Movie spotlight
Audience
Barbara Hammer’s Audience is a fascinating deep cut from the director’s prodigious filmography. Relatively raw in its design, this 16mm diary of audience reactions at retrospectives of Hammer’s work in San Francisco, London, Toronto, and Montreal in the early 1980s bears none of the distinctive visual flourishes and essayistic form one usually finds in her filmmaking. Today, Audience serves as an invaluable historical archive, providing quick but complex portraits of lesbian scenes in different cities and countries: the San Francisco women are bold and raucous, treating Hammer like a celebrity; the London crowd more reserved and tentative; the Canadians politely critical after initial hesitation. It also functions as a testament to the power of Hammer herself as a figure of lesbian culture, showing how fully she engages audiences to incite new forms of discourse about representation.
Insights
Plot Summary
A young woman named Samantha, who works at a TV station, becomes the target of a mysterious serial killer who uses television signals to control his victims. As Samantha tries to uncover the killer's identity and motive, she finds herself increasingly isolated and paranoid, unsure who she can trust. The killer's obsession with broadcasting and media becomes a terrifying tool for his gruesome exploits.
Critical Reception
Audience is a low-budget horror film that garnered a cult following for its unique premise and unsettling atmosphere. While not a critical darling upon release, it has been appreciated by fans of 1980s sci-fi horror for its inventive, albeit dated, special effects and its exploration of media manipulation.
What Reviewers Say
Praised for its inventive concept of television-based horror.
Criticized for its low production values and uneven pacing.
Considered a cult classic within the genre for its unique blend of sci-fi and horror elements.
Google audience: Audience is generally viewed by Google users as an interesting, albeit flawed, entry into the 80s horror landscape, with some appreciating its original premise while others point to its technical limitations.
Fun Fact
Director Curtis Harrington, known for his work in atmospheric horror, brought a unique sensibility to this B-movie, which was one of his later directorial efforts.
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