Runtime:
95 minutes
Release
Date: April 6, 2000
Rating:
R
Director:
Michael Karen
Foreign
horror films have a tendency to make me sit up and wonder what the
hell is wrong with American horror directors. "Flashback,"
which also goes by several other names, is one of those films.
The
film opens up with scenes of a young girl named Jeanette spending
time with her parents. While everything seems normal, a man breaks
into the house and eventually murders both of her parents in front of
her. "Flashback" then jumps several years into the future.
After spending years in an institution, Jeanette is now a young
woman, and her doctor thinks that she is ready to live outside the
institution walls. He finds her a job working with a friend's
step-children and teaching them French.
From
the moment that Jeanette arrives at their house, something seems odd.
All three of the "children" are actually close to her age,
and none of them seem particularly excited about meeting her. She has
to walk around the entire house just to find someone who can let her
in, and by the time she does, someone steals her bags off the front
porch. Lissy, Melissa, and Leon keep leaving her at home to go out
and party, and they frequently mention their dislike of their
stepfather.
Jeannette
also has to deal with the housekeeper, who thinks that she needs to
rule them all with an iron fist. She doesn't approve of Jeannette for
the way she dresses, the fact that she actually goes into town with
her charges, and her blossoming relationship with Leon. That
relationship takes Jeannette by surprise, and it quickly becomes
clear that she never really dated anyone before. After one particular
party at the house, Jeannette starts suffering flashbacks of what
happened to her family. The more she works with the teens and the
closer she grows to Leon, the more it becomes clear that there is
something wrong.
"Flashback"
is an excellent movie because it offers several different possible
explanations for what's going on, and you won't know exactly what
happened until the very end. Is the man who killed her parents back
for vengeance? Does the unseen step-father have something to do with
the events? Is Jeannette the crazy one? Are the kids involved? This
is the kind of film where I kept thinking that I knew what was going
on, but then there was another twist, and I was wrong. It's also the
type of film where you actually need to pay attention or you might
miss out on something special.
I was
so excited about seeing this movie that I actually recommended it to
multiple people. I even spoiled it for my best friend by telling him
the whole plot and the ending because I didn't see it coming. I had
the chance to watch the film on Netflix, which thankfully provided a
dubbed version (unlike "Battle Royale 2," which I will
probably never watch because I seldom have time to sit down and watch
a film with subtitles), but the site recently took the film down. If
you get a chance to watch it, please do.
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