Barbara Steele stars as a lonely old lady in The Butterfly Room, an unfortunately too marginal horror film directed by Jonathan Zarantonello. The title refers to Steele's hobby of collecting and pinning butterflies, and her secret room housing her collection (and maybe something more sinister). Steele befriends two young girls, one hustling Steele for cash and the other just a lonely neighbor girl. When the first girl's hustle is revealed, Steele spirals into a murderous rage, meaning very bad things for everyone involved.
There are some interesting kernels of ideas here, but it is missed opportunity after missed opportunity. The non-linear storytelling is an interesting choice, but not executed well enough to add much (we also perhaps end up knowing too much, too early). Heather Langencamp appears near the end in a crucial role, but her character is not well enough developed. Steele does her part to play the character as suitably creepy, but time and again Zarontonello seems to miss the campy, fun boat. The movie instead mostly bores. A few fun moments arrive late, but it's too little, too late. No real fun camera angles, no real fun lighting - just a director not having nearly enough fun for a movie that cries out for it. The seeds were there for a fun b-movie horror, or at least some camp, but the result is instead a waste.
Screened at the Noho 7 via projection from a very poorly transferred Blu-Ray. The trailer's better than the movie, so enjoy.
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