Invisible Ghost, or Never Listen to the Lady at the Window

This is another gem of Lugosi's. He plays Charles Kessler who is troubled by something similar to a Jekyll and Hyde type of problem. All of this revolves around an accident that wife, who had left him for another man, leaves her damaged. Everyone thinks she is more than likely dead, but her body was never found. Unknown to Kessler, his wife is hidden away by Kessler's gardener. Kessler commits several murders of which that he has no memory. His homicidal black outs occur when he sees his missing wife standing outside their home, while she proclaims that she can never come home, that if she does that he will kill her, or indeed anyone. It is then his expression changes from one of sorrow at seeing her at the window to unbridled rage. This is when he hunts down his victims. 

It eventually happens that an innocent man, Ralph Dickson, is accused of the murder of the maid. It is revealed that they had a prior relationship and she is displeased with his new relationship Kessler's daughter, Virginia. The next day, the butler finds the maid dead in her room the next morning. Considering he was the last one to see her alive, Ralph is accused of the maid's murder and eventually executed for the crime he never committed.

The murders continue, however.

One evening, the Kessler residence is visited by someone who is the spitting image of Ralph. As it turns out, he has a twin, Paul, and practically give the household heart attacks. They think he is Ralph's ghost at first. He stays to help solve the mystery of the murders, as they of course still occur after Ralph's unfortunate execution. It is Paul who discovers Kessler is the killer, and that he has no idea of the crimes.

Seriously, watch this film. Lugosi's performance is stellar. Now. Watch it. Right now. 

 

The Veil, or The Man of Many Faces

Another favourite actor of mine is the extremely talented Boris Karloff. Among his repertoire included hosting a few horror anthology shows. One such show was 'The Veil,' produced in 1958. It was a horror anthology based upon "real life" supernatural events. Karloff also starred in most of the episodes as different characters. Unfortunately, this series never aired. I wonder if it had how many more shows would have been produced. Fortunately ten episodes were released to the public in the 1990s on DVD by Something Weird Video. 

Karloff opens each vignette in a large den in front of a blazing fireplace.  Karloff's opening lines, "Good evening. Tonight, I'm going to tell you another strange and unusual story of the unexplainable which lies behind The Veil," set the stage for the tales of the supernatural he "relates." 

Of the ten episodes, 'Jack the Ripper' is probably my favourite. In this episode, the main character is a clairvoyant, Walter Durst, who dreams that he sees the first murder occur, the time, place, almost everything. When his wife convinces him to tell the police, he balks but eventually acquiesces. Of course, as one could expect, he is practically laughed out of Scotland Yard. Before Durst leaves, another supposed clairvoyant, a young child, and her mother burst in, the mother pronouncing loudly what her daughter allegedly saw. As she is flamboyantly describing the ghastly event, the true clairvoyant accuses her angrily of being a charlatan and storms out. His visions occur more frequently to the point of him experiencing one while wide awake and in front of the entrance to his home. Again he heads to the precinct, and when he reveals a specific detail that only Jack the Ripper and the police department could know, he is immediately arrested and jailed. Durst is set free only after his last predicted murder happened, and exactly to the smallest detail. His powers of perception in regard to the Ripper grow so strong that he feels the presence of the killer in the same cab he is in. There several other passengers, so his wife encourages him to follow. He does so, but when they get to the entrance of the park, he claims that he cannot feel the presence any longer. I can't helps but wonder if, since his wife was present, if he said this to avoid anything happening to her. That's the impression I get from his actions anyway. They have a very loving relationship and it seems like this would be appropriate for Durst's character. 

The rest of the episode reveals who the killer is, and what happened to him. When the clairvoyant confronts the murderer's wife, her revelations to him are quite ghastly and disturbing. I nightly recommend this show, and this particular episode, if you want a good series on the supernatural. I've included 'Jack the Ripper.'

White Zombie, or the Man with the Crazy Eyebrows

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Bela Lugosi. This is my second favourite film of his. My first is 'The Human Monster.' I may write about it, but at the moment, I haven't made up my mind on that one. 

In this film, Madeleine and her fiancé, Neil, make their way to Charles Beaumont's property in Haiti. On the road, they meet a mysterious stranger who they later discover is a practitioner of the evil branch of voodoo. He and some of his zombie entourage approach their carriage and he forcibly steals Madeleine's scarf. 

It becomes clear that Charles is not just a friend to the happy couple. He is deeply in love with Madeleine to the point of obsession. He meets with the strange voodoo practitioner, 'Murder' Legendre, in secret at the latter's sugar cane mill. Charles watches in horror at Legendre's employees--a horde of mindless zombies. As one zombie falls into the mill, and the others don't stop powering the machine thereby causing the zombie to be ground up in the machinery, Charles is clearly conflicted as to if he has made the best choice. He goes through with his meeting anyway. He wants a means to make Madeleine elect to marry him rather than Neil. Legendre tells him the only way is to turn Madeleine into a zombie by way of a powder that can be ingested or inhaled. Charles agrees, determining Madeline's fate, and his own. 

Legendre revives her as a zombie after she dies soon after the wedding ceremony. Neil goes practically out of his mind in despair. He's haunted by visions of Madeleine and eventually visits her tomb, which he discovers is empty of any sign of his former bride. He consults a Dr. Bruner, a local missionary. It is from Dr. Bruner that Neil discovers Legendre's practice of turning his enemies into zombies. He has even turned his own previous voodoo master into a mindless slave. Neil suspects this may be what has happened to his beloved, and they hatch a plan to save the lovely Madeline.

Charles realizes the error of his decision as Madeline shows no signs of recognition nor emotion when she sees him. In fact, she exhibits no emotional response to anything. He didn't think things through when he made the decision to have her transformed. Eventually, Charles discovers he, too, has been affected by Legendre's powers. 

I won't spoil the ending for those who haven't seen this yet. Even though this film has been around for a number of decades, I don't like to think that I ruined someone's potential viewing by giving the game away. Instead, here is the film for you to discover what happens! Happy viewing! 

 

One Body Too Many, or That One Movie with the Tin Man and Dracula

While I like creepy horror, I do love humorous horror as well. 'One Body Too Many' is one of the best. Starred are Bela Lugosi as the butler, Merkil, and Albert Tuttle insurance salesman, Jack Haley. If the last name is familiar, it should be. He starred in 'The Wizard of Oz' as the Tin Man. 

The plot of the film involves Tuttle being hired to sell insurance at the Rutherford estate to Cyrus Rutherford. Unfortunately for all parties involved, Rutherford is  dead when he arrives and his heirs are at the mansion for the official reading of Cryus' will. However, that is where the story takes an interesting turn. According to Rutherford's wishes, his will won't be read until he is properly entombed in his observatory in seven days time. Part of the stipulation of the will's contents is that all of the heirs must  stay on the premises or the circumstances of the will are to be  reversed. Those who decide to leave forfeit their inheritance. Also, if anything happens to the body, When Tuttle arrives, he is mistaken for the detective who is to guard the body so nothing can happen to it. Rutherford's favourite niece, Carol, convinces Tuttle to stay and make sure that her uncle's body is not disturbed.  Someone plans to reverse the will, but who? And how certain are they that they will get the lion's share? Poor Tuttle is stuck in the middle. 

Lugosi's presence on the screen is always thrilling for me. Merkil's instance on serving coffee to the guests, after a conversation with the maid, Matthews, whilst carrying a bottle of rat poison and complaining there are too many rats in the house immediately points at them. But with the heirs fighting and plotting, who knows? 

There are so many scenes I here I love. He saves the niece from being killed by a falling stone. He hits his head and is visited by, basically, his good angel and bad angel. One tries to tell him to flee, that she isn't worth sticking around, the other tells her that she's gorgeous and definitely worth staying for. He ends up staying. 

I recommend this to anyone who likes a little humor with their horror. Haley's portrayal of the hapless insurance agent is pretty hilarious. Just watch the scene where he discovers the hidden door in his bathroom. If you learn anything from it, never wander around the inside of walls in nothing but a bath towel and shoes....

For your viewing pleasure, it is available on YouTube. Enjoy!

 

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, or I Never Want to be a Somnambulist

Some of the best horror I have seen comes from the Silent Film era. The German expressionist movement produced amazing work, and Hitchcock made some great silent films as well. More about him later....for now, I'll concentrate on the 1920 German expressionist horror, 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.'

This is another film that I like to watch multiple times a year. The first thing that I love about this is the sets. Everything is set at odd angles, shadows are painted on directly on the backdrops, and some of the furniture is exaggerated. For instance, the clerk's chair in the magistrate's office is quite tall, with very small footholds where the clerk climbs down to address Dr. Caligari. While he sits in the chair, it and the angle of the table force him to hunch over the documents awaiting him. No wonder he snaps at Dr. Caligari when he attempts to apply for a permit to showcase the Somnambulist....

The story follows an account given by the main character, Francis, and a distracted old man. Francis doesn't look well himself. As a woman approaches, a haunting figure in white with a blank expression on her face, he tells his elderly friend that she is his fiancé. He then proceeds with the story of how she came to be this way.

There is a love triangle between Jane, the fiancé, Francis, and his friend, Alan. There is no jealous behavior, and the men are great friends. A carnival comes to town, and Francis and Alan decide it would be fun to attend. This is where they see the great Dr. Caligari, portrayed by Werner Krauss, and the Somnambulist, played by Conrad Veidt. The acting by these two men is phenomenal. Veidt's first appearance of the Somnambulist produced the same effect on me as the iconic image of Nosferatu ascending the staircase--nightmares. Sometimes the best scares are created by shadow play or simple expressions. It's just the shot of the Somnambulist opening his eyes, staring at the camera. Dr. Caligari has his own scare factor as well, with his disturbing glares and all around strange appearance, but Veidt lends a quality to his character that is a bit more eerie. He's very adept at this--just watch him in 'The Man Who Laughs.' I'm planning on covering this one in a later post.

The full movie is available on YouTube, and I have embedded it here for you if you care to watch it.

Carnival of Souls, or Oh My, What Big Nostrils You Have!

Now, based on the title for this post, you may well think that I'm going to be disparaging about this film. However, this is actually one of my favourites. It's just that it seems like the person responsible for casting decided to hire everyone s/he knew with a larger than average nose, or just really big nostrils.

The movie follows Mary Henry who was the only survivor of a tragic accident. She finds work in another town, and soon gains the attention and trust of the church workers and the priest simply because of the grace of her organ playing. Her landlady is also motherly toward her. Everyone who has contact with her for extended periods of time comment on how empty or soulless she appears to be, that Mary needs to make friends or visit family. The actress, Candace Hilligloss, is very good at playing someone with very little to no emotional reaction to most of her daily routines, but when it comes to seeing the strange man who follows her throughout the film, her fear seems so severe. I think the fear reactions are emphasised so much because of her lack of emotion in regard to most other things.

Then there is the other boarder in the establishment, John Linden, a man who essentially spends his time trying his best to seduce her. Surprisingly, Mary is very forceful at the beginning in her refusal to give in to him. Things progress, however, as she is almost driven to insanity as she sees a strange man following her, and goes through periods of time where she cannot hear anything going on around her, nor will anyone acknowledge her presence. Mary is so scared of what is happening to her that she finally accepts an invitation to a bar for a less than wonderful time.

She is inexplicitly drawn to an abandoned carnival at the edge of town. When she visits the first time, things around her move on their own, but she isn't deterred. You get some of the history of the place in bits and pieces.

I recommend this movie highly to anyone. I watch it several times a year...I'm surprised my DVD hasn't broken with all of the use it's gotten over the years.

Dorian, Popcorn, and Caffeine Rush, or How I Learned to Love My Sister

After my parents' divorced, Mom came up with ways of getting us lady folk in the house together for some bonding time. What better way than something that my grandmother instilled upon us at an early age? Horror is an artform, and should be appreciated often and with glee.

One of the first films I remember from these weekly screenings was my grandmother's favourite, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray.' I loved finding out about her lifelong crush on Hurd Hatfield, who portrayed Dorian perfectly. Angela Lansbury's performance is stunning. She plays Sybil Vane, and the scene where she and Dorian first see each other is lovely. Sybil Vane singing 'Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird' was a warning to avoid him, but she didn't listen to her own words. He trapped her in a cage of gold, which ultimately led to her demise. This particular section of the book and the film was very haunting. When Sybil leaves Dorian for the last time, Sybil's expression is so heartbreaking. It's still hard to watch this scene. Dorian's initial panic after seeing the mouth on the portrait change ever so slightly is short-lived. His continuation of abhorrent treatment isn't deterred by the expression, and eventually the rest of the painting, changing and taking on a decayed appearance. The rest of the film is equally as haunting and well acted. The portraits you see throughout the film are stunning and at times frightening.

My sister and I were close, but these evenings helped us to become closer. Fighting between the two of us lessened as the weekend approached. We still had our issues with each other, but maybe seeing what we did when we viewed horror movies was a cathartic experience for both of us. I won't get into the divorce, but it was hard on all of us. My sister and I connected through horror, and we still do. She's also continuing the tradition, as my middle nephew has a particular penchant for zombies.

Thanks for being my favourite horror fan, Susan. I love you very much. Happy late birthday. <3

What's this all about?

So, it's October. Those who know me know that I love Halloween. I don't need to rehash that point at all.

I'm starting this blog because I need another outlet to write. I don't want to just concentrate on academic writing. It's part of my job, and, while I love what I do, I need something else to keep my writing skills honed. Another aspect to writing a horror blog is that, well, it's my hobby. I love the genre, so why not keep a little record of my own thoughts and feelings on the subject?

My goal this month is to watch a horror movie a day for the month of October and write whatever I feel like about it. Makes sense? Good. I'm not setting out to provide an exhaustive critique of the films, nor am I  offering any expert information. While I did take a film history class as an undergraduate, I won't be bringing the limited information I have from that class to this blog. Well, I'll try not to anyway. I've paid a lot more attention to camera angles ever since.

I know, I know. I already missed a day. That just means I'm going to watch two this evening, which means two posts. I'm not complaining!

The first one will be 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' starring Hurd Hatfield, Angela Lansbury, and Donna Reed, just to name a few.

I haven't decided on the second film just yet. I'll let you know later.

Anyway, thanks for reading.