The Serpent's Egg
Dir: Ingmar Bergman
1977
*****
1977's The Serpent's Egg is regarded by some as being one of Bergman's weaker films, personally, I couldn't disagree more. The Serpent's Egg is more than the sum of its parts and will stay with you long after the end credits. It looks good and has a fantastic cast, the script is sound and story more so, so on and so forth. The darkly magic intensity, the undercurrent of looming horror and pending doom is quite extraordinary. David Carradine is perfect as our protagonist, it's odd to think that the role was initially offered to Dustin Hoffman. It's hard to put my finger on what the ghost in this film is but I can only explain it by suggesting that if Hitchcockian is in the dictionary then why isn't Bergmanian? Make your own mind up about this one but just make sure you see it.