This Week In Film (7/5/2021 - 7/18/2021)
July 5, 2021 - July 18, 2021
• Werewolves Within • Jaws 2 • Defending Your Life • Deadline • Fear Street Part 2: 1978 • Black Widow • Terror Train • Skinner • The Hidden • Pulse • House of Dracula • Blade Runner • Sex, Lies, & Videotape • Brides Of Dracula • The Devil Rides Out • Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed • Fear Street Part 3: 1666 •
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And with a two-week hiatus due to depression and the inability to get out of bed, we're back. You know that feeling that nothing you do matters and why keep up that writing habit. Nobody cares. That infectious idea that you don't matter, is so powerful. Even if you actively try to suppress it. Even if you don't actually believe it. It can still take over. This time I just had to say, "F*ck You!" to my feelings of inadequacy. What else can you do? They are always going to plague you. Some days you can get out of bed and beat the negative into submission. Other days it beats you, but that's life. Relish in your good days and understand that the bad days will pass too. But if there is something that gives you joy that's not too destructive, keep at it. But that's not what I came here to tell you about...
Welcome to This Week In
Film where we create a weekly rundown of the random sh*t we watch.
There’s a HIGH / LOW at the end of this entry, so if words aren't really
your thing, you can scroll quickly, look at pictures, and skip to my
favorite viewings of the week.
Lets begin...
OVERVIEW:
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WEREWOLVES WITHIN (2021)
dir: Josh Ruben
Hot off the fantastic Scare Me (2020), Josh Ruben’s quick follow up is an adaptation of a video game about a town being attacked by a werewolf. The players are asked to make guesses as to which of the townsfolk is the lycanthrope. As a film, we get so much more. While the guessing game is still present, we also get Ruben’s humor and some great effects work too.
We follow forest ranger Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson) who’s brand new to the town of Beaverfield. In his first moments in Beaverfield, he is introduced to postal-person Cecily (Milana Vayntrub). Through Cecily, we get a tour through town and meet all of the quaint town’s residents. Every character intro plays out later making them each a red herring for our who’s a werewolf plot. The sub-story involves a proposed gas pipeline through the forest which causes a divide in our townsfolk. Some can’t wait for a payday while others want to save the trees. This rift makes it difficult for the town to come together and defeat the beast that’s hellbent on terrorizing them.
AT&T’s very own Lily, Milana Vayntrub, absolutely nails her role. Along with amazing performances by Harvey Guillén, Cheyenne Jackson, Michael Chernus, and of course Sam Richardson, Werewolves Within is an ensemble comedy with bite.
dir: Jeannot Szwarc
Hey guys, there’s this movie in production in California that features a guy in a William Shatner mask stalking and killing teenagers. What if we take that concept and add in the biggest blockbuster villain of all time?
Darth Vader versus teens?
No, better.
What could be better than a space bad guy?
A shark.
What?
Bruce from Jaws, goes after a group of teenagers and it’s up to Roy Scheider to go back into the water and save the day.
It’ll never work but here’s $20 million.
I’m telling you, we’re ahead of the curve on this one. I’ll bet you we’ll be up to our necks in dead teenager movies for the next decade.
DEFENDING YOUR LIFE (1991)
dir: Albert BrooksAlbert Brooks dies, visits purgatory, and is judged on how well he handled fear while on Earth. If he let fear get the better of him while he was alive, he must be sent back through reincarnation. If he succeeded over fear, he will move on.
While the surface of this film is a romantic comedy, the brilliance of the film lies in all the well crafted details. Purgatory or Judgement City is a place where you can eat all that you want, and all the food tastes like the best meal you’ve ever had. Judgement City is populated by residents who have learned to use more than 40% of their brains. This is explained to our small minds by Rip Torn in a jovial performance. Judgement City comes complete with a past lives pavilion where you can relive up to five of your previous reincarnations. It is while wandering through the city Albert Brooks meets Meryl Streep and a relationship blooms.
It is through the comparison of Brooks and Streep’s experiences in purgatory an additional layer of comedic effect is revealed. Streep’s character reviews four days of her life in scenes to show how well she did with fear, whereas Brooks must look at nine days struggles to find where he conquered a single fear. I’ve always loved this film. I was one of those sick-day re-watches in school. I’d loop this with Always (1989) and Heart Condition (1990). I guess I was a romantic at 11. What I always enjoyed about Defending Your Life was the message about conquering fear and how bureaucratic the afterlife must be if there is one.
DEADLINE (1980)
dir: Mario Azzopardi
A new favorite. Holy sh*t, this film takes a hard left. There is a moment in Deadline that will leave you speechless. I’m not going to spoil it, but it makes the whole experience worth it.
Stephen Young of Soylent Green (1973) stars as Steven Lessey who is a lesser version of Stephen King. He’s a horror writer who’s been reduced to screenplays for exploitation horror films. He wishes to create something of real horror. Something that will really get under your skin. The film plays out as two narratives running parallel. On one side, we get the gory attempts at Steven’s writing, and on the other side we get the crumbling personal world of the writer. In the fiction of the film we see a Satanic snow truck, children burning grandma, babies killing themselves in the womb, nuns eating the body of a priest, and a Nazi punk band playing frequencies that make people sh*t themselves. The horror of Steven’s fiction is nothing compared to the reality he lives.
While the cross-cutting between Steven’s inner and outer worlds may cause whiplash, these pieces fit together once you make it to the end. The fun of the effects and exploitation sequences shows and makes Deadline immensely re-watchable.
FEAR STREET PART 2: 1978 (2021)
dir: Leigh Janiack
Deena (Kiana Madeira) and Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) continue where we left off. Dealing with the possession of Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) and requesting the help of the one person who survived the town’s last Sarah Fier encounter. Enter the always amazing Gillian Jacobs as C. Berman and her dog Major Tom. The Berman sisters felt the full wrath of the Fier curse while attending Camp Nightwing in 1978. Queue flashback, seventies music, and summer camp horror.
There is a lot of backlash against these two films so far. And, from what I can gather, the vitriol is from people inexperienced with genre fare. When has a horror film been yelled at for sub-par acting? When has horror been downed for anachronisms? Sure, these critiques occur, but horror fanatics have the ability to look past a lot for a whole new set of criteria. Does your nostalgia driven horror film evoke homage to beloved favorites? Does your camp film feel as though it could fit within the sub-genre? How is the gore / how are the kills? Is the tension successfully ratcheting up throughout the third act? Horror has a whole different set of rules. We horror fans know that. Hell, give us something original, and we’ll begin to drool. That’s why the Fear Street trilogy is fantastic so far. While tossing some nostalgia, there’s a whole world being created with interesting rules that will be copied later down the line.
Sadie Sink is great at Ziggy Berman. She’s a rough around the edges Shadysider. While her sister Cindy (Emily Rudd) continues to act like she’s not covered in the Shadyside curse. We also get younger versions of Will and Nick Goode. But we’re here for the bloodshed. It takes a little time to establish the characters, their identities, and provides enough to care about them - should anything happen. When we get the starting gun, Tommy Slater axing some stoner’s face, there’s no stopping our slasher star. And when he gets a sack over his head, we champion our stand-in for Jason Voorhees. But that’s not all folks. Right now, for the small price of pissing off the witch, you too can have all the killers that Sarah Frier possessed.
Leigh Janiak has killed it again with this second film, and we are all dying to see how the trilogy will conclude.
BLACK WIDOW (2020)
dir: Cate Shortland
Did we need a Black Widow film? At first my answer is no, but, upon further reflection of the Marvel / Disney workhorse, more female superhero films are needed. In the gambit of multiple phases, we’ve been given Captain Marvel (2019) and… that’s it. The knee-jerk reaction is that this film serves no purpose except to introduce the world to Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). But the secret is, that’s enough.
Forence Pugh is everything! She delivers each line with a dead pan wit and scalding glance that every second she is on screen, everyone else fades into the background. I was a fan of the interesting ‘family unit’ of David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Scarlett Johansson, and Florence Pugh. Though they were not a true family, the dynamics are there. And these scenes make the film more than watchable.
The action is fun. The deeper message is great. The acting works. The comedy more than works. It’s a solid Marvel film. But it doesn’t give us the emotional send-off we need for Natasha Romanoff. And, to our knowledge, it doesn’t give any additional information to the Marvel Universe. Maybe the future of the Marvel phases is in the trained female assassins that were freed from enslavement?
dir: Roger Spottiswoode
Thanks Shudder. All we need is the tiniest nudge around our house to put Terror Train on. Besides the big slashers i.e.: Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Friday the 13th (1980), and Halloween (1978), Terror Train sits at the top of the heap. We watch it for 31 days of horror during October. We also now watch it as part of our New Years tradition. We’re here for the kills, the magic via David Copperfield, the claustrophobia, Jamie Lee Curtis, the douche from Die Hard (1988), and all the various masks the slasher wears.
Kenny Hampton was part of a hazing ritual that went very wrong during his hell week of Med School. He was lured to a bedroom with dreams of sex with Jamie Lee Curtis but wound up in bed with a cadaver. This drove Kenny to insanity. We jump ahead to a New Year’s trip aboard a train hosted by Carne and Doc the tricksters that sent Kenny to the mental institution. It’s a costumed New Year which allows our killer to sneak aboard undetected. One by one the killer stalks and kills. It’s up to the final girl to once again earn her status as scream queen.
This was Roger Spottiswoode’s directorial debut. He went on to helm Turner & Hooch (1989), Air America (1990), Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and The 6th Day (2000). Not a bad filmography for the editor behind two of Peckinpah’s greatest films: Straw Dags (1971) and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973).
SKINNER (1993)
dir: Ivan Nagy
Traci Lords, Ricky Lake, and Ted Raimi star in this serial killer film. Seriously, what else do you need? The film is a vehicle to see how crazy Ted Raimi can act. And we are given more than we could want. From condom salesman in Blood Rage (1987) to Produce Joe in Intruder (1989) or Pac Man in Shocker (1989), Rick in Darkman (1990), Heavy Metal Youth in Twin Peaks, Billy in Candyman (1992), or cowardly warrior in Army of Darkness (1992) Ted Raimi was known for his quick character cameos. With Dennis Skinner, Ted was allowed to develop into a full role. For better or worse. The moment Skinner dons a skin suit you immediately think Buffalo Bill. But the moment Skinner dons a skin suit made from a black co-worker and does a terrible blaccent, you realize you just saw Ted Raimi do the most grotesque blackface ever. And you can’t tell if it is the cringiest thing you’ve ever witnessed or brilliant in its commentary against blackface. Either way, that image will remain long after the credits.
I’d like to take a moment to tell you about Traci Lords. You may know the story already, but it’s so good that I have to take a crack at explaining it. Even though it has nothing to do with Skinner, or it has everything to do with Skinner. Traci Lords took on a pseudonym of Kristie Elizabeth Nussman when she was 15 as she obtained a fake birth certificate and driver’s license that stated she was 20. She used this driver’s license to become a nude model and appeared in Velvet, Juggs, and Club. When she was selected as a Penthouse model she gave herself the name Traci Lords. In 1984 she began her career as an adult film actress. She was named the Princess of Porn and became the highest paid star. She acted in more than 100 adult titles. In 1986, Traci, I Love You was filmed two days after her 18th birthday. But more importantly in 1986, it came out that Traci had forged her documents and was underage during filming of all of her adult movies. All of her films instantly became child pornography and were pulled from distribution and made illegal to own – with the exception of Traci, I Love You. This means the only person to profit from Traci’s porn career was Traci herself. This is the ultimate f*ck you to the adult film industry. And for this, Traci we love you.
Oh, yeah, back to Skinner. It’s not that impressive. I love seeing Ted going insane and having too much fun with his character, but there’s something altogether boring about the whole ordeal. I just received the Severin Blu-Ray and it looks fantastic. The full filleting sequence is intact which was fun to see. And while I can’t give the film the highest marks, the images leave an impact. Maybe we can chock it up to that strange period in the early nineties after Silence of the Lambs (1990) and before Scream (1996), where horror felt like a waltz through the wastelands.
THE HIDDEN (1987)
dir: Jack Shoulder
Simple review: The Hidden is a hidden gem!
From the director of Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) and Alone In The Dark (1980), Jack Shoulder gives us the action film we never knew we needed. The film plays out as this Reagan era consumerist parable. While most action films of the 1980’s had that pro-American, blow some sh*t up, and protect our way of lives social commentary, Shoulder went a different route. In a blatant attempt to criticize American culture for it’s bloated ways, enter the fugitive alien in The Hidden. George Romero tackled consumerism in Dawn of the Dead (1978), Jack Shoulder tackles American hedonism in the height of the 80’s.
“I want this car,” the alien fugitive says early on. Whatever it wants, it pursues, and it takes. The alien consumes everything in sight. This alien can slip on new bodies when it’s old body is completely used up. We first see it rob a bank and in a high speed chase. When it crashes the car, it is sent to the hospital. The alien then slips into a man recovering from triple bi-pass surgery who also suffers from intestinal issues. When the alien tries to run in this body, it has several heart attacks. When the alien tries to eat at a diner, the body uncontrollably farts. The fragility of the human body is played here for laughs, but also to reflect our own stupidity. Anyone who eats that greasy cheeseburger after a heart attack, this parable applies.
In an interesting turn later on, instead of wanting sex with a stripper, the alien wants to become the stripper and garner the attention of others. It is this line of thinking that leads to his last pursuit, “I want to be president.”
If we were to just follow the bad alien, this would have been a perfect film. But we also get Kyle MacLachlan in a precursor role to Agent Dale Cooper and Michael Nouri as the unlikely duo paired together to stop the bad guy. While there had been buddy cop films prior to The Hidden such as: 48 hrs. (1982), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Running Scared (1986), 1987 would be the year that saturated the sub-genre. There’s no way The Hidden could have rose to the top, not against Lethal Weapon (1987), Dragnet (1987) and Stakeout (1987). Even as an alien buddy cop film coming out a year before Alien Nation (1988), the later became revered and eventually a beloved TV show. Maybe it’s the scene of Kyle MacLachlan torching a senator with a flamethrower that’s got me biased, but this is a better film than Alien Nation. And that’s hard for me to say because I love James Caan and Mandy Patinkin’s chemistry and the whole parable for racism and illegal immigration.
PULSE (1988)
dir: Paul Golding
"It ain't a thing, it's a signal...a pulse, kinda like a voice. So what you've got to do is to get rid of anything in your house that might have ears to hear it."
The look of this film is fantastic. There’s not a lot to the story, but the macro photography and the terror of modernized living feel real throughout. We get a total of two Lawrences in this film: Joey and his younger brother Matthew. This gives an additional layer of fun to the whole film. While the two are friends instead of brothers, they look so much alike there was no way any audience member was fooled. I enjoyed this film more than I expected. It plays out as a kid-in-peril film and normally the kid has to do everything in their power to make others believe them, but here the stepmom is instantly on his side and the perils are never seen as his fault. Let’s get a plot summary.
Young David (Joey Lawrence) is staying with his dad (Cliff De Young) and his stepmom (Roxanne Hart) for the summer. The house across the street is all boarded up. David’s stepmom tells him the neighbor went crazy and nearly burned the place down. Soon, while David is home alone watching TV, the TV starts acting strange. Before long the thermostat’s on the fritz, the electrical elements in the water heater are firing erratically, gas lines are bursting, and the home becomes a death trap. We never know the cause, but the ‘pulse’ travels from house to house killing all the residents inside. It will never stop. And by the time you unplug all your appliances and shut your electric off, it’s too late.
There’s not a single on-screen death and as we follow David throughout, there is a kid-friendly feeling to the proceedings. It’s features a PG-13 rating and I’d say it is one of the better horror films geared toward kids. I’m sure the story didn’t start out that way. One look at the cover art of a woman being electrocuted says otherwise, but it’s time to re-evaluate this thing. It’s sure scarier than Casper (1995), Hocus Pocus (1993) or The Addams Family (1991). Maybe not as fun, but a good entry-level horror film for that young horror fan in your home.
HORROR OF DRACULA (1958)
dir: Terence Fisher
What a glorious retelling! The UK title is still Dracula, but to differentiate itself from Tod Browning’s 1931 classic, they re-titled it to Horror of Dracula. This film was borne from the success Hammer Films saw after The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) was released. Hammer’s first Frankenstein film featured Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankesntein and Christopher Lee as the creature. It became known as Britain’s first blood and guts film in color. And maybe the world, as our Godfather of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis, wouldn’t present Blood Feast until 1963, Hitchcock wouldn’t give us blood in a shower until 1960, and Corman wouldn’t show Dick Miller’s murder spree in Bucket Of Blood until 1959. So, Curse and Horror of Dracula really are our first color films with gratuitous blood. Congratulations. It took an 80 page legal agreement between Hammer and Universal to obtain usage of their trademark Dracula. But they knew from day one, if we are to succeed, there must be blood.
The credits for the film are shown over Dracula’s tomb with blood being dripped onto the concrete. They prepared the audience for what was to come. Now, I’m not saying there’s wall to wall viscera, but given the context of when the film was made, the staking scenes are shocking. Not only is a vampire being staked through the heart, but they scream in agony. We have violence and pain, something cinema rarely showed.
The film also brought us a newly sexualized Dracula. Christopher Lee has stated that he injected that lustfulness into his character mainly because Dracula felt the immense weight that comes with the loneliness of evil. When his bride is destroyed, he seeks revenge and a new lover. Even though Curse of Frankenstein was a success, no one had faith in Dracula. They weren’t able to secure enough financing to include sub plots like the overseas journey, all of Reinfield is erased, and when we meet Jonathan he is already a vampire hunter working with Van Helsing. But after Hammer’s Dracula redefined Stoker’s novel, Universal gladly worked a deal with the studio allowing any shared ownership for sequels.
If I haven’t talked about the story, that’s because it’s Dracula, f*cking Dracula. Guy visits Count, Count kills guy, guy’s fiancée sees count, vampire hunter hunts, fiancée dies, new victim as bait, and hunter kills count. No matter how you scramble the elements, all variations of the story have similarities. Even Shadow of the Vampire (2000), the meta-fiction film about making the non-copyright Dracula film, Nosferatu (1922), is still a variation of theme. With story out the window and with the inclusion of blood, what else does this film have to offer?
Have you ever seen Fright Night (1985)? I’m sure you have, but you’ll find after seeing Horror Of Dracula / Dracula that Tom Holland was riffing every aspect of the Hammer classic for his modern vampire story. A cross is burned into the face of a vampire, sunlight turns a vampire to dust, and all that erotic vampire lust was present in 58’ as much as 85.’ Now, there’s no Evil Ed character in Horror of Dracula and that’s a shame because as you know, the world would be so much better with more Evil Ed in it. And Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent (Peter Cushing and Vincent Price) is a perfect Peter Cushing impression.
BLADE RUNNER (1982)
dir: Ridley Scott
Someone gives you a calfskin wallet for your birthday. How do you react?
Your little boy shows you his butterfly collection, plus the killing jar. What do you say?
You’re watching television. Suddenly you spot a wasp crawling on your arm. How do you react?
You're reading a magazine. You come across a full-page nude photo of a girl or guy. You show it to your husband/wife, who likes it so much, he/she hangs it on your bedroom wall. How do you react?
While walking along in desert sand, you suddenly look down and see a tortoise crawling toward you. You reach down and flip it over onto its back. The tortoise lies there, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs, trying to turn itself over, but it cannot do so without your help. You are not helping. Why?
Describe in single words only the good things that come to mind about your mother.
React to this: You become pregnant by a man who runs off with your best friend. You decide to get an abortion.
React to this: You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog stuffed with rice. The raw oysters are less acceptable to you than a dish of boiled dog.
When it comes to Blade Runner, the only question that matters is which version do you watch? Workprint prototype version, San Diego Sneak Preview, Theatrical, International Theatrical, US broadcast version, Director's Cut, or The Final Cut? Seriously, this is always my question. And this is what makes it so difficult to sit down and enjoy Blade Runner. It’s a shame, because any version you see is poetic, prophetic, and pretty.
Harrison Ford is Rick Deckard a former Blade Runner who job it was to track down and retire replicants. He's forced to work again as four replicants have escaped and made their way to Earth. What follows is a sci-fi film noir drenched in the shadows of a future city. Deckard must follow the clues down a rabbit hole of existential self-awareness. There are themes of death riddled throughout the film. While newer audiences know one of the hidden questions being asked: is Deckard himself a replicant? This question is nowhere in the text itself. A Nexus-7, Rachael, does ask if he's passed the Voight-Kampff Empathy test but this is more of a side comment than a direct question for the narrative. Audiences may get so wrapped in this mystery that they fail to see the plight of Rutger Hauer's Roy. He has returned to Earth to meet his maker and ask him for more time to live. The Nexus-6 model was created for slavery with a built-in four-year life expectancy. The creator, Eldon Tyrell, tells Roy that they were born as adults and gifted with knowledge beyond their years. Four years of life is the trade-off.
I remember seeing this when I was too young to understand it. My brain told me Roy and the three other Nexus-6 replicants were villains, but it never sat right with me. In subsequent viewings, he is not a villain. He is, "More human than human." In pursuit of the freedoms associated with humans. To be provided all the characteristics of a human being but limited in how long you can live, makes him more alike than different. If we get down to it, Deckard's the real villain. He's been retiring replicants for years based on them being androids, no other criteria than them being different from human. But as the prototype Nexus-7 shows, with implanted memories, even androids can dream of electric sheep.
SEX, LIES, & VIDEOTAPE (1989)
dir: Steven Soderberg
“I remember reading somewhere that men learn to love the person that they're attracted to, and that women become more and more attracted to the person that they love.”
The year that Sex, Lies, & Videotape was unveiled to the world, it did so in an unconventional manner. Soderberg had entered it into Cannes Director’s Fortnight, a section of Cannes for first-time filmmakers; however, his film was moved into main competition as the spots for Director’s Fortnight were filled. To everyone’s astonishment, the film went on to win best picture at Cannes. The coveted Palme D’Or award wen to its youngest recipient, a scrappy 26-year-old from Atlanta, GA. From that point on, Soderbeg has spent more than three decades redefining the craft of filmmaking. Sometimes he films on a phone. Sometimes he remakes an Andrei Tarkovsky film. And sometimes he gets a crew - with the most perfect chemistry - together for one last job, then makes a couple sequels. Or, how about the time when Erin Brockovich was up against Traffic in 2000 for best director and best film at the Oscars? While, I’m not always a fan of Soderberg’s work, no one has as varied a career as he has. I have nothing but respect for him.
The moment James Spader speeds onto the screen, we are smitten. The moment his awkwardness shines through and when he cuts through the bullsh*t of modern living, there’s nothing but love. Our quartet of characters, each with their own hangups and deceits, weave in and out of each other’s lives. The inclusion of Spader’s character Graham provides the impetus to unravel the lives of those around him. And we are here for this. For every moment of this. Spader even makes watching Andie MacDowell act, a joyful experience.
I was thinking about a great way to describe this film. It’s about a married couple, John (Peter Gallagher) and Ann (Andie MacDowell). John is cheating on Ann with her sister, Cynthia (Laura San Giacomo). The sister is a nymphomaniac seeking to ruin Ann’s seemingly perfect life. Then one day, an old friend from John’s college days shows up with a box full of videotapes. He tells them that he’s impotent but can masturbate to videos he makes of women talking about their sexual experiences. He’s a techno-perv who must be fully naked and stroking his nipples to get off. Will he get the prude Ann to disclose her sex life or will she be the one to make him rise to the occasion?
BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960)
dir: Terence Fisher
The intro for Brides of Dracula tells that Dracula is dead, but there are disciples of the count that still roam the countryside. While it’s a bummer there’s no Christopher Lee, we get the continuing adventures of Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing). And the story we get here is so very clever.
The new French schoolteacher is en route to her new school when her driver leaves her at a local inn. Baroness Meinster, the owner of the land arrives and offers Marianne a place to rest for the night. The Baroness explains that her son the Baron is very ill and that’s why he stays in a separate part of the castle. That night, Marianne looks out from her balcony and sees the Baron in distress. She rushes to him and finds him in chains. Will she set him free? Is the Baroness or the Baron the vampire? Will other women parish at the hands of a vampire? The only thing we know for sure, Van Helsing is on the case. I understand this film is more than six decades old and I could spoil it, but where’s the fun in that?
After two films with Peter Cushing’s Van Helsing, I’m ready for more. What? There’s no more Doctor Van Helsing? Oh, he’s Professor Lorrimer Van Helsing in Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972). That should work. I sure hope he didn’t get typecast because of Van Helsing, let’s take a look: Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Victor Stein, Dr. Peter von Brecht, Dr. Terror, Dr. Who, Dr. Brian Stanley, Dr. Vernon Stone, Dr. Walter Goodrich, Dr. Wells, Dr. Pope, Dr. Christopher Lundgren, Dr. Lawrence, Dr. Abner Perry, Dr. Alexander Manette, and Sherlock Holmes.
There’s much to enjoy in Brides Of Dracula; however, the actual brides of the vampire are not the brides of Dracula. And they could have done more for the plot. But, the technicolor sets, dreadfully painful contact lenses, terrible flying bats, and intelligent story more than make up for the lack of brides. They remind me of the brides in Monster Squad (1987). Three female vampires that are easily killed and just hiss in the background. It wouldn’t be the first time a film was made by a bunch of guys who underwrote the female characters.
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968)
dir: Terence Fisher
It turns out, while educating myself in the beauty of Hammer, I’ve inadvertently subjected myself to a Terence Fisher triple feature. I scoured the internet for a top five Hammer films to begin with and in all the lists I found three common titles: Dracula (1958), Brides of Dracula (1960), and The Devil Rides Out. Apparently, this won’t be last Fisher film of my Hammer education. Next on the list is Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969). I can only imagine it’s going to be a shock to the system when I see a Hammer film without the Fisher sense of mise-en-scene.
The Devil Rides Out begins with Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee) meeting his friend Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene) and setting out to find their third companion Simon (Patrick Mower) for a proper reunion. Simon has been seduced into a coven of Satanists lead by Mocata (Charles Gray, best known from his role as the narrator in Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)). They also meet Tanith (Nike Arrighi) – Rex’s soon love interest – who is also under the powers of Satan. Christopher Lee then spends the rest of the film trying to save Simon and Tanith from their dark baptism and from the clutches of Mocata’s power.
It’s said that Alister Crawley helped the novel’s author, Dennis Wheatley, to accurately describe the Satanic rituals. And it shows in Richard Matheson’s script. For 1968, the dark arts are presented with a reality seldom captured on screen. Highlights include a blood orgy after the sacrifice of a goat, a glimpse at Baphomet themselves, and the Angel of Death riding their horse. While Christopher Lee does some heavy lifting with exposition, it’s to be expected. Had the plot relied only on what we see, the confusion would have drove many audience members insane. From the tarantula attack to the time travel, to many aspects must be explained to death. It is through these countless monologues, Lee offers an air of stuffiness that one becomes accustom to in Hammer productions.
FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969)
dir: Terence Fisher
I’m four into my Hammer horror education, and I’m loving the hell out of it. In asking myself why I find these films enjoyable, maybe I’ll help to convert someone else out there. Are you on the fence about diving into the world of Hammer? I’m here to tell you there’s no reason to be. Just jump right in. Now, maybe after I look at a few of the lesser quality Hammer films I’ll have a vastly different opinion, but as of now, with my Fisher kick these films are fantastic.
The gothic mise-en-scene lets you easily slide into the story. And that’s where the gold lies, in the stories. You would assume, being the astute cinephile you are, that you had seen every iteration of the gothic story. But you’d be wrong. For instance, in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed would you assume that Dr. Frankenstein is merely searching for a way to freeze the human brain? That’s because he’s already figured out how to transfer a living brain into a new body. Here, the doctor must use blackmail to kidnap an old colleague from a mental institution, cure his madness, and steal the formula for cryogenics. Along the way, things don’t go as planned. Frankenstein’s crazy friend has a heart attack, so his brain must be placed in a new body, and then cured of it’s madness. The newly ‘cured’ friend falls into existential dread and seeks revenge against Dr. Frankenstein.
Peter Cushing’s ability to act his way through whatever ridiculous scenario Hammer studio tossed his way, makes him a true icon of horror. It is his believably that heightens the bar. It’s my opinion, the director, rest of the cast, and cinematographer all pushed beyond their normal limits when they were in the presence of Cushing’s dedication. In a true twenty-first century way, I have nothing to corroborate this opinion and that is why it is not a fact. But, comparing how Christopher Lee commanded The Devil Rides Out to the way that Cushing commands his villains and heroes across multiple films, Cushing dominates.
FEAR STREET PART 3: 1666 (2021)
dir: Leigh Janiak
I’ve read a lot of reviews that love to compare Fear Street with Scream (1996). My favorite article is from Brian Truitt of USA TODAY. The article dives into everything one feels while letting Janiak’s trilogy unfold. From the Scream inspired opening of to it’s Back To The Future (1985) conclusion, Fear Street updates the slasher film in all the ways that should have existed prior to now. There are actors of color that are not there simply as fodder to kill off and at the heart of the story is a queer romance. The old slasher guard stated if you were someone non-white and non-hetero, you were to die. The only survivor was our Final Girl. Fear Street surpasses all expectations.
Kiana Madeira, playing Deena Johnson, is our newest Scream Queen or Final Girl. Though she’s stated that she literally did not want to scream at the horror around her, instead her character seeks to problem solve at every turn. While this is true, the definition of Final Girl as outlined by Carol Clover in Men, Women, and Chain Saws, stated that the character veers from victim to survivor via plowing headfirst through their trauma. The final girl emerges from the blood drenched cabin, house, or university with the knowledge (conscious or unconscious) of how to stop the threat. This is what 1666 gives us. Deena is placed in Sarah Fier’s shoes and made to live out her final days. Deena like Sarah is in love with a woman. And while you expect her story to play out as one of a witch’s revenge, the story doesn’t allow cliché to ruin all that the first two films have built.
“At its core, ‘Fear Street’ is weirdly a love story, and it's the love of these two girls and their motivation to figure it out, to save each other, to realize they're better with each other. That drives them further into ultimately realizing not only can we be together, we can change things, we can save the town.” – Leigh Janiak
With Fear Street and the upcoming Scream 5, my hope is that we are heading into another Slasher resurgence. While I will always have a soft spot for the slashers of my youth, each incarnation of the slasher cycle becomes more inclusive for all to enjoy. And to think, in the simplest of terms, you just need a murder mystery with someone in a mask. There are infinite combinations of this plot. Make it bloody, make it fun, make it chock full of red herrings, tell the tale through diversity and inclusiveness, and you too may create the next slasher sensation.
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High: Over the last two weeks, I've taken in a quartet of Terence Fisher Hammer films and the Fear Street trilogy. Not to mention Werewolves Within, Deadline, Blade Runner, The Hidden, and Terror Train. To say this is a difficult choice is an understatement. Looking back I really loved Horror of Dracula and Brides of Dracula, but also thoroughly dug the final two installments of Fear Street. Now did I enjoy Fear Street over Werewolves Within? I think so.
BEST VIEWING: FEAR STREET PART 2 1978
Low: Also a difficult choice.The only two in the running for worst viewing are Black Widow and Skinner. I had fun watching Black Widow but overall did not see how it would progress Marvel Phase IV. Skinner was just interesting to watch Ted Raimi go nuts and to see Traci Lords chewing up scenery. But I think that's our winner for worst, because it was awful.
WORST VIEWING: SKINNER
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