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HALLOWEEN HAVOC 2020


Execproducer

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Loved it when I was a kid, though the video was so murky it was almost impossible to see. Then when I saw restored it in all its gory glory a couple years ago I liked it even more. Totally unlikable characters facing an unexplained, existential menace (and is another body possession film!) with a ton of blood and atmosphere, give me more. This repeated shot alone is utterly terrifying with nothing but the sound of crickets to aid it: 

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Edited by Curt McGirt
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I'm a little monster, be scared of me*
I'm bothering you, making you dream only about me
I'll dance and play when you're paralyzed in your sleep
As I cast a spell over your body

I'm a little monster
I'm a little monster

*English translation
 
- Red Velvet, Monster
 
 
 
Let's Scare Jessica To Death ( Hancock, 1971 )

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067341/

 

 
Pick: Curt McGirt 

"This one is straight up unsettling. It also deals with mental illness in a way that both plays with the viewer and makes them sympathize with it, which is a hard line to tread. I've heard this was great for many years but never watched it, and after finally seeing it the only comparison I could make to it from the period it was made was 

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Deathdream

 

But even then there aren't many similarities. Very unique."

 
Reviewed by: Execproducer
 
1971's Let's Scare Jessica To Death opens with the title character adrift in a rowboat and having an inner dialogue where she expresses her disbelief of the events that led to this point and that perhaps it is actually just madness. The mood set in this moment will be maintained throughout the film and the ambiguity of her thoughts play out in the story that follows. Jessica (Zohra Lampert) has been recently discharged from an institution and is moving to an upstate New York farmhouse to recuperate  with her musician husband Duncan (Barton Hayman) and their friend Woody (Kevin O'Connor). Like in the opening scene, Jessica is burdened with a lot of inner dialogues and it isn't always her own voice. She mostly keeps these to herself for fear that the men in her life will believe she is relapsing. On the way to the farmhouse, they encounter the local townspeople, mostly old men, that are openly hostile. The men refer to them as hippies but they don't really fit that stereotype. Sure, Woody has longish hair and a weird rainbow tie but from a distance, Duncan and Jessica could easily pass as a normal thirty-something couple. They could probably best be described as bohemian. They are certainly free-thinking enough to invite a squatter they find at the farmhouse (Mariclare Costello as Emily) to live with them.
 
Things go downhill from there as Jessica continues to hear voices and see things that perhaps aren't there and Emily insinuates herself into the affections of the two men while actually focusing her attention onto Jessica. Duncan and Jessica go to town to sell items they found at the farmhouse and are met with even more overt hostility from the locals. They find a friendly antiques dealer that turns out to be another transplant from New York City and he fills them in on the backstory of the Bishop Farmhouse that they now own. How Abigail Bishop drowned on her wedding day and, legend has it, continues to roam the countryside as a vampire nearly a century later. Weird things happen as a  mysterious mute girl  appears on several occasions to try and warn Jessica about something. And why are all of those mean old men sporting bandages? And doesn't that old photo of Abigail look familiar? As bodies start to pile up, Jessica questions her own sanity and so does the viewer.
 
As noted by some film scholars, Let's Scare Jessica To Death borrows elements of Sheridan Le Fanu's novella Carmilla but is very much it's own thing, prognosticating the end of The Summer of Love and previewing the paranoid films of the 70's. Originally intended as a hippies vs monsters movie, director John Hancock crafted something much deeper. The parts of the original script that the producers insisted he keep only serve to add to the nightmare-like quality of the film. All of the actors are good but Lampert shines as Jessica. Sometimes child-like and always as fragile and vulnerable as a candle in the wind, she convincingly portrays Jessica's struggle. 
 
Highly, highly recommended.    
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Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) - IMDb

 

Edited by Execproducer
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BONUS REVIEW!!!
 
 
Et mourir de plaisir AKA Blood and Roses (Vadim, 1960)
 
 
 

 

Review: Execproducer
 
Much more directly adapted from Carmilla yet with major liberties taken, Roger Vadim's Blood and Roses also launched the lesbian vampire cycle of films. Thanks Roger!!! Starring his soon-to-be-ex-wife Annette Stroyberg as Carmilla Karnstein, the last member of the Austrian branch of the family and staying at the Italian villa of her cousin and perhaps former lover Leopoldo (Mel Ferrar) who is about to marry her friend Georgia (Elsa Martinelli). Melancholy about the upcoming nuptials, Carmilla entertains the villa's guests with the family legends of Karnstein vampires, particularly the one that was never found, Mircalla, who was said to be secretly entombed in a nearby abbey by her cousin-lover. That same abbey is set to be the base for a fireworks display intended to highlight a costume ball celebrating the upcoming wedding. An errant explosion reveals the hidden tomb of Mircalla. Carmilla, obsessing over her resemblance to her legendary ancestor, is drawn to the site where she seems to become possessed by the vampire.
 
Like Let's Scare Jessica To Death, the film leaves open the possibility that the vampirism element may be the disturbed imagination of the heart-broken Carmilla. At least the local peasants believe her. As she begins to change her nature and stalk the grounds of the villa, it becomes difficult to tell who she wants more: Leopoldo or Georgia. 
 
This is an all-timer of a movie. Vadim, probably more well known in the west for his wives and lovers, was quite the capable film director. The cinematography of Claude Renoir cries out for a full restoration of this vampire classic. If he had shot all the films of Annette Stroyberg, she might have become the next Bardot as Vadim had intended. Her and Elsa Martinelli are indescibingly luminous in their scenes together. Get your hands on this and add it to your collection.

 

 

 

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And if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go chasin' the nuns out in the yard
And I'll run naked through the streets without my mask on
And I will never need umbrellas in the rain
I'll wake up in Strawberry Fields every day
And the atrocities of school I can forgive
The happy phantom has no right to bitch
Oo who
The time is getting closer
Oo who
Time to be a ghost
Oo who
Every day we're getting closer
The sun is getting dim
Will we pay for who we been
 
- Tori Amos, Happy Phantom
 
 
 
Ghost Stories (Dyson/Nyman, 2017)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5516328/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

 
Pick: Ultimo Necro

" My pick is Ghost Stories (2017) starring Martin Freeman.  I’ve checked the list and it doesn’t appear to have been done before.  As I’ve been stuck in the UK for the last 20 years my Brit wife has introduced me to a ton of British films and tv shows I wouldn’t normally have bothered with. I never liked Martin Freeman in the UK office or The Hobbit flicks when they came out.  However, seeing him in Fargo and then this changed my mind.  It’s a kind of anthology, creepy traditional horror and I think anyone that’s not seen it would really enjoy it. "

 
Reviewed by: CSC
 

Ghost Stories was something I had seen on my recommended Hulu list a bunch of times but never actually watched, so I’m glad this forced me to sit down and finally see it. 

Professor Phillip Goodman is a debunker of seemingly everything supernatural.  When he gets roped into investigating 3 mysterious cases, his reality begins to crumble around him and his life’s work.  It’s an anthology series of horror shorts with a clever narrative weaving them all together.

Each of the 3 stories really lull you into a false sense that all the film is going to give you are your typical horror movie tropes - creepy jump scares in a mental asylum, a creature taking revenge against you on an empty country road and finally a good ole poltergeist with very little to clue you in that not everything is what it seems.    The tone of each one of these stories are done extremely well with exceptional performances by each of the leads. 

Having worked security for over a decade on the graveyard shift, the first story was by far the most unnerving for me.  I have had that strange feeling like I’m not alone in a building that I knew was empty and it would send shivers up my spine. 

Once the shoe dropped and the true nature of what is going on is revealed, it kind of lost me.  It was a clever way to stitch together these stories but it was never really fully fleshed out and I have a personal thing against “it was all in their head!” type endings that I view as a cop out. 

What I did really love about this was the humor scattered throughout.  “You okay?” as Simon peered around the car at the creature he had run over had me busting up, as well as him grabbing the largest mapbook I’ve ever seen, rolling up and being ready to use it as a weapon.  It was the funniest mystery/suspense/ghost story movie I can remember viewing and it really helped cut the tension of the spooky tone loomed every aspect of the film.

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And when later we find that the thing we devised
Has the villagers clamouring for its demise
We will have to admit the futility of
Trying to make something more of this jerry-built love

And you'll notice it bears a resemblance to
Everything I imagined I wanted from you

But at least it's my own creation
And it's better than real
It's a real imitation
 
- Aimee Mann, Frankenstein
 
 
 
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Barton/Lantz, 1948)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040068/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3

 
Pick: odessasteps

"In 2020, we need more laughs and less being scared, not only in real life, but in our horror movie selection. 

Plus, you've got Bela and Lon Chaney Jr and even an uncredited Vincent Price."

 
Reviewed by: (BP)
 

“Well that's gonna cost you overtime because I'm a union man and I work only sixteen hours a day.”

“A union man only works eight hours a day.”

“I belong to two unions.”

When the Sony email leak happened, one of the projects that was brought up was a 21 Jump Street sequel where they join the Men in Black. I got excited because the idea of established comedy personas strumming laughs from another franchise brought to mind my favorite Bud Abbott and Lou Costello movies. 

I seem to watch Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein every ten or so years, and fortuitously it’s about time for a revisit. Their monster movies are the films I’m most familiar with, but I’m also partial to their take on Jack and the Beanstalk, which I rewatched during quarantine. 

The fortunes of both Abbott and Costello and the Universal Monsters were on the decline by the time of the making of this film. After being major box office draws for most of the 40s, Abbott and Costello’s movies had begun underperforming and a personal rift had developed between the two. Meanwhile, Universal had spent a decade and a half making numerous sequels, spinoffs, and crossovers involving their stable of monsters, and they’d just about exhausted the properties.  The audience for it had eroded, and they were still a decade away from a major revival in interest due to television syndication. It had been three years since the last entry, House of Dracula, which this is a quasi-sequel to depending on who you ask. 

Bela Lugosi’s only return performance as Dracula is also his last major studio job, and his agent had to essentially beg to get Lugosi the part. He’d spend the remainder of his working years on Poverty Row before meeting his good buddy Edward D. Wood Jr. The enormous Glenn Strange plays the titular creature in his third and final time in the role. Lon Chaney Jr. was already on the outs with Universal due to his drinking problem, and this is his last performance as Larry Talbot. 

In lesser hands this would have been a sad footnote for the Universal Monsters franchise; certainly Lugosi and Chaney had been or would go on to be involved in lame, cheap horror parodies just to make a living. But the concept is handled so perfectly here, and its reputation as the standard bearer for horror comedy is totally earned.  The Monster characters almost never bend to the will of the material and the joke is squarely on Bud and Lou.

The plot involves the boys working as railway station baggage clerks who run afoul of the Monsters while handling a coffin and crate being shipped to a huckster’s roadside horror museum. They end up in the center of Dracula’s plot to find a pliable simpleton to use as a donor to replace the Frankenstein Monster’s brain in order to make it a more reliable slave. Dracula, who’s spamming his glamour power the entire movie and seems unstoppable, must need the muscle solely as insurance against Larry Talbot, The Wolfman, who is once again poised to gum up the works of the Count’s machinations. Meanwhile, Costello’s character has two gorgeous women competing for his affections, but one or both may have ulterior motives. There’s also a hunky contract player playing a Drac-adjacent scientist, as there’s often a fifth-billed hot dude to add some sex appeal to the proceedings in goofy comedies from this period. 

At any rate, the movie is FUNNY. Not every broad gag hits like it would have perhaps at the time, but for every piece of physical comedy or one-liner that may not land perfectly now, there’ll be a moment where Costello mugs to the camera effortlessly and fluidly while continuing the scene that kills me. All of the pieces are put on the board to get us to the frantically hilarious climax, where Abbott and Costello find themselves trapped in a creepy castle ducking in and out of the mayhem caused by the throw-down between the creatures. 

The Monster actors play it totally straight and their presentation mostly protects their aura (The Wolfman is kind of jobbed out throughout the movie and made to look a bit silly, but Universal seemingly had no designs on sequels beyond this, and Chaney’s contract had already been terminated.) Lugosi, heavily made up in an effort to conceal his advanced age, nevertheless still had the goods and delivers the required hypnotic charm.  I’ve always found Costello’s man-child character to be the best of that comedic archetype from the period, perhaps because there’s an innate wholesomeness and kindness to him that provides him with a quiet dignity even in the face of cowardice and humiliation. Bud Abbott’s take on the straight man is perfectly balanced between blatant irritation at Costello and a sweet, subtle affection for his charge. 

The project was one of Universal’s most financially successful of the year and reinvigorated the Abbott and Costello brand. They’d go on to mix it up with the likes of The Invisible Man, Mr. Hyde, and The Mummy. This is likely their best remembered film, and it’s become a beloved part of the Universal Monsters franchise despite possibly existing outside of the canon (Talbot had been cured of his lycanthropy in the previous film and the Monster had been rendered mute for several films before speaking again in this one.) In a few years many of the players would either be dead or persona non grata in the entertainment industry, but for one glorious moment their paths crossed and their fortunes reversed. 

Anyway, if anyone wants to hear my elevator pitch for Tatum and Hill in 21 Elm Street, I’m available.

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Abbott_costello_frankenstein.jpg

 

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From Wikipedia, Re: Let's Scare Jessica To Death:

Quote

 According to Steve Senski of Trailers from Hell, Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling called the film "one of the most frightening films he'd ever seen in his life."[54]

I can't think of a higher recommendation, really. 

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It's really, really good. Those old men in town are creepy as hell. They look like a strong wind would bowl them over but at the same time they might slit your throat in your sleep and make headcheese. The whole thing is like a waking nightmare that could be her imagination but it gives you enough to believe it's really happening.

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Yeah I had to hold my tongue on here more than once because I was gonna show my hand. It was a real surprise for me and you can find it free online if you look (I gave Exec the link but he didn't post it). Can't believe it ever got bad reviews back in the day. 

I was gonna review Necronomicon but didn't get around to it, will probably throw that one in the Horror thread if/when I get around to watching it. 

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She wants to cut through the circles
That she has lived in before
She wants to finally kill the delusions
She won't need them
Any more
Any more
Any more
But there's a sound
Across the alley
Of cold metal
Too close to the bone
And you can see
If you look in her window
The face of a woman
Finally alone
Behind straight lines
Straight lines
 
- Suzanne Vega, Straight Lines
 
 

The Long Hair of Death (Margheriti, 1965)

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058307/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
 
 
 
Reviewed by: Curt McGirt
 
13 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

I remember, I got through that but I was trashed. Shorthand review: It was great, it has Barbara Steele, it's in B&W and Italian, so it's great by default. Watch it! ?

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Edited by Execproducer
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