PROFONDO ROSSO/Deep Red (1975)

SUSPIRIA not withstanding, DEEP RED is my favourite Dario Argento movie by a big margin. I'm not an Argento fanatic by any means but despite his sometimes alarming lack of narrative skill ( something he shares with other Italian horror directors such as Lucio Fulci and even the great Mario Bava) you can't deny the man is a true stylist. After the disappointment of the awful MOTHER OF TEARS I decided to go back and see if I still liked the earlier films and I'm happy to say I do. DEEP RED still stands out for me and becomes a richer experience each time I see it - which is not bad for a film I've seen five or six times. Argento has always been well served by his English speaking stars with Tony Musante, Karl Malden, James Franciscus and Tony Franciosa amongst others all turning in good performances for him and in DEEP RED the excellent David Hemmings brings with him the added bonus of slight deja vu from Antonioni's BLOW UP which has a similar now you see it now you don't theme - indeed it isn't too far a stretch of the imagination to see DEEP RED as the sort of horror film ntonioni might have made in an alternate world. Even after multiple viewings I still find the suspense scenes work very well indeed, as does the rather subtle humour and, thankfully, Argento is in total control of the story. Rating ****

LAT DEN RATTE KOMMA IN/ Let the Right One In (2008)

After sitting through THE SPIRIT I really deserved to see a good film. You hear that a film is good and within minutes of it starting you get a sinking feeling...well, for once that did not happen. I knew nothing about the plot of this film. I'd heard that it was a good horror film from Sweden so I added it to my rental list. I'm not going to write too much about the film except to say it is probabably the best new film I've seen this year, the best new horror film I've seen for quite a few years and the best vampire film since NOSFERATU (and I mean the 1922 original!)Nuff said? It's a masterpiece. See it. Rating ***** P.S. Currently being re-made in Hollywood.

IN A DARK PLACE (2006)

When I heard that this British-Luxomberg production was yet another version of Henry James masterly ghost story, "The Turn of the Screw", I had to check it. I have several versions in my collection, including the classic 1961 film THE INNOCENTS and a film version of Benjamin Britten's opera THE TURN OF THE SCREW. The strength of James' novella, the thing that has made it virtually impossible for adapters to spoil is its ambiguity. Are the ghosts real or are they in the mind of a disturbed woman? This modern day adaption goes firmly for the latter interpretaion, giving the governess a back story involving sexual abuse. Unfortunately, as she sees the ghost of Peter Quint before she has heard of him and certainly before she has seen his picture this all seems badly thought out. The film tries hard to establish an eerie atmosphere but never quite pulls it off and things are not really helped by the laughable violin playing masturbation scene or a brief (sadly) lesbian scene between the governess and Miss Grose, the housekeeper (played by the delectable Tara Fitzgerald) or the fact that lead actress Leelee Sobjeski just isn't up to the demands of her role. Directed by Donato Rotunno. Rating **

THE MONSTER (1925)

Roland West was a technically inspired director working during the silent era and in the early days of sound. Most of his films are lost but luckily his three most famous films, THE MONSTER, THE BAT and THE BAT WHISPERS, the ones his reputation rests on are all preserved. Thanks to my good friend Cerpts I finally get to see THE MONSTER starring the great Lon Chaney. Lon plays mad surgeon Dr.Ziska who takes over the lunatic asylum where he has been incarcerated and kidnaps travelers to try a little cross gender soul transference. It's all nonsensense and knows it. West is playing it for laughs and keeps the pace rattling along - helped by not having to insert the usual dreadful comedy relief that bogs down most old dark house films. West's comedy comes from his three talented "victims" - Johnny Arthur, Gertrude Olmstead and Hallam Cooley - who play it for all its worth without becoming irritating. Chaney is terrific as the mad doctor - bearing a strange physical resemblance to some of the mad doctors later played by Karloff with the likeness being quite startling at times. The film is continually inventive with some great stuntwork and some engaging slapstick. The disc also contained an interesting documentary from the TV series THE FEARMAKERS that discusses director West's contribution to the horror genre and his involvement as a suspect in the possible murder of his lover, the actress Thelma Todd. Rating ****

HORROR ISLAND (1941)

I first read about this film in an issue of Mad Monsters (or was it Horror Monsters) back in the mid-60's and have desperately wanted to see it ever since. Why? I have no idea beyond the fact that it was a horror film from Universal that seems to have been virtually forgotten. Now thanks to the wonders of DVD I own a copy of it. Does it stand up to expectations? Well, no...and then again, yes. It certainly isn't the Holy Grail but it is a pretty good example of the low-budget Old Dark House genre. The film is a fast re-teaming of pretty Peggy Moran and likeable Dick Foran who had been a hit team in the previous year's THE MUMMY'S HAND. Direction is by George Waggner (who also helmed the classic THE WOLF MAN) and the film plays as much for laughs as for chills. Foran plays a character not dissimilar to Bogart in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (with Fuzzy Knight standing in for Walter Brennan) who takes a party of tourists to the reputedly haunted Morgan's Island (which he owns) - it's all a bit like THE GHOST BREAKERS and any other haunted house film of the period but none the worse for that. Murder follows murder and there are screams aplenty as the unknown "Phantom" sets about decimating the cast. Any film that features Leo Carillo as a one legged seaman named Owen Clump and has a detective named McGoon certainly has its tongue firlmly in its cheek. HORROR ISLAND is enjoyable entertainment without being anything special but you won't get bored. Rating **

VAMPYR, DER TRAUM DES ALLAN GRAY/Vampyr, The Strange Adventure of Allan Gray (1932)

This restoration of Car Dreyer's classic 1932 film is the best and most complete version of the film I have ever seen. The restoration is based on the German version of the film and the inter titles are in that language (although, of course, translation sub-titles are provided). Made in France by Danish director Carl Dreyer the film is based on Irish writer Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's book In a Glass Darkly and it is usually accepted that it is a loose adaption of the story Carmilla, although there is little in the plot besides a vampire that resembles anything in that tale. The film is really unlike anything else in the history of horror movies, although if you are familiar with classic horror films a viewing will convince you just how influential Dreyer's imagery has been. The plot is fairly simple (although perhaps not at first viewing) - Julian West, a traveller versed in the occult, stays at an inn where an old man asks his help in protecting his family from a vampire. The vampire is an old lady who is assisted by the town doctor (who looks remarkably - and I'm sure not accidentally - like Jack McGowran in Polanski's FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS). It is in the telling that VAMPYR is so remarkable and truly unsettling.

The hero, Allan Gray (who in some versions is called David Gray) finds himself in a dream-like world where the ordinary becomes weird (ie. the old man entering the bedroom) and the weird becomes almost matter-of-fact : shadows detach themselves, shadows appear where there is no one to cast them, a grave digger is filling an empty grave. Although shot with sound this is very much in the tradition of the silent film - it is a film where the modern viewer must make a mental adjustment before watching. The Eureka release has some nice extras - including two commentaries, the best by critic Tony Rayns and an irritating one by Guillermo del Toro who obviously loves the film but repeats himself to often. There is an informative booklet, a visual essay on the film's visual influence, a documentary on Carl Dreyer, two scenes cut by the German censor and more. Absolutely one for the collection. Rating *****

A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO : My Ten Favourite Ghost Films

THE INNOCENTS (1961)

Have you ever seen a ghost ? I believe I have - twice. Both times the experience was totally unexpected and was over in a flash. I'm not saying that anybody standing next to me would have shared my experience and accept it as being subjective. Even now I'm not 100% sure I believe in ghosts....but I know I saw them. Which would seem to me the best way to make a ghost film. To qualify for my list of favourite ghost films the ghosts in the movie must be genuine - which immediately disqualifies the very enjoyable William Castle version of THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. I present the films in no particular order of preference although I will indicate my all time favourite when I get to it......

My first choice is, coincidentally, probably the first ghost film I ever saw. It is Rene Clair's charming 1936 production THE GHOST GOES WEST and far from being a scarefest it is a gentle romantic comedy with Robert Donat as the son of a Scottish Laird who, because of a perceived act of cowardice during the rebellion against the English, is cursed to wander the halls of the family castle forever. Problems and fun begin when an American family decide to buy the castle and relocate it across the Atlantic. Although it borrows some of its elements from the film versions of Oscar Wilde's THE CANTERVILLE GHOST it can more than stand on its own as a first class comedy. Second on the list is Lewis Allen's THE UNINVITED(1944) starring Ray Milland and Gail Russell as the man who moves into a Cornish house only to discover it is haunted by the ghost of a previous tenant. Gail Russell plays Stella (the classic song "Stella by Starlight" comes from this film) who is the object of the ghost's attention. Off hand I can't think of a "serious" ghost movies before THE UNINVITED which, along with being a genuinely spooky entertainment is perhaps why so many people remember it so fondly. My next choice is my all time favourite cinematic ghost story. It is Jack Clayton's THE INNOCENTS (1961) starring Deborah Kerr in her best ever role as Miss Giddens, the nanny hired to care for two young children, Miles and Flora, in a creepy old mansion. The film is intentionally ambiguous about the whether the ghosts are real or simply figments of Miss Giddens sexual and religious problems. I'm prepared to give the ghosts the benefit of the doubt while fully embracing the idea that Miss Giddens has serious psychological problems. I re-watched it recently and it has lost none of its power to chill. Only a fraction below THE INNOCENTS in my estimation is Robert Wise's 1963 film THE HAUNTING based on Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House". One of the reasons that Jack Clayton's film just pips Wise's to the post is that despite its technical excellence and the superb

THE HAUNTING (1963)

cast (with a special mention of Rosalie Crutchley's wonderfully sinister housekeeper) is that despite the big buildup about the scientific investigation of Hill House nobody ever really seems to be doing anything. Despite that it is a wonderfully creepy movie and one in which the house itself almost steals the show, from the actors. Next up is THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE directed by the underrated John Hough. It is, despite being based on a novel by the excellent Richard Matheson, a bit of a rip-off of THE HAUNTING. But it stands on its own feet as a terrific scary movie with some very well staged fright scenes (the scene where medium Pamela Franklin - who was Flora in THE INNOCENTS - discovers something crawling around under the blankets of her bed is classic) and a great cast led by Clive Revill and Roddy McDowell. There is also a surprise appearance by a unbilled actor which is worth waiting for.

Peter Medak's THE CHANGELING is a slowly unfolding mystery of the "why is this house being haunted" variety with George C.Scott as a composer who rents an old house only to discover he isn't quite as alone as he thought. Have you noticed how many cinematic hauntings tend to centre on children and nurseries. THE CHANGELING is one of these..and the ghosts of children can be among the most disturbing (M.R. James story "Lost Hearts" which has been adapted successfully for television is a first class example.) and children play a big part in THE OTHERS which has a great performance from Nicole Kidman as a mother living in a secluded house in the Channel Islands.

The children have a rare disease which means they are allergic to sunlight, the servants are growing more sinister by the day and there are noises in the house....everything is definitely not as the seem (certainly not an understatement here!). Peter Straub's GHOST STORY is one of my favourite horror novels but, unfortunately, it was totally mutilated for the screen. Happily this did not happen to another of his novels when it was filmed as FULL CIRCLE with Mia Farrow. As well as being deliciously creepy this film has the added attraction for me of being filmed in an area of London where I used to live. The film seems to be almost forgotten now (along with another decidedly weird Mia Farrow vehicle, THE SECRET CEREMONY) so if you get a chance to see it don't miss out. No list of favourite ghost films would be complete without an entry from Japan. Japanese cinema has a great tradition

ion of ghost stories and in recent years they have virtually dominated the genre with films like JU-ON to the point where the films are being, automatically it seems, being remade by Hollywood. My choice comes from an early period that produced such classic traditional ghost tales as KWAIDAN. My choice is the extremely spooky KURONEKO. The story is set in medieval Japan and tells of two women who are rapedand murdered by marauding samurai. The return from the dead to take a terrifying revenge. For my final choice 1s the 1947 romantic ghost story THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR directed by Joseph L.Mankiewicz with Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney in the eponymous roles I was first introduced to this story in an excellent BBC radio production and later saw the rather enjoyable television series but neither can match the charm of the original movie.

THE GHOST AND MRS.MUIR (1947)

Well, that's my ten favourites....others spring to mind, such as THE WOMAN IN BLACK(1989)THE SHINING(1980) and POLTERGEIST(1982) and, of course, the excellent films in the BBC "Ghost Stories for Christmas". Any of these titles could have made it on to the list, as could Nicolas Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW, but in that case I decided that it didn't really fit the criteria of my list, brilliant though it is.

THE OMEN (2006)

To be totally honest, I really enjoyed this. I bought the boxed set of OMEN movies and was surprised to find the remake included. It is very well done but the question that you have to ask is : Why was it done ? Recast, the spectacular deaths "reimagined" - it all works rather well without ever wiping out the memories of Gregory Peck, Lee Remick and David Warner et al. The producer has said that as far as the role of the nanny (originally played by Billie Whitelaw) went they decided to go more "Mary Poppins" this time around and cast Mia Farrow. Not only is Mia Farrow pretty creepy at the best of times as far as I'm concerned, we now what Rosemary did after the end of Polanski's film - she became a child minder! There isn't a lot more to say about a film that is perfectly o.k. but which joins the growing list of pointless remakes. Rating ***