FILM
The Scary of Sixty-First: A Big Flop
One of the worst fi lms of the year invokes Jeffery Epstein
BY GARY M. KRAMER
There are plenty of horror
stories about New York
real estate, but “The
Scary of Sixty-First” is
a horrible fi lm about a New York
apartment. Co-written and directed
by Dasha Nekrasova (who also
co-stars) it opens with two friends,
Noelle (Madeline Quinn) and Addie
(Betsey Brown) being shown an
apartment by a realtor (Stephen
Gurewitz). They question having
to go through one bedroom to get
to the next, as well as an unusual
private entrance. Addie seems
concerned about the mirror on the
ceiling in her bedroom. But, hey,
it is cheap and spacious, and the
previous tenant left it furnished.
He also left something unfortunate
in the fridge, in what may the
fi lm’s only real scary moment. Addie
does some smudging to ward
off the bad vibes. Viewers should
steer clear of the awful “The Scary
of Sixty-First.”
The fi lm has little to recommend.
The roommates fi ght almost
constantly, which does not make
them endearing. But a rift really
develops between them when a
nameless young woman (Nekrasova),
posing as a realtor, forces
her way into the apartment. She
informs Noelle that “something extremely
sinister happened” in the
unit — it was previously owned by
Jeffrey Epstein. The two women do
some research, but also take time
to do some drugs and have some
There’s little to recommend in “The Scary of Sixty-First.”
gratuitous lesbian sex. Meanwhile,
Addie is telling her boyfriend Greg
(Mark Rapaport, who produced)
to “f*** her like a 13 year-old.” Addie
is possessed by an evil spirit,
it seems, because she has no idea
that she said such a disturbing
thing to Greg, who sends her
home. In another, risible scene,
Addie masturbates using pictures
of Prince Andrew.
The fi lm does not work as camp,
despite such silly moments. The
writing is lazy, the acting is indifferent
at best, and the camerawork
is haphazard when it isn’t just lurid.
There is an effort for the fi lm
to invoke the style of ’70s thrillers,
but it is a missed opportunity.
One of the many problems in the
fi lm is that the fi lm does not seem
to have much of a purpose. The Epstein
plotline never connects with
anything, other than perhaps Addie’s
sexual possession. An episode
that cross cuts between the nameless
woman trying to “hang” herself
(perhaps to show Epstein’s death
wasn’t suicide) with a possessed
Addie masturbating may make a
connection between sex and death,
but to what end? These scenes certainly
don’t convey the horrors that
the young children the Epstein
abused and traffi cked experienced.
A shot of what looks like scratches
or claw marks in a closet, or a blood
stained mattress Noelle sleeps on,
suggest the torturous events that
are far more upsetting.
Moreover, the fi lm mentions Addie
having some mental illness, but
that could be sarcasm; the fl at line
reading makes it diffi cult to tell.
The nameless woman is gaslighted
at one point, but that episode lacks
tension. The most surprising thing
here, other than how truly awful
the fi lm is, is a twist in the last reel
that serves to explain some of what
transpired. But it does not really
explain why.
“The Scary of Sixty-First” feels
underdeveloped throughout. The
tone is uneven and the relationships
between the characters are
questionable. Noelle nags Addie because
UTOPIA
her parents have money and
fails to respect that Addie wants to
make it on her own. Greg insists
on getting the women a Christmas
tree, oblivious to the fact that Addie
is Jewish. The unnamed woman
bulldozes her way into Noelle’s life
and disturbs everyone she meets. A
scene where she and Noelle go to an
apothecary to divine the meaning of
a tarot-like card with a pentagramlike
symbol, is curious because it
could have actually led somewhere,
but instead, goes nowhere slowly,
like much of this terrible fi lm.
Nekrasova fails to show any talent
here, although she arguably
gives the fi lm’s best performance.
That is damning with the faintest
of praise given Betsey Brown’s
screen work, which deserves pity.
Madeline Quinn has an attitude
towards Addie and is sycophantic
towards Nekrasova’s character,
which doesn’t demand much of
her. In support, Mark Rapaport is
just painful to watch.
No amount of paint or polish
can put lipstick on this pig. With
little to recommend it, “The Scary
of Sixty First” is easily one of the
year’s worst fi lms.
THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST|
Directed by Dasha Nekrasova |
Opening December 17 at the Quad
Cinema and available on digital December
24 | Distributed by Utopia
December 16 - December 29, 2 20 021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
