Category Archives: Horror

The Curse of Frankenstein

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

The-Curse-of-Frankenstein-1957-posterThe death in June of Christopher Lee spurred me chase up his remaining films I haven’t seen. One of these was The Curse of Frankenstein, the 1957 film credited with starting Hammer’s wave of horror film production which lasted until To the Devil a Daughter in 1976.

Around about the same time, I received a review copy of a book of the same name, part of the Devil’s Advocates series devoted to examining classics of horror cinema. The Curse of Frankenstein, by Marcus K Harmes, a lecturerer at the University of Southern Queensland, is recommended reading for anyone interested in the history of Hammer films and British horror cinema.

The film begins with a priest visiting Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) in the cell where the scientist is waiting to be guillotined for his crimes. Via flashbacks, director Terence Fisher establishes the Baron as a brilliant young man who, with the help of his tutor, Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart), begins a series of experiments aimed at restoring life to dead tissue. They successfully bring a dead puppy back to life. Krempe wants to halt the experiments there, but Frankenstein has bigger plans. He wants to bring dead human flesh to life and steals body parts, including the brain of an eminent scientist who the Baron invites to dinner at his mansion and casually murders, to make the creature, played by Lee.… Read more

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Posted in Christopher Lee, Horror

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MIFF report back #1: The Duke of Burgundy

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

DukeofBurgundyFilmPage

I watched Peter Strickland’s latest offering, The Duke of Burgundy, already being a big fan of his 2012 effort, Berberian Sound Studio. I appreciated Berberian Sound Studio as an homage to the Italian giallo horror films of the seventies and didn’t need any more encouragement to see his new one other than the fact it was Strickland’s tribute to the seventies Euro sleaze films of directors like Jesse Franco and Walerian Borowczyk.

But it wasn’t until about twenty minutes in to The Duke of Burgundy, that I felt I ‘got’ what both movies were trying to do and just how clever Strickland’s approach is.

The Duke of Burgundy is about the BDSM relationship between two female entomologists, Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna), the submissive, and her older dominant lover, Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen, who you may recognise from the Danish television series, Borgen). The story is set in an unspecified provincial European town in what looks like the seventies and, as you’d expect if you’ve seen Berberian Sound Studio, Strickland nails every aspect of recreating the genre: the aesthete, the soundtrack, the surrealistic ambiance, how the characters feel and react, the sex, which alternatives between being outright smutty and languorously erotic. Woven into this are some wonderfully deft touches, including the complete absence of men and the strange, sexually charged club in which women get together to discuss matters entomological.… Read more

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Posted in Horror, Melbourne International Film Festival, Peter Strickland

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Saying goodbye to the father of The Night Stalker

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

kolchak4

I noted a recent news item on social media that Jeff Rice, author of the original 1970 horror novel The Night Stalker, on which the TV series of the same name was based on, had died. I meant to delve into the story further, but never got around to it. Then I saw this excellent post on the The Rap Sheet site, examining Rice’s life and the background to the series.

I was a huge Night Stalker fan in my teens, first the two made to TV movies and then the series. I loved Darren McGavin’s portrayal of Kolchak, the bumbling yet at the same time surprisingly steely and resourceful journalist. The various monsters and evil beings he battled were incredibly scary and I was unnerved by the how the show always ended with Kolchak left alone and no one believing his stories.

I never knew anything about the back ground to the series or its creator. Rice had a somewhat bizarre and unfortunate life and his mysterious death, which is still being investigated by authorities, mirrored aspects of his fiction. You can read the full post on the Rap Sheet here.

And while I’m on the subject, if you haven’t already discovered how good The Rap Sheet is, you should bookmark site and make it one of your regular visits.… Read more

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Posted in Horror