THE LAST OF THE VIKINGS (1961)

In the 1960’s Italian filmmakers tried their hand at every genre of film imaginable. Western, horror, crime tales, melodrama, war stories and comedies were churned out as fast as financing could be obtained. The general modus operandi for gaining financing was to capitalize on the big success of a Hollywood film to make similar movies in hopes riding lucrative coattails to big box office returns. In 1958 Kirk Douglas produced the giant sized comic book of a film called THE VIKINGS and made a boat-load of money. It wasn’t long before the Italian copies and knock-offs started to appear. None of them reached the dizzying heights of THE VIKINGS but they still entertain in a big way – and there is nothing more fun than a full (or even half) scale Viking battle scene!

THE LAST OF THE VIKINGS (1961) has all the ingredients needed for a great Viking epic- beer drinking, sword & ax fighting, pig-tailed wenches, nasty back-stabbing villains and violent bloody battles. The story follows the return of two brothers, Harald and Gunther, to the Viking village of their birth after ten years of travelling and raiding in far away lands. They are devastated to find their home in ruins, their people scattered and their father traitorously murdered by a rival king. Harald vows to rebuild the village and kill the man responsible. His plan involves infiltration, kidnapping and (best of all) a huge attack on a fortified castle.

This is a fun example of the genre that smartly hides most of its budget shortfalls with crafty filmmaking techniques. Its been reported by Tim Lucas that Mario Bava was brought in to do some work on the film when production went over schedule and he makes a good argument. Certain scenes bear a rather distinctive Bava flair for the atmospheric and creepy. In an interview with Lucas star Cameron Mitchell made no bones about the fact that Mario worked on the movie and since he was the star (playing Harald) it’s hard to ignore his testimony.

I hope that one day a good DVD of the film is available as I think a sharp, clear version would go far to raise the film's reputation.

Night of the Howling Beast music video

WILD WILD PLANET (1965) poster art

Of the four Italian-made science fiction films of the mid-'60s, War of the Planets, Wild, Wild Planet, War Between the Planets, and Snow Devils this one has always been my favorite. Everything promised on this poster is actually in the movie. Amazing.

A moment of perfect horror beauty

A screen grab from Mario Bava's brilliant BLACK SUNDAY a.k.a. THE MASK OF SATAN that shows the amazing skill of the director and the amazing beauty of Barbara Steele. She almost glows.....

DEATHSTALKER poster art!

I will soon be force marching my way through this series of films. For no good reason. I wonder how far I will actually get before I give up and run screaming away? They look fun/bad in that way I love so much! (And there's nudity!)

What I Watched In February

A short but busy month for movie watching. Some great views in the Belcourt theater this past month as I took in a couple of older films as part of their Noir Fest 2 series. I was especially happy to get to see the fantastic FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG which has yet to be released on video in any form. I was also happy to welcome back LOST for its final season. BSG follow up CAPRICA started off well but is mired in some truly boring stuff by just the second regular episode. It took me three tries to make it all the way through that one 45 minute chunk of TV entertainment and that is not a good sign. On the other end of the spectrum FX spy comedy series ARCHER is fantastic every episode managing to be as un-PC as possible and screamingly funny at the same time. There is some very sharp writing going on with this animated show but its tastelessness and mean-spirited nature will turn off many.

RAZORBACK (1984)- 7 (good monster film from down under)
CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTER (1968) – 7 (glad to finally catch up with this)
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)- 8 (rewatch)
SILK (2006)- 7 (Hong Kong ghost tale)
SUPER SEVEN CALLING CAIRO (1965)- 6 (Euro-spy goodness)
EVIL FACE (1974)- 5 (Kinski elevates a mess of a film)
THE TERRORNAUTS (1967)- 3 (silly/cheesy pulpish sci-fi that plays as a kiddie show)
THE WOLFMAN (2010)- 9 (MUCH better than I thought it would be)
FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG (1955)- 8 (wow! What a dark, twisted tale)
HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB (1972)- 8 (insane Naschy tale with everything thrown in)
UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (1971)- 7 (George Lazenby plays a burnt out mercenary who goes hippy)
QUAI DES ORFEVRES (1947)- 9 (Clouzot at his brilliant best)
WINNETOU AND HIS FRIEND OLD FIREHAND (1966)- 6 (a.k.a. THUNDER AT THE BORDER- fun German made western)
ROCK’N’ROLLA (2008)- 8 (rewatch with some buddies)
A SERIOUS MAN (2009)- 8 (The Coen’s do their thing quite well)
GIVE’EM HELL MALONE (2009)- 5 (not bad attempt at a modern tough guy noir)
DER ZINKER (1963)- 7 (more krimi goodness)
MANSION OF THE DOOMED (1976)- 4 (mad doctor Richard Baseheart goes eye-happy)
INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU (1968)- 7 (Alan Arkin does a pretty good Peter Sellers)
FANTOMAS (1947)- 8 (fantastic French adaptation)
SOMEONE’S WATCHING ME (1978)- 7 (Carpenter’s REAR WINDOW variant)
THE LADY EVE (1941)- 8 (Preston Sturges was an amazing writer/director)
UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT (1974)- 7 (good little comedy)
THE FEAR CHAMBER (1968)- 2 (pretty awful Karloff Mexi-mess)
SHUTTER ISLAND (2010)- 8 (well done and creepy- Scorsese's VERTIGO?)
THE CRAZIES (2010)- 6 (pretty good remake with a good cast)
EDMOND (2005)- 6 (interesting Mamet tale)
SAVAGE ISLAND (1985) – 4 (your average crappy women-in-jungle-prison film)

NaschyCast #2 - HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB (1973)

Troy and I are proud to present the second episode of The NaschyCast! This time we run through HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB and discover even more madness than we had though might be there. How did we manage to link THE EXORCIST, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DIRTY HARRY to this film? Were we able to pronounce the actor’s names any better this time out? Did we get distracted by the copious nudity on display? How much does religion play a part in the symbolism used in the film? Were we able to make sense out of the jumble of crazed ideas tossed around in this Euro-horror classic? All of these questions and more will be answered (or at least mentioned and picked at) in this show!

Truly, HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB is one of the most enjoyable of Paul Naschy’s movies and was part of an amazing string of entertaining pictures that showed him and his collaborators working at the top of their game. In the end I have to agree with Troy that this may be one of the best to introduce newcomers to the joys of the Mad Spaniard’s horror output. It’s certainly impossible to be bored by the movie.

Keep in mind that this is a spoiler packed Podcast and that we discuss the entire film from start to finish so if you haven't seen HRFTT yet you might want to be wary. And once again feel free to give us your thoughts on the Podcast –pro or con. We’re still working on adding new elements for the third episode to improve the experience and are more than willing to listen to criticism from our fellow film fans.

The NaschyCast #2!

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