine Sayer
  • Michael Moriarty as Mr. Isaac Hendricks
  • Ted Manson as Sage at Duel
  • Alex Schemmer as Duellist
  • Keller Wortham as Duellist
  • Jessi Case as Sarah Weiland at age 8
  • Gena Kay as Colleen Preston
  • Joseph Williamson as Travis Preston
  • Sharon Blackwood as Mrs. Foucoult at Tea Party
  • Stephanie Wing as Mrs. Tremayne at Tea Party
  • Holly Stevenson as Mrs. Steele at Tea Party
  • Cindy Pain as Mrs. Daygeron at Tea Party
  • Margie Mack as Rat Woman
  • Bob King as Rat Man
  • Pieter Kloos as Eckhart Van Wakefield
  • Earl Maddox as Burn in Hell Man
  • Kyla Kennedy as Sarah Weiland at age 3
  • Fara Eve Soleil as 17th Century Woman
  • Thomas Rouzer as Mysterious Man in House
  • Oliver R. Smith as William at Duel
  • Wayne Dutton as Carriage Driver
  • Brian Bremer as Man in Field (Scenes Deleted)

Bibliography

Hischak, Thomas S. (2012). American Literature on Stage and Screen. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6842-3.

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins and Cushing, Aric. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories: The Complete Gothic Collection. Ascent. ISBN 978-0-6155-6839-3.

Cushing, Aric and Thomas, Logan. The Yellow Wallpaper: The Official Motion Picture Screenplay. ISBN 978-0-6157-69639.

References
  1. Hadden, Christine (15 December 2011). "Fascination with Fear". www.fascinationwithfear.blogspot.com.
  2. Glenn, Cheryl, Gray, Loretta (2013). The Hodges Harbrace Handbook. Boston, MA: Wadswoth Cengage Learning. p. 620. ISBN 978-1-111-34670-6.
  3. Glenn, Cheryl, Gray, Loretta (2013). The Writer's Harbrace Handbook. Boston, MA: Wadswoth Cengage Learning. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-111-35429-9.
  4. "Psychotronic Netflix: Volume 58: All the Colors of the Dark". www.dailygrindhouse.com. 19 July 2013.
  5. Barron, Margie (8 May 2013). "Ultra-Creative LA Fear & Fantasy Film Festival". The Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier.
  6. Rodriguez, Sal (April 24, 2019). "A Look back at 2012's spooky suspense/thriller 'The Yellow Wallpaper'". The Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier. 75 (20): 10.
  7. "The Yellow Wallpaper: Are We Already Dead?". letterboxd.com. 2011.
  8. Chartrand, Harvey (Spring 2007). "The Yellow Wallpaper: A Horror Movie for Grownups". Pennyblood Magazine: 4–5.
  9. "Are there women hiding in The Yellow Wallpaper Trailer". www.quietearth.us. 1 December 2011.
  10. Hischak, Thomas S. (2012). American Literature on Stage and Screen. United States: McFarland. pp. 277–278. ISBN 978-0-7864-6842-3.
  11. "The Yellow Wallpaper". www.redcrowgreencrow.wordpress.com. 2011.
  12. Chartrand, Harvey (Spring 2007). "The Yellow Wallpaper: A Horror Movie for Grownups". Pennyblood Magazine: 4–5.
  13. Chartrand, Harvey (7 August 2011). "Whatever Happened to Michael Moriarty". www.cinemaretro.com.
  14. Rodriguez, Sal (April 24, 2019). "A look back at 2012's spooky suspense/thriller 'The Yellow Wallpaper'". The Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier. 75 (20): 10.
  15. Boylan, Michael (6 June 2012). "Rising Starr student hopes to be a rising star". The Citizen. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  16. Cushing, Aric (2014). Lost Essays. United States: Grand & Archer Publishing. pp. i–ii. ISBN 978-1-929730-00-1.
  17. Chartrand, Harvey (Spring 2007). "The Yellow Wallpaper: A Horror Movie for Grownups". Pennyblood Magazine: 4.
  18. Gencarelli, Mike (3 September 2011). "Interview with Juliet Landau". www.mediamikes.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  19. Cushing, Aric, Gilman, Charlotte Perkins (2011). The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories. United States: AReleasing. ISBN 978-0-615-56839-3.
  20. Donovan, Diane (February 2014). "The Yellow Wallpaper: The Complete Gothic Collection". Midwest Book Review. 13 (2).
  21. Abrams, Jon (19 July 2013). "All the Colors of the Dark". www.dailygrindhouse.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  22. Brittany, Michele (25 October 2018). "Interview Spotlight: Aric Cushing". www.horror.org. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  23. Herring, Marcia (22 January 2013). "How The Yellow Wallpaper Fails in the Translation to the Screen". www.bitchflicks.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  24. Taliesin (3 February 2013). "The Yellow Wallpaper - review". taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  25. "Horror Movie a Day: The Yellow Wallpaper". horror-movie-a-day.blogspot.com/. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  26. Kelley, Caitlin (30 March 2013). "The American Gothic: Comparing Today's Hits with Yesterday's Favorites". www.gothicthenandnow.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  27. Cushing, Aric, Gilman, Charlotte Perkins (2014). Lost Essays. United States: Grand & Archer Publishing. pp. i. ISBN 978-1-929730-00-1.
  28. Humphrey, Alex (August 25, 2020). "Five Frightfest Facts from Logan Thomas director of There's No Such Thing as Vampires". Love Horror: The Horror Movie Review Website. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  29. Hughes, Kate (August 26, 2020). "Interview: Director Logan Thomas on There's No Such Thing as Vampires (Frightfest 2020)". The Hollywood News. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
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