ETOILE - "Ballet" (1989)

 It was"Opera" on Wednesday and to round out my week of classical horror, tonight's Saturday Night Special is "Ballet," so dig out your best duds, have a couple or martinis or break out a good bottle of champagne, and let's get this show rolling!

 The original title was "Etoile" but in the UK and the U.S.A. it was released as "Ballet."

 Whatever you want to call it, this movie might as well be called Jennifer Connelly, because to me, that's what it's really about, and that's just fine with me!

In this film Jennifer is a dancer named Claire Hamilton who has come to Europe to audition for a show!

The auditions are really tough, and when her name gets called, she gets cold feet, and decides to not even show up!

While mulling over the whole situation.....

.......She meets a young man who is in the business of helping his Uncle buy antique clocks cheap, and then resell them to make a buck!

Jennifer was only fifteen when she appeared in Dario Argento's "Phenomena."
She was only sixteen when she appeared with David Bowie in my favourite fantasy film, "Labyrinth," and she was only nineteen when "Etoile" was made!
All that and she still wasn't even old enough to drink a beer yet!

There is a lot of strange energy in the air, and Claire is about to find herself in the middle of it!

The young man that she has met that has taken a fancy to her is Gary McCleery as Jason Forrest! Gary wouldn't act again for twenty-one years!
After this role, I don't blame him!

After getting some weird flowers delivered to her room with a card that says "To Natalie," Claire decides to check out and go back home to New York where it's not so creepy!

But instead of her real name, she signs a ledger as Natalie Horvath. The next thing you know a car is there to take her away........and she goes!

In between time, Jason is trying to figure out just what in the Hell is going on!

He spots Claire, but when he catches up with her, she doesn't know who he is, and she doesn't know who Claire is!

Natalie has taken over full time now!

Natalie and Jason make love, and she's just about to dispose of him when......

Finally, there's a grand performance of "Swan Lake" in a rundown theatre with nobody there, and a full house at the same time!

So just what in the Hell is going on here, because I watched the movie, and I sure don't know.
See, this is the reason I watch cartoons and wrasslin', or something that makes sense!

I guess if you want to call it that, there IS a monster in this movie. It's a gigantic black swan that is pissed off about something, like it's not getting it's cut!

After a battle royale with a gigantic swan, it's pretty easy to identify with Jason's confusion!

Draw the curtain! Show's over kids!