One keeps changing one's goalposts, doesn't one? Revising a blown deadline, extending a due date to buy oneself more time? I do so unashamedly, for a number of reasons. When I last posted, I was miffed by how Halloween sneaked by with so little fanfare, and swore to extend the celebration of horror into November, taking the 21st as the true end of Halloween.
The 21st was the night the Castro Theatre unleashed a lovely 2fer of British horror: Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (from a print brought over from the British Film Institute) and Harry Kumel's Daughters of Darkness, a highly regarded cult film I'd been eager to check out for years. I attended that lovely double feature (accompanied by good friend & editor Michael Guillen - go read The Evening Class, will ya?), and yet still can't just put the damn Halloween season to bed.
Especially not since the Castro's unleashing an even-more-glorious horror 2-fer this month, pairing Argento's Suspiria (which I've seen there before and elsewhere on 35mm, but dammit) with Mario Bava's final film Beyond the Door II (aka Shock), and under-the-wire-but-surely-welcome participation in this, Mario Bava's centenary.
So I'm not pronouncing horror season done until that date (and its accompanying movies) are behind us. As for the movies mentioned above...
--Don't Look Now was basically an unknown quantity; I'd seen it on video back in college but hadn't revisited it since. Even knowing the terrifying ending is coming (and it's still a hell of a jolt, and a heartbreaker, besides), the details of the story remain engrossing. Though Roeg feels like he's keeping himself distant from his story, in which Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie mourn their dead child (retreating to Venice, where something strange among the canals seems to stalk them as insistently as their memories), it's as if Sutherland and Christie are able to spread out inside that distance and really explore the depths of sadness, intimacy, alienation, and desolation. For all its penetrating realism there's more than enough touches of the uncanny to propel the thing into the realm of horror. And I wonder now as I did when I first saw it if its visual linking of one scene to the next was lifted directly by comics scribe Alan Moore.
--Daughters of Darkness stretches a low budget and limited resources really, really far, or spends a huge budget to convey that impression. John Karlen (who shot this between Dark Shadows projects - Kumel's casting must have been deliberate) and Danielle Ouimet are newlyweds who find themselves stuck at a desolate Belgian hotel, with only a bizarre countess (Marienbad's Delphine Seyrig, semi-slumming it here under Resnais' encouragement) and her Brooksian secretary (Andrea Rau). It's decadent and dreamy, never quite solid enough to cohere into something truly great but never running out of strange details with which to beguile us. And it gets a lot of mileage out of Seyrig, her costumes, and those interiors, as well.
More soon(ish) on other movies seen in the post-post-Halloween season, including a video or two.
Cursed to become a vampire by a jilted lover, nobleman Barnabas Collins is unearthed two centuries later (in 1972) to find the world almost completely changed. His beloved home, Collinwood Manor, remains barely standing, presided over by the remnants of his family. Barnabas moves to restore his family to its former glory, even as he is haunted by the spectre of at least one lost love...
I lamented previously about the foul taste left by the trailer for this, the latest Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration. I couldn't understand how a film by two avowed fans of the original series could be as off-puttingly goofy as the trailer suggested it would be. Reviews of critics and reports from friends suggested that my fears were well-founded. And yet even weeks after the thing opened I remained curious about it, and figured I'd have to see it for myself. I went with my girlfriend, a woman who's picked up my DARK SHADOWS habit, who held out hope that there was something of substance within the film. I harbored my doubts even after the solid prologue, bracing myself for the film to go off the rails.
But it never did. The credits roll as Victoria Winters travels to Collinsport to take her new job as governess to Collinwood Manor (the event that opened the original series - indeed, it was a dream of this image that led Dan Curtis to conceive the show). The Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin" is an obvious choice to score this, but it works. The choices Burton (and writers John August and Seth Grahame-Smith) makes in introducing the Collins clan, from the still-proud elegance Michelle Pfeiffer brings to Elizabeth Collins Stoddard to young David Collins' startling resemblance to the young Damien Thorn, also work, demonstrating an understanding of what makes the characters compelling but necessarily going beyond simple rehash.
There is humor in the film, yes. And some if it is so gaudy that it seems to have been tacked on after the fact (and yes, I refer to the scenes that figure in the trailer). My girlfriend was convinced that these scenes were shot at studio insistence, and though one cannot ignore Burton's previous lapses into mood-breaking cutesiness (and there have been several), the gothic tone is so lovingly realized throughout the film that these scenes are hard to explain any other way. Especially alongside moments of sly humor that are realized more solidly, and are genuinely funny. One such moment finds Barnabas cursing a bright (and prominently framed) McDonald's sign. "Mephistopheles!" he hisses, a clever subversion of such direct product placement that showcases a wit absent in the film's goofier moments.
It is as compromised as Orson Welles' MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, which is not to say that it is as brilliant as that film remains. Some choices can not be laid down to studio interference. Eva Green holds all of the physical characteristics of Tim Burton's favorite leading ladies, but she doesn't bring to Angelique the knowingly freaky grace and eldritch power that would have made her a formidable villain (Burton's former muse Lisa Marie MUST have had the role at some point in their history). Still other characters are clumsily misplaced - Jonny Lee Miller's Roger Collins is too one-dimensional to ever be effective and is quickly written out; Victoria's backstory is rushed through; and there are a couple of character 360s that exist solely to provide the final conflict some oomph.
But even through all of these setbacks, these mistakes, these interferences, there is plenty to latch onto. Johnny Depp's haunted, irreverent grace. More crucially, the dedication of Barnabas to his family, which here, as always, keeps him from being the monster he fundamentally is (fan confession: the first extended scene between Barnabas and Elizabeth was exactly what I wanted/needed from this movie, and Depp and Pfeiffer just nail it). Pfeiffer's wounded strength, and the way Burton films her on Collinwood's main staircase. The lone tree on Widow's Hill, and the watery tragedy beneath. The curious, but keenly felt, kinship between Barnabas and David. The gentle lapse of familial duty into unconditional love. These and many other moments are realized with reverence, and eagerly shared by Burton, Depp, and company. As challenging as it is to see through all of the haze and meddling, there is real love for the source material here. The suits signed off on it, but generous eyes and heart reveal that they didn't quite kill it. Collinwood remains. This fan cried. And the Collinses endure.
I'm less than pleased with the clip above, which is shattering since I've been looking forward to this film for a couple of years. I'm quite surprised that this gaudy comic mishmash is the movie that Burton and Depp chose to make from the series, considering the decades each has spent nursing their affection for it. A friend quite reasonably reminds me that a trailer can't be counted on as a concrete indicator of what a film will be like, and one does wonder if the studio marketing department (who surely cut this trailer) were put off by stranger moments in the film and settled on the cutesier, more saleable stuff.
And yet the fact that so much of the latter seems so evident in the trailer is cause for concern. I'm not blind to the camp value that many ascribe to DARK SHADOWS (indeed, I've reveled in some of the show's more enthusiastic outbursts myself). And yet the craziness of the show was an outgrowth of its ambitious creative process, not a deliberately winking wackiness, and to play the story of Barnabas Collins and family mainly for yuks is an easy out that I'm disappointed to see Burton and Depp taking.
But even if they are going for something more interesting and varied, this trailer sets us up for a campy laff riot. Which is so much less than what the series offered, even amid the technical screw-ups and blown lines. I stand by my definition of the show as "the craziest community theatre in your town doing a short Gothic horror play EVERY SINGLE DAY" - the result of this approach is, just as often as camp, an atmospheric shudder delivered creatively on the cheap, and occasionally inspired romance (not to mention time travel and parallel worlds). The Burton/Depp film may yet provide these, and though the trailer gives me no hope, I admit I'll be heading out the second weekend of May to see for myself.
1) Favorite Vincent Price/American International Pictures release.
Gonna go with The Haunted Palace, mainly for the post-production gymnastics the film went through to shoehorn it into Corman's ongoing Poe cycle, and for the joy I had seeing it in San Pedro last month. It is a lovely piece of Lovecraftian cinema, though, and Price is just fine in it.
2) What horror classic (or non-classic) that has not yet been remade would you like to see upgraded for modern audiences?
Though many might argue that it's science fiction, The Incredible Shrinking Man is a dandy horror film. Though I'm extremely wary of the notion of Keenan Ivory Wayans and Eddie Murphy remaking it (as has been threatened for years), I'm not averse to a contemporary take on it. In my mind's cinema it retains the original dialogue (including Grant Williams' achingly gorgeous final monologue), and boasts a new Radiohead score.
Another remake I would like to have seen is the proposed Tim Burton/Lisa Marie remake of Bava's Black Sunday. Marie really should have been the star of one of her lover's films - one of those rare instances where I think intimates should collaborate, considering the amazing work she did in others of his films - but it wasn't meant to be.
The 1795 storyline put me in awe of David's incredible sensitivity. But Barnabas Collins is the fucking Man, so I gotta go with Frid.
Believe it.
4) Name the one horror movie you need to see that has so far eluded you.
I won't count movies I've seen on video but not theatrically (would love to catch up with An American Werewolf in London on film, someday) or films that are famously lost (like London After Midnight). I suppose it's a bit strange that I haven't seen the original Friday the 13th, but I feel greater pangs over having seen so few of the giallo flicks on the incredible list posted on Sound On Sight today.
5) Favorite film director most closely associated with the horror genre.
I gotta go with Dario Argento. The stylization of his best films sends me, and even his worst films are quite watchable. This blog was originally to be called the House of Peacocks, located in Brussels, Belgium, as an homage to the man but I decided to change up the name to give it its own flavor.
No damn contest: Barbara Steele. Black Sunday clinches it alone. Plus her eyes are incredible:
7) Favorite 50’s sci-fi/horror creature.
Next week I intend to buy a lush sushi dinner for my host and watch some of the films featuring this creature, on its birthday. Through all of his iterations, my fondness for Godzilla remains unabated.
8) Favorite/best sequel to an established horror classic.
Whether or not Child's Play is an established horror classic is open to debate, but Bride of Chucky absolutely transcends it. Ronny Yu packs the thing with a cornucopia of fine choices, from the blue lighting to Jennifer Tilly's fetishwear to the deployment of a bubble machine during the transformation sequence.
Of all the Hong Kong expatriates who worked in Hollywood following the 1997 changeover, Yu's output may be the most curious. I very nearly picked his Freddy vs. Jason to answer this question - like Bride, it eschews any attempt at scariness to instead focus on artfully crafting a bloody fantasy.
9) Name a sequel in a horror series which clearly signaled that the once-vital franchise had run out of gas.
My threshold for watchability is very low, i.e. it takes a lot to make me want to write off a franchise. That said, per my previous entry, Halloween: Resurrection is absolutely tedious, and (among many other problems) wastes the talents of a former classmate.
11) What was the last horror movie you saw in a theater? On DVD or Blu-ray?
As of this writing (executed piecemeal, over several days), Nadja was the last horror movie I saw theatrically. And though it doesn't count as a horror film per se, the "Just A Dream" two-parter from the Justice League cartoon offered some surprisingly-strong-for-Y7-rated imagery, and a beautifully nuanced voice performance by William Atherton as John Dee/Doctor Destiny.
12) Best foreign-language fiend/monster.
Rather than repeat myself, I'll say Kayako/Toshio from the Ju-On/The Grudge series. Each of the films has at least somewhat unsettled me, and I think taken together they're one of the most notable bodies of work in the genre of the last thirty years.
13) Favorite Mario Bava movie.
Oh, goddammit. Shit. Black Sabbath, then, for style, variety, genuine scares, real laughs, and that mind-bending coda.
14) Favorite horror actor and actress.
Lugosi. The aforementioned Steele.
15) Name a great horror director’s least effective movie.
Clearly recognizing that The Card Player is the least of Argento's features didn't keep me from wishing it were the pilot to an ongoing TV series. I also note that I had kind of a fucked up experience with his most recent film, Giallo, put off as I was by the false spoiler in the film's IMDB page. And that tacked-on ending undermines what could have been Argento's most powerful finish.
Joan Bennett brings class to Collinwood, but there's a scene toward the end of the first Barnabas arc where Julia is beset by low-tech, ghostly visions. It's basically Grayson Hall just riding a fucking crazy train - for ten glorious, unbroken minutes, the only thing you saw on ABC was Grayson Hall losing her shit. I would LOVE to have been in the studio the day that scene was shot.
17) When did you realize that you were a fan of the horror genre? And if you’re not, when did you realize you weren’t?
God, I don't even remember. I'm not sure it was a single epiphany as much as it was a gradual process. I steadily weathered all of the images that schoolmate Yuri Lowenthal savvily collected as the root of our generation's cinematic trauma (specifically: the daughters in The Shining; the clown in Poltergeist; the sister in Twilight Zone: The Movie [see below]; and Ralphie Glick at the window in Salem's Lot) and just gradually developed a taste for it.
It doesn't boast the giant insects/creatures run amok that most people associate with the Gordon oeuvre, but I thought Tormented was a nicely effective little spook show. Plus it had a fun role for Joe Turkel.
19) Name an obscure horror favorite that you wish more people knew about.
I want to share Bigas Luna's film Anguish with everyone, but need them to not read reviews and to just fucking trust me.
20) The Human Centipede-- yes or no?
I'm going to go with "fuck, no." Not because of its disgusting premise, but because it offers no wit or insight along with its gruesomeness. I've said before that if Tom Six was so influenced by David Cronenberg, then how come his films aren't smarter?
21) And while we’re in the neighborhood, is there a horror film you can think of that you felt “went too far”?
I've no desire to see A Serbian Film. Or to link to it.
22) Name a film that is technically outside the horror genre that you might still feel comfortable describing as a horror film.
Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd., in addition to being my favorite of his films, gives me the fucking creeps. Norma Desmond is a glorious mess whose plight transcends camp, and her need to take down others with her is nothing short of vampiric. Terrifying.
Like'em both, but Scott gets a slight edge. Not sure why.
24) If you’re a horror fan, at some point in your past your dad, grandmother, teacher or some other disgusted figure of authority probably wagged her/his finger at you and said, “Why do you insist on reading/watching all this morbid monster/horror junk?” How did you reply? And if that reply fell short somehow, how would you have liked to have replied?
Mom would give me this too-pointed glare when she didn't approve of something we'd seen together. I just ignored her. I love her dearly, but when she put that glare on, I ignored her.
25) Name the critic or Web site you most enjoy reading on the subject of the horror genre.
The House of Sparrows would not have opened without the abiding influence of Arbogast on Film and Final Girl.
26) Most frightening image you’ve ever taken away from a horror movie.
27) Your favorite memory associated with watching a horror movie.
The applause that busted out in the Castro Theatre the third time she said "Bastard."
28) What would you say is the most important/significant horror movie of the past 20 years (1992-2012)? Why?
The Blair Witch Project. It established a template and a spirit for 21st century, low-budget, off-Hollywood horror. And, after the hype and backlash, it was scary as hell.
29) Favorite Dr. Phibes curse (from either film).
Beasts (from the first film). Phibes kills a guy by shooting a brass unicorn at him from across the street, for crying out loud.
30) You are programming an all-night Halloween horror-thon for your favorite old movie palace. What five movies make up your schedule?
This is the question I'm most eager to read the responses to.
An American Werewolf in London - Because I've never seen it projected.
Phenomena/Creepers (Argento, 1985) - Likewise.
Anguish - Because I want to feel an audience's reaction to the halfway point again.
The House With Laughing Windows - Wanna fatten the program up with a movie I've never seen.
The Sleeping Car - Never saw this either, though its mention in a trailer for a month of horror on Cinemax back in the early 90s intrigued me. So my horror-thon is framed by David Naughton pictures. Clearly he's pleased.
Naturally, this exhibition would be loaded with at least two horror trailers before each film, and short films scattered as entr'actes. Including Peter Tscherkassky's Outer Space.
So that's a wrap on this, right on time for Halloween! How'd I do, Doctor? ...Doctor?
house: D!!!!!!!! 4f: Hiya 4f: Still in bed 4f: Yay 4f: Still watchin DS house: like fritos, isn't it? can't stop with one episode 4f: Yup 4f: Amd dsoesnt matter if I doze house: indeed house: it's ambient gothic TV 4f: Yes! 4f: I love the lines 4f: Sometimes I feel like replying house: it's drinking game fodder to be sure 4f: everyone draws a name from a hat - when your character goes up on a line, you drink 4f: "Ok. It's because I'm a fucking vampire ok? Now get off my back!" house: and when roger draws from the decanter in the living room, everyone drinks 4f: Ha house: i don't completely understand my fondness for roger house: maybe because on a fundamental level we both just want it quiet 4f: Heh 4f: Ha ha 4f: He's the resident malcontent 4f: Mrs stoddard doesn't help improve morale house: she classes up the place, though 4f: Yeah. Classy dame. house: one of the finest moments in the series' first year is when carolyn (the free-wheeling blonde) sluts it up one too many times, and mrs. stoddard just lets her have it 4f: Hahahhahha 4f: LOVE the lines! 4f: Haha house: you can see why depp and burton are queer on making the film 4f: Yyyesssssssssss 4f: I was tickled pink to hear about it house: there's no way it'll be allowed, but i'd love it if burton executed each shot/scene in one take like the original show 4f: Yes! 4f: Whatever it is...it'll be good house: here's hoping house: still watching DS or are you doing stuff? 4f: both house: good good 4f: i'm enjoying the most delicious miso an dnoodles for lunch house: excellent 4f: why did they want willie gone to begin with? 4f: he put the moves on the slutty chick? 4f: they are so mean to him house: yeah - plus he was jason's more unhinged lil' buddy - jason would threaten shit, but willie looked just THIS far from actually doing it house: there are quite a few episodes of bad willie before barnabas basically (i'm convinced) raped him 4f: vampires do that 4f: this series is rich and superficial all at the same time house: it really is! 4f: "rich" and campy too house: it plays a long game - you have like 20 episodes of almost non-existent plot development, and then something really insane, otherworldly, or just plain fucking GAH happens 4f: the residents are SO stupid 4f: kinda love it house: a frustrating drawback about the show is that you're almost never behind the characters - you know a secret, and wait for weeks for the characters to figure it out 4f: ha house: the series nearly lost me the first year when victoria was locked in a basement for ten straight episodes 4f: was this created in part for tweens back then? 4f: or stupid housewives? house: not deliberately, i don't think - it was made for the daytime TV audience, but the kids quickly caught on and became the show's main demographic 4f: i LOVE the "next episode" option house: on DVD i just let the thing run 4f: one press of a button and then a fix... 4f: ah house: and i like how the camera fixates on an empty space as the closing credits roll 4f: yes house: how many episodes have you watched? 4f: 14 house: cool - you've seen both episodes 214 and 222 - don't recall what happened in them, but they were both shown at MOMA during the jeremy blake WINCHESTER show 4f: we're at the spot where willie has moved into the place and barnabas has comissioned a painting of himself house: right 4f: young child's name is david 4f: heh house: i've come close to putting some david-related dialogue on my voicemail greeting, since he's always missing/fucking around at the old house
I built this house as a place where I could examine/talk about my favorite horror/fantasy films. Other topics will be discussed if the spirit moves me. Enter freely and unafraid.
