31 days of Horror: Day Twenty One - Vamp

Vamp (1986)

The movie opens on a Satanic Cult in the middle of a sacrifice ritual. Oh, wait! That's not a Satanic Cult! That's a bunch of jerk off, frat boys. The two about to get sacrificed are just pledges. The pledges work out a deal, where instead of doing this mock Satanic shit, if they secure a stripper for the big party, then they get in. This leads to a 1980's style trip to the mean streets of the nearest city, and to a seedy strip joint called "The After Dark Club".

The city is full of mean movie Punks, and the strip club is run by sexy vampire Grace Jones. One look at Grace's bizarre twitchy dance routine, and the boys decide she's the one they want for their party. When one of the guys goes back stage to sign Grace up, she decides he'd make a tasty snack. Now it's up to the other guy, and the new-girl-stripper-good-girl-love-interest, and the tag-a-long-dork-comic-relief. to find out what happened to their friend, and avoid the vampire's deadly bite.

This neon coloured 80's Horror Comedy is good good fun, and the vampire make up is awesome.

31 days of Horror: Day Twenty - La main du diable (Carnival of Sinners)( The Devil's Hand)

La main du diable (Carnival of Sinners)( The Devil's Hand) (1943)

Director Jacques Tourneur needs no introduction to fans of Horror cinema, his collaborations with producer Val Lewton in the 40'son films like Cat People, and I Walked With A Zombie, are seen as high points of the genre. Less well know, are his father, Maurice Tourneur 's entry's. This Faustian story of a painter who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for success is full of atmosphere, and allegorical underpinnings, not the least of which was the fact that it was made in occupied France under the watchful eye of the Nazis.

An unsuccessful painter buys a talisman in the form of a severed left hand, that brings him wealth and fame, but as is often the case, not happiness. One of the catches is that he must sell the hand at a loss before he dies, or the Devil gets his soul. The Devil, in the form of a nondescript little man regularly shows up to taunt him with this fact, as well to point out that selling it is easier said than done. This leads the unfortunate painter on a quest to discover the source of the severed hand, and some way out of the curse.

This is a beautifully made film. A very different kind of French Horror than the one I highlighted yesterday. In this case the story is a highly moral one, where the horror comes across through symbolism, and suggestion, rather than through explicit violence. Many people have commented that this film was a major influence on Jacques Tourneur's 1957 masterpiece Night Of The Demon. If you appreciate the genius of the son, you'll find much to like in the work of the father as well.

31 days of Horror: Day nineteen - À l'intérieur (Inside)

À l'intérieur (Inside) (2007)

For the past decade French Horror Cinema has become widely known for relentlessly brutal films. Well here it is, relentless brutality.

A pregnant woman (Sarah) is involved in a serious car crash which leaves her injured, and kills her husband. Four months later Sarah is still dealing with her loss while getting ready for the birth of her baby. The night before the birth, a mysterious woman comes abound Sarah's house, trying to gain entry. Sarah phones the police, but when they arrive, the woman has gone. Later that night the woman breaks into Sarah's house, and the terror begins.

This simple premise of the pregnant lady in peril, and furiously fighting for her life is then vigorously pursued. The shocking violence goes on and on reaching cartoon proportions. Each time we think we're numbed to what's going on, it ratchet's up to a new level, and we're horrified all over again. in a lot of ways this reminds me of the low budget Grind House films of the 70's, vicious and mean spirited. This is not the kind of Horror film that I really love, but it's hard not to be impressed by it's bloody single mindedness.

This is not going to satisfy those looking for a spooky story, or even those who loved the suspense of John Carpenter's Halloween, but gore hounds, and those who love to cringe will find a lot to like. One of the films more (unintentional?) campy elements is the CGI fetus who reacts to the various unfortunate situations the mother finds herself in. I bet John Waters, and his fans would like this movie too.

31 days of Horror: Day Eighteen - Yami no Teiô Kyûketsuki Dorakyura (Tomb Of Dracula)

Yami no Teiô Kyûketsuki Dorakyura (Tomb Of Dracula) (1980)

In the 1970's Marvel comics excelled at combining superhero storytelling, and horror. The most successful result of this combination was Ghost Rider, but there were many more, including, Son Of Satan, Werewolf By Night, and Tomb Of Dracula. Tomb Of Dracula was a minor masterpiece by writer Marv Wolfman, and Artist Gene Colan, that ran for 70 issues, introduced the world to Blade, the vampire hunter, and in 1980 was the subject of an Anime by Toei.

The Anime, originally released in the United States as as Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, was based directly on a storyline from the comic where Dracula decides to trick a group of Satanists into thinking that he is the Devil, so that he can use their cult to influence the world.. He accepts the bride that they have chosen for him, and with her has a son named Janus. Meanwhile a group of vampire hunters led by Dr. Quincy Harker (son of Jonathan and Mina Harker) and featuring Frank Drake (a descendant of Dracula himself) try to track down Dracula's location so they can kill him. It turns out the Janus is not Dracula's son after all, but an Angel sent by god (who fights the Silver Surfer in the comic version of the story) to thwart the Satanist plot(did I mention that Janus grows into an adult spandex wearer,with various super Powers when he's a few days old?).

In the comic, this storyline revels in it's own absurdity, and ends up being great fun. The movie is less successful, but is still well worth a watch for comic fans, Dracula fans, and fans of horror anime like Vampire Hunter D.

31 days of Horror: Day Seventeen - Frenzy

Frenzy (1972)

In 1972 Alfred Hitchcock returned to the Psycho Killer genre he helped popularize. Frenzy is a murder thriller as much like an Italian Giallo as it like anything Hitchcock produced before. Shocking violence, and lurid sexuality is explicitly shown, as opposed to hinted at. Though Hitchcock's typically ghoulish sense of humour is well represented.

London is in the grip of a sex crazed killer, the Necktie Murderer. A woman's body is found in the Thames, and a group of onlookers push and shove for a better view. In a pub, an upper class gentleman jokes that he hopes the killer isn't caught too soon. It's good for tourism. we are introduced to Richard Blaney, a bitter divorcee, just as he's fired from his job as a barman. Richard drinks to much, and is prone to violent outbursts of self pity. Could he be the killer? No, but after his ex-wife is strangled, he's having a hard time convincing the police of that. That might look like a spoiler, but Frenzy isn't a murder mystery. We see the killer in action, and know his identity early on.

Frenzy doesn't rank up there with Psycho, but it's an interesting film, sure to please those who enjoy the Murder Thrillers that popped up world wide in Psycho's wake.

31 days of Horror: Day Sixteen - Strigoi

Strigoi (2009)

Strigoi is black comedy about vampires (or strigoi) set in rural Romania. These are creatures of Romanian folklore, not the vampires we're used to seeing in movies, and things don't play out in the usual way.

The movie opens with the towns people of a small Romanian village dragging a rich man, and his wife from their house, and accusing them of the murder of another villager. The two plead their innocence, and ask to be brought before the police if there is any evidence. "We want real justice" says one of the villagers. "Not the kind you pay for". And then they kill them.

This all takes place with light hearted upbeat music playing in the background. The music suggests a comedy, but it's a very black one. As the song Spirit In The Sky plays we see the villagers ransacking, and looting the rich couples home. The next morning we meet the films main character Vlad, who has just returned to the village from working in Italy. Although Vlad finished medical school, he didn't pass his qualifying exam to practice medicine, and so has worked lousy low paying jobs.
He can't help but notice that everybody is acting strangely, and dedicates himself to finding out whats going on. Meanwhile the rich couple have returned from the dead, and are now Strigoi, a type of traditional Romanian restless spirit that drinks the blood of the living.

As the story plays out we see a whole range of Romanian resentments bubble to the surface, and the underlying corruption seems to taint everyone. This isn't that scary a movie, but vampire fans will likely find these more traditional blood suckers interesting. The film is darkly funny, and thoroughly entertaining.

31 days of Horror: Day Fifteen - Shakma

Shakma (1990)

I love a good killer animal movie. The best ones are about killer fish, but killer monkeys are pretty good too.

A bunch of medical students who are also role playing game nerds, are getting ready for LARP session. The students include Christopher Atkins (from The Blue Lagoon), Ari Meyers (from Kate And Allie), and their dungeon master/teacher is Roddy McDowall (From The Planet Of The Apes). Besides being med students, the group is involved in animal research, including testing a drug that is supposed to inhibit aggressive behaviour, "but sometimes has the opposite effect". They give the drug to Shakma, a baboon at the lab, and when the monkey attacks one of the students, they decide to put him down. The movie would end right there except they mistakenly give Shakma more of the rage inducing drug by mistake, and then leave him on an examining table. Once the LARPing has started, Shakma wakes up and goes on a murderous rampage.

This is not the kind of movie to watch when you're in the mood for a masterpiece. It's just an old fashioned shitty horror movie, with slumming character actors, and TV personalities trying to break onto the big screen. The characters do stupid things to put themselves in peril, and Shakma flips the fuck out. There's not a lot of real tension, but there's plenty of monkey mayhem, and baboons are really scary. What more could you want.