BLACK RAINBOW

RELEASED OUT NOW! 1989 | 15 | Blu-ray/ VOD

Director Mike Hodges

Cast Rosanna Arquette, Jason

Robards, Tom Hulce, Mark Joy

From bladesharp gangster fable Get Carter to the tinselly space opera of Flash Gordon, it can be hard to trace a throughline in the work of Mike Hodges. 1989’s Black Rainbow is another swerve, a paranormally-tinged Bible Belt thriller with an ecological bent.

Rosanna Arquette is Martha Travis, a Christian medium paraded in front of the devoted by an alcoholic father (Jason Robards). An on-stage prophecy of a man’s death makes her an unwitting part of a murderous conspiracy linked to the local nuclear plant.

Hodges peppers his screenplay with intriguing ambiguities, even if the disparate plot strands never knit together as tensely as they might. But he has a great eye for the rusted underbelly of America’s South and brilliantly exploits the natural unearthliness of Arquette, that off-kilter, Carrie-esque quality Hollywood rarely tapped.

Extras Audio commentary by Mike Hodges, and a supplementary one with film critics Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan. A 2004 Making Of (19 minutes) is focused on Hodges and producer John Quested. There are four archival featurettes, mostly short (total: 32 minutes), plus vintage interviews with Robards, Arquette and Hulce (two minutes apiece): some of these clips are recycled throughout the featurettes. Plus: trailer; booklet. Nick Setchfield