Black Sabbath (1964)

Welcome again to my favorite time of year! Unlike the last two years I will be reviewing only 13 horror films rather than the 31 I did the previous years as part of my 31 Nights of Macabre Movies. There's a few reasons I'm switching this up this year but the main reason is two years ago when I started this I was unemployed and its a lot easier to take on a commitment like that when you don't have a full time job!

But this will also allow me to focus on one topic or sub-genre of horror film so I think in the end it will make it a more focused countdown than it used to be. This year I'm reviewing 13 Anthology Horror films, but enough blabbing lets get on with it...

NIGHT 1

       "You have no reason to be afraid."

Black Sabbath (1964), also known as I tre volti della paura (literally: The Three Faces of Fear), is an Itallian-French anthology horror film directed by Mario Bava. Black Sabbath contains 3 stories: "The Drop of Water," "The Telephone", and "The Wurdalak" with introductions by Boris Karloff.

The stories although written by Bava, Alberto Bevilaccqua, and Marcello Fondato are all based on and heavily influenced by horror literature and ghost stories. All three stories deal with the theme of a loved one returning from beyond the grave in a different way.

[This review will focus on the English version of the film]

I love Boris Karloff, and I think having him introduce the stories in this film was actually a genius way to get a wider International audience but he's really just blabbing spooky gibberish most of the time here. So my love for Boris Karloff and spooky stuff lets me enjoy these sequences but they really could have put some effort into tying what he's saying into the films more. I've read that some of these scenes were actually filmed for the American release on a Hollywood set with an unknown director, so that really makes me want to see the original release just to see if it's improved.

Like lots of other films I've reviewed from the 60s and 70s the production design always stands out to me. There was obviously an added level of care put into the sets of these films and this is another example of it really working. "The Telephone," for example was set in a (then) contemporary setting and the production design throughout is so good that the jump in time wont even be noticed by the viewer!

The English dub here is predictably quite terrible. It's amusing to me actually because I can tell the International actors are really quite good, they're just dubbed over terribly, which is common with foreign films of this era.

The clunky dub might not have been as noticeable except that these stories have a LOT of dialogue, all of these stories work very well and are quite creepy but they are very unnecessarily 'talky' that it holds back the film in my opinion. Just let the scenes play out, no need to fill the silence by having characters ramble what's going through their heads!

Hands down, the greatest thing about this film is Mario Bava's outstanding direction. Much like Black Sunday (1960) Mario Bava really knows how to move a camera and frame a shot to maximize the amount of terror and suspense. This film is a different experience entirely from Black Sunday though solely because it's in color. Bava takes the time to really think about the color in a scene and has a very unique approach to it also. He often places strange unnatural colored lights (like purple and yellow green) and often has them moving or flashing across or on and off in a shot to add a subconsciously surreal and suspenseful effect that often times as a viewer you won't really notice upfront.

I really enjoyed each of the stories in Black Sabbath. The way they're layed out is a bit weird because the first two are (arguably) ghost stories and the final story is not and is about as long as the two previous combined. But beyond that they're each great unique stories that had me on the edge of my seat! I think "The Drop of Water" is my favorite of the three because it's simplicity and how just plain creepy the whole premise is, but "The Wurdalak" is quite good and not far behind for much different reasons. There's something really admirable about how dark and bleak the story is.

As I mentioned above Boris Karloff's introductions as a framing story are quite entertaining, but when he appears in the final story "The Wurdalak," that's when you will really recall how good of an actor Boris is. His performance here as the returned father Gorca, is (in my opinion) as good as his early work in the Universal Frankenstein films!

Black Sabbath (1964) is a surprisingly terrifying film that holds up very well for its age, this is due mostly to the great stories and Mario Bava's great storytelling an camera movement. AND it has Boris Karloff!

4.5/5 Stars.

 Happy watching!



This is the first review of my 2014 run of 13 Nights of Macabre Movies! Tune in tomorrow as I review Amicus Productions' The House That Dripped Blood (1970) starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing!

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Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

NIGHT 6

     "All that I see... is horror."

 

Die, Monster, Die! (1965) is a low-budget horror film directed by Daniel Haller, produced by Roger Corman, and very loosely based on the short story The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft. Haller was a protege of Roger Corman and actually built and designed all the beautiful sets from the Corman-Poe films. For reasons that are beyond me, someone decided that Haller was capable of directing (I'm looking at you Corman) and this is his first feeble attempt. The film is in fact in the style of the Corman-Poe films, but obviously he didn't learn much from Corman, because this guy makes Roger Corman look like Alfred Hitchcock.

This film follows "American" Stephen Reinhart as he visiting his fiancee and meeting her family for the first time. However somethings very strange about this family, and no one seems to want to talk about it. But good 'o Stephen is going to investigate.

Surprisingly the mystery aspect of the film is not half bad that is if we cared about the characters we were following or it actually paid off in the end even remotely, fix those "minor" problems and the mystery would probably be worth it.

Boris Karloff isn't inherently bad in this role, but there's really not a lot for him to work with and clearly time hasn't been good to him. He does surprisingly well for 78 but damn, this surely one of his most forgettable performances in his long career.

All of these characters just aren't interesting. This is especially noticeable in the main character, Stephen. After 80 minutes with this guy I have no love for him and know pretty much nothing about him. The poor actor didn't get the memo that he was in a horror film either and plays the whole role like he's a film noir detective, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Why is this England? None of your actors are obviously British. So why transplant Lovecraft's Arkham to England? Is there something about this story that woudn't work in America that I'm missing? Better yet, why pick this story? This is the second film EVER made based on an H.P. Lovecraft tale. You have his whole library of work to pick from and you choose this story which isn't an easy adaptation, and then use the most basic elements from the story and pretty much make up the rest.

There's a point where this story just gives up on the mystery and just de-evolves into a 1970 radiation scare film? (Talk about dating the film!) Is that why you chose this story because you thought it would be edgy and relevant? I bet they thought: "Yup, this is definitely going to be some profound art 30 years from now."

I think the biggest sin of this film is that it just isn't interesting at all. It's actually quite possible that the title is more exciting than any single point in this film.

And the cherry on top of the whole mess? There is a surprising number of really bad jump scares in this film! There was a couple minutes where I really thought I was watching a modern horror film. Way to be modern and a head of your time in the worse way possible!

Big surprise, can't find anything magnificent about this one. Except maybe that someone tried to ape Roger Corman's style and ended up failing horribly. That alone is kind of amazing when you think about it. You know it's bad when it's not even laughably bad, just miserably bad.

Die, Monster, Die! (1965) is a serious snoozer, pass on this one unless you... well no, just take my advice and pass on this one.

1.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!




My H.P. Lovecraft streak continues tomorrow on The 31 Nights of Macabre Movies with The Dunwich Horror (1970), unfortunately by the same director as this stinker, but don't let that scare you away fortunately tomorrow's is quite a bit better!

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The Corman-Poe Cycle

1. The House of Usher (1960) (based on the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher")
2. The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) (based on the short story of the same name)
3. The Premature Burial (1962) (based on the short story of the same name)
4. Tales of Terror (1962) (based on the short stories "Morella", "The Black Cat", "The Cask of Amontillado", and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar")
5. The Raven (1963) (based on the poem of the same name)
6. The Haunted Palace (1963) (based on H.P. Lovecraft's novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, using the title from Poe's 1839 poem)
7. The Masque of Red Death (1964) (based on the short story of the same name with another Poe short story, "Hop-Frog", used as a sub-plot.)
8. The Tomb of Ligeia (1965) (based on the short story "Ligeia")

Frankenstein (1931)

DAY 25

"Crazy, am I? We'll see whether I'm crazy or not."

Frankenstein (1931) is a classic monster movie, loosely based on Mary Shelly's original novel.

I really love the story of this classic film. They opted to not follow the novel very closely at all, but there are moments that were obviously lifted. Instead this movie tells an mostly different and original story, but still manages to be very dark and creepy. The film poses some cool questions about religion and god that I love, and (although different from the novel) still paints The Monster in a somewhat innocent light.

Director James Whale's sense of humor is present in this film, as all of his other films I've seen. While not as prevelant as in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) this film still has plenty if you're not too busy being horrified! Also want to mention that I was surprised how modern the camera workis on this film. It's got moments that don't really work, but you can tell that someone put a lot of creative thought into the camera moves and setups.

Like many movies from this era the film seems a bit dated when viewed today, although interestingly not half as bad as Dracula (1931) which came out the same year and was produced by the same studio. Some of the dialogue is weak, character throughlines aren't fully completed and some elements are a bit forced into the story soley for their thematic impact.

One of the most amazing things about this film is the acting. There's a great cast and they pretty much all play very memorable parts. Shining star of the film would have to be Dr. Henry Frankenstein played by Colin Clive, he dances the line of insanity and ernest so well it blows me away everytime I see it. Followed closely by Boris Karloff's portrayal of The Monster, he brings such an awesome level of depth to something that could have easily just been a man in a monster suit. Comic relief is mainly split between Henry's amusing hunchbacked assistant Fritz, played by the always amazing character actor Dwight Frye, and Henry's father the Baron Frankenstein (played by Frederick Kerr) who's humorus comments bring a lot of light to some otherwise very dark moments.

Looking back on this film it's easy to forget to mention Jack Pierce's makeup and design of The Monster. This image for the Monster is so engraved into us these days that it's interesting to wonder about Peirce's inspiration for this design. The end result is a very original look that really makes you forget there's an actor behind all of it and let's you just see The Monster in front of you!

Frankenstein (1931) is a bit dated today but one of those very early movies that shows a lot of thought and potential, and is still very enjoyable in my opinion. And this movie was crazy infuential, there's parts of this movie that everyone knows (or at least knows of). Such a wide impact like that from a film is very hard to come by. 4/5 stars.

Happy watching!





For further stimulation:
Check out my review of the wonderful sequel to this film: Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Also check out my good friend Daimeon's recent review of these films here.

And be sure to see his great review of the original novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Part of his awesome series 13 Frightening Fictions (for free!)

Did you know that Universal just released 8 of their classic monster movies on blu-ray in one set!? You can support this blog by buying this film (and 7 other classics) through these links:

The Body Snatcher (1945)

DAY 19

"I must be rid of you. You've become a cancer, a malignant evil cancer rotting my mind!"

The Body Snatcher (1945) is a horror film about what is right and moral and what one needs to do for the good of others. The story revolves around a Dr. MacFarlane and his new pupil, Donald Fettes. Fettes quickly meats a Cabman by the name of John Gray who has some kind of history with MacFarlane, but the Doctor won't speak of it, and Fettes realizes there's something very strange about how Dr. MacFarlane gets the bodies for his dissections from Mr. Gray.

I really like this story a lot, this is probably due to the fact that it's based on a short story by Robert Luis Stevenson (author of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Treasure Island.) It's a very, very dark story that was inspired by the true events of the Burke and Hare Murders and has a very Poe-esque feel to it.

And while the sets really aren't that amazing compared to many of this movie's day, this film has them lit perfectly in each scene. There's a whole lot of really great mood and darkness that is accomplished in this film way better than most of the Universal Horror movies of the era.

I must warn you this is a pretty slow film. Audiences today might not be able to deal with how slow it is, but it is all for a purpose: to set the mood. This is a very moody film. It takes lots of time to dwell on shots, show the quiet of the night or how a character is feeling and all this is done amazingly with limited soundtrack use! All this isn't really a negative I'm just giving fair warning, but if you are patient the second half of the film will definitely pay off and reward those who can wait.

The setting of this film really ties into the theme which I thought was amazing. Set in 1831, this is a time when the new advances in Science require some bending of the morals that have chained society for hundreds of years. This is something I don't see too much these days and I really enjoyed how it was used in this film.

I really loved all of the characters in this film, they're all very well defined and very likable (each in their own way), but the stand out role in this film is the Cabman Mr. Gray played by Boris Karloff. Karloff is absolutely amazing in this role, he plays it in such a crazy sinister way, but also has a very humorous approach to it so that you almost like the guy! It's a trip, and this film is absolutely worth watching just for Karloff's performance.

A special shout out to my friend Chase for recommending this film to me, it's a great find. The Body Snatcher (1945) is a film that's often unfortunately overlooked. The film had to be redubbed and retitled in England upon release because it was so dark and it's the last film to feature both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, so what is there not to like!? I highly recommend anyone who likes horror to check this one out. 4/5 stars.

Happy watching!





I found a copy of The Body Snatcher on youtube so you can check it out free of charge right here!

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

DAY 6

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) is not only one of the greatest sequels ever it's probably my favorite monster movie of all time. Sequel to the also great Frankenstein (1931), James Whale returns as director (something I would say completely saved the movie) and also the two main leads return: Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein and of course Boris Karloff returns as The Monster.

This film is a true sequel but starts interestingly taking a step out of the story with it's author, Mary Shelly telling her beloved Percy Shelly and friend Lord Byron that the story didn't actually end when everyone thought it did and the story then picks up minutes after the end of the first film. And the story continues to plus the original in every way. The first film was a simple story about being an outsider and this continues that line of thought to the basic need of companionship as a love or otherwise, something outsiders and people who are different probably crave more than "normal" people. And as an added bonus the film sneaks in a lot of subtle and interesting overtones and themes of religion and possibly being a foreigner or a homosexual. The best part is, it does all this with out being overly complicated!

This film also has great use of character. Most of the returning characters are expanded upon we see a different side of Frankenstein in this one, after everything going wrong in the previous film, Frankenstein is ready to hang up his coat and put all of his mistakes behind him. The Monster learns to talk, something that could have been very bad but is done well enough and adds a lot of humor and unexpected emotion to the character.

The couple of new characters are interesting too: I love the way The Bride is handled (but I won't talk about that for the sake of spoilers,) and Dr. Pretorious, Henry Frankenstein's mentor and colleague which wasn't ever mentioned in the first film, but comes into the picture because he has heard of Henry's recent "success" and also has dreams of creating a man-made human. It would have been easy for the writers to make him have the same methods as Henry but instead they had the intelligence to do otherwise and give him a somewhat silly method of "growing" humans, something that isn't delved into too much in the story but must me somewhat akin to cloning or growing artificial organs (seeing how he "creates" a brain for the new monster). These are subjects that many people find very horrible and ungodly today still, so I find it amazing that the film had the foresight to throw something like that into the mix way back in 1935.

Over all there's a couple things here that haven't aged well, but it's nowhere close to as bad as Dracula (1931) I would say that most of the effects still hold up. Supposedly they had a 70 foot tall laboratory set built for this film, which I would say was money well spent. The "It's alive!" scene in this film still looks amazing to this day.

And some scenes seemed unnecessary or end awkwardly so much that they just look weird today but because of the humor of the film you can actually just read it as funny and laugh it off. Sweet!

The thing I love about this film most is it's sense of humor. I really believe Whale created the movie as a comedy. There's enough evidence alone with the reoccurring scenes with the Frankensteins' housekeeper Minnie, who gets a surprising amount of screentime and some VERY silly parts. But it's even just packed with little tidbits like Dr. Pretorius having a picnic in a crypt, or The Monster's new found love for drinking that are just awesome. The humor is very consistently and skillfully placed throughout the entire movie. This film in my mind is the PERFECT blend of comedy and horror.

there's an interesting and very memorable line in Gods and Monsters (1998) (in which Whale is a character), and he says that he had to make the film interesting for himself, making a "comedy about death" and follows up saying, "The trick is not to spoil it for anyone who's not in on the joke." Well I saw this film screened last week in a theater in Beverly Hills and I'm happy to report that Mr. Whale must be smiling somewhere, as the film was met with generous laughter throughout.

I really can't say enough good things about this film, it's got great acting, a good story and a nice mix of really funny and emotional parts. It's the type of film you can just lose yourself in pretty quickly. I highly recommend it. 5/5 stars.

Happy watching!





ALSO I'm happy to report a bonus: Turner Classic Movies is hosting a double feature of the original Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein at the end of this month in many Regal Cinema theaters across the US, on Wednesday October 24th. Do yourself a favor and see these movies on a big screen and with a crowd of people. I honestly don't think you will regret it. You can find out if it's playing at a local theater near you and buy tickets here.



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