You Cannot Escape Destiny By Running Away: Nosferatu (1922)

I had originally slated an adaptation of F.W. Murnau's magnificent silent horror film in that I had intended to look at Werner Herzog's work, but when a local up and coming independent film screening group in my town decided to do a Halloween film double feature I knew where my loyalties lay.  Beginning with Carnival of Souls, one of my top five favorite horror films, and following the screening up with Nosferatu, accompanied by a live scoring made me look back and realize that while I had certainly seen the film before, it had never graced the pages of my blog, although Murnau had certainly received love.  I would have lovingly written an entirely new blog post about Carnival of Souls, but, unfortunately, school kept me from attending the full screening and I am trying to commit to a rule of never repeating posts here, after all, there is a ton of cinema I still need to encounter and hopefully, blog about, regardless of whether or not it receives a ton of hits.  All this introspection and reflection on my previous posts aside, seeing this decidedly cleaned up and stunning looking copy of Nosferatu was a wonderful experience and a great reminder of the ways in which Murnau's film, released in 1922 was, and in many ways still is, ahead of its time.  Between some clever use of film cutting and stop motion and negative prints, Nosferatu takes on a considerable degree of otherworldliness which is at times quite haunting.  Of course, it fails to possess the same sense of cinematic dread and fear induced by The Phantom of the Oprea, but where it is lesser in this aspect, Nosferatu manages to make up in one of the more narratively engaging of the era's films, even composing itself in such away to contain moments that are quite humorous and clever.  Max Schreck's disturbing turn as Nosferatu, combined with Murnau's mastery of the cinematic technique make for one of the most significant of horror figures, despite Nosferatu remaining one of the most criminally under seen films of the German expression movement.

Nosferatu, very much falls in the same narrative vein as Dracula, for which the opening credits note its story originating.  In this version, however, Hutter (Gustav von Wagenheim) an up and coming expert in the field of estates is expected by his employer Knock (Alexander Granach) to travel to Transylvania to meet with one Count Orlok (Max Schreck).  Doing so despite the concerns of his wife Ellen (Greta Schröder), Hutter travels to Transylvania and quickly discover that the space of Count Orlok's mansion does not necessarily follow the rules of logic, whether it be the bizarrely fast speed by which Orlok is able to transport himself about the roads on his land, or the intensely vivid dreams which haunt his nights.  Writing back to Helen, Hutter even notes the odd symmetrical nature of two mosquito bites on his neck.  Overarching these events, is the rhetoric of the emergence of a plague in the area leading to the locking of Hutter's hometown down from incoming ship traffic.  This realization leads to Hutter realizing that he must spend considerably more time at Orlok's castle, a fact that becomes highly troubling when Hutter catches Orlok in the evening transformed into the scary creature known as Nosferatu, a vampire intent on devouring individuals' livelihood through a sucking of their blood. When Nosferatu becomes aware of Ellen, he notes her particularly tantalizing qualities and takes it about himself to mount a ship ride to Hutter's town to find Ellen.  Using a series of crates, masked as vessels of dirt used in scientific studies, the elusive Nosferatu is able to live off of the crew members destroying them one by one sustaining himself through the travels, all the while the distraught Hutter attempting to stay a few steps ahead of the vampire whose feverish pace leaves little time for side stepping or hestiation.  When Nosferatu arrives in the town his presence comes simultaneously, if not purposefully, with a new layer of the plague, almost taking the lives of Ellen and others, yet when a maddened Knock reveals the secrets of Nosferatu's life power, Hutter and others are able to exploit his desires as a means to tempt him into the sunlight and destroy himself in the process.

I can only imagine the various literature that has been written on Nosferatu both from a historical production and film theorist viewpoint, which is appropriate considering that the film is not solely a technical marvel, but also one that exudes points of well-reasoned critique, whether it be on the nature of power and desire or more intricate philosophical endeavors if not the semiotics and signifiers associated with a notion of good and evil and how such descriptions can change with new information or situation relationships.  These are all things to be applied to the film, as well as constant reconsiderations of the ways in which the production of the film is key to its understanding.  What is perhaps the most interesting to me, however, is the possibility to read this film as a queer text, even if doing so requires one to do an anachronistic, against the grain, consideration of the film.  There is a rather clear element of this occurring in the initial longing desire for Hutter on the part of Nosferatu while he is still passing as Count Orlok, wherein his very act of passing can double as his attempting to negate any associations with his queerness through appropriating a socially normative identity in the count, leading to the somewhat socially oblivious Hutter seeing him as a non-threatening figure despite the signs evident in haunting dreams and the generally emaciated look of Nosferatu.  Indeed, his desire is something that is to be repressed and when Nosferatu does act it out upon Hutter through the neck biting, Hutter's perceptions of him change considerably, or to be more specific his associations with queerness emerge and he is now a literal monster to be feared for such attributes.  This leads to Nosferatu becoming a vengeful figure, one who feels it necessary to violently enact his frustrations upon the figures around him, either by purposeful attacks, particularly regarding the men on the boat, or his constant carrying of a large coffin, despite its undoubtedly heavy nature. This means that Nosferatu's ill-fated attempt to consume Ellen takes on another layer of the problematic, since it is the heterosexual figures who use Ellen as a ruse for the queer Nosferatu, one that leads to his ultimate death through repressed homosexual shame.  A too in-depth reading of the film, perhaps, but not one that is entirely impossible .

Key Scene:  The carriage ride sets up a tonal shift in the film that might be one of the most marked in all of early cinema history.

Often times patience can be a huge pay off, it is certainly the case with the bluray impending release for this film.  As it is from Kino it should prove excellent.

My Revenge Will Seek You Out: Black Sunday (1960)

Also known as The Mask of Satan, Black Sunday is essentially how the world became aware of Mario Bava, horror provocateur and cult cinema mad man.  Now I am fully aware that he made movies well before this work, as well as even more output following, but with its recent bluray release and the access it has to horror fans via Netflix Watch Instantly, it has gain a new level of adoration.  Admittedly, I was far from completely enamored with this film, but it does have me curious about undertaking more work by the Italian director, primarily as a means to see how much German Expressionism might seep into this other work.  Also, I am deeply intrigued by some of the special effects that unfold during this film, proving equally baffling to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity which I also saw yesterday, although the spectacle is certainly favored in the latter, the execution is no less dynamite.  I guess my hesitation in fully embracing a work like Black Sunday resides in having a considerable trouble getting behind works of gothic vampire horror, because in my mind their dreary setting, ambient soundtracks and general appeal is often squandered in some half realized narrative of sex and lust, which is overemphasized and always undermines anything worth a damn in the film.  While Black Sunday certainly has moments where this threatens to be the demise of the film, for the most part, the narrative manages to side step any egregious errors and remain watchable and poignant.  I am also completely aware of the film having a now fifty year history behind it, making its pristine look that much more captivating considering the life and rediscovery of horror films to be a less than prevalent act since it is a genre that seems content to begin its history within the late seventies.  While Black Sunday will never be on the level of something like Carnival of Souls it does manages to contain several moments of pure cerebral and surreal intensity, and at this point the dubbing in such a film is more endearing than grating, say nothing of the absolutely ethereal performance delivered by Barbara Steele who may or may not have had the aid of a prosthetic mask.

Black Sunday begins with a historical event focusing on a series of executions in a non-descript Moldovan town, where villagers and clergy men use various tools and religious iconography to destroy a series of demons in their village, one an older man and the other a younger woman, suggesting their ties to satan.  Using masks that are lined with spikes, the villagers slay the creatures dubbed vampires and bury them within coffins in an underground labyrinth.  The narrative then flashes forward two hundred years to focus on Dr. Thomas Kruvajan (Andrea Checchi) and Dr. Andre Gorobec (John Richardson) who are traveling through Moldova in hopes of making up time in route to a medical conference.  A minor vehicle accidents leads to their having to hole up in a local castle, where they immediately discover the tomb of Asa (Barabara Steele) the woman murdered for being a vampire some two centuries earlier.  This bizarre discovery is only made doubly so when they return to their carriage to find Katia (Barbara Steele) who takes on an uncanny resemblance to Asa.  An accident earlier, involving Kruvajan, results in his blood reawakening the vampire of Asa, who begins wreaking havoc on the two doctors as well as Katia, eventually even bringing back to life Javuto (Arturo Dominici) her partner and half of a Hall and Oates vampire cover band.  Between the two of them, they attempt to offer the doctors a chance at eternal life in exchange for their blood, while the fascination implemented by both Asa and Javuto is strong the two doctors are able to deny the advances, instead turning to Katia for suggestions on how to slay the assumedly immortal beasts.  After a series of scenes with Asa attempting to pass as Katia, only to fail to turn her when she finds a crucifix around Katia's neck, the return of Gorobec affords him the ability to slay the real vampire in Asa, turning her in the moment to an shriveled up corpse, while Kruvajan knocks Javuto into a fire, burning his body permanently. Katia now free from the spell of the vampires, awakens as young and jovial as ever.

I have not seen nearly enough gothic horror films and only marginally more vampire flicks, so I would be hard pressed to claim myself an authority on either.  Furthermore, I am hesitant to appropriate things such as tropes to such a specific genre of films.  Nonetheless,  I have the space and certainly cannot help but consider the particular way in which the "intellectual" figure emerges within the space of these films.  Of course, since they are classic works in gothic horror the figure of the intellectual is always male, driven by his unbridled desire for truth and scientific fact, he often finds himself in curious situations only to become involved out of a quest to explain that which is inexplicable.  In many of these films, particularly the Dracula films "proper," this intellectual is represented through the figure of Van Helsing, but even in these instances there is an acceptance of the paranormal as a fact in the world, one that is confronted with goodness to overcome the evil.  In Black Sunday one can certainly pull many elements of the traditional good versus evil narrative, but it is clear, particularly in their dual presence, that the intellectual is intended to be seen as the ultimate savior in a world of violence one exacted by and upon all involved, whether it be the blood thirsty vampires or the villagers who kill these creatures without even the slightest attempt to understand their actions.  Indeed, that is not to say that the intellectual within the space of a gothic horror film is void of character flaws.  The major cause for concern with such figures, despite their deep understanding of science, human nature or archaic folklore still seems to revolve around some degree of sexual repression, whether by choice or social situation.  The relationship between Gorobec becomes particularly fascinating as one watches him fall for Katia, and assumedly Asa in the process, it is precisely this infatuation that nearly leads to his point of intellectual privilege becoming undermined and leading to his own turning into a vampire, void of any sense of rational thought when, in such a scenario, his need to devour would overcome his desire to learn and understand.  Interestingly, this film also reconsiders the intellectual to a degree by affording Katia a considerable opinion in how to slay the creatures, one that proves both well-reasoned and useful.

Key Scene:  The simultaneous aging and return to youth of Asa and Katia is cinematic magic even by contemporary standards.

This is on Netflix, take a chance to watch it as it is an undisputed classic and certainly a higher end work in vampire film.

Must You Hide Behind The Image Of Another Man: Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires (1974)

There are no shortage of genre hybrid films in the history of cinema, and given a push towards the digital/indie market in a more contemporary setting these, along with anthology films seem to be taking the market by surprise.  Many of these films are decidedly revisionist and while highly enjoyable also possess a degree of detached irony or situate themselves as a critique of one genre through the inclusion of the other.  I have no problem with this, but it takes a considerable amount of the cinematic zeal out of it when one becomes aware of the layers of commentary going on within the directors offering.  I, as such, assumed that genre hybrid films were always to be a thing I would pursue if in a particular mood or hoping for something completely off-the-wall, returning to Singing Cowboy films being a constant.  Yet, when creating my list for the kung fu marathon, I was recommended by a stalwart cinephile and purveyor of all things excellent to check out, amongst other things Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires.  Admittedly the name alone was enough to pique my interest, although I also assumed that it would be a film entirely entrenched within some of the more badly executed Chinese films of the seventies, ones that implode within their own excessiveness.  However, when I began watching the film and was given "A Hammer/Shaw Brothers Production" to read, I went crazy.  When one considers the genre of horror films, Hammer is the grandfather of all things gloriously macabre, whereas, an argument that the Golden Age of kung fu cinema began and ended with the work released by the producing brothers.  At first, it appears as though Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires will be nothing more than a cleverly edited film that is two distinctly different stories using the Hammer and Shaw names as a marketing ploy, but this fear is quickly squashed when the icons and bodies famous to the Gothic horror begin to interact with those of the Shaw Brother world, breaking visual boundaries through the space of genre, while also doing a surprising amount to ease racial and language based tensions during a time when foreign cinema, particularly that of the art house style, where reading subtitles was one of many concerns.  This intersection of crossover foreignness, even if decidedly Westernized represents a moment in cinema that is near impossible.  The fact that Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires  even exists is a feat all its own, the realization that it is also a great movie is simply a wonderful added benefit.

Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, begins with a flashback to Transylvania in the early 19th century, as a shaman from China seeks out the castle where the infamous Dracula (John Forbes-Robertson) resides.  Finding him asleep in a mausoleum, the shaman is quickly horrified to discover not only that Dracula desires to come back to live, but that he also intends to use his body as a vessel, thus changing his appearance bend then affording himself the opportunity to find new bodies to feed off of in China.  After this prologue, viewers are introduced to Lawrence Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) who has taken up residence as a professor at a Chinese university, claiming that Dracula's influences have stretched to the Far East and have led to a set of vampires ruining the Chinese countryside.  Many of the students flippantly dismiss Van Helsing with the exception of Hsi Ching (David Chiang) who claims not only to have proof that the Seven Golden Vampires Van Helsing discusses exist, but that he and his brothers have been sworn to protect their villagers from the constant attacks of the undead monsters.  Requiring proof of this, Van Helsing travels with Hsi, and brings along his son  Lelyand Van Helsing (Robin Stewart) and a wealthy baroness named Vanessa Buren (Julie Edge) to finance the  trip.  The group eventually meet up with Hsi's siblings which include a variety of martial arts experts, including his sister Mai Kwei (Shih Szu) with whom Lelyand takes to liking.  While Van Helsing is driven by ambition to complete his mission, he is also aware of the dangers befalling anybody hoping to fight one, let alone, seven vampires.  The skills of Hsi and his siblings, nonetheless, proves high and they take out the vampires one by one, watching them melt away after being destroyed, Lelyand even throws his fists about in a pub fighting inspired version of martial arts, although he seems constantly concerned with his ability to protect his new love interest Mai.  Ultimately though, the villain still remains to be Dracula and as such it is Van Helsing who must confront him, demanding that he return to his original body before fighting him, eventually stabbing him with a spike and causing the count to decay in front of his eyes.  Exhausted, both physically and mentally, Van Helsing sighs, hopefully, having forever rid the world of Dracula's evil presence.

So what makes this work as a hybrid?  It is tricky to decide whether or not it is the nations varied influences that make this film work, or what they pull from the respective genres, but it seems simplest to suggest that it is a combination of both.  For example, the film clearly lifts its ambiance and costuming from the world of Hammer, the makeup of all involved carries that faded pastel look that made Hammer iconic, whether it be the sickly green of Dracula's face or the bright, yet florid blood that covers anybody dying or injured.  Furthermore, even when in pagodas the sense of the setting possesses the decadence, indicative of a Hammer film, right down to the seemingly inescapable amount of cobwebs covering the walls.  This is one element, the film seems more invested in the Shaw Brothers martial arts stylings when considering the editing and production of the film.  For example, there are a heavy amount of zoom-in and pan outs throughout the film, one notable one involving a beheaded frog, that capture the frenetic nature of the action of kung fu cinema, which are far less present in the slow-pacing moodiness of a Hammer film.  The two put together become nearly transcendental, playing off of one another much like a great improvisational jazz set.  Culturally the films seem to be a exercise in well-thought out symbiosis.  Take the dialogue interactions throughout the narrative.  Scenes between the British characters have the rat-a-tat-tat of choppy, loquacious British demeanor, while scenes involving the Chinese character, take on the drawn out waxing poetics of honor, family and identity that are very present within the genre.  At times, the two come together and you can witness the Chinese character playing with language in ways that would be more indicative of a Hammer film, whereas, Van Helsing at times will draw out his speech and ideas to represent the narrative leanings of a quest to become a master, in his case of killing Dracula.  These are only a few examples, issues of religion and fraternal bonds also emerge, wherein the two cultures ideas are initially separated, only to converge in the most thrilling of ways.

Key Scene:  When the fight starts involving vampire deaths, the movie's hybridity takes on a new level.  Never has a drawn out melting vampire shot felt so frantic.

The DVD is a bit pricy, but trust me this is more than worth the investment.

Right, I'm The Chosen One, And I Choose To Be Shopping: Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992)

Leave it to me to not realize until a couple weeks ago that Buffy The Vampire Slayer originated as a campy, satirical teenage comedy, much in the same vein as Clueless, although considerably less scathing, and tragically without the ever welcome presence of Wallace Shawn.  Where the television series would leap into some more gothic elements and clearly embrace special effects and romantic involvements, this original manifestation of the cult character considered its relation to high school experiences, as well as a surprisingly realized emergence of one girls own feminist politics.  For a variety of reasons films like this seem to fall to the wayside, perhaps a direct reflection of their revolutionary style and commentary, or a fact of it simply not fitting with viewers palettes for the era.  One cannot deny that this clearly independent film emerged well before it was made cool by Quentin Tarantino to reference other films within a film and wink at the audience.  Clearly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer manages to do this, particularly with the cinematic means by which it considers the history of Vampires, as well as what I can only assume was a conscious choice to cast Paul Reubens and Rutger Hauer in the roles of the two lead vampires.  Joss Whedon's script shows signs of the evolving writer who would come to be associated with some of the most socially conscious scripts, as well as the ones which prove to completely deconstruct everything associated with a genre piece, something which occurred with a hefty amount of zeal in 2012's Cabin in the Woods.  To call Buffy the Vampire Slayer a high-school comedy is to incorrectly categorize it, yet one cannot simply refer to it as a vampire flick, because while the title clearly suggests such a film, within the narrative of Whedon it constantly reconsiders, undermines and eventually reappropriates everything viewers have come to understand about a genre.  I would even be so bold as to suggest that Whedon is very much picking up where Harold Ramis left off concerning socially situated satirical filmmaking and boy does it exude within the brief insanity of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The narrative of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while not reflective of the television series, nonetheless, still focuses on a girl named Buffy (Kristy Swanson) who seems quite content to live the life of ditsy high school cheerleader, while batting off the secretly desired accosting by her male classmates.  Yet, when a  bizarre sickness begins spreading around her high school Buffy begins considering her own identity, particularly one tied to consumerist ideologies and a rather vain attachment to the performance of cheerleading, yet it is not until some of the members of her high school begin dying or going missing that she really begins considering thing more. A confrontation with Merrick (Donald Sutherland) a professional vampire hunter, who informs Buffy that she comes from a lineage of vampire slayers, causes her identity to completely change, although Buffy tries for quite a bit of time to avert this change and adhere to her traditional ideal.  Yet as the vampires begin taking on very violent forms, even attacking her at points, she agrees to training an action that leads to her eventual awakening into her own powerful person, one capable of kicking some serious vampire ass, while also not relying on the guidance and protection of a male figure.  Yet even her strong independence does not afford her the avoidance of falling in love, in fact, she begins taking a liking to an other-side-of-the-tracks guy named Pike (Luke Perry).  Buffy's job as a vampire slayer begins to unfold from simple back alley fights, to all-out brawls at her high school prom, ones that cause her to reconsider her previous friendships, as well as her burgeoning relationship with Pike, whom she decides to ride of into the sunset with at the end of the film, after of course she a icon of good destroys all the evil in the world of vampires, or at the very least drive stakes through them and leaving them suffering well after the credits begin.

The feminist label to this film is often attached hesitantly, not because it only passively adheres to some of these constructs, but because, as I genuinely believe, many critics are quite afraid to admit a schlocky satire work could be capable of such high levels of social commentary.  I would be willing to at least acknowledge this possibility were the writer anybody but Joss Whedon who constantly proves himself quite attune to social identity issues, hell, look at Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, which exist primarily to undermine the writer's guild, but also manages to completely deconstruct masculinity in a post-feminist rhetoric.  However, when considering Buffy as a burgeoning feminist one must look at the way she moves from a vain cheerleader reliant on others for her identity to a ass-kicking vampire slayer.  One manner this occurs is through her wardrobe which begins with a attire that exposes her body in an exploitative way to a far more butch look, appropriate for her fight and moving about in self-protection, this is one instance in which her awakening as a feminist allows for her to change her identity not to please others, but instead to adhere to her own identity.  Secondly, her evolution into a vampire fighting master is reflective of her movement towards an individual who challenges oppressive forces, in which Rutger Hauer plays a magnificent metaphor for patriarchal oppression, considering he is an old, white and quite European male.  Buffy directly challenges the groundings of patriarchy eventually undermining it.  Even her relationship with Pike is one in which she clearly asserts control, particularly considering that she is always seen in a dominant place, aside from the films closing scene, although to read to heavily into the riding off into the sunset scene, would be to ignore everything leading up to the occurrence.  Sure they are leaving with Pike driving the vehicle, but one cannot forget that were it not for Buffy, Pike would be far from capable of operating any heavy machinery.

Key Scene:  The conversations between Buffy and Merrick could be totally forced, but under the guidance of Whedon's dialogue the flow naturally and prove some of the better moments in the film, if not, the entire prom section of the film is quite awesome.

A DVD is rather easily obtained and well worth owning, particularly if you fancy your films with a heavy amount of feminist empowerment.

Blood Is The Life Which Flows In You: Fascination (1979)

I thought after viewing the aptly named Vampyros Lesbos film that I had undertaken all the vampire lesbian films which existed in the world, as I have come to realize some years later, not only is the vampire lesbian film a well-represented segment within the horror genre, French born director Jean Rollin proved to be one of the premier filmmakers within the subject.  I realize from the onset that my dislike for this film is not shared, and that there is a general consensus that Rollin as a filmmaker, and the vampire lesbian genre as a whole offer much to be enjoyed.  With that in mind I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the cinematography and soundtrack within the film and despite being a rather weak plot, the movement around a metahistorical narrative was quite fun.  Of course, these few moments of greatness are not enough to make the film soundly watchable.  It becomes quite evident that at least a third of this film will be devoted to characters undressing themselves and each other only to build up to moments of sexuality that are for all intensive purposes soft-core erotica.  Furthermore the already sexual composition of the film is worsened by the many on the nose references to phallic imagery and masculine endeavors of oppression which occur throughout the film.  Even when the film appears as though it will be redemptive by portraying female characters in central roles of power, Rollin, ultimately, allows for what can only be describe as hysteria to take control of their actions, despite the clear suggestion that they are not human, but vampires.  Unfortunately in the world of Rollin a female vampire is still a woman and, therefore, unable to properly control their emotions and engage without the slightest inkling of reason.  Where Fascination could have been revolutionary it is exploitative and where it could have used sexuality in a contemplative a manner it simply comes across as trashy.  Fascination is by no means a bad movie, it is indeed quite decent, however, its problematic moments are so egregious that they manage to detract from the movie considerably.

Set in 1905, Fascination begins with a group of upper class women stopping by a slaughter house to consume what is allegedly ox blood as a means to cure anemia.  With little to no explanation the film then jumps to the narrative of a bandit named Marc (Jean-Marie Lemair) who is now on the run from a group of fellow criminals after a deal with heavy monetary value goes sour.  Seeking refuge from his pursuers, Marc hides in a large castle hoping to evade them through nightfall and sneak away in the shadows.  His plan is quickly curtailed, however, when he realizes that the castle that he assumed to be unoccupied is very much the opposite as indeed inhabited by two ethereal and beautiful young women named Eva (Brigitte Lahale) and Elisabeth (Franca Mai).  Quickly asserting his masculine dominance, Marc demands that the two women obey his requests, as well as explain why the mansion is empty with the exception of the two of them.  Blatantly dismissive and mocking towards Marc, it is revealed that Eva and Elisabeth are lovers and part of a satanic cult which is destined to meet at the caste at the stroke of midnight.  As much confused and intrigued, Marc falls for the women, eventually sleeping with Eva, much to Elisabeth's demise, going so far as to use her to kill her pursuers in incredibly violent manners.  Despite the various pleas by Elisabeth for Marc to leave, he decides to stay at the possiblity to spend a night in what he assumes to be a orgiastic cult ritual.  However, with the emergence of the other women, who it is revealed have been consuming far more than ox blood, Marc become hesitant and attempts to extract himself from the events of the evening which have turned incredibly dark.  Marc   confesses his love to Elisabeth after rejecting her multiple times, an act Elisabeth notes before killing him only to leave with the head vampire woman, thus concluding the bizarre sex-laden story of Fascination.

I made it quite clear that I am not particularly fond of the manners in which sexuality manifests itself within Fascination.  To me it is far more exploitative than it is metaphorical.  Some of the acts of male sexual dominance are problematic in their rape like context and have no grounding on the films narrative advancement, this is certainly the case when Eva engages in intercourse with one of the bandits chasing Mark.  It has no justification beyond the means to add another sex scene to a nudity filled work.  In fact, the only scene in the film that is even remotely logical is the initial moment of intimacy between Eva and Elisabeth, but that goes on for far too long.  Essentially, sexuality in Fascination is not earnest as it is in something like The Kids Are All Right, nor does it have the heavy political ambitions and implications of the controversial film Salo; Or the 120 Days of Sodom.  Sex is just sex in Fascination attempting to mask itself as artful filmmaking.  Even the metaphors with sexual implications are heavy-handed.  Eva and Elisabeth's suggestions that their knives are silent, as they rub them across their lips and face are worthy of a double face-palm, while Elisabeth's stealing of Marc's clearly phallic gun only to put it in her mouth and contemplate suicide defies logic, in fact, Eva's possession of the scythe seems to be the only remotely well-executed use of metaphor in the entire work.  Metaphor does not work within Fascination like it does in a work of Hitchcock's, hell metaphor just does not work in the world of Rollin.  Things are forcefully and repetitiously explained to viewers as though the slightest moment lacking clarity would mean a complete failure to Rollin.  If anything Fascination suffers from being too on the nose, while, simultaneously, having no idea what it is trying to say.

Key Scene:  The moment when Eva emerges from the barn semi-nude with the scythe is cinematically oneiric.

Fascination is an alright film, not something that is dying to be viewed, should you be bored or just happen to be fixated on vampire lesbians then the watch instantly option of Netflix should prove just fine.

Shadows, Voices And Faces Seemed To Take On A Hidden Meaning: Vampyr (1932)

In my book, Carl Theodor Dreyer can do no wrong, his adaptation of The Passion of Joan of Arc is without out contest one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever produce and with this knowledge going into my month of horror films I leapt at the opportunity to include his work Vampyr in the list of films I would watch and review.  I am here to attest to the brilliance that exudes throughout this grand piece of cinema and could very well make a short list of the best cinematography I have seen in a black and white film to date sitting nicely aside Last Year at Marienbad and Carnival of Souls (A film that may end up being reviewed within the month).  However, what surprised me the most about watching Vampyr, is that in relation to the other movies I have watched thus far, it may well be the scariest of them all, particularly in its starkness and the way the sets and their shadows invade every mise-en-scene, never allowing for a moment of comfort or familiarity.  Furthermore, without the use of heavy make up or an onslaught of CGI, Dreyer manages to make some creepy vampires simply by great casting and demanding some driven performances by the actors involved in the film.  Traipsing the line between silent and talkie film, Vampyr is both an experiment in filmmaking with its horror themes, as well as a perfectly crafted execution of melodramatic traditions.  I am ready with much conviction to claim this as my new favorite Dreyer film, not only because it deals with his traditional themes of religion, and the existential self in times of death, but because it is far and away one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen, more so I have not found myself asking "how did they do that scene" as much as I did during Vampyr since I initially viewed Inception, and the later had the benefit of 75 plus years of technological advancements to make it look so cool.  Vampyr is a masterpiece and a film that is beyond fully realized one that is a pleasure to watch and ends all too soon.

Vampyr focuses on a journey undertaken by a traveller and lover of the bizarre named Allan Gray (Nicolas de Gunzburg) to a remote village known as Courtempierre.  When Allan takes up residence at a local in he is bothered by voices on his very first night, ones that lead him to an old man who provides him with a package that he demands be opened upon the old man's death.  Taking it in a bit of suspicion, Allan is then led to a manor in the village by an assortment of bizarre and inexplicable shadow figures.  Entering the manner, Allan witnesses the man he just saw being murder, leading to him opening the package to discover a book detailing the horrific exploits of demons known as Vampyrs, and of their particular effect on the town of Courtempierre.  Simultaneously, Allen discovers that a young woman in the manor named Leone (Sybille Schmitz) has taken seriously ill, or as he realizes has become infected with the curse of the vampyrs.  This leads to a confrontation with the local doctor, who Allan suspects as being a henchmen of the vampyrs, and Allan demands that the doctor perform a blood transfusion between himself and Leone.  After an incredibly unusual nightmare sequence in which Allan watches himself being buried alive, he comes to the aid of Leone, as well as her sister Gisele (Rena Mandele) who Allan has taken a liking to, which involves driving a stake through the dead body of a local woman who is believed to be the origin of the vampyr curse.  While seeking refuge in a mill, the doctor who has been an aide to the vampyrs becomes trapped under falling flour, while Gisele and Allan cross a river into an idyllic forest, suggesting movement to a better place.  The film then closes as the cogs in the mill begin to slow down, almost as though the flow of time itself had stopped.

As I noted in the introduction, Dreyer's films almost always preoccupy themselves with notions of death and how one's spirituality plays into coming to terms with such occurrences.  If one looks at the text cards throughout the film, they alone help to indicate the possible religious commentaries, as well as existential motifs that run through the film, whether it be the hourglasses signifying time or the crosses helping to differentiate good and evil they serve a purpose to remind viewers of what morals they can glean from the film.  Furthermore, a couple of scenes in which Dreyer breaks the fourth wall, as well as some stunning point of view shots later in the film allow for the viewer to assume the role of the protagonist in the film, subsequently reinforcing the themes and religious commentary latent in the film.  The overarching commentary then becomes something to the nature of the importance os self-sacrifice in the name of good and a suggestion that in performing such an act a person affords an opportunity to directly confront evil and if successful ultimately destroy its existence.  However, Dreyer is careful not to claim that this action is by any means easy.  Allan's out of body experience reflects a sort of existential reflection about his life and the reality of such sacrifices, in that he essentially witnesses his own death a vision that is eerie because once again it is done in a pseudo-point of view manner that causes the viewer to simultaneously consider their own life.  One could easily walk away from Vampyr brooding over their own life in relation to the cogs of time and while that may seem like an awful experience, perhaps it is not all together a bad thing.

Key Scene:  Either the shadow directions or the funeral procession, both are equally stunning.

This is a movie you need, no excuse necessary as to why you do not own it.  Criterion has a DVD available, go ahead and buy yourself and me a copy.

It's Not Suicide If You Are Already Dead: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Quotable, hyperviolent and absurd are all words that could appropriately describe Robert Rodriguez's horror action film From Dusk Till Dawn, in a similar manner to his later work Death Proof, From Dusk Till Dawn takes one narrative convention and suggests a certain plot only to completely avert genre midway, of course one welcomes this in a Rodriguez movie because he does so with such flare and cinematic zeal.  As such, this conversion of genre is what allows for From Dusk Till Dawn to make my horror list, because it is undeniably centered in the genre for its back half, despite initially being, and to some degree remaining, a heist film.  For the most part well-acted, with the exception of the ever grating Juliette Lewis, the group of performers manage to make the most unusual of circumstances seem at the very least plausible.  Furthermore, From Dusk Till Dawn does a great deal of genre reflection and coalescing, hearkening back to everything from seventies shlock films to a great deal of noir existentialism, even throwing in a bit of family road trip drama for laughs.  Rodriguez is of the same breed of filmmaker as Tarantino, who casts in the film, in that he wants to spend as much of the narrative showing how much he likes films, as well as how good he is at directing them.  At no point is the story in From Dusk Till Dawn boring one is on the edge of their seat waiting for the next ridiculous moment or intense action scene, even if, as is the case with myself, it a second, third or hundredth viewing.  Of course, as is often the case with Tarantino, Rodriguez's films suffer from a certain gendered state of mind that can make a considerable amount of the action quite problematic.

From Dusk Till Dawn begins with two men pulling into a liquor store, only to be followed by the entrance of a cop.  The cop after a bit of banter with the clerk heads to the bath room leaving the two men to reveal their motives as runaway thieves, who in a moment of panic shoot the cop, as well as all those present in the store.  It is revealed that the two men are the Gecko Brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Quentin Tarantino) and that they are on the run from essentially the entire Texas police force.  Simultaneously we are introduced to a family on a trip, one that includes a doubting preacher father named Jacob (Harvey Keitel), his daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis) and his clearly adopted son Scott (Ernest Liu).  As fate would have it, the two groups collide, leading to the Gecko Brothers taking the family hostage and using their RV as a means to travel to Mexico somewhat undetected.  After an intense border crossing scene the group makes it to their desired destination the eponymous Titty Twister bar and strip club.  Choosing the place because it is open from dusk till dawn, the entire group, Jacob's family included await the arrival of the brother rendezvous.  As drinking ensues and strippers perform things suddenly take a turn for the worst when it become clear that the bar is a vampire haven, one that feeds on its nightly attendees.  The group, along with the help of a few other survivors begin to fight the vampires, eventually losing members as they turn after being bitten.  In the end only a few survive walking away from the incident changed, but unusually unaffected by the inexplicable events.

From Dusk Till Dawn is a fun movie and an extremely watchable horror film, however, like many of Tarantino's films, Rodriguez suffers from a bit of heavy reveling in masculinity.  Everything in this film promotes male dominance, whether it be a constant vying for power between Jacob and Seth, or the obvious phallic nature of the wooden spikes used throughout the film.  Even the presence of Kate, and later, Santanico Pandemonium (Salma Hayek) serves as a means to justify male gaze and desire.  The notion of hypermasculine presence even permeates the minor details of the film, such as handshakes as means of contract, the naming of a character as Sex Machine (Tom Savini), right down to Frost (Fred Williamson) suggesting that no horror on earth will match his experiences during Vietnam.  It is hard to suggest why exactly this glorification in masculine power exists, but I often recall the work of bell hooks in the situations, particularly her critique of Pulp Fiction as ignoring some serious issues of intersectionality and racial stereotyping in the name of hipness.  I would venture to say that From Dusk Till Dawn problematically portrays masculine effects on religion, violence and sexuality only to lose the possibility to critique them beneath insane special effects and cool dialogue.  Now with all that acknowledge, I do very much enjoy this film, however, I am careful to view it with quite the critical eye.

Key Scene:  The discovery of the unconventional weapons cache is hip absurdism.

This movie is a watch instantly gem both on Hulu and Netflix, but should you be a diehard fan of either Tarantino or Rodriguez, this is a must own work.

History Prefers Legends To Men: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

For the remainder of October I am going to focus my blog in a slightly different direction and jump on the blogosphere bandwagon of blogging about horror movies specifically.  I plan to, or at least hope to, run through a slew of different horror films from genre hybrids, to country variations and hopefully a few historically important ones as well.  I plan to even revisit a few of my personal favorites with the hopes of reflecting on my love of them in written form.  Ideally, my reflections will cover films that you as readers as heard of, but touch upon a few that are not familiar to mainstream audiences, and who knows maybe a few of the films I plan to focus on will have even myself reconsidering what I include in a horror oeuvre.  As always, I am fully open to suggestions for viewings and hope to blog about a film each day through the actual celebration of All Hallow's Eve.  This focus will maybe even help flesh out some research projects as I begin to draw connections of theory and criticism through various films, as well as serving as a means to see a few more horror films in theatre, a specific genre that I feel strongly benefits from big screen treatment.  With all this being said, I begin my October Horror Blog Wonder Extravaganza with a solid bit of absurdly terrible post-modern horror with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  I went into this film knowing full and well that it would be quite terrible and those in the theater with me clearly shared my views as they laughed at the films genuine attempts to be a bad-ass appropriation of a honored historical figure.  However, I did not expect some of the liberties taken by the writer and director about comparisons of slavery to evil creatures to be quite so problematic, but then again from Hollywood it should not have come as a surprise.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for those inept at reading context clues, is about an alternative history in which America's sixteenth president Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) undertakes the job of being a vampire hunter, as a means to revenge the death of his mother at the hands of the monsters of the night.  To some extent this job is thrust upon him by an expert vampire hunter named Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper) who engages in the act, as a means of revenge himself.  Lincoln must keep this act of hunting vampires a secret as he engages with other notable historical figures, whether it be his historical friend Joshua Speed (Jimmi Simpson) or Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), as well as one Stephen Douglass (Alan Tudyk) and Jefferson Davis (John Rothman) whom the film cast in the light of being similar to the vampires.  As Lincoln struggles with the question of slavery and an imminent war, his engagement with vampire hunting comes to the fore front after he confronts the lead vampire Adam (Rufus Sewell) only to fail to defeat him initially.  In a purely Hollywood move the final confrontations lay upon the battlefields of the Civil War, most notably that of Gettysburg, in which Lincoln requires that all silver be move to the battle front to help kill the vampires who have become soldiers for the Confederate Army.  This is where history coalesces, and the North wins, slaying the vampires in the process, Lincoln delivers his famous Gettysburg Address, but in this filmic narrative it has a edge towards condemning the vampires as well.  The film then fast forwards to present day where we are shown a man of African-American descent sitting at a bar being approached by Henry to become a vampire hunter for a new age...

If that closing scene does not prove problematic there are certainly a list of other problems in the "message" of this film.  First off, like Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, AL: VH takes liberties to condemn the entire south as evil, going so far as to suggest that the vampires are fully responsible for the trading and abusing of slaves.  This action results in dismissing the true scar on American history by suggesting that it was enacted by some demonic force.  Similarly, the film suggests that at some point during the war the entire Confederate army was that of vampires making their being killed a moment of glorious celebration, at least that was the case in the theater where I viewed the film.  I had trouble with this scene specifically, partially because it was just ungrounded cinematic bloodshed, but also because it  dehumanizes the deaths of soldiers in America's bloodiest war, which indeed witnessed a very real amount of human bloodshed.  Finally, the gumption of the film's director to reconsider such important speech as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as a means to condemn vampires, or that Jefferson Davis himself dealt with the dark lords, is in bad taste.  Such scenes could have proved as a means to get viewers not familiar with historical rhetoric to truly consider that ethical problems of slavery and human oppression, but instead it just serves as a stepping stone for another set of stylized vampire killings.  Finally, regardless of political leanings the blatant connection between Lincoln and Obama in the films closing shot is egregiously problematic.  

Key Scene: The stampede battle is quite well-crafted and paced ending in a explosive manner that was deserved of the applause it received.

To dismiss this movie completely would be incredibly unfair, however, one must take it very critically to realize the problems the rethinking of a troublesome portion of American history visits.  It is not intended to be a political commentary, but an argument could be made that the film does not do enough to deter the possibility for interpretations.