Tales From the Crypt (1972)

UK --- horror

Dir: Freddie Francis

Had it not been for William Gaines’ EC Comics, the world would have no Alfred E. Newman, no crypt keeper, and and especially no Tales From the Crypt. The comic book horror anthology started in 1950, but only lasted till 1955 publishing 30 issues in total. It was filled with ghastly stories often about vengeance beyond the grave or twist endings that end in horror. The comic book featured art by the likes of Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, Johnny Craig, and many more. Each artist eventually had their own style to what kind of story they were telling. Gaines found that the hit comic originally called “The Crypt of Terror” should have sister publications such as “The Vault of Horror” and “The Haunt of Fear”. The comic book series was eventually attacked by censors who had followed guidelines of a controversial book titled “Seduction of the Innocent”, that suggested the idea comic books were ruining children’s minds, and William Gaines’ EC Comics were prime targets. Eventually, censorship were the main killers of “Tales From the Crypt”, as the comic book company folded due to restrictions of the Comics Code.

The legacy of “Tales From the Crypt” was never forgotten. It found it’s most popular resurgence in 1989 with the HBO television series, “Tales From the Crypt” which aired stories more from “The Vault of Horror” than its namesake inspiration. Before that series would ever see the airwaves, the British Amicus Productions made a 1972 horror anthology called “Tales From the Crypt” as well. The film weaved five stories together, with a wraparound. The stories however were not all from the “Tales From the Crypt” comic, but mostly from “The Vault of Horror”. Interestingly enough Amicus would produce a film of that anthology too, serving as a sequel to “Crypt”.

This version of “Tales From the Crypt” also featured a crypt keeper, played by Sir Ralph Richardson who’s dressed like a monk and is sans any ghoul makeup. Directed by Freddie Francis, the synopsis tells of five tourists who go missing from a group in a catacomb. The crypt keeper makes his all too mild mannered appearance when they discover they’re trapped. He begins to unfold upon them stories of their futures. Joan Collins stars in the first story adapted from a story in “The Vault of Horror” #35, “… And All Through the House”. This is probably the most famous and memorable tale from any of the line of comic stories, as Collins portrays a woman who murders her rich old husband on Christmas Eve, only to get a visit from an escaped convict dressed as Santa Claus. The thing about this version of the story (which was also adapted by Robert Zemekis on the HBO series) is Collins portrayal of the bitchy wife. This wife seems the perfect foil for this story; she deserves what’s coming to her, as Zemekis’ heroine is boring. Also this Santa killer is an older frail chap that looks like someone’s crazed old uncle, not the stocky Larry Drake who poses more of a threat. One thing that always bothered me about this story is, the wife makes no attempt to get an alibi and should want to use the Santa killer as an alibi for her husband’s murder. It, in itself could make a good feature length thriller if done right.

The next story is pretty dull as an adulterous husband leaves home and drives away with his mistress. They get in an accident and he awakens to get help, but everyone who lays eyes on him is instantly runs away in fright, even his wife. He finally pays a visit to his mistress when she reveals she was blinded in the very same accident he died in. The story folds back to just before the accident, as all this was just a premonitory dream. This tale actually comes from the comic “Tales From the Crypt” and adapted from “Reflection of Death”. It also bears a slight resemblance to another British horror anthology film “Dead of Night”. The third vignette stars Hammer horror alum Peter Cushing as a fairly eccentric neighbor of a snobby father and son who toy with his emotions. It ultimately leads to his suicide, and of course the son is the first recipient of vengeance from beyond the grave. The fourth tale is based on the famous W.W. Jacobs horror short story “The Monkey’s Paw” as a business man learns he’s lost his money, his wife discovers a Chinese statue and makes a wish for money. The husband dies in a car accident after being chased by a skeleton like figure on a motorcycle. So, she gets his money, regretting her first wish she uses a second wish to wish him back to life just as he was before he died. Her husband does come back to life, but in great pain because he’s already been embalmed. The final tale is another original “Tales From the Crypt” story called “Blind Alleys” and is easily one of the best of the film IMHO. A newly appointed director of a home for the blind deliberately forces unnecessary changes in the place due to financial cutbacks. These cutbacks include no heat, very little amounts of food and a change in that quality of food, while the new director and his pet German Shepard seem to be having the time of his life at the blind patrons expense. The residents decide to seek vengeance in their own way, building a small labyrinth in the basement and forcing the new director to traverse through with razor blades affixed to the walls of a narrow corridor. Meanwhile, the best surprise is left for last as the director’s dog is starved for hours on the other side of that corridor, as the residents make him a blind man by flicking the lights off in the labyrinth and releasing the dog.

The wraparound tale ends with the crypt keeper revealing to the tourists that premonitions were actually the reasons why they were there. As a cave opens to a white light and they discover they are in eternal damnation. Amicus made a style of producing quality anthology horror films, and this one remains one of their best, if not one of the best of the genre period. It would come to inspire followers like Creepshow and many other horror anthology films. Alls well, that ends well.

Sunshine (2007)

UK/ USA --- science fiction/ horror

Dir: Danny Boyle

Science fiction has always been a genre where you could relatively tell stories with more than one meaning. Since before World War 2, scientists and writers really began to consider and imagination the possibility of space travel and life on other planets. The final frontier was really becoming the next great possibilty. With that, many fantasy creators had no problem imagining scenarios that were either beneficial to mankind, or horrorifc.

Danny Boyle's space exploration film Sunshine is really more of an amalgam of a lot of space films, that include 2001: A Space Odyssey and even Alien. If you've been following these films this month, you see that Sunshine has the earmarks of this subgenre. A manned space mission with a mixed ragtag crew that seems to have two women only and must follow-up an earlier manned space mission that went awry from some reason. This film is no different, albeit with a more desperate and urgent mission.

The plot here, seems to take a cue from the Twilight Zone episode "Midnight Sun", which suggested a horrorific scenario in which the sun moved dangerously too close to the earth, when in actuality it was moving farther away. Actually a little more plausible than this films premise, but not by much. Set in the year 2057, here we have the crew of the aptly named Icarus II comprised of various scientists must save a dying Sun by launching a bomb onto the Sun's surface in hopes of reigniting it. The crew of the original space mission, Icarus I, mysteriously disappeared without a trace. When the crew finally get a distress beacon from Icarus I, Captain Kaneda (played by Ringu's Hiroyuki Sanada) questions physicist Robert Capa (played by Cillian Murphy) if answering should they change course. Capa suggests using the Icarus I payload would increase the chance to reignite the Sun, so the decision is made. Meanwhile, Kaneda uncovers a strange message from Icarus I's Captain Pinbacker who has been become increasingly obsessed the Sun.

The closer they get to the Sun, the body count goes up, as Capa discovers Pinbacker is still alive and has become completely sun-burnt and insane and begins killing crew members and sabotaging the mission. Capa must try to escape Pinbacker, launch the stellar bombs into the sun, and save the earth from an eternal solar winter.

Now, this is more of a straight and narrow sci-fi film, the only thing is, it does kinda turn into slasher film in space. The parable here is closely aligned to the Biblical tale of the Tower of Babel. Wherein there is clearly a danger of humanity's reach into outerspace in general, the sun should seem completely off limits, and is not without its consequences for those who seek to venture too closely. These attributes all seem to make Sunshine an entertaining film. With a talented ensemble cast and versatile director Danny Boyle at the helm, it's no surprise that it hits all of its marks.

Conquest (1983)

ITALY/ SPAIN/ MEXICO --- fantasy

Dir: Lucio Fulci

In my opinion, there were really only three master filmmakers in Italian cinema. Mario Bava, Jacques Tati, and Sergio Leone. Italian cinema is full of genre pieces that have glorified the exploits of their homelands myths such as the Hercules films and sand and sandal gladiator pics. And rightly so, what better kind of film to make to take advantage of the locale. American westerns were made for the same exact reasons. This following film comes at a time when that genre had subsided in Italian cultural popularity, who were used to leeching a genre and doing it to death. Versatile director Lucio Fulci, a basterd step-child of the aforementioned auteurs of Italian cinema, decided to cash in on the international success of CONAN and it's many American copycats. However, he missed the mark big time.

"Conquest" takes place in a distant unknown time period which looks perhistoric one moment, and in the next in the time of Grecian myths. This isn't specified, what is important for the audience to know is the story involves a young hero, named Ilias (you can make connections to the Iliad if you like) who is equipped with a magical bow by villagers. The problem is, besides having a convulted plot, the writers didn't consult any Joseph Campbell inferences here about a boy on a quest. They pretty much just throw the kid out there and say go find yourself. In the meantime, we are shown an evil sorceress with a full metallic face mask and pretty much nothing else, has a premonition of her death by the hands of a boy with a bow. That boy is Ilias, and she dispatches a species of dog soldiers who look like they're wearing $1.98 werewolf costumes to find him. When attacked by the soldiers, lucky for Ilias beefy hero archetype named Mace, comes to his rescue.

As Ilias and Mace bond, he leads him to a village of what looks to be a tribe of neandertals. The ravaging dog soldiers attack the village and kill the love interest of Ilias. I'm going to stop right here, because the rest of the film for me is simply not worth reviewing. I will sum up some of my feelings. Swamp zombies wearing white Hefty cinch-sack garbage bags attack Mace, decapitations galore (in full Fulci style), and the appearance of another villian clad in a suit of bathroom tiles. All to the funky score that sounds like it was put together by a bunch of street performers. This film has made me laugh more than a comedy. Fulci really missed the mark with this one.

Don't Look Now (1973)
ITALY/UK --- horror

Dir: Nicolas Roeg

I came upon this movie twice when searching or looking for other films. It came up once as a suggestion on my Netflix subscription. Then it came up on IMDB as a related film. Fortuitous or not, I figured I should give it a shot. I went into it blind as bat, not having read anything but the description of the film. I read no reviews before. After watching it, I looked up other reviews and such and found it has it's place in film history.

"Don't Look Now" is an unassuming horror/suspense film, that film tells the story of a couple recovering from the horrific accidental drowning of their young daughter. At the time of her death she was wearing a red rain slicker, and the parents John and Laura Baxter (played by Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) soon become estranged. They decide to leave their only son and take a working "vacation" to Venice, Italy might be the cure to their grief stricken estrangement. We are in the middle of the gothic Venice setting; complete with intentionally labyrinthine streets full of statues, churches, and gondolas pulling people to and fro. In this, John Baxter's architectural assignment is to restore a 16th Century church, probably no coincidence if you see the cathartic message there alone.

However, fate intervenes, as the couple encounter two elderly sisters in a cafe, one of which is a self-proclaimed psychic. The blind woman informs Laura that she sees their dead child and Laura has no problem believing it as she is given specific evidence. Laura literally passes out, and is hospitalized, as she reveals to John what the blind woman told her about their deceased daughter. John on the otherhand is a bit more skeptical about the whole situation. The film alludes to the fact that John too is psychic having already had a premonition about his daughter's drowning.

The two sisters' message to John via Laura is to simply to leave Venice. This should have some resonance with the couple as they discover a serial killer is loose. At some point in the film, the couple share a highly explicit and erotic sex scene. Having coincidentally just watched "Lust, Caution" (The R-rated version) just a day before, I was amazed at what they got away with in this film. This completely took me by surprise. Anyway, John consults some help from the Bishop of the church he's helping to rebuild, as he sees a young girl running through the streets with a red rain slicker. It's only when two foreboding circumstances come about that John is prepared to heed the psychic's warning. One, has a near deadly accident on the scaffolding inside the church, the other is an accident back home with their son, to which Laura goes to tend to the matter. However, John sees Laura has returned without notice on a nearby funeral gondola with the two sisters onboard. He quickly chases after her, but catches her to no avail.

He believes something is wrong as Laura has not contacted him, and even goes so far to suspect something sinister from the elderly sisters. Going to the local police to have them investigated, it is only at the point of finding them that John gets a call from home from his wife that their son is alright and she's coming back. However, John confronts the sisters and apologizes for his hasty suspicion of them, until the blind sister again warns that he is still in danger. That he is.

Upon my initial viewing, "Don't Look Now" felt like a Hollywood cash-in ripoff of the "Rosemary's Baby" and "Excorcist" ilk being produced at the time. Then my attitude changed, as it seemed to resonate with me. I kept thinking about it, and it felt kinda Hitchcockian with a Polanski-like vision, and I wasn't sure why. Then I found out it was based on a story by British author Daphne Du Maurier. This name is not a marquee name by any means, but I looked into her and discovered this woman had a huge influence upon Hitchcock, so much to the point three of his films are based on her works! The fact of the matter is, this film deserves all the accolades it gets because of its adult approach to the horror genre.

Tetsuo (1989)
JAPAN --- science fiction/horror

[In North America Tetsuo: The Iron Man]

Dir: Shinya Tsukamoto

Experimental films usually hit hard and heavy to the senses, as they’re use of celluloid are not bound by the constrictions of narrative storytelling or direction of the acting performances. It’s the difference between the abstract art of Jackson Pollock and Rothko from someone like Rembrandt or Norman Rockwell. “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” is no exception from this rule of non-boundary experimental film. It is a surreal piece of avant garde filmmaking from director Shinya Tsukamoto. It does however stay within the boundless genre of science fiction in addition to a little horror.

It’s hard to dissect a film that leads you to believe it’s a science fiction film, but quickly throws out all sentiments to story out the window. We are first introduced to an unknown metal fetishist in an industrial junkyard surrounded by every form of metal junk you can think of. The unknown man proceeds to cut into his leg and implant a metal rod under the muscle. Obviously, this man has become so obsessed with metal, that he has to “install” metal inside of himself. Upon becoming infected from the wound he gets up and runs out into the streets like a lunatic. A car driven by a businessman and his girlfriend hits the man, and they quickly disperse of the metal fetishist in a ravine off the side of the road.

Having left him for dead, the businessman wakes up the next day, only to discover a piece of metal imbedded in his face. Soon scraps and pieces of metal begin to grow all over him like a malignant cancer, and it happens fast and furious. The man becomes transformed, having rough sex with his girlfriend, a huge power drill for a penis ultimately ripping apart his girlfriend, and even dreaming of being sodomized by a harsh “steely dan” adorned by his girlfriend. His memories are even displayed on television sets in his apartment, that show the hit and run and show him and his girlfriend sexually aroused by the accident (a subject matter explored by JG Ballard’s novel “Crash” turned into a film by David Cronenberg). The film literally moves at accelerated pace to its conclusion as the dead metal fetishist and the transformed fetishist battle in the streets.

“Tetsuo: The Iron Man” is so kinetic and visually stunning, in it’s grainy 16mm black and white footage, and fast-paced MTV style editing that it leaves you almost speechless. The film is a complex essay, thesis, and commentary on man’s everyday life with machines and metal. Sure it’s been done before, and probably to death with cyberpunk literature and films. But this is different. If you can discern certain meaning from the film such as the original “metal fetishist” having a ripped photograph of an athlete running representing man’s inert human desire to reach human physical perfection. There’s also the obvious sexual subtext that could be discussed and argued about forever. The one thing that I was reminded of when watching this was an episode of television series “Amazing Stories”, about a teenager who had a similar problem with metal being magnetically attracted to him, except he wanted no part of it. In the end of that episode, to his dismay, he found himself pulled to a nerdy girl with braces. This film seems to be the opposite sentiment of wanting to embrace metal, and dealing with the physical and psychological consequences of that fetish. Coming from a country that has opened the proverbial “pandora’s xbox” with new high-tech discoveries every year, it would seem they do have more of an attraction than anyone else in the world.

Lifeforce (1985)
UK --- science fiction/horror

Dir: Tobe Hooper

What is the true origin of vampires? Lifeforce suggests the answer lies beyond the stars. Master of Horror Tobe Hooper and “Alien” brainchild Dan O’Bannon teamed for this visually entertaining homage to some of Europe’s B-grade science fiction and horror cinema of the 50‘s and 60‘s.

When the HMS Churchill space shuttle embarked for a mission to explore Halley’s Comet, they discover a 150-mile long starship in the comets wake. The team commanded by Colonel Carlsen, (played by Steve Railsback) which is a merger of both US and Great Britain astronauts, send out a party to investigate. Within the gigantic tubular confines of the ship, the party finds dozens of dead bat-like alien creatures, and a trio of humanoid-alien bodies encased in transparent coffins. There are two males and one incredibly alluring female. The team decides to return to the ship with the bodies and one of the bat-like creatures’ corpses.

Thirty days later, we find that the HMS Churchill has been out of contact with earth and the USS Columbia has been dispatched to investigate the floating mystery ship. They find the charred remains of the crew and their storage; the three encased bodies still intact. The humanoid-aliens are returned to London‘s Space Research Centre, where some scientists conduct a series of tests to find out just what they are. They leave the bodies alone, but under strict surveillance, that is until, in tried and true Hammer Horror form, the space lady (played by dancer Mathilda May) opens her eyes and rises from her coffin. Besides standing stark naked in front of a guard, she goes over to him and locks lips effectively stealing his life-force as he is quickly turned into a fleshy shell of himself. Having witnessed the reanimated corpse rise to life on a surveillance camera, the Space Research Centre chief, rushes to the scene. He gets within but a few feet of the space girl and becomes weakened in her presence, later claiming he felt overwhelmed. At this point we know just what’s going to happen as she escapes the high security facility of the SRC.

After she escapes, the scientists decide to perform an autopsy on the corpse of the guard’s fleshly corpse, only to find he is not really dead. He rises from the autopsy table and sucks the life-force from one of the coroner surgeons, and it would seem transforms back to his original human form. Meanwhile, a British government agent, Col. Caine, is assigned to investigate this case has both the chief of the SRC and doctor

The scientists are shocked to discover that the bodies become reanimated after sucking the life-force of another human being. However, they learn it is only temporary, as these “vampires” must continue to do so for within a certain time span or else they will explode and be utterly destroyed. Now that the scientists realize what’s at stake, they come to the conclusion they are on they’re way to vampire epidemic in London. The space girl is already loose and has taken another victim and shown a new ability as she is able to assume the body and identity of whomever’s life-force she consumes. At this point, the HMS Churchill’s escape pod is recovered in Texas and Colonel Carlsen is recovered from it. The scientists of the SRC immediately demand his assistance and knowledge of what happened on board the Churchill. He is the key to discerning what these creatures are all about, in hopes of finding some way to quell the vampire epidemic about to ensue in London.

Based on the novel “Space Vampires” by British author Colin Wilson, “Lifeforce” is one of those films that is apparently quite polarizing. Some dismiss it as really bad movie, and some see it for what it is; a cheesy homage to B movies. IMHO, it follows in the same tradition as “Fright Night” or “Night of the Creeps“. I do think there were a couple of problems that didn’t allow the audience to get what it was doing. Cannon films is not a big budget studio in the likes of Universal or Paramount who would have had a say in what they were getting back - sometimes suit interference is a good thing. Another thing, perhaps with the haughty British performances which really did appear to make you take this film “deadly” serious, however there are some scenes of humor even just with the presence of Aubrey Morris that beg to differ. One my personal issues is the ending does seem anticlimactic and leaves much to be desired. To play devil’s advocate, the one thing they got right for many reasons was the casting of Mathilda May. Besides being nude, she perfectly exudes all kinds of allusions to B-grade film. In her eyes, she embodies the raven-haired “Brides of Dracula”, she has the body of a Russ Meyer heroine, and displays a creepy silence about her that feels very much directed by Mario Bava.

Onibaba (1964)
JAPAN --- horror

Dir: Kaneto Shindô

The title translates as “demon woman” or “demon-hag” to be specific. At first glimpse, you watch this film and you feel you’re in a surreal piece of early Japanese cinema elevating to some samurai action hopefully. But that never happens. You’re two protagonists are two women scavenger hunters killing wayward samurai in the tall swampy reeds and stealing their belongings to sell for food. This is how they live during an apparent war torn country in feudal Japan.

This is the way of life for these two women. Who fish and hunt on a daily basis. The mother has a son away in war, daughter-in-law has this same man to await, and this brutal way to survive is the only way to live; that is until a male neighbor (Hachi) returns from war with bad news of their loved one. Now, surviving is all they have left, for hope has just been dissipated. Once this hope completely vanishes, Hachi has let it be known he has designs on the daughter-in-law. He’s completely enamored with her, but he never goes so far to take what he wants, because in this harrowing time of isolation, it really is only a matter of time.

As Hachi continues to declare his amour for the young woman, the older woman in turn becomes enraged at the fact that not only is her daughter-in-law forgetting her son so quickly, but is taking a man she wouldn’t mind having herself. The other matter is she would be losing her partner in both crime and survival. The woman warns both her daughter-in-law and Hachi to stay away from each other, but she soon discovers her words were not heeded. Mother tells daughter-in-law that her actions have consequences that enrage the spirit world, and that evil deeds are punished by demons. Daughter-in-law doesn’t believe in it, and that night she returns to Hachi, leaving the old woman alone. This night, a masked samurai finds her hut, and is only in need of direction, but the woman sees more money at the door. She reluctantly leads the samurai out, but plans to trap him in a ditch.

On the way, the woman demands to see the samurai’s face, and the samurai tells her he’s cursed to wear it for his beauty. Once he falls into the trap, the woman goes down to collect the armor and stuff, including the mysterious mask. The mask is at first difficult to get off, but she eventually gets it off and uses it for her own plot, to scare her daughter-in-law away from Hachi. It works too, but then she finds that that samurai’s curse may have not been him just kidding; now she cannot remove the mask.

Onibaba is probably one of the best early Japanese films I’ve seen, and as its story is simplistic and haunting, it has a subtle horror lying in wait after every frame. It’s cinematography in stark black-and-white is mesmerizing and atmospherically melodic. Director Kaneto Shindô builds so much tension and emotion with the superb actors and barebones plot (which is loosely adapted from a Buddhist fable), that the visualization pieced with the creepy minimalist taiko score make it a beautiful art film. He also amazing allows some production design to do its work. Notice the old woman’s kimono is adorned with a crab. We’ve all heard the old saying “crabs in a bucket”; perfect description for the characters in this film. In our astrological zodiac it is the symbol for the sign Cancer, that’s saying one thing alone. However if you dig deeper, you get some other references like the fact that that sign is a Water element, and is also feminine and negative sign. I guess one would really have to be into astrology or know someone of this sign for it to get home. But knowing this alone, helps with the title character. This is the perfect companion piece to Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu.