A woman dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden, who can find solace only in the arms of a beatific servant, is visited by her two sisters, and long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.

Cries and Whispers sees Bergman embracing his powerful and sophisticated use of color—the perplexing intensity of the reds and the whites in this film remains unparalleled. Beware: this feverish, sumptuous exploration of human monstrosity is perhaps not a horror film, but a film about horror.