Eerie characters, settings, situations and morality. Everything in this tale of domestic life is eerie. Horrific at times – most of the time – but stylistically and surrealistically so, through hissing radiators, apparitions, deformed dancers, even more deformed babies and a cast of gruesome characters. This is a film worth enduring, though it truly is a test of endurance, showcasing themes and motifs played out in the director’s later works. Not enjoyable as such, but hugely perplexing and there’s no doubting the power of a dark imagination is truly at work.