I stumbled upon THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD purely by coincidence and I doubt that many people have seen it. And after seeing it, I believe that this movie was unrighteously lost in movie-history. It's not really a horror-movie but more a supernatural mystery/thriller with a touch of drama and a mix of 70's eroticism. Now that's a mouthful, I know, but that's basically what it is.
The story centers around Peter Proud, who's having disturbing nightmares of a woman beating a man to death. He also dreams of images of an unknown town. He soon discovers that the town really exists and in his search for answers, he starts believing that he is the reincarnation of Jeff Curtis, the man who was killed in his dreams. Things get even weirder when he actually meets Jeff's widow Marcia Curtis and her daughter Ann Curtis.
Michael Sarrazin's toned down way of acting is pretty suitable for the Peter Proud character and Margot Kidder is more than decent as Marcia Curtis (both young and old). But the best performance probably comes from Jennifer O'Neill as Ann Curtis. She comes off as young, yet mature.
The over-all structure of the story perhaps isn't flawless. The first part is intriguing and fairly high-paced, but the middle-part is a bit too slow. The ending is yet again satisfying. The movie itself often smoothly swifts between atmospheres. Sometimes creepy & violent, other times there's room for drama or even romance. This movie does contain a lot of nudity, sometimes casual, sometimes sweet, sometimes disturbing. Margot Kidder amazed me with her bath-tub scene, which was erotic and shocking at the same time.
The editing was rather good, using a lot of cross-cutting every now and then. A technique which, when over-used, could become annoying, but here it was used carefully, having the right effect. On a final note: Jerry Goldsmith's score was excellent with a lot of variety, reminding me a bit of Howard Shore's early work for David Cronenberg.
Like I said, THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD isn't perfect but it is an intriguing film. It might look a little dated now, but I can imaging that in 1975 it was quite shocking (with its hidden incest theme and all). So, when being in the right frame of mind, this movie is certainly worth seeing. Good luck with tracking it down.
The story centers around Peter Proud, who's having disturbing nightmares of a woman beating a man to death. He also dreams of images of an unknown town. He soon discovers that the town really exists and in his search for answers, he starts believing that he is the reincarnation of Jeff Curtis, the man who was killed in his dreams. Things get even weirder when he actually meets Jeff's widow Marcia Curtis and her daughter Ann Curtis.
Michael Sarrazin's toned down way of acting is pretty suitable for the Peter Proud character and Margot Kidder is more than decent as Marcia Curtis (both young and old). But the best performance probably comes from Jennifer O'Neill as Ann Curtis. She comes off as young, yet mature.
The over-all structure of the story perhaps isn't flawless. The first part is intriguing and fairly high-paced, but the middle-part is a bit too slow. The ending is yet again satisfying. The movie itself often smoothly swifts between atmospheres. Sometimes creepy & violent, other times there's room for drama or even romance. This movie does contain a lot of nudity, sometimes casual, sometimes sweet, sometimes disturbing. Margot Kidder amazed me with her bath-tub scene, which was erotic and shocking at the same time.
The editing was rather good, using a lot of cross-cutting every now and then. A technique which, when over-used, could become annoying, but here it was used carefully, having the right effect. On a final note: Jerry Goldsmith's score was excellent with a lot of variety, reminding me a bit of Howard Shore's early work for David Cronenberg.
Like I said, THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD isn't perfect but it is an intriguing film. It might look a little dated now, but I can imaging that in 1975 it was quite shocking (with its hidden incest theme and all). So, when being in the right frame of mind, this movie is certainly worth seeing. Good luck with tracking it down.