CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/5/21

 

Currently rewatching: THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961), starring Oliver Reed (GLADIATOR, PARANOIAC, TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE BROOD) and several other faces familiar to fans of Hammer Films.

It is, indeed, one of the premiere Hammer productions, providing that lush, picturesque, and theatrical-yet-visceral quality that makes the company's early films so unique.

Production design is first rate from the start, as we follow a starving beggar (Richard Wordsworth, THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT, THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN) from the streets of an unfriendly village to the opulent wedding celebration of sadistic Marques Siniestro (Anthony Dawson, DR. NO, DIAL M FOR MURDER), who ridicules the poor wretch for the amusement of his guests before throwing him into his dungeon to be forgotten.

 

 
The beggar befriends the daughter of the dungeon keeper, a young mute girl, but grows increasingly insane during his years of captivity. One day the girl herself is imprisoned for refusing the sexual advances of the Marques, whereupon she is then molested by the crazed old beggar.

She escapes and survives in the woods until, now with child, she is taken in by well-to-do doctor Alfredo (Clifford Evans, "The Avengers: Dial a Deadly Number"/"Death's Door", KISS OF THE VAMPIRE) and his kindly servant Teresa (Hira Talfrey, THE OBLONG BOX, WITCHFINDER GENERAL).

The screenplay by Hammer mainstay Anthony Hinds, based on the novel "The Werewolf of Paris" by Guy Endore, takes its sweet time developing this backstory for our main character--Leon, the servant girl's child--who isn't even born until roughly half an hour into the film. It's this kind of meticulous storytelling which, when done well, allows the viewer to settle into a story that is as engrossing as a 19th-century novel.

 

 
Plagued with various curses borne out by superstition (not the least of which is being an illegitimate child born on Christmas Day), Leon grows up to be a turbulent soul who must be surrounded by tranquility and love lest he transform, by the light of the full moon, into a ravenous, bloodthirsty beast possessed by the spirit of a wolf.

While Alfredo and Teresa provide such love during his childhood (his mother having died in childbirth), the adult Leon strikes out on his own and soon encounters a harsh, hostile world that brings his murderous wolf spirit to the fore.

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF came four years after the film that made Hammer the horror giant that it became, 1957's CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (HORROR OF DRACULA would follow a year later), while the soon-to-be legendary British studio was still in its prime. 

 

 

 

Terence Fisher, arguably Hammer's finest director, lends his impeccable visual artistry to a film which also benefits from the kind of colorful photography, production design, and costuming that made Hammer films some of the most visually lavish of the era.

In the lead role, a strikingly intense young Oliver Reed could not be a stronger and better choice, physically imposing and demanding of our attention with his every move and expression.

Reed is completely effective whether struggling to suppress his savage instincts, clinging desperately to the calming influence of his beautiful but forbidden love Cristina (Catherine Feller, THE BELLES OF ST. TRINIAN'S), who is promised to another, or, finally, transforming (thanks largely to Roy Ashton's brilliant makeup) into what may be the fiercest, most terrifying screen werewolf of all time.

We never see this fearsome beast during its initial murderous rampages, but those scenes are so well-handled as to be effective even while withholding the monster's actual visage. 

 

 

This is reserved for his final transformation while imprisoned in a jail cell, as Leon's terrified cellmate witnesses his gradual change into the raging beast that will kill him before escaping to wreak havoc upon the town's panicked citizenry.

Also appearing are Hammer regulars Michael Ripper and Charles Woodbridge, future James Bond regular Desmond "Q" Llewelyn in a bit part as one of Marques Siniestro's footmen, and Warren Mitchell ("The Avengers: The See-Through Man"/"Two's A Crowd") as the village wolf hunter. Benjamin Frankel, who composed the music for the John Huston classic NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, provides a robust score.

With its rich atmosphere and thrilling monster, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF was one of my childhood favorites, and it's still a full-blooded horror experience today. Along with CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, HORROR OF DRACULA, THE MUMMY, and a few others, it's one of Hammer's all-time best.

CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961) -- Movie Review by Porfle

MONSTER BRAWL -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/6/12 

 

Remember back in the 80s or 90s when "Fangoria" started trying to incorporate wrestling into their magazine?  Mainly because editor Bob Martin was such a big wrestling fan and thought it would qualify if he dubbed the really fake-bloody matches "horror wrestling"?  And remember what B.S. that was, and how mad I got about it, and how I wrote all those nasty letters complaining about it?  Wait, you wouldn't remember that.  Heh, heh.

Anyway, that wouldn't have been such a bad thing if what Fango called "horror wrestling" had been as much fun as MONSTER BRAWL (2011), writer-director Jesse T. Cook's geeky homage to both monsters and all that WWE stuff that I generally have zero interest in myself. 

Mind you, this movie had to grow on me, and it wasn't until near the halfway point that I started sorta getting into it.  Basically, it's like a slicker version of Ed Wood's ORGY OF THE DEAD only with wrestling monsters instead of strippers.  Barring some flashbacks, it all takes place in a graveyard in Michigan where the pay-per-view battle of the monsters is going out live to viewers in Canada and beyond.  Criswell would've fit right in here, and, needless to say, so would Tor Johnson.  With a drunken Ed Wood in drag cheering them on from the sidelines.

Instead, we get venerable Canadian actors Dave Foley ("Kids in the Hall") and horror stalwart Art Hindle (THE BROOD, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) as tipsy Howard Cosell-type commentator Buzz Chambers and his crotchety sidekick "Sasquatch" Sid Tucker.  Foley and Hindle seem to be having fun with their roles, especially after an unfortunate incident with a zombie results in Sid growing increasingly foul-tempered as the night goes on.  Color commentator Jimmy Hart adds his own irrepressible dash of personality from the sidelines with a gorgeous ring girl on each arm.

The monsters themselves are a cross-section of archetypes including Frankenstein ("Technically it's 'Frankenstein's Monster', if you want to be a dick about it"), the Werewolf, the Mummy, Lady Vampire, Zombie Man, Witch Bitch, Cyclops, and a repulsive overweight creature known as Swamp Gut.  Most are played by actual wrestlers so the ring action is as "real" here as it is in the actual WWE events, a fact made clear the first time we see gorgeous Kelly Couture as Lady Vampire get body-slammed into the mat.  The usual stats graphics and trash talk segments are all here, albeit with a Gothic touch, and there's also the expected quota of dirty moves and illegal use of foreign objects such as meat cleavers and wooden stakes. 

Flashbacks to how the monsters got involved in the event take the place of commercial breaks, including a pretty cool creation scene for the Monster.  Lady Vampire's segment was filmed on an overgrown estate which is one of the ideal "found" locations that add much to MONSTER BRAWL's look, as does the extremely well-done graveyard set that was constructed in an abandoned warehouse.  Monster makeups and gore effects are very nicely rendered by the Brothers Gore and look more expensive than they are.  Other major factors in the film's look are good direction and editing along with some above average cinematography.

Humorwise, it's your basic WWE stuff with even more of a satirical twist.  Witch Bitch (Holly Letkeman) had me chuckling with her eyerolling performance and so did the vile Swamp Gut (Jason David Brown, who also plays Cyclops and graveyard caretender Cyril Haggard), a veritable fountain of offensive gases and corrosive substances.  A news report about the Mummy's escape from a museum warehouse, during which he kills a forklift driver, includes graphics such as "Mummy Kills Dummy" and "MILF Alert: Mummies I'd Like to Find."  Proving that even if he can't be in every movie ever made he can at least be heard in them, Lance Henriksen provides the voice of "God" as narrator and occasional fight commentator with concise, throaty quips such as "spectacular" and "phenomenal." 

Wrestling fans will find many of their favorite moves here along with some new ones like a meat cleaver to the ref's throat and the old head stomp, with magic and other supernatural forces coming into play.  Those who felt cheated by FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN's non-ending should welcome the sight of the Monster and Werewolf going at it again--this time to the finish--while a full-blown zombie uprising in protest to their graveyard's invasion by pay-TV provides a lively diversion.  I'd also just like to mention again that Lady Vampire (Kelly Couture) is gorgeous, and that if you like strong women wearing black opera gloves, then that's two big fetishes covered right there.

The DVD from Image Entertainment is in 2.35:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 surround sound and subtitles in English and Spanish.  Extras include commentary with director Cook and producers Matt Wiele and John Geddes, a "making-of" featurette, some Jimmy Hart outtakes, and a trailer.

Some viewers have opined that MONSTER BRAWL is boring and wonder if it even qualifies as a real movie.  To the first point I would say that, yes, it is slow-paced and will seem pretty boring if you don't really get into the kind of mood the movie's going for.  To the second, I would say...ehh.  If ORGY OF THE DEAD was a real movie, then so is this.  Will you like it?  It's purely a matter of taste.  I had fun with it.

MONSTER BRAWL -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE VAULT OF AMICUS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

(Originally posted on 12/19/17)

 

THE VAULT OF AMICUS is exclusive to "THE AMICUS COLLECTION" (Blu-ray 4-volume box set) from Severin Films.
(And Now the Screaming Starts/Asylum/The Beast Must Die!/The Vault of Amicus)

So you like Amicus Pictures, and you also like trailer compilations, eh?  Well then, Severin Films has just the thing for you--namely, their new Blu-ray collection entitled THE VAULT OF AMICUS (B&W/color, 63 min.), which gathers 30 or so Amicus trailers from 1960-81 together into one nice, watchable batch and also adds a commentary track and a couple of lengthy interviews with the company's founders, Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, for good measure.

It's exclusive to Severin's new 4-volume boxed set, THE AMICUS COLLECTION, which also contains Amicus classics ASYLUM, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, and THE BEAST MUST DIE!  The trailers for these show up later, of course, but the disc begins with Rosenberg and Subotsky's pioneer foray into film, a pre-Beatles teen music show called "Ring-a-Ding Rhythm" which is delightfully out of touch with where pop music was headed at the time.

What follows is an account of how the producing partners followed trends, tried new things, learned their craft through trial and error, and ended up putting out a widely-varied body of work which happened to concentrate mainly upon horror and science-fiction, the two most lucrative genres for the independent filmmakers. 

Some of the more familiar titles in the latter category are "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors", "Dr. Who and the Daleks", "The Skull", "Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.", Robert Bloch's "The Psychopath", "The Terrornauts", "They Came From Beyond Space", "The Mind of Dr. Soames", "Torture Garden", and one of their least successful efforts, "The Deadly Bees." 

A departure for them was the spy thriller "Danger Route" with Richard Johnson.  Forays into more high-brow and/or experimental territory would come with such films as "The Birthday Party" with a young Robert Shaw (who would later play Quint in "Jaws"), "What Became of Jack and Jill" (a psychological thriller), and "Thank You All Very Much" with Sandy Dennis.

But it's the good stuff (as far as I'm concerned, anyway) that Rosenberg and Subotsky kept coming back to.  As the commentary points out, experience taught them what worked and what didn't, so they just kept doing what worked as well as they could.

This resulted in a string of classics and near-classics that gave Hammer Studios a run for their money in the 60s and 70s, with such titles as "The House That Dripped Blood", "Scream and Scream Again", "I, Monster" (Christopher Lee doing Jekyll and Hyde), "Asylum", "And Now the Screaming Starts", "The Beast Must Die!", "From Beyond the Grave", "Madhouse", and that beloved duo of EC Comics adaptations, "Tales From the Crypt" and "The Vault of Horror."

Later, Amicus would venture into Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy-adventure romps with "The Land That Time Forgot", "At the Earth's Core", and "The People That Time Forgot."  Rosenberg and Subotsky's partnership would conclude with "The Uncanny" and "The Monster Club."

This is the stuff I read about in "Famous Monsters" magazine as a kid and was occasionally lucky enough to see on the big screen. I particularly recall seeing "Dr. Who and the Daleks" as the second half of a double bill with "Night of the Living Dead."  The colorful and relatively cheerful "Daleks" came as quite a relief for a kid who just endured Romero's grueling nightmare of terror for the first time.
 
The trailers, as usual for a collection such as this, are a mixed bag with some more interesting than others, but all in all it's a splendidly entertaining set.  Casting was an Amicus strong point, so many of them are jam-packed with familiar faces such as Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, Jack Palance, Burgess Meredith, Patrick Magee, Caroline Munro, Ingrid Pitt, Diana Dors, Harry Andrews, Carol Lynley, Robert Vaughn, Nigel Davenport, Patrick Wymark, Doug McClure, Robert Powell, Terence Stamp, and many others.

The commentary track by horror authors Kim Newman and David Flint is knowledgeable and fun, with nary a dead spot.  The bonus menu consists of very lengthy, in-depth interviews and remembrances by Rosenberg and Subotsky themselves (with accompanying pictures) which should prove absolutely invaluable to any interested parties. 

The trailers themselves have that wonderful grindhouse look that fills me with nostalgia--most of them look like they've been around the block a few times. (Look for the really cool Easter Egg for some fun TV spots.)

THE VAULT OF AMICUS, like any good trailer compilation, is a treasure trove of juicy clips from lots of great movies, in this case the best of a legendary production duo whose solid genre output kept us horror and sci-fi fans going back in the days before such things became mainstream and plentiful.  It's the kind of nostalgia that you just want to settle into and wallow around in for awhile.


THE VAULT OF AMICUS is exclusive to "THE AMICUS COLLECTION" (Blu-ray 4-volume box set) from Severin Films.
(And Now the Screaming Starts/Asylum/The Beast Must Die!/The Vault of Amicus)

Order THE AMICUS COLLECTION (Blu-ray 4-volume box set) from Severin Films

Read our reviews of:
ASYLUM
AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS
THE BEAST MUST DIE!

THE VAULT OF AMICUS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

(This review was originally posted on 12/17/17)

 

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS is part of "THE AMICUS COLLECTION" (Blu-ray 4-volume box set) from Severin Films. (And Now the Screaming Starts/Asylum/The Beast Must Die/The Vault of Amicus)]

The title of the original novel by David Case was "Fengriffen", with Roger Marshall's screenplay similarly dubbed "The Bride of Fengriffen."  To the actors' dismay and my delight, the title of this 1973 Amicus production ultimately became AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS (Severin Films). 

I find this not only more interesting-sounding but quite apt, as leading lady Stephanie Beacham (DRACULA A.D. 1972, "The Colbys") and various of her co-stars emit piercing, full-bodied screams every five minutes or so in reaction to some unbearable horror visited upon them by the script.

It all starts when 18th-century British nobleman Charles Fengriffen (genre stalwart Ian Ogilvy) brings his new bride Catherine (Beacham) home to the rustic but extravagantly elegant family estate in the country.  (Perennial film location Oakley Court provides the lavish exteriors, with equally elaborate interiors constructed and shot at Shepperton Studios.)

What Catherine doesn't realize--and which both Charles and everyone else take pains to hide from her--is that due to the heinous crimes of Charles' grandfather Henry against his woodsman Silas (Geoffrey Whitehead), there's a terrible curse on the house of Fengriffen that's to be visited upon the first virginal bride to reside there.  (For which she, to her grave misfortune, qualifies.)

This offers director Roy Ward Baker a chance to punctuate the formal, richly Gothic atmosphere with shocking flashes of lurid imagery as the horrified Catherine is subjected to ghostly visions such as a bloody hand plunging through Henry's portrait and glimpses of the disembodied but ambulatory hand making its way around inside the house while a spectral Silas appears intermittently at the window with gory holes for eyes. 

We're led to wonder if such visions are real or merely figments of her heated imagination--that is, until various household staff and others connected with the Fengriffens begin to die off in violent ways.  Catherine herself needs no more convincing after a spectral presence seems to force itself upon her sexually on her very wedding night, setting into motion what will become the eventual ghastly fruition of the curse.

Baker's surehanded directorial experience on such classics as A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, ASYLUM, and FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH comes into play as he moves the camera fluidly within the spacious indoor sets.  Lighting, costumes, and other production details also contribute to give this film a look beyond its relatively modest budget.

This look is similar to that of the earlier Gothic-tinged Hammer films, and indeed seems to be trying to fill the gap left by Hammer's move at the time toward a more modern image.  Yet it somehow retains what I think of as the distinctive, perhaps indefinable visual ambience of an Amicus production.

Even with its R-rating, gore is kept to a minimum although that severed hand stays quite busy and Silas' bloody axe gets its chance to swing as well.  A couple of implied rape scenes (one featuring second-billed Herbert Lom in a revelatory flashback as the evil Henry Fengriffen) and some brief nudity add to the adult content.

The closing minutes also contain a scene in which a grave is desecrated in such a violent way that it comes off as shockingly morbid, and almost makes everything that came before seem sedate in comparison.  The final twist is no less effective for its predictability--the fact that what we expected all along finally comes to pass is, in fact, somewhat satisfying.

Performances are fine, with the always-reliable Ogilvy and the wonderfully expressive Beacham aided by supporting castmembers such as Patrick Magee (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, ASYLUM) as a family doctor all too familiar with the curse, and the aforementioned Lom in his brief but effective flashback scenes. 

Distinguished genre legend Peter Cushing doesn't make his appearance until around the halfway mark or later, but he makes the most of his role as a psychiatrist who tries to make scientific sense of what's happening to Catherine and those around her.  Even in those moments when the film's stately pace begins to lag, he and the other leads are always interesting to watch.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films offers a lovely remastered print with only the occasional rough patch.  The bonus menu is nicely stocked as usual, with a lengthy, clip-filled featurette about Oakley Court hosted by horror authors Allan Bryce and David Flint, an audio interview with Peter Cushing (with accompanying photo montage), a review of the film by horror author Denis Meikle, plus a trailer and radio spot.  Two seperate commentary tracks are available, one with Roy Ward Baker and Stephanie Beacham, the other with Ian Ogilvie, and both are marvelous fun to listen to.

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS is one of those simmering Gothic tales that might've been a bit slow for me in my younger days, but now it's just the thing for me to settle into and enjoy like a good book. Only turn the pages in this book and you never know when a bloody hand or an eyeless woodsman with an axe are going to jump out at you.  

Read our reviews of: 

ASYLUM
THE BEAST MUST DIE!
THE VAULT OF AMICUS

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Creepy Scene From "Woman Who Came Back" (1945) (video)

 

"Woman Who Came Back" is a dark, eerie little supernatural tale from 1945.

This scene occurs early in the film and sets the tone for the rest of the story.

It features Nancy Kelly, who went on to play the mother in "The Bad Seed", and Elspeth Dudgeon, who had already creeped us out in James Whale's classic "The Old Dark House." 

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

  

Creepy Scene From "Woman Who Came Back" (1945) (video)