As a 70s film buff I have plenty of tolerance for genre films, slow moving European fare, B and Z movies, etc. This movie has potential, with some nice 70s atmosphere and decent acting, but the plot is thin and the movie is simply boring. After 30 minutes, I struggled to get through this. It's just not that interesting. Only see if you are a 70s horror / satanic movie completist, into the Canadian film scene (which has many 70s gems), or like the actors.

I saw THE PYX 20 years ago on TV, in a "pan & scan" version, and I thought the film's mood was memorable enough for me to seek it out once it became available in widescreen. I finally saw it in WS and the "pan & scan" version suddenly looks better in comparison. So much of the action took place on the far side of the screen (far left or far right) that the screen composition was almost silly. Some scenes, like the one with Christopher Plummer and that gay man walking in Old Montreal, or the interrogation scene we're shot from so far away that I felt I needed binoculars.If the cinematography was frustrating, the music score was nearly disastrous. What sounded good back in 1973 doesn't necessarily sound good today, certainly regarding that overplayed Joan Baez-like song. The music during the Devil worshiping scene is basically sounds/music played backwards. Playing music backwards to hear Satan is now a funny cliché and that music certainly didn't help create any tension. The acting was forced. Karen Black looked remarkably old even though this is one of her earliest films. The makeup job was bad and the above mentioned cinematography made her look older than she really was. Christopher Plummer's role is almost negligible. The mood is still there but it's impact is lost when seeing in WS. In fact, as the film went on, the less I enjoyed the atmosphere. I realized it was over-zealously lugubrious, not atmospheric. It's also very dated but it's not awful because of it. In fact, it's one of its positive aspects.THE PYX is a frustrating films ever. So much good stuff going for it and yet so little of it actually adds up to a satisfying cinematic experience. The best thing about it is the 1970s feel/look of Montreal. It's an amazing time capsule.

Actually a fairly decent movie, delving into the morality issue of Canadian prostitutes hooked on heroin. All kidding aside this is a fairly well acted movie, with a good plot for a movie with a cult reputation. However there are some fairly significant problems that may drive me away from watching it again. First it is SLOW. Benefit - it isn't hard to keep jumping between real time and flashbacks. Problem - you kept wanting something to happen to speed this thing up - you felt every second tick away.Second - my copy at least gave me a migraine trying to keep it in focus. Shots were swimming, blurry, and over all distracting from plot. I actually cleaned my glasses a couple of times really trying not to blame the movie.Finally this film is another gun in my arsenal with very few exceptions, singers should not act, actors should not sing. I am sure Karen is a mighty fine vocalist, and it did give a haunting feel to the movie singing bible verses, but my ears were bleeding halfway through the movie. I did enjoy the chipmunk version of the chanting monks towards the end of the movie though.The jury is still out whether the story is enough better than the technical qualities of the movie for me to watch this again. Probably will just buy the book.

The Pyx (aka The Hooker Cult Murders) is billed as a horror movie. It should probably more correctly be called a drama with a bit of horror thrown in. It's during these bits of horror that The Pyx becomes interesting. Unfortunately, the majority of the movie is devoted to the drama and is rather tedious and boring.The movie opens with the death of a heroin-addicted prostitute from a fall from the top of a building. Other than sheer white lingerie, she's wearing an upside-down cross and holding a pyx (Not being Catholic, I didn't know what it was either. Apparently, a pyx is a small container used by priests to hold communion wafers.) The investigation soon points to something even more sinister than at first thought - a Satanic sacrifice.The Pyx is told in two separate story lines. One is a flashback from the prostitute's (Karen Black) point of view leading up to the time of her death. The other is from the detective's (Christopher Plummer) point of view of his investigation following the murder. The movie frequently cuts back and forth between the two story lines. And while the police investigation is at least somewhat interesting, Karen Black's flashback is an exercise in tediousness. Despite being a heroin addict and a prostitute, her life is incredibly dull. It's during these scenes that the movie really suffers. If her life could have been made to seem at all interesting, the movie might have been very good. But as it is, the scenes of Karen Black walking around, arguing over dinner, and driving are just plain boring.As I previously mentioned, the horror bits are very infrequent. Other than the final scene with bits of a Satanic ceremony, there's really very little horror. I suppose the scenes showing the aftermath of a couple of murders could be considered horror, but that's really stretching it. I'm sure that a few ardent horror fans have been disappointed in the mis-categorization of The Pyx.Finally, I've got to mention the music in The Pyx. It's terrible. I've heard dogs howling at the moon that had a better musical quality. Most of the songs were apparently written and sung by Karen Black. While I've always enjoyed her as an actress, this is my first encounter with her as a singer. Hopefully, it will be my last.