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Post by andydecker on Feb 19, 2020 10:48:16 GMT
After Steve's and others repeated tip of the many movies on Youtube (thanks, guys) I finally saw this.
Well, what can I say? Uneven doesn't begin to describe this, what? A lot I found cheesy crap, from its tone more suited to an episode of the Muppet Show than a horror movie. Price and Carradine were at a time of their careers where they were paid to be laughed at instead of being celebrated. This is kind of a pet peeve of mine, this is why I loathe the movie House of Long Shadows by Pete Walker so much. It transformed all those old actors into a bunch of silly relics, fit only for saturday morning cartoons. At least Price got one last hurrah in Edward Scissorhands and Lee also. But for Cushing and Carradine it was an embarrassing end. But I digress.
Being a bit wary of Chetwynd-Hayes, I liked at least some parts of the movie. I was quite astonished that the one which concept I thought the most ridiculous - The Shadmock - the best realised in the movie. The Ghoules was okay-ish, The Vampires was crap of the highest order. I know that Subotsky never was one for earnest horror, but this beat even the most unwatchable of Amicus. The less said of the bar scenes the better. The musical numbers were painful and killed the few nice bits with Price and Carradine.
On the whole this was a sobering experiance. A reminder how desperatly out of tune all the old production companies were at the start of the 80s.
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Post by helrunar on Feb 19, 2020 19:22:28 GMT
Perceptive review, Andreas! I finally watched The Monster Club a couple of years ago after having the DVD on my shelf for ages (it was a loan from a friend who died in a traffic accident shortly afterwards--the people in charge of his estate got rid of his entire media collection, so I kept this as a remembrance of him). Given that I had no expectations of enjoying any of it very much, it was a better experience than I had anticipated. I've never seen House of Long Shadows, for whatever reason--I may watch it someday, but again, I have no expectations and I may find myself unable to get through the movie.
I think the trend you describe of having the classic monsters reduced to fodder for gags, jokes and parodies already started in the late Fifties. But even in a lot of the Forties films, there are signs of it. The most notorious of course is Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein, which I enjoy for the chance to see Lugosi play Dracula again. Lugosi himself thought Lou Costello's antics were hilarious. So it was a nice experience for him during an otherwise rather difficult time.
But even in films such as the 1941 Black Cat, Spooks Run Wild, etc etc you can see it gathering momentum. In the Monster Kids period of the late 1950s--early 1970s, it was full throttle. It was a definite part of American monster mag culture--especially Forrest J. Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland, but all the horror film focused magazines of the era indulged in the humor.
Anyhow, that's a very longwinded way of saying that the humor in Monster Club didn't really hit a nerve for me. I agree with you in how you rate the various segments. I doubt I will watch the movie again--I may have already disposed of the disc despite its association with my late friend. I always remember him when I watch a Bela Lugosi film. He loved Lugosi's acting. It was literally like music to him.
cheers, Steve
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Post by andydecker on Feb 19, 2020 20:50:30 GMT
It is strange how people are remembered. Most of Karloff's later movies are not held in high regard. But he managed to make one last movie which highlighted the shifting taste in horror movies. Targets is really a kind of testament, as relevant today as it was in 1968. I wish Cushing had got that chance.
I never was a fan of Lugosi. Or his Dracula. But I have a high regard for him in The Black Cat. Here he shines.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Feb 19, 2020 21:03:59 GMT
Targets is really a kind of testament, as relevant today as it was in 1968. Sorry, but TARGETS is exploitative crap, the sole purpose of which is to make you depressed. |
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Post by andydecker on Feb 19, 2020 21:37:09 GMT
Targets is really a kind of testament, as relevant today as it was in 1968. Sorry, but TARGETS is exploitative crap, the sole purpose of which is to make you depressed. Nothing wrong with that. Better than a lot of contemporary horror movies which only evoke indifference. |
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Post by helrunar on Feb 19, 2020 22:34:46 GMT
Agreed that Targets stands out among Karloff's later films. I have a sentimental fondness for his work in such stuff as the Thriller series (there's a lovely skit he did in the final months of that where he plays a morgue attendant who can see and speak with the spirits of the dead), and films such as Die, Monster, Die, The Crimson Cult, and Cauldron of Blood which are often dismissed but are, to me, interesting period pieces of the time--and let's face it, among my not-so-guilty pleasures!
Lugosi's best performances for me are in White Zombie, Son of Frankenstein, and most certainly the 1934 Edgar Ulmer Black Cat--his role in that had an autobiographical edge. If you like pulp horror, Lugosi's performance as the super-villain in the 1932 Chandu the Magician is great fun. He also could play comedy quite well as seen in such films as International House and Ninotchka.
Steve
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Post by bluetomb on Feb 20, 2020 10:44:56 GMT
It is strange how people are remembered. Most of Karloff's later movies are not held in high regard. But he managed to make one last movie which highlighted the shifting taste in horror movies. Targets is really a kind of testament, as relevant today as it was in 1968. I wish Cushing had got that chance.
I never was a fan of Lugosi. Or his Dracula. But I have a high regard for him in The Black Cat. Here he shines.
The Sorcerers also I thought was terrific late period Karloff, and of its time in both setting and cynicism. |
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Post by David A. Riley on Feb 20, 2020 12:24:17 GMT
It is strange how people are remembered. Most of Karloff's later movies are not held in high regard. But he managed to make one last movie which highlighted the shifting taste in horror movies. Targets is really a kind of testament, as relevant today as it was in 1968. I wish Cushing had got that chance. I never was a fan of Lugosi. Or his Dracula. But I have a high regard for him in The Black Cat. Here he shines.
The Sorcerers also I thought was terrific late period Karloff, and of its time in both setting and cynicism. The Sorcerers in my view is one of the best horror movies ever. |
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Post by bluetomb on Feb 20, 2020 13:57:39 GMT
The Sorcerers also I thought was terrific late period Karloff, and of its time in both setting and cynicism. The Sorcerers in my view is one of the best horror movies ever. I might tend to agree there. It's been some time since I last tried to compile any personal lists of such things but it's always been pretty firmly in both my top ten 1960's horror films and top ten sci-fi horror films, so being very fond of both of those categories it would be at least in my top forty at large. Which for me is higher than you might necessarily think. |
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Post by helrunar on Feb 21, 2020 16:20:45 GMT
I found what seems to be a nice print of The Sorcerers on y.t.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoPmKH_jL7UI look forward to seeing it again--my memory of my one previous viewing is quite vague (maybe I already commented about that). H. |
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Post by dem on Feb 28, 2020 17:29:56 GMT
After Steve's and others repeated tip of the many movies on Youtube (thanks, guys) I finally saw this. Well, what can I say? Uneven doesn't begin to describe this, what? A lot I found cheesy crap, from its tone more suited to an episode of the Muppet Show than a horror movie. Price and Carradine were at a time of their careers where they were paid to be laughed at instead of being celebrated. This is kind of a pet peeve of mine, this is why I loathe the movie House of Long Shadows by Pete Walker so much. It transformed all those old actors into a bunch of silly relics, fit only for saturday morning cartoons. At least Price got one last hurrah in Edward Scissorhands and Lee also. But for Cushing and Carradine it was an embarrassing end. But I digress. Being a bit wary of Chetwynd-Hayes, I liked at least some parts of the movie. I was quite astonished that the one which concept I thought the most ridiculous - The Shadmock - the best realised in the movie. The Ghoules was okay-ish, The Vampires was crap of the highest order. I know that Subotsky never was one for earnest horror, but this beat even the most unwatchable of Amicus. The less said of the bar scenes the better. The musical numbers were painful and killed the few nice bits with Price and Carradine. On the whole this was a sobering experiance. A reminder how desperatly out of tune all the old production companies were at the start of the 80s.
Turns out RCH was no fan of The Monster Club (which Vincent Price described as "a kind of vampire disco."). "Milton Subotsky was the kindest man I ever met, but he should never have made a film. His idea of humour was silly." Well, he ought to know. The movie was quite a favourite of mine (haven't watched it in years) for the - wonderful, I thought - Shadmock and Ghoul episodes, the opening linger on the bookshop window display and the admittedly rubbish stripper sequence. Even Milton's cameo appearance, the terrible joke shop masks, and the excruciating, hateful musical interludes have an endearing awfulness about them, or so it seems to me. You are right. I am very easily pleased. |
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Post by ramseycampbell on Mar 3, 2020 9:31:54 GMT
Agreed that Targets stands out among Karloff's later films. I have a sentimental fondness for his work in such stuff as the Thriller series (there's a lovely skit he did in the final months of that where he plays a morgue attendant who can see and speak with the spirits of the dead), and films such as Die, Monster, Die, The Crimson Cult, and Cauldron of Blood which are often dismissed but are, to me, interesting period pieces of the time--and let's face it, among my not-so-guilty pleasures! Lugosi's best performances for me are in White Zombie, Son of Frankenstein, and most certainly the 1934 Edgar Ulmer Black Cat--his role in that had an autobiographical edge. If you like pulp horror, Lugosi's performance as the super-villain in the 1932 Chandu the Magician is great fun. He also could play comedy quite well as seen in such films as International House and Ninotchka.Steve Yes, Targets is very fine, not least as a serious tribute to Karloff and a reflection on the varieties of horror. |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Dec 16, 2021 19:26:07 GMT
Much prefer the screen version of The Shadmock, an entirely different beast to RCH's loopy original. Having just read The Monster Club, I was surprised to find that The Shadmock of the film appears to be based more on the book's The Mock, with the filmic Shadmock's whistle having an effect not unlike the Mock's blow. Also felt like the book's Eramus was more akin to Donald Pleasence's role in the From Beyond the Grave version of RC-H's An Act of Kindness than Vincent Price's suave vampire. Given that the book has anagrammatic references to that film's director and a couple of its producers, I wonder if RC-H was imagining Pleasence in any prospective film version. The location of The Shadmock story in the book, Withering Grange, seems to be RC-H's Clavering Grange in disguise, even down to the previous owner being of the Sinclair family - the Sinclairs having been established as Clavering Grange's owners in The Door. As for the film, a recent rewatch found me enjoying it far more than I'd remembered. Yes, the monster masks are dreadful, and the joke shop fangs cheapen things, and it might have benefitted from another story and losing a couple of the songs - though the Monsters Rule OK song by The Viewers is still great fun - but it's a lot of fun, and James Laurenson's Lon Chaney-Phantom-Lookalike Shadmock is a memorable creation. |
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Post by dem on Dec 16, 2021 19:49:26 GMT
The location of The Shadmock story in the book, Withering Grange, seems to be RC-H's Clavering Grange in disguise, even down to the previous owner being of the Sinclair family - the Sinclairs having been established as Clavering Grange's owners in The Door. That completely passed me when reading it, but I'm sure you're spot on. According to Hugh Lamb, the earliest reference to Clavering Grange is in The Dark Man, though I've not got a copy to check. As with the "novel," I love the movie in parts, but that bastard Viewers song really is abysmal, worse even than B. A. Robertson's trademark lamentable contribution. Our late friend Michel Parry was present during much of the filming, spoke very fondly of the experience. |
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