skjam

Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) dir. Silvio Narizzano

Patricia Carroll (Stefanie Powers) and her fiancé Alan Glentower (Maurice Kaufmann) are back in London after a couple of years in America. Alan has to take care of some business, so Patricia decides she needs to finally make a condolence visit to the mother of her former fiancé Stephen, who died in a car accident. She never actually met Mrs. Trefoile (Tallulah Bankhead) before Stephen's death, but wants to share her sympathy over the woman's loss. As it happens, Mrs. Trefoile is a wealthy widow with a small country estate and big house, most of which is disused.

Stephen's mother turns out to be a religious fanatic, spurning such frivolities as makeup, telephones and bright clothing. Even though Patricia meant for her visit to be perhaps an hour, Mrs. Trefoile prevails upon her to stay the night so that they may pray in church together for Stephen's soul the next morning. After that prayer, it becomes apparent that Mrs. Trefoile has...extreme...views on the sanctity of marriage, and considers Patricia to Have been married to Stephen. The older woman has no intention of letting Patricia out into the world again.

This Hammer Horror film was part of a minor boom of movies starring actresses of a certain age in Gothic tales of murder and suspense. It was, at least, a decent paycheck for women who no longer got the steady work of younger days. As such, Tallulah Bankhead is definitely the star of the movie and plays the role with great vigor. The script was adapted to have Mrs. Trefoile be an actress in her youth, before her conversion, so that the production could use old glamour pictures of Ms. Bankhead.

Of course, a frail old woman probably couldn't keep a vigorous young one imprisoned without help, so the widow has a trio of servants. Harry (Peter Vaughan) and Anna (Yootha Joyce) are a married couple with their own secrets and reasons for obeying their employer's every whim. Joseph (Donald Sutherland) is a developmentally disabled odd-job man, friendly but loyal to Mrs. Trefoile.

The early part of the movie is kind of painful. the cringy horror of being the guest of someone whose opinions you don't share or really respect but don't want to conflict with. There's a scene where dinner is about to be served, and Mrs. Trefoile begins reading aloud the pre-meal Scripture. It's still daylight when she begins, but dark when she finishes and they can finally eat.

Once the imprisonment begins, the movie livens up as Patricia tries various means to try to escape, and the household starts to fall apart. And eventually Alan's going to come looking, so that's a deadline that has to be dealt with.

As is often the case with Hammer, the film doesn't look at all cheap despite the modest budget. Most of the action in the house is well-lighted, not needing night or shadows to do its work.

Content note: Murder, assorted minor mayhem, some blood. Mention of suicide. Attempted sexual assault. Slut-shaming. Implied extramarital sex. Late teens on up should be fine.

With some light suspension of disbelief at some of Patricia's stupider decisions, this is a fine old thriller, though most recommended to fans of classic old actresses getting to be over the top.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Location: a less well lit location
Current Music: Snoopy Halloween Jazz

Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) dir. Bernard L. Kowalski

Steve Benton (Ken Clark) is a state game warden in a rural area of Florida not so far from Cape Canaveral. He's checking up on a wild story told by local poacher Lem Sawyer (George Cisar) about a weird looking critter that he shot at and possibly killed, though he didn't bring in the body. Steve is disturbed to find Lem's corpse, which has strange wounds. Sheriff Kovis (Gene Roth) callously decides that it's an alligator attack (despite the wounds not resembling those made by gators) and calls it a day.

Steve consults with local physician and man of science Doc Greyson (Tyler McVey) who agrees that there might be something else in the swamp that attacked Lem. The game warden takes Doc's daughter Nan Greyson (Jan Shepard) out exploring in a boat with him but they don't spot anything out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, general store owner Dave Walker (Bruno VeSota) is having marital difficulties with his wife Liz Walker (Yvette Vickers). They'd married when Liz was a recent widow (her husband got into lethal difficulties with the police) and she initially appreciated his kindness and relative stability. But Dave's no good looker and not exactly fulfilling in bed. So to no one's surprise but Dave's, she's been fooling around with his best friend Cal Moulton (Michael Emmet).

The naughty couple are making out in the swamp at night only to have Dave stumble across them during a delivery. Understandably infuriated, Dave uses close misses with his gun to drive the betrayers into the water. Just as his temper cools and Dave decides to let them out of the water so that they can discuss things like adults, something horrible grabs Cal and Liz and drags them under. He fires at the giant leech-like thing, but to no avail.

Sheriff Kovis only believes the first half of Dave's story and arrests him for the probable murder of Liz and Cal. There's a small reward posted for the retrieval of the couple's bodies, and two locals, Sam (Joseph Hamilton) and Reed (Dan White) go poking around the gator hollows looking. Dave commits suicide in his cell, and the two old coots go missing.

Over Steve's objection, Doc uses an explosive in the oddly gator-free lake to bring up the bodies of two of the missing. Now it's time to deal with whatever is in the water. But can anyone survive the attack of the giant leeches?

This Corman quickie came in at the tail end of the 1950s monster movie craze. It was shot back-to-back with Night of the Blood Beast and used most of the same crew.

You can tell this was another of the producer's low, low budget film, relying heavily on "night" scenes and heavy shadows to hide how shabby the monster costumes are. The acting is no great shakes, and there manage to be some slow bits even though it's only a little over an hour long.

That said, the monsters are pretty creepy, Yvette Vickers manages to exude some sex appeal, and the sequel hook makes sense. I can see the bones of a much better movie in here. And of course, it's amazing how much movie the Corman brothers were able to get for their buck.

Mostly for Corman completists, and would make a good double feature with another swamp movie.

Current Music: "O Mio Babbino Caro"--Amira

Isle of the Dead (1945) dir. Mark Robson

General Nikolas Pherides (Boris Karloff) is leading Greek forces in the first Balkan War of 1912. His troops have just won a hard-fought battle. But perhaps less of them would have died if one of his officers hadn't arrived too late. The officer tries to make excuses, but is stripped of his rank and General Pherides silently offers him a choice between a firing squad and honorable suicide. American reporter Oliver Davis (Marc Cramer) is shocked by this apparent cruelty.

We learn of the general's rigid adherence to what he sees as his duty to protect Greece, its laws, and his troops. He's not called "the Bulldog" for nothing. Outside, corpses litter the ground, and already exhausted soldiers are slaving to take them away. Army doctor Drossos (Ernst Deutsch) explains that disease is endemic on the battlefield, and the dead must be buried or destroyed immediately to prevent its spread. Sure, using horses would lighten the load, but unlike human beings they would not understand the need to keep working past exhaustion.

General Pherides also understands personal loss. His wife passed away many years ago, and as it happens is buried on a small island nearby, an Isle of the Dead. He has decided to pay his respects at her tomb tonight while he has the chance. Mr. Davis volunteers to come with him to see a more peaceful area of Greece.

When they reach the island (modeled on a famous painting) which is symbolically guarded by a statue of Cerberus, the three headed dog of Hades, they are shocked to discover that the tomb of the general's wife has been despoiled and her coffin opened and empty. In face, all the coffins are empty. What sacrilege is this? A haunting song draws them to a house nearby, the only living habitation on the island.

This turns out to be the dwelling place of Albrecht (Jason Robards Sr.), a Swiss archaeologist. He explains that he unwittingly set the destruction in motion some years before when he arrived in the area and began offering money for antiquities. The impoverished villagers were quick to realize that the only untapped source of antiquities in the area was the Isle of the Dead, and looted it to get money to eat and survive. Once Albrecht realized what had happened, he settled on the island in the hopes of preserving what was left.

As it happens, the house is full of people tonight. In addition to Albrecht and his elderly housekeeper Madame Kyra (Helene Thimig), there's British consul St. Aubyn (Alan Napier), his sickly wife Mrs. Mary St. Aubyn (Katherine Emery), Mrs. St. Aubyn's companion/servant Thea (Ellen Drew) and Cockney tinsmith Andrew Robbins (Skelton Knaggs). The British people (though Thea is also Greek) were forced to detour here due to the battle on the mainland. Mr. Robbins is behaving oddly, put down to drunkenness, and is shown to bed. Since it is very late, General Pherides and Mr. Davis are talked into sleeping at the villa until dawn.

Except that it turns out that Mr. Robbins was not drunk, but dying, and the general suspects he knows why. Dr. Drossos is summoned, and confirms that the cause of death was septicemic plague, and everyone present, including himself, must stay on the island until the plague is confirmed to have run its course.

One by one, the group begins to die. But is it actually plague, or is it something far darker? Madame Kyra fears that a vorvolaka (a malign spirit of Greek folklore) is on the Isle of the Dead and is using the plague as a cover for its sinister actions. The others scoff at first, but as the casualties mount, General Pherides begins to think there's some truth to this.

This film is one of three that producer Val Lewton was contractually obligated to make starring Boris Karloff. While initially displeased, Mr. Lewton found Karloff easy to work with and the partnership did well. The cold and somewhat cruel general is a far cry from Mr. Karloff's "type" of somewhat sympathetic doctors and scientists driven to evil. The curly-haired wig takes some getting used to, but the actor's inherent dignity manages to pull it off. An important bit of characterization happens early on when Thea admits she hates the general because he'd killed several of her neighbors for refusing to pay unfair taxes. "Anyone who refuses to follow the law of Greece is not a Greek."

Despite his coldness, we can see his reasoning and his strong discipline, so his descent into paranoia and madness is more striking.

Madame Kyra is the main villain here, allowing her superstition and dislike of Thea to fix accusations in her head, and poisoning the atmosphere. She's responsible for unnecessary tragedy.

The other standout character is Mrs. St. Aubyn. Her chronic illness sometimes leaves her in a cataleptic state, so she has a horror of being buried alive. Unfortunately, Dr. Drossos, the one person around who can tell the difference between catalepsy and death, dies before her.

Mr. Davis and Thea are more shallow characters, set up to be the romantic subplot.

There's some musing on deeper themes. Science vs. faith, law vs. compassion, meditations on mortality.

Content note: Murder, suicide and other deaths, no gore, though we see a lot of corpses. Someone is buried alive. Older teens on up should be fine.

This is not considered one of Lewton's top films, but is still pretty good, and is well above some of the crap Karloff got stuck with. It'd be a good choice if you want to see a horror movie that's more suspenseful than scary. Recommended to Boris Karloff fans.

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Yokai Gods"

Hand of Death (1962) dir. Gene Nelson

Alex Marsh (John Agar) is a biochemist who was supposed to be working on an aerosol anesthesia that patients could absorb through the skin. This research got derailed when Alex stumbled across a formula that instead caused temporary paralysis of the entire body, effectively a nerve gas. It's also apparently very compatible for mixture with other chemical compounds. So his current project is combining the nerve gas with a will-deadening hypnotic so that even when the paralysis wears off, the victims will be suggestible and easily controlled. The military will certainly want this!

The people he's explaining this to aren't so sure. His wheelchair-bound mentor Dr. Frederick Ramsey (Roy Gordon), girlfriend Carol Wilson (Paula Raymond) and friendly rival Tom Holland (Stephen Dunne) are all concerned about the safety and possibly the morality of such research. Alex dismisses their concerns and returns to his desert laboratory. Carlos (John A. Alonzo), his laboratory assistant, is also concerned with the possible dangers, but his paycheck depends on Alex, so agrees to help.

A combination of overwork and being exposed to trace amounts of the nerve gas causes Alex to become less rational and more careless. One night, he accidentally knocks over his latest combination serum and tries to wipe up the mess with his bare hand. This causes great pain and he rips his shirt open, falling into his bed with severe hallucinations.

When he wakes up, Alex is feeling somewhat better, but his skin has darkened. And when Carlos tries to get him medical attention, Alex grabs his arm to stop him...which causes Carlos to drop dead with the affected skin turning black. To cover up the accidental death, Alex sets the lab on fire and flees to seek a cure. Things only go downhill for him from there.

This low budget horror flick seems more Fifties than Sixties, and may have been written much earlier. It's less than an hour long, suitable for a quick drive-in feature before the main movie of the night. The love triangle subplot feels stuffed in to bring the story up to even that length.

The makeup for Alex's monster form is admittedly crude, but in black and white it works decently well. The acting is adequate.

One scene reminded me this takes place before the Americans with Disability Act. Dr. Ramsey has been in a wheelchair for decades due to an accident with live polio virus. The entrance to the institute where he works has a staircase. And in all the years he's worked there, no one has thought to put in a ramp or handicapped entrance. This isn't said out loud, but simply shown.

There's a couple of interesting cameos. Joe Besser, one of the substitute Stooges, plays an over-eager gas station attendant. And The Munsters' Butch Patrick is a little boy who finds Alex lying on the beach and almost touches him. Oh, and then there's the taxi driver (Fred Korne) who sees a man with a blackened, crackled face in his cab and doesn't get scared or concerned, just angry. Perhaps bigotry is overcoming his ability to perceive beyond skin color?

Content note: Several deaths, including two mice. Deformity. Alex is a little too into the idea of turning enemy soldiers into medical zombies.

This movie was apparently lost media for a few decades, so those of you interested in the history of horror films might want to check it out to fill in your knowledge. Viewers with little patience may want to fast forward to when Alex is contaminated and the scary parts begin.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) dir. Ana Lily Amirpour

Bad City may be an oil town, but black gold hasn't brought prosperity to the majority of its inhabitants. Arash (Arash Marandi) is a hard-working young man who works as a handyman for a wealthy family, but himself lives in the slums and supports his heroin addict father Hossein (Marshall Manesh). Hossein is deeply in debt to local drug dealer/loan shark/pimp Saeed (Dominic Rains). Saeed takes Arash's beloved vintage car as partial payment on Hossein's debts, not interested in Arash's complaint that the car belongs to him, not his father.

At his job, Arash is called up to the room of daughter Shaydah (Rome Shandaloo), who flirts with him while he's doing repairs. He's trying to ignore this as he knows it's not going anywhere. When she leaves, Arash succumbs to the temptation to steal some small jewelry in hopes of trading it to Saeed for his car.

So far, shaping up to be a noir crime drama. But then Saeed runs into a girl walking home alone at night (Sheila Vand) and the genre of the movie abruptly changes.

This 2014 Iranian horror movie is shot in stylish black and white, which helps cloak the fact that although the director is Iranian-American, most major roles are played by Iranian actors, and everyone is speaking Farsi, it was actually filmed in California. Unsurprisingly, there are themes and actions in the movie that would not fly with the Iranian government.

This is one of those movies where "good" and "evil" don't really enter into it. The Girl kills people to survive, but generally preys on people that are pretty awful. Arash doesn't kill anyone himself, but is perfectly willing to profit off a corpse he finds. There doesn't seem to be any law enforcement as such, and there's a gulch with an alarming number of bodies that people have just dumped there. "Bad City' indeed. Prostitute Atti (Mozhan Navabi) sees her job as just her job and is saving to...go somewhere else, maybe? And the Street Urchin (Milad Eghbali) is mostly drifting around with not much to do. Especially after The Girl confiscates his skateboard.

This last makes for some interesting imagery. The Girl's chador resembles the classic "Dracula cloak" (which is also seen when Arash dons one.) A vampire on a skateboard seems like something you would not have seen outside a 1980s kid's cartoon. But shot in this movie it's just eerie.

The deleted scenes are also interesting. I was fascinated by the much larger role for minor character Rockabilly (Reza Sixo Safai) who in these clips addresses the camera directly if obscurely. (But I can see why they were taken out, it would have made the movie drag a lot more.)

Content note: Murder, mutilation and gore. Assault. Prostitution. Drug abuse, including a person forcibly being given drugs by needle. Partial nudity. Deleted scenes include gay-bashing. Older teens should be okay, but sensitive viewers may want to give it a pass.

This is a striking movie that's an interesting mix of foreign and familiar. Recommended to horror fans who can handle subtitles.

Current Music: "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"--Leo Reisman and his Orchestra

The Raven (1935) dir. Lew Landers

Dr. Richard Vollin (Bela Lugosi) was a brilliant neurological surgeon until his recent retirement to pursue research on the nature of pain. He did very well for himself during his career, allowing him to pursue his hobby of collecting memorabilia of his favorite author Edgar Allen Poe. He's even recreated some of the torture devices from Poe's stories, with the crown piece being the famous Pendulum. But his retirement is rudely interrupted.

Interpretive dancer Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) was in an automobile accident that has damaged the nerves at the base of her skull. Dr. Jerry Halden (Lester Matthews), a younger and less brilliant surgeon, admits he's not skilled enough to perform this particular operation. He tries calling in Dr. Vollin, but is unable to convince the man. Jean's father, Judge Thatcher (Jerry S. Hinds), goes out to Vollin's house in person to beg for help. Dr. Vollin reluctantly agrees, and the operation is a success.

Jean is grateful to both her doctors, and begins a relationship with Jerry, but also spending a lot of time with Richard. Dr. Vollin had been too focused on his career and research when he was young to have any time for romance, and is surprised by how strongly he's attracted to the beautiful young woman. When he sees her performing to a reading of Poe's The Raven, Vollin becomes utterly smitten with Jean and starts actively courting her.

Judge Thatcher is alarmed by this as there's something like a thirty-year age gap between the two. He approaches Dr. Vollin and makes it clear he want Richard to back the hell off and let her wed the more age-appropriate doctor. Vollin knows that Thatcher has the right to demand this, but is by no means a good sport about it and swears vengeance. Mind you, he finds a way to back out of the courtship while remaining friendly to the young couple. For now.

It's at this point that Edmond Bateman (Boris Karloff) enters the picture. He's a bank robber and murderer who recently escaped prison. His face is distinctive enough that Dr. Vollin recognizes him instantly even though he's wearing a beard. Bateman hates his face because the bad treatment he received because of his ugliness contributed to him going into a life of crime. He's heard that Dr. Vollin is able to change a man's appearance (exactly how the underworld knows this is never explained.) Bateman believes that with a better face, not only could he evade the police search for him, but he could start a life as a good man instead.

Unfortunately for Edmond, Dr. Vollin is most interested in the brutality that Bateman showed in burning a bank teller's face when the man insulted him during a robbery. While Vollin has a morbid interest in torture, he's never actually done it before and needs some muscle. He's willing to do the operation, but only if Bateman assists him in gaining his revenge. Bateman has no interest in doing further harm, but sees no other choice but to agree.

The operation succeeds in changing Bateman's appearance...by hideously disfiguring him. Dr. Vollin did this in order to force Bateman to assist in his upcoming vengeance, as he's the only surgeon who's skilled enough to fix the damage. (The disfigurement is only on one side of Bateman's face, but in-universe it makes him unrecognizable even by Judge Thatcher--it's just that distracting.)

Dr. Vollin invites newlyweds Jean and Jerry, and Judge Thatcher, as well as a few decoy guests, over to his mansion for the weekend. He plays the charming host, but his intentions are evil.

There is some effective imagery in the movie, the most notable being when Dr. Vollin unveils multiple mirrors by remote control to taunt Bateman with his new hideousness. Legosi does a smooth slide from cultured doctor to cackling maniac, and Karloff does a good job as the psychologically tortured Bateman.

At the time, this movie was considered so scary by British authorities who came down on it hard that the local cinemas started just not showing horror movies at all until after World War Two. Nowadays, most audiences are likely to find the scares in this movie fairly mild.

Dr. Vollin could have been a sympathetic figure given how cruelly his romantic feelings are trampled by the judge, but him going immediately to torture and murder as a response loses him any softer evaluations. Bateman is more sympathetic despite his criminal history--he genuinely doesn't want to be a bad person anymore, and he has a point about society's lookism. (Vollin grants this point but ignores it in favor of his revenge scheme.)

Odd moment: There's a clockwork contraption in Dr. Vollin's manor that simulates a horse race that his guests bet on. It doesn't fit his Poe theme at all and I kind of wonder if this was an actual thing rich people could buy in the 1930s.

Teens on up should be okay watching this movie, but younger viewers should have a trusted adult present, especially to talk about prejudice against ugly people. Recommended to Legosi and Karloff fans, and people interested in the history of horror movies.

Current Location: chamber
Current Music: a knocking

Freaks (1932) dir. Tod Browning

Madame Tetrallini (Rose Dione) is, by 1930s standards, a good circus owner. She likes to think of the circus employees as a family, and is especially considers her employees with disabilities or deformities as her "children." Most other people, including themselves, call them "freaks." Thanks to her skill as a manager and genuine kindness, the Tetrallini Circus has accumulated a varied cast of top-notch performers, some of whom perform in the main circus, while others are in the side show. Because most of them have faced abuse and discrimination in the outside world, the freaks tend to stick together, "offend one and you offend them all." And the normal-bodied circus workers largely treat them with friendliness, or at least professional courtesy.

But all is not well in this traveling show. Strongman Hercules (Henry Victor) just had his girlfriend seal trainer Venus (Leila Hyams) break up with him (deleted dialogue had him asking her to do "private performances" for wealthy men.) So he's on the prowl for a new honeypot. Meanwhile, stunningly beautiful trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) is still doing quite well in her act, but is beginning to feel the aging process coming on, and is looking for a husband before that aging becomes visible in her act or appearance. Cleopatra and Hercules are certainly attracted to each other, but she has her reasons for not making it official just yet.

Little person (called a "midget" in-story) Hans (Harry Earles) has become infatuated with Cleopatra, to the disgust of his longtime sweetheart Frieda (Daisy Earles), a fellow little person. Cleopatra isn't interested in him "that way", but flirts outrageously with him because he keeps giving her presents of money and jewelry. Everyone else can tell she's just stringing him along, but Hans won't listen. Things take a turn for the worse when Cleopatra learns that Hans can afford his expensive presents because he's actually the scion of a wealthy family and recently inherited a fortune. She and Hercules sure could use that money!

This infamous horror movie was created after the Hays Code had come in but before it was fully enforced. So it has a fair amount of material that wouldn't be allowed in another year, but it was still so shocking that test audiences were freaking out and the studio decided drastic cuts were needed. Thus the version we have today is missing about thirty minutes of the run time (the footage is lost barring a miracle) and has a different beginning and end to cushion some of the impact.

The plot is actually pretty tame by modern standards, and most of the runtime is light drama about the everyday lives and relationships of the circus folk. The bearded woman and the human skeleton have a baby. Venus starts a new slow burn romance with clown Phroso (Wallace Ford). Daisy and Violet Hilton (playing basically themselves, as they did in Chained for Life which I reviewed earlier) are engaged to different men, but as conjoined twins, it's going to be tight quarters.

And it's notable for the time that an absolute minimum of special makeup or camera tricks were used. Most of the "freaks" are actual performers who appear basically as they did in real life. The movie treats them as just folks.

The horror kicks into gear at the wedding feast. Cleopatra and Hercules have had way too much to drink and when the sideshow performers show their friendship by chanting "One of us!" the bride shows her disgust at their very existence. She makes a condescending exception for her husband Hans, but the others are chased off by Hercules. Cleopatra moves immediately to the next phase of her plan, slowly poisoning Hans so that she can inherit his money.

"Offend one, and you offend us all." Hans' comrades start observing Cleopatra and Hercules very closely, watching for their chance. And the "normal" circus folk aren't happy either. Hercules' show partner Roscoe (Roscoe Ates), who'd joined him in "good-natured ribbing" of Josephine Joseph the half-man half-woman at the beginning of the movie, now publicly snubs the strongman for his outright cruelty. Venus is so convinced something shady is going on with Hans' illness that she threatens to break the carnie code and squeal to the police.

The climax comes as the circus wagons head towards their next engagement in a heavy rainstorm. Hercules jumps out of his wagon to force his way into Venus' wagon to silence her, while Cleopatra prepares a final lethal dose for Hans. The freaks are ready though, and they crawl menacingly through the mud towards the betrayers....

At what should be the end, we see what has become of Cleopatra, an indelible image.

Even chopped up as it is, this is an interesting movie that simply could not be made today not because of "political correctness" or "woke" but because the world has changed so much. Younger teens and children should watch it with a trusted adult who's familiar with the subjects they'll be asking about.

Recommended to people interested in the history of horror and circus fans.

Current Music: "Killed to Death by Piracy" by Alestorm

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) dir. Robert Wiene

The frame story begins with Franciz (Friedrich Feher) having just been told by another man (Hans Lanser-Ludloff) about the supernatural events that drove him from his home. Franciz replies that the events he and his fiancée Jane Olsen (Lil Dagover) experienced were even more chilling. We then flash back to the announcement of a fair in the city where Franciz and Jane then lived. Their friend Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski) sees an ad for the fair and asks Franciz to come with him. Despite their both being in love with Jane, the two are still good friends.

Meanwhile, a mountebank calling himself Doctor Caligari (Werner Krauss) tries to get a license to perform at the fair. The Town Clerk does allow this, but not before he's very rude to the applicant. By what I am sure is a total coincidence, the Town Clerk is murdered that very night.

Alan and Franciz go to the fair and visit Dr. Caligari's concession. The act turns out to be the supposed doctor displaying a "somnambulist" he calls Cesare (Conrad Veidt) who he awakens from deep sleep. Caligari claims that Cesare has supernatural knowledge of the future. When Alan foolishly enquires how long he will live, Cesare tells Alan he will be dead by dawn.

When Alan is murdered that night, Franciz' logical first suspect is Cesare. But is that really the case?

This 1920 silent German film is one of the most famous movies ever made, and even if you haven't seen it, you've probably heard of it if you have an interest in film history, horror, or German Expressionism. The last is most obvious in the nightmarish set design.

Conrad Veidt is chilling as Cesare, the sleepwalking killer, scrambling over the rooftops on his deadly mission. And within context, Dr. Caligari makes a very sinister figure.

There's a couple of nice touches. An unrelated criminal attacks an old woman in hopes that his murder will be mistakenly credited to the mysterious previous ones. And Dr. Caligari has a "lifelike" dummy of Cesare that he puts in the cabinet while the somnambulist is away to create an alibi.

The title card says that this is a retelling of an 11th Century legend, though that legend itself is made up for the movie--and then there's the infamous twist ending that turns most of what we've learned on its head.

It does have to be remembered that this movie is still quite early in the history of films, and silent, so the acting can come off artificial and stiff, and the lighting is sometimes dubious. The set design actually helps by being so weird that the viewer might not feel the need to nitpick details so much.

Content note: Murder, naturally, though the actual deed is suggested by shadow, not directly shown. Some period depiction of mental illness that may come off badly to modern viewers. Older teens should be fine; younger viewers may not be ready for the conventions of silent film.

This is one of those movies that's more important than good, but it's good enough that it's worth seeing for any fan of horror or film history buff.

Mark of the Vampire (1935) dir. Tod Browning (also released as "Vampires of Prague")

Czechoslovakia, 1934, near the city of Prague. It is growing dark, but in the inn run by a local fellow (Michael Visaroff), two English travelers want to be on their way. The innkeeper warns that vampires roam these parts at night, Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) and his daughter Luna (Caroll Borland). The travelers scoff, but then the local medico, Dr. Doskil (Donald Meek), returns to his room at the inn, clearly frightened out of his wits, and bearing bat thorn, a plant said to ward off the undead.

The next morning, the servants at the castle of Sir Karell Borotyn (Holmes Herbert) are saddened to learn of the death of their master from his friend Baron Otto (Jean Hersholt). Sir Karell's corpse has neck wounds and has been drained of blood, which leads Dr. Doskil to declare that the death was due to vampire. Inspector Neumann (Lionel Atwill) is a skeptic, and not convinced that vampires are anything other than superstition. Despite Dr. Doskil's resentment at being lumped in with "ignorant peasants", his findings are discarded by the coroner's jury, which brings in a verdict of "Death by Unknown Causes."

Sir Karell's daughter Irena Borotyn (Elizabeth Allen) must postpone her marriage to Fedor Vicente (Henry Wadsworth) and moves in with Baron Otto, who has been appointed her guardian.

A year later, the mandatory mourning is over, and Irena and Fedor reunite at the village, though the castle itself has been abandoned. Soon, there is to be a wedding. But then Fedor blacks out near the castle and wakes up with neck wounds and severe anemia. Irena is attacked as well. Count Mora and Luna have supposedly been sighted in the area. Irena says she was compelled into the open by what she thought was the voice of her father. Inspector Neumann is forced to call in an expert, Professor Zelin (Lionel Barrymore). The professor assures everyone that vampires are very real, and precautions must be taken or Irena will surely be taken.

If you have never seen this movie before and haven't had it spoiled for you, go see it now. Seriously.

SPOILERS beyond this point. You have been warned!

This movie is a remake of the lost horror classic, "London After Midnight" which was also directed by Tod Browning and starred Lon Chaney Sr. Thus it has much the same twist ending. There are, in fact, no vampires. Instead, it's an elaborate hoax to catch Sir Karell's murderer who'd disguised his own deed as a vampire attack.

So now you can rewatch it as a comedy. The "Professor" is just making stuff up when he spouts vampire lore. The doctor is a gullible fool. Bela Lugosi with his deceptively high billing is basically playing himself, an actor dressed as Dracula, but fully committed to the "bit" so staying in character even when no one could possibly be watching. Some of the characters are in on the trick and acting their hearts out, while others are not in on it, and which is which isn't always clear.

I'm told that the movie was edited down from about 80 minutes to 60 for a tighter film, but this does create some lore gaps. There's an "extra" vampire that does nothing but appear in certain scenes just standing or sitting around. Presumably he had action in cut scenes.

The sets are great, and the acting works better once it's clear that you're watching a comedy. The heavy edits do make the film a bit choppy, but it's still a fun watch with a fine cast. Recommended to fans of spooky comedies.

Current Mood: quiet
Current Music: a washing machine next door

Ghostbusters 2 (1989) dir. Ivan Reitman

It has been five years since the Ghostbusters saved New York City, and by extension the world, from the threat of Gozer the Gozerian. Due to the massive destruction caused by their struggle, the team was sued by multiple government agencies for the damage. At the same time, a drastic drop in paranormal activity allowed rumors spread by a certain hostile government agent that the Ghostbusters had actually used hallucinogens and special effects to create fake ghosts to defraud the public. Their small company was forced into bankruptcy and they were put under a restraining order preventing them from working as paranormal investigators.

Ray (Dan Ackroyd) runs a small bookshop and appears at children's parties with Winston (Ernie Hudson) (who apparently has no other income) in their old Ghostbuster outfits. But even the children have moved on, preferring He-Man as a cultural reference. Peter (Bill Murray) hosts a cable access show on the paranormal, but due to his reputation can't get the good guests. Egon (Harold Ramis) has done all right for himself, landing a research position at Columbia University studying whether human emotions have an effect on the environment.

Dana (Sigourney Weaver) broke up with Peter over his refusal to commit to the relationship, then married a fellow musician. But when that man got a lucrative job offer in Britain, he divorced Dana and moved, so that she is raising their baby Oscar (William and Henry Deutschendorf) alone. To have more time with her child, she took a temporary jub doing painting restoration at an art museum. Her boss, Dr. Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol) has been hitting on her when not obsessing over his latest acquisition, a painting of alleged dictator and black magician Vigo the Carpathian (body by Wilhelm von Homburg, voice by Max von Sydow).

Once again, it's Dana who first notices that something eerie is going on when Oscar's baby carriage rolls off by itself and strolls right into the middle of the street. She contacts Egon to check into the matter, and specifically asks that Peter not be told. Peter of course finds out and invites himself along on the investigation to try and rekindle his relationship with Dana. He's still a sleaze so that part doesn't go so well, but he does start to bond with Oscar.

The former Ghostbusters (sans Winston at this point) investigate the street, and accidentally cause a blackout in the process of finding an abandoned tunnel with psychoactive slime running through it. This gets them arrested, but ghosts showing up in the courtroom gets the judge convinced to lift the restraining order.

This and a sudden rise in ghost activity needing busting allows our heroes to be back in action and again the toast of the town. Meanwhile, Janosz has become dominated by the spirit of Vigo, which is using the portrait as a channel to the living world. Vigo needs a human infant to possess at the stroke of midnight New Year's Eve to begin his comeback to rule the world. Janosz has just the baby in mind so that he can compel Dana to be his wife.

Things are about to become very bad indeed, for the slime is supercharged with negative emotions from 1980s New York City, and Vigo draws strength from that.

While the first Ghostbusters movie had been very successful, some of the people who'd be needed to make a sequel had a falling out, and schedule conflicts arose, so it took five years before this movie was made.

Good: Some great jokes, excellent special effects, guest appearance by the Statue of Liberty.

Less good: This movie's plot structure is eerily similar to the first one's, with many repeated story beats. The characters and situations are reset to very near the beginning of the first movie, so in a way this one ends with very little progress. (A notable exception is Dr. Venkman, who no longer hits on any woman that crosses his path. He's solely interested in getting back with Dana, even if he can't quite understand what he did to lose her in the first place. While he has to start at zero in that relationship again, at least we're not seeing him being a horndog to other women.)

Also, poor Winston is underused again.

It's notable that the success of the cartoon spinoff The Real Ghostbusters fed back into this movie. Mascot character Slimer (Ivan Reitman) appears even if he isn't properly explained, and in an effort to be more kid-friendly, the characters have cut way back on smoking and the sex talk.

Content note: baby in peril, Dana is seen in a bra and later in a towel, a bit of rough language, slapstick violence. Janosz is under the delusion that if he forces himself on Dana, she will grow to love him.

My DVD came with two episodes of the cartoon, "Citizen Ghost", which explains why the Ghostbusters let Slimer hang around; and "Brothers in Slime" which references the psychoactive slime from this movie (calling Vigo out by name) even though the events of the second movie could not have happened in nearly the same way in the cartoon.

Overall, it's an okay movie with its major flaw being that it's a little bit too much of a retread. Maybe we didn't need sequels and remakes, but here we are. Consider getting it in a set with the original. And of course, recommended to fans of Eighties comedies.

Current Music: "Christmas Serenade"

The Living Skeleton (1968) dir. Hiroki Matsuno (Japanese title: Kyûketsu dokuro-sen ("Blood-sucking Skull Ship")

Three years ago, the freighter Dragon King was lost at sea, with no survivors. Among those who apparently perished were ship's doctor Nishizato (Ko Nishimura) and his recent bride Yoriko (Kikko Matsuoka). Yoriko's twin sister Saeko (Kikko Matsuoka) still mourns them, though she sometimes gets the feeling that Yoriko is still alive as they could feel each other's emotions and sometimes she gets a faint twinge. Overall, Saeko is feeling much better these days. She's been taken in as a housekeeper for the Catholic priest (Masumi Okada) of a seashore village, and is being wooed by earnest restaurant/bar worker Mochizuki (Yasunori Irikawa). Saeko is seriously considering his offer of marriage.

But when Mochizuki and Saeko go scuba diving for fun, they discover what appear to be chained skeletons on the ocean floor. Spooky! That night, during a rainstorm Saeko spots a ship offshore that looks like the Dragon King and goes to investigate. The ship is seemingly derelict, and Saeko is able to find the ship's log, which confirms it to be the Dragon King. She reads it and learns what the audience already knows, that some of the crew turned pirate to steal gold bullion that was part of the freight, and murdered the remaining crew and passengers. Saeko also spots what appears to be her sister's ghost...

She returns to shore the next morning, exhausted and traumatized. Mochizuka and the priest tend to her, but get little information on what happened. The next day, Saeko vanishes, sending a postcard later saying she's heading to Chiba.

We now catch up with some of the pirates, who split the loot from the robbery and have different life circumstances. One became the successful owner of a night club, another blew all his money on booze and gambling and begs for handouts, a couple hold down respectable day jobs and have their investments earning interest, etc. One by one they see what appears to be Yoriko's ghost (or is it the living Saeko?) and meet horrible fates.

After various twists and turns, the surviving cast reunites aboard the Dragon King to reveal more secrets, and have the final confrontation.

This was another in the short-lived horror series made by Shochiku studios in the late 1960s. It's a slightly lower-budget movie shot in black and white, and with a few instances of dubious special effects. Also neither of the titles quite describe the movie; none of the skeletons are living, and no skulls suck blood.

But it's nicely atmospheric and often effectively creepy. It also isn't afraid to leave some things completely unexplained. If it's non-supernatural Saeko killing the pirates, how is she just appearing where they happen to be and pulling off the murders? (There's a particularly baffling one where the pirate dies in a private shower.) And what's up with those bats? And the fog? And how does the ship evade detection by anyone but plot-relevant people while it's within easy sight of the shoreline?

There's some decent music too.

Content note: Several violent deaths, some gory or body horror. A dog dies. Possible suicide. It's mentioned but not shown that Yoriko was raped. Implied cannibalism. Partial female nudity and skimpy costumes on exotic dancers. Male shower scene from behind. Dubious portrayal of Catholicism. Junior high students and up should be okay, younger or more sensitive viewers should have adult guidance.

I'd rate this movie as a decent watch for horror fans who like their films more spooky than visceral. Oh, and a special recommendation to fans of John Carpenter's The Fog, which this movie has some similarities to.

Current Music: "It! The Terror from Beyond"

Doctor X (1932) dir. Michael Curtiz

The Moon Killer has struck again! Each month during the full moon, a victim is found strangled and killed with a wound to the back of the skull, and then large chunks of their flesh removed, presumably to be eaten. After six victims, the police have finally managed to determine that the skull wounds are created by someone with surgical skills, and a particular kind of scalpel. As it happens, this particular scalpel is an imported model only used at the Institute for Surgical Research, conveniently located near all the murders. The police approach Dr. Jerry Xavier (Lionel Atwill), the head of the Institute.

As it happens, the school is in recess, so that narrows the list of suspects to Dr. X and four other faculty members who have remained to pursue their own projects. Dr. Duke (Harry Beresford), Dr. Haines (John Wray), Dr. Rowitz (Arthur Edmund Carewe) and Dr. Wells (Preston Fowler). The four others have reasons why they are a little dodgy. One wrote a book on cannibalism, one was in a ship wreck and when the three man liferaft was found, only two men were still aboard, one is obsessed with the concept of "lunacy", and one is into "French Art" (a then polite euphemism for pornography.) Even Doctor X himself might be a suspect if his theory is correct.

In order to protect the Institute's reputation and attempt to solve the case using some new experiments he wants to try out, Dr. Xavier persuades the police to give him 48 hours before they crack down on the suspects. Unfortunately for him, wisecracking reporter Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy) has been concealed in the building all along. Lee reports what he's found out, resulting in newspaper headlines that will make it impossible to do the experiments at the publicly accessible Institute. Instead, Dr. X invites his fellow surgeons to his creepy mansion on Long Island.

Practical joke-loving and a little cowardly, Lee thinks his job is done, but his editor insists the reporter go out to Long Island, infiltrate, and come back with a complete story. Once there, Lee splits his time between snooping and wooing Dr. Xavier's pretty daughter Joanne Xavier (Fay Wray). But there's still a killer on the loose, and not everyone in the house will survive.

This early color horror film was Warner Brothers' response to the success of Universal's early horror classics. It was adapted from a Grand Guignol-style stage play, which was deemed a little too much strong meat for a movie audience. Thus it was rescripted to be more of a horror-comedy, with the somewhat silly reporter being the protagonist. There's also comic relief servants, skittish housemaid Mamie (Leila Bennett) and creepy butler Otto (George Rosener).

But there are spooky moments throughout, and at the climax the movie goes full horror as we finally get a good look at the Moon Killer (awesome makeup by Max Factor that works well with the film's limited color palette) and the real reason he's been killing people. And that nightmarish moment when Dr. X realizes he's made himself helpless to stop the Moon Killer from murdering Joanne.

Lionel Atwill and the other suspects are excellent, Lee Tracy is typecast but is very good at being typecast, and Fay Wray does the best she can with her limited part.

Content note: This is a pre-Code film, so they could get away with a scene in a bawdyhouse, a reference to "a woman of the streets", "French Art" and what was then a racy swimsuit for Fay Wray in one scene. There's murder, of course--no blood but a bit of body horror. References to cannibalism. Some prejudice towards the physically handicapped. Dubious depiction of and attitudes towards insanity. Younger children should have adult guidance on hand.

This movie hasn't aged as well as Mystery at the Wax Museum from later that same year, but has its charms for comedy-horror fans. Turn the lights down low and have plenty of popcorn on hand!

Current Mood: silly
Current Location: an old dark house

Bloody Pit of Horror (1965) dir. Massimo Pupillo, Italian title "Il Boia Scarlatto" (The Crimson Executioner)

Horror paperback publisher Daniel Parks (Alfredo Rizzo) wants to have the covers of his next few books be photographs. So he and a small crew of models, photographer and writer are touring Italy for the exactly right castle to shoot photos in. After several duds, they've come to one that looks just right. Initially, it appears to be abandoned, but after breaking in they discover that the owner's just very reclusive and doesn't like trespassers. After seeing Edith (Luisa Baratto), the production assistant, but not vice versa, the master of the castle allows them to stay the night. Little do the visitors know that the Crimson Executioner has no intention of letting his guests ever leave!

The Crimson Executioner is Travis Anderson (Mickey Hargitay), a muscleman actor ala Steve Reeves, who got rich in the movies, but also got increasingly disgusted with the immorality and corruption of the outside world. He felt that contact with sinners (including Edith, a former girlfriend) was dangerous to his perfect body, and somehow learned of this abandoned castle and the legend of the original Crimson Executioner. That medieval nobleman had tortured multiple people to death for imagined crimes and was executed by and sealed within his own iron maiden. Because the Crimson Executioner had sworn to return to life and take vengeance, the place got a reputation for being haunted, and Travis had been able to buy it cheaply and move in with a few goons as servants.

The first horrific death is easily mistaken for an accident, and there's a bit of misdirection to suggest that there's supernatural stuff going on, but former reporter Rick (Walter Brandi) soon catches on that there's a human murderer. Can he save himself or anyone else from the elaborate torture devices of the dungeons?

Good: Nice set design, and the torture devices are deliciously over the top. The giant spiderweb room is comical even as it would be terrifying to actually be in. The cast is enjoying themselves, especially Hargitay who hams it up. There's little of the slow burn or padded scenes that would make the movie drag.

Less Good: The English dub is atrocious and wooden. There's a Marquis de Sade quote to try to class the piece up, but no follow through on the philosophy.

Content note: Murder, torture, blood, a bit of sadism. Shirtless men, skimpy costumes and underwear for the women. Two of the characters are implied to be having extramarital sex. Late teens on up, I'm thinking.

Just the right amount of cheesy to be charming. This one's for bad movie night with a friend or two.

Current Music: "Cry Me a River"--Franck Pourcel

Beast from Haunted Cave (1959) dir. Monte Hellman

Deadwood, South Dakota may have had a wild reputation back in the day, but in modern times, it's a quiet tourist town. It's the sort of place you might go for a ski vacation if your budget doesn't run to Aspen. And that's why entrepreneur Alexander Ward (Frank Wolff) is here with his business associates Marty Jones (Richard Sinatra) and Byron Smith (Wally Campo) and secretary Gypsy Boulet (Sheila Noonan). They've hired local guide Gil Jackson (Michael Forest) to give them skiing lessons, and then lead a cross-country trip to a remote cabin.

This being a movie, that's not the real reason they're here. The plan is to set off an explosion in a disused mine on Sunday morning, thus drawing the local law enforcement and emergency personnel out of downtown. The three men will then rob the active mine office, stealing bars of gold. They'll then rendezvous with Gil and Gypsy at the top of the ski resort (far enough away from town to not notice the excitement), and go to the cabin. There's a pre-arranged plane set to land there in a few days; Mr. Ward plans to kill Gil and any members of his crew that have become liabilities, and escape into Canada.

The first wild card shows up when Marty gets a little drunk and picks up barmaid Natalie (Linné Ahlstrand), getting her to show him the disused mine in the middle of the night. He plants the explosive while her back is turned, but they're then attacked by a mysterious beast (Chris Robinson). Marty flees, leaving Natalie for dead, but is shaken by this and suffering random attacks of guilt and belief that he's being followed by the beast.

Natalie's disappearance is investigated by the authorities, but they don't make the connection to Marty, and it's noted that some recent animal deaths have been attributed to a loose cougar.

The explosive goes off (killing an unlucky watchman) and the robbery itself goes off just fine. Next wild card is that Gypsy starts being attracted to Gil, and vice versa. (Alexander is not a good boyfriend.)

On the trip to the cabin, the audience sees that the beast is indeed following Marty. At the cabin, Gil learns about the robbery and becomes increasingly suspicious of his clients. Byron finds himself developing a flirtation with native housekeeper Small Dove (Kay Jennings). A heavy snow delays the plane.

Isolated as they are, the small group is menaced by the beast, which has taken up a lair in a nearby cave. Who, if anyone, will survive?

This crime movie interrupted by a monster was shot on location in Deadwood and the surrounding area as producer Gene Corman and his brother Roger had been lured to South Dakota by that state's Chamber of Commerce offering financial incentives to film there and their own desire to get out of California for a while. Roger Corman was preparing his own movie Ski Troop Attack which used some of the same locations, actors and screenwriter Charles B. Griffith. The beast costume was made by Mr. Robinson himself out of his own pocket, as he was working for exposure (it worked, he got a lot of TV roles, and was still doing movies as of 2022!)

As you might expect, the lack of budget really shows. The sets are minimal, the acting is mostly adequate at best, and there's a reason we see very little of the monster until the climax. But it's nice to see the South Dakota locations, and the skiing sequences don't feel overly long or like filler. The scene where some of the beast's victims wake up in Haunted Cave is actually pretty disturbing.

Content note: Alcohol abuse, smoking, extramarital sex is implied. Outdated term for a Native American woman. Younger children should have adult guidance.

Several of the people involved would go on to make much better movies, but with its short run time, this would make a good double feature with another B-Movie--say, The Wasp Woman, its first feature partner.

Current Mood: warm
Current Music: "Waiting Just for You"--Blackmore's Night

Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968) dir. Hajime Sato

The Japan Air Lines flight from Tokyo to Osaka was already ill-omened before the bomb threat was received, what with the blood-red sky and birds splattering themselves against the windows. Once the crew are alerted to the possibility of a bomb, they perform a bag check on the passengers. No bomb is found, but one passenger oddly does not have a bag. When a bag is found in the kitchenette with not a bomb, but a rifle inside, that passenger is the obvious suspect. He turns out to also have brought a pistol on board, and hijacks the plane. He wrecks the radio and orders the pilot to head to Okinawa. A few minutes later, a bright light with a saucer shape buzzes the plane, the navigation instruments burn out, and the plane crashes.

A few hours later, consciousness returns to the few survivors. They are: Co-pilot Sugisaka (Teruo Yoshida), thrust into a leadership role; Kazumi Asakura (Tomomi Sato), a stewardess who is trying her best under the difficult circumstances; Senator Gozo Mano (Eizo Kitamura), a prominent politician facing a tough re-election campaign; Mrs. Neal (Kathy Horan), an American widow whose husband died horribly in the Vietnam War; Dr. Momotake (Kazuo Kato), a psychiatrist who has a ghoulish fascination with how people act in extreme situations; Mr. Tokuyasu (Nobuo Kaneko), an arms dealer lobbying Senator Mano to pass a defense bill; Mrs. Noriko Tokuyasu (Yuko Kusunoki), his long-suffering wife; Professor Tokiyuki Saga (Masaya Takahashi), a space scientist; and Matsumiya (Toshihiko Yamamoto), the troubled teen who'd called in the bomb threat.

Oh, and a bit later, the hijacker Hirofumi Teraoka (Hideo Ko) turns out not to have been dead after all, just more unconscious than the others. Once he revives, he attempts to escape, revealing that the crash site is a rocky, avalanche-prone wilderness area. Since night is falling, the survivors head back to the plane. Teraoka again attempts escape with Miss Asakura as hostage, but they stumble across a orange-glowing saucer-shaped object. Teraoka is captured and possessed by one of the inhabitants of the saucer.

This turns out to be a silvery blob alien calling itself "Gokemidoro" (voice by Keiichi Noda) that turns its human hosts into bloodsucking corpses, basically vampires. The thing that used to be Teraoka then stalks the other survivors, who die one by one.

The Japanese title was Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro, "Vampire Gokemidoro", and it was put out by Shochiku, a studio better known for artsy movies that did a handful of horror flicks in the late 1960s. The art film aesthetic is a noticeable influence on the look of the movie, particularly the bits inside the saucer and the red flashes of war and other human atrocities. (Mrs. Neal has 'Nam flashbacks, and she wasn't even there.) It saves on budget with a limited cast and few sets, but doesn't look cheap.

The story is pessimistic about human nature. Most of the characters are either horrible people to begin with, or reveal their inner beast under pressure. It's mentioned a couple of times that perhaps humanity deserves to be wiped out by the Gokemidoro invaders, which leads into the notorious downer ending.

Some aspects of the story are never explained, such as Teraoka's original motivation or plans, or what Matsumiya thought he was up to with the bomb thing. The onscreen Gokemidoro's actions also don't make a lot of sense given what happens offscreen, but perhaps they were an exceptionally sadistic member of their species.

A couple of neat bits: Mrs. Neal only speaks English, so the stewardess or co-pilot have to translate for her sometimes. Teraoka was meant to be the heavy all the way through, but the actor had to leave before filming was complete, so the script had a quick rewrite to allow Gokemidoro to switch hosts. This is all to the good, as it emphasizes how screwed the survivors are.

Some of the special effects are outdated, like the obviously fake rocks in the avalanche sequences. But the blob alien oozing in and out of wounds is still effective and creepy.

Content note: It's horror, so human death comes as no surprise, but several birds splatter messily against windows. Body horror. Dubious consent sexual touching (fully clothed). Mention of domestic abuse. Alcohol abuse. Late teens and up who are good with horror should be okay.

Goke is not a masterpiece, but it's an interesting movie that delivers on the shocks. Recommended to J-horror fans.

Current Mood: drained

The Black Cat (1934) dir. Edgar G. Ulmer

Mystery writer Paul Alison (David Manners) and his bride Joan (Julie Bishop) are spending their honeymoon in Hungary, starting with a private compartment on the Orient Express. As so often happens, the railway company accidentally double-booked their compartment with a courtly but somewhat sinister-seeming middle-aged gentleman. This is Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Bela Lugosi), who is returning to Hungary to visit a friend after spending fifteen years in a Russian prisoner of war camp, and then some years traveling. Since it will only be a few hours, the Alisons agree to share their space.

At their stop, it's raining heavily and the Alisons board a bus for the Hotel Hungaria, which Dr. Werdegast is also planning to stay at. The driver explains a bit of the local history. The location they're traveling through was the site of a fierce battle during World War One, during which the fort defending the area was taken and destroyed by the Russians. On the ruins of the fort has been built the modern house of engineer/architect Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff). In the heavy storm, the bus crashes, killing the driver and wounding Joan.

There's nothing for it but to head to Engineer Poelzig's house, which is convenient for Dr. Werdegast as the architect is the old friend he was coming to visit. The word "friend" is perhaps a bit generous. Hjalmar was in charge of the fort during the battle, and Vitus believes that he sold out to the Russians, resulting in the fall of the stronghold and Vitus' capture. It would explain how Hjalmar escaped unscathed and had plenty of money afterwards. What the architect definitely did do, though, was lie to Vitus' wife Karen that her husband had died. He then bigamously married her and took Karen and her daughter (also named Karen) to America. And then to several other countries before circling back to Hungary, buying the site of the old fort and building his new house there.

Poelzig, despite his own sinister appearance, is not so bad a host that he'd turn away stranded travelers, so the Alisons are allowed to stay while Joan recovers. Also, he finds Joan striking in a way that reminds him of Karen, as did Werdegast. Hjalmar claims to Vitus that both Karens are long dead, but that's not entirely true. Dark deeds are afoot as the new moon and a Satanic Mass approach!

This movie was the first time Karloff and Lugosi had appeared together, and they have good chemistry which explains why they were so often matched in other films. The best parts of the film are them playing the game of being polite and friendly while trying to outmaneuver each other mentally and being charmingly sinister.

The set design is excellent, the modernistic house with its tricks, above the remaining caverns of the old fort with their dark secrets. There's also a nice soundtrack with classical pipe organ music.

The Alisons are...okay for their roles. They're the ordinary folks who have stumbled into a decades long feud and have no context for what's going on. Joan's actress does get to stretch her acting muscles a bit during a sequence where's she's been drugged and severely out of character.

As expected by the title, there is a cat. However, since the title was chosen first for the Edgar Allen Poe spooky cred, but not any story ideas, it's not a central character. Dr. Werdegast is violently ailurophobic, and attempts to kill Engineer Poelzig's pet cat. (There's a yowl offstage and the cat is claimed to have been killed.) There's some discussion of the possible Satanic connections of black cats and the notion that cats have nine lives, and later the cat shows up alive and well without even a bandage. It plays no part in the climax, and as far as we know survives the ending.

The cultists who show up late in the movie for the Black Mass are a little disappointing; they're extras there to fill up space and remarkably passive. One of them at least gets to play the organ.

There's a couple of actual humor bits to lighten the tone. Two gendarmes with very strong views about which of their home towns are the most tourist friendly, the actual words of the Black Mass (but for that you need to know Latin) and a bit at the end where Mr. Alison reads a review of one of his books that criticizes unbelievable plots.

Content note: Murder, lesser violence, no blood. Poelzig keeps his previous victims on display. Also, he married his stepdaughter and is an overcontrolling husband. Peril to a cat. Younger viewers may need some guidance.

This is a must-see movie for both Karloff and Lugosi fans as they're true co-stars here. It's just over an hour long, so would make a good double feature for family scary movie night.

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) dir. Terence Fisher

Six years ago, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Paul Massie) was laughed out of the scientific community for his wild theories about the dual nature of human consciousness. Since then, he's been a recluse spending the majority of his time on his experiments with lab animals, and neglecting his lovely wife Kitty Jekyll (Dawn Addams). He has only two regular visitors, Dr. Ernst Lithauer (David Kossoff), the only scientist that didn't write him off, but worries about his health, and Paul Allen (Christopher Lee), a wastrel and gambler who befriended Jekyll at school, and hits him up for money whenever the cards go bad. (Good thing Dr. Jekyll has an independent income and doesn't need to work for a living!) Kitty frequently badmouths Paul to her husband, but is secretly having an affair with him.

As you might have expected from knowing this story already, Dr. Jekyll invents a formula that alters his personality, turning him into the "limitless" Mr. Edward Hyde. On his first night out on the town, Hyde happens to run into Kitty and Paul, and charms his way into being their new best friend. Shortly thereafter, Hyde also takes an interest in exotic dancer Maria (Norma Marla) and starts courting her. But he has two problems. The first is that the formula keeps wearing off, returning him to the dull and weak Jekyll. The second is that the world isn't ready for a man who's truly without limit, who is completely "free."

This movie was the second of three times Hammer Studios adapted the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The first is relatively obscure comedy The Ugly Duckling (1959) and the third was the even more lurid Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971). As it was already much-adapted and has become part of the background knowledge of our culture, much of the interest is in how the changes are rung.

This Doctor Jekyll dismisses the notions of "good" and "evil", instead talking of "man as he could be", the part of our nature that aspires to improvement and higher behavior, and "man as he would be", freed of internal constraints and free to act on any impulse. He must confront and understand the "would be" man, he says, in order to create the "could be" man. Henry is a hirsute introvert, speaking in a husky voice and laser-focused on his research. Edward is a clean-shaven extrovert, brimming with self-confidence and superficially charming, but easily distracted by his latest whim.

Hyde is amused by the fact that Paul and Kitty don't realize who he is, and thinks that first enabling Paul's bad habits and then using them to extort the man into "giving" him Kitty is a hilarious joke, having an affair with his own wife! And while he's a monster morally, this Hyde isn't especially powerful, getting himself drunk and mugged because he's not experienced in the ways of the underworld.

Kitty is unfortunately the old cliche of the "anti-science wife." She has zero interest in or understanding of her husband's research. That research takes up ninety percent of his time, and they're childless, so Mrs. Jekyll feels stifled and bored. She spends a lot of her time keeping up with social engagements that Henry can't be bothered with, which gives her plenty of cover to go dancing and...other things with Paul. She does recognize that while Paul is a lot more fun than Henry, he's not exactly a good provider. And while she's charmed by Edward, she has enough on her plate.

Paul is not a good person, in fact he's a rotter, but he, unlike Hyde, has limits. He might sucker-punch a man, but won't keep pounding on him once he's down, but Hyde will. He's okay with taking Dr. Jekyll's money and diddling his wife, but only as long as Kitty is okay with this. He enjoys taking Edward around to the fleshpots of the city when that man is funding his debts, but it turns out he's pretty conventional in his own vices, and balks once he learns Hyde's full price. Christopher Lee is of course a delight in the role.

Alicia is a proud young woman who trusts her constrictor snake more than men, and deservedly so. She's in an occupation that leaves her very vulnerable to the law and her clients, so she has to understand her own worth and keep up her defenses. She falls hard for the supremely confident and virile Hyde, which leads to tragedy.

Content: Murder, suicide, bareknuckle boxing, assault. Marital infidelity, extramarital sex (off camera), prostitution, sexual assault. Partial nudity, lots of women's outfits that are way too skimpy for 1874, exotic dancing. One extended dance number is basically just women flashing their undies over and over like they were in a shounen ecchi anime. Alcohol and opium abuse. Ophidiophobes should be aware there are several snake scenes. Ophidiophiles will be delighted to know the snake does not die. Gendered slurs. Older teens should be okay, maybe don't show this one to preteens. The "Icons of Horror" DVD has the full movie, other versions have minor cuts for content.

Overall: A less-seen but still good version of the Jekyll and Hyde story. Most recommended to Christopher Lee fans, but horror fans in general should enjoy this.

Current Music: "Vermont Open Road"

The Return of Dracula (1958) dir. Paul Landres

It is a known fact that Count Dracula (Francis Lederer) is a real person, a vampire who drains the blood of the living and creates others of his kind. He's been terrorizing central Europe for decades, evading attempts to permanently destroy him. At the beginning of the movie, a well-trained and disciplined squad of government vampire hunters just misses Dracula as he boards a train towards his next destination. As it happens, also aboard the train is one Bellac Gordal, an artist who has been given permission to emigrate to America. Bellac bears a resemblance to the vampire. Dracula seizes the opportunity to kill and replace Bellac to go to a new country where no one will be prepared for him.

Once in America, "Bellac" comes to Carleton, California, a small town where his cousin Cora Mayberry (Greta Granstedt) lives. Cora moved to America as a child, and is fully Americanized down to her Californian accent. A widow, Cora takes in sewing to supplement her income, and lives with her teenage daughter Rachel (Norma Eberhardt) and preteen son Mickey (Jimmy Baird). Rachel and next door neighbor Tim Hansen (Ray Stricklyn) are sweet on each other, and Tim does chauffeuring of the family members as he has a car. Mickey's primary interest is playing with his cat Nugget, which has the bad habit of exploring the local dangerous cave. (Looks like an attempt at mining was made there, but no one ever calls it "the mine.")

Cora barely recognizes her cousin, but it has been decades since she's seen Bellac and no photographs of him as an adult. He was peculiar even as a child, and between being a foreigner and an artist, his eccentricities are easily shrugged off.

Dracula installs his coffin in the nearby cave, and kills Nugget (offscreen) for trespassing. (See, folks, this is why you shouldn't have an outdoor cat.) He soon kills and turns lovely but blind local girl Jennie Blake (Virginia Vincent) into one of the undead, but his true target is Rachel, who he wants to be his eternal companion. This is played almost as creepy as it sounds.

The vampire doesn't have it all his own way. John Merriman (John Wengraf), a representative of the European Police Agency and one of the vampire hunters we saw earlier, has figured out that Dracula was one of the immigration group on the train an unidentified corpse was thrown out of, and is working with the American immigration agency to check up on Bellac. Mack Bryant (Charles Tannen) doesn't seem to catch on that Cora knows more about Bellac's childhood than he does, but does snap a picture of the immigrant with his concealed camera.

Dracula orders Jennie to murder Bryant in case he has second thoughts, but this just tells Merriman he's on the right track. Especially when it turns out that Bellac doesn't show up on film.

The forces of law and the church start closing in on Dracula on Halloween night, but will they be in time to save Rachel?

This is a solid B-movie. Lederer is a sharp presence who knows how to stare creepily--not quite Lugosi level, but well enough. This Dracula has kept up with the times and knows how to not look or act entirely out of place but just enough to be uncanny but explainable. His interest in teenage girls is depicted as predatory rather than romantic. He might speak prettily but that isn't the behavior of someone who wants an actual partner. A nice touch is that while we never see Dracula painting as part of his cover as an artist, we do eventually see that he has been painting, and why we have not seen it before.

Wengraf is also good and understated as the experienced vampire hunter. He doesn't make amateur mistakes like trying to confront Dracula while the monster is awake and able to fight back.

The rest of the cast ranges from adequate to okay. Mickey and his juvenile antics are on screen surprisingly little, so he doesn't overstay his welcome. The teen romance angle is a bit more wearisome, but appropriately awkward and believable. Cora should probably be more suspicious of Bellac than she is, with all the odd hints, but she's juggling a lot of balls.

The one character I would like to have seen more of was Jennie post-vampirism. She can now "see" after years of blindness and being basically bedridden. What's she doing with her nights besides being Dracula's attack dog?

Special effects are kept to a minimum to keep the budget down. No elaborate makeup, dry ice, a couple of camera tricks. There's one special shock moment, but I won't spoil it in this paragraph. This works pretty well.

Political: While it's never directly said, it's implied that the Central European country Bellac and Cora come from is a Communist one (or became one since Cora left) as there's a frequent mention of how Bellac wasn't "free" there. The immigration agent is surprisingly polite and deferential compared to current day portrayals.

Content note: Several deaths, a couple bloody. A cat dies horribly offscreen. That whole thing with Dracula preying on teenage girls. Teenagers on up should be okay, and younger watchers with adult guidance.

Overall: Again, a solid B-movie. The Halloween timing of the story makes it a good choice for a spooky season watch that's not too graphic or likely to cause nightmares.

Bangkok Haunted (2001) dir. Oxide Chun Pang

We open on a moving truck in the Thai countryside, heading for Bangkok. The man sitting in the back taking care of the packages gets scratched by...something. The moment he realizes he's in a horror story, he jumps out the back of the truck, which would ordinarily be a stupid thing to do, but in this case makes him the smartest person in the movie. (Looks like he survives, anyway.) The driver isn't shown to be concerned about the disappearance of his partner when he delivers the boxes to Jieb (Pimsiree Pimsee), who I think is a grad student. Among the boxes is one that doesn't belong to her, which contains an antique drum of a style favored before World War Two.

Jieb calls in her professor, and we flashback to the tragic tale of Paga (also Pimsiree Pimsee). Paga was a young orphan adopted by a music/dance teacher and trained to become a traditional style dancer. She developed a bond with the teacher's deformed son Gnod, who was good at neither music nor dance, but a skilled woodcarver. When Paga has matured into a beautiful young woman, she is courted by the handsome Fond, and finds him agreeable. Unfortunately, while Paga loved Gnod like a brother, he loved her in a different way, and became violently jealous. On the night of Paga's engagement to Fond, she and Gnod disappeared and were never seen again.

In the present, the antique drum seems to be the center of bizarre events, and eventually Jieb learns the full story behind the events, with dangerous repercussions.

It's at this point we learn the movie has a framing sequence of three women in a Bangkok coffee bar trading horror stories. Jieb has left the end of her tale a bit ambiguous, and the other two woman complain about that.

The second story features Pan (Dawan Singha-Wee), a sexually frustrated young woman. She's not thrilled when her next-door neighbor brings home a man and she can hear them having wild sex through the wall. Pan is surprised though, when she wakes up the next morning and the neighbors are still at it. The neighbor attributes her success, and multiple husbands she's outlived, to "Ply Essence", an aphrodisiac perfume. She has a drop left for Pan to try.

Pan manages to snag a random hookup at the club that night, and the sex is awesome, but the man falls ill the next morning. Maybe there are side effects?

While waiting for her own bottle (there are supply issues--and the audience gets to see the secret ingredient, it's just as gross as you were expecting), Pan gets a hankering for Tim, a handsome fellow who takes the same ferry to work that she does. Too bad he seems to have a girlfriend!

Once she has her supply of Ply Essence, Pan decides to overuse it in a non-recommended way. Good news is, she's now with Tim forever. Bad news is, she's now with Tim forever.

The final story has handsome police detective Nop (Pete Thongchua) investigating the death of Kanya (Kalyanut Sriboonrueng), a woman found hanged from a rafter. It's been ruled a suicide, but Nop notices the evidence doesn't support that. The chief is absolutely convinced it's a suicide and tells Nop to drop the case. In the tradition of cowboy cops everywhere, Nop continues his investigation on the down low. Was it Vinal, Kanya's abusive husband, or her secret lover In? The careful viewer will probably spot the significance of some clues before Nop does, but the real solution to the case is still a shocker.

The supernatural elements in this last story are very minor, and it could have worked as a straight police thriller (very Alfred Hitchcock Presents), but put the story in a very different context by being present.

And there's a last twist in the framing sequence.

Good: Watching foreign horror movies is always an adventure. The filmmakers bring their own culture to the table, with their own ideas of what's scary and what's "normal." They might have taken on ideas and craft from Hollywood, (there are Nightmare Before Christmas and Fiddler on the Roof t-shirts visible) but with their own accents and innovations. This movie does that very well, especially with the use of traditional Thai music in the first story. The cinematography is good, and I thought the acting worked well.

Less Good: The editing uses a lot of freeze-frame transitions that made me think for the first couple that my DVD player was stalling, and kept irritating me thereafter. Not revealing the framing sequence until after the first story confused me. Several actors appear in multiple segments, causing questions about whether they were playing the same characters in each or just keeping cast cost down.

Political: The third story looks like it's going into "copaganda" (police officers do unethical/illegal things and are treated by the story as though they're the heroes for doing so) territory, but by the end it's an ACAB story.

Content note: Oh Lordy. Gore, death, closeups of wounds and internal organs, body horror, forced abortion, suicide. Female toplessness, on screen extramarital sex (no genitals), dubious consent sex. Vomiting, other body fluids. Ableism. You'd better have a strong stomach.

Overall: A very good horror film with a couple of irritating flaws. Recommended to horror fans who are okay with the gore and can handle subtitles.

Current Music: "Haunted Halloween Night"

Weird Woman (1944) dir. Reginald Le Borg

Paula Slayton's (Anne Gwynne) mother passed away when she was quite young. Her father, a professor of archaeology, died when she was in her early teens, and she was thereafter raised by her native nurse Laraua (Hanna Kaapa) and taught the native ways, including (what they believed to be) powerful protective magic. Years later, as an adult, she met one of her father's old students, Norman Reed (Lon Chaney, Jr.) who'd returned to the islands and witnessed a ceremony Paula was part of. One thing led to another, they fell in love and got married, and Norman took Paula Clayton Reed back to the college where he was a professor.

Paula's reception is mixed. Dean of Men Septimus Carr (Harry Hayden) is a bit of a lecher, and appreciates Paula's fresh-faced beauty. His much younger sister, and campus librarian, Ilona Carr (Evelyn Ankers) is frosty. She was under the impression that she was the woman Norman was interested in (he thought of it as a mild flirtation) and is seething at the perceived betrayal. Professor Millard Sawtelle (Ralph Morgan), a colleague of Norman's in the sociology department, is indifferent to Paula. But his wife Evelyn Sawtelle (Elizabeth Russell) is hostile because she sees Professor Reed's successful new book as a threat to her husband's becoming head of the department, and Paula is associated with that. Dean of Women Grace Gunnison (Elisabeth Risdon), who has risen as far as a woman can at the college, and thinks of Norman like a favorite nephew, is kind.

Wanting to support her husband, Paula continues to perform her rituals of protection and good luck. However, Norman believes the supernatural is a bunch of superstitious rubbish, and her odd behavior is causing him embarrassment. Finally, he puts his foot down, demands that she give up magic, and destroys her tools, including the good luck amulet bestowed upon Paula by Laraua.

Immediately thereafter, things start going horribly wrong for our couple, starting with the suicide of Professor Sawtelle, which Mrs. Sawtelle believes Norman is responsible for. Margaret (Lois Collier), a student with a crush on Norman, comes on to him, gets rejected, and her would-be swain David Jennings (Phil Brown) misconstrues what happened with lethal results. Are the Reeds truly cursed?

This Universal Pictures horror movie is loosely based on the novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber Jr. It was done as part of the "Inner Sanctum" series of films, and complete cuts start with a floating head in a crystal ball (David Hoffman) welcoming us to that location.

Unlike the novel, where one of the major plot points is that magic is 100% real, this movie primarily goes with non-supernatural explanations. In the first half of the movie, we see Ilona setting up the disaster dominoes with mundane lies and innuendo. She's clever and evil, but probably not a witch. The seemingly magical events could all be remarkable coincidences and the power of suggestion. Still, the setup and cinematography place this story squarely in the horror category.

Mr. Chaney is fine, but this movie really belongs to the female characters, particularly Ms. Ankers as Ilona, her only "villain" role. She does cold fury and sly manipulation well, and then the mental breakdown as she is led to believe that she herself has been cursed to die.

Conjure Wife has been adapted into movies twice more, of which Night of the Eagle is considered the most faithful.

Content note: Off-screen suicide, someone is lethally shot during a struggle (no blood), we see the shadow of someone being hanged. Harassing phone calls. The depiction of the natives is...dated, but not as bad as in other movies of the time. Older teens should be fine.

This movie is an underrated gem, and well worth searching out. It's just over an hour, so would do well as part of a double feature with another horror or thriller movie.

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Entries tagged with horror

CRUD Challenge: Die! Die! My Darling!

CRUD Challenge: Attack of the Giant Leeches

CRUD Challenge: Isle of the Dead (1945)

CRUD Challenge: Hand of Death

CRUD Challenge" A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

CRUD Challenge: The Raven (1935)

CRUD Challenge: Freaks (1932)

CRUD Challenge: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

CRUD Challenge: Mark of the Vampire

CRUD Challenge: Ghostbusters 2

CRUD Challenge: The Living Skeleton

CRUD Challenge: Doctor X (1932)

CRUD Challenge: Bloody Pit of Horror

CRUD Challenge: Beast from Haunted Cave

CRUD Challenge: Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell

CRUD Challenge: The Black Cat (1934)

CRUD Challenge: The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

CRUD Challenge: The Return of Dracula (1958)

CRUD Challenge: Bangkok Haunted

CRUD Challenge: Weird Woman