By – Gareth Jones

For fans of Val Lewton, suspenseful movies about cults, Kim Hunter

Before she was Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire and long before she was Zira in Planet of the Apes, Kim Hunter had her debut in Hollywood with this 1943 Val Lewton produced gem. In addition to Hunter’s debut it was also the first film directed by Mark Robson who was an assistant editor on Citizen Kane.  He would go on to direct several other great RKO Val Lewton films including two classics with Boris Karloff, Bedlam and Isle of the Dead.  After his time with RKO he would go on to direct many other films and was nominated twice for an Oscar for Best Director.

RKO gave Val Lewton three rules to produce his film.  1) The budget had to be less than $150,000 2) The film had to be 70 minutes or less and 3) They got to choose the film titles, often lurid and sensational to attract an audience. These limitations were a prime example of how artists get extremely creative when restricted.  The results are layered stories, strong characters, impressive lighting, and innovative sound design.  The filmmakers were able to create an atmosphere without the big budgets.  In many ways, the Lewton films are just as impressive and influential as the Universal Studios Monster films.

The Seventh Victim was the fourth film for Lewton and although not as well known as the Jacques Tourneur films that preceded it, it has retained a devoted following and was recently released on blu ray by Criterion which prompted me to watch it for the first time.  It is presented in a beautiful restoration, with the noirish cinematography looking exquisite.  It is easy to also see how it influenced future films including Psycho, Rosemary’s Baby, and other films that deal with the occult.

The story follows young Mary Gibson, who learns of her sister Jacqueline’s disappearance after the checks stop coming in to pay for her expensive education.  She leaves the school to search for her sister, who has also mysteriously sold her cosmetic’s business right before her disappearance.  Mary hires a private detective to help find her sister, which leads to one of my favorite scenes in the movie. They are searching for clues at the cosmetics store at night, when the detective goes slowly into the darkness of the hallway.  Everything is silent. He then emerges from the shadows, again in total silence.  It is a masterful scene that counters the traditional Hollywood thriller tropes.

After this, Mary discovers that her sister had a secret husband and was a member of the Palladists, a satanic cult that believes in nihilism and worshiping evil.  Her disappearance is connected to her leaving the group and fearing for her life, becoming the 7th victim.  All of this is presented in a very artistic manner with several philosophical discussions. Not your typical Hollywood noir thriller.  The ending is one that will continue to make you think and is one of the most depressing in Hollywood studio history.

One special note is the haircut of Jacqueline. It is iconic with the bangs and must have been an influence on Goth hairstyles in the 80’s.  Again, this film has continued to have a legacy in so many ways.  One other fun aspect I found out was that there is a character in this film, Dr. Louis Judd (played by Tom Conway) who had already appeared in Cat People. Is The Seventh Victim a prequel of sorts to that masterpiece? Perhaps, but it is fun to think about a Val Lewton universe where all of these stories are happening.