DEAD SILENCE (2007)

Each October I watch a lot of horror movies. I tend to mix classics I want to revisit with new stuff I hope will be good. Of course, I’m always on the hunt for new horror films that don’t stink up the room and make me wish I’d just watched television that night, but in October this search intensifies. Usually I start casting about for movies that I might have written off earlier, digging a little deeper than average hoping for a surprise. I call it panning for gold but someone else might call it sifting through shit. Whatever you want to call it, I occasionally find a nugget of the pure stuff. That happened with this film.

Back in early 2007 I saw a trailer for DEAD SILENCE and dismissed it out of hand. I saw a ventriloquist dummy, thought “MAGIC for the 21st century” and never thought of it again. But over the last few months I’ve started listening to a great horror film related Podcast called DeadPit.com. Now despite being named after a pretty crappy 80’s film the two Kentucky guys that hold court on this show are funny, informed and honest in their opinions. I certainly can’t say I agree with them all the time (MONKEY SHINES is a damned good movie) but we share a hatred of Eli Roth so I’m on their side in most instances. One of the great things about any sustained conversation on a favorite topic is that it tends to focus the mind and listening to these fellow fans has had that effect. They’ve made me think a bit harder about what I like and what I don’t. I should probably thank them for that one day. So when one of them commented that he had liked DEAD SILENCE and thought it tried to do something fresh in the genre I took note. A quick trip to the NetFlix cue and I settled down to view it with mild expectations.

In a word- WOW! This is one damned good little ghost tale! Not a ventriloquist story really but a horror story about decades long revenge and murder that has a number of nice surprises and at least 5 or 6 stand out scare moments that are simply masterful. When a film is good enough to evoke chills from the sight of a pale white hand inching its way around a wooden post you know you’re in the hands of people who understand horror. And this is the rare film that gets better as you think more about it afterwards. I almost want to watch it again just for the joy of being played so well.

The film tells the story of a young man and his wife who have moved away from the small town in which they grew up. One night they receive an unmarked package containing an old but well kept ventriloquist dummy. Both of them remember an odd story and rhyme they heard as kids about someone with dummies like this one. That same night, while the husband is out of the apartment, his wife is murdered and her tongue ripped out leaving her looking a lot like the wooden doll. Under suspicion for the death he travels back to the couple’s hometown to find out who sent the dummy to them and discover the reason for his beloved’s murder.

That’s all I’m going to tell you other than this is a wonderfully creepy, atmospheric, beautifully photographed and pleasingly well paced horror movie. It is easily one of the best in the genre I’ve seen in many moons and I regret not seeing it on the big screen. I don’t want to over praise it and possibly build up too much anticipation but I really do recommend this one. This is exactly the kind of good, scary movie we need more of these days. It’s a shame it tanked at the box office but maybe we can make it a hit on DVD.

Rod says- CHECK IT OUT!

UNIVERSAL HORRORS

I'm happy to report that it turns out that I was wrong about how Universal was going to lay out the five films in their new Classic Movie Archive currently available only through Best Buy. The movies are laid out on two DVDs with THE BLACK CAT (1941 version), MAN MADE MONSTER and HORROR ISLAND on the first. NIGHT MONSTER and CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN share disc space on the second. Considering the short length of these films this is a good choice making it easy to go on a binge of 1940s horror without leaving your chair!

I'm also happy that now I've been able to finally see NIGHT MONSTER (1942). It's one of the very few movies staring Bela Lugosi that I've never caught up with (and I'll get to MURDER BY TELEVISION one day). It turns out Bela is a minor part of the story but the movie is pretty darned good any way. As a matter of fact, I'd say its the second best of the five. Of course, the real gem of the set is the great little Lon Chaney, Jr. film MAN MADE MONSTER. I think Chaney gives one of his best and least hammy performances here. I actually prefer his work as an actor in this one to his turn in THE WOLF MAN.

I love this poster art from the 1953 re-release. Somehow the title change just doesn't thrill me, although I'm sure it fooled plenty of folks looking for the latest atomic mutant film.

Cushing & Lee- together again!

The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Vol. 2

Like many fans of classic science fiction movies I’ve been anticipating the release yesterday of the second Universal Sci-Fi Collection of films. The first came out two years ago and presented five great and not so great movies from the 1950s. Even though there were no extras at all the price was right and it was a treat to be able to see things like TARANTULA looking razor sharp on video. But the choices of how to lay the movies out on disc seem to have been made completely at random. The most worthy and flat out brilliant of the set, THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, was paired on a disc with another movie while easily the weakest, MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS was given pride of place on its own DVD. Setting aside the fact that SHRINKING MAN deserves some respectful extras- at the very least an interview with writer Richard Matheson- the fact that the worst movie was placed in the best digital position smacked of sloppiness.

But now that the second one is in my hands I can see that sloppiness was not the problem- because it has happened again! Of the five movies here the least interesting and fun is given its own single DVD while the superior remainder share disc space with each other. Not to come off like a pissy little fan boy but what the heck were the video folks at Universal thinking? Did someone really consider THE LEECH WOMAN to be the film to place on it’s own? DR. CYCLOPS, THE DEADLY MANTIS and even CULT OF THE COBRA are much better movies. I might have thought last time that they weren’t thinking at all but now I suspect differently. Twice is a pattern the wise man said. Universal is obviously choosing to give the weakest film the most beneficial disc location. Why? I can only guess. But this is the kind of thing that fans can point to as a demonstration of how little regard the genre is given.

Now I’m willing to go on record with a bet- When the Horror set pictured above is released in October I’m sure that the 1941 version of THE BLACK CAT will be on a single DVD. Anyone want to take me up on this one?

Lee Van Cleef- The Midas Man?

Made in the early 1980s this is part of a series of Canadian commercials featuring Lee Van Cleef and others playing off their spaghetti western persona. This is my favorite of the lot as it reunites the two stars of the great DEATH RIDES A HORSE. Now there's a film in need of a good DVD release.

HUNDRA (1983)

Since my teenage years I’ve had a soft spot in my heart (or head) for the 1980s wave of sword & sorcery movies that thundered through cinemas in the wake of the success of CONAN THE BARBARIAN. I don’t think many of them are very good but I find them fun entertainments much as I do the similar wave of HERCULES inspired movies of the 1960s. They aren’t brilliant but they are something I can really enjoy. Unpretentious, energetic, colorful and often outrageous the sword & scandal epics can always be counted on as good, mostly clean Saturday afternoon romps. The 80s brand of loin cloth warriors were not as plentiful as their earlier brethren but what they lacked in number they made up for in blood, breasts and carnage. Who says the second wave can’t as good as the first?

But even with my interest in these movies I had never heard of HUNDRA until a few months ago. It was mentioned by a friend in the Euro Trash Palace Yahoo group but little was said and in the crush of daily events I quickly forgot about it. Then just this week I ventured into a local used DVD place and stumbled across the amazing DVD release from Subversive Cinema. Not only does it contain the film but a number of extras and a bonus CD of the (good but not great) Ennio Morricone soundtrack! SOLD!


Of course, the best news about finding this odd little film is that it turns out to be pretty good. Obviously patterned VERY closely on CONAN it follows that movie’s plot so well that once it finally diverges about midway it’s a bit of a shock. Laurene Landon plays Hundra, the sole survivor of a tribe of females who had separated themselves from mankind to avoid the horrors of men’s cruelty. Associating with males only to become pregnant they were happy living apart. Hundra at first sets out to avenge her tribe but is told by a wise woman that she must instead bear children so their kind can continue. Unhappy but respectful she sets off into the world to find a man worthy of her.

This set-up sounds like it could be the start of a pretty stupid sex film but that’s not the track the filmmakers travel. Each encounter Hundra has is symbolic of how women have to deal with men in various situations. This adds a level of intelligence to things which keeps it fascinating even as the pace of the story flags in the second half. Also keeping the movie popping is the satiric approach director Cimber takes. The actions scenes are exciting but also funny with some good slapstick mixing well with the pretty harsh swordplay. If someone had told me HUNDRA would try to be funny I would have doubted if the movie was even worth watching. But they actually pull it off here making it look easy most of the time. There are a few points where the tone shifts too fast for the story’s own good but overall they find the right distance between thrilling and silly.

The sword fights between Landon and her many adversaries are a blast and not only because she is clearly doing all her own stunts. Cimber uses very good editing and smart slow motion effects to maximize a small budget making the battles look truly fierce. I should also single out the excellent animal performance by a dog that acts as Hundra’s only constant companion. Very well trained this canine rides on horseback, cowers in fear to warn his master, leaps at the throat of a bad guy menacing a baby and even leads Hundra’s horse by the reins. There are lots of surprising things about this little movie but I guess the most surprising thing is that it turned out to be pretty good. I think I’m going to settle in and listen to the commentary track now.

THRILLER a.k.a. THEY CALL HER ONE EYE (1974)

A movie I read about for years before finally getting to see it via Synapse's excellent DVD. Not only an entertaining and influential revenge picture it introduced me to one of the most beautiful, sexy women of all time- Christina Lindberg. I really must show this to more folks.