Every so often, I stumble across a hidden gem of a movie that didn't get a lot of attention when it was released or didn't get much of a release. Attack of the Werewolves aka Game of Werewolves aka Lobos De Arga is one such movie (it's known by a few names, depending on the country). Deftly blending comedy and horror against the backdrop of a cursed Spanish village, this is one funny little monster movie.
Tomas (played by Gorka Otxoa) is returning to the village of Arga where he grew up to accept an award for his writing, despite only writing one not very good novel. Soon after arriving, he begins to reconnect with the locals, including his childhood friend Calisto (played by Carlos Areces) and his uncle Evaristo (played by Manuel Manquina). Even his sleazy editor Mario (played by Secun de la Rosa) shows up, although he is also be hiding from his creditors and/or police. Tomas soon discovers that he was not brought to the village to be given an award, but rather to be sacrificed to the werewolf that has been terrorizing the village for the past 100 years. There is a chance to break the curse on the village 100 years from the day it was cast if the werewolf devours the descendant of the original cursed family, which means Tomas. If the curse is not successfully broken on the 100 year anniversary then a second and even worse curse will befall the town. Not wanting to become werewolf chow and not particularly caring about the welfare of the village, Tomas, Calisto, and Mario find themselves desperately trying to escape the village, all the more difficult when the villagers are hunting them and destroyed their transport.
The film was written and directed by Juan Martinez Moreno, who manages to create a thoroughly entertaining movie with three amusing characters at the center of it. The film's script throws in one amusing gag after another, some I didn't even see coming and others I did, but were executed so well I was laughing already in anticipation of them. There are a couple more horror moments, but by and large this film is much more of a comedy. The film is anchored by three great comedic performances. Gorka Otxoa is great as Tomas, exasperated by the events transpiring around him and trying to find a way out of the mess he's found himself in, with only hinderance from his two friends. Likewise, Carlos Areces is fun as his childhood friend Calisto who tries to help Tomas escape but at the same time comes up with some rather idiotic plans that I won't spoil here. And then there is Secun de la Rosa as Mario, Tomas' shady publisher from Madrid. I was cracking up at his antics as we found out more about his character and just how shameless he really is.
Sadly, Attack of the Werewolves did not get the release it deserved in the U.S, only playing a few foreign film festivals before quietly being released on HBO on Demand (which is where I finally got to see it) for some time before disappearing. For a film that I would liken to Shaun of the Dead with werewolves (although it's not quite as good as that film, but it's in the same spirit as that film), it's a shame. I had to import the Blu-Ray from the U.K even (thank you U.K for making it region free!). So, once again, I taunt my faithful readers by reviewing a film that is *extremely* hard to find. But, if you want to watch it and you know me, let me know because I'd up for it anytime.
It was only a matter of time before Hammer decided to shake things up with their Dracula series and bring the Count into modern day. That time came in the early seventies during a strange trend with sequels where they would just tack on the year the film was made to differentiate them. Still, there is a certain charm to Dracula A.D 1972, with Dracula working his way through a group of hippies in swinging London, with Peter Cushing making his triumphant return to the series as well.
The film begins in 1872 as Dracula (played by Christopher Lee) and Lawrence Van Helsing (played by Peter Cushing) are in a fight to the death on a runaway carriage. Soon, the carriage crashes and both Dracula and Van Helsing are thrown from the wreckage. Somehow, Dracula has managed to impale himself on the spoke of a broken wagon wheel and Van Helsing manages to stab it into the Count, staking him before expiring of his injuries. In hot pursuit of the two is an unnamed servant of Dracula (played by Christopher Neame), who collects some of the ashen remains of the count in a glass vial and Dracula's ring. Later, he buries some of the remains near the grave of Lawrence Van Helsing and marks the spot with the wheel spoke stake (and this miraculously remains undisturbed for 100 years!).
We then move ahead 100 years to 1972, where a young man, Johnny Alucard (played by Christopher Neame) suggests to his friends that they hold a Black Mass for giggles in a nearby desanctified church (because in 1972 you had to make your own fun, of course). Of course, Johnny is a descendant of the servant of Dracula looking to resurrect the Count for his own ends (basically he wants to be a vampire). Of course, one of the members of their group is Jessica Van Helsing (played by Stephanie Beacham) and is looked after by her grandfather, Lorrimer Van Helsing (played by Peter Cushing). Of course, the Black Mass goes off without a hitch and Dracula is resurrected in modern day London. Dracula only has one objective on his mind though, revenge against the Van Helsing family.
This film is probably one of the more maligned entries in the series for many reasons, but I must confess I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a certain kitschy and campy sensibility to it. The acting is so over the top that I was more prone to laughter than fright but it was all so entertaining at the same time. After the previous seven entries all taking place in the 19th century, the series was ripe for some re-invention and bringing it into the modern day was an obvious choice and works wonders for the film.
Peter Cushing once again rocks it as Van Helsing, carrying the same sort of deadly serious swagger that made his first turn in the role in Horror of Dracula so memorable. Adding his Granddaughter into the mix and having her fall into the cross hairs of Dracula helps add an emotional weight to the film and up the stakes for Van Helsing as he has a much more personal investment in what is happening with Dracula. Unfortunately, Christopher Lee isn't given much to do for the bulk of the film, left to skulk around that moldy, desanctified church for much of the film until the climactic showdown between Dracula and Van Helsing, which was suitably epic. The whole point of bringing Dracula into modern day would be to see the character interact with it. Although Tim Burton's Dark Shadows showed the dangers of going too far down that route, so perhaps we are better off. This film is campy enough as it is. I also have to call out Christopher Neame as Johnny Alucard. Neame creates this perfect blend of sexy and menacing. It's easy to see why the girls in the group go for his bad boy charm, but yet they don't know just how bad he really is. What we're lacking in Dracula, Neame more than made up for, at least for me.
Deep down, I know I should hate Dracula A.D 1972 but I just can't. The groovy funky soundtrack, the over the top acting, the silly plot and the chance to see Lee and Cushing square off once again as Dracula and Van Helsing. Add in the sexy bad boy antics of Christopher Neame and the whole thing just works for me on some sort of crazy, campy level. Oh well, we all have our guilty pleasures, I suppose.
Following directly from the climax of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, we move right into the next film, Taste the Blood of Dracula. Hammer kicked things up a couple notches with this outing, crafting a clever return for the Count as he continues his reign of terror, this time moving the action from Eastern Europe to Victorian London.
Three British Gentlemen, William Hargood (played by Geoffrey Keen), Samuel Paxton (played by Peter Sallis), and Jonathan Secker (played by John Carson), have formed a social circle under the guise of being for charity work but actually the three frequently visit a brothel together. On one such visit, they are disrupted by the appearance of a young man, Courtley (played by Ralph Bates), who is tended to immediately despite the brothel keeper's objections. Intrigued, the men ask about him and discover the man was disinherited after practicing a Black Mass. Intrigued and seeking a more intense thrill, Hargood meets Courtley outside the brothel. The young man promises the three gentlemen a thrill to remember and after purchasing some Dracula artifacts, including a vial of Dracula's dried blood, takes the three to an old, abandoned church. He places some of the powdered Dracula blood in four goblets and then adds some of his own blood, which causes the blood to liquify and fill the goblets. He encourages the men to drink, but they are too disgusted to do so. Courtley drinks it instead and begins to scream and fall to the ground. Horrified, the three gentlemen kick and beat Courtley, not stopping until he is dead and then flee the scene. Courtley's dead body is then transformed into Dracula (played by Christopher Lee), who rises once again, pledging to avenge the murder of his faithful servant Courtley.
The film was directed by Paul Sasidy and written by Anthony Hinds, who also wrote the previous film. As with most sequels, this one ups the ante for the latest installment and in fact has the distinction of being the only Hammer Dracula film to carry an R rating. But yet, the film maintains the same distinct gothic horror flavor that this series has been known for, but just with a slightly harder edge to it. However, despite the set-up, this outing is very similar to the previous film with the Count swearing vengeance against those who have wronged him and setting his sights on both the individuals and their families. It even falls to a young lad named Paul (played by Anthony Higgins) to defeat the Count and save his girlfriend. But yet, this outing is more consistently thrilling than the preceding film and the plot, though similar is a bit more intriguing. Likewise the characters are better drawn this time and a bit more interesting and subsequently the performances were better too. I was just more drawn in with this one than the previous film, although there is plenty to recommend with that one as well.
Overall, Taste the Blood of Dracula may be my favorite of the Dracula sequels I've seen thus far. Granted, the plot is remarkably similar to the previous film but at the same time offers enough new elements as well as better and more interesting characters to create a more intriguing, spooky and entertaining film.
The fourth film in the Hammer Horror Dracula series and the third to star Christopher Lee in the title role was Dracula Has Risen from the Grave. The film once again brings the Hammer brand of gothic horror to the screen with Lee haunting as ever and adds a few interesting new dimensions to the Dracula series.
Monsignor Ernest Mueller (played by Rupert Davies) has traveled to a small European village to check on the local Priest (played by Ewan Hooper. He finds the church deserted as the villagers refuse to enter it since it falls under the shadow of Dracula's castle. The Priest has lost his faith and the altar boy is a frightened mute. Mueller and the Priest travel up to Count Dracula's castle to exorcise it of it's evil. The Priest only makes it halfway and Mueller continues on his own. Mueller is able to complete the exorcism but the resulting thunderstorm causes the Priest to flee. In the process, he stumbles and falls, knocked unconscious when his head hits a rock. The blood from the resulting head wound trickles into a frozen creek and into the mouth of Count Dracula contained within and reviving him. Dracula brings the Priest under his control and once he discovers his castle is now barred to him, sets out to get revenge on Mueller and his family, his widowed sister-in-law Anna (played by Marion Mathie) and his niece Maria (played by Veronica Carlson). It then falls to Mueller and Maria's boyfriend Paul (played by Barry Andrews) to try and defeat the count and save their loved ones.
The film was directed by Freddie Francis and written by Anthony Hinds. The film has the same sort of fantastic gothic mood that Hammer Films became known for. The film also weaves in some interesting spiritual elements with a priest becoming an agent for evil, albeit against his will, and one of the main heroes of the film, Paul, being an atheist. In order for Paul to defeat Dracula and rescue his girlfriend he must accept that there is a God, which I thought was an interesting arc for a character in a film like this. The performances in the film are overall decent. Christopher Lee has the character of Dracula down at this point, striking an imposing figure and a character of few words but imparts more with a mere imposing glance. Likewise, Barry Andrews makes for an appealing hero trying to save his girlfriend from the vengeful Count.
Overall, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is a decent and entertaining chapter in the Hammer Dracula series. It's paced a bit slower than Horror of Dracula and suffers from a lack of Peter Cushing, but is still a reasonably thrilling film, with a few unique twists to spice things up.
When Christopher Lee passed away last year, I realized to my surprise that I had not actually seen any of his Dracula films all the way through from beginning to end. I had seen bits and pieces over the years, but never the whole thing. Then, more recently, I found a great deal on a four pack of four of the nine total Dracula films made by Hammer Studios and thought that would be a great way to kick off the Halloween season this year, starting with his first, Horror of Dracula.
In 1885 Klausenburg, Romania, Jonathan Harker (played by John Van Eyssen) travels to the castle of Count Dracula (played by Christopher Lee) to take his post as the Count's librarian. He finds the house deserted and comes across a note asking him to make himself at home. Later, he comes across a woman begging him to help her escape. He ignores her pleas when a short time later, his host, Dracula, appears. At first, Dracula appears to be a charming host and shows Harker to his room. Dracula is quite taken with a photo Harker has of his fiance, Lucy (played by Carol Marsh) That night, as he writes in his journal, the truth is revealed. Dracula is a vampire and Harker has traveled there under the guise of being a scholar to destroy the fiend. The woman who begged Harker to help her earlier turns out to be a vampire and he manages to stake her before Dracula gets the drop on him. Some time later, Dr. Van Helsing (played by Peter Cushing), travels to Dracula's castle in search of Harker. As he approaches the castle, a hearse carriage speeds by with a coffin in the back. He finds the castle deserted and Harker in the crypt, now a vampire himself. Realizing that Lucy's picture is missing and after reading Harker's journal, Van Helsing realizes what has happened and races back to Lucy's family's estate in an attempt to protect her and her family from Dracula.
Horror of Dracula was very loosely based on the novel by Bram Stoker and directed by Terence Fisher from a script by Jimmy Sangster. The film was produced by Hammer studios as a follow-up to their previous hit film, The Curse of Frankenstein, which also starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Their roles in this one as Van Helsing and Dracula were arguably their most iconic as both reprised their roles several times more throughout the series of Dracula films. Both actors are fantastic in their roles. I've only seen one of these thus far but already Christopher Lee is my favorite Dracula and I can say double for Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. There is just something electric between the two, especially during their final confrontation at the end. After all these years, it still held up for me as these two squared off.
At a brisk 81 minutes in length, Horror of Dracula moves along at a steady pace. One could argue this could be titled Dracula: Only the Good Parts as the film hits each of the main story points without dragging things out too much. Any sort of deep characterization is lost in the process but the gothic atmosphere of the film makes up for it with some genuinely interesting set design as well, especially with Dracula's castle.
Overall, Horror of Dracula is an entertaining variation of Bram Stoker's classic tale with some rather glaring differences. Anchored by two fantastic and iconic performances by Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, I found the film really stands the test of time, remaining just as thrilling and entertaining. It will be interesting to see if the same can be said for the sequels.
Don't Breathe is a curious entry in the thriller genre because it really plays with the audience's allegiance in terms of which characters we're rooting for. It shifted for me a couple times throughout the film. Regardless, this is one effective white knuckle thriller.
Rocky (played by Jane Levy) is so desperate to leave her toxic and abusive home where she lives with her Mom, her mom's terrible boyfriend and her daughter, that she has resorted to robbing houses with her criminal boyfriend Money (played by Daniel Zovatto) and friend Alex (played by Dylan Minnette), who is secretly in love with Rocky. Alex's dad works for a security company and the three use that connection to gain keys and security codes to access other's houses. Money gets a tip that there is an old guy (played by Stephen Lang) who lives alone in an otherwise deserted neighborhood who rumor has it is sitting on at least $300,000. Seeing a quick ticket out of town, Rocky agrees to take part in the robbery. Alex is harder to convince but eventually agrees. While staking out the house, they discover the man is blind. That night, they break into the house through the only window without bars and set about trying to find the blind man's loot. Shortly after they break in, the man awakens and discovers them, or at least one of them since he is unsure how many there are. This begins a game of cat and mouse between the Blind Man and the three intruders as they try to get out of the house while eluding the Blind Man and in the process, discovers he has some deep, dark secrets of his own.
Director Fede Alvarez, who also wrote the film with Rodo Sayagues, strikes a surprising level of moral ambiguity for the film. All through it, I found myself questioning who I should be rooting for in this scenario. The film manages to create some sympathy for Rocky, who is doing the robberies to make some quick cash to leave town with her younger sister, as well as Alex who is conflicted about doing these robberies as well, but goes through it out of his love and loyalty for Rocky. Money, on the other hand might as well have dead meat tattooed on his forehead. But at the same time, the Blind Man (that's literally how he's referred to in the movie, he doesn't even have a name), lives alone mourning the death of his daughter and is also sympathetic at least for the first third of the movie anyway. Then there is a shocking revelation and then another shocking revelation that makes it clear that the Blind Man is even worse than the people who are robbing him. In retrospect, I feel like the filmmakers went a bit too far with that in painting the Blind Man as a monster. I wish they had left it a bit more even and made the audience question themselves and let the characters exist in more of a morally gray area for the entire film.
Stephen Lang gives a stellar performance as the Blind Man, giving both an emotional weight to the part as well as being physically intimidating as a man who is quite resourceful and frightening despite not being able to see. Jane Levy and Dylan Minnette were also quite good in their roles. Despite myself, I did want to see Rocky get out of the house if for no other reason than the sake of her younger sister. Dylan Minnette also managed to evoke a lot as Alex, who it is clear is only a part of this because he loves Rocky and I did worry about their safety as the movie went on, even though I knew I shouldn't have. They brought this on themselves and broke the law. But yet, in the end I found myself rooting for them to get out of the house and that really started to mess with my head and idea of moral code. They're robbers, breaking into the house of a as far as they know innocent, blind man and this movie is making my sympathize and worry about them. In that regard, well done filmmakers and actors.
I previously mentioned in my Wait Until Dark review that the premise of this movie reminded me of that one. I will admit the premise is similar in the sense that three intruders invade the home of a blind person to steal something. In Wait Until Dark it was a doll stuffed with heroin. In this film it's $300,000 in cash. However, aside from that basic plot outline and that at one point both blind people turn off all the lights to even the playing field, the films have a lot of differences as well. In fact, this film is almost the inverse, with the Blind Man being the villain and the robbers being the heroes, in a twisted way.
Overall, Don't Breathe was a very effective thriller that has a twisty-turny plot that left me questioning who I should be rooting for several times throughout the film, with each new twist changing it. As I was leaving the theatre, one of the other audience members asked me, "So, were they the good guys or the bad guys?"
"I don't know, I'm still trying to figure that out myself," I responded as we walked out of the theatre.
When I first saw the trailer for the new thriller Don't Breathe, there was something that felt really familiar about it to me. It soon dawned on me that the film was a variation on the classic Audrey Hepburn thriller, Wait Until Dark, with a few alterations. Basically they made the three intruders a bit more sympathetic and the blind person a bit less sympathetic, but aside from that the set up is very similar. I thought it might be fun to compare the two.
Susy Hendrix (played by Audrey Hepburn) is a blind woman who lives in a New York apartment with her photographer husband Sam (played by Efram Zimbalist Jr.). Despite her blindness, she is rather self-reliant and is able to get around both her apartment and neighborhood rather well. Sam has just returned from a business trip and was given a doll by a strange woman to carry in the airport under the guise that she was bringing it home for one of her daughters who was in the hospital and didn't want her other daughter to see it and planned to retrieve it later, but when they are separated Sam winds up taking it home with him. In the shuffle of unpacking, it gets lost in the apartment and both he and Suzy forget about it and when the woman calls Sam about the doll, he can't remember where it is. Two con men, Mike and Carlino (played by Richard Crenna and Jack Weston), show up at the apartment a couple days later along with another man, Harry Roat (played by Alan Arkin), with the objective of retrieving the doll. It turns out the doll was not a gift but rather stuffed full of heroin. Initially, they try to con Suzy into giving up the doll with Mike posing as an old college friend of Sam's, Carlino as a policeman and Roat poses as an old man and then his son. However, things take a darker turn when Suzy suspects their ruse and with the help of her upstairs neighbor, Gloria (played by Julie Herrod) confirms her suspicions. From there she needs to use every ounce of cunning she has to try and outwit the three strangers until help can arrive.
Like most thrillers, this one probably doesn't stand up to a lot of scrutiny in terms of Suzy's actions throughout the film. But the strength of the performances, especially by Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin, carry us through the film. Suzy is probably a bit too trusting, especially for a New Yorker, but Hepburn makes it work by portraying Suzy as a warm but smart and capable woman. Her trusting nature is her flaw though and she doesn't realize the danger she's truly in until it's much too late. Arkin's performance as Harry Roat is one of the all time great movie villains. There is just something that is very unsettling about that character and Arkin plays him wonderfully. He's completely in control, smart and very dangerous. Suzy and Roat going head to head provides much of the movies suspense in the final act of the film.
The film was directed by Terence Young and written by Robert Carrington and Jane Howard-Carrington, based on the stage play by Frederick Knott. The film at times does feel a bit stagey, since the bulk of the film takes place in that one apartment, but Terence Young is able to change up the shots and break away from the apartment set enough so that feeling doesn't overwhelm the film. Young also does a great job of slowly ratcheting up the suspense in the film from the beginning all the way to the heart stopping finale.
Overall, Wait Until Dark has earned it's place as a classic thriller with two great performances anchoring the film. I originally checked out the film many years back because the premise intrigued me and I was a fan of both Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. Knowing Alan Arkin mostly from his comedic roles, such as The In-Laws, seeing him play such a sadistic villain as Roat was an eye opener. It's a fantastic little thriller that I wholeheartedly recommend.
