The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Director: James Whale

Starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester, Dwight Frye

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Warning! The Monster demands a Mate!

Plot: Dr. Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr. Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experiment business, but when a mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius, kidnaps his wife, Dr. Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new creature, a woman, to be the companion of the monster.

My rating: 6.5/10 (UPDATE: 6/24/13 - new rating 8/10)

Will I watch it again? Sure.

UPDATE: 6/24/13 - I had the great pleasure of seeing  FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) back to back in a theater recently and my feelings about this film have changed.  I love it and I feel that BRIDE is just as good as the original, surpassing it in some areas.  It's yet another example that drives home how important it is to see every movie on the big screen.

#32 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.

This year I managed to squeeze in at least 32 horror movies in October. There were a couple I started but never finished (damn you, sleep!) and probably two or three I've already forgotten about. The month started out heavy on werewolf movies and ended heavy on Frankenstein. No real reason. That's just how it ended up. This was the last film I watched on Halloween.


I don't get it. This is hailed as being better than FRANKENSTEIN (1931). How is that? Can someone explain that to me? It's a step down for me. I really liked how Karloff was allowed to explore the monster. He speaks and plenty. The scene with him and the blind man is so touching. If it didn't have the sappy orchestra playing Ave Maria behind all of the on screen emotion I would have been in tears. The music killed the impact it could have had on me. It's still a powerful scene despite it. What's also great about that sequence is how faithful Mel Brooks was with it in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974). Franz Waxman's score is great and recognizable as pieces of it have turned up all over the place including the Flash Gordon serials of the mid to late thirties.

Cigars!

I LOVE the huge sets. I can do entirely without the recognizable old lady who's in hysterics most of the time. She's only there to provide comic relief and it ain't funny but then that's a sign of that time just like fucking jump scares and shaky cameras are a sign of this one. Ugh. The scene where the Bride rejects the Monster's advances because of how hideous he looks is also very touching and sad. I'd go apeshit, too, if I had to endure what he did.


I dig the film, sure, but it's too light-hearted for me to find it better than the first film. Outside of the two emotional beats it provides, I'd rather see the first one a few times before coming back to this one. Seriously, someone please explain to me how this is better than the first...please?

High Tension (2003)

Director: Alexandre Aja

Starring: Cecile De France, Maiwenn Le Besco, Philippe Nahon

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Hearts will bleed.

Plot: Two college friends, Marie and Alexa, encounter loads of trouble (and blood) while on vacation at Alexa's parents' country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes, and I hope it doesn't fall apart knowing what I know now.

#31 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.

So I understand that this is first in the new wave of horror from France? It's a stylish, good start regardless. I really enjoyed it. For years I had heard how it was great until the last couple of reels where it fell apart and disappointed A LOT of people. I never heard what the ending was but I can see how it would. I was perfectly OK with it but then I haven't really given much though to the picture since I watched it Halloween week. The ending does require quite a bit of suspension of disbelief unless...well, I won't spoil it. HT is worth a look. It's clear that Aja has an eye for cinema. I'm actually looking forward to his remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES (2006) which I hear is very good. I've been burned before. We'll see.

Quarantine (2008)

Director: John Erick Dowdle

Starring: Jennifer Carpenter

More info: IMDb

Tagline: On March 11 2008, the government sealed off an apartment complex in Los Angeles. The residents were never seen again. No details. No witnesses. No evidence. Until now.

Plot: A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Noop.

#30 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.

I'm not much of a fan of American remakes of foreign films. They usually fail. [Rec] (2007) came out THE YEAR BEFORE! I watched it several months ago and I thought it was quite good. QUARANTINE seemed to be a verrrrrrry close to the original remake. Many of the shots looked familiar, the building, camera moves, ending...lots of similarity. Then why the fuck make it? I only watched it because I enjoyed the original and this one stars Carpenter. She rocks on DEXTER. She was fine here but I couldn't help but feel like "what's the point?" afterward. I'd rather see the original. Unlike most Americans it seems, I can handle reading subtitles.

Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)

Director: Christophe Gans

Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci

More info: IMDb

Plot: In 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his native American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Nah

#29 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.

BotW suffers from it's excessive run time (152 minutes for the director's cut - what I watched - 10 minutes longer than the theatrical cut). It looks gorgeous. You really get a sense of time and place. It's just that when you combine that with modern camera tricks and martial arts (and then some), it took me out of the film on a few occasions.


It's my fault for thinking this was a werewolf movie. I just assumed. Even still, I liked the idea of the killer beast but it seemed like an awfully long way to go for the bad guys to build up and perpetuate such a thing. Surely there would have been much easier and less time-consuming ways of achieving what they wanted, right? About an hour and a half in I hit the display button to see how much was left since it looked like it could wrap up in the next twenty minutes. Fuck me sideways...more than an hour to go and it's that last hour that really started to take its toll on me. I liked Le Bihan in the lead. He's very charismatic but the film gets to feeling so heavy that even he couldn't save it.

Sheitan (2006)

Director: Kim Chapiron

Starring: Vincent Cassell

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Christmas Eve...

Plot: A sexy woman lures four friends into a nightmarish world in this quirky French horror flick. Unsuspecting Bart (Olivier Bartelemy), Ladj (Ladj Ly), Thai (Nicolas Le Phat Tan) and Yasmine (Leïla Bekhti) are looking for some fun when they meet Eve (Roxane Mesquida), who invites them to her country home. When they arrive, Eve's creepy handyman (Vincent Cassel) greets them warmly. But it soon becomes clear that he has something much darker than partying on his mind.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

#28 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.

Not bad. I've been checking out a lot of recent foreign horror (mostly from France) lately. Most of them, while different from the typical Hollywood fare, have a European feel to them but they incorporate shit I can't stand, largely jump scares, teens in trouble and houses where the shit goes down ala TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.


SHEITAN has all of those but Cassel's performance, albeit very eccentric, makes it more fun than it probably deserves. Things don't end like you'd think (which is always nice) and some people get what they deserve. Annoying people need to be removed from the gene pool, ya know? It would be interesting to see it again knowing what I know now. BTW, why is it that in these types of movies the killers are all redneck inbreds living in a large house in the country? Can we get more cliche than that? Please stop.

Virgin Witch (1972)

Director: Ray Austin

Starring: Ann Michelle, Vickie Michelle, Keith Buckley

More info: IMDb

Tagline: She'll take you on -- and turn you on!

Plot: Christine gets her big chance at modelling when she applies at Sybil Waite's agency. Together with Christine's sister Betty they go to a castle for the weekend for a photo shoot. Sybil has lured Christine to the castle for more than modelling: she is recruiting a virgin for induction into a witch's coven, led by the owner of the castle, Gerald. To their surprise, Christine is more than eager to join the coven, but begins her own secret battle for control.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? Uh...no.

#28 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.
#86 on Drive-In Delirium Volume 2 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT) 






Yawn. A large gathering of friends on 10/30 for an all night horror movie marathon chose this one after seeing the trailer earlier in the evening. Some things are better left to the imagination. Woof. If it weren't for our constant ripping on the picture it would have certainly put me to sleep. The story's OK, the performances are fine, the music's...well...there's music, there's a TON of nudity (just watch the first 30 seconds of the opening credits above) and a bit of gore. The problem is it's sooooooo fucking slow.




I can only take so much. I don't mind nudity for nudity's sake sometimes but here's an instance where it actually helps that there's so much of it. Without it, it'd be a total snoozefest. It's one of the duller Eurosleaze sofcore horror films from the early 70s. So where does the horror portion come in? Right here...


Did I mention the plethora of naked women?

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

Director: Terence Fisher

Starring: Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg, Thorley Walters, Robert Morris

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Ultimate in Evil!

Plot: A dead and frozen Baron Frankenstein is re-animated by is colleague Dr. Hertz proving to him that the soul does not leave the body on the instant of death. His lab assistant, young Hans, is found guilty of murdering the local pub owner with whom he had an argument where he foolishly swore to kill the man and Frankenstein acquires his body immediately after the execution. Hans had been quite friendly with the dead man's daughter Christina who returns just in time to see him guillotined. Distraught, she commits suicide and is brought back to life by the good Doctor but with Hans' brain replacing her own. As memories return to her - Hans' memories in fact - she sets out to pursue and kill those responsible for having sent him to his death.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah

#31 on Hammer Horror (1957-1976)

#27 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.

I remember hearing about one of the Hammer Frankenstein pictures being balls-out insanely evil and awesome. I thought perhaps it was THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964) but it wasn't. I then thought maybe it was this one. It's not. It turns out to be the next one in the series, FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1970) but I didn't know it then. FCW is a bit of a departure from the typical Doc F making a monster. It's a different kind of monster. I like the direction they took but the film feels a bit sluggish.


There are three spoiled rich boys that you hate from moment one. They're the kind of people you would volunteer to step in and kill them with your bare hands. They're despicable. The motivations with each of the main characters are easily spelled out. There's no ambiguity.

Three men and a future killer and a future corpse.

Thorley Walters was a nice addition as the Doc's assistant. He seems to be a naturally funny actor. He's got some bits of comic relief that, fortunately, are just light enough to work without seeming forced. Mostly black humor.


I can't get through talking about these Hammer Frankenstein films without bringing up the brilliance of Cushing's performances. He's a master at his craft. He's delightfully dark and focused and he only gets better with the next film (if that's at all possible).


James Bernard's score isn't nearly as memorable as many of his previous. It's serviceable without calling attention to itself. I just love that man's orchestrations. Dark and moody. The ending is good but the film as a whole seemed almost out of place in the series. Perhaps if there the kills were more graphic (not too much more, though. It felt like there was a lot left on the cutting room floor) and a touch more of the sensuality that Hammer was known for.

From this disfigured creature...


to this hideous monstrosity!


Despite the spots of yawn, I appreciate that they tried to continue Frankenstein's saga in a manner that seemed logical and avoiding the same ole, same ole. It's a bump in the road for the franchise but it's a road paved with golden ideas and performances, one that I will gladly travel.