Triptych of Terror.
After spending April laughing at James Gunn’s horror comedy Slither (listen), revisiting Boris Karloff in The Mummy (listen), and debating M. Night Shyamalan’s “comedy” The Happening (listen), we’re closing out the month with an underseen Robin Williams gem.
In 2002’s One Hour Photo, writer/director Mark Romanek developed one of the darkest roles of Williams’ career. As Sy, the photo technician at a “don’t call it Walmart” style megastore, Williams’ character develops an unhealthy fixation on the Yorkin family. Headed up by absent father Will (Michael Vartan), but kept together by matriarch Nina (Connie Nielsen), Sy envisions himself playing Uncle to the couple’s young son, Jake (Dylan Smith).
As the framing device with detectives James Van Der Zee (Eriq LaSalle) and Outerbridge (Clark Gregg) proves, though, Sy’s interest in being a member of the family has tumbled over into a dangerous – potentially deadly – obsession. Has Sy truly only “taken photos“?
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Episode 384: One Hour Photo (2002)
Prep your photo wall and cancel the room service because we’re talking Mark Romanek’s One Hour Photo (2002). C/W: Childhood sexual abuse
Starring Robin Williams, this combination character study/thriller finds the comedian playing against type as an awkward photo technician who fantasizes about the perfect life of one particular family.
Plus: Detective Photographer; 2000s hairdos; early influencer horror; and plenty of debate about when and how the “twist” is used (with comparisons to other texts like Psycho and Mysterious Skin).
Cross out One Hour Photo!
Coming Up Next: We’re kicking off May with the Aussie/UK psychological thriller Like Minds (2006) starring Toni Collette and a baby faced Eddie Redmayne (in his film debut!).
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