What's this about?

Lately, it seems like many of the movies/shows are just a rehash or reboot of things that have already been done. And so I started to dive into the past. It's been fun, but I find myself losing track of which ones I’ve seen and whether or not I enjoyed them. Sometimes the titles themselves just don't tell me enough to remember.

I wouldn’t have voluntarily watched a lot of these movies when I was younger. It’s strange how interests change. That goes for what I read, too. I have another blog that explores books. I’m mostly reading older fiction and memoirs, and some of the books have led me to movies/shows and vice versa. In those cases, I may post the book review over here as well.

There will be spoilers, which is different than my book reviews. That’s mostly because I want to have enough information to help me remember what I’ve seen. I’m getting older. The brain doesn’t cooperate like it used to. What can I say? The gray hairs are catching up with me!

Friday, March 7, 2025

Strange Illusion - 1945

Next up in my tripleheader was this movie, apparently loosely based on Hamlet.

Paul is a college student dealing with the death of his father. People have tried to tell him it was an accident, but he believes it was murder. He's had a dream about the killer trying to marry his mother. When he returns home, he finds a man hanging around.

At first, I thought this was going to be one of those "he's mentally ill" kind of movies. But I was surprised to find that when things were lining up with Paul's dream, he was finding allies, and more than that, evidence!

It's revealed that his dream was actually a warning. The killer really was hiding in plain sight and trying to marry into the family. I'm not really sure why he killed the father in the first place. I'm guessing because he was a crime fighter-ish person, he was involved in the demise of the criminal. I probably missed that part.

Anyway, I found this movie to be really interesting. I thought Paul was resourceful and bright. I liked how they were using scientific methods to verify what his dream had led him to think and not dismiss him offhand. But then...the end. What the heck happened at the end?

I was watching. I promise. I thought the criminal and the sister were going for a boat ride. But Paul and everyone else find them in the boathouse on a couch? Then, they fight, and Paul hits his head. He then has a dream, much like in the beginning, where his friend takes his mom away and tells her not to look back. Then Paul meets up with a shadow and keeps walking. And unless his dad got a dress and some wavy hair, I'm guessing it's his girlfriend?

What the heck does that mean? His mom wasn't at the boathouse, and is Paul dead? The movie just ends there, so I have no idea. Why did the woman come up and start walking with Paul in the dream? And why is he talking about fog at the train station? Ugh. The end of this sucks, and I have no idea what happened. It was all great until then. The main criminal escapes justice by getting shot, and Paul is dead or alive. Who knows?



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