The Black Tower

'The Black Tower' is a short film by avant garde filmmaker John Smith that tells the story of the narrator's descent into madness triggered by recurring visions of the titular tower.

Smith - Professor Emeritus of Fine Art at University of East London - is perhaps most well known for his very funny 1976 film 'The Girl Chewing Gum' where he appears to direct the various comings and goings along a London street.  Here he retains the playful humour of that film but wraps it in a pastiche of a Ballardian or Aickmanesque supernatural / strange story which unfolds through a series of fixed shots, primarily, of the tower from different angles and locations which gives the illusion that the tower is in some way stalking our narrator on his journeys.  These images are enhanced with some well chosen, whimsical and sightly mischievous sound and editing that, more explictly than the narrration, allows us an insight into the narrator's increasingly fractured psyche as the tower closes in on him.

..........................................................................................

If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - paypal.me/wyrdbritain

Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.