Author Archives: surgeons of horror

Retrospective: The House of Frankenstein (1944)

04 Friday Dec 2020

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Some thirteen years after the release of Dracula back in 1931, Universal now had a decent backlog of Universal Monsters in their midst.
After the relative success of Frankenstein vs The Wolf Man, which pitted two of their creatures head to head in its climax, it was a logical step to combine as many as possible into the one film. 

In order for this trick to be pulled off successfully however, requires some clever plot devices to wrangle each intricate characteristic into a believable situation. Curt Siodmak was called upon to carry out this difficult task, which seems a logical choice as he had overseen a lot of the Universal horror movies during the time. His decision was to introduce a new character in Dr. Gustav Niemann, a mad scientist played by Boris Karloff in what would be his last role in the Universal horror franchise. Accompanying him from a prison break is hunchback (another trope), Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), who is willing to carry out Niemann’s demands with the promise of a new body. 

Niemann though only has revenge in mind for the three people who wronged him and sent him to prison. 

This story is really told in two parts; the first part being the revenge on Burgemeister Hussman, which Niemann does by initially killing Professor Lampini and taking on his identity as a travelling showman and his Chamber of Horrors. The show in question just so happens to contain the skeletal remains of Count Dracula with the stake still impaled. Legend has it that if the stake were to be removed, Dracula would once again walk the earth. Naturally this happens, but Niemann convinces the Count (John Carradine) to carry out his task of ridding him of his nemesis with the promise of protection. Once the Count offs Hussman though, the group land in a spot of bother and Niemann quickly reneges on his agreement and ditches Dracula’s coffin, forcing him to submit to the sunlight and ultimately be destroyed. Dracula’s demise seems all too easy and as such renders him slightly useless in the movie and far from menacing.

The latter half of the movie focuses on the resurrection of Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange) and The Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) who were last seen washed away with the flood that submerged the ruins of Frankenstein’s castle. It turns out that they had been frozen in ice, and Niemann thaws them both, once again hoping to use them to his advantage. 

The film is aided by the return of Chaney Jr and the troubled Larry Talbot who continuously serves as the heart of the franchise. Here, a love triangle is formed as he finds himself falling for a gypsy girl Ilonka (Elena Verdugo – who was a descendant of the Verdugo family that founded Los Angeles), rescued by Daniel and Niemann. The former has also fallen for Ilonka’s charms and is then driven by jealousy when his love is not reciprocated, and also by anger from Niemann’s failure not to live up to his promise.

The climax is nicely tied up with a collision of personalities all vying for different means, and when that clash comes it can only lead to the demise of all, be it silver bullet, thrown from the roof, or driven into the swamp quicksand from angry villagers wielding flaming torches.

On face value, Siodmak ticks all the boxes of what can be expected from each of the characters but ultimately, there is nothing new to offer at hand, and because of this the film falls short on satisfaction. It is still a solid production, entertains, but never does enough to lift itself above the standards of its predecessors.

It was great to see Karloff (he definitely owns this movie and deserves to wield the lead antagonist mantle) and Lon Chaney Jr share screen time together, but the chance to have the creatures provide any form of menace are  squandered. 

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Gretel and Hansel

03 Thursday Dec 2020

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The story of Hansel and Gretel has gone through numerous guises over the years before it settled in the form that we know today courtesy of The Brothers Grimm, Wilhelm and Jacob, and their collection of folklore during the 19th Century. 

In fact, the initial story as we know it was told to the brothers by Henriette Dorothea Wild, who would go on to marry Wilhelm.

Throughout the years, there have been some common elements that have held true; the two siblings abandoned in the woods, the path of breadcrumbs, famine, the children’s inner strength and cunning, and of course… a cannibalistic witch. 

All of these features in Oz Perkins’ (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In Your House) third outing in the director’s chair. 

Upon the release of the film, it was noted the deliberate switch in the order of the siblings with Gretel taking top billing and for good reason, for this is her tale to tell. It also ties in with a theme that Perkins likes to dabble in, that of the suppressed female, struggling to find her identity in a strange or foreign world. 

It also combines Perkins fascination with the occult and the dark underbelly that lay under the world as we know it, waiting to ignite from the spark of curiosity, ignorance, or both.

Taking on the role of Gretel is Sophia Lillis who rose to fame as Beverly Marsh in 2017’s IT, directed by Andy Muschietti. Lillis takes the role in her stride as a girl forced to come into womanhood by an oppressive society and is required to endure total compliance on the slim chance that her family will reap the benefits. Not willing to live this kind of life, Gretel choses to steal away from her family home and the lack of love and support from her mother, taking her brother, Hansel with her.

Here the familiarity of the story sets in when Gretel and Hansel try to make ends meet in the wilderness, and Gretel continues to abate her brother’s wishes to return. 

Eventually they come across the witch’s house and the promise of new things to come. The Witch (played by the magnificent Alice Krige) is both wily and manipulative, with plans to consume Hansel, but is equally enamoured by Gretel, teaching her the ways of her craft. Will she be able to convert Gretel into her domain or can Gretel turn the tide of evil and save them from their torment?

The Prognosis:

Oz Perkins delivers another visually strong narrative, weaving a traditional folk story with a modern mindset. Perkins is a director who isn’t shy from female empowerment in his storytelling and Sophia Lillis proves once again that she can delicately handle the subtleties of human emotion that bely her years. 

If there is a hindrance is that Perkins is also a ‘slow burn’ storyteller and provides a hypnotic snail like pace to his movies. His previous two ventures suited the atmosphere that he wanted to evoke, and in some cases it works here, but equally the tempo is so slow and drawn out that it can be painful and laborious to watch.

I honestly wasn’t sure if I would write a positive account of the movie after viewing it as a result, and yet it lingers with you, which is a testament to the director and his visual playground. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Son of Dracula (1943)

02 Wednesday Dec 2020

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After a successful resurrection of their key horror monsters through the early monsters with The Invisible Man, Kharis aka The Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and the birth of the tragic Larry Talbot – The Wolfman, it would be inevitable that Universal would turn their attention to Count Dracula.
The trouble is the Count was destroyed in the climax of the 1931 movie by the hands of his foe Van Helsing.
In 1936 Universal stepped around this issue by introducing an offspring in the form of Dracula’s daughter, Countess Marya Zaleska, but with her demise also coming at the film’s conclusion. 

The answer would be presented by the Siodmak brothers Curt and Robert, who produce another heir in the mysterious Count Alucard. 

Part of the film’s appeal is choosing to set the story in New Orleans, not only because it brings the gothic tale Stateside, but as a location is itself rich in mysteries and folklore.

Set on a plantation owned by an elderly Colonel, where one of his two daughters, Katherine (Louise Allbritton) has a morbid fascination with the occult to the point where she has invited the afore-mentioned Alucard to stay with them.
When Alucard arrives (played by Universal’s A-Lister Lon Chaney Jr, which may have been a way to appease the star having been overlooked for the role of the phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, a role initially made famous by his father) it is soon apparent that he is of the ‘undead’ and after he pays a visit to the Colonel, the latter is found dead from a supposed heart attack.
The land and titles are left to the Colonel’s two daughters, but Katherine seems only interested in the estate “Dark Oaks” and not of the money which she happily relinquishes to her sister Claire (Evelyn Ankers).
Despite being betrothed to her long time boyfriend Frank, she supposedly jilts him for Alucard, who is not so cryptically revealed to be an ascendant of Count Dracula. Frank then in a fit of rage tries to shoot and kill Count Alucard, but the bullets simply pass through him and into Katherine, killing her instantly. The flip here though is that Katherine is already part of the ‘undead’ club having been transformed by Dracula and has claimed her wish for an immortal life.

Son of Dracula plays nicely with the mythology of Dracula and vampires, as we see numerous instances taking on the form of either the vampire bat or a cloud of mist providing him the ability to transform or travel at whim as long as he is granted an invitation of course.
Where the film adds its own flavour comes through the Katherine plot device which is revealed to be a plan to overthrow Dracula and entice Frank to join her in the afterlife.
This decision is a welcome inclusion to the franchise as it makes a more sinister approach to the central characters and this curious fascination that people have taken to the dark arts.
Possibly a logical step in the canon even if it does make Dracula secondary to the evil on screen and overshadowing his threat to a degree. 

  • Saul Muerte

Movie Review: Vampires vs The Bronx

01 Tuesday Dec 2020

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It’s been a while since a movie has tapped into the feels of 80s flicks such as Monster Squad or to a lesser degree The Lost Boys but with Osmany Rodriguez’s sophomore outing in the director’s chair of a feature length movie, Vampires vs The Bronx, we come damn close.

Much like how The Stranger Things was able to breathe fresh life into the SciFi horror genre with an adventure aimed at kids whilst appealing to adults alike, this film delivers a fun-filled ride with a thrilling edge to it.

It may not go too dark, but does enough to satiate the senses that you would hope for from a teen horror flick.

Set in a small part of the Bronx, young Miguel (Jaden Michael) has been trying to raise awareness that they are subject to gentrification, especially from the mysterious  Murnau properties (a great nod to FW Murnau who directed 1922’s Nosferatu).

Miguel and his two friends Bobby and Luis to save their local corner store by hosting a block party. It is here that Miguel witnesses the killing of a guy called Slim by the hands of a group of vampires and is hotly pursued.

From here on in Miguel must do all they can save the Bronx from these fanged invaders.

The Prognosis:

There are some great support roles from the adults in the movie, namely the always brilliant Sarah Gadon as Vivian, the equally sublime Shea Whigham as human servant Frank Polidori (again another great nod to the author of The Vampire),  Method Man as the Lord’s servant, Father Jackson, and Zoe Saldana as Becky.

But it’s the kids that own this movie and riff off each other with great energy and enthusiasm that peppers the story along.

It doesn’t offer anything new, but it does entertain. Well worth your time.

– Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

28 Saturday Nov 2020

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Having explored numerous aspects of Gothic Literature for Universal’s cannon of horror features, it was time to turn their attention once more back to Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera; a tale of a deformed phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, murdering people to aid the woman he loves, Christine, to become a star.

It was a bold choice as nearly twenty years prior, the production house had successfully released a version starring “The Man With A Thousand Faces” Lon Chaney as the titular Phantom back in 1925. 

It was deemed however, that ample time had passed despite Chaney’s son, Lon Chaney Jr now a contracted player for Universal, which meant that the ‘25 version was still fresh in the minds of some people. Chaney Jr allegedly expected the part to fall to him in order to reprise his father’s role, but the studio elected instead to cast Claude Rains (The Invisible Man). This did not go down well with Chaney Jr. and apparently some bitterness ensued between him and his The Wolf Man co-star.

It has to be said that I have always enjoyed Rains’ performances on screen and this was no exception as he brought a certain level of heart and empathy to his role as Enrique Claudin. Claudin is the doomed romantic, whose heart belongs to Christine Dubois, a soprano that he has been privately funding her singing lessons.

We certainly feel for Claudin, who is a violinist for the Paris Opera House and is let go due to the ailing use of his fingers. Looking to make ends meet, he then ventures to his music publisher in the hopes of getting money from a piano concerto that he has written. Tragedy has struck however, when he learns that the publisher is attempting to steal his work. In a fit of rage Claudin strangles and kills the publisher, only to have the publisher’s assistant throw etching acid in his face, deforming him.

From here on in, Claudin withdraws to the shadows with his new moniker of the phantom, and then goes to extreme measures in order to propel Christine to stardom.

The film plays out well enough and Rains more than holds his own, but it never feels dark or sinister enough to scare or thrill the audience. It doesn’t help that it is peppered with operatics with an upbeat jovial manner, potentially to juxtapose the dark energy that surrounds it. And it is the setting after all, but if that was the aim, then the darker elements needed to be amplified much more.

As it stands, it’s a solid film, but is no match for its predecessor. There were plans for a sequel called The Climax, but a combination of not being able to cast Rains again due to other commitments and problems working through a decent storyline that would work, it failed to materialise and instead would be reworked as a completely different movie starring Boris Karloff.

With Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical aside, the story would not be revisited again until 1962 Hammer Films starring Herbet Lom, then another twenty year abstinence until Robert Englund would don the mask in 1989 for 21st Century Film, and a Dario Argento feature in 1998.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Empty Man (2020)

28 Saturday Nov 2020

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Half an hour into this movie and I sincerely believe that I was watching the wrong film.

It’s billed as a supernatural horror thriller set in a Midwestern town in the States, where a group of teens start to disappear as a result of an urban legend known as The Empty Man.
The trailer set up plenty of promise, following a retired cop, James Lasombra (James Badge Dale – World War Z), who investigates these disappearances.
Tonally I was hoping that it would strive to meet the chilling intrigue developed in Clive Barker’s Candyman, but realistically it falls more in line with recent poor outings such as The Bye Bye Man or Slender Man. 

Writer / Director, David Prior, who is more known for directing documentaries takes a wild stab at a feature, and from this reviewer’s perspective, projects a similar structure, but unfortunately misses in a big way.
The exposition is too convoluted with twists and turns told in an incredibly laborious manner, that it simply turns the viewer off.
The curious choice to have such a lengthy introduction in order to lay the scene and the foundations of the The Empty Man legend, is unwarranted, especially as we have no connection with any of the characters bar the “infected”. And even then, it is a minimal moment reintroduced as a means to tie everything back together.

By this time, we are so lost in the meanderings of Prior’s apparent love of film noir, yet without any deep intrigue attached to the psyche of our protagonist.
The audience is cuffed by the ankles and dragged along the storyline without any care or attention to building on that relationship, as we are forced to feel every bump and bruise until its bitter conclusion.
I’d say hit the snooze button, but this proves hard viewing and you’re likely to wake up with a lot of jolts and “WTF?” moments and not in a good way.

The Prognosis:

With a whopping 2 hours and 17 minutes running time, you feel every twitch and strain of the central character’s dive down the urban legend rabbit hole. 

Only we’re armed with a toothpick, the ground is made of wurtzite boron nitride, and the plotline is so tangled in its own web, there’s no saving grace for our protagonist or the audience. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Captive Wild Woman (1943)

27 Friday Nov 2020

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No doubt when Universal were bandying around the idea behind Captive Wild Woman, they thought they potentially had another horror film franchise on their hands in the tale of an Ape Woman with humanistic tendencies.
The result however, was received with mixed feelings, in part due to its abomination of religious doctrination that caused one of several changes to the script, which would ultimately take around two years before it was greenlit.
By this time the kernel of the story had undergone a transformation not unlike its subject that morphed into a hybrid version of the original concept. 

The story gathered together a collection of characters, starting with animal trainer Fred Mason (Milburn Stone) who returns from safari with a series of animals to be used in the Whipple Circus. Chief among these is Cheela, the afore-mentioned gorilla, played by stuntman Ray ‘Crash’ Corrigan.

Accompanying Mason is his fiance Beth (Evelyn Ankers, now establishing herself as a stable actor for the studio following The Wolf Man and The Ghost of Frankenstein) whose sister, Dorothy (Martha MacVicar) is suffering from undisclosed health problems. In steps our antagonist and a dialled down John Carradine (The Invisible Man’s Revenge) as Dr Walters.

Walters is your typical mad scientist villain, a carbon copy of Dr Frankenstein with his malicious  pursuit of science at the cost of all those around him. In this instance Walters is hellbent in transforming the gene pull to change a living creature such as the gorilla into human form. He succeeds in doing so but like Frankenstein realises that in order to be truly successful, he must use a human brain and here his bloody pursuit amplifies starting with his assistant, but when this takes a turn for the worse, he sets his sights on Beth.

The human form of Cheela would be played by the exotic Acquanetta, who was a self-proclaimed Native American and would go on to reprise her role in the sequel Jungle Woman. Cheela has a hidden power over creatures which plays well at the circus and she becomes part of the act. She also has a fond connection with Mason and becomes incredibly jealous of his fiance Beth. This puts Beth against two adversaries and the rest of the tale leads to whether or not she will survive.

The film feels a little stale in places as we struggle with the plentiful shots of Mason in the ring taming the wild cats. It does help to have Carradine’s manic performance to keep the audience interested in the outcome, but it does limp along in the process. The surprise is that it generated not only one but two sequels… but more on those at another time.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Craft: Legacy

26 Thursday Nov 2020

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So it comes to pass that the Blumhouse team attempt to breathe new life and awaken the magic that stirred genre-movie fans of yester-year whilst rekindling a whole new generation into the fold.

It’s a move they’ve done on several occasions now and more often than not their trick has succeeded. Whether it’s a straight up sequel/reboot such as Halloween, The Invisible Man or a reinvention of comedy gold with Happy Death Day or Freaky. 

Among the successes there have been some misfires though. Notably the recent releases of Black Christmas and Fantasy Island. Despite this, Blumhouse continues to pull in the numbers and attract new blood into the folds of teen horror.
So it’s no surprise that they should turn their attention to mid-nineties movie The Craft, which similarly tapped into the pulse of the young generation at the time and formed a cult status in the process.
What’s more, the promise of a female coven of witches would similarly create further space into a story presented with a female gaze. The film itself, much like it’s namesake, would follow a teenage girl, in this case Lily (Cailee Spaeny) moving into a new school and feeling cast as an outsider only to form a friendship with three other misfits (Frankie, Tabby, and Lourdes) igniting their inner witchery, beginning with the power of telekinesis. As the rest of the film unfolds, it soon becomes apparent that they may have pushed things too far.
There is further promise too as the momentum builds around a domineering paternal figure, Adam (a welcome performance from David Duchovny) who lords over his three sons and Lily’s mother Helen (Michelle Monaghan).
So, it’s a shame that it falls short of this potential and fails to build on the shoulders of its predecessor. It could so easily lend itself to a tale of womanhood and an awakening of empowerment but instead the creative team feel content with a middle of the road narrative that is all sparkle and no shine.

There are some moments of glimmer in the performances, especially from Spaeny, who more than captivates in her lead role, but without that extra attention of plot and character development, The Craft: Legacy drifts away from the sphere of its audience’s attention.

The Prognosis:

A chance squandered to rejuvenate the tale of young witches coming into their own. We’re presented with a half-baked potion that never really lands with its delivery, coasting on the tailcoats of the original film and sadly lacking in any atmosphere or charm.

It’s only saving grace comes in the final scene with a wonderful nod to its predecessor, but by then, it’s all too little too late.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)

24 Tuesday Nov 2020

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Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man marks a significant moment for Universal Pictures as it was the first instance that the production company introduced an ensemble of monsters in a single feature.
This film would initiate the birth of the classic horror universe and would pit two of its iconic creatures, Frankenstein’s monster and The Wolf Man against one another. 

Clearly aware that Universal had a hot property on their hands and the chance to ride on their previous successes, a strong cast would be required and they didn’t fail to deliver.
Reprising his role of Larry Talbot would be Lon Chaney Jr., and accompanying him would be Maria Ouspenskaya (The Wolf Man) as the gypsy woman Maleva, Lionel Atwill (The Atomic Monster) as the Mayor, Ilona Massey (Invisible Agent) as Baroness Elsa Frankenstein, Patric Knowles (The Strange Case of Dr. Rx) as Dr. Mannering, and Dwight Frye (Dracula) as Rudi in his last credited role in feature film.

Interestingly Bela Lugosi was cast as Frankenstein’s Monster, a role he was initially cast to play in Universal’s 1931 feature but turned it down.
Here at the age of 60, Lugosi would try to inject some of the character’s previous personality as imbued from Ygor’s brain swap from The Ghost of Frankenstein.
These characteristics included a paralysis of his arm, blindness, and the ability to talk.
The latter however was cut from the final film as people found the notion of The Monster speaking in a deep Hungarian accent too humorous.
Lugosi’s suppressed efforts didn’t end there as scenes were cut, especially any reference to the Monster’s blindness as it was deemed too confusing. The result saw Lugosi’s actual screen time reduced significantly and the feature feels more like a sequel to The Wolf Man than it does as a continuation in the Frankenstein saga. 

The positive outcome to this is that Larry Talbot’s story and plight is one worth telling, reawakened when grave robbers remove the wolfbane from his coffin during a full moon.
(These moments of reanimation would become more far-fetched throughout the Classic Monsters universe but somehow part of its charm too).
Here, Talbot is doomed to walk the earth in his hairy transformation whenever the moon is full until he can end his life.
When Talbot learns of Frankenstein’s experiments, he believes this may be the answer to his prayers.

So, the first half of the feature plays out Talbot’s resurrection, turmoil, and recovery at Dr Mannering’s hospital, while the latter half sees him travel to the village of Vasaria, where he would encounter Frankenstein’s descendant Elsa.

The heart of the film is ultimately what connects us to the narrative, but unfortunately the final showdown between the two iconic monsters was something of a let down and an opportunity was squandered when they clashed at the ruins of Frankenstein’s castle. 

Despite this weak ending the film does still entertain, but this is primarily down to its strong cast and able screenwriting from Curt Siodmak.

Frankenstein’s monster and The Wolf Man would not reanimate again until 1944’s House of Frankenstein in something of a support role.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: We Summon The Darkness

23 Monday Nov 2020

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Whilst some reviewers have dismissed this film as your average middle of the road affair, there’s more than meets the eye from the vision of director Marc Meyers (My Friend Dahmer) and I’m not just talking about the casting of Alexandria Daddario (Texas Chainsaw 3D) as one of the films’ leads. 

The reason I feel that this film deserves more praise and not be shafted into the mist of other On Demand titles, is down to screenwriter Alan Trezza’s clever subversion of the expected and the turning of some stereotypical plot points. This combined with witty scenes and dialogue along with a strong cast to carry out the beats with aplomb. 

The film follows three best friends, Alexis (Daddario), Val (Maddie Hasson – Twisted), and Beverly (Amy Forsyth – Hell Fest) who undertake a road trip to a heavy metal concert where they encounter three struggling musicians, Mark (Keean Johnson – Nashville), Kovacs (Logan Miller – Escape Room), and Ivan (Austin Swift), and appear to form an affinity for one another. And yet when it comes to We Summon The Darkness, you should not rely on its appearances, for no one is as they seem.
When the trio of girls invite the three musicians back to Alexis’ fathers mansion, things take a sinister turn and the first of many revelations occur. 

Joining the cast as they battle a potential satanic ritual in the making, is pastor John Henry Butler played by Johnny Knoxville, and chews through every scene he’s in with absolute confidence and swagger.
It’s a joy to see Knoxville on screen again and soaking in his magnanimous character. 

In fact, the energy of this film is part of its appeal, as each character engages the audience and with every shift and turn they make, draws you in further to the narrative and encourages you to follow to its conclusion.

The Prognosis:

For it’s 90 minute running time, Director Marc Meyers, serves up an enjoyable film in We Summon The Darkness that surprises as well as delights.
The cast propels the storyline further with captivating characters and while it doesn’t break new ground, the film does provide an entertaining narrative and is definitely worth checking out if you find yourself searching for a decent night in.

  • Saul Muerte