Kick it off with Dracula and Jack Brooks

Well, October 1st was here and working overtime caused me to suffer a lack of time devoted to horror. In times past I would have watched three movies today. Alas, it appears I will only have time for two. That's the way it is. Better than being unemployed, I guess. Anyway, I decided upon Dracula (1931) with the Philip Glass/Kronos Quartet score to kick off tonight's festivities.

FAB FIVE: This year I will merely just list my five favorite scenes for certain horror classics I have watched numerous times and wrote about extensively in the past.

For Dracula, the first was really easy. The opening sequence as Renfield makes his way to Castle Dracula is one my all-time favorite horror scenes and is the very reason Gothic horror is my favorite subgenre. Dracula in the burial chamber, his hand creeping from his casket, as well as, his bride. That very first time Lugosi appears. Then Renfield entering the castle to see Dracula for the first time. The classic quotes that arise from this are burned into my mind and heart. The wine, "children of the night", the giant cobweb Dracula "floats through" but Renfield has to tear away with his cane, the many close shots and "eye lighting" of Lugosi's transfixed face, the brides approaching as Renfield collapses, and Dracula leaning to claim his new victim. This is the good stuff.

Second, for me, is when Dracula challenges Prof Van Helsing and loses. Dracula was almost always victor before his great nemesis, Van Helsing. Van Helsing being able to withstand his powerful pull and command to "come here" is one of those great "battles of will" that shows Dracula, the great vampire count, wasn't up against some weak-minded fool, like the disbelieving Renfield. The use of the crucifix as an angered Dracula moves towards him just reinforces Van Helsing's advantage against a member of the undead.

Third is Renfield describing what his master would provide him if he obeyed Dracula's every command. The rats. This is Dwight Frye holding nothing back. Almost matching this is the creepy eyes Renfield has in his cell when his master calls his attention. The way the scene is lit to emphasize Frye's mad eyes nearly eclipses the description of "thousands, millions of" rats promised to him if he follows.

Fourth, to me, would be the shot of Lucy after biting a child. She's briefly shown but for me it is extremely eerie as she moves gradually in the dark as the trees provide a cover. She's featured rather little in the film, but her fate sealed at the theatre opera as Dracula eyes her, with the bloodsucker in the form of a bat, soon moving towards her as she sleeps in her bed, is a key early scene that shows us that if your window is open and he's allowed to enter, being able to transform has its advantages. I still think the image of Lucy in the dark of night moving as a "woman in white" is what really stays with me.

Critics often point out how talky the film gets, but, for me, Renfield shows up and Frye makes the most of each time he appears. I love how he gets on all fours and crawls like a hungry wolf towards a fainting maid. I think the weakest aspect is the casting of John and Mina, but I think her description of Dracula in a dream as he is about to seize upon her narrowly bests the mentioned Renfield crawl just barely. I just like that Dracula is used in dialogue without necessarily calling him out so that Van Helsing can put two-and-two together and try and convince others (John Harker and Dr. Steward) that there's a vampire in their midst. That mirror case scene is a standout because it provokes Dracula to emerge animalistic from within all that debonair facade.
---------------------

My second film of the night was Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer. This was a new one to me. I liked it only for two reasons: Robert Englund and the morbidly obese, full-teethed monster he turns into by film’s end. Monsters are on this earth as we soon learn by the beginning. The earth needs someone to take care of them. Jack (Trevor Matthews) has anger management issues stemming from when his family (father, mother, and little sis) were attacked and killed by a black-skinned, ferocious beast-man (kind of a werewolf in resemblance, I guess) who emerges from the woods. Jack was a boy and ran away as they were being slaughtered. He never forgave himself and as a dysfunctional adult has a hard time remaining calm. Jack has a girlfriend he despises, a plumbing job he blows at, and attends a chemistry class for no reason he can explain. Asked by his chemistry teacher to help unclog a water heater in his basement (he's renovating his house), Jack assists in causing a crack in the ground of the front yard...the crack is located where something in buried, a steam arising and finding its way to the teacher who is asleep. The chemistry teacher, Gordon Crowley (Englund), unearths a crate containing the remains of an archeologist who was possessed by an evil heart (that came from “the depths of hell”…I guess) that turned him into a constantly-eating creature beginning to change into something beyond human, put down by his son (David Fox is the elderly, nearly-senile version of him, an owner of a hardware store who wastes time telling his story to Jack who just wants a part to a water heater). The heart in the crate decides to use Englund as its next host (forcing itself down his throat…I guess) and he begins to transform into the monster with a giant mouth, appendages that reach out to grab students in his night class, and with this tube like-tongue feeds a type of infection (I guess) into human victims, turning them into roving, flesh-hungry creatures (faces malformed with sores, sharp teeth, obviously). Jack is not the most cheer-worthy hero, a malcontent with little resolve, like a firecracker always ready to go off. His girlfriend is a nagging, complaining, high-maintenance diva, and a fellow student of theirs believes mary jane and a “stay cool” mantra will win him her favor and calm down her boyfriend….this guy gets a throat punch from Jack for his trouble. If you can tolerate the characters in this, the film might be an okay watch. I thought the rubbery effects were variable at best, but Englund’s monster is a grotesque creation, with a stomach always gurgling. Seeing Englund take his role to the hilt, allowing the make-up artists and belching sound effects to assist him in his increasing slobbish behavior as the professor leaves and monster takes over provided some amusement to me. Still, I thought this was crap. Jack is an everyman hero with basically flaws and little attributes until he finally mans up at the end. But for the most part he is an absolute annoyance.

Dracula (1931) *****

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007) **