Halloween Diary - The Devil Rides|Burn the Witch!|The Cologne That Kills!
The Devil Rides Out (1968) couldn't have been a better choice to start what will be a deluge of horror voluntarily started this evening after a light Monday and Tuesday. Lee as an authority in the occult, realizing his deceased friend's son has been chosen for indoctrination into Charles Gray's cult of Devil Worshippers, even summoning Satan who shows up in the form of a goathead human, surprised fans pleasantly because he was provided the opportunity to be heroic. Lee, and deservedly so, receives plenty of accolades, but Gray is his equal. My inner Bond fanboy often overjoys when a famous Bond villain shows up in a Hammer or Amicus horror outing so Gray as this mind-overpowering Reverend of Satan, matching wits with an austere, totally focused (intensely so) expert in how to repel the cult's practice in black magic, Lee, certainly was a special treat. The sets and setpieces are visually impressive (the circle of protection in chalk, the astrology room with the goat head sigil on the floor, the baptism of blood ceremony, the church set up for a human sacrifice) and Gray using his mind power and use of black magic he conjures, the influence particularly effective over two young adults, Simon and Tanith, and later on Lee's niece when she mistakenly allows him inside her home, establishes him as the perfect adversary. Car chases, Gray using hallucinations to try and undermine Lee's attempts to outlast his influence, and the clever time reverse spell (along with turning Gray's own tactics against him) just accumulate riches, even if the Church of Satan might balk at such presentation. 4 / 5
Although I'm just not a fan of "Horror Hotel" as a title (City of the Dead is just far preferred but I'd still say it should be more like Village of the Dead), the 1960 film about dead witches committed to sacrificing two beauties on Candlemas Eve and The Witches Sabbath (just watching The Devil's Bride (1968), seeing this earlier outing for Lee just offered quite a weird experience for me) is one of my favorite Gothic horrors of the 60s. I just love it. Yes, the parallels between Nan Barlow's (Venetia Stevenson) demise and Marian from Psycho (1960) are similar, even with their moments in lingerie to feature their "alluring features", but the films couldn't be any different in what they represent and the sinister qualities involved. Whitewood, its grounds unseen due to all the fog disguising them, isn't exactly the coziest place to visit (well, technically neither is Bates Motel, but I digress...) and the locals aren't exactly welcoming (either not saying a word or appearing quite suspicious). Patricia Jessel does have that Mrs. Bates quality of how she reacts to pretty women. Jessel has that face that makes your skin crawl...you know she's got insidious plans and can't wait to pull out the blade and slice their throats. And she just has that fixed expression of appall that is barely concealed. Even with the fairly resolute Nan, who takes Mrs. Newless' icy presence in stride, Jessel's inability to hide her disregard for the lovely young student with an interest in witchcraft is obvious. Newless and her centuries-old crush, Jethro Keane (Valentine Dyall), can't wait to knife some ladies. And Lee serves up Nan, his teacher seizing upon her curiosity because she'd make the perfect offering for their master. This movie, though, when in Whitewood, just looks fantastic. I usually watch the public domain copy, but it was nice to see a clean version from Turner Classics. Nan's scientist teacher brother and the boyfriend come to investigate her two-week disappearance (again, echoes of Psycho are there but that is it), only the shadow of the cross, as proclaimed by an ill priest during his dying moments (the priest's daughter the next to be taken by Elizabeth Selwyn for sacrifice), will stop the witch and her flock, fire their undoing. The cemetery, and the hidden basement under the Raven's Inn, prove to be Gothic gifts unwrapped for us fans. 4 / 5
"Burn the witch!"
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I did realize that this would have been ideal as a companion with Witchcraft (1964), watched earlier in the month. Maybe next time.
I spent some time about a decade ago skimming the public domain for and watching those old Mill Creek cheapo DVD releases of Bela Lugosi's output. He made a slew of bad (not because of him but in spite of him) B-movies for companies that were fortunate to secure him. I have always felt Lugosi was a product of his time, an underpaid star even when billed low in Universal sequels, with a Hungarian accent that appeared to be equal parts a reason for his success and a detriment in his developing prestige in the industry. His career's length was undermined by his typecasting, but even the likes of Karloff and Chaney failed to escape the notoriety of being tied to fantastic monsters at Universal Studios. The Devil Bat (1940), even on Turner Classics, is in rough shape, a how-low-can-you-go Z-budget quickie that capitalized on Lugosi's previous success, casting him as a mad scientist [natch] seeking revenge against those in a company financing his inventions (he is even delivered a big fat check before having one of the members of this team put on some neck lotion, sending out one of his electric-sized monster bats to attack him in the jugular). Flimsy excuse to turn Lugosi unstable, but he nonetheless gives the film effort even if the reasoning behind his madness and "bat murders" is ridiculous. The wall doors that open in his lab are about as cheap as the rubber bats set loose on unsuspecting victims, strings sending them crashing down and towards the necks of folks unawares. The damn screeching sounds they make as they swoop down are piercing and obnoxious. News reporters are sent into the field to cover the bat murders while those associated with the company and lotion suffer the consequences of Lugosi's psychopathy. I am always astonished at how much Lugosi aged in just 9 years, but perhaps the industry did that to actors trying to survive in one piece. By the late 40s and early 50s Lugosi was an addict, struggling financially, and cast in terrible Ed Wood movies. Nothing saddens me more than to see talents sifted like wheat until their careers are deprived of any value remaining. You see Lugosi in "Dracula" and "The Black Cat", as Ygor in "Son of Frankenstein", and wonder how he would eventually end up turning knobs as an embarrassing sequence regarding a rotten actor and laughable octopus monster flail about in his lab. The Devil Bat, as questionably plotted and financed as it is, understands that Lugosi's involvement is a big deal. Too bad, Lugosi being tied to so many no-budget turkeys tainted a legacy that is still celebrated today...well, the good movies he was involved with, anyway. 2 / 5. I was going to give this 1.5 out of 5 but Lugosi was fun enough to slightly move the needle. When he gets mad at a company man for flaunting his wealth, Lugosi reacting with disdain, I wonder if a bit of the actor's feelings towards Hollywood producers seeped into the performance
Although I'm just not a fan of "Horror Hotel" as a title (City of the Dead is just far preferred but I'd still say it should be more like Village of the Dead), the 1960 film about dead witches committed to sacrificing two beauties on Candlemas Eve and The Witches Sabbath (just watching The Devil's Bride (1968), seeing this earlier outing for Lee just offered quite a weird experience for me) is one of my favorite Gothic horrors of the 60s. I just love it. Yes, the parallels between Nan Barlow's (Venetia Stevenson) demise and Marian from Psycho (1960) are similar, even with their moments in lingerie to feature their "alluring features", but the films couldn't be any different in what they represent and the sinister qualities involved. Whitewood, its grounds unseen due to all the fog disguising them, isn't exactly the coziest place to visit (well, technically neither is Bates Motel, but I digress...) and the locals aren't exactly welcoming (either not saying a word or appearing quite suspicious). Patricia Jessel does have that Mrs. Bates quality of how she reacts to pretty women. Jessel has that face that makes your skin crawl...you know she's got insidious plans and can't wait to pull out the blade and slice their throats. And she just has that fixed expression of appall that is barely concealed. Even with the fairly resolute Nan, who takes Mrs. Newless' icy presence in stride, Jessel's inability to hide her disregard for the lovely young student with an interest in witchcraft is obvious. Newless and her centuries-old crush, Jethro Keane (Valentine Dyall), can't wait to knife some ladies. And Lee serves up Nan, his teacher seizing upon her curiosity because she'd make the perfect offering for their master. This movie, though, when in Whitewood, just looks fantastic. I usually watch the public domain copy, but it was nice to see a clean version from Turner Classics. Nan's scientist teacher brother and the boyfriend come to investigate her two-week disappearance (again, echoes of Psycho are there but that is it), only the shadow of the cross, as proclaimed by an ill priest during his dying moments (the priest's daughter the next to be taken by Elizabeth Selwyn for sacrifice), will stop the witch and her flock, fire their undoing. The cemetery, and the hidden basement under the Raven's Inn, prove to be Gothic gifts unwrapped for us fans. 4 / 5
"Burn the witch!"
I did realize that this would have been ideal as a companion with Witchcraft (1964), watched earlier in the month. Maybe next time.
I spent some time about a decade ago skimming the public domain for and watching those old Mill Creek cheapo DVD releases of Bela Lugosi's output. He made a slew of bad (not because of him but in spite of him) B-movies for companies that were fortunate to secure him. I have always felt Lugosi was a product of his time, an underpaid star even when billed low in Universal sequels, with a Hungarian accent that appeared to be equal parts a reason for his success and a detriment in his developing prestige in the industry. His career's length was undermined by his typecasting, but even the likes of Karloff and Chaney failed to escape the notoriety of being tied to fantastic monsters at Universal Studios. The Devil Bat (1940), even on Turner Classics, is in rough shape, a how-low-can-you-go Z-budget quickie that capitalized on Lugosi's previous success, casting him as a mad scientist [natch] seeking revenge against those in a company financing his inventions (he is even delivered a big fat check before having one of the members of this team put on some neck lotion, sending out one of his electric-sized monster bats to attack him in the jugular). Flimsy excuse to turn Lugosi unstable, but he nonetheless gives the film effort even if the reasoning behind his madness and "bat murders" is ridiculous. The wall doors that open in his lab are about as cheap as the rubber bats set loose on unsuspecting victims, strings sending them crashing down and towards the necks of folks unawares. The damn screeching sounds they make as they swoop down are piercing and obnoxious. News reporters are sent into the field to cover the bat murders while those associated with the company and lotion suffer the consequences of Lugosi's psychopathy. I am always astonished at how much Lugosi aged in just 9 years, but perhaps the industry did that to actors trying to survive in one piece. By the late 40s and early 50s Lugosi was an addict, struggling financially, and cast in terrible Ed Wood movies. Nothing saddens me more than to see talents sifted like wheat until their careers are deprived of any value remaining. You see Lugosi in "Dracula" and "The Black Cat", as Ygor in "Son of Frankenstein", and wonder how he would eventually end up turning knobs as an embarrassing sequence regarding a rotten actor and laughable octopus monster flail about in his lab. The Devil Bat, as questionably plotted and financed as it is, understands that Lugosi's involvement is a big deal. Too bad, Lugosi being tied to so many no-budget turkeys tainted a legacy that is still celebrated today...well, the good movies he was involved with, anyway. 2 / 5. I was going to give this 1.5 out of 5 but Lugosi was fun enough to slightly move the needle. When he gets mad at a company man for flaunting his wealth, Lugosi reacting with disdain, I wonder if a bit of the actor's feelings towards Hollywood producers seeped into the performance
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