Below is an excerpt from a university essay that I wrote about Venice in relation to the horror film Don’t Look Now! While this was written in an academic sense, I’ve chosen to share it on my blog because I think it’s a fascinating thing to consider if you are planning or have travelled to the city. The mystic and almost paranormal feeling of Venice is why it’s one of my favourite cities ever!

‘In horror and gothic film and literature, the uncanny is physically represented as a labyrinth, a physical sphere represented the lost mental state of the individual. The formulation of the ‘lost’ physical space in Don’t Look Now includes the representation of Venice as a confusing maze (which historically is considered so). Venice itself coincides with the uncanny reoccurrences in the physical world, with bridges and alleyways looking nearly identical to each other, and paths leading to dead ends.[1] The irony (and frightening uncanniness) of John and Laura’s decision to move to Venice, an island city surrounded by water, cannot be overlooked. The decision to move to a constant reminder of how his daughter died by drowning, illustrates how his subconscious mind is colluding with fate and pushing him to accept his supressed feelings. His mind and physical realm of the film’s setting have fused together to create a film based off “imagination and memory,”

The setting of Venice is what constantly causes John to experience Deja-Vu, as he believes that he has been down near identical streets before. The confusion with time and space suggested by Freud, encompasses the uncanny feeling in Don’t Look Now as it runs in a circular timeline, rather than linear, therefore rationality becomes incomprehensible and the unexplained becomes terrifying.’

This film formulates the idea of Venice as a perplexing and unsettling city as it’s easy to get lost among the many similar alleyways, and surroundings of water. Another movie that plays on the mystical feeling of Venice is Eyes Wide Shut, as the masks used in the film were made in a store in Venice and remakes are available in many tourist shops within the city!

What do you think of Venice, do you find it spooky? Let me know in the comments!