2009’s Hammer release of Wake Wood is excellent. The film asks the question: What would you do if you could have a loved one back for three days?” That’s exactly what Patrick and Louise Daley (Aiden Gillen and Eva Birthistle) have to decide in this film. After the violent death of their daughter, Alice (Ella Connolly), the pair move to the small town of Wakewood. While there, they learn about a mysterious ritual that a local man named Arthur (Timothy Spall) can perform that will allow a recently deceased loved one to return to life for three days permitted that they meet one major requirement: the person must be dead for less than one year.
Despite knowing that their daughter has been dead for just a few weeks over one year, they lie to Arthur and he goes through with the ceremony. Alice returns and appears to be just fine at first, but as her time in the land of the living begins to wane, she becomes violent and murderous. Patrick battles with the idea that he must put his own daughter down and Louise does her best to find the good in dear Alice. You’ll have to watch the film in order to find out what happens.
This film was a pleasant surprise to me. It features a great blend of suspense, terror, and just enough gore to please the hack hounds that prefer their horror with a lot of blood. There are a number of gruesome moments in this film, primarily executed by sweet little Alice. Also, knowing that Alice can pop up at any minute and kill pretty much anyone that she pleases at any given time added to the suspenseful tone of the film.
The film’s cast was excellent. Spall, Birthistle, and Gillen were all very convincing in their roles. Spall was always just a bit too sinister every time he was on the screen. It was as if he always meant well but knew that what he was doing would ultimately lead to death and destruction. Amelia Crowley, Brian Gleeson, Ruth McCabe, Aoife Meagher, and others provided excellent support as members of the small community. Connolly did a solid job as the sadistic little Alice as well.
I definitely recommend Wake Wood. It’s got a little Pet Sematary vibe mixed in with some Don’t Look Now that makes for a perfect little flick. If you enjoy your horror with a little bit of suspense, you’ll love this film.
Thanks for checking out my post. See you again tomorrow!
Despite a very strong cast, Hammer’s 1964 release of The Evil of Frankenstein misses the mark. Peter Cushing stars as the brilliant scientist Baron Victor Frankenstein, who we find in exile from his home of Karlstaad with his loyal assistant, Hans. The duo are found to be harvesting remains in a small village and are outed just as the baron is about to reanimate a second corpse. His laboratory is destroyed and he and Hans are forced to flee the village. They return to Karlstaad hoping to find items to sell off at the baron’s chateau in order to get enough funds to build a new laboratory but find the place empty. Then they head into town during a festival and the baron discovers that most of his property has been stolen by the local burgomaster.
The baron and Hans hatch a scheme to steal back some of the property but are chased away by the police into the hills. There they are discovered by a mute girl who helps them hide and unwittingly reveals to them the location of the baron’s first successful creation, frozen in snow. The baron and Hans bring the creature back to the baron’s chateau and manage to revive it with the help of a thieving hypnotist named Zoltan. The hypnotist begins using the creature to steal gold from Karlstaad and it eventually murders the burgomaster and a police officer that it mistakes for the chief of police. When the baron finds this out, he kicks the hypnotist out of his chateau. The crook returns, however, and a climactic battle ensues for control of the creature. Who wins? You’ll have to watch The Evil of Frankenstein to find out.
I wanted to like this film. It has a lot going for it. The visuals are absolutely stunning at times and the performances of Peter Cushing as the baron and Sandor Eles as Hans are brilliant. I also really enjoyed the light touches of humor, most of which involved Caron Gardner who portrayed the burgomaster’s wife. The burgomaster, portrayed by David Hutcheson, was also devilishly fun to watch on the screen. Katy Wild, despite never uttering a word as the mute girl, turned in a very convincing performance. Peter Woodthorpe portrayed Zoltan and he played the primary villain of the piece to perfection.
Sadly the film is weighed down by poor editing, a jumbled plot, and horrible creature makeup. Poor Kiwi Kingston couldn’t do much of anything in the oversized forehead and clunky boots of the creature. It was a poor homage to Boris Karloff’s portrayal of the creature in the classic Universal film. The story dragged for absolutely no reason and many of the scenes felt mashed together. This film is a mess with only slight flashes of brilliance, particularly in the cinematography.
For the visuals and performances of the cast I recommend giving this film a shot. If you can look beyond the terrible makeup and the goofy editing, you might enjoy this film.
Thanks for checking out this post. Hammer misfired with this flick but I plan to review a much better film tomorrow!
“He was my son. Now he is only…..a beast of the night.”
A French schoolteacher unwittingly releases a vampire on a small village in the 1960 Hammer production of The Brides of Dracula. In the film, Marianne Danielle is lured to the palace of Baroness Meinster. Little does she know that the baroness actually plans to use Marianne as a meal for her undead son, Baron Meinster. While watching the baron from her window, Marianne rushes to stop him when she believes that he is about to commit suicide. He tells her how his mother has imprisoned him in her castle and asks Marianne to help him escape, which she does. Soon enough a young woman is found dead in the nearby village and then another death occurs at the school where Marianne has recently become a teacher. Thankfully the resident priest has called on Doctor Van Helsing for assistance and he arrives in the nick of time to battle the baron and his growing brood of the undead. Who wins the battle? Watch The Brides of Dracula and find out.
The film features some amazing performances from Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing, Yvonne Monlaur as Marianne, and Martita Hunt as the regretful baroness. Freda Jackson chews her way through the scenery as Greta, the baroness’ servant and an unhinged ally of the baron. Marie Devereux and Andree Melly are fun as two of the baron’s victims. Miles Malleson turns in a brief but hilarious performance as Doctor Tobler. As for the baron himself, David Peel gives a somewhat bombastic performance as the fanged villain of the film.
The film is okay but nothing particularly special. The climactic face off between Van Helsing and the baron is actually pretty anticlimactic. The brides are much more interesting than the baron and Melly’s Gina delivers some of the most wicked lines in the film when trying to draw Marianne closer to her in order to drink her blood. The film has quite a few plot holes and a “quick fix cure” for vampirism in one scene that just didn’t work for me. Still, the overall film is worth a look if for no other reason than to see the brides spook Van Helsing and Marianne for a bit.
Thanks for checking out my post. I really do wish that this film had expanded the roles of the baron’s brides in this film. It had a ton of potential but ultimately fell flat. See you tomorrow with another Hammer film!
Gaston Leroux’s world famous novel, The Phantom of the Opera, has been adapted for film, television, musicals, and more over the years. Universal Studios distributed one of the earliest adaptations of the novel that starred the brilliant Lon Chaney as the Phantom. In 1943, Claude Rains would don the mask of the Phantom in yet another Universal release of the film. Universal would release yet another adaptation of the story with Hammer Productions in 1962. This time around the film would star Herbert Lom as a much more sympathetic yet just as twisted Phantom.
The story somewhat follows the events of the 1943 film version although it moves the story to London. The Phantom, whose real name is Professor Petrie in this version, has his musical work bought by the wicked Lord Ambrose who in turn publishes the musical, Saint Joan, under his name instead of Petrie’s name. Enraged, Petrie attempts to destroy all printed versions of the work at the printing office and is scarred by acid while trying to put out a fire that almost destroys the building. He hides in the sewers beneath the London Opera House for years, terrifying the players, stage hands, and guests. He falls for the lovely Christine Charles and tells her that he will teach her to sing so that he can hear her perform his musical before he dies.
The film wasn’t very well received by critics of the time. Many of the cast members were critical of it as well. Personally, I felt that while the film did drag at moments, it gave us a very tragic version of the Phantom that was actually worth cheering on in the story. The true villain of the piece is Lord Ambrose, played with wicked perfection by Michael Gough. Modern audiences will most likely recognize Gough as Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman films released between 1989 and 1997. In this tale he’s the terrible owner of the London Opera House who “dismisses” almost everybody that works for him. Sadly we never really get to see what happens to him in this film, as he runs out of the opera house whenever he rips off the Phantom’s mask and we never see him again.
The film’s cast is extremely good despite being in a film that does have quite a few faults. Lom does a brilliant job as the Phantom. As I already stated, he’s a tragic figure that deserves pity and Lom does an excellent job of portraying that in this film. The striking Heather Sears portrayed the Phantom’s muse, Christine Charles. She was very convincing in the role. Her singing voice was also amazing…..thanks to the dubbed voice of Pat Clark in her place. Edward de Souza portrayed Harry Hunter, a producer at the London Opera House who becomes enchanted by Christine and attempts to determine who or what the Phantom actually is before any more murders occur. He injects a little bit of light humor in the film although humor is severely lacking in this story for the most part. Other significant performers included Thorley Walters, Patrick Troughton, and Ian Wilson.
While this adaptation of the famous Gaston Leroux novel often falls into the cracks of film history, it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s more of a tragedy than a horror but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good film. Hammer made a very entertaining film here and I’m glad that I finally watched it.
Thanks for checking out my post about this oft forgotten version of The Phantom of the Opera. I’ll have another horrific Hammer film review for you tomorrow!
When a twelve-year-old boy befriends his new young neighbor, the pair form a bond that is both loving and lethal in 2010’s Let Me In. A remake of 2008’s Let The Right One In which was itself based upon a 2004 book of the same name by Tomas Alfredson, Let Me In is a slow burning vampire flick full of brilliant acting performances, sounds, and visuals. The film was directed by Matt Reeves who most of my readers will probably know for his work on Cloverfield, two of the recent Planet of the Apes films, and the upcoming The Batman starring Robert Pattinson. It’s also the second film to be released by Hammer Productions after its rebirth.
In the film, Owen is a young boy who is living with his mother in an apartment complex in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He has to deal with the strain of his parents’ failed marriage and spends a lot of his school time avoiding a bully named Kenny. He often watches his neighbors through the telescope in his room. One night he notices a barefoot young girl and her father moving into the complex. The girl is barefoot despite walking through snow. The two eventually meet up one night and the girl gives Owen a slight cold shoulder. Owen eventually befriends the girl, Abby, and the two form a loving friendship.
Each evening they meet up and Owen tells Abby about his day. She tells him that he should stand up to his bully. She tells him to “hit them harder” in retaliation in order to stop the bullying. As the duo become closer, Owen discovers that Abby is actually a vampire and that her “dad” was once a young boy that she befriended who has become a caretaker and supplier of fresh blood via murdering locals. Abby and her “dad” have an uneasy but loving relationship that falls apart whenever he gets injured in a failed murder attempt and is hospitalized. Abby soon finds herself without a caretaker and chooses Owen to be her next one. While all of this is going on, a local police officer is on the trail of the murderer who seems to be on the prowl in the area. Do Owen and Abby become eternal companions? Is Abby discovered by the policeman? This and many other questions are answered in the oddly appealing Let Me In.
The film is extremely atmospheric. Reeves does an amazing job of setting an uneasy tone throughout the film. Abby can be extremely sweet to Owen at times, but also comes across as an abusive partner and this is both seen and felt in each sequence. Abby is also a lethal killer when she needs to go on the hunt. In some cases she lures in her prey and in one particular scene she simply ravages an innocent bystander. This imbalance of sweetness and savagery make the character of Abby extremely uncomfortable to watch. This is a good thing in my opinion. It’s also very tough, perhaps more so than watching Abby, to see Owen square off against his bully, Kenny. Kenny is an extremely unlikable character, but when Owen ultimately stands his ground, the bully becomes even more wicked.
I loved how Reeves utilized sounds to influence the viewer’s emotions and overall reactions to what happens on the screen. He also intentionally leaves adults out of focus in some scenes and shoots them from the chest down in others, forcing the viewer to focus on the innocent and not-so-innocent children in the film. It’s very disturbing but beautifully done. It isn’t until later in the film that our story really focuses on any adults and those adults, the police officer and Abby’s caretaker, are only presented to draw more emotions from the viewer.
Ultimately we are left wondering if Owen ended one abusive relationship with a bully only to be drawn into an even more abusive relationship with Abby.
The cast did an amazing job. Kodi Smit-McPhee does a brilliant job portraying Owen. You can feel his internal struggle. Chloe Grace Moretz is haunting and lethal in this film. You never really like her character but you never really hate her either. Dylan Minnette is absolutely terrible in this movie in all of the best ways. I really hated that kid in this movie but that was his job and he nailed it. Elias Koteas does a great job as the police officer who is attempting to solve the murders in the town and Richard Jenkins is heartbreaking as Abby’s caretaker. While he might be a murderer, he’s also a man trapped in a relationship that is sickly loving and abusive at the same time. He’s the perfect foreshadowing of Owen’s future.
I love this movie. I want to see the original as well. You should also watch this film. It’s an excellent story that works on a million different levels.
Thanks for reading my post. See you again real soon!
Despite releasing multiple films featuring re-imagined versions of some of Universal’s most popular classic monsters in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s, Hammer Productions only released one film featuring a werewolf. That film, 1961’s The Curse of the Werewolf, gives us a unique look at the creation of the werewolf and spends almost half of the film doing so.
The film opens with a beggar entering the gates of Marques Siniestro’s palace. The Marques “buys” the beggar and gives him to his young bride as a gift. The beggar is told to dance, crawl around like a dog, and do other things to entertain the attendees of the Marques and his bride’s wedding party. The Marques, a bitter and cruel man, ultimately has the beggar jailed where he lives out the rest of his life. Over time the beggar falls for the mute daughter of the jailer. The young woman is beautiful and draws the attention of the Marques, who attempts to have his way with her. She fights him and is thrown into the jail with the beggar who is now an old and insane man. The beggar rapes the girl and then dies. On the next day the girl is brought back to the Marques. She murders him and runs away.
The mute woman is taken in by Don Alfredo Corledo and his housekeeper, Teresa. The girl is found to be pregnant with the dead beggar’s child. After giving birth, she passes away. Don Alfredo and Teresa raise the young boy. Teresa, who holds deep superstitious and religious beliefs, believes that the boy will become something terrible due to the circumstances of his conception and birth. She’s right. The boy, named Leon, is actually a werewolf. Goats are found slaughtered in the village and soon enough, Don Corledo and Teresa realize that Leon is the one killing the animals. Seeking the help of a priest, they are told to replace the emptiness in his soul with love.
As Leon grows older it appears that the love of Alfredo and Teresa for him is enough to keep him from transforming into the beast. When he moves away to find work, he quickly falls for his employer’s daughter, Cristina. Her love holds back the beast as well, but on a night out with his co-worker, Leon becomes drunk, transforms, and goes on a killing spree. Murdering multiple people, Leon is eventually sought out by the police and arrested. He begs them to kill him but they leave him in a jail cell instead. He transforms once again and goes on another murderous rampage. What happens next? You’ll have to watch the film in order to find out!
I really enjoyed this movie. Unlike many werewolf films that put most of the focus on the monster and its body count, this movie uses a slow build up to the action. It spends about half of its running time showing us Leon’s backstory from conception to his first kills as a youngster. It isn’t until the final third of the film that we get to see the werewolf in all of its glory and it’s definitely worth the wait.
As with most Hammer Horror films, the blood is bright and flows freely once Leon begins killing people and animals. In fact, this film is brightly colored despite many of the scenes taking place at night. The practical effects used for the werewolf are amazing. Leon’s werewolf is beautiful and a true work of cinematic art. His transformation scene, a key moment in any werewolf movie in my opinion, is very well done but nothing special. That being said, Leon’s final look as the monster is pure perfection.
Terence Fisher’s direction gives us plenty of close-up shots of Leon’s eyes. Fisher keeps the story moving at a decent clip but the film does drag a bit during the sequences featuring Leon’s childhood. I’ve read reviews of the film that complained about the end of the film but I thought that it was sufficient. The music by Benjamin Frankel was perfect. It set up each and every scene. This film’s score might be on of my favorites.
The cast was also excellent. Oliver Reed took command of every scene that he was in and dominated the movie despite not appearing in it until about forty-five minutes into the film. His bulging eyes grabbed your attention and his fur-covered barrel chest made his werewolf look particularly imposing. Clifford Evans and Hira Talfrey were excellent as Don Alfredo and Teresa. Catherine Feller also did a great job as Cristina. Yvonne Romain was simply ravishing as the mute jailer’s daughter. I found it a little funny that many of the film’s promotional shots feature Oliver Reed’s werewolf interacting with Yvonne Romain despite her being Leon’s mother in the film and never seeing him as an adult nor as a werewolf. I’m pretty sure that the Hammer and Universal were cashing in on Romain’s stunning looks to bring in crowds, though, and that’s why she’s featured in so much of the promotional material. Anthony Dawson was wickedly fun as the Marques. I also enjoyed Richard Wordsworth’s performance as the beggar who becomes insane in prison and rapes the poor jailer’s daughter.
If you haven’t seen The Curse of the Werewolf I highly recommend that you look for it. It’s available on multiple streaming services and also on Blu-ray/DVD.
Thanks for reading my post. More horror is on the way tomorrow!
2020 and 2021 dealt massive blows to southwest Louisiana. Between COVID-19, a massive freeze, and two hurricanes (one was the largest in over 200 years to hit Louisiana), the area saw numerous businesses close, lifelong citizens move away due to damage or total destruction of their homes, and many events, including Mardi Gras, were cancelled or postponed. The area is still recovering from Hurricane Laura and slowly making a comeback from the other tragedies as well. Thankfully one event is returning tomorrow night at a new venue. The Lake Charles Film Festival will make its triumphant return on October 1st and 2nd and the Cinemark Theater located at the Prien Lake Mall.
The festival will begin showing films at 6PM on Friday evening and will wrap up with an awards ceremony on Saturday evening. This will be the first time that the festival will take place in an actual movie theater, so the staff is very excited about this year’s event. COVID-19 protocols will be in place, so bring a mask for the event. Tickets are extremely limited, so be sure to purchase them online prior to arrival to secure your seat. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door, exact cash only. More information can be found at www.lakecharlesfilmfestival.com.
I hope to see you at this event! If you do come, say hello and let me know what you think about my blog. Remember, tomorrow begins the annual Thirty-One Days O’Horror event on my page, so I hope you’ll check out the first post tomorrow!
Thirty-One Days O’Horror is quite possibly my favorite blog category. Over the last couple of years I’ve focused on posting once per day during the month of October with some horror or Halloween related topic. 2019 saw me watch thirty-two classic Universal Monsters films. 2020 was a tad lighthearted thanks to its focus on Disney horror fare from films and television shows to theme park attractions. 2021 is going to be brutal. In fact, you could say that it’s going to pound terror into your hearts! Yep, kids, your old pal Ken is going to watch thirty-one Hammer Horror films for the month of October!
I’ll be taking a look at some classic Hammer films such as The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) and The Mummy (1959). I’ll also review a few of Hammer’s more recent productions such as Wake Wood (2011) and Let Me In (2010). I might even slip in a few choice episodes of Hammer’s 1980 anthology series Hammer House of Horror.
Of course, no series about Hammer Horror would be complete without mentioning at least a few of the films in the unending battle between Dracula and Doctor Van Helsing. Portrayed by Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, respectively, this dynamic duo would appear in numerous Hammer productions both individually and with one another.
I will do my best to post each and every day in October. If I manage to do so, this will be the third year in a row that I’ll have celebrated Halloween all month long. I’d love to know if any of my readers would like me to review specific Hammer films. I’m open to pretty much anything as long as it falls in their horror category. Let me know in the comments if you want me to take a look at anything specific.
Be sure to join me next month as I take a deep dive into the horror of Hammer Productions. I hope that you enjoy each post. Like and share the ones that you love and let me know how you feel about the films as well. As always, thanks for reading my post. Halloween is almost here!
“I am Robin. Son of Batman. And That’s All You Need To Know.”
Say what you want about the cocky offspring of the Dark Knight, Damian Wayne does his own thing with his own style. It’s one of the reasons that I love Damian as Robin in the world of DC Comics. He’s my favorite Robin of all time despite still being relatively new when compared to the legacy of other characters who wore the “R” over their hearts like Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Carrie Kelley.
This figure captures Robin from the DC Rebirth Teen Titans run. As with almost every other figure in the McFarlane DC Multiverse line, Robin is loaded with details. His gauntlets are wonderfully molded and his cape (soft plastic) is textured. Robin’s face is inspired by the artwork from the comics, so he doesn’t necessarily look like a real human but I still love his look. He has laced-up boots that feature plenty of amazing detail. They are probably my favorite thing about this figure in general. The suit has a ton of detail as well.
Robin comes with three accessories: a sword, a pair of throwing stars, and a display stand. Unlike many figures in this line, Robin doesn’t necessarily need the stand to hold a pose. His articulation is excellent and only slightly hindered by his collar and cape. He can securely hold his sword in either hand. His throwing stars are a bit awkward but you can fit them into his hands. If you decide to display with the stars, be sure to keep a watchful eye on them as they can easily fall out of his hands. Robin also comes with a collectible card.
The paint applications are fairly well done but there are a few blemishes on the figure. The most notable ones are found on his shirt (yellow clasps and yellow trim). Other than those two blemishes, nothing else is too noticeable. The colors on the figure pop in general and this makes Robin an eye-catching addition to any collector’s shelf.
I love this figure. He’s a great representation of one of my favorite DC characters. If you’re a fan of Robin, Damian Wayne, or Batman in general, grab this figure.
Thanks for checking out my post. I appreciate each and everyone of you.
“Gone! Gone, the form of man! Rise, the Demon Etrigan!”
McFarlane Toys raises a little bit of Hell with its recently released The Demon 7″ figure. Of course, fans of DC Comics and especially fans of the Demon know that this big guy is Etrigan the Demon, the beast that is eternally bonded to the Arthurian knight known as Jason Blood. Etrigan captured my heart about ten years ago when I first read about him in the Flashpoint Paradox. I loved how he spoke in rhyme. After reading about the character, I decided to look into more of his stories. From Blackest Night to Demon Knights and in his adventures with other characters such as Swamp Thing, Etrigan won me over.
When I saw Etrigan on the shelf, I quickly snagged him. The figure is massive. He’s broadly built and very heavy compared to other figures in the line. The sculpt on the figure is amazing. The paint applications are excellent as well. The folks at McFarlane spent a ton of time paying attention to Etrigan’s facial features, armor, and his cape. They are all very well done.
Etrigan comes with only two accessories. He comes with a sword that is somewhat difficult to put into his hand. He also comes with the standard DC base that all of the figures in this line feature. Other than those two items, accessories are pretty bare. I do wish that McFarlane had included at least one other set of hands or even an extra head. Etrigan also comes with a collector card.
The figure’s articulation is pretty good. With his bulky armor it can be a tad difficult (and painful, those spikes hurt) to position the figure in a decent pose. I had quite a bit of trouble keeping Etrigan from falling over even when using the included stand. Etrigan’s leg and waist POA are very loose. This caused him to lean forward in just about every position that I put him.
Aside from the difficulties that I had posing the figure and the lack of accessories, The Demon is a very nice figure and he’d look great in any action figure collection. The detailing is amazing and Etrigan simply looks fierce. Add him to your collection. You won’t regret it.
Thanks for reading my post. I appreciate each and every one of you.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 