dean_martin
10-29-2009, 01:54 PM
We haven't had a good, thorough Halloween recommendations thread this year so I'll give my thoughts on some scary/horror movies I've watched recently.
For some reason, I wanted to check out some classic haunted house films. I intended to watch both The Innocents and The Haunting (1963), but I've only made it through The Innocents so far.
The Innocents (1961) is about a woman who undertakes a governness position for the uncle of two truly creepy kids whose parents died. She's taking the place of the former governness who died. As the story unfolds, we learn that the former governness had an affair with one of the hired hands at the uncle's country estate. (The uncle lives in the city and is too busy philandering to be bothered with kids.) The hired hand was a drunken brute who was killed. Strange happenings make the governness believe that the ghosts of the two lovers have come back to possess the two children - brother and sister. The classic style of acting (over-the-top emoting and a little stilted), is not my cup of tea and I found various noises in the soundtrack to be irritating at times, but there are some very memorable scenes that are actually chilling. And, again I can't say enough about the acting jobs pulled off by the kids. The film is based on The Turn of the Screw, the Henry James novella, but Truman Capote helped with the script adaptation. IMO, this one works better as a slightly creepy and disturbing film for a dark, stormy Sunday afternoon rather than as a late-night, turn-out-all-the-lights terror fest.
I intend to watch The Haunting (1963) before the weekend is over. I'm really interested in seeing a young Russ Tamblyn who played Dr. Jacoby in Twin Peaks.
Next up - Black Sabbath (1963). This Mario Bava film which relates three stories (think Trilogy of Terror - but I can only remember the story with the voodoo doll) has all the Bava characteristics: dank castle ruins, eerie but colorful lighting, mist and fog, slick camera work, etc. Boris Karloff is the host as well as the father in the last story. I actually enjoyed this one more than the critically acclaimed Black Sunday, Bava's earlier B&W horror masterpiece. It's obvious that Karloff as host is having the time of his life. He simply revels in his ghoulishness. The Les Baxter soundtrack is excellent. If you caught onto the space age bachelor pad/erotica music revival of the 90s you'll recognize his work. Anyhow, we have three stories. The first is Drop of Water based on a story by Chekov. A medium drops dead during a seance which we don't see. The story picks up with a nurse who is called to the dead lady's home to prepare the body for the funeral and burial. The medium's face is terribly distorted from fear as she was scared to death by the spirits she summoned in her final seance. The nurse notices a nice ring with a big rock on the medium's finger and takes it. Well, you can imagine what happens in a horror movie when you steal from the dead.
The second story is "The Telephone". Man, I could not take my eyes off Michele Mercier in the main role. Those Italians know how to find the babes for the big screen. The beautiful Mercier comes home one evening from a night out and begins receiving strange phone calls. It's eventually revealed that the caller is a former lover who was involved in some questionable activities, but he was killed bacause Michele's character ratted on him. Now, he's back for revenge. Interestingly, the young lady calls her dead lover's prior girl friend to make amends and asks her to come over. I loved this soap opera element which leads to some lesbian undertones. Can't beat that! Of course it's still a horror tale so things take a turn for the worse for these young lovelies.
The last story is The Wurdulak which is essentially a vampire tale. Karloff is the father of a cursed family. Here, the camera work becomes the star. The scenery/imagery represents some of the best from the early Italian horror masters. Mists, fog, castle ruins, and that strange, signature lighting in primary colors. I guess you can call it style over substance, but I'm a big fan of the style which has been repeated by Dario Argento and Bava in his later works.
I'll say a little about The Velvet Vampire - a low-budget, 70s psychedelic horror flick - but there's not much to say. It's worth a view and is closer in style to the EuroTrash horror of the late 60s and early 70s, although it's an American film. Think Jess Franco's Vampyros Lesbos and you'll be in the ballpark. I can't remember the director's name but she's female which made me curious. I have to give it props for trying to be imaginative - the vampire lives in the desert and drives a dune buggy; the dream sequences are surreal. I can understand if someone thinks this flick has no redeeming social value whatsoever, but I found it interesting. I would like to revisit it if I can find a pristine print. The print I have looks like it was probably a bootleg recorded from foreign television. Otherwise, a single viewing suffices.
For some reason, I wanted to check out some classic haunted house films. I intended to watch both The Innocents and The Haunting (1963), but I've only made it through The Innocents so far.
The Innocents (1961) is about a woman who undertakes a governness position for the uncle of two truly creepy kids whose parents died. She's taking the place of the former governness who died. As the story unfolds, we learn that the former governness had an affair with one of the hired hands at the uncle's country estate. (The uncle lives in the city and is too busy philandering to be bothered with kids.) The hired hand was a drunken brute who was killed. Strange happenings make the governness believe that the ghosts of the two lovers have come back to possess the two children - brother and sister. The classic style of acting (over-the-top emoting and a little stilted), is not my cup of tea and I found various noises in the soundtrack to be irritating at times, but there are some very memorable scenes that are actually chilling. And, again I can't say enough about the acting jobs pulled off by the kids. The film is based on The Turn of the Screw, the Henry James novella, but Truman Capote helped with the script adaptation. IMO, this one works better as a slightly creepy and disturbing film for a dark, stormy Sunday afternoon rather than as a late-night, turn-out-all-the-lights terror fest.
I intend to watch The Haunting (1963) before the weekend is over. I'm really interested in seeing a young Russ Tamblyn who played Dr. Jacoby in Twin Peaks.
Next up - Black Sabbath (1963). This Mario Bava film which relates three stories (think Trilogy of Terror - but I can only remember the story with the voodoo doll) has all the Bava characteristics: dank castle ruins, eerie but colorful lighting, mist and fog, slick camera work, etc. Boris Karloff is the host as well as the father in the last story. I actually enjoyed this one more than the critically acclaimed Black Sunday, Bava's earlier B&W horror masterpiece. It's obvious that Karloff as host is having the time of his life. He simply revels in his ghoulishness. The Les Baxter soundtrack is excellent. If you caught onto the space age bachelor pad/erotica music revival of the 90s you'll recognize his work. Anyhow, we have three stories. The first is Drop of Water based on a story by Chekov. A medium drops dead during a seance which we don't see. The story picks up with a nurse who is called to the dead lady's home to prepare the body for the funeral and burial. The medium's face is terribly distorted from fear as she was scared to death by the spirits she summoned in her final seance. The nurse notices a nice ring with a big rock on the medium's finger and takes it. Well, you can imagine what happens in a horror movie when you steal from the dead.
The second story is "The Telephone". Man, I could not take my eyes off Michele Mercier in the main role. Those Italians know how to find the babes for the big screen. The beautiful Mercier comes home one evening from a night out and begins receiving strange phone calls. It's eventually revealed that the caller is a former lover who was involved in some questionable activities, but he was killed bacause Michele's character ratted on him. Now, he's back for revenge. Interestingly, the young lady calls her dead lover's prior girl friend to make amends and asks her to come over. I loved this soap opera element which leads to some lesbian undertones. Can't beat that! Of course it's still a horror tale so things take a turn for the worse for these young lovelies.
The last story is The Wurdulak which is essentially a vampire tale. Karloff is the father of a cursed family. Here, the camera work becomes the star. The scenery/imagery represents some of the best from the early Italian horror masters. Mists, fog, castle ruins, and that strange, signature lighting in primary colors. I guess you can call it style over substance, but I'm a big fan of the style which has been repeated by Dario Argento and Bava in his later works.
I'll say a little about The Velvet Vampire - a low-budget, 70s psychedelic horror flick - but there's not much to say. It's worth a view and is closer in style to the EuroTrash horror of the late 60s and early 70s, although it's an American film. Think Jess Franco's Vampyros Lesbos and you'll be in the ballpark. I can't remember the director's name but she's female which made me curious. I have to give it props for trying to be imaginative - the vampire lives in the desert and drives a dune buggy; the dream sequences are surreal. I can understand if someone thinks this flick has no redeeming social value whatsoever, but I found it interesting. I would like to revisit it if I can find a pristine print. The print I have looks like it was probably a bootleg recorded from foreign television. Otherwise, a single viewing suffices.