31 days of Horror: Day Twenty Six- Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas

Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas (1978)

This movie is psychotic. It's like The Devils + The Exorcist + The Vampire Lovers.

Justine moves into a Church run orphanage in 1800's Mexico. She immediately becomes fast friends with Alucarda, another orphan, and Sister Angélica, a kindly nun. Alucarda is a little wild, and soon the two are running through the forest consorting with Satan (who looks like a beatnik), and professing their love for one another. Later Satan joins them in their room, and they pledge a blood oath to evil, and each other. When the Priests, and nuns find out about their pact, they discuss what to do while whipping each other. During the brutal exorcism that follows, Justine is killed, but then returns from the dead for revenge.

This must have been a profoundly shocking film when it was first released. The nudity, blood, and Satanic elements are presented by director Juan López Moctezuma with apparent glee. And although Sister Angélica is the moral center of the film the Church itself is presented as an bunch of dangerous fools, at best. In a country as Catholic as Mexico, I'm surprised it came out at all. What it lacks in subtlety it makes up for kinetic energy. The films picks up speed as it goes along. The whole movie is like a nude, screaming, blood orgy. If that sounds good to you, then you will certainly enjoy this film.

31 days of Horror: Day Twenty Five- House Of The Long Shadows

House Of the Long Shadows (1983)

Here's a movie with a clunky story, a terrible lead actor (The charmless Desi Arnaz Jr.), and two groan inducing endings. So why bother writing about it? Well it brings together four horror icons, has atmosphere to spare, and gives Vincent Price opportunity to call Christopher lee a bitch.

The story follows shallow American writer Kenneth Magee (Arnaz), as he makes a bet for $20'000 with his publisher that he can write a novel in the Gothic style in 24 hours. The Publisher offers Magee the use of a dilapidated manor house in Wales. A house that proves less deserted than the publisher suggested. It seems the former owners of the house (the Grisbane family) have by coincidence chosen the same dark and stormy night for a family reunion. The Grisban's are a family with a lot of skeletons in their closets, and one of those skeletons seems intent on killing the rest off. What's a writer to do?

This is by no means a perfect movie, but it has a lot of charm. Price, Lee, Cushing, and Carridine ham it up, and are perfectly situated in the spooky old mansion. Any one of them seems likely to loom out of the darkness at any moment. Also great is Sheila Keith, as the sister. Keith is a wonderful British Actress, a regular collaborator of director Pete Walker (most famously as a drill wielding psycho in Frightmare), and a horror icon in her own right. The mansion itself is a fantastic location, but I found myself regularly wishing for better lighting. There are also some problems with pacing, the middle sort of plods along for a while. But, if you like Old Dark House type movies, this is ones pretty fun.

Playlist and download link for October 7th 2009

Killer Aliens

John Carpenter-March Of The Children-Village Of The Damned
Contamination Sample
John Scott-Inseminoid-Inseminoid
Goblin-Contamination suite II-Contamination
Ennio Morricone-Eternity-The Thing
Contamination Sample
Harry Bromley Davenport-Main Title/Brain storn-Xtro
Jerry Goldsmith-The Shaft-Alien
Gino Marinuzzi Jr-Exploring Aura/Dead Crewmen Found-Planet Of The Vampires
Contamination Sample
John Scott-Virus-Inseminoid
Harry Bromley Davenport-Extra-Territorial-Xtro
Henry Mancini-The Vampire Lives-Lifeforce
Alan Silvestri-Swinging Rude Boys-Predator 2
Contamination Sample-Danny Zeitlin-Flight-Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Contamination Sample
Tristram Cary-Daleks Disintergrate-Doctor Who:The Devils Planets

Download link

31 days of Horror: Day Twenty Four- Bloody Birthday

Bloody Birthday (1981)

In 1970 3 children are born during a solar eclipse. As a character explains later this meant that the Sun was blocking Saturn which is responsible for the emotions, and that's why all three kids become murderous little fuckers. This is bad for their friends, and families, but great for us.

Someone is killing local teenagers while they make out in open graves. Who could it be? For some reason the sheriff thinks it's a good idea to ask a class of ten year olds. It wasn't a bad idea either, because all three killers were in the class. Don't think that this means the sheriff is hot on their trail though, he doesn't have a clue, and soon gets his head bashed in with a baseball bat. The older sister of one of the classmates of the kids thinks something is fishy is going on, but of course no one will listen to her, and soon she's a target as well.

This is a good, creepy slasher. The kids are all good actors, and carry out their murders with a childlike good humour. This is one of the best things about the movie. The kids aren't presented as "Evil Incarnate", they seem to think killing people is a pretty good joke. The result is unsettling. Also great is the dreary low budget look of the film. It's like the degrassi kids turned psycho.

31 days of Horror: Day Twenty Three - Minaccia d'amore (Dial: Help)

Minaccia d'amore (Dial: Help) (1988)

Jenny Cooper is a British fashion model living in Italy. She's trying to get in contact with the dick head she's going out with, but he's not returning her phone calls. When she dials the wrong number and gets the office of an old dating agency, the magic/psychic phone at the agency falls in love, and begins stalking her. It phone's her up at home, or where ever else she is and plays strange noises and old recordings. At first Jenny thinks these are ordinary prank phone calls, but when the phone kills all her fish, and makes her neighbour take his shirt off and try to jump off her balcony, she knows it's serious. She gets her rock music playing, sports car driving friend who is also a telephone repairman, to look into things. He tells her "I've got a report that there's an energy that can't be explained in any way". She goes down to the subway looking for him, and finds him burned alive, then she's attacked by a maniac, but a payphone shoots coins at her attacker turning him into a bloody mess.

You get the picture. This is a nonsensical Italian horror movie that manages to be as constantly entertaining as it is confusing. Charlotte Lewis who plays Jenny, looks good, and does her best with the material. As is often the case with Italian genre films the cinematography is better than it has any right to be, and fans of hot 80's fashion phones will be delighted with what's on display. Director Ruggero Deodato is most famous for starting a cycle of hyper gory Cannibal films (he had to bring actors into court to prove he hadn't murdered them on camera) but he shows here, he can turn out an entertaining movie even if the blood is kept to a minimum, and nobody gets impaled.

Playlist and download link for October 29th 2008

In honour of Halloween, I'm going to uploading some of my scarier episodes of Solamente Nero. This one was dedicated to Slashers.

Bernard Herrman-The Murder-Psycho
Segment From Friday the 13th PT 2
Harry Manfredini-Excerpts In Terror-Friday The 13th
Segment from Black Christmas
John Carpenter-The Shape Stalks-Halloween
Segment From My Bloody Valentine
Charles Bernstein-Rod Hanged/Night Stalking-Nightmare On Elm Street
Tobe Hopper-Opening Titles-Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Segment From Friday the 13th PT 2
Stelvio Cipriani-Ecologia Del Delitto-Bay Of Blood
Segment From My Bloody Valentine
Goblin-Waiting Death-Tenebrae
Carl Zittrer-Piano Recital-Black Christmas
Segment from Black Christmas
John Carpenter-Main Theme-Halloween
Segment From Halloween
Marco Beltrami-Altered Ego-Scream
Segment From Halloween
John Carpenter-Micheal Kills Judeth-Halloween
Segment From Friday the 13th PT 2
Philip Glass-Candyman Suite/Carbrini Green-Candyman
Segment from Black Christmas
Charles Bernstein-Pier Pressure-Nightmare On Elm Street
Segment From Friday the 13th PT 2
Fred Myrow-Phantasm Disco remix-Phantasm
Segment From Halloween
Frankie Vinci-Your Just What I've Been Looking For/Angela's Theme-Sleepaway Camp
Segment from Black Christmas

Download here.

31 days of Horror: Day Twenty Two - Yôkai daisensô (Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare)

Yôkai daisensô (Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare) (1968)

Sorry for the delay, this should have gone up yesterday.

In 1968 and 69 the Daiei Motion Picture Company, the company responsible for the Gamera film series and the Daimajin Trilogy, released 3 children's films based on traditional Japanese monsters called Yôkai. Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare was the first of this trilogy, and it's as much fun as the poster suggests.

The movie begins as tomb raiders in what was Babylonia break into a tomb searching for treasure, and inadvertently release a powerful demon. The demon spares no time killing the two thieves, and heads out into the world to cause mischief. He causes a storm that sinks a ship, and then comes to Japan where he kills a local Lord, and takes his place. The formally good hearted Lord's newly malicious behaviour disturbs his daughter and the household. He kills his daughter's dog with his sword, when it barks at him, and immediately destroys the Shinto, and Buddhist altars in his house. When one of his servants questions his actions, he bites the servant's neck, drinking his blood, and taking control of him as well. The disturbance draws the attention of a Water Imp who can see the demon's true form, but is not powerful enough to defeat him. The Water Imp calls on the other Yôkai to go to war with the demon, lest he destroy the honour of Japanese spirits. Meanwhile the Lord begins taking local children prisoner, so he can drink their blood.

This is a fantastic movie. It moves along at a good pace, is chock full of bizarre creatures, and although it's a kids movie has some blood letting. The various monsters are amazing. They look like the bad guys from Power rangers. If you like this sort of thing, there are the two sequels, and Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition) made a remake of sorts in 2005 with The Great Yokai War.

One last thing to note is the possibility that the Babylonian demon bad guy could be the first film appearance of Pazuzu (pictured below). There is even a scene where a Buddhist monk is trying to use an exorcism spell to drive away the monster, and is burned alive for his trouble. If it is Pazuzu, than we could see the Exorcist as an unofficial sequel.