Category Archives: retrospective

Retrospective: Anaconda (1997)

10 Sunday Apr 2022

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Nominated for six Razzie Awards with a lot of scathing reviews of the animatronics involved and Jon Voight bagging two Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, just how tragic was this Action Adventure Horror film called Anaconda? 

With a fairly decent cast in Voight, J-Lo, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde, Owen Wilson, and Danny Trejo, Columbia Pictures were clearly hoping for big things. Anaconda would even go on to generate four more sequels including a cross-over with the croc feature franchise, Lake Placid. In some circles, Anaconda has grown to cult status so what exactly went wrong? And do these negative reviews still hold weight over time?

25 years on, I look back at this creature feature to see if it is still as messy as my first recollection of the movie when it was initially released.

Set in the Amazonian rainforest, a National Geographic film crew set off down the river in search of the Shirishamas tribe, with hopes of documenting them. Along the way, the crew encounter stranded snake hunter Paul Serone (Voight) who convinces them that he can assist them in their quest, but holding ulterior motives. Eventually Serone leads them into the anaconda’s lair and as with these movies, our characters get knocked off one by one. 

Creature features have always been a draw card and ever since Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was released, the fear of the water and what lurks beneath has been constantly amplified. In this instance Anaconda had tried to leverage a blend of animatronics and cgi to catapult the horror element into new directions. Unfortunately it wasn’t able to leap into the realms of believability throwing the audience out of the picture along the way.
In addition, the screenplay is incredibly formulaic with weak writing in the fold, proving difficult for the cast to manipulate or add any depth too despite their abilities to do so before the camera. 

It doesn’t help that most of the characters are two-dimensional and therefore unable to provide any depth to them for the actors to dive into and explore.
Anaconda is a cheese on toast horror that looks pleasing and will be pleasing to some, but it won’t develop your taste palate, happy to live in the realms of popcorn territory. And with talks of a reboot on the horizon, it sounds like there could be more quests into the anaconda dominion yet to come. Is there life still in this franchise? Time will tell.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Sleepwalkers (1992)

09 Saturday Apr 2022

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Sleepwalkers was one of those movies that has immersed itself in my mind and I’m pretty sure formed part of my horror film makeup. It’s probably not surprising really if I divulge a little of my personal journey through horror films. I would have been around 14 years old at the time of its release and already had sunk my impressionable mind into the works of Stephen King and knowing his name was attached to the writing credits for what would have been his first not to be based on any  of his pre-existing works (Not that I knew this at the time). It also starred Madchen Amick, hot off the David Lynch hit tv series Twin Peaks. Lynch was also integral to forming my cinephilia and with Amick’s involvement, I was already hooked. It would also be directed by Mick Garris who has since carved a name for himself in the name of horror on-screen and often using King’s work as source material.
Later, I would understand the importance that Aice Krige would play in movies having already carved a name through Chariots of Fire, Ghost Story, and Barfly. This would be my first encounter with Krige however and it’s fair to say that her role of the matriarchal shapeshifter Mary, a shapeshifting energy vampire, sets the tone for the whole movie.

Along with her son Charles Brady (Brian Krause) feeds off the lifeforce of virgin women and can transform into werecats to feed on their prey, whilst also using their powers of telekinesis and illusion to manipulate those with whom they encounter. Their only weakness are domestic cats, who are resistant to the sleepwalkers magic and can cause fatal wounds.

Madchen Amick takes on the role of Charles’ virginal interest Tanya, who is lured in by his  magnanimous charm. Before long, Tanya realises that there is more to Charles than meets the eye and must fight tooth and nail to survive.

Looking back at the film now, it still holds some allure despite some clearly aged creature effects, and the moment when Charles transforms for the first time is a great counterweight to our first impressions of his character. Throw into the mix a blink and you’ll miss Ron Perlman as Captain Soames and horror maestros Clive Barker, Joe Dante, John Landis, Tobe Hooper and even King himself cropping up at notable points, and you’ve got a lot to get your teeth into. Oh and Mark Hamill also makes an uncredited appearance which brings a smile to this cinema lover’s face. 

It is Krige however as mentioned who really comes to life as Mary and the lead antagonist of the film, with her incestous needs and devilish desires lights up every scene that she is in.
For this, Sleepwalkers is well worth a revisit.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Basket Case (1982)

02 Saturday Apr 2022

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Looking back at this 80s cult horror forty years after its release, I am initially struck by its oddity. It is precisely the strangeness of the film that developed a cult following and makes it stand out from other slasher genre films of its time.

Basket Case blends itself right into the centre of the exploitation scene in which Director Frank Henenlotter would proudly own the label and go on to direct another two further instalments in the franchise.

Shot on 16mm and with a tight budget, part of the films appeal comes from its raw approach to filmmaking from which is inspired by the seedier side of Manhattan, combined with the special effects from the antagonist, Belial, a deformed conjoined twin with sexual and deviant manifestations. The puppet is displayed mostly through stop-animation which adds to the disjointed final product.

The premise of the movie would add to the struggle to connect, following Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck), a man out of his element in New York for the first time, having travelled there with a wicker basket containing his twin who can communicate with him telepathically. Dwayne checks into a cheap motel and from here on in, a killing spree begins.
Dwayne is provoked into assisting Belial in his murderous activities, escorting him in a journey of revenge, but when he meets and falls for Sharon (Terri Susan Smith) a love triangle ensues with fatal consequences,

The result has Basket Case hosting a unique position at a time when experimental horror filmmaking was at its highest. These low-budget movies would find pride of place in the home entertainment circuit and along with the slogan “This is the sickest movie ever made!”, its status in the genre would morph into success and be welcomed to wallow in all its sick and warped glory. 

While it may not be appealing to many, there are a select few that would lap up the grotesque and stylised generated from the boldness of the creativity involved that would appreciate Basket Case for this alone. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Black Castle (1952)

26 Saturday Mar 2022

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In the following year to Universal’s The Strange Door, the production house would release the last real gothic horror story in their canon, The Black Castle. It would pull out all the stops in another melodramatic tale, harbouring the talents of Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr to steer the film both from a financial and credibility perspective.

The movie didn’t come without its problems however with original director Joseph Pevney stepping aside due his lack of faith in the script to make way for art director Nathan Juran to take the helm for what would be his first time in the director’s chair. Juran would go on to direct The Deadly Mantis; Attack of the 50ft Woman; and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad among his credits. For his initial feature though, he would openly admit that he was guided by the on screen talent to provide their valuable knowledge in the films making.

The plot for The Black Castle is admittedly minimalistic and in that sense, one can understand Pevney’s reservations. It also has similar themes to The Strange Door around imprisonment and escape from an evil antagonist, this time in the guise of Count Von Bruno (Stephen McNally).

The movie has been treated kindly by notable reviewers retrospectively, most notably because of its high quality in most of the production elements, and the cast are strong enough to ground the film. For me, the film doesn’t hold enough appeal to make it an iconic one.
Cinephiles will appreciate it for its cinematic value at the decline of Universal horror which is warranted, but others may struggle to connect to the films narrative.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Strange Door (1951)

26 Saturday Mar 2022

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As Universal creaked into the early 50s, they were taking giant strides towards a new sub-genre sparked by the space race that was capturing the Nation’s zeitgeist. The creatures that the production house had built its name upon had now shifted into more comedic terrain with Abbott and Costello. There was still some room for gothic horror though and The Strange Door based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s short novel, The Sire de Maletroit’s Door would pit veterans Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff alongside one another in a last ditch effort to draw the crowds.

The premise is a slight tale about revenge, mischaracterisation and ultimately love in the face of adversity and is presented more as a melodrama than horror. Laughton also does his best to chew up the scenery and lapping up every moment as Alain de Maletroit, s msn consumed by grief and jealousy over the death of his brother Edmund’s wife. Alain imprisons Edmund (Paul Cavanagh) and raises his niece, Bianche (Sally Forrest) as though she were his child. This is through some warped connection to his sister-in -law that he longs to hold onto.

Everything is a whim or a game for Alain though, spoilt by his riches and living the life of a megalomaniac, content in ruining the lives of others to please his cruel desires.

Part of his trickery involves ensnaring a wayward thief, Denis (Richard Stapley) and convince him to marry Bianche, and then arrange for him to be murdered on the eve of their wdding night. True to the machiavellian style that the film is modelled on however, Alain doesn’t account for Denis and Bianche to actually fall in love. Nor does he foresee that his longtime dogsbody Voltan (Karloff) would have a change of heart and join focus with the lovebound duo in freeing the imprisoned Edmond and foil Alain’s plans.

While The Strange Door was well received at the time, upon recent viewing, you can’t help but notice that it is missing that special je ne sais quoi that was reminiscent in their earlier movies despite having stellar performers in Laughton and Karloff in the cast. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Scream 4 (2010)

12 Saturday Mar 2022

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Wes Craven: The Scream Years Part 8 – Scream (2010)

As I rounded out the final retrospective, looking back on Wes Craven’s latter movies, which I have dubbed ‘The Scream Years’, I had a moment where I thought that I had criminally missed out on watching what was then the last instalment of the Scream franchise, Scream 4.

I admitted as much to a friend online, as the film unfolded, only to realise that I had seen it, and my recollection came flooding back.
So why this absence of memory, regarding the movie?

Was it so bad that I had blocked it from my mind?

Or had the franchise run the gauntlet and exhausted any further possibilities to keep Ghostface and his multiple personalities to haunt Sidney Prescott and those who survived the original Woodsboro Murders?

The recent outing Scream (2022) would suggest otherwise.

For Scream 4, Craven would once again reunite with writer Kevin Williamson, suggesting that the old formula was still ripe for the making. Set fifteen years after the initial murders, the premise was to look at the impact that this had on the wider circle of friends and family, including Sidney’s cousin Jill (Emma Roberts). When a double murder occurs once more involving high school students in Woodsboro, Sidney becomes prime suspect (laughably) as a way to promote her new book. She is forced to stay until the murders are solved, but when Jill gets a threatening phone call from Ol’ Ghostface himself, things start to heat up again and the body count starts to pile up.

Meanwhile, Dewey (David Arquette), who is now the town sheriff tries to restore order, but struggles to contain his wife Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) from doing her usual undercover sleuthing. 

There are the typical traits that we had now become accustomed to from the franchise with film geeks, Charlie (Rory Culkin) and Robbie (Erik Knudsen) who annually throw the Stabathon festival in Woodsboro; the ex-boyfriend of Jill, Trevor (Nico Tortorella); the snooty, highly opinionated character, Rebecca (Alison Brie) as Sidney’s publicist; and the best friend Kirby (Hayden Panettiere); and that’s not to mention some of the early cameos from the Stab movie series snippets including Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell among them.

As the sands sift through Sidney’s serial turmoil, and the audience weaves their way between numerous whodunnit style investigations, we’re left with a film that boasts some sharp dialogue and humour to match, plus some pretty decent kills that are delivered by the hands of a highly experienced craftsman in Craven. What it lacks though is any satisfactory scares as we’re swallowed up by some typical horror tropes; a surprise considering Craven had once re-invented the genre with the original movie. The final reveal also feels tired and weak considering the twists and turns we take to get there. Having said that, there are some elements that the impact of social media can have on people, which shows just how cutting edge and forward thinking Craven could be in his film-making; a testament to how fundamental and important he was for the horror genre.

  • Saul Muerte

Related Links:

Movie Review: Scream (2022)

10 Scream inspired movies

Retrospective: Vampire in Brooklyn

Retrospective: Scream (1996)

Retrospective: Scream 2 (1997)

Retrospective: Scream 3 (2000)

Retrospective: Cursed (2005)

Retrospective: Red Eye (2005)

Retrospective: My Soul To Take (2010)

Retrospective: Tales From The Crypt (1972)

07 Monday Mar 2022

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During the early 50s, EC Comics ran a successful horror series known as Tales From the Crypt of which 27 issues were produced on a bi-monthly basis. When co-founder of Amicus Productions, Milton Subotsky came into the position of securing the rights to produce a movie-length feature based on the comics he loved as a kid, he didn’t hesitate.

For me, criminally, I would blur the lines of recollection between this and Creepshow, both franchises having a crypt keeper / the creep taking on hosting or segway duties. It’s iconic status however was not lost on me and for those who have followed my writings or musings through the Surgeons of Horror podcast may know, I’m a huge fan of Peter Cushing’s work, especially with the Hammer Horror scene. Here he teams up with director Freddie Francis, who has been attached to films by both Hammer and Amicus in their history, and another creative with whom I admire. Francis does incredibly well with the 5 segmented stories, all drawn from the TFTC archives. And Cushing actually turned down the initial role offered to him from the script, which was part of The Monkey’s Paw inspired tale, “Wish You Were Here”, instead taking on the role of Grimsdyke in “Poetic Justice”.

The segments are weaved together with 5 souls trapped in a state of purgatory to face up to their evil deeds, by The Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson). One by one we witness these individuals recount their tales which lead to their death, from Joan Collins as Joanne Clayton in “…And All Through The House” in a Christmas inspired murder of a woman killing her husband and trying to hide the evidence form her daughter only to be sprung from a psychotic killer on the loose dressed as Santa.

Then there’s “Reflection of Death” where Carl Maitland (Ian Hendry) tries to run away from his family life with his lover, Susan (Angela Blake) only to crash in his car and be taken on a living nightmare where he believes he survived, only to find out that this is far from the truth. This is followed by the aforementioned segment with Cushing, where he plays the loveable, elderly figure Grimsdyke, who is the subject of jealousy by his neighbour James (Robin Phillips) believing him to be a waste of space, and bringing down the neighbourhood. When he takes action to strip down Grimsdyke’s life to bare minimum, he doesn’t expect the repercussions that occur beyond the grave.

The fourth segment, “Wish You Were Here” as stated before is heavily inspired by The Monkey’s Paw and the ramifications when you are not careful or specific about what you wish for when presented with three wishes. The last segment, “Blind Alleys” has Nigel Patrick as a self-entitled Major who gets his razor sharp comeuppance in a dog-eat-dog world where he attempts to rule the roost over the occupants in a home for the blind. The residents also include Patrick Magee hamming it up as always.

There’s a certain appeal to this anthology movie that lures you into each tale. Yes there are some obvious flaws but these can be forgiven for the atmosphere created by the creative team and the actors that give substance to the tales from the crypt.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: My Soul To Take (2010)

04 Friday Mar 2022

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Wes Craven: The Scream Years Part 7 – My Soul To Take (2010)

Wes Craven’s penultimate movie before his untimely passing would be the first time directing, producing, and writing a feature since A New Nightmare.

Where A New Nightmare would be leagues ahead of its time, setting up a metaverse (no, not the Zuckerberg kind) that still stands up today, My Soul To Take struggled with what was essentially a weighty vision from the horror auteur.

The title taken from the prayer, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, once spoken with eerie effect by Nancy Loomis in the Nightmare franchise.

So, looking to repeat the success with a new world as his playing field, Craven had to first set up the rules from which to create within. Here is where the problem arises. The playing field in question is one that Craven likes to explore in as suggested by his previous films and his love for the psychological state of the human mind.

The subject in question is a little hard to connect with in the first place (no pun intended), as it deals with a man who has Dissociative Identity Disorder. We then witness said man discover that he is the Riverton Ripper and responsible for the murders of several people. In his unhinged state, he murders his pregnant wife and his psychiatrist before being gunned down.

But on the way to the hospital, he then goes on the rampage once more killing the paramedic (Danai Gurira), but is final killed when the ambulance crashes and explodes into a gulf of fire.

All of that is just the prologue to the film, setting up the narrative years later, a significant anniversary since the Riverton Rippers death. We then meet the Riverton seven, a group of teenagers who were all born on the same day; a group of stereotypical misfits, harbouring different personalities that will in turn form the resurrection of the Riverton Ripper once their souls are taken. But which if them has the soul of the serial killer possessed to slowly kill off their number one by one.

The prime suspect is Bug (Max Thierot – Bates Motel), a shy and timid person who often finds himself on the outskirts of the social scene because of his nature. The only exception is his best friend and loser, Alex (John Magaro). The fact that Bug keeps having these episodes and visions, throws him further into suspicion even from the audience’s perspective as we journey to the climax.

It’s a decent enough concept but a convoluted one, as with seven personalities, it’s hard to attach ourselves to any within the timeframe, especially once the exposition is delivered.

The pace of the movie is also slow which adds to our detachment. Perhaps the screenplay needed more work to flesh out these flaws but the final product, leaves us waning from its core. This is understandably why it didn’t resonate with its audience and has fairly low Rotten Tomatoes score.

  • Saul Muerte

Related Links:

Movie Review: Scream (2022)

10 Scream inspired movies

Retrospective: Vampire in Brooklyn

Retrospective: Scream (1996)

Retrospective: Scream 2 (1997)

Retrospective: Scream 3 (2000)

Retrospective: Cursed (2005)

Retrospective: Red Eye (2010)

Retrospective: The New York Ripper (1982)

03 Thursday Mar 2022

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Having delved into the early 80s Lucio Fulci scene last year with podcasts on City of the Living Dead, Black Cat, The Beyond, and The House by the Cemetery, casting the Italian auteur as the director whose films I most watched last year, I was eagerly anticipating sitting down to watch his next venture, The New York Ripper. 

The afore-mentioned movies had made me a fan of Fulci’s work and as such I had grown to admire his blend of humour and gore. 

Originally TNYR was given to Ruggero Deodato to direct before being passed across to Fulci. Deodato would eventually make the movie in his own steam under the title Phantom of Death in 1988.
The tale is set in the big apple, although the interior scenes would still be shot in Fulci’s homeland of Italy. These exterior shots of Americana though would stem away from the style and images that we would have become accustomed to in the work that had elevated Fulci into the limelight.
What we are left with is a stark, and oppressive look at the underbelly of the States, there is no glamour or shine, just straight up nastiness, where women are subjected to misogyny at the hands of the slasher scene. 

The police investigation that initially lures us in as Lieutenant Fred Williams (Jack Hedley) is handed a murder case involving the severed hand of model Anne Lyne, is driven with care and precision. We’re hooked by Hedley’s performance of a downbeat cop, worn down by his years of service. This combined with the follow up murder of a young woman on the ferry, shot in typical pov that has become generic for slasher films, also gets us shifting to the edge of our seats, but from here on in, the film starts to come off the hinges, through a convoluted and messy plotline. The narrative becomes jagged and ripped apart, only to be stitched back together in a form that doesn’t quite connect in the right places, leading us to a conclusion and its explanation surrounding the motive, a weak attempt to wrap things up.
There are moments throughout the film that resoundly resonate with Fulci’s macabre mayhem on screen and ordinarily I have clicked with the scenes he has subjected his audience to in his previous films. In this instance, however, it feels like he has overstepped the mark of taste and placed us in an uncomfortable world. This world may suit some lovers of this sub-genre, but without the style, the substance becomes too forced and disconnected.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: All The Colours of the Dark (1972)

27 Sunday Feb 2022

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Just when I thought that I couldn’t fall more in love with the Giallo scene, I stumbled across this gem.

Directed by Sergio Martino, All The Colours of the Dark celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and is simply sublime.

Often overlooked and wrongfully compared with Rosemary’s Baby, purely for its association with the occult and horror entering into the suburban household.

Since then. ATCOTD has been struggling to pry itself free from this shadow.

This is a shame because the film lives out to the Giallo name with it’s slick and decisive visuals, peppered with a convoluted story around the psychological state of mind.

Our lead protagonist and potentially unhinged lady, Jane (Edwige Fenech) has just cause for her trauma, with her mother tragically dying when she was just five years old and recently losing her baby, it’s no wonder that life has weighed down on her soul.

When she starts to see a strange, blue eyed man following her, those closest to her, Jane’ sister Barbara (Nieves Navarro) and James’ husband doubt her story, passing it off as a psychotic state.

With no one believing her, not even her doctor, and with Jane’s nightmares of a knife-wielding man becoming all too real, she turns to a neighbour and potential confidante out of the doldrums of suburbia.

Willing to try anything, Jane’s neighbour entices her to attend a black mass and from here on in her troubles amplify.

There’s plenty to tantalise here, with seduction, betrayal, bloody killings, and a satanic cult. Martino crafts a sublime story with stunning, over-the-top and at times psychedelic visuals.

I can’t wait to delve into my next Giallo film off the back of this.

– Saul Muerte