Joseph Howell
Horror has always been a pretty big business, especially on home video. So, in the advent of Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Download, what titles are worth seeing? Which ones are worth avoiding? Well, read on to see the best, worst, and most “eh, whatever” titles in genre films available now.
A Bay of Blood (Kino Lorber) opens with an elderly heiress being murdered – only to then reveal who the killer is. The next thing you know, he’s dead. After that, it’s a race for various selfish relatives and interlopers to see who can gain possession of the estate. Oh, and to complicate things, some horny kids decide it would be just dandy to hang out at a dilapidated building that just happens to exist on the estate.
To say anymore would spoil the surprises and fun of Mario Bava’s taught little film, which is one of the most influential horror films ever made. Basically, if you are a fan of 80’s slashers (“Friday the 13th Part 2” pretty much stole a death scene from this), then you should know it all starts here: the creative kills, dead teens and whodunnit plotting is all in this movie. It’s not just run of the mill exploitation fodder though. Bava was a great director, and his wonderful eye for cinematography (indeed, the new re-release looks incredible), understanding of how to construct set pieces and a darkly comic screenplay (which he co-wrote) manages to elevate it. It’s one of his best films, and anyone with an interest in the genre’s history or those who just like a good yarn should get a kick out of it.
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Less successful is The Lords of Salem (Anchor Bay), the latest from Rob Zombie. The tale of radio DJ Heidi (Sheri Moon-Zombie) who runs into a record from a group who call themselves “The Lords.” After playing it, Heidi begins to suffer from strange delusions and demonic visions, as well as falling back on old habits like drug addiction. Is she going mad, or is their something darker at play?
While there are a few good points (some solid performances, beautiful cinematography and moments of pitch black humor), the end result-whilst better than say, the director’s “Halloween” films-is a complete mess. Much of the film is clearly meant to be a spooky, Satanic tale of atmospheric slow burn horror. However, so much of it comes off as more profoundly silly than profoundly scary, with goofy as all get out visuals (what’s with the Black Metal guy and the Bigfoot Demon?), awful dialogue (“cunty witches”) and a confusing story that almost never makes sense. Worst of all, none of the film is able to work in a coherent hole. It’s obvious what Zombie’s influences are here (Stanley Kubrick, Ken Russel and Dario Argento), but the films lacks Kubrick’s thematic brilliance, Argento’s poetic imagery and Russel’s wicked imagination. It’s a scattered film that rarely goes anywhere and leaves little to grasp at.
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Speaking of guys who had trouble making coherent, interesting films, here’s one from the prolific Jess Franco. That being said, The Awful Dr. Orloff (Redemption/Kino Lorber) is probably his best genre film, as it relies less on constant female nudity to the point of boredom and repeating the same shots ad nauseam and more on actually trying to make a good horror movie with a decent story. Granted, the story is pretty much a more exploitative riff on the seminal French film Eyes Without a Face (doctor uses the tissue of strangers-here women from nightclubs-to repair the scarred face of his daughter), but it at least doesn’t bore you.
Re-visiting the movie, I’m really taken by how much better this is than most of Franco’s output. The direction is considerably better, with an understanding of how atmosphere and Gothic images can aide a story. The eroticism is considerably toned down compared to his later films, but it actually comes off as erotic and artistic instead of mundane and dull like it did with films like A Virgin Among the Living Dead. Best of all, it all moves at a pretty good pace, not once dragging or wasting the viewers time. If you are wondering “What Jess Franco movie would be considered good”, then this would be the best place to start.
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Believe it or not, Vampire (Lionsgate) is not just a straight-to-video horror film. It actually debuted at the Sundance Film Festival back in 2011 to largely poor reviews, so the fact that it didn’t even get a miniscule theatrical release seems damning. It also might disappoint viewers hoping for your typical vampire film, as this is more of a dark drama about a biology teacher (Kevin Zegers) who may or may not be a vampire that preys on the suicidal and week for blood.
As a movie? It’s not terrible, but it isn’t particularly good either. On one hand, the performances are largely good to decent (though some of the dialogue is kinda bad) and it certainly carves out a mood of unease and despair. On the other hand, it’s also fails as a psychological study. Director/writer Shunji Iwai doesn’t seem to realize that this is more the tale of a killer, and that such a film needs to have an understanding of what it is that makes him what he is, but instead adds things like an Alzheimer’s subplot that feels completely unnecessary, as if he ran out of ideas. It’s also erratically directed, as Iwai (who also serves as cinematographer) decides to go a bit crazy with camera angles and editing that makes it all feel schizophrenic in the way it looks. As a whole, it’s ultimately a disappointment that shows promise, but seems afraid to actually do anything of interest.
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You can’t say that Mold! (Wild Eye Releasing/MVD) isn’t well meaning. Essentially an homage to movies like Class of Nuke ‘Em High, Street Trash and the films of Frank Henenlotter, this micro-budget throwback even takes place in the 80’s. Here, a strain of mold that has been demonstrated to wipe out Columbia drugs fields in the height of the war on drugs. However, things go awry when a strain of it gets loose during the demonstration, and it soon begins to have deadly effects on the people inside of a government compound.
There are certainly things to like about “Mold!” The gore effects are all done practically (and look good considering the budget), and managed to warm the cockles of my heart. The humor also works pretty well, with plenty of amusing one liners (“No use beating a dead whore!” “Um, horse sir.”) and blackly comic punchlines manage to keep it from being too much of a waste of time. I say “too much” because at the same time, it can be very slow, and has too many scenes in which people just talk incessantly. This might be a little more excusable if most of the actors weren’t so dull (only Edward X. Young as a Colonel is any fun here), and the fact that it all leads to a rather lackluster conclusion kind of hurts the movie. As a whole, it’s very much worthy of a rental or streaming, but I can’t see most viewers thinking that it’s worthy of owning. It’s decent weekend afternoon fare and nothing more.
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Finally, there’s American Mary (Xlrator Media), which is the latest from Dead Hooker in a Trunk directors/writers the Soska Sisters. Kathrine Isabelle (of “Ginger Snaps” fame) plays Mary, a medical student who is growing increasingly in debt, and is becoming disillusioned with medical school and the people who teach there. When she’s offered money to work underground surgery for the body modification market, she’s at first uneasy with the prospect. However, after being sexually assaulted by a teacher at a party, she decides to take the job-and deliver some payback as well.
Whilst it has it’s flaws (some unneeded tributes to other films and a cameo from the Sisters), this is actually not a bad little movie, and is an improvement over their debut film. Here, the movie actually works as a commentary on sexism not only in the workplace, but withing the horror genre as well. Mary isn’t just a victim-after all, she does begin to lose her sanity in the process-but the events that take place have some interesting feminist undertones, which feels welcome and refreshing. It’s also a well directed and acted film, with Isabelle in particular doing a great job as the tormented title character, and manages to make her human without making her too sympathetic. Add some great make up effects and a wonderfully twisted sense of humor, and you have a nice little sleeper on your hands.
Next Time: George A. Romero and John Carpenter go head-to-head.
