Diabolical Danger

Like bathing in the seductively sweet smells of incense and peppermint (and we mustn’t forget to add a tinge of hallucinogenic drugs), writer/director/producer Anna Biller’s 2016 fantastical multi-genre film The Love Witch is an amorous hand penned letter to the classic Hollywood era, as well as both the sexploitation and horror pictures of the 1960s and 70s. Shot in glorious 35mm film (a rare thing these days), the narrative follows Elaine (Samantha Robinson), a stunning young woman getting away from San Francisco to start a new life in Arcata. The first time we see her she is entirely in red. . . a classic vermilion tinged convertible, ruby dress, and even luggage to match – a stop light with mixed messages that is somehow prompting you to go. Yet it is her perfectly done eye makeup that must be watched. . . for it draws you into her piercing gaze, a look that will force you into those chestnut orbs – turning you into a reverse narcissist, only obsessed with a women you’ve never even met.

Opening with a quotation from Dr. David Eagleman, “When your death is near, time will seem to slow to a crawl”, writer/director/producer Matt Bloom takes these words to heart, his horror short film Endless (2011) an eight minute hors d’oeuvre shot entirely in slow motion (you don’t see that everyday). Showing every minute detail, what would in reality be a thirty second action scene slows to a crawl, an intense roller coaster ride full of intricate twists as well as dramatic ebbs and flows of mixed emotions. You wouldn’t think that thirty seconds of anything could lead to more ups and downs, but Bloom takes what looks to be a thrilling possible murder scene (like something you would see in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho), and tweaks it in a unique way where things are not what they seem.

Watching Mario Bava’s first credited directorial effort, Black Sunday (1960), is like experiencing those magical Universal monster movies from the 1930s and 40s for the first time. . . with a palpable atmosphere and a rich grounding of very specific lore (that would influence future films for decades to come – much like vampire lore, the crucifix still plays a crucial role), this fantastical tale of witchcraft cannot be easily forgotten. Opening with the gruesome genesis scene (a sort of flashback to the seventeenth century) that will carry the movie, a stunning witch has been cornered along with her servile lover Igor Javutich (Arturo Dominici). . . the clerics, along with the pitchfork and fire wielding townsfolk, know of only one way to vanquish the evil foe – to first pierce her face with a mask version of an iron maiden and then burn her at the stake. . . but, soon after accomplishing the first task, a rain like no other scatters the horde (as if the storm itself was summoned by Satan), the priests forced to bury the pair separately with a number of safeguards in place.

With a locomotive that is Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express”, passenger cars encompassing John W. Campbell’s “Who Goes There?” (the story that inspired both 1951's The Thing from Another World and 1982's The Thing), a luggage car that is packed to the brim with historical drama, and it all being coupled together by a combination of gothic and Hammer-style horror, 1972's Horror Express, directed by Eugenio Martín, is a suspenseful non-stop trip along the Trans-Siberian Railway. A hodgepodge that seemingly shouldn’t work (the third act even turns into something akin to a zombie movie), this Spanish export somehow melds a variety of genres together to develop an early 20th century set, sci-fi/horror inspired murder mystery with a gothic tinge – I know, quite a mouthful. Following Professor Sir Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), a tall mustachioed man with an undeniable presence, the world-renowned anthropologist has discovered a prehistoric half ape/half human hybrid frozen in ice.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this 2019, Disney’s The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) is perhaps one of the most bizarre pairings of stories ever to hit movie theatres. . . Coupling Kenneth Grahame’s iconic children’s novel “The Wind In the Willows” with Washington Irving’s gothic horror story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, you may be wondering what these two tales have in common. . . in short, absolutely nothing (it was actually due to reduced manpower during World War 2 that six movies – this being the last, were released in these combined and shortened formats). Woven together by a narrated battle of the greatest characters ever to grace British and American shores, English narrator Basil Rathbone (most famous for playing Sherlock Holmes) selects the former story, while Washingtonian Bing Crosby (singer/actor) highlights the latter. . . two more rich, melodious voices you will not find.