"D - r - a - c ... ", 8 October 2007
Even though I consider myself a classic horror fan (and a fan of the classic Universal horror movies in particular), I readily admit that Dracula (1931) is not among my favorites. In fact, I prefer almost all of the Dracula sequels to the original. And, I consider Son of Dracula the best of the bunch. Why? I'm prepared to write about three areas in Son of Dracula that work almost perfectly for me: the atmosphere, the mix of genres/styles, and the cast.
- Atmosphere – Son of Dracula positively drips with atmosphere. The misty swamps, the expertly lit interiors, the luscious sets, the eerie music, and Robert Siodmak's direction all contribute to the richness and underlying sense of taboo and dread. One scene that perfectly demonstrates the film's atmosphere is the rise of Dracula from the swamps. The coffin rises from the swamp floor, a vaporous mist comes forth eventually changing into Dracula's solid form, he glides effortlessly across the swamp to meet his mortal love and future wife – man, you could bath in the atmosphere.
- Mix of genres/styles – Throughout its history, horror has often been combined with other genres or styles of movies. Most obvious are the great number of horror/comedies or horror/sci-fi films you can find. Sometimes, horror is mixed in more unusual ways. For example, there are horror/Westerns and even horror/romance films. Son of Dracula is one of the very few movies that I would call a horror/film noir (I know that film noir isn't necessarily a genre, but humor me here). All the film noir trappings are here. To begin with, Son of Dracula has that look generally associated with film noir. Just take a look at the use of shadows and you'll see what I mean. But a better example is Kay Caldwell as the femme fatal and Dracula, of all people, as her dupe. The way Kay uses Dracula to do what she wants would have made even Phyllis Dietrichson proud. Kay uses Dracula to kill her father so she can get the estate and then tricks him into marriage to gain immortality. Finished with Dracula, he becomes disposable. She turns to old flame Frank Stanley to help her destroy Dracula. In the end, all three – Kay, Dracula, and Frank – are either dead or damaged beyond repair. Take away the supernatural elements of the story and you've got a typical 1940s film noir.
- The cast – A lot of people tend to focus on Lon Chaney, Jr., suitability for the role of Dracula. The criticism is almost always related to Chaney's physical appearance. I'm convinced that some of these people can't get past his size long enough to take a look at his performance. And I've always thought of it as a rock solid performance. Equally mysterious is Louise Allbritton in role of the manipulative Kay. She's fantastic as she winds both Dracula and Frank around her finger. As for Robert Paige as the doomed Frank, he's perfect. He plays the tragic figure so well. Beyond these three, the film also features solid supporting performances from Evelyn Ankers, J. Edward Bromberg, and Frank Craven. All are terrific. Everyone involved in the cast really comes out of Son of Dracula looking good.
In the end, I do not hesitate to rate Son of Dracula a 9/10. Other than some minor quibbles I have with how quickly Dr. Brewster comes to believe in and accept that Dracula is in their presence, the film is near flawless to me. And it gets better with each successive viewing. Watching tonight, I realized I was enjoying it even more now than ever before. It's a great movie!
9/10
"Where do I get off asking the Regular Army for help with a bunch of oversize grasshoppers?", 8 October 2007
Bert I. Gordon really missed with this one. For a movie that features a band of giant, mutant grasshoppers terrorizing the Midwest, Beginning of the End is very dull. So dull in fact that I had to wake myself three or four times, reverse the movie, and start over again. With droopy eyes, I finally finished the 76 minute movie in 2.5 hours.
It's disappointing really because I've really come to enjoy B.I.G.'s low-budget brand of movie-making. Even when his movies aren't very good in the traditional sense, they're still usually good for a laugh or two. Not here. Likewise, I've come to really enjoy the giant bug movies of the 50s. Whether it's an ant, a spider, or a mantis, these movies are a fun watch. I wish B.I.G. could have done the same with grasshoppers.
3/10
"I'm going to TRANSFORM him, and unleash the savage instincts that lie hidden within", 8 October 2007
Tony Rivers (Michael Landon) is a troubled teen. His quick temper has way of getting him in trouble. At the insistence of teachers and his girlfriend, he agrees to see a psychiatrist. Unfortunately for Tony, his doctor isn't interested in helping him as much as he is in using Tony as part of his experiments. He sees Tony as the perfect specimen to test his theories on hypnotic regression. But his experiments have a dramatic and horrific effect on Tony, turning him into a snarling werewolf.
Despite what I consider to be a ridiculous name, I Was a Teenage Werewolf is quite an enjoyable movie. In fact, it's much better than I ever expected for a Teen Angst / Horror movie starring Michael Landon. While a lot of the film is terribly predictable with some very obvious foreshadowing, it's still a lot of fun – much more fun than its 3.9 IMDb rating would indicate. There are some surprisingly effective scenes in the woods once the werewolf makes his appearance, including one vicious attack on a dog. And, I Was a Teenage Werewolf is easily my favorite thing I've seen Michael Landon appear in. I've never been much of a fan, but he gives a nice performance. In fact, everyone involved gives a good accounting of themselves. So despite the incredibly awful song "Eeny Meenie Minie Moe" (someone should be flogged for that abomination), I'm giving I Was a Teenage Werewolf a slightly better than average rating of 6/10.
6/10
A very satisfying film, 6 October 2007
Dr. Campbell is a sick man. Just before he dies, he gives a bottle of tablets to Dr. Paul Beecher (Paul Beal). Quite by accident, Paul takes one of the pills thinking it's his migraine medication. The pills were part of Dr. Campbell's work on mind regression to a more primitive state and were made from the blood of the vampire bat. Paul immediately becomes addicted to the pills and begins taking one each night. Coinciding with Paul addiction, people in town begin dying mystery deaths. Each has strange bite marks on their necks. Paul begins to suspect himself, but surely Paul's suspicions can't be true. Are the pills turning him into some kind of vampire?
While I don't think it's quite as good as his later film The Return of Dracula, Paul Landres' The Vampire is still a solid little horror film that takes much of the existing vampire mythology and stands it on its head. For example, the creature in The Vampire isn't the suave, cape-wearing, seducer that we've all become familiar with over the years. Here, the creature is a primitive being that seeks blood for survival. It is more bat-like in appearance and action. I'm not saying that one interpretation is better than the other, I just appreciate the difference.
There's a lot to like about The Vampire. I love the way the film introduces an element of horror into an otherwise safe and comfortable Leave It to Beaver type setting. The contrast is interesting. And I for one appreciate the make-up effects. I realize they were done "on the cheap", but I found them very eerie. Landres direction is solid. He keeps things interesting without a lapse during the movies runtime. But the area I find the most enjoyable in The Vampire is the acting. Everyone involved gives a performance far better than you would expect from a film of this type. As others have noted, Paul Beal gives real outstanding first-rate performance.
Overall, The Vampire is a very satisfying film. I look forward to revisiting it for years to come.
7/10
"Terrible? Is it terrible that I gave him life?", 6 October 2007
After surviving an accidental electrocution, Dan McCormick (Lon Chaney, Jr.) comes to the attention of a couple of scientists doing work with the effects of electricity on the human body. While Dr. Lawrence's intentions are very noble and above reproach, Dr. Rigas (Lionel Atwill) has other, more "sinister" applications in mind for their experiments. His idea is create, through repeated exposure to extreme levels of electricity, an army of supermen to do his bidding. And Dan McCormick represents the ideal test subject.
Man Made Monster might be considered a "lesser" Universal horror film, but it's a good one. I haven't seen it in literally decades and I'm happy to report that it held up rather well. It's not as good as some of Universal's better known films, but it's a solid, entertaining effort. Director George Waggner (who would go on to direct Chaney in The Wolf Man) does a marvelous job of keeping things moving at a nice pace. None of the relatively short 59 minutes is wasted. Chaney, always good at playing the sympathetic figure, does so here as well as ever. Atwill has always been underrated in my eyes and he gives one of his most demented performances as Dr. Rigas in Man Made Monster. The special effects are "cool" for the lack of a better word. The glowing Chaney works. Overall, this is one that deserves a much wider audience, especially among horror fans. Even though it's a limited release, hopefully the new R1 DVD release will put Man Made Monster into the hands of more fans.
7/10
"He tampered in God's domain!", 6 October 2007
Dr. Varnoff (Bela Lugosi) is trying to build an army of atomic supermen. He uses a trained octopus to gather his test subjects. When the latest two men go missing, the newspapers are filled with stories of monsters. But the police have been through the swamp numerous times and have so far turned up nothing. Intrepid newspaperwoman Janet Lawton goes to investigate and quickly finds herself in Dr. Varnoff's clutches. Can her boyfriend, Lt. Dick Craig, save her before she becomes Dr. Varnoff's latest experiment?
Ever since he was awarded a Golden Turkey in the early 1980s as the Worst Director of All Time, it seems fashionable to lump all of Ed Wood's films together and dismiss them as garbage. Bride of the Monster is proof that all of Mr. Wood's work was not created equal. It's probably one of his best cinematic achievements. I'll go so far as to describe it as an entertaining little horror movie that can be fun once you get past its inherent limitations. By "limitations", I'm referring to things like the rubber octopus, flimsy sets, and bad acting (to give just three examples). But if you know that going in and don't let it bother you, you might find a worthwhile low-budget thriller. Bride of the Monster actually has a couple of things going for it. One is Bela Lugosi. This is Bela late in his career. Years of drug abuse have taken their toll. But he's able to pull himself together and give one last really nice performance. His speech about "going home" is one of the movie's highlights and should be a favorite of Lugosi's fans. The other positive I'll mention from Bride of the Monster is Ed Wood himself. Sure, he might have lacked the talent, skill, and expertise of more accomplished directors, but there's a real love of cinema in Ed Wood's movies. It's easy to tell he enjoyed what he was doing. And to me, that's worth something.
5/10
"I don't even want to think about slime people!", 5 October 2007
The Slime People is the story of a band of creatures from the Earth's interior, driven to the surface by underground nuclear testing. The creatures set up a fog dome around Los Angeles and attempt to conquer the city for their new home. With almost everyone else either dead or driven out of city, it's up to an ill-prepared band of survivors to defeat the creatures.
While there are a couple of enjoyable aspects of The Slime People, the movie represents some of the worst aspects of low-budget film-making. Spotty acting, inane dialogue, uninteresting characters, poor editing, bad lighting, poor location and set choices, and amateurish direction – The Slime People has it all. Top it off with no pacing and you've got one very bad and dull movie. And even during those moments when the movie should be exciting, director Robert Hutton (who has double duty as the film's unappealing hero) finds a way to muck it up. The final fight scenes are unfortunately fought in the dark with way too much fog so that you can't tell what's going on.
But as I said, there are some things about The Slime People that I actually found myself enjoying. Chief among them is the creature special effects. They're not great by any stretch of the imagination, but they are better than what I expected. There are a couple of shots where a creature is shown back-lit, holding a spear that are amazingly well done given everything else that's so bad about the movie.
2/10
