Directed by Dasha Nekrasova
Written by Dasha Nekrasova and Madeline Quinn
Starring Madeline Quinn, Betsy Brown, Dasha Nekrasova
Rated R
Runtime: 81 minutes 
Opens Friday Dec. 17th at the Quad Cinema in New York (35mm)
Available on Digital platforms and expands to more theaters starting Dec. 24th

by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

Content Warnings: discussion of rape, child abuse, and depictions of violent sexual acts. Use of harsh derogatory language. 

Horror is a genre uniquely designed to take on the horrors of the real world. Not only does it bring to light new horrors within our world but it also enhances the horrors that we know lurk in the corners of our reality. However, it is unique to see a horror film that is fully entrenched in the realities of conspiracy theories, especially those related to a terrible man like Jeffrey Epstein. Yet Dasha Nekrasova and her writing partner Madeline Quinn take these ideas head-on and bring viewers into the world, and apartment of a child sex trafficker in The Scary of Sixty-First.

In the film, roommates Noelle (Madeline Quin) and Addie (Betsy Brown) are on the hunt for an apartment in New York when they find the deal of a lifetime. They stumble upon a big furnished apartment that just happens to be incredibly affordable. Soon after moving in the girls begin to have strange dreams and reactions to the apartment. Noelle meets a woman who has been doing research on the Jeffrey Epstein case and informs her that the place they just rented was one of the apartments Epstein hosted his sex parties. They begin to look further into the case but the more they begin to learn the more they feel like there is someone or something after them. 

I wanted to like this film much more than I did, unfortunately. There is a lot of interesting performances, filmmaking, and storytelling going on, but ultimately I was left confused about how to feel about the film I was just presented with. At the same time, the complex emotions I felt around the movie might be exactly what the filmmakers were intending. It is very hard to be sure what to make of the story that we are presented much like the real-life story on which the film is based upon. The dissatisfaction and lack of justice in the matter are hard to grapple with. This also goes for the many conspiracy theories that are attached to the Epstein case. The film constantly reminds you about the real-life violence and destruction this person caused and does little to comfort its viewers. 

The characters that populate the film all appear to be in their early 20s with little life experience or knowledge to help them deal with the events that transpire. Their true crime obsession with the Epstein case is both dangerous and haphazardly done. This ultimately is how these conspiracies spiral out of control, people armed with the internet and little knowledge about a subject see signs and connections to things that do not actually fit together and let their imaginations run wild. That becomes one of the scarier elements of the film and one I was not expecting to deal with necessarily. 

Everyone in this film is also incredibly unlikable which makes it hard to figure out exactly how you want them to be treated. Noelle is funny but ultimately cares little about those around her. It seems she has a long history with her roommate yet seems to be completely uncaring about her and often comments on the fact that she is mentally unwell. Addie does seem to have a strained relationship with her father and dates a truly garbage human throughout the film, but honestly who didn’t at that age. She is very clingy when it comes to Noelle and while that seems to stem from some emotional and mental health reasons, she does not seem as crazy as Noelle makes her out. And then there is “The Girl” (played by writer and director Dasha Nekrasova) who we get little to no information on, but she comes in with her drugs and conspiracy theories and destroys the world Noelle and Addie are building. Then of course there is Greg, the worst person ever, enough said. It is strange to have so little sympathy for the people of this world especially when they are confronted with such horrors. 

While the characters are very hatable, the performances were overall very interesting and fun to watch. Betsey Brown, who plays Addie, gives off a chilling performance as she spends most of the film talking in a baby voice and playing with herself. In one particular scene, it is clear she is trying to evoke images of Isabelle Adjani’s subway performance in Possession. It is incredibly disturbing but also impossible to look away from. Since it seems the film eludes to her own past of sexual abuse it is heartbreaking the way she is able to show how these sort of high profile cases involving sexual abuse can be all-consuming and triggering for those who have their own experiences with it. Given its scary setup, there is a lot of interesting humor placed throughout the film even with small performances like Jason Grisell as the apothecary clerk. 

The look of this film is great. It tries to evoke a lot of 70s Giallo vibes with its neon soft lighting. Even the structure of the film feels at times disjointed with ideas and scenes we do not really come back to, something that happens a lot in those older Italian films. The scoring of the movie is great as well as its title card, truly the aesthetic of the film is one of the elements that lured me in and one of the reasons I cannot totally dislike it. 

While The Scary of Sixty-First still feels like a bit of an enigma to me I am glad I took the time to check it out. This is one of the reasons I love horror; interesting and diverse voices get to come together and make unique and fascinating films. It makes me so happy to be a horror fan and it is worth the time to give it a watch. I look forward to letting this film live in my head a little longer and hopefully giving it a rewatch in the future.