"WE LAY, MY LOVE AND I BENEATH THE WEEPING WILLOW AND NOW ALONE I LIE AND WEEP BESIDE THE TREE." As promised, today's creepy Halloween film is 1961's "THE INNOCENTS" starring the late Deborah Kerr (who just died less than a month after her 86th birthday) as the repressed governness who either sees real ghosts or imagines them. We're talking A picture all the way, folks. Henry James' novel "The Turn of the Screw" is adapted by William Archibald and Truman Capote fer goshsakes! It's beautifully directed by Jack Clayton and sumptuously photographed by Freddie Francis. And the cast all have serious acting chops -- from the first scene with Deborah Kerr and Sir Michael Redgrave to the marvelous Megs Jenkins and the malevolent Peter Wyngarde. Hell, even the CHILDREN are phenomenol actors: Martin Stephens (who would also chill in "Village of the Damned" and Pamela Franklin (who would venure into ANOTHER haunted house as an adult in "Legend of Hell House"). Even Clytie Jessop looks absolutely perfect in her small role as the ghostly Miss Jessel; standing staring in the distance among the reeds in the pooring rain she's stunning.

Of course, I think the film leans a little towards the "sexually repressed governness is imagining it all" instead of remaining firmly in the middle. But the viewer can still make up their own minds whether ghosts actually walk (and peer in at windows in one particularly frightening scene) or only appear inside Deborah Kerr's head. And then, of course, there's that haunting song:

"Singing O Willow Waly by the tree that weeps with me,

Singing O Willow Waly till my lover returns to me,

We lay, my love and I beneath the weeping willow,

A broken heart have I,

O Willow I die. . . O Willow I die. . ."

TODAY'S HALLOWEEN DOUBLE FEATURE WILL SHOW YOU A THING OR TWO. The Thing from Another World, that is. This, of course, is one of the classics of 50's horror (that's right, it ain't science fiction in the least -- actually VERY FEW of the so-called science fiction movies of the 50's or later were science fiction -- they're all horror -- examples appear at the asterix at the end of this post)*

Who can forget the wonderful appearance of the opening credits of "The Thing From Another World" appearing in John Carpenter's "Halloween" during the Halloween movie marathon on the TV? I can't. Oh yeah, and they showed a little from "Forbidden Planet" too. Somehow, whenever I see the opening of "The Thing from Another World" I instantly think of Halloween. And this movie is a good one for Halloween. The dark, claustrophobic arctic station is creepy enough without adding a 7 foot tall walking carrot (played by James Arness) into the mix. And this walking carrot drinks blood!

Maybe Christian Nyby directed it -- maybe Howard Hawks did. I think AT THE VERY LEAST Hawks had a LOT of imput. This movie moves like lightning (or electricity coursing through James Arness). The patented Hawksian overlapping dialogue adds to the tension as our two groups (the scientists and the military) vie with each other and the extraterrestrial monster as they're trapped with it in the arctic research station. The film's packed with unforgettable scenes: from the first encircling of the flying saucer embedded in ice to the electric blanket melting the block of ice containing the monster to the scenes with the Thing suddenly appearing behind a closed door. Absolutely terrific film.

Then we have our second feature of the day. . .why, look. . .it's THE THING again! But this time it's by the aforementioned John Carpenter. Whereas the original THING bears practically NO resemblance to the original story "Who Goes There", Carpenter's THING sticks much closer to Campbell's story (and YES, I have read it). Rather than a blood-drinking carrot that looks like Frankenstein's monster, Carpenter's Thing (I've GOTTA stop saying that) is a shapeshifter. The isolation, paranoia and claustrophobia are, if anything, UPPED in Carpenter's version as the men (yup, not a woman in sight in this film as opposed to the original) start to panic and suspect each other. The sense of "not knowing who is really who" is suspensefully conveyed by Carpenter and his cast.

It's really nice to know that this film, which was a big failure upon its release, has now been reevaluated in recent years as the rather terrific film it is. It's certainly an interesting experience to watch both movies back to back. While I still give the original the edge in my cobwebbed little heart area, the remake is quite good and an enjoyable time will be had by all (except those devoured by The Thing, that is) when the chill winds of October begin to make you feel like YOU'RE locked inside a remote arctic station. . .and there just might be SOMETHING behind that door. . .

* These often-called science fiction films are really horror films: The Thing From Another World, Them!, Invaders From Mars, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers, It Came From Outer Space, The Man From Planet X, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, The Quatermass Xperiment aka The Creeping Unknown, The Angry Red Planet, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, War of the Worlds and many MANY more. There were actually very few REAL science fiction movies put out. Offhand, I can think of a handful: Things To Come, The Day the Earth Stood Still (although even THAT'S iffy and could be considered to have one foot in each genre) and Destination Moon are three. Forbidden Planet could be another one with a foot in both genres -- as could The Time Machine. But I wouldn't quibble with those who called them science fiction films.

WACKY PACK OF THE DAY:

YOG-SOTHOTH!!! YOG-SOTHOTH!!! YOG-SOTHOTH WANTS SOME POPCORN so we can watch today's Halloweenie movie: 1970's "THE DUNWICH HORROR". This is another one of those movies which I watched to death on Channel 48's Creature Double Feature back in the 70's. Of course, it's also an adaptation of the master H.P. Lovecraft's short story of the same name. Nowhere near a SUCCESSFUL adaptation but still a lot of fun to watch and quite interesting. Daniel Haller, the cameraman who shot those Poe movies for Roger Corman, graduated to director and this movie is a lot better than his previous stint directing "Die, Monster, Die" (another Lovecraft adaptation -- this time of "The Colour Out of Space"). "THE DUNWICH HORROR" is a lot more enjoyable.

We've got the prologue with Old Whateley (Sam Jaffe) using the hapless Lavinia Whateley as a gateway for the Old Gods to return to earth. He fails, of course, but Lavinia gives birth to Wilbur Whately (suitably "goatish" Dean Stockwell) as well as a tentacled monstrosity which is kept locked in an attic room. Scene's set for fun and games already, ain't it? Then we get the animated credit sequence for the film -- and I was right it IS done by the same designer who did the credits for "BLACULA". Sandy Dvore: her other credits include the animated opening credits for The Partridge Family TV show (!). Fast forward to the present day (1970 of course) where Wilbur is trying to borrow the dreaded Necronomicon from Prof. Armitage (Ed Begley). He makes goo-goo eyes at librarian Nancy (Sandra Dee) (or is that ghoul-ghoul eyes?!?) and wangles a ride home from her. Once at the dilapidated Whately house, wonderful Wilbur drugs her tea and yanks a wire out of her car engine so it won't start. She's gotta spend the night. He then slowly brings her under his power in order to try again with the "summoning Yog-Sothoth" bit.

Sandra Dee is perfect casting for this role since she was always known as the pinnacle of virginal blondehood. And that's just what Wilbur's looking for. By the end of the movie, he's got her lying on a stone altar atop an open air stone temple known as "The Devil's Hopyard". Sadly, the glimpses of Ms. Dee's undraped form we see are those of a body double. But the film makes up for that by having Stockwell use his two pinky rings on either side of his face in the style of real-life "great beast" Aleister Crowley!

As a 70's version of H. P. Lovecraft (and this is apparently the first movie to actually trumpet Lovecraft's name), "THE DUNWICH HORROR" is a flawed but atmospheric stab at it. And since there have been almost no successful movie adaptations of Lovecraft (NEARLY successful -- but that's another story), I'll take this one for what it is.

WACKY PACK OF THE DAY:

IN TODAY'S HALLOWEENIE MOVIE, WE VISIT THE SIX. Do you know about the six??? Well, you will if you watch the 1978 horror flick "THE LEGACY". Now, this is one of those horror films which made quite an impression on my as a kid. I first saw it on HBO when cable and HBO were brand new things; remember watching EVERYTHING multiple times just because cable was new?!? Well, this is one of those movies I watched over and over. I loved the creepy atmosphere and that spectacular old mansion featured in it!

The bizarre plot centers on Katharine Ross and Sam Elliot who have been invited to do an architecture job in England. For big bucks. Whie riding their motorcycle through the idyllic English countryside, they are almost crashed into by the expensive car of Jason Mountolive. The rich guy invites them back to his palatial estate for a cup of tea. However, owing to the "backwardness" of country living, they end up having to stay the night until the bike is repaired. Almost immediately, a strange assortment of characters starts to arrive (by helicopter yet). It seems that this oddball (yet successful) group owes their success to Mountolive and have come to inherit his legacy. Mountolive is apparently dying (although he looked just great for his motor ride with Ross and Elliot). Among the group is Charles Gray (whom you might remember as the demonic sorceror Mocata from "The Devil Rides Out" and the narrator from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show") and The Who's own Roger Daltry. Then, of course, there's the creepy Nurse Adams (wonderfully played by Margaret Tyzack).

Naturally, when Ross and Elliot attempt to leave (several times) they are thwarted by apparently occult forces as there's more to Mountolive and his happy abode than first meets the eye. And, of course, each of the six guests begin to meet grisly deaths almost as soon as they arrive. Not even a chirpy romantic 70's theme song sung by Kiki Dee can dispel the sinister atmosphere permeating the movie and it's my kind of house to spend a Halloween in. And the chance to see Roger Daltry's neck slit open while choking on a chicken bone (although he only ate ham and pate at dinner) is worth the effort to watch this marvelously over-the-top spook fest.

THE DRACULA HORROR SERIES BY ROBERT LORY. In 1973, according to my first edition paperback, Pinnacle Books began a brand new series of paperback books featuring Dracula and written by Robert Lory. Now, these books are pretty terrific page turners. I had never heard of them until last year when I read about them on the superb blog called "The Groovy Age of Horror". I won't go into synopses of the books in the series because "Groovy Age" does such a wonderful job (and THEY are what made me track down my own copies to buy online). So I urge you to click here and see what you're missing.

Basically, here's the premise from the back cover blurb of the second book in the series: "The key to Dracula's twentieth century reincarnation is the brilliant scientist, Dr. Damien Harmon. By means of a fantastic electronic implant Professor Harmon is able to control, for the most part, the actions of Dracula in all his grim guises. Then, too, there is the eerie lady known as Ktara, and the faithful giant, Cam. Together they will transport you into the shadowy realm of the unreal for a feast of blood-bright horror!" Don't you just love back cover blurbs?!? Yeah, what the old Prof did was surgically implant a sliver of the stake that previously killed the vampire inside Dracula's chest so that, if Professor Harmon so desires, he can cause it to pierce Dracula's heart and dispatch the Count to eternity! In this way, Harmon can use Dracula as a (very reluctant) help in his fight against supernatural evil menaces. Of course, Harmon also has to constantly watch his back because the king of vampires is forever trying to outwit the Professor.

I'll tell you the first two books were a hoot; I don't have ALL the books but I have MOST of them. And again, click on the link to The Groovy Age of Horror's book by book synopses and I think you'll find them as fun as I did. And if, like I did, you are so impelled to track these paperbacks down -- well, I think you'll find them fun Halloween reading.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELA LUGOSI! Today is Bela's birthday and what better way to celebrate than to choose as our vampiric Halloween movie of the day the movie that started it all, that saved Universal from bankruptcy, that began the entire golden age of classic Universal horror: "DRACULA".

There's just something about "DRACULA" -- I always seem to watch it around Halloween. Even though "FRANKENSTEIN" is the much better movie, there's just something about the experience of watching "DRACULA" which means Halloween to me. It also goes way back to when I was a kid; the first memory I have of actually watching a horror movie concerns "DRACULA". In the huge old Victorian house owned by my grandparents, I would usually stay weekends. Down in the basement was what used to be a bar -- a speakeasy, in fact. It even had a separate entrance. But those days were gone now and all was quiet. The only light came from the small ground level window at the top of the wall. My grandfather and I would sit on the old couch in front of the big black and white TV set as the metal art deco rotating table fan (with the brown cloth electrical cord) circulated my grandfather's cigar smoke. The big glass TV tube flickered with the black and white -- really blue and black -- images of Bela Lugosi in "DRACULA". I always think of that when I see the film now.

"DRACULA" is so slow and dreamlike that it instantly transports me into a sort of subconscious land of shadows and vampires. Bela's performance is, of course, iconic. And his supporting cast is marvelous. The manic Dwight Frye as Renfield: "Rats! Rats! Millions of them!" Edward Van Sloan as the vampire hunting Van Helsing. David Manners and the doomed Helen Chandler as the "romantic leads" powerless in the face of ancient evil. Karl Freund's prowling camera through the marvelous Universal gothic sets. It's Halloween for sure now!

WACKY PACK OF THE DAY:

BLOODSTONE: SUBSPECIES II (1993)

"FEAR NOT. SOON YOUR MORTAL FEELINGS WILL CEASE TO CAUSE YOU PAIN." Of all the direct-to-video movies produced by Full Moon, the Subspecies series is the best. Granted, that's not exactly saying a lot. However, I always kinda liked Full Moon's bargain basement do-it-yourself horror movies and they DID manage to carve out a video niche all their own. But the Subspecies movies are actually worth watching in their own right. They all have one director (Ted Nicolaou) and are actually filmed in Romania/Transylvania.

While all 4 films (and the "peripheral" non-series movie "The Vampire Journals" which is related but separate) should be watched in a row, today's Halloween vampire movie is going to specifically be the second installment: "BLOODSTONE: SUBSPECIES II". After the events of the first movie, we've changed lead actresses; our lead heroine Michelle (played by Laura Tate in the first movie) will, from now on, be played by the superior Denice Duff. Michelle and some other students have come to Romania to poke around Castle Vladislas for their research papers. Sadly for them, Castle Vladislas has always been the mythical home of the King of the Vampires and his family. After killing his father the King (played by Phantasm's Angus Scrimm in the first film) and his brother, Radu is the sole surviving vampire in the family. There has also been a great brouhaha concerning possession of a strange relic called the "bloodstone" which oozes the blood of the saints and can quench a vampire's thirst. Radu (the spectacular Anders Hove) is something of a cross between the vampire Lestat and Nosferatu -- and he then also kills Michelle's friends and has vampirized Michelle. This is where we stand when the second film begins.

SUBSPECIES II opens at the scene of the carnage ending the first film. Radu almost manages to stake poor Michelle before she can see what it's like to BE a vampire -- however the rising soon puts a stop to that. As the sun sets later that day, Michelle manages to escape (with the bloodstone) and hide from Radu. The entire film basically concerns Michelle's realization of her new undead status and Radu's attempts to track her down. Not a lot in the action department but the performances of Duff and Hove make it more than interesting. Duff portrays the battling sides of her humanity and vampiric nature as she is alternately bewildering, panicked, bloodlusting and resigned. Hove as the vampire Radu is simply one of the screen's best vampires ever. His monster makeup, which was adequate but under-realized in the first film, is MUCH better here. The stringy long hair, the incredibly long fingers with their graveyard nails and that voice which sounds like a corpse's fingernails across a blackboard in hell. . .all that and more make him a joy to see each time he's on screen. But the performance itself is even better; Radu has a wicked sense of humour and is also quite lovestruck by Michelle. While his "fledgling" resists him and refuses to either give in to her vampiric nature OR to follow him as her master, Radu threatens her with the most horrific torture -- but lets her get away with it anyway. He cannot bring himself to harm her -- despite his demonstrated cold-bloodedness to everyone else.

Also in this film we meet Radu's dear Mommy: a wizened, rotting walking corpse who putters with magic potions inside a cemetery crypt. What a family! She looks, in fact, like Joan of Arc -- AFTER the bonfire! Mommy warns Radu that this fledgling will destroy him but the guy's simply too infatuated to do anything about it. While Michelle herself, without realizing Radu's inclinations, merely fears and loathes the vampire who made her like himself. All this in a made-for-video vampire movie. Regardless of the execution, it's GOT to be interesting. And it is. The entire Subspecies series (so far -- including "the Vampire Journals" companion film) are all in one DVD box set. Radu and Halloween: Perfect Together.

MORE SAD NEWS: DEBORAH KERR DIES AT 86. As well as appearing in a long and successful movie career, the late Deborah Kerr starred in one of the greatest horror films of the 60's: "THE INNOCENTS". Based on Henry James' "Turn of the Screw", Kerr's portrayal of the governness sliding slowly into hysterical paranoia through sexual repression was a classic! Were there actual ghosts or were they only figments of a sick mind??? This is a movie I was already planning to re-watch this month but now it takes on another, sadder impetus. Farewell to yet another film great.

ANOTHER LONG LOST BOARD GAME FROM BACK IN THE DAY IS "KA-BALA". My cousin Lignatz and I used to play it waaaaaaaaaaay back. I'll never forget that big ole eyeball sitting in the middle -- and all that ghoulish green! Basically, this was a faux tarot card reading. I couldn't tell you how the hell one played it but there were a lot of little "taro" cards with "fortunes" on 'em. All I know is the thing just looked cool -- and it fetches herds of money on ebay and the like.

And here we have the famous add for "Ka-Bala" which appeared in comic books for a while:

"THIS ISN'T SOME NUT FROM A HALLOWEEN PARTY! THAT MAN IS THE REAL THING!" And I don't mean Coca-Cola. For today's fanged feature, I'm choosing "BLACULA" which has always been rather lumped in with all the other "blaxploitation" films of the time. Because of this people tend to dismiss it or howl with derisive laughter at the mention of the title. But when you actually sit down and watch it, you'll find it's one of the better vampire movies of the decade. Shakespearean actor William Marshall, with his booming resonant voice, portrays Mamuwalde with an authority that tends to silence any guffaws.

In a pre-credit prologue during the 1700s, Mamuwalde and his wife Luva (Vonetta McGee) arrive at Dracula's castle in Transylvania to protest the slave trade. Dracula, hankering after Mamuwalde's wife like the racist cracker that he is, vampirizes Mamumalde and chains him inside a coffin to endlessly thirst for blood. Dracula also locks Luva into the secret room with Mamuwalde's coffin so she will slowly die. It's at this point the King of the Vampires curses Mamuwalde with his name and dubs him "Blacula". Oh yes, that's right. Drac actually calls him that in the film. But other than that, the character is referred to as Mamuwalde throughour the rest of the film. The animated credit sequence rolls -- and it reminds me an AWFUL lot of the similar credit sequence in "The Dunwich Horror", also an AIP film, from a couple years before. I wonder if the same artist did both???

Back in the present day (1972), a pair of HIGHLY camp antique dealers buys the contents of Castle Dracula and ships it all to America. Inside a dark warehouse, one of the fellows gashes his arm while prying open a crate. Mamuwalde, newly loose from his chained coffin, puts the bite on both antique dealers and takes off. Later, Mamuwalde spots some friends of one of the dead antique dealers coming out of the funeral parlour -- and one of them is the spitting image of Luva. Mamuwalde and Luva's double Tina fall in love amidst all the biting and slaying and he plans to vampirize Tina so they will have an eternity of love. Gee, sounds like much the same plot as the later horror comedy "Love at First Bite", doesn't it?

William Crain's direction is steadily moving and kinetic throughout and he shows a nice hand at the "horror moments". Some concession to the more "blaxploitation" style is seen amongst the peripheral characters but the main cast plays it as the serious horror movie that it is. And speaking of the cast -- it's wonderful. Besides perfectly cast William Marshall (he really anchors the film and holds it all together) we have the always reliable Thalmus Rasulala as the intrepid vampire fighter and his girlfriend Michelle (played by my old boyhood crush Denise Nicholas). Vonetta McGee is suitably beautiful but a little less heavyweight in the acting department -- although not enough to damage the movie. Also among the supporting characters is good ole twitchy Elisha Cook Jr. (from movies ranging from "The Maltese Falcon" to "House on Haunted Hill") and Charles Macauley as an OK but forgettable Dracula. There are even a couple songs performed by The Hues Corporation. The film also contains some of the better "man to bat" transformations of the era. And William Marshall is powerfully believeable in his fisticuffs!

While "Blacula" is no bonafide classic, it is a LOT better than most people give it credit for. It's a hell of a lot of Halloween fun you don't wanna miss! Turkey!