User reviews

Prostitute Elizabeth Lucy (Karen Black) is found dead at the beginning--she fell (or was pushed) from the top of a building. Police sergeant Jim Henderson (Christopher Plummer) investigates and finds himself involved in satanic rites, ritual killings and more. Also there are flashbacks to the last few days of Lucy's life to see what happened to her.

Interesting but very confusing. It starts off pretty good with Black singing (and doing a credible job) over the opening credits and throughout the film. Then it gets very involved, the story gets muddled and murky and leads to an unsatisfying end. To be honest I'm STILL not sure what happened! Also there's bad overdubbing of voices, poor direction and a hysterically bad score at the end which sounds like a bunch of Munchkins signing! The acting is pretty good considering the material. Plummer (a great actor) looks miserable and gives a rare bad performance. Black however was just great. It's a very difficult role and she pulls it off. I kept watching solely for her. So--if you do want to see it see it for Black.

Be warned: The St. Clair DVD is in terrible shape. It (obviously) inserts a new title (calling it "The Hooker Cult Murders"!), has faded color and jumps VERY badly at the beginning. Also the sound quality is poor and the movie ends a full nine minutes before it's 111 min running time. That may have some reason for me not understanding it.

Like Larry Cohen's bizarre (and wonderful) GOD TOLD ME TO (1975), THE PYX is an interesting mixture of horror and detective thriller. After a hooker (Karen Black) supposedly commits suicide by jumping from a high-rise building to her death, cop Christopher Plummer investigates and uncovers a strange religious cult led by Jean-Louis Roux. These scenes are intercut with events from the previous 24 hours, in which Black is encouraged by her sinister madame (Yvette Brind'Amour) to join the cult. Unfortunately, despite Black excellent performance, most of these scenes are plodding and dull, due to the fact that we know Black's fate. Also, these scenes are often inserted during the more interesting investigation scenes with Plummer, who also gives a fine performance. Still, there's enough unusual about THE PYX to make it worth watching. The Montreal setting with its mixture of English and French dialogue gives the film a disquieting atmosphere, and the cop scenes have an almost documentary feel about them. The badly panned-and-scanned US video release destroys Rene Verzier's camera work (as well as make one or two moments quite confusing).

This is a somewhat infamous (if mainly because Karen Black appears in see-through lingerie) Montreal-lensed early 1970s flick that has been floating around in various poor-quality DVD versions for some time. I just rented the new Trinity Home Entertainment release. The good news is that the film is now on DVD in its proper widescreen aspect ratio, but there are two bits of bad news. One, the print of the film that Trinity used for their DVD is horrible. It has various splices, scratches, and the color is bad. The second problem is more insurmountable--this just isn't a very good film.

Although The Pyx (aka "The Hooker Cult Murders") is correctly considered partially a horror film (because of material in the last 15 minutes or so), the bulk of the film is crime/drama, and it leans towards the "police procedural" subgenre of crime. There is some stuff here about hookers and drugs, and some violence/aftermath-gore, but this kind of material is very sparse and very tame. I could only recommend the film to Karen Black fanatics/fetishists, fans of early 1970s uneventful crime/dramas (if indeed anyone fits that description) and anyone who would like to see a depressing early 1970s semi-urban grunge captured on film, as that's the atmosphere director Harvey Hart manages to evoke (ironically aided by the crappy print). That the film was made in Montreal is evidenced by the periodic forays into French dialogue, which isn't subtitled, but it's infrequent enough that it's not a problem if you can't understand French.

The story, based on a novel by John Buell, concerns a prostitute, Elizabeth Lucy (Black), who is found dead after a drop off of a high-rise. She is clad only in lingerie, wearing an upside down cross and holding a pyx--a small, metal container used in Catholicism to bring consecrated hosts ("hosts" are the symbolic pieces of bread used in the Eucharist, or sacrament) to the sick. Jim Henderson (Christopher Plummer) is the police sergeant who ends up investigating the case. The film continually bounces back and forth from Henderson's investigation, which involves the more visceral crime scenes, as infrequently as those occur, and flashbacks to Lucy's immediate past, which involves more of the "sex" and drugs material, as infrequently as that occurs. The crux is that both Lucy's immediate past and Henderson's investigation are leading to the same climax--Lucy is moving forward in time while Henderson is roughly working his way back.

The principal problem with The Pyx is that it is so bland. It is also plagued with minor gaffes, like editing problems (and no, those aren't all just bad splices). Hart and screenwriter Robert Schlitt both come from a television background, but the pacing and momentum here are sub par even for a made-for-television film.

The scenes of Lucy with a smarmy client, preparing smack (heroin), having problems with her employer (a madam), arguing with her roommate (the source of the sometimes advertised "homosexual" angle--her roommate is a gay male) about whether she wants dinner and so on just aren't that interesting (even though some of the subject matter seems to have potential). There are also a number of transition scenes featuring actions like driving, walking and such that are so banal that it's almost impossible to keep one's attention on the screen--there was one scene I must have rewound three or four times, but I could never help myself from drifting. There are also a number of roughly directed scenes such as one between Henderson and the gay roommate that is just long shots of them walking city streets, sometimes with vehicles driving by and blocking the frame, where they do not appear to be talking to each other in the image, but where their voices are dubbed on the soundtrack. The Pyx is no paragon of direction or cinematography (or acting, editing, or anything else for that matter).

The police procedural stuff featuring Henderson was a bit better, but as soon as Hart would increase the intensity level just a smidgen (as with the scenario that Henderson walks into in the madam's apartment), he'd quickly return to boring flashback sequences, or someone would be driving for five minutes or something. To make matters worse, these occasional intensity increases tend to be prematurely lopped off with poor editing. Also, some of the police procedural stuff was very oddball--like the scene where they start playing a Gregorian chant on a reel-to-reel for a suspect in an interrogation room. But I like oddball stuff, so that was a bonus to me.

The final, "double climax"--we first get something of a thriller "false ending" before we move more into horror territory--was one of the better sections of the film, but by the time it arrives (it takes about an hour and fifteen minutes) it's difficult to get very excited about it. Still, it was enough to save The Pyx from an F (a rating of 5 or below).

Finally, the music deserves comment. It is fairly bizarre throughout, if not necessarily because of the music itself, because of the way it is contextualized. The main body of the film features a few songs by none other than Karen Black. These are extremely dated, quirky folk/religious songs, which, while not exactly poorly done, are severely out of place. The music in the climax is more stereotypical "Gothic Horror" classical, but it has a bizarre choir melody that sounds like a very primitive example of sampling (maybe it was done on a Mellotron, since proper samplers did not yet exist when The Pyx was made; the Mellotron was a kind of early faux "sampler" keyboard that utilized loops of tape). The timbre of the choir changes as much as the pitch, giving a "Satanic" flavor to the piece that just borders on--and occasionally crosses into--the sublimely ridiculous, making the climax unintentionally funny at times. Again, I liked the oddity of it, if only the film weren't so bland otherwise.

Cynical detective investigates the murder of a prostitute, a case which has occult underpinnings. Murky, unpleasant picture with bloody deaths and odd nude shots of Karen Black (perhaps it's Black's body-double, for you rarely see Karen's face connected to the shapely naked figure). Christopher Plummer does a great job as the investigator; a handsome wise-ass, he's terrifically funny in his offhand manner and gives this a big boost. There's a bummer of a subplot involving a homosexual, and the damp Canadian locales are visually dull, but I did admire director Harvey Hart's structuring of the before-and-after storyline. Despite some great reviews from the critics, "The Pyx" just kind of tails off, and the credits hit the screen before you can stop scratching your head. ** from ****

I really enjoyed this somewhat little known Canadian film about a Montreal police detective hot on the trail of a prostitute's death. Christopher Plummer does an excellent job as the cop trying to find out who killed Karen Black. Black is dead in the beginning of the film ,and the film alternates between what Plummer is doing in real time and flashback-type sequences with Black going through everything that happened up until her death. Black is lovely and adequate in her role, and the point of view used with her AFTER she was killed was quite inventive. But it is Plummer's performance which really seizes the film and makes it into something more than a regular murder mystery movie. Plummer discovers by piece by piece of evidence that Black became the victim of some sort of cult. Director Harvey Hart does an able job with the script creating tense scenes when needed and alternating shooting continuity between the two story lines. The film should not be over-looked. The biggest problem with the film for me is the opening credits which seems to drone on forever and accompanied by the most boring film song I have heard in a long. long time.

The ambitious script deserves some credit for the way it keeps intercutting the past with the present tense, a technique that results in some intriguing effects; in one scene we see somebody killed, in the next scene there he is, moving and talking! But, the pace of the film is plodding, the performances detached and completely unengaging (or maybe the characters are detached and completely unengaging; in any case, you don't sympathize with them), the direction too "arty" (for example, a driving scene with no dialogue runs about five minutes, while one of Karen Black's "melancholy" songs plays on the soundtrack). Plus, the VHS print I saw was SEVERELY damaged. (**)

"The Pyx" may indeed lose a bit of its effectiveness if one already knows one of the ultimate twists going in, but it's still a reasonably absorbing, if awfully slow moving, detective thriller with a touch of horror and a strong emphasis on Catholic guilt. It's a somewhat overlooked Canadian movie, filmed on location in Montreal, that derives most of its impact from the performances of its two Academy Award nominated stars. Canada's own Christopher Plummer is solid as Detective Sergeant Jim Henderson, investigating the death of prostitute Elizabeth Lucy, played by Karen Black.

Both leads deliver touching performances as each of them struggle with their own inner demons. And they receive great support from some of the other actors, particularly Jean-Louis Roux as Keerson, Yvette Brind'amour as Meg the madam, and Terry Haig as Jimmy.

The movie's most prominent aspect is the way it moves back and forth in time, following both Henderson as he works to solve the crime, and Elizabeth on her doom-laden path. This leads to moments that are interesting but might be disconcerting for some viewers, as characters are killed off in one scene and alive and well in the next. Director Harvey Hart, working from a screenplay by Robert Schlitt, based on the novel by John Buell, emphasizes mood and feel at all times, and it's commendable that he and cinematographer Rene Verzier would shoot this in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and give it that sense of scope. It's worth noting, also, the level of talent that Black displays here, as she composes the songs heard and sings them beautifully as well.

Even if the climax is spoiled for the viewer ahead of time, it's still nicely creepy, and leads to a pretty devastating ending confrontation where one character is able to see into another's soul. The producer is Julian Roffman, who 12 years previous had been director on a 3-D movie titled "The Mask" considered to be Canada's first horror movie. "The Pyx" (the title refers to a small round container used to carry the consecrated host to sick or invalid individuals or those otherwise unable to receive Holy Communion in a church) is good entertainment, overall, and definitely worthy of a look.

Seven out of 10.

I first heard of this one via Leonard Maltin's Film Guide – where it's rated a staggering ***1/2; the reviewer goes on to claim that it was "ignored" in the U.S. (the film is a Canadian production), which explains its obscurity: it didn't help matters that two other films bearing similar odd-sounding titles, namely THE PHYNX (1970) and THE ASPHYX (1972), had just been released! However, I agree with his assessment that this is a title worthy of far greater attention than it seems to have garnered over the years – a fact which is sadly borne out by the truly dire condition it's been made available in so far (scratchy, fuzzy, washed-out colors, muffled soundtrack and, to add insult to injury, a faux Widescreen look i.e. masking the top and bottom off an obviously panned-and-scanned print!).

Anyway, the film itself is an occult thriller which sees cop Christopher Plummer investigating the mysterious death of hooker Karen Black (it was even renamed THE HOOKER CULT MURDERS): he's especially confused by a couple of objects (in view of their religious/satanic significance) she was carrying on her person at the time – a necklace with an upside-down cross, and a pyx (the small round container in which the consecrated host is carried when a priest holds communion off church grounds). Seamlessly running parallel to this plot line is another detailing the events leading up to Black's demise; this intriguing jumping-back-and-forth-in-time device (borrowed from either version of THE KILLERS [1946/1964]) certainly gave the film an identity among the mass of contemporary thriller/horror fare – and such intermittent development also greatly accentuates the suspense inherent in either situation (since one character is oblivious of her fate while the other unaware of what his probing will eventually unearth).

Still, the intelligent script is careful not to trip in its own cleverness – given that the audience is able to put all the pieces together well before the hero does (the former having had direct access, so to speak, to Black's past experiences) – and manages, in fact, to come up with one final unexpected revelation that's quite a knock-out (recalling that other cult thriller with a strong spiritual element to its essential Good-vs-Evil angle, THE WICKER MAN [1973], but also an amusingly heretical episode in Luis Bunuel's delicious masterpiece THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGOUISE [1972])! With this in mind, the fragmentary style is clearly reminiscent of yet another contemporary classic – DON'T LOOK NOW (1973) – while the police investigation snowballing into violence (one particularly nasty instance of which being directed towards a character's black feline!) and ending up by implicating the baffled hero looks forward to the equally underrated GOD TOLD ME TO (1976).

The film is made all the more believable and compelling thanks to some excellent performances: Plummer is fine as ever, but Black has one of her best-ever roles (and even get a chance here to showcase her secondary talent as a singer/songwriter!); also notable is Yvette Brind' Amour as Black's tough landlady/pimp. Having mentioned the songs – which, endowing proceedings with the tenderness and fragility inherent in Black's character, give the whole an undeniably haunting quality – one can't refrain from mentioning the eerily slowed-down or speeded-up music heard during the climactic Black Mass (a sequence which is rendered even more creepy by having some of the participants decked-out in animal masks!).

Finally, other films from director Hart I'd be interested in watching are the William Inge adaptation BUS RILEY'S BACK IN TOWN (1965), DARK INTRUDER (1965) – another little-known but well-regarded occult thriller – and SHOOT (1976), apparently a DELIVERANCE (1972) wannabe starring Cliff Robertson, Ernest Borgnine and Henry Silva! Incidentally, the producer of this one – Julian Roffman – had already made his own cult horror effort with the weird 3-D outing THE MASK (1961), a low-budget film I've been pining for since childhood (due to stills I'd seen from it in a Sci-Fi tome of my father's written by the late eminent Philip Strick) but can't seem to be able to get a hold of

'The Pyx' is a claustrophobic murder mystery about experienced detective Jim Henderson (Christopher Plummer) who investigates the death of a heroin addicted prostitute Elizabeth (Karen Black) after she supposedly committed suicide by jumping from a high-rise building. However, as Henderson encounters the various shady and unfeeling characters he begins to delve deeper into the mystery to find instead that Elizabeth has fallen prey to a sinister Satanic cult.

However, despite approaching 'The Pyx' with the best intentions (as after reading a superficial plot summary it brought 'Rosemary's Baby' to mind) it remains fundamentally a patchy film which just about manages to keep its head above water. The film clearly has artistic aspirations in telling the story through two separate strands: one following Henderson's investigation, and the other following the final movements of Elizabeth herself, and constantly cutting between each strand. This is a nice idea but sometimes it seems a little labored and significantly affects the pacing. This said, on a couple of occasions the dual plots converge and scenes of genuine pathos result. In fact, I feel compelled to mention that after about 40 minutes or so I found myself checking my watch and contemplating stopping the film but the scene with Elizabeth injecting heroin and experiencing a drug-induced flashback of happier times which then cuts suddenly to Henderson watching a rope outlining her body being picked up by children for a skipping rope was incredibly poignant and convinced me to continue watching. Another captivating scene was when Elizabeth meets the Satanic head honcho for the first time on his boat and is subjected to the equivalent of psychological rape which I found as unnerving as I found the previously mentioned scene beautiful.

So, the strength of the film is clearly the characterisation of Elizabeth. However, it seems that the vividness of the character and her trials asks questions to other aspects of the film which it fails to answer as it is essentially one long character sketch rather than a story in its own right. As a result, the film is let down by serious pacing issues and an anti-climatic climax (with a Satanist as far from the charismatic and alluring Roman Castevet in 'Rosemary's Baby' as can be). Indeed, it's debatable that the film even needs the whole Satanic thing at all. All of this meant that when the film finished I was slightly annoyed at feeling it had taken so long to tell relatively little and ever so slightly happy that it had ended.

Overall, I find it a difficult film to recommend, and wouldn't be surprised if people who watch it don't like it…but I am sure that most who watch the film come away with a peculiar feeling of having seen an intimate glimpse into the heart of a lost soul, which by itself is something the majority of films fail to ever do.

*********************

Public domain movie. See it free here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMpLo9xG7co

Watch the trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0qXW-4cKOg&list=UU07_ffsSbmp4slD_PiH5cUA

Karen Black shines as Elizabeth Lucy, a heroin-addicted prostitute, in one of her finest roles from this under-rated and little-seen French-Canadian effort, filmed in Montreal. She also composed and sang three haunting songs which appear on the film's soundtrack. Christopher Plummer is also first rate as the policeman investigating her mysterious death; with somber overtones and a feeling of dread, the film, the film alternates between flashbacks and current time. Highly recommended, for those who like intelligence and thoughtfulness in their thrillers; they will not be disappointed with this one. The supporting cast is all equally proficient, and effective in their roles, especially Yvette Brind Amour as Meg the Madam. The grim and despairing world of heroin usage is presented unflinchingly as well in a hard-hitting way. The beautiful city of Montreal is presented in several time shots as well; to me, at any rate, one of THE very best and over-looked films of the early 1970's.

Actually a fairly decent movie, delving into the morality issue of Canadian prostitutes hooked on heroin. All kidding aside this is a fairly well acted movie, with a good plot for a movie with a cult reputation. However there are some fairly significant problems that may drive me away from watching it again. First it is SLOW. Benefit - it isn't hard to keep jumping between real time and flashbacks. Problem - you kept wanting something to happen to speed this thing up - you felt every second tick away.

Second - my copy at least gave me a migraine trying to keep it in focus. Shots were swimming, blurry, and over all distracting from plot. I actually cleaned my glasses a couple of times really trying not to blame the movie.

Finally this film is another gun in my arsenal with very few exceptions, singers should not act, actors should not sing. I am sure Karen is a mighty fine vocalist, and it did give a haunting feel to the movie singing bible verses, but my ears were bleeding halfway through the movie. I did enjoy the chipmunk version of the chanting monks towards the end of the movie though.

The jury is still out whether the story is enough better than the technical qualities of the movie for me to watch this again. Probably will just buy the book.

Karen Black plays smack-addict hooker Elizabeth Lucy, who falls to her death from a balcony. Christopher Plummer is Detective Jim Henderson, who investigates the hooker's untimely demise, the events leading up to her death told in a series of flashbacks intercut with Henderson's police-work.

I have two big problems with this film: 1) it's incredibly slow, with very little of interest happening for much of the time, and 2) it's not very thrilling since we know of Elizabeth's fate from the outset. Black and Plummer are fine in their roles, but they cannot make up for the sluggish pace and uneventful script.

Admittedly, the finalé, in which we see the hooker lured to her fate at the hands of a Satanic cult, is suitably atmospheric, with eerie chanting (a haunting mix of slow vocals and weird speeded-up chipmunk singing) and menacing robed figures, but Director Harvey Hart blows it with a confusing scene in which Plummer's cop is goaded by the lead Satanist into shooting him (by accusing Henderson of being happy when his wife died?). In the end, the film feels like a waste of talent and a waste of time.

3.5 out of 10, rounded down for the melancholic, hippie-style folk songs (sung by Black) that only add to the dreariness.

The effects aren't great and the movie jumps around in time a lot - if you aren't bilingual (English and French) then you might not get it right away. However, it's original, and Karen Black is beautiful as a heroin addicted hooker. I love the shots of Montreal in the 1970's throughout the film. I plan to watch this again someday.

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 1/1 Casting - 1/1 Directing - 0.5/1 Story - 1/1 Writing/Screenplay - 1/1

Total Base Score = 4.5

Modifiers (+ or -) Originality: 1

Total RealReview Rating: 5.5 (rounded up to 6 for IMDB)

I saw THE PYX 20 years ago on TV, in a "pan & scan" version, and I thought the film's mood was memorable enough for me to seek it out once it became available in widescreen. I finally saw it in WS and the "pan & scan" version suddenly looks better in comparison. So much of the action took place on the far side of the screen (far left or far right) that the screen composition was almost silly. Some scenes, like the one with Christopher Plummer and that gay man walking in Old Montreal, or the interrogation scene we're shot from so far away that I felt I needed binoculars.

If the cinematography was frustrating, the music score was nearly disastrous. What sounded good back in 1973 doesn't necessarily sound good today, certainly regarding that overplayed Joan Baez-like song. The music during the Devil worshiping scene is basically sounds/music played backwards. Playing music backwards to hear Satan is now a funny cliché and that music certainly didn't help create any tension. The acting was forced. Karen Black looked remarkably old even though this is one of her earliest films. The makeup job was bad and the above mentioned cinematography made her look older than she really was. Christopher Plummer's role is almost negligible. The mood is still there but it's impact is lost when seeing in WS. In fact, as the film went on, the less I enjoyed the atmosphere. I realized it was over-zealously lugubrious, not atmospheric. It's also very dated but it's not awful because of it. In fact, it's one of its positive aspects.

THE PYX is a frustrating films ever. So much good stuff going for it and yet so little of it actually adds up to a satisfying cinematic experience. The best thing about it is the 1970s feel/look of Montreal. It's an amazing time capsule.

We may not be seeing Oscar nominee (Five Easy Pieces) Karen Black's rear in this film, as she uses a body double, but we do get to hear her sing three songs on the soundtrack, so that is something positive.

It is shot in Canada during the winter, so it is dark and bleak. Appropriate for a story about a murdered prostitute (Black), and Satanic rituals.

Double Oscar nominee (The Beginners, The Last Station) Christopher Plummer plays the detective trying to solve the murder.

Despite the presence of Black and Plummer, it really didn't grab me, and I was irritated by the lighting. I really don't like pictures that take place at night.