When I was in college, I’d take a break from classes and wander down Hillsborough Street to spend an afternoon at the Record Hole. This was a used record store run by John Swain. People often complained that the guy didn’t have a decent ordering system like the Record Bar at the mall. I went there for the mediative bliss of flipping through the albums in the bins. Sometimes I’d stop flipping and stare at a record that I’d never heard by an unknown band and decide it was worth risking $3. There was a strange feeling that this record could change my life. There were albums that did that: The Flying Lizards, T-Rex and King Crimson’s Red. You put the vinyl album on the turntable, drop the needle, lay back on the dorm room bed and see if the music was transportive. The right album can change your perspective to life. Black Circle is a Spanish-Swedish co-production that gives us a record that takes two sisters on a nightmarish journey.
The movie starts with what appears to be an educational film that explains the difference between hypnotism and magnetism. The film puts the viewers into a trance by filling the screen an optical effect on the screen. We are to stare at the black circle in the middle. What happens when you reach the trance state? We meet Celeste (Agent Hamilton‘s Felice Jankell) as she shows up at her sister Isa’s office. The secretary (Inger Nilsson) doesn’t recognize her, but sends her in. Isa (Erika Midfjäll) has been able to get the right help to sort out her life. She wants to help her sister out since they’re all they have left of family. She loans Celeste a vinyl record that was released back in the ’70s called Magnetik Hypnos by Lena Carlsson. You need to listen to the second side right as you’re about to go to sleep. She plays the record and things begin to change in her life so much that Celeste tracks down Lena (Thriller or They Call Her One Eye’s Christina Lindberg) to find out what’s behind the record. Lena has news about what happened when she put the needle in the groove and pulled up the bed sheets.
Black Circle has the feel of an early David Cronenberg film with the educational film element, trying to put the audience in a trance and just making the characters become disoriented with what is supposed to be reality. Celeste does her best to come to grips with the hallucinations from sleeping to the record. There’s even a time when the record gets stuck which happens to vinyl. This is the perfect horror movie if you spend the weekend poking around School Kids Records (which is still around). The fact that the movie is in Swedish adds to the nightmarish elements such as when the Doppelgangers slide into the plot.
The movie is noted for featuring cult star Christina Lindberg. Quentin Tarantino based Darryl Hannah’s eyepatch wearing hitwoman from Kill Bill after Christina’s role in They Call Her One Eye. Tarantino has praised her and the movie since then. This is a big screen comeback for the actress who had pursued other career choices including publishing a flight magazine over the last few decades. If you look carefully, you’ll spot a second Swedish star of the ’70s. The secretary at Isa’s office is Inger Nilsson. You might remember her from playing Pippi Longstocking in the original film, Pippi Goes on Board, Pippi In the South Seas and Pippi on the Run. It’s interesting to think that Black Circle brought together the stars of a beloved children’s matinee and an extreme grindhouse cinema. It’s a Black Circle of Life.
Black Circle is a tense nightmare about the dangers of sleeping while records are playing. I’m going to make sure I lock my record closet after dark.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The Audio is Swedish 5.1 DTS-HD MA. You’ll hear the record scratches on the soundtrack. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio commentary with director Adrian Garcia Bogliano starts with him explaining how he chose the credits and why the title of the film isn’t in the credits. He meant for the film to be experimental film. He gets into how in high school, his teacher hypnotized classmates. He talks about how they shot the film in 12 days and the days were about 12 hours long so he didn’t wear out the crew. He did act as his own cameraman so that made things move faster. He is from Spain and doesn’t understand Swedish, but he could have a feel for the lines.
Original teaser trailer (1:08) opens with talk of the reverse Exorcism.
Don’t Open Your Eyes (10:55) is a short film that seems to be what they used to raise funds to create the feature. This is the scene where Celeste is introduced to the album to listen to while trying to get to sleep.
Interview with Adrian Garcia Bogliano and Christina Lindberg (57:27) lets the director get deep into the history of his actress. She talks about growing up without her father since he had a serious drinking problem and mom threw him out. She got invited to pose for a men’s magazine when a “scout” found her at the beach in a bikini. She gets into her acting career which led to Thriller.
Inside Black Circle (9:04) is a Behind-the-scenes featurette. Christina Lindberg says she probably delivered more lines of dialogue on her first day in the movie than she spoke in her entire cinematic career. Another actress reflects on her day of blood and vomiting. One actor admits he didn’t have a driver’s license before he took the wheel. Felice Jankel discusses how to get a demon inside her character.
Still Gallery (14:07) has press photos.
Compact Disc has the soundtrack. I’m rather scared of playing it before bedtime since it might still work like the vinyl record.
Synapse Films presents Black Circle. Directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano. Screenplay by Adrian Garcia Bogliano. Starring Christina Lindberg, Felice Jankell, Erica Midfjäll, Hanna Midfjäll, Hanna Asp, Johan Palm, Hans Sandqvist and Inger Nilsson. Running Time: 103 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 5, 2023.
Here’s a little bonus, this is John Swain at the Record Hole:
