The Pyx

Year: 1973

IMDb Rating: 5.4/10

Genres: Drama, Mystery, Crime

Directors: Harvey Hart

Cast: Donald Pilon, Christopher Plummer, Karen Black

Montréal Police Detective Sergeant Jim Henderson is the lead investigator into the death of a scantily-clad young woman found outside an apartment building, the initial belief being that she was pushed from the unoccupied twentieth floor penthouse balcony. Henderson's partner, Detective Sergeant Pierre Paquette, recognizes her as a prostitute, who they eventually will learn has the working name Elizabeth Lucy, a junkie and one of Meg Latimer's girls. In questioning Meg and another one of her girls, Laura, Henderson and Paquette will also learn that Elizabeth was a non-practicing Catholic, much like Henderson himself, despite the fact that a crucifix on a chain was around her neck and pyx tightly clutched in her hand when she was discovered. The story of Henderson and Paquette investigating the murder, which gets them and their associates into mortal danger the further they get into the investigation, is interwoven with the story of how Elizabeth ended up dead outside that apartment building. If Henderson and Paquette are able to discover the truth, Henderson may further question his own already tenuous Catholic faith.

The Pyx, also known as The Hooker Cult Murders and La Lunule (French: The Moon), is a 1973 Canadian horror film directed by Harvey Hart and starring Karen Black, Christopher Plummer, Donald Pilon, and Jean-Louis Roux. Based on John Buell's 1959 novel of the same name, it follows a Montreal police detective unraveling the mystery behind the death of a heroin-addicted prostitute who died under bizarre circumstances after falling from a building. Its title refers to the pyx, a small container used by the Roman Catholic Church to hold sacramental bread. Development of a film adaptation of Buell's novel dates back to 1964, when director Curtis Harrington expressed interest in directing a feature film for either United Artists or Columbia Pictures, and in which he considered casting several actors, including James Mason, Ursula Andress, Catherine Deneuve, and Orson Welles. The film was ultimately shot in 1972 by Hart, with Black and Plummer appearing in the principal roles. In addition to acting in the film, Black wrote and performed several original songs featured in it. It was the most expensive film ever produced in Canada at the time, with a budget of approximately $1 million. The Pyx premiered in Canada on September 17, 1973, and opened in the United States the following week through Cinerama Releasing Corporation. It received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the performances, narrative style, and themes, while others criticized its pacing and screenplay. It also drew a number of comparisons to Klute (1972), another film depicting a murder mystery that involves a prostitute. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holds the original 35 mm film and optical sound elements of The Pyx in their archive.

From IMDB : A detective investigating the death of a heroin-addicted prostitute uncovers evidence pointing to the existence of a murderous devil cult. This MPEG2 was ripped from Mill Creek's Gore and More 10 Movie box set, this version is sort of widescreen (letterboxed) but it was apparently cropped on both sides to make it a more matted widescreen (why?) I just wanted to let you know that I didn't do this, it was probably whoever was in charge of releasing this film on home media originally. The AVI provided has the black spaced cropped off and it is deinterlaced.