THE TERM ‘loosely based on the novel’ can’t be stressed enough, for Universal’s adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe novel.
The raw ingredients are in there with a character called Dupin, the “hero” of the piece, who pieces together a suspicious murder; confusion over the language of the Killer that is overheard by witnesses, and a murderous ape.
Yep – that’s right.
A killer ape.
In the films version however Dupin is not a detective, but a medical student and the love interest for a potential victim, Camille.
And whilst, the killer ape component remains, the ape is more of a puppet to Bela Lugosi’s Dr Mirakle.
This would be Lugosi’s performance following Dracula, but is sadly lacking the air or mystery and menace that he delivered for said piece and instead we are treated with something that is borderline creepy.
Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just not packed with any punch that would ordinarily set one on edge.
This is the first time that Universal would visit Poe’s work in the Gothic era and one can’t help but feel that this movie was an attempt to sandwich this story and infuse it with the recipe that made Dracula and Frankenstein such big hits.
And therein lies the problem.
We’re left with a crowbarred romance and a lot of preamble at the beginning of the film, which leads nowhere and instead of developing character, makes you feel less inclined to support them at the end.
You almost feel sorry for the chimp that has been caged and defies his masters orders to go on a killing rampage.
If it were not for the occasional glimmer of sinister and evil conveyed by Lugosi, Murders on Rue Morgue would be quickly forgotten, but as such it it is integral to the journey that Universal would undertake to produce such horror gems as The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man.
WES CRAVEN must have felt pretty proud of this adaptation from his original movie.
The Hills Have Eyes was the second movie that he made following on from Last House On The Left and was a huge success for the director, paving the way for a smashing career in the horror realm.
For the remake though, Craven would step aside from directorial duties, focusing solely on his Producer role and allow Alexandre Aja take the helm.
Aja already carved success in his own right in the genre with Furia and Haute Tension, both bloody brutal films. (The less said about Mirrors and Piranha 3D the better).
And the frenchman doesn’t shy away from the gore and mayhem in this movie, much to our delight.
After watching the screening at the Horror Movie Campoutin Sydney, was reminded of how hard-wired, crazed, and fucked up this movie is.
Having dissected the original movie in a previous podcast, yo could clearly see the same paths being plotted out by our protagonists, but this version does allow for some more freedom and exploration when it comes to the ‘mutant’ family.
Craven had always ventured out to make a savage insight into the good and bad side of America by polarising families on the opposite side of the spectrum and pitted them against each other in a bloody war of survival.
Much of that is apparent in this version, but Aja takes that concept and ups the ante by throwing the Carter family into a world of carnage and disarray, where it is anyone’s guess who if anyone will survive.
That raw energy transcends well and it’s the perfect recipe for a thrill ride of massive proportions .
If there is a flaw, it’s that our Carter family seem a little too polished when held up against the mutant family.
There are often times when you wished that more time was spent on fleshing out the characters than actually ripping the flesh off them, but who am I kidding?
This movie is fun, all the same and provides enough shocks, all-out-gore, and ferocity that not only make it a worthy of the original, but dare I say it?
A rarity in that it adds something additional to the Craven’s vision and expands on it in a positive way.
A decent stab in the open, vast and deserted landscape.
The moment the character of Doctor Waldman delivers the opening monologue as a word of warning about what the audience is about to see, a classic novel becomes an iconic film.
Said character is played by Edward Von Sloan who returns after his performance of Van Helsing in Dracula.
Also returning to the Gothic Horror scene for Universal, Dwight Frye who played the maniacal Renfield. Here Frye turns a trick as the hunchback (and aide to Dr Frankenstein) Fritz.
But the film owes testament to Colin Clive’s performance of Frankenstein, and Boris Karloff’s awesome transformation as the Monster, a performance that required hours in the make up chair to deliver the signature look for the creature.
Karloff’s name would be forever cemented in film history despite only being credited as “?” in the titles.
And let’s not forget the directorial duties of James Whale, who’s vision in this movie not only established his rightful place as a master of his craft, but would forever identify him with this time and place in film history.
The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has become so identified with Gothic Literature that it arguably holds the title of being the finest example of that genre.
It was one of the earliest stories used for film back in 1910 with the Edison Manufacturing Company’s short feature and has seen numerous adaptations ever since.
By 1931, Universal Studios had found a successful run in the Gothic genre, particularly after Dracula and were looking to repeat that winning formula.
With the release of Frankenstein, they found that success and a golden era in horror was born.
I hold my hand up and have to declare that I do have a soft spot for these movies that I do identified with the time, but for me they feel ageless as I am easily transported into the setting and delve into the world that has been created, which is a testament to the storytellers and the performances of the cast.
Colin Clive deliberately hams up the role of Dr. Frankenstein, which hangs marginally on the right side of believable as a man driven to the brink of insanity.
Even to this day the scene in which he brings the Monster to life and cries, “It’s alive, It’s alive! Now I know what it’s like to be God!”, has been used or replicated time and time again, most notably in 1985’s Weird Science.
Most of the tragedy in this tale comes from the Monster, who is forced to live in the darkness, fearful of light and fire, and strives to find his place in the world.
With that in mind, praise can not be held highly enough for Karloff, who is still able to deliver heartfelt tenderness under the layers of make up and between the grunts and gruffs.
None more so in the harrowing scene (that has played a significant part in many a thesis written around the movie) when the monster encounters the village girl and is led to believe that all beautiful things should float.
Even to its epic conclusion, when Frankenstein is forced to confront his creation in the now iconic windmill setting as it’s engulfed in flames, taking the Monster with it.
It’s a must watch for true lovers of the the Horror genre as it not only bore witness to one of cinemas greatest horror creations but also gave birth to the Horror film genre as we know it today.
Yes there were horror films before this movie, but In Frankenstein, Universal had created a legend that impacted audiences to a greater level and would pave the way for more stories of blood and gore that would delight the senses and chill the bone.
WHEN I first heard about the Horror Movie Campout earlier this year, I instantly fell in love with this notion of a festival dedicated to like minded individuals all eager to have their appetite for all things blood and gore.
I had to be there and immerse myself amongst the horde and delight in the horror that lay before me.
So, I have to thank the organisers of this event for setting the stage for what was a truly awesome night ahead.
As you can see from the video below, I was pumped.
There was plenty to keep the crowd satiated, from a death chamber, side entertainments such as magicians, eating contests, and of course the bar, food trucks, laser tag, and did we mention the bar?
The main attraction though, would be two features for the night that were selected for the night by the horde themselves from a selection chosen by the Horror Movie Campout committee.
IT’S BEEN 13 years since Samara first terrorised Naomi Watts on screen.
And with the latter no longer attached to the series, one might ask why after such a long hiatus (at least from a western audience point of view) should we revisit Samara’s tale.
Pending the film’s success, Paramount were keen to replicate the success that Paranormal Activity delivered to the box office and plans were considered to potentially have annual stories that delved further into the Ring franchise.
It does hinge on the success of this movie me whether or not there was still a hunger to see Samara inflict her virus on the world once more.
Being a fan of the original movie by Hideo Nakata I find that I am always drawn to the series to see how it pans out.
There have been a mixture of successes and failures among them and I was intrigued by the premise of this latest venture.
Namely that that virus itself will transfer using modern technology, computer files etc and that it would mutate with a shortened life expectancy of its victims from five days of being infected and Samara’s inevitable visit being whittled down to just two.
This amplifying the expediency, drama and tension.
It looked promising and all it needs is a strong plot line to make this a strong candidate for making a great film.
So let’s dissect that a little further and look at the story development as it unfolds.
Firstly, we’re thrust straight into the action, when two victims are travelling on an airline flight as deadline approaches.
Cue panic and disarray as they try to out run Samara within the confines of an airline cabin.
Let’s face it, it ain’t gonna happen and within the blink of an eye the plane crashes along with the characters who contracted the virus.
Samara is back and a whole new generation of souls are gonna be her victims.
The story then picks up with our lead protagonist, Julia, played by Italian model, Matilda Lutz.
Matilda certainly has the looks to keep you engaged and just about has enough acting chops to stick with her character arc.
It picks up with her boyfriend Holt, who goes off to college and their relationship becomes estranged as he pulls away from her.
It’s only when Julia receives a manic call from Skye demanding to know Holt’s whereabouts that Julia is compelled to find out what’s going on.
As she tumbles further down the well of curiosity, Julia encounters a college professor, Gabriel, who has set up something of an experiment after initially watching the cursed video and then employing a group of students to watch, copy, and then pass on the virus.
The group is known as ‘The Sevens’ is possibly the most enlightening aspect of the movie and the concept of each participant needing a ‘tail’ to pass on the virus had an element of an old school spy thriller to it, which would have been interesting to see that explore further.
As it is though, we’re propelled forward when Julia goes to Skye’s apartment, who’s deadline is fast approaching and she tries to force Julia to watch the video, fails, thanks to Holt’s intervention and Julia witnesses Skye’s demise at the hands of Samara.
When Julia leans that Holt’s life is on the line, she watched the said curse video file, only to ignite a whole new can of worms as the virus transforms.
There is a hidden file within the file that are Easter eggs or breadcrumbs that Julia must now follow in order to find Samara’s corpse and find a final resting place and end the curse.
The problem with the movie is that whilst it tries to focus a and shift the Ring horror movie into a modern world it needs to expand the universe.
So much focus lands on this that it loses the impact and mystery that surrounded the original.
There are rules upon rules that need to be discovered and inevitably broken and the tension that is supposed to be ramping up just gets lost in its own ether.
There are loose threads that try to tie it back to the novels by Koji Suzuki, particularly around the middle novel in the trilogy, Spiral and the notion of rebirth that plays out in the film’s conclusion.
Essentially though, the film tries to ground itself in the land of Samara and it ticks along nicely enough to keep you engaged, but there’s not enough to keep you hooked and make a difference to the genre resulting in a misfire.
The Samara scares are slim and that’s what people pay to see.
It’s all very well to build tension, but the film even lacks these elements to gain enough momentum to reach a decent scare factor.
Ultimately Rings is watchable, but not unmissable as a result.
OUR FINAL entry into the Dracula reboot section looking back at Universal Horror movies is the most recent.
In this instance, the idea was to go back and tell an origin story (Will they ever learn?) behind Cinema’s most infamous villain.
Unofficially, this film is part of the ‘new Universal Horror’ franchise, but not necessarily part of the merged universe at this stage.
Universal Pictures definitely want to go all out with the release of The Mummy starting Tom Cruise, which is set to land mid-way through the year.
And whether or not Dracula makes another appearance down the track Dracula Untold marks a turning point for the film production company that allows them to bring ‘their’ monsters to a new generation.
When the movie was first being tauted, Alex Proyas had been listed to direct with the title, Dracula: Year Zero, which I can only have been a cross between Batman Begins and The Crow.
That would have been an interesting premise.
As it stands though, the title changed and directorial duties fell to Gary Shore.
Yeah, we’ve never heard of him either, but he does share the birthplace of Dublin with the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker, and he has since gone on to direct a short segment as part of the feature, Holidays.
Essentially we see Vlad, protect his lands from the Turkish Empire, only to need to defend his people once more when he refuses to give up his son and 1,000 other boys to said Empire.
It’s a moment that furies the Sultan, played by Dominic Cooper, who looks like he’s loving the opportunity to play the villain of the piece.
So, Vlad has to turn to a chance encounter, Charles Dance living in a mountain, who is evil incarnate and as we know it the true darkness, a vampire that would turn Vlad into the infamous Count Dracula that we know and love today.
If Vlad can resist the need to feed, he will return as normal within 3 days, but as we all know that won’t happen or the legend will never begin.
Tragedy will strike and it will involve his family, the only things that tie Vlad to this world.
The film is unequivocally carried by Luke Evans as Dracula with his charismatic charms and devotion to his family.
Plus he’s ripped as fuck, which helps.
There are some support roles that would suggest the casting agent spooled through the Game of thrones cast, with the likes of Charles Dance, Paul Kaye, and Art Parkinson all playing significant roles, but all of them can’t help to disguise the lack in plot and storyline, and the absence of depth in the characters.
It feels like a paint by numbers piece, but instead of paint, the filmmakers are using state of the art CGI for their palette.
It’s all style, no substance and one can only wonder what the movie would look like if Luke Evans weren’t there to push the momentum forward.
And with an open ending, Universal definitely had great plans for this franchise.
But with a poor critical reaction to the release, it doesn’t bode well, unless The Mummy can unravel all the criticism that came about and bring Dracula back from the dead.
IT WOULD BE forty-eight years before Universal would look to reboot the Dracula franchise for the silver screen.
A lot had changed in the world since then and because of that we’re presented with a much more sexually charged Dracula.
A far cry from Bela Lugosi’s representation.
I’d never seen this version before writing this review and upon watching this version, I saw so many images that were reflected twenty years on with Bram Stoker’s Dracula directed by Francis Ford Coppola, including Gary Oldman’s hair.
But this was 1979 and Coppola’s version was not yet on his radar.
He was knee deep in Apocalypse Now terrain at the time.
In this instance, directorial duties fell to British-American John Badham (Saturday Night Fever, Blue Thunder, WarGames, Short Circuit).
His leading man would be Frank Langella, (Skeletor folks!!) who seems to carry such sinister presence on screen, whether he is portraying Nixon, Boris Balkan, or in this case, Dracula himself.
There’s actually a lot like in this version of the Dracula story.
With the Tagline “A Love Story”, the focus on romance suited Langella’s dashing stature alongside Kate Nelligan as Lucy, (not Mina in a decision where these roles would be switched from the novel).
The film would dive straight into the action too, jumping straight on board the ship Demeter, as it crashes of the coast of Whitby.
There is a lot of focus on Dracula’s transformative states, be it wolf or bat, to great effect for its time.
There are great support roles too with Trevor Eve’s stoic Jonathan Harker, Lawrence Olivier’s restrained performance of Van Helsing, and the always brilliant, Donald Pleasence as Dr Seward.
Yes it does take liberties with some of the choices narratively speaking but it’s an enjoyable movie all the same that comes highly recommended from the Surgeons team.
IN MY IGNORANCE I completely dismissed this movie when I first saw it available as an extra on my DVD.
Basically because I decided to have my snob hat on and thought to myself, “What is the point of watching a movie that is a ‘carbon copy’ of the original?”
It was only when I started to pay more attention that I realised that this movie deserves a lot more recognition.
During the early days of sound in film, Hollywood studios would often film foreign language versions of the movie using the the same sets and costumes as the original version.
In this instance, the Spanish speaking cast and crew would film in the evenings once the English version had wrapped for the day.
But here’s the interesting part.
The crew was allowed to see the daily rushes from the English crew and therefore were able to learn and in some cases improve on the original, purely because they were free to experiment and try new ways to shoot the script.
In some cases, critics have praised the movie and proclaimed that technically speaking, it’s a far superior film.
There are some obvious differences that stand both movies apart.
While some of the shots are bold and adventurous for the time, particularly that of Dracula’s first appearance, coming out from behind a coffin surrounded by smoke simply adds to the mystery of his character.
In some cases though it does feel that some of the shots used are there just for the sake of being different and don’t add to the story.
Unfortunately, it does feel that Carlos Villarías (Dracula) and Eduardo Arozamena (Van Helsing) are lesser than there English counterparts.
Let’s face it, it’s hard to top Lugosi’s signature turn at the titular character.
But Pablo Alvarez Rubio cuts a fine turn as Renfield and gives Dwight Frye a run for his money.
Choosing a more hysterical performance, his descent into madness is a joy to watch.
Likewise is Lupita Tovar, who could rival the likes of Hollywood’s greatest with her grace, beauty, and intelligence.
She steals most of the scenes that she is in and makes the desperation of her male co-stars to save her soul all the more plausible.
The thirties would prove to be a truly golden era for Universal Pictures opening the way for greatest horror monsters to grace the silver screen ranging from Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and The Mummy.
Leading the charge though, was one of THE most iconic characters, Count Dracula.
Based on the novel by Bram Stoker, the creature of the night, the nosferatu who oozes charm would need to have an enigmatic personality to portray him.
And Universal would find their man in Hungarian born Bela Lugosi, who made his name capturing the titular character on stage before winning the role for the film, despite not being the first choice.
Cinematic history would be made though the moment Lugosi saunters across the screen and speaks with his authentic Eastern European tones that sent women swooning.
But it wasn’t just Lugosi’s performance that would captivate and would path the way for Dracula to become a classic in its own right.
Almost stealing the limelight from Lugosi came through the guise of Dwight Frye’s maniacal portrayal of Renfield.
His haunting laugh sends chills to the bone and Frye injects enough erratic energy that it pushes the picture forward with adequate momentum and is a delightful contrast to Lugosi’s slow and decisive movements.
Combine that with Edward Van Sloan’s Van Helsing, a performance that set up a precedence for all those that would follow in his footsteps as Dracula’s key nemesis.
Above all of this though, credit should be bestowed upon the director, Tod Browning.
His career had been carved through his strong career, starting in the silent era back in 1917 with Jim Blumbo.
Browning would go on to form a formidable pairing with actor Lon Chaney in a total of 10 films together, including The Unholy Three, and the awesome movie, The Unknown, which also featured Joan Crawford.
Dracula wouldn’t even be Browning’s first foray into the vampire genre, directing London After Midnight four years prior.
He would also go on to direct cult favourite Freaks…“One of us. One of Us!” a year after Dracula was released.
Interestingly though, Browning’s detailed approach was strangely absent and rumours have circulated since that the production was often in disarray.
Browning even left much of the direction with cinematographer Karl Freund although he would never be officially credited for his involvement.
Despite this, the film was ultimately a success and would spawn a series of gothic horror movies that would stretch a further couple of decades and a further five more sequels.
FOR MOST PEOPLE, (myself included) Bill Paxton entered our worlds as the unforgettable Private Hudson from Aliens.
As I heard the sad news today of his passing, I instantly started to reflect on Bill’s career and naturally of those films that fall into the sphere of horror.
So gifted a talent, Bill could transcend across numerous genres and even iconic film franchises, such as The Terminator,Aliens, and Predator 2.
As Private Hudson, Bill portrayed the cocky, loud-mouthed and patronising member of the Army Corp that would be slayed by a Xenomorphs on the Hadley’s Hope colony.
But it was a year later, playing Severen in Near Dark, that would capture the attention of this writer.
It’s a movie that probably deserves more recognition and sees Bill once again star alongside Lance Henriksson as renegade drifters, who just so happen to be vampires.
His past is never revealed but you get the sense that Paxton relished playing the more reckless, violent, and sadistic member of the crew.
It’s a role that stands out in a plethora of other movies, but to mention a couple more, Paxton’s performance of Jerry Lambert was another highlight in his career that I’d like to mention.
On face value, Lambert appears to be yet another brash and cocky performance from Paxton, but beneath the surface is a man of integrity and honour that belies this instinctive reaction to his character.
This is a testament to Paxton’s ability to portray depth to his roles and would later see him cast in the likes of Tombstone, True Lies, Apollo 13, and Twister to name but a few.
It’s little surprising that he would turn his attention to directing at some point in his career and what he leaves behind is possibly one of the most underrated movies at the turn of the century with Frailty.
The tale centres on a family led by a fanatical religious patriarch (played by Paxton) who leads them on a series of murders as they try to destroy the demons that are embedded through American society.
Bill Paxton leaves behind such an important mark on the history of film and the team at Surgeons of Horror will forever remember his stellar work over the years.
He will be deeply missed and put thoughts go out to his family at this time.
Surgeons of Horror 