Film Review: The Nude Vampire (1970)

Also known as: La Vampire Nue (original French title)
Release Date: May 20th, 1970 (France)
Directed by: Jean Rollin
Written by: Jean Rollin, Serge Moati
Music by: Yvon Gerault
Cast: Christine Francois, Olivier Rollin, Maurice Lemaitre, Bernard Musson, Jean Aron, Ursule Pauly, Catherine Castel, Marie-Pierre Castel, Michael Delahaye, Caroline Cartier, Ly Lestrong, Pascal Fardoulis, Paul Bisciglia, Rene-Jean Chauffard 

Les Films ABC, Tigon British Film Productions, 88 Minutes

Review:

This was a really bizarre movie… but it’s French, so I guess it’s pretty normal over there!

Anyway, this gives you the impression that it is a vampire movie but it is actually something much more weird and much more complex than that. Although, I don’t want to spoil any of the big reveals.

Now, I wouldn’t call the reveals Earth shattering or even good but they do make this a unique experience.

Like most European horror of the time, this is a sexy movie with a lot of nudity and pretty hot chicks. The twins are especially mesmerizing in that ’70s euro horror way that reminds me of the vampire films starring Soledad Miranda and Lina Romay.

This has a lot of cool occult stuff in it like the opening scene where the main girl is trying to get away from pursuers wearing creepy animal masks. It has Wicker Man vibes in that regard.

Also, the locations where this was shot are opulent, mesmerizing and cool.

Overall, this is slow at times but it’s too unusual to ignore and the really strange stuff keeps one’s interested in where this could potentially be going.

Rating: 5.75/10

Film Review: Witchfinder General (1968)

Also known as: The Conqueror Worm (theatrical title), Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General (UK complete title), Matthew Hopkins: Conqueror Worm (US complete title), Edgar Allan Poe’s The Conqueror Worm (US promotional title)
Release Date: May 15th, 1968 (Los Angeles premiere)
Directed by: Michael Reeves
Written by: Tom Baker, Michael Reeves, Louis M. Heyward
Based on: Witchfinder General by Ronald Bassett
Music by: Paul Ferris
Cast: Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Rupert Davies, Wilfrid Brambell, Patrick Wymark, Robert Russell, Nicky Henson, Hilary Dwyer

Tigon British Film Productions, American International Pictures, 86 Minutes

Review:

“Men sometimes have strange motives for the things they do.” – Matthew Hopkins

I always get Witchfinder General a.k.a. The Conqueror Worm and Cry of the Banshee mixed up in my head. They both star Vincent Price in a very similar role, deal with the same subject matter and came out around the same time.

This is the superior of the two films and it boasts one of Price’s greatest performances. It’s also more grounded than 1970’s Cry of the Banshee, which honestly feels like it was made just to piggyback off of this film’s momentum.

The story, here, follows Matthew Hopkins, a famous (or infamous) witch-hunter. It shows his corruption, how he uses his power to rule over those who fear him and what lengths he’s willing to go to essentially prove that he is the ruler of his own domain.

For those who don’t know, Hopkins was a real historical figure and with that, this film had a bit more chutzpah to it than Cry of the Banshee. There was something really sinister about the fact that this was a real guy. Sure, this was glamorized and took some liberties, as it’s a film that had to up the ante and lean into the horror bits, but from what I’ve read about the guy, none of this really seems out of character and in fact, Price’s portrayal of the character may have been tame by comparison. I mean, in just the three years that Hopkins claimed to be the “Witchfinder General”, he killed more suspected witches than his contemporaries did in the previous 100 years.

This is a fairly compelling film, even if it is a bit slow. But even with its apparent faults, Price’s performance is damn convincing and truly elevates what would’ve been a mundane picture, otherwise.

Rating: 6.25/10

Film Review: The Creeping Flesh (1973)

Release Date: February 9th, 1973 (New York City premiere)
Directed by: Freddie Francis
Written by: Peter Spenceley, Jonathan Rumbold
Music by: Paul Ferris
Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Lorna Heilbron, Jenny Runacre, George Benson, Kenneth J. Warren, Michael Ripper

World Film Services, Tigon British Film Productions, Columbia Pictures, 92 Minutes

Review:

“Unfortunately, in the state of society as it exists today, we are not permitted to experiment on human beings. Normal human beings.” – James Hildern

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee did nearly two dozen movies together. Out of all the ones that weren’t Hammer films, I always thought that this one was one of the coolest.

Mainly, it has a pretty cool and unique monster that had a neat look.

I also just liked the origin of the monster and how he was born from his skeleton that was pulled out of the Earth, so deep that his species predates any intelligent life that this planet has ever known.

Additionally, I also thought the effects that were employed to actually show “the creeping flesh” were really well done for the time and the budget of the picture. Plus, it just adds a lot to the film’s creepy factor.

One interesting thing about this film is that it wasn’t made by Hammer or Amicus but it does a splendid job of emulating the atmosphere of those studio’s films. In fact, I’d say that it does it better than almost any other Cushing-Lee collaboration not done by those better known studios.

Apart from that, this is a bit slow but it’s still a fairly engaging picture.

But ultimately, this is carried by the inclusion of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, as well as the coolness of the creature. While that might not be enough for some people, fans of these sort of movies and these legendary horror icons, will probably enjoy this quite a bit.

Rating: 6.5/10
Pairs well with: other films with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

Film Review: The Castle of the Living Dead (1964)

Also known as: Il castello dei morti vivi (original Italian title), Crypt of Horror (alternate)
Release Date: August 5th, 1964 (Italy)
Directed by: Warren Kiefer
Written by: Warren Kiefer
Music by: Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
Cast: Christopher Lee, Gaia Germani, Philippe Leroy, Donald Sutherland

Serena Film, Filmsonor, Cineriz, Tigon Films, 90 Minutes

Review:

I’ll watch anything with Christopher Lee in it. And even though he’s been in some dreadful pictures out of the 280 credits he has on IMDb, he is always a bright spot in them. This isn’t one of those dreadful pictures but it’s also not very good. It’s in a weird limbo.

The Castle of the Living Dead is also the first film with Donald Sutherland in it. He started his career playing triple duty, as he has three different roles in this. Maybe the studio could only afford five actors but they needed seven characters.

If the plot is anything, it is bizarre.

We have a group of carnival folk who arrive at Count Drago’s (Lee) castle to entertain him. What the carnies don’t know, is that he is a mad scientist that mummifies humans and animals with some mysterious liquid. The token carnival midget figures out something is shady and he tries to be the hero. Apart from a scene where the midget literally gets thrown off of a castle turret by a zombie, he does save the day in the end.

This was a film where the production was pretty much a clusterfuck. Directors changed, staff changed and it isn’t really known who should get credit for what. It’s possible that Mario Bava worked on some of the film’s special effects. However, things here certainly feel beneath Bava’s level of talent.

This is a dirty looking film with bad sound and a disorienting presentation. Scenes that I assume are supposed to be at night, are shot in daylight with a lot of shadows added in but the contrast between the darkness and obvious sunlight is strange.

The Castle of the Living Dead is only really worth checking out if you love Lee, Sutherland or gratuitous dwarf abuse. Even at ninety minutes, it is too long for a picture of its style and quality from its era.

Rating: 5/10

 

Film Review: Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

Also known as: The Crimson Cult (US)
Release Date: December, 1968 (UK)
Directed by: Vernon Sewell
Written by: Mervyn Haisman, Henry Lincoln
Music by: Peter Knight
Cast: Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, Barbara Steele, Mark Eden, Michael Gough, Rupert Davies

Tigon Films, American International Pictures, 89 Minutes

Review:

“It’s like a house from one of those old horror films.” – Eve Morley, “It’s like Boris Karloff is going to pop up at any moment.” – Robert Manning

The only thing that this movie really has going for it is its great cast of horror legends. It boasts the talents of Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff and Barbara Steele. It also features Michael Gough, most famous to American audiences as Alfred from the Tim Burton Batman films. Rupert Davies even pops up in a small role.

I also have to give props to John Coquillon’s cinematography. His use of vivid and colorful lighting was effective, as were the sets and the colorful costumes he captured and brought to life. The film, in its best visual parts, looks like living art.

Unfortunately, the story is weak and there isn’t much of anything that is surprising. Barbara Steele often times distracts from the frail and inadequate script with her alluring beauty and her piercing gaze but even with the help from Karloff and Lee, the film is still pretty flat and uninteresting.

However, anytime that you can see legends like this come together, it is an affair worth checking out. I always like seeing Michael Gough in old British horror flicks too, considering how good he was for Hammer Studios in Horror of Dracula and The Phantom of the Opera.

Karloff and Lee look like they were having fun working together but neither of them gave anything close to their greatest performances. Barbara Steele was really good but she just didn’t have a lot to do and her character was fairly one dimensional. She looked stunning in her body paint and costume and really embodied the part of the demigod witch that she was supposed to be.

The main characters of the film were Mark Eden and Virginia Wetherell but they were completely overshadowed by the legends packed into this picture. They still did decent with the material. Wetherell was very pretty and had a great body, which is obviously why she was selected to play the Stage Actress in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.

Curse of the Crimson Altar is just average. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it just exists. The positives are cancelled out by the negatives but at least the stars make it a worthwhile experience for those who are fans of their work.

Rating: 6/10