Horror Film Review: The Revenge of Frankenstein (dir by Terence Fisher)

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last year, Gary reviewed the first of the Hammer Frankenstein films, The Curse of Frankenstein. For today’s horror film review, I’m going to take a look at the second movie in Hammer’s Frankenstein series, 1958’s The Revenge of Frankenstein!

The Revenge of Frankenstein opens where The Curse of Frankenstein ended. The monster (played by Christopher Lee in the first film) has been destroyed and Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) has been sentenced to be executed for the monster’s crimes. However, the Baron escapes the guillotine. Instead, he arranges for a priest to be beheaded in his place. Working under the name Dr. Stein, the Baron escapes to another village and, after several years, re-establishes himself as a wealthy and respected doctor. While most of his patients are rich, Dr. Stein also helps the poor and the disabled. By all accounts, he’s doing wonderful work but he’s also deliberately enigmatic, refusing to join the local doctors council.

Right from the beginning, we’re reminded of just how different Hammer’s Baron Frankenstein was from Universal’s version of the good doctor. In the Universal films, Dr. Frankenstein — regardless of whether the doctor in question was Henry, Wolf, or Ludwig — was always portrayed as being misguided but ultimately noble. If any of the Universal Frankensteins had been sentenced to death, it’s probable that they would have put on a stoic face, walked to the guillotine, and allow their head to roll. In fact, they would have felt so responsible for the actions of the Monster that they probably would feel it was their moral duty to allow themselves to be executed.

That’s not the case when it comes to Hammer’s Baron Frankenstein. Baron Frankenstein feels no guilt over what the Monster has done. Go the guillotine? No way! Baron Frankenstein is determined to create life and if creating life means that other, lesser mortals end up dead … well, so be it. As opposed to the Universal Frankensteins, who all developed god complexes after the success of their experiment, Baron Frankenstein has his god complex from the beginning. And if Baron Frankenstein is a god, why shouldn’t a priest be sacrificed for the good of the Baron’s work?

Anyway, Dr. ~~Franken~~Stein and his assistant, Dr. Kleve (Francis Matthews) are determined to once again bring the dead back to life. This time, the plan involves transplanting the brain of hunchback Karl (Oscar Quitak) into a physically strong body (played by Michael Gwynn). Dr. Kleve is worried that a brain transplant could lead to unforseen complications. For instance, one of Dr. Stein’s chimpanzees reacts to being given an orangutan’s brain by turning into a cannibal. However, Stein tells Dr. Kleve not to worry about it. After all, what could go wrong?

Well, a lot goes wrong. It’s a Frankenstein movie, after all.

I have to admit that, while I love Hammer’s Dracula films, I’ve never been a huge fan of their take on Frankenstein. While Peter Cushing always makes for a wonderfully compelling and often chillingly evil Baron Frankenstein, the majority of the Hammer Frankenstein films always seem to move way too slowly. Whenever I watch one of them, I always find myself growing rather impatient with the endless scenes of grave robbery and body stitching. “HURRY UP AND BRING THAT DAMN THING TO LIFE!” I’ll find myself shouting.

However, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well The Revenge of Frankenstein holds up. That Cushing would give an excellent performance as Baron Frankenstein is to be expected. But really, the entire film is well-acted and both Oscar Quitak and Michael Gwynn give poignant performances as Frankenstein’s latest experiment. It’s a visually vibrant and nicely paced horror film, one that never drags like some of the later Hammer Frankenstein films.

The Curse of Frankenstein and The Revenge of Frankenstein make for a great double feature, especially in October!

Halloween Havoc!: ZOMBIE (Variety Film 1979)

Posted on October 21, 2016 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

I’ll admit, I’m a latecomer to the Lucio Fulci bandwagon. I viewed my first film by The Maestro, THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY , earlier this year, and absolutely loved it! I’ve been looking for more Fulci films to discover ever since, and recently recorded his most famous, ZOMBIE, off the El Rey Network (which I highly recommend to Grindhouse fans out there). ZOMBIE goes by many names, but this is the title I watched it under, so we’ll stick with that.

From that opening shot of a gun pointed at the camera, then blasting the head of a rising corpse, I knew I was in for a good time! After the credits roll, we see a derelict ship floating in New York harbor. The harbor patrol boards it, and find it deserted, with rotting food and supplies strewn everywhere. One of the cops investigates further, and is killed by a zombie…

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Horror on the Lens: The Curse (dir by David Keith)

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s horror on the lens is 1987’s The Curse!

This slice of rural horror is based on H.P. Lovecraft’s The Colour From Outer Space and, somewhat oddly, it was produced by Lucio Fulci. The Curse, in this case, is a meteorite the lands near a farm and poisons all the crops. Mayhem follows.

Seriously, country livin’ sucks. That’s why I’m glad to live in the suburbs, away from all the aliens and the poisoned meteorites.

The TSL’s Daily Horror Grindhouse: High Tension (dir by Alexandre Aja)

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oh God.

As I watched the end of High Tension, my immediate reaction was to storm out of my office, walk down the hallway, kick open the door to Arleigh’s mancave and yell at him for recommending this film to me. But then, I realized that Arleigh never recommended that I watch High Tension. He recommended La Horde and I got my French horror movies mixed up.

So, Arleigh is off the hook. I have no one to blame but myself and the filmmakers.

Anyway, High Tension is one of those films that starts out well but then totally falls apart due to a big twist that doesn’t make any sense. It’s also a pretty obvious rip-off of a Dean Koontz novel called Intensity. Intensity is a really good book, by the way. Perhaps not coincidentally, that awful twist that ruins High Tension is not present in Intensity. That twist was the one original thing that was contributed to High Tension and it pretty much ruined the whole movie.

Anyway, in High Tension, Marie (Cecile de France) and Alex (Maiwenn) are law students and best friends. Marie is spending the weekend with Alex’s family. She meets Alex’s mom. She meets Alex’s dad. She walks around at night and smokes a cigarette and sits on a swing and briefly spies on Alex as she showers. And then, during the night, a killer (Philippe Nahon) suddenly shows up, kills mom and dad, and kidnaps Alex! Determined to save her friend’s life, Marie chases the killer across the French countryside. For a while, she’s locked in the killer’s truck with Marie. And then, later on, she’s in a car and she’s chasing the truck. Because of the twist, it’s important to pay attention to the scenes where Marie is in a car and chasing the killer’s truck. Because, honestly, I’m not sure how any of that was supposed to have actually happened…

See, I love a good twist. I love a clever twist. I love an implausible twist. I love twists that are totally and completely over the top. What I do not like is a totally and completely unfair twist, one that cheats by basically defying the laws of the physics.

What’s truly unfortunate is that the film works perfectly without the twist. The twist is not necessary. (For proof, just read Intensity.) Up until the twist, the film is well-directed and suspenseful. Cecile de France, Maiween, and Nahon all give excellent performances. The film’s graphic violence may be excessive but it’s still undeniably effective. The nightmare-inducing gore effects were provided by Giannetto De Rossi, who created some of the most effective zombie makeup of all time for Lucio Fulci’s Zombi 2.

I mean, there’s so much that works and then just hit that twist and you shout, “Dammit!”

It could have been so good.

Horror Film Review: Dracula (dir by John Badham)

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I have to admit that, when I first sat down to watch the 1979 version of Dracula, I wasn’t expecting much. I hadn’t even heard of the film until I came across it on Encore and, when I considered that it was made in 1979, I immediately assumed it would be a disco Dracula film.

And, let’s be honest — a disco Dracula film sounds kinda fun. But still, it’s Halloween. Dracula is an icon of horror. And somehow, the idea of watching disco Dracula just was not appealing. It would be appealing in November or September. BUT THIS IS OCTOBER!

Well, despite my misgivings, I watched the film and I quickly discovered that it wasn’t a disco Dracula at all. This Dracula takes place in 1913 and there’s actually very little about it that would lead you to suspect that it had been made in the 1970s. Instead, it feels more like a tribute to the colorful and lushly erotic Dracula films that Hammer produced in the 60s. Except, oddly, the Hammer films were far more bloody than the 1979 version. Oh, don’t get me wrong. There’s a few gory scenes in 1979’s Dracula. Towards the end of the film, there’s a rather bloody impaling. Dracula graphically breaks another character’s neck as we watch. But, even with those scenes in mind, the 1979 Dracula feels oddly restrained at times.

In this version of Dracula, the title character is played by a youngish Frank Langella. I have to admit that it was a bit odd to see Langella playing someone other than a corrupt authority figure. Dare I say it, Langella is almost sexy in this film and his somewhat feral features are perfect for a character who considers wolves to be “the children of the night.” Langella’s performance falls between the haughty charm of Bela Lugosi and the animalistic fury of Christopher Lee. And while Langella’s performance never quite reaches the heights of those two actors, he’s still effectively cast.

As for the film itself, it starts with a shipwreck near a local asylum. One of the passengers on that ship is the charming but mysterious Count Dracula. Dracula introduces himself to the head of the asylum, Dr. Jack Seward (Donald Pleasence, stealing almost every scene in which he appears). There’s an immediate attraction between Dracula and Seward’s daughter, Lucy (Kate Nelligan). That does not amuse Lucy’s fiancee, Jonathan Harker (Trevor Eve, who is perhaps the whiniest Harker in film history).

Meanwhile, Lucy’s best friend, Mina (Jan Francis), has been taken ill and it might have something to do with the two puncture marks on her neck. After Mina dies, her father (played by Laurence Olivier) comes to investigate. Her father’s name? Abraham Van Helsing.

As I said, I was not expecting much from this version of Dracula so I was actually pleasantly surprised during the first hour of the film. This version gets off to a nice start, with director John Badham giving us a mix of lush romanticism and gothic moodiness. I’ve already talked about Langella’s performance but Donald Pleasence and Laurence Olivier also distinguish themselves. It’s obvious that these veteran performers enjoyed playing opposite each other and there’s a lot of pleasure to be found from watching Pleasence and Olivier compete to see who can steal the most scenes.

Unfortunately, after that strong first hour, Dracula slows down. Once Seward and Van Helsing know that Dracula is a vampire, the whole movie becomes about finding excuses for them to not do anything about it. The final 40 minutes feel almost like filler and, at one point, you’re required to believe that an elderly man, who has been seriously wounded, could still find the strength to swing a hook into a much stronger person’s back.

In the end, the 1979 Dracula is more of an intriguing oddity than a definitive version.

Halloween Havoc!: GHOST SHIP (RKO 1943)

Posted on October 20, 2016 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

Val Lewton produced some of the most memorable horror films of the 1940’s, moody, atmospheric set pieces noted for their intelligent scripts, chiaroscuro lighting, and eerie use of sound. CAT PEOPLE, THE BODY SNATCHER, and THE SEVENTH VICTIM are just three that spring to mind when I think of Lewton movies. GHOST SHIP is one of his lesser known films, a psychological thriller about a sea captain obsessed with authority who goes off the deep end, and while it’s not supernatural as the title implies, it’s a good film worth rediscovering.

A blind street singer on a fog-shrouded corner gives an ominous warning to 3rd Officer Tom Merriam, about to embark on his first voyage aboard the S.S. Altair, captained by veteran sailor Will Stone. Stone is stern but friendly, eager to teach Tom the ways of the sea, and implement his view’s of the captain’s authority. A crewman dies just…

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Horror on the Lens: Deadly Messages (dir by Jack Bender)

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s horror on the lens is a made-for-TV movie from 1985!

In Deadly Messages, Kathleen Beller plays a woman named Laura who witnesses a murder and then becomes convinced that the murderer is after her. She also finds a Ouija board that continually sends her the same message: “I am going to kill you.” The police are skeptical of Laura. Even worse, her boyfriend (Michael Brandon) is skeptical! And, needless to say, Laura may have some secrets of her own…

Deadly Messages is a lot of fun. Thank you to frequent TSL commenter Trevor Wells for suggesting this movie!

Enjoy!

The TSL’s Daily Horror Grindhouse: Subject 0: Shattered Memories (dir by Tiziano Cella)

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last year, I had the chance to watch Subject 0: Shattered Memories, the feature-length debut of director Tiziano Cella.

Subject 0 is a film that juggles several different but ultimately connected storylines. In Rome, a woman wakes up one morning to discover that her lover has been murdered while she was asleep. Her husband, at first, acts as if he’s shocked to discover that she was cheating on him but, as the film progresses, we have reason to doubt anything that he says. As the film progresses, more and more people turn up murdered. A police inspector tries to solve the crime but he has no idea that one his colleagues has an agenda of her own.

Meanwhile, Josh (played by the film’s director) divides his time between his apartment and work. He has a crush on a co-worker but she already has a boyfriend. Josh’s neighbor continually threatens to call the police on him for making too much noise. All the while, Josh finds himself having hallucinations and comes to realize that there are huge chunks of his day that he cannot remember. Is Josh the murderer or is there something else going on?

And could it have anything to do with a group of sinister business executives who have been working on a project to develop a super soldier?

As a lot of our readers I know, I absolutely love old school Italian thrillers. Whether it’s the classic giallo films of Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Sergio Martino or the gore-filled waking nightmares of Lucio Fulci, I love Italian horror. Subject 0 is a throwback to those old horror films, which is one reason why I enjoyed it. It combined the gore of Fulci with the suspense of Bava and the imagery of Argento and, as a result, Subject 0 is a tribute to everything that we love about Italian horror.

With the way that Subject O combined multiple storylines, body horror, conspiracy paranoia, and domestic drama, it also reminded me a bit of the classic British horror film, Scream and Scream Again. Much like that film, Subject 0 demands a little patience. Not all of its mysteries are immediately solveable. The clues are provided but, often times, it is up to the audience to put them together. (Subject 0 respects the intelligence of the audience and isn’t that a nice change of pace?) But for the observant viewer, Subject 0 delivers a powerful and, in its way, thought-provoking payoff.

In the end, Subject 0 is a nice combination of visceral shock and more subtle psychological thrills. Tiziano Cella does excellent work as both a director and an actor in this film and I look forward to seeing what he brings us in the future!

Halloween Havoc!: Bela Lugosi Meets The East Side Kids… Twice!

Posted on October 19, 2016 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

Ten years after making horror history as DRACULA, Bela Lugosi signed a contract with Monogram Studios producer Sam Katzman to star in a series of low-budget shockers. The films have been affectionately dubbed by fans “The Monogram Nine” and for the most part are really terrible, redeemed only by the presence of our favorite Hungarian. Two of the films were with the East Side Kids, SPOOKS RUN WILD and GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE, making them sort of Poverty Row All-Star Productions for wartime audiences.

I won’t go too deeply into all the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys variations here. Suffice it to say original Dead Enders Leo Gorcey (Muggs), Huntz Hall (Glimpy), and Bobby Jordan (Danny) landed at Monogram after their Warner Brothers contracts expired, much to Jack Warner’s relief. The young actors were a rowdy bunch, and Jack was probably glad to be rid of them! Anyway, the trio were popular with the masses, and…

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Horror Film Review: They Look Like People (dir by Perry Blackshear)

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I am sure that there are some people would probably be willing to debate me on whether or not They Look Like People should be considered a horror film. That’s fair enough. They Look Like People is a film that, in many ways, defies easy characterization. It’s a drama that is occasionally very comedic. It’s a love story that isn’t necessarily romantic. It’s an undeniably eerie film, one that keeps you guessing. It’s a film that left me feeling very uneasy. It made me jump and it made me doubt the shadows in the house and, for that reason, I feel comfortable calling it a horror film.

I can’t tell you too much about They Look Like People, not without spoiling it. This is a film where unanswered questions hang over every scene. The film eventually answers those questions but it would not be right for a reviewer to do the same thing. Usually, I hate it when people go crazy over spoilers but They Look Like People is not a film that I would ever dream of spoiling.

It’s an indie film, about two old friends. Christian (Evan Dumouchel) is still dealing with the insecurities of his youth. He obsessively listens to self-help tapes. He goes out of his way to present an image of hypermasculinity. The thing is, as hard as he tries to come across as being an alpha male, he’s not very good at it. The weakness and the insecurity is always right underneath the surface. He has a crush on his boss (Margaret Ying Drake) and, despite his issues, she seems to like him as well.

One day, Christian happens to run into his childhood friend, Wyatt (MacLeod Andrews). Wyatt, who used to have everything, now appears to be nearly homeless. Christian invites Wyatt to stay with him at his apartment. Wyatt claims that he has friends to stay with but soon, he is crashing on Christian’s couch.

Christian and Wyatt spend a lot of time talking about old times and there’s something undeniably charming about watching these two embrace the geekiness of their youth. However, what Christian does not know is that Wyatt rarely sleeps through the night. Instead, he’s regularly woken by intense nightmares. Once awake, Wyatt wanders around the apartment, hiding weapons under chairs. Occasionally, Wyatt gets a phone call from a mysterious voice that informs him that the demons will be invading soon. The demons look like people. The only way to expose them is to pour sulphuric acid on their face…

Is Wyatt crazy? Or are the demons truly coming? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out! (Look for it on Netflix. It’s there.)

They Look Like People is an amazingly creepy little film, one that repeatedly catch you off guard. (At the same time, the film does eventually provide a definitive answer to its questions. Admirably, this is not a film that tries to have it both ways.) Deliberately paced and well-acted, They Look Like People is an excellent film that will keep you guessing.