Sofia Coppola is not really a name associated with horror cinema. And yet her latest work can be described as an extremely eerie excursion into history.
Thought-provoking images, a sophisticated production design and plenty of pop music: this is the cinema of Sofia Coppola. Since the beginning of her directing career, she has followed characters who seem lost even in crowded rooms and disappear into their world of thought, from The Virgin Suicides to Lost in Translation and On the Rocks.
Her latest film, Priscilla, also contains many things that are directly linked to Coppola’s style. However, the story of a young woman who runs into an American soldier in Germany in the late 1950s and falls in love with him takes an even darker turn.
In Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla biopic, Elvis Presley is transformed into a secret horror monster
Priscilla tells the story of young Priscilla Beaulieu (Cailee Spaeny), who is born in New York but soon moves to Wiesbaden in Germany. Her adoptive father, who is in the US military, is stationed there. A bleak place, especially for a young girl who wants to discover the world but is only confronted with prohibitions.
Here you can watch the trailer for Priscilla:
Priscilla is one of Coppola’s lonely protagonists and feels like a stranger everywhere she goes, an outsider. When she meets a sensitive man ten years her senior at a party, her life is about to change dramatically. Suddenly she is living the dream of all the girls at her school: she is dating Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi).
At first glance, Priscilla looks like a follow-up to Baz Luhrmann’s opulent Elvis biopic, which was released two years ago and became a surprise success. The film revolved around the relationship between Elvis Presley and his deceitful manager Colonel Tom Parker. Priscilla only appeared as a supporting character.
More than just a belated Elvis retelling: Priscilla is both a nightmare and a fantasy fulfillment
Coppola doesn’t just fill a gap that has opened up in Luhrman’s work. Her film follows her own vision. Her Priscilla story unfolds between the shy images of a coming-of-age film and an unexpected fantasy fulfillment. For a brief moment, Priscilla is the happiest girl on the planet.
(Priscilla)
Gradually, however, menacing tones creep into the film. The dark corners of the rooms get bigger. The cozy carpeted floor resembles a swampland from which there is no escape. And Graceland, the mighty Presley estate in Memphis, is transformed into a cold prison.
Priscilla is not a classic horror film with jump-scares and other familiar tricks of the genre that send shivers down our spines. When Coppola uses tender images to show how her protagonist is paralyzed by a toxic relationship, her breath catches several times, especially in everyday situations
In the staging of Priscilla, Sofia Coppola draws on common patterns of horror cinema
The big stage performances, the spotlights and the cheering crowds stay away from Priscilla. The celebrated King of Rock’n’Roll is initially a charming gentleman here, before he transforms into a controlling, oppressive force without ever being specifically described as such. For the outside world, Elvis remains a star
(Priscilla)
Coppola’s attentive observations, however, reveal the suffocating words that leave his mouth. The constricting gestures with which he puts Priscilla in her place. At one point, the movie becomes so uncomfortable that there’s the kind of tension that comes with being in a room with a veiled horror villain.
Secretly, the characters know that they should flee immediately, but the horror has not yet been expressed. Maybe it’s all in their heads. But by then it is usually too late. From second to second, you can see how the mood changes and the other person takes possession of you.
A biopic as a secret horror film: Priscilla follows in the footsteps of Spencer with Kristen Stewart
After Spencer, in which Kristen Stewart fights for survival as Princess Diana in the British royal family, Priscilla is another outstanding film that approaches the life of a historical figure through (hidden) horror elements. Although Coppola rarely spells out the horror clearly, it’s definitely in her movie.
Stream now: Spencer with Kristen Stewart on Amazon Prime with subscription
Coppola delves deep into Priscilla’s inner life. She is rebuked by judgmental looks and demeaning gestures. Every time she cautiously tries to break out, Elvis chokes her off. But the escalation simply doesn’t happen. Everything is normal. And that’s exactly what makes Priscilla so uncomfortable, so scary
