FILM & TELEVISION REVIEW

Okay, so I did forget witches.  Geez!  And, as someone else pointed out, “Only one vampire film and it had to be that stale old Stoker story?”  Calm down.  This is  Halloween Video Review 2 and it will bring you more fright films to party with!

WITCHES

Since I’ve received so much flack over the absence of witches, I have three films to recommend.   The first is a film from 1966 that was way ahead of it’s time on the sexuality meter.  It is based on the novel Aura by the Mexican novelist, Carlos Fuentes.  The film is not rated so parents beware, but it is also the least known of the chosen which include both well and lesser known films, but I think they are diverse enough to satisfy almost any wicked or good witch film fan.

The vampire film that I’m recommending is a remake of a foreign film called, Let the Right One In, which is also recommended.

The Witch (1966 Arco Films)

Directed by Damiano Damiani

Screenplay by Ugo Liberatore based on the Novel, Aura by Carlos Fuentes

Not Rated / 109 minutes

Cast: Rosanna Schiaffino (Aura), Richard Johnson (Sergio Logan),  Gian Maria Volonte (Fabrizio), Sara Ferati (Consuelo Lorente), Margherita Guzzinate (Lorna).

This off beat Italian film is a classic mystery/horror that is based on a novel by Carlos Fuentes.  Sara Ferati’s Consuelo is at the center of the mystery as she manipulates Sergio into coming to work for her.  Her concealed intentions spin the New Wave influenced narrative as  Richard Johnson’s (The Haunting) Sergio is led deeper and deeper into the old woman’s trap. Rosanna Schiaffino’s (Two Weeks in Another Town)  Aura moves slowly and sensually through the eerily seductive narrative bringing an unlikely plot to life.  This is a film that you are better off having no expectations about, and just allowing yourself to fall under   its spell.

The Craft (1996 Sony Pictures)

Directed by Andrew Fleming

Written by Andrew Fleming & Peter Filardi

Rated R / 101 minutes

Cast: Robin Tunney (Sarah Bailey), Fairuza Balk (Nancy Downs), Neve Campbell (Bonnie), Rachel True (Rochelle) Skeet Ulrich (Chris Hooker), Christine Taylor (Laura Lizzie).

This one is really all about the cast: Robin Tunney (Hollywoodland), Fairuza Balk (Almost Famous), Neve Campbell (Scream, Skyscraper), and Rachel True (The Manor).  What a coven they make!  It is scary (Fairuza Balk hits an 11 on the intense meter)  and violent, and it’s a great Halloween ride sans broomsticks.

It is not the usual twist on witches, but it is more then just a teen scare fest.  The girls get too deep into the occult and it begins to lead to darker places than most of them intended to go.

This powerfully angst ridden film out distances it’s surface appeal with strong performances and enough mayhem to satisfy the most demanding of horror fans for a fantastically frightful Halloween.

Hocus Pocus (1993 Buena Vista Pictures)

Directed by Kenny Ortega

Screenplay by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert

Story by David Kirshner and Mick Garris

Rated PG / 96 minutes

Cast: Bette Midler (Winifred Sanderson), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah Sanderson), Katy Najimy (Mary Sanderson), Omri Katz (Max), Thora Birch (Dani), Vanessa Shaw (Allison), Amanda Shepard (Emily).

This one is for viewers that love Halloween candy but just don’t get the scary.  Funny Halloween fun with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker (L.A. Story, Sex in the City), Kathy Najimy (Sister Act, King of the Hill), and Thora Birch (Ghost World, Deadline, Train).

One of the writers is Horror master Mick Garris, so you know there’s gonna be some dark patches, but  Thora Birch is adorable, Sarah Jessica Parker is full tilt batty, and Bette Midler and Katy Najumy are so far over the top that you wonder if they spent the whole movie on their broomsticks.  Perfect for a Happy Halloween!

Vampires

Let Me In (2010 Overture Films)

Directed by Matt Reeves

Screenplay by Matt Reeves based on Screenplay Let the Right One In and Novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Rated R / 116 minutes

Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee (Owen), Chloe Grace Moretz (Abby), Richard Jenkins (The Father), Cara Buono (Owen’s Mother), Elias Koteas ( The Policeman), Sasha Barrese (Virginia).

Let Me In is one of those rare moments when a remake of a foreign film turns out to be a gift.  This in part is due to Reeves’ script based on the original by John Ajvide Lindqvist which was based on Lindqvist’s own novel and the perfect cast: Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water), Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Deadpool 2) all turn in subtle and believable performances.

It is a strangely original spin on the vampire myth that is powered by Abby’s situation and her concern for a timid boy that is being bullied.  This simple but brilliant plot lifts it up beyond most horror films and yet is strong in fear and scare as well.  A combination that makes for perfect Halloween fun for the whole family.

It’s that time of year again!  Vampires, ghouls, demons, zombies, aliens, and psychos abound, that’s right–midterms!  Seriously though,  what are you going to watch on the scariest night of the year?  Here are some humble suggestions from the crypt keeper of F&TVR’s horror vault based on the type of Halloween night you wish to celebrate.

PSYCHOS

Repulsion (1965) 

Not Rated

Directed by Roman Polanski

Written by Roman Polanski & Gerard Brach

CAST: Catherine Deneuve (Carol), Ian Hendry (Michael), John Fraser (Colin), Yvonne Furneaux (Helen), Patrick Wymark (Landlord), Renee Houston (Miss Balch), Valerie Taylor (Madame Denise).This Roman Polanski thriller stars Catherine Deneuve in a tour de force performance of a young woman’s spiral into insanity with special effects that belie the 1965 vintage.  Influenced by Hitchcock’s Psycho, the film begins with Carol already out of her right mind.  The progression is slow at first and then rapid as her behavior quickly deteriorates and becomes more and more erratic finally segueing into delusions.

The methodically paced direction of Roman Polanski, the vivid black and white photography of Gilbert Taylor (Dr. Strangelove, The Omen, Star Wars: A New Hope), and Chico Hamilton’s disorienting jazz score combine to bring you a true horror in the Psycho vein.

The juxtaposition of this beautiful young woman and the insanity that ensues is terrifying.  This is a good choice for an extra creepy Halloween night.  It lacks the humor of Psycho, but is heavy on the horror.  This is a hands down classic and a dead on choice for a happy Halloween.

ZOMBIES/ALIENS

Slither (2006 Universal)

Rated R

Directed and Written by James Gunn

Cast: Don Thompson (Wally), Nathan Fillion (Bard Pardy), Michael Rooker (Grant Grant), Jennifer Copping (Margaret),  Gregg Henry (Jack Macready), Zantha Radley (Uptight Mom), Elizabeth Banks (Starla Grant), Tania Saulnier (Kylie Strutemyer), Brenda James (Brenda Gutierrez), Lorena Gale (Janene).

I’m trying to keep this article short, so Slither is kind of a trick because it allows me to do zombies and aliens with one film.  It’s sort of an Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets the Keystone cops or something like that, and that’s the treat! There is gore and laughs galore in this James Gunn gross out fromage (yes cheese) to horror and science fiction that heralds back to his days with Troma Films (Nuke’em High, The Toxic Avenger) and forward to Guardians of the Galaxy.

Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Elizabeth Banks, Tania Saulnier, Gregg Henry and the entire supporting cast are excellent in this dead pan horror comedy, and there are even memorable lines!  Not for the squeamish, but if you can get past the gore–a good time will be had by all.

DEMONS

Curse of the Demon (1957 Columbia Pictures)

( Original title, Night of the Demon)

Not Rated

Directed by Jacques Tourneur

Written by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester

Cast: Dana Andrews (John Holden), Peggy Cummins (Joanna Harrington), Nial MacGinnis (Doctor Karswell), Maurice Denham (Professor Harrington), Athene Seyler (Mrs. Karswell).

Demons are harder to come by than most other horrors.  It seems you have to know what you’re doing to summon one.  Oh well, here’s a fine British production that worked some magic on the summoning.   Dana Andrews (Laura) and Peggy Cummins (Gun Crazy) do a fine job in what is one of the most frightening of supernatural horror films.  Jacques Tourneur’s (Cat People, I Walked With a Zombie) direction of the well written Charles Bennett  (The 39 Steps, The Man Who Knew to Much) script results in a well told story and  memorably horrifying sequences.  This is a most devilishly satisfying treat for the most diabolical of horror fans.

GHOULS

The Ghoul (1933 Gaumont)

Not Rated

Directed by T. Hayes Hunter

Written by Rupert Downing and John Hastings based on play by Leonard Hines & Frank King from a novel by King.

Cast: Boris Karloff (Professor Henry Morlant), Cedric Hardwicke (Broughton), Ernest Thesinger (Laing), Dorothy Hyson (Betty Harlon), Anthony Bushell (Ralph Morlant), Kathleen Harrison (Kaney), Harold Huth (Aga Ben Dragore), D.A. Clarke-Smith (Mahmoud), Ralph Richardson   (Nigel Hartley).

For those who may want to enjoy a more tame but still spooky Halloween, this fine cast will supply you with the means.  Boris Karloff is fittingly creepy and supported by the great Sir Cedric Hardwicke along with the ever deeply buried in the role, Ernest Thesinger (Bride of Frankenstein).  Vintage British horror for the perfectly ghoulish Halloween.

VAMPIRES

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992 Columbia Pictures)

Rated R

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Screenplay by James V. Hart based on the Novel by Bram Stoker

Cast: Gary Oldman (Dracula), Winona Ryder (Mina Murray/Elisabeta), Anthony Hopkins (Professor Abraham Van Helsing), Keanu Reeves (Jonathan Harker), Richard E. Grant (Dr. Jack Seward), Cary Elwes (Lord Arthur Holmwood), Billy Campbell (Quincey P. Morris), Sadie Frost (Lucy Westenra),  Tom Waits (R.M. Renfield), Monica Bellucci (Dracula’s Bride), Michaela Bercu (Dracula’s Bride), Florina Kendrick (Dracula’s Bride).

Probably the most opulently produced of all the vampire films.  The sets and costumes star in this over the top adaptation of Stoker’s classic, but it remains a creep fest with an astonishing cast.  Gary Oldman is at the top of his game as are Anthony Hopkins and Winona Ryder is a winsome Mina and plays wonderfully with Sadie Frost’s Lucy.   Monica Bellucci, Michaela Bercu, and Florina Kendrick take the eroticism to new heights of horror as Dracula’s Brides.  Certain to liven any Halloween gathering with fond memories of good times along the Borgo Pass.

The Misfits (1961 John Huston/United Artists)

Directed by John Huston.  Screenplay by Arthur Miller.

124 minutes.

Cast:  Clark Gable (Gay Langland), Marilyn Monroe (Roslyn Taber), Montgomery Clift (Perce Howland), Thelma Ritter (Isabelle Steers), Eli Wallach (Guido), James Barton (Fletcher’s Grandfather), Kevin McCarthy (Raymond Taber).

Left: Clark Gable & Marilyn Monroe.

Below: Montgomery Clift & Marilyn Monroe.

The screenplay for The Misfits was written by Arthur Miller and based on one of his own short stories.  That is only one of the facts that makes this film such a treasure.   It was the last film of both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe.  Not only was this the last performance for each of them but also the best either had ever given.  They were supported by a show stopping turn by Montgomery Clift.  Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter also lend depth and humor to the somber story.

John Huston sees to it that the pathos in the drama and comedy of the piece reverberates in the black and white desert surrounding.  The black & White Photography by Russell Metty (Touch of Evil), is superb and intensifies the  isolation of the locations.  The dying breed that Gay and Pearce and Guido are part of stay stuck in time, aided and abetted by Roslyn and Isabelle, they are unable to pull themselves out of the past.

Roslyn has come to Vegas to divorce a husband that, “you could touch him but he wasn’t there.”   Isabelle talks her in into staying for a while to get over the shock of the divorce; Roslyn finds solace among Isabelle, Gay, Guido, and later Perce.  Something sparks between Gay and Roslyn much to Guido’s disdain.  This causes some friction that is lubricated for better or worse by alcohol, and eventually they meet Perce.  Perce is a daredevil of a rodeo performer with a drunken death wish.  Roslyn agrees to go on a roundup of wild horses with Gay, Guido, and Perce and everything is fine until she understands why the horses are being rounded up.

The struggle their characters are suffering through is paralleled by the struggles the actors must have been facing as they shot the film:  Gable’s bad health (he died shortly after the filming),  Monroe’s harrowing addiction that was eating away at her relationship with Miller and landed her in rehab during the shooting, and one can only guess at what demons Montgomery Clift was wrestling with as his drinking accelerated.  The film is a monument to the careers of the three leads because it allows them to do what they did best at full throttle and without Hollywood’s usual restraints.  They are able to give timeless performances that not only stand up to multiple viewings, but invoke them.  Huston was able to help the stars leave a legacy reaching a depth of poignancy that echoes their real life tragedy.

Facts/Rumors/Hearsay: 

On completion of the film Clark Gable said of Marilyn Monroe, “Christ, I’m glad this picture’s finished.  She damn near gave me a heart attack.”  A day later he had a heart attack that led to his death within two weeks.

It is said that Marilyn Monroe said to Montgomery Clift, “I’ve never met someone in worse shape than me.”

Clark Gable admired Montgomery Clift’s performance so much that he would show up on the set to watch even on days when he himself wasn’t scheduled to work.

Clark Gable insisted on doing some of his own stunts.  One of which had him dragged by a truck moving at 30 miles per hour.

Available on dvd, Blu-ray, and streaming.

Wonder Woman (2017 Warner Brothers Pictures)

Directed by Patty Jenkins

Screenplay by Allan Heinberg, Story by Zack Snyder & Allan Heinbert and Jason Fuchs.

Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston

Cast: Gal Gadot (Diana), Chris Pine (Steve Trevor), Connie Nelsen (Hippolyta), Robin Wright (Antiope), Danny Huston (Ludendorff), David Thewlis (Sir Patrick), Said Taghmaoui (Sameer), Ewen Bremner (Charlie), Eugene Brave Rock (The Chief), Lucy Davis (Etta), Lisa Loven Kongsli (Menalippe), Ann Wolfe (Artemis), Ann Ogbomo (Philippus).

There are a number of wonders in Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman and she is the first of them.  Wonder Woman is directed with a compassion that not only brings to life the hero that readers of the comic actually envisioned,  but avoids all of the clichés that have formed around the character over the years.   Jenkins manages to lift up the heroine to the heights of the reader’s imaginations.  She also proves unequivocally that a female lead can carry a superhero action film with dignity and grace.

The second wonder is the casting of Gal Gadot.  Both heroic and thoughtful as Diana, she stars as Wonder Woman with a propriety that belies her experience.  It is a star maker because she was the perfect choice for the part in every way, and her performance slowly builds until it explodes in the climax.  Chris Pine ably co-stars in a difficult role that he imperceptibly shifts into realization.  At times his confusion and dismay are palpable as he tries to comprehend this woman that has befriended him as he struggles with falling in love with her.

The supporting cast is large and powerful.  The men that fight alongside Wonder Woman show her deference and respect.   A group of well chosen character actors help with the already well produced period piece.  The script is well conceived and the action does reach a blazing crescendo, but it never overrides or detracts from the evolution of the story.

David Thewlis and Danny Huston are nefariously evil villains and both live up to their respective reputations.

Wonder Woman is certainly one of the ten best films of 2017, and a contender for one of the best super hero films period.  The sequel Wonder Woman 1984 is due out on November 1, 2019 and will star Kristen Wiig as Cheetah while Chris Pine returns as Steve Trevor.  Although Emma Stone is said to have turned down the role of Cheetah, Kristen Wiig was director Patty Jenkins’ first choice for the role.

Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004)

Jerry Goldsmith was both prolific and innovative composing for television shows as diverse as Perry Mason and The Waltons and films from Breakheart Pass to Logan’s Run.  His career spanned 40 years beginning in 1957 as conductor and musical director on a number of Climax TV episodes.  He worked on many Television shows in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s including the prestigious Playhouse 90, Thriller, The Twilight Zone, both The Man and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. among others.   Although he continued scoring for television into the 70’s, in 1968 his score for Planet of the Apes was a major step forward and Goldsmith was nominated for an academy award which went to John Barry for The Lion in Winter.  At this stage of his career, the nod was as good as a win.  It should also be noted that Planet of the Apes was not nominated in any of the other categories.

His next film was a Jim Brown/Raquel Welch/Burt Reynolds vehicle, 100 Rifles (1969).  The score is so much better than the movie–I recommend the sound track CD because the music is that good and yes the movie is that bad.

1974’s Chinatown garnered Goldsmith another Oscar nomination, but this time the trophy went to The Godfather Part II Nino Roto and Carmine Coppola.  It is a shame because Goldsmith’s score is both elegant and accompanies the best neo-noir film ever made.  I am a fan of Roto, but Chinatown and its score are unsurpassed.

This film has everything, an incredible Robert Towne script, Roman Polanski directing and the trump card of Jerry Goldsmith’s score.  The music takes you back to the time and place that J. J. Gittes inhabits.  The music sets up one scene after another.  If you’ve never watched Chinatown, the music alone is worth the viewing.

Goldsmith was nominated for another Oscar for 1976’s The Wind and the Lion, but the award went to John Williams for Jaws.

It was for the score for 1976’s The Omen that Goldsmith won his first Academy Award.  The film won a total of four Academy Awards out of eight nominations.  It remains one of the composer’s most powerful scores which combined with an excellent cast and script couldn’t be ignored by the generally genre phobic Academy.

In 1979 Goldsmith would score the first of a film franchise that he would be associated with for the rest of his career, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  It may well be the scores for these films that he is best remembered.  Directed by Robert Wise, Star Trek: The Motion Picture revitalized the 1960’s series and returned it to the fandom that it deserved.

Considered by many to be his most beautiful score, it was nominated for an academy award but lost to A Little Romance, a George Roy Hill film with a score by Georges Delerue.

NEXT:

The Universal Years 1943 -1944

Ilona Massey, Lon Chaney Jr., and Bela Lugosi star in the first of the Universal cross overs.  Although it seems odd today, Ilona Massey (Baroness Elsa Frankenstein) received top billing along with Patric Knowles (Dr. Frank Mannering).  She was discovered and hired by Louis B. Mayer and left the MGM after just two years as the result of a sex scandal.  Her notoriety  led to a singing career and soon on to the New York Broadway stage and then back into movies.  Considered box office gold, she did bring something special to the proceedings as she cut a sensual path through this meeting of two of Universal’s most famous monsters.

As the film begins and the liquid is poured from the test tube into the beaker and the smoke forms the title and the credits and Hans Salters’ suspenseful score rises, we know we’re in for something very special.  It is more of a B picture then the films that preceded it, but it still holds an interest due to the myriad talents that went into the production.

Once again, Lionel Atwill and Lon Chaney Jr. are back.  Atwill as the sensible Mayor of the Village, and Chaney in the role for which he is best known, the guilt ridden Laurence Talbot/Wolf Man.  This time, Bela Lugosi is the Monster and although he puts more effort into the role than Chaney did in Ghost, he still isn’t Karloff.  His growling Frankenstein is only effective because he’s attacked by the Wolf Man.  Ilona Massey (Elsa) fulfills her duty as a scream queen as Dr. Mannering is knocked to the floor and she is snatched up by the Monster.  The finale is the fight between the two beasts as the Wolf Man saves The Baroness and the people of the village blow up the bridge and the castle.  The Wolf Man and the Monster are left in the collapsing structure to await their next awakening in The House of Frankenstein.

The Universal Years 1935

The film that followed Bride was The Son of Frankenstein in 1939.  Produced and directed by Rowland V. Lee with a deliberate pace that carries the characters through the beautifully expressionistic production.  Leading a cast that includes Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Josephine Hutchinson is the enigmatic Basil Rathbone as Dr. Frankenstein.  Rathbone’s performance is among his best.  Lionel Atwill is at his most officious and Josephine Hutchinson as Elsa von Frankenstein is sublimely at sea in the old mansion, but she is soon shocked into reality as her husband is shown to be up to his father’s old tricks.   Boris Karloff is wonderful as always in his last portrayal of the Monster.  Special mention goes to Bela Lugosi, who as Ygor brings to life a character as vivid and terrifying as Count Dracula as he steals the show as the true monster of the piece.

Ygor first appears in an opening shot of the village as we see the name Frankenstein on the façade of a building and then pan to a broken window where we see Ygor staring out.  He will be the pivotal character as his vendetta against the men who hanged him continues with the help of the son of Frankenstein.  He had been using the Monster as a weapon up until it was hit by lightning leaving Frankenstein’s creation in a state of shock.  Ygor was unable to undo the damage to the Monster.  Now that Baron Frankenstein’s son has arrived, there is a new hope for the homicidal recluse.

Not everyone is happy that the son of the Baron Frankenstein is returning to the village.  The locals are not happy.  There is a meeting of the town council with the Mayor trying to calm everyone down, but to no avail.  Meanwhile on the train, the Frankenstein family is looking forward to returning to the old homestead.  The townspeople meet the family at the station and make their feelings be known quite clearly as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein begins to fumble through a speech he has prepared.  The villagers are not prepared to hear it.  He is presented the things that the mayor had promised to deliver to him from his father as the crowd disperses leaving him standing in the rain.

Arriving at the very German Expressionist influenced mansion set, the Baron becomes more excited about arriving there.  He doesn’t seem phased by the cold reception of the villagers.  His wife Elsa displays her dismay even as she tells him that she is also excited to be there.  His manservant explains that in hiring the staff, he had to go outside of the village, because none of the locals wanted anything to do with working at the Frankenstein home.

When he opens the box that his father left for him, he reads a letter from his father, and he seems to be swayed into thinking that his father was not a mad man but a genius.  Just at that moment–we see Ygor spying through a rain sheathed window backlighted by flashing lightning.

There you have the set up.  The Baron does not intend to continue his father’s work, but then he meets Ygor.  This is one of the best entries in the Universal series in the period from 1939 to 1948.  The talented cast, exceptional script, and the high production values combine to make this one of the best post Whale entries.