The Most Twisted 1980s Horror Thriller Needs Rediscovery But It’s Being Thrown Away

Anguish is a “movie within a movie,” beginning with a theater full of patrons gathering to see a gory film titled The Mommy. In The Mommy, Zelda Rubinstein plays Alice, the mother of a disturbed man named John Pressman (Michael Lerner). John has diabetes that has worked to severely diminish his eyesight, adding a touch of irony to his situation as he works for an eye doctor.

Alice uses hypnosis to make John kill at her command. While under her spell, John takes the lives of his victims, meticulously cuts out their eyes, and brings them home to Alice. At some point, John grows beyond Alice’s control and kills off his own volition.

As Anguish continues, The Mommy movie shows John sealing off the exits to a crowded theater that’s playing the old sci-fi movie, The Lost World. John begins executing movie patrons one at a time, undetected at first. The revelation that people are being killed finally dawns on the survivors and they rush toward the exits.

The police arrive with Alice and she is accidentally shot and killed by officers, thus ending the movie. While The Mommy builds to its conclusion, the characters in the theater watching it are experiencing issues of their own. Anguish sees murder committed in the movie theater and the police descending upon it, similar to what happens in The Mommy.

But Anguish isn’t finished. The movie continues with the carnage until one of the survivors has a terrible and horrifying revelation expressed to her in what might be one of the most gratifying surprise endings to a horror film.

Anguish captures the imagination in ways that other genre films often fall short of accomplishing. The movie is multi-layered, with both The Mommy and the action taking place inside the theater watching it occurring simultaneously. While neither of these narratives are overly complex, the way they overlap and connect is an example of cinematic genius.

Zelda Rubinstein isn’t particularly dynamic in her role as Alice, though she does exhibit dominance on screen at times. Typecast in the Steven Spielberg production Poltergeist, Rubinstein’s Tangina persona is a tough one to shake but she still manages to play a convincing part as an overbearing mother. Michael Lerner plays the part of the nearly blind, henpecked son John in a memorable fashion and makes Anguish an even better movie.

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Anguish is a rare example of horror from that era that is as compelling as it is violent, and as thought-provoking as it is gory. When the level of intensity rises in The Mommy, it pivots to the viewers of the film and creates yet another level of anxiety for audiences. The unsettling feelings experienced during the movie are magnified by its gore, combining to leave viewers disturbed long after the credits roll.

Currently, Anguish is not available to view on any streaming platforms. For those curious horror lovers who’d like to view this unsung movie, the only way to view it is with a subscription to Full Moon.