Separated at birth?
Hmm. Take a look at these photos of action star Jason Statham (whose new movie PARKER opened in theaters this weekend, January 25, 2013) and Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. See a resemblance?
In our household, we’ve long thought these two look like brothers. Take a look for yourself. What do you think?
Opposing teams might think twice about giving Pedroia a hard time this season. His “big brother” Statham might take offense. Yikes!
Hansel and Gretel get tough
Tomorrow, Friday January 25, marks the release of HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS (2013) – don’t everybody groan at once. Soon after on March 1 we’ll be treated to JACK THE GIANT SLAYER, a re-working of the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale.
Let’s see, we’ve already had RED RIDING HOOD (2011) and SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (2012). I don’t know about you, but enough is enough!
But since this new take on the fairy tale genre doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon, it’s time for the Cinema Knife Fighters to get in on the action. Coming soon at cinemaknifefight.com, it’s the latest QUICK CUTS column which asks the question: which fairy tale would you like to see turned into a movie?
How about you?
Which fairy tale/nursery rhyme would you like to see re-worked as a feature length movie?
As for me, I don’t want to see any fairy tale re-worked as a movie! But that being said, I’ll join my fellow Cinema Knife Fight panelists and have an answer ready for the upcoming QUICK CUTS column.
And now that I think of it, I’d like to see WEE WILLIE WINKIE made into a horror movie where Mr. Winkie is a sinister gent who goes around terrorizing young children, whisking them away from their beds at night, taking them to some uncertain dark future, perhaps to a castle where a cannibalistic witch lives who loves children in her stews. Rated R, with Sacha Baron Cohen as Wee Willie Winkie, Sigourney Weaver as the Witch, and Mark Wahlberg as the parent of a missing child who’s had enough and decides to step up and take justice into his own hands.
Hmm. I might like to see that movie.
Anyway, I’ll have a new answer for the QUICK CUTS column, again Coming Soon at cinemaknifefight.com.
Sweet dreams, everyone!
—Michael Arruda
As you know, IN THE SPOOKLIGHT, my collection of horror movie columns is now available as an EBook from NECON EBooks at www.neconebooks.com. Check out a sample column below, on the Christopher Lee Dracula movie DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966), originally published in the HWA NEWSLETTER in February 2005.
Why this movie?
There’s something about this one, I suppose it’s the icy exteriors of Castle Dracula that make me want to watch it each winter.
Enjoy the column! And stay warm!
—Michael
DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966)
Christopher Lee said no when asked by Hammer Films to play Dracula again in a proposed sequel to Hammer’s mega-hit, HORROR OF DRACULA (1958). Lee did not want to be typecast.
However, the powers that be at Hammer didn’t give up, and eventually, Lee changed his mind. The sequel to HORROR OF DRACULA was a long time coming, but in 1966, it finally arrived in the form of DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966).
DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS proved to be another box office smash, becoming one of the top 15 commercial releases of 1966. It was no secret now to Hammer that Dracula was their most successful franchise. As a result, in the next seven years, Hammer would make five more Dracula movies with Christopher Lee as the Count.
DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS tells the story of two English couples traveling through Europe who get stranded at Dracula’s castle. There they find Dracula’s servant Klove (Philip Latham) who has been waiting for years for someone to visit the castle so he can resurrect his master. Resurrect Dracula he does, in a very bloody scene involving a slit throat and gallons of Hammer blood, and the undead Count is unleashed once more. This time, it’s up to the dynamic Father Sandor (Andrew Keir in a very good performance) to stop Dracula.
For years, DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS has taken hits from both critics and fans alike as an inferior sequel to HORROR OF DRACULA. Sure, it’s not as good as its predecessor, but it is far better than some critics have given it credit for.
Director Terence Fisher, who also directed HORROR OF DRACULA, gives the scenes in Castle Dracula a real “haunted house” feel. It’s all very creepy even before Dracula is resurrected.
And once Lee appears as Dracula, it’s HORROR OF DRACULA all over again. Lee is hissing, snarling, bearing fangs, and genuinely showcasing a very athletic violent Dracula. Simply put, Christopher Lee is damned frightening!
Much has been made of the fact that in DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS, Dracula speaks no lines of dialogue, but before you condemn screenwriter John Sansom, understand that Dracula did speak in the original script, but the lines were all cut by Christopher Lee himself. Lee wrote in his autobiography, CHRISTOPHER LEE, TALL, DARK AND GRUESOME, that he thought the lines given Dracula were ridiculous. And his suggestion to use lines from Stoker’s novel went unheeded.
Composer James Bernard once again utilizes his Dracula theme made famous in HORROR OF DRACULA, a theme as famous today as the themes from JAWS (1975) and HALLOWEEN (1978).
The sets, especially the interior of the castle, are magnificent.
DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS also has a memorable conclusion, in which the battle to destroy Dracula takes place on the ice outside Castle Dracula.
Yes, there’s ice outside the castle, some snow too, and cold winds howling through the castle walls. DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS, a perfect film to watch on a frigid winter evening.
(February 2005)
Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator
And The Tanna Leaves Say–:
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to the big screen in a starring role this weekend in THE LAST STAND (2013). Sure, he was in THE EXPENDABLES (2010) and THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2012), but he just had a cameo in the first and he shared the screen with Stallone and his 1980s testosterone buddies in the second. THE LAST STAND marks the first time Schwarzenegger is playing the lead in a movie since TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (2003).
So, in honor of the occasion, today’s Tanna Leaves question is, what’s your favorite Arnold role?
For myself, I’d go with THE TERMINATOR (1984), and after that— well, there’s— there’s— no, wait. Hmm. After the Terminator, I can’t say there is one Arnold role that really stands out for me. I’d hardly choose Conan, and in all his other movies that I’ve liked, there isn’t any particular role that jumps out at me. Why not? I guess, now that I think of it, Arnold is fun to watch because he’s playing himself. Arnold is Arnold.
So, perhaps my favorite Arnold role is simply— Arnold.
But maybe you’re not so discerning. Perhaps you enjoyed his gritty performance in PREDATOR (1987), or maybe you thought he was the best in TOTAL RECALL (1990). Or maybe you think his most memorable role was in TRUE LIES (1994), or just maybe you were tickled by his Mr. Freeze in BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997)— yeah, right! You might not want to admit to that one.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back on the big screen this weekend in THE LAST STAND. Will it be a memorable occasion? A film he can add to his previous hits? We’ll find out, but in the meantime, looking back, now that you’ve had some time to think about it, what’s your favorite Arnold role?
And The Tanna Leaves Say–:
What I’m Reading
I recently finished the novel Life Rage by my Cinema Knife Fight partner L.L. Soares. It’s his first novel, and I have to say here, that— and this has nothing to do with the fact that we’re friends and that we co-write a movie column together — I was really impressed.
L.L. is known for his in-your-face hardcore fiction, and with Life Rage, he doesn’t disappoint. But what I found more impressive is how human and caring his characters are, and he achieves this effect without sacrificing the extreme horror elements.
Sure, the language is rough and raw, as are the sexual and violent situations, but there’s also an honest tenderness among the characters in this story that comes off as authentic and refreshing. In short, his characters really do care for each other. As good as L.L. is at writing about horrific situations, he’s just as good at writing about realistic relationships.
The plot is about a Jekyll & Hyde type character, a man who treats people with anger issues, yet he’s an uncontrollable monster at times and doesn’t know it. He turns into a sort of demonic Incredible Hulk. The book’s lead character, a woman named Colleen, somehow survives her first encounter with the monster, signifying right away that there’s something special about her. She sees her best friend torn to pieces by the creature, and she vows revenge.
She is aided by another woman who also happens to have supernatural powers. Viv is a sort of succubus who sucks the life force out of people while giving them the best sex of their lives- in short, they go out happy. Viv is attracted to people who are overwhelmingly sad, and she in effect is mercy killing them, saving them from their pain.
Colleen and Viv team up to stop the raging monster before it infects the entire world with its life rage.
I liked Life Rage because of its compelling characters— they are fleshed out (no pun intended) and three dimensional— and because of its original plot. The writing is also topnotch.
If you’re looking to read a refreshing horror novel, and you don’t mind a lot of sex and violence, check out Life Rage by L.L. Soares.
It’s all the rage.
—Michael
Over at cinemaknifefight.com, we’ll be bringing you (sometime soon) a new QUICK CUTS column to tie in with the new gangster movie GANGSTER SQUAD (2012), starring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and Sean Penn.
We asked our panel of Cinema Knife Fighters the all-important question: who’s your favorite movie gangster?
Tonight I ask you the same question: who’s your favorite movie gangster?
Feel free to reply. Looking forward to hearing your answers.
And here’s a sneak peak at the actual QUICK CUTS column, with my answer to the panel question.
“My favorite movie gangster would be Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in THE GODFATHER movies, specifically Parts 1 & 2. Sure, his most famous scene is the “Fredo, you broke my heart” scene, but my favorite comes in Part 1, where he’s confronted by his wife Kay (Diane Keaton) and she wants to know if he had his brother–in-law killed, and he says he won’t discuss the family business with her. He then stops and says, “Just this once. You can ask me just this once.” So she asks him again, and he says, “No, I didn’t have him killed,” and of course, he’s lying through his teeth. Great scene.
Not the most violent gangster on screen, but Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone is one of the coldest gangsters on screen. Ice runs through his veins.”
—Michael Arruda
Welcome to NEWS FROM THE CASTLE, my new column on this blog, the place for news and tidbits about movies, books, the horror genre, and about yours truly, Michael Arruda. I’ll be sharing these news items with you with a little help from my friends.
FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER: Help, good!
ARRUDA: Yes, it is. So, what’s on tap today, my friend?
FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER: Tap, good! (Lifts frothy mug).
ARRUDA: Yes, tap is very good! Anyway, today on NEWS FROM THE CASTLE, we’re bringing you news about my current EBook IN THE SPOOKLIGHT, available now from NECON EBooks at www.neconebooks.com. It’s a collection of my IN THE SPOOKLIGHT horror movie columns, which I’ve been writing for the HWA since 2000.
The collection contains 115 reviews, and today’s treat—.
FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER: Treat, good!
ARRUDA: — today’s treat is the list of movies reviewed in the book. Basically, it’s a sneak peek at the book’s table of contents. This way you can see what movies are covered in the book, and if there are any that you want to read about feel free to go to www.neconebooks.com and order yourself a copy. Enjoy! Here’s the list:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ALIEN— 22
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR— 25
ALLIGATOR PEOPLE, THE— 28
AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, THE— 31
AN AMERICAN HAUNTING— 33
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON — 36
BATMAN VS. DRACULA, THE— 39
BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES— 42
BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN, THE— 45
BLACK ROOM, THE— 48
BLACK SABBATH— 51
BLOB, THE (1958)— 54
BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE— 57
BODY DOUBLE— 60
BRIDES OF DRACULA, THE— 63
CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)— 66
COMEDY OF TERRORS, THE— 69
CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES— 72
CORRIDORS OF BLOOD— 75
COUNTESS DRACULA— 78
CREEPING FLESH, THE— 82
CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE— 85
CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB, THE— 90
DARK KNIGHT, THE— 94
DEADLY MANTIS, THE— 97
DRACULA (1931)— 101
DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE— 104
DRACULA – PRINCE OF DARKNESS— 107
DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN— 110
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1932)— 114
DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN!— 117
DR. TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS— 120
EQUINOX— 123
EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE— 126
EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING— 130
4D MAN— 133
FOOD OF THE GODS, THE— 136
FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN— 139
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN— 142
FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED— 145
FRANKENSTEIN – THE TRUE STORY— 148
FRIGHT NIGHT— 151
FURY, THE— 155
GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE— 158
GHOST SHIP— 162
GHOUL, THE (1933)— 165
GODZILLA 2000— 168
GODZILLA VS. MONSTER ZERO— 171
HALLOWEEN (1978)— 174
HALLOWEEN II (1981)— 177
HELLRAISER: INFERNO— 180
HOLLOW MAN— 183
HORROR EXPRESS— 186
HORROR OF DRACULA— 189
HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, THE (1959)— 192
HOUSE OF USHER (1960)— 195
HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, THE— 198
HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, THE (1923)— 201
INCREDIBLE 2-HEADED TRANSPLANT, THE— 204
IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS— 207
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)— 210
INVISIBLE GHOST— 213
INVISIBLE MAN, THE (1933)— 216
INVISIBLE RAY, THE— 219
ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, THE (1977)— 223
ISLAND OF TERROR— 227
ISLAND OF THE BURNING DOOMED— 230
I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE— 233
I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN— 236
IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE— 239
JEEPERS CREEPERS—243
KING KONG (1933)– 246
KING KONG (1976)— 250
KING KONG (2005)— 253
KING KONG ESCAPES— 256
LAND UNKNOWN, THE— 259
LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES, THE— 262
LORD OF THE RINGS – THE RETURN OF THE KING— 265
M— 268
MADHOUSE— 271
MARK OF THE VAMPIRE— 274
METROPOLIS (Giorgio Moroder version)— 277
MUMMY, THE (1932)— 281
MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE— 284
OBLONG BOX, THE— 288
OMEN, THE— 292
OTHERS, THE— 295
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925)— 298
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1943)— 301
PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, THE— 304
PLANET OF THE APES (2001)— 307
PROJECTED MAN, THE— 310
PROM NIGHT (1980)— 313
PUMPKINHEAD— 316
REPTILICUS— 320
RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE, THE— 323
REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES— 326
SEVENTH SEAL, THE— 329
7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, THE— 332
SHAUN OF THE DEAD— 335
SKELETON KEY, THE— 338
TALES OF TERROR— 341
TARANTULA— 344
TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA— 348
THAW, THE— 351
THEM!— 354
30 DAYS OF NIGHT— 357
TOMB OF LIGEIA, THE— 360
20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH— 363
VAMPIRE BAT, THE— 367
VAMPIRE LOVERS, THE— 371
WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE (1953)— 375
WHAT LIES BENEATH— 378
WICKER MAN, THE (1973)— 381
WOLF MAN, THE (1941)— 384
ARRUDA: Hope you find something here you like. That’s it for now. We’ll see you next time on NEWS FROM THE CASTLE.
FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER: News, good! (looks at his mug) Mug, empty, bad.
What’s on tap?
Well, coming soon more goodies like reviews of new movies, reviews of old movies, some short stories, novel excerpts, and very shortly I’ll have some special sneak peeks of my upcoming short story collection For the Love of Horror , coming out in early 2013 by NECONEBooks.
Look here for information on other upcoming projects as well. For instance, hot off the press: due out soon in DARK ECLIPSE magazine it’s my new short story “Death Takes the Phantom,” a little tale about Death, Lon Chaney, and Bela Lugosi. I’ll have more details on this one when it comes out.
That’s it for now. Look for some teasers and some new stuff very soon.
Michael
Movie Review: LES MISERABLES (2012)
by
Michael Arruda
Les Misfire?
LES MISERABLES (2012), the grand new movie version of the acclaimed musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, with English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, has everything going for it- outstanding cast, the award winning music and songs, and a realistic gritty look that truly captures 19th century France, yet ironically, for a musical, it’s desperately missing two key ingredients: rhythm and soul.
You can’t go wrong with the story. Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), after spending nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, is finally released, but not before he is warned by police inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) that if he violates the terms of his parole, he will be back in prison once more.
Unable to find work, and starving, Jean Valjean steals silver from a local priest, but the priest refuses to press charges, instead giving Jean Valjean a second chance at life. Jean Valjean moves away and starts a new life for himself, becoming mayor and running a successful business, but in the process violates his parole.
A young factory worker Fantine (Anne Hathaway) is fired from Jean Valjean’s factory, and in order to support her young daughter, she turns to a life on the streets. Later, when Jean Valjean finds her close to dying, and realizes she was fired from his factory, he promises to care for her daughter Cosette. But Javert is hot on Jean Valjean’s trail, and the convict and the little girl are forced to run.
Years later, during the French rebellion, an adult Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) falls in love with Marius (Eddie Redmayne), one of the student rebels, and when he and his friends are surrounded by French soldiers, it’s up to Jean Valjean to save him. Of course, lurking in the shadows is Javert, ready to finally capture his elusive prisoner.
Director Tom Hooper makes a point of making this story as gritty, dark, and depressing as possible. The streets of 19th century France and the people in them are filthy, the characters are convincingly thin and looked starved— both Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway lost considerable weight for their roles, and it shows— and the tight camera angles expose the suffering and pain on the characters’ faces.
LES MISERABLES looks convincing, and the characters appear the way you would expect them to appear. To this end, the movie is a major success. Where it goes wrong is there’s nothing to offset the darkness. One of the most powerful themes of LES MISERABLE is redemption. Jean Valjean gets a second chance in life. Fantine, in spite of her awful fate, lives long enough to know her daughter will be cared for. This movie version of LES MISERABLES is devoid of redemption. Jean Valjean looks just as miserable taking care of Cosette as he did in prison. Is the message here that in spite of second chances life is still ruthless, unfair, and painful? Perhaps. If not, the message seems to be second chances are fleeting at best.
Director Tom Hooper’s previous effort, THE KING’S SPEECH (2010), did a much better job with nuances and shades of gray when telling its story. Here, in LES MISERABLE, Hooper seems to be going all out to give us just one angle, the dark side. Light is conspicuously absent throughout most of the movie.
As a result, this movie seems to be missing its soul. There’s no heart. It’s cold, raw, and gloomy. No doubt there was a concerted effort to achieve this effect on purpose, and this by itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there’s more wrong with this movie than just a lack of sunshine.
The pacing is off. There’s something relentless about the rapidity at which the songs and events in this movie attack its audience. It’s almost as if no one stepped back and had a look at the finished product. No one seemed to allow space for the audience to take a breath. Again, there is something cold about how this one delivers its story. It just hits you in the head and keeps hitting. In spite of its 157 minute run time, it plays like a sprint rather than a marathon.
The memorable songs from the musical are all here, but strangely, the singing isn’t up to par. Again, director Hooper seems to be going for realism. It’s hard for actors Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway to sound good when they’re covered in mud, starving, and half-dead.
Hugh Jackman does look amazing as Jean Valjean. He lost weight for the role, and it shows. When he’s a starving prisoner at the beginning of the movie, he looks the part. At certain times in the movie, his singing voice is as pleasing as you would expect it to be, but when he’s beaten, down and dirty, he sounds like he’s beaten, down, and dirty.
Anne Hathaway delivers the best performance in the film. She imbues Fantine with so much pain, and she looks so defeated by life, it’s horribly tragic and sad. And her singing succeeds in spite of her character’s situation.
But other than Jackman and Hathaway, the rest of the cast didn’t impress. Russell Crowe makes an imposing Javert until he starts singing. Amanda Seyfried, usually energetic and captivating, fails to wow as Cosette. Even her melodious singing voice seems strangely muted here. Eddie Redmayne fared slightly better as Marius, and he had one of the better singing voices in the movie.
Sacha Baron Cohen as Thenardier and Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thenardier are sufficiently entertaining as the humorous couple who always seem to be turning up like a pair of bad pennies, and they provide decent comic relief in an otherwise depressing story.
LES MISERABLES is a phenomenal stage musical, but this movie version falls several notches below that level of excellence. It goes all in to make its statement that this is a dark and dreary story, and to that end it succeeds. With stronger musical performances, better pacing, and some heart and soul, it could have given us a little light along the way as well.
—END—-
One of my goals for 2013 is to keep up with this blog. I hope to post thoughts, comments, and excerpts from various reviews and short stories on a regular basis.
Was thinking about the Hammer classic THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN last night, as recently my IN THE SPOOKLIGHT column on this movie was reprinted at cinemaknifefight.com. It was my 100th IN THE SPOOKLIGHT column and originally ran in December 2010 in the HWA Newsletter.
It’s just one of 115 reviews in my IN THE SPOOKLIGHT EBook now available at http://www.neconebooks.com.
As a free sample, here it is again, my column on my favorite Hammer Film, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN:
IN THE SPOOKLIGHT
By
Michael Arruda
Welcome to the 100th IN THE SPOOKLIGHT column. Woo hoo! It’s been a fun ride. Thanks for coming along.
In honor of the occasion, let’s look at THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957), Hammer Films’ first horror hit.
To make their Frankenstein movie different from the Universal 1931 original starring Boris Karloff, Hammer Films decided to concentrate more on the doctor rather than on the monster. Enter Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein.
Hammer Films’ signing of Peter Cushing to play Victor Frankenstein in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN was a major coup for the tiny studio which made low budget movies. In the 1950s, Peter Cushing had become the most popular actor on British television. To British audiences, he was a household name.
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN was Cushing’s first shot at being the lead actor in a theatrical movie, and he doesn’t disappoint. In fact, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN belongs to Peter Cushing. He dominates this movie and carries it on his shoulders. He’s in nearly every scene.
Cushing succeeded in creating a character who was the perfect shade of gray, a villain who was also a hero. He’s so convincing in this dual persona that we want to see Victor Frankenstein succeed in his quest to create life, even though he murders a few people along the way.
Peter Cushing went on to become an international superstar. He delivered countless fine performances over the years until his death from cancer in 1994. Yet, his performance as Victor Frankenstein in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN is arguably his best.
Like the 1931 version of FRANKENSTEIN before it, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, while based on the book by Mary Shelley, is not overly faithful to the novel and takes lots of liberties with the story.
Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) enlists the aid of his former tutor Paul (Robert Urquhart) to conduct his experiments, to “create the most complex thing known to man- man himself!” Victor wants his creation to be “born with a lifetime of knowledge” and so he invites the brilliant Professor Bernstein (Paul Hardtmuth) to his house for dinner. After dinner, Victor promptly murders him. Later, when Paul confronts Victor and says he’s going to stop him from using the brain, Victor replies with one of the better lines from the movie, “Why? He has no further use for it.”
Lightning strikes and starts the lab equipment while Victor is out of the laboratory, and the Creature (Christopher Lee, also in his starring role debut) is brought to life without Victor present, saving him from an “It’s alive!” moment.
Victor opens the door to the laboratory and finds the Creature standing in the doorway alive. In the film’s most memorable scene, the Creature rips off the mask of bandages covering his face, and the camera tracks into a violent grotesque close-up of the Creature’s hideous face. It’s a most horrific make-up job by Phil Leakey, and it’s unique to Frankenstein movies, since in all six of the Hammer Frankenstein sequels to follow, this Creature, so chillingly portrayed by Christopher Lee, never appears again.
Lee’s Creature is a murderous beast, and he quickly escapes from the laboratory. Victor and Paul chase him into the woods, where Paul shoots him in the head, killing him. Or so he thinks. Victor promptly digs up the body and brings it back to life again.
Victor performs multiple brain surgeries to improve the Creature, but eventually things get out of hand, as Paul goes to the police just as the Creature escapes again. The film has a dark conclusion which I won’t give away here.
Over the years, Christopher Lee has been criticized for his portrayal of the Creature in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Sure, Lee’s Creature is not the Karloff monster. However, the Creature, who appears fleetingly here and there, has an almost Michael Myers quality in this movie, a killer who creeps in the shadows, here one moment, gone the next.
Lee is scary in the role. His Creature is an insane unpredictable being. As the Creature, Lee doesn’t speak a word, and he hardly makes a sound, using pantomime skills to bring the character to life. His performance has always reminded me of a silent film performance, a la Lon Chaney Sr. Lee captures the almost childlike persona of a new creation born into the world for the first time, albeit a child that’s a homicidal maniac.
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN has a great music score by James Bernard. It’s haunting, ghastly, and memorable.
Director Terence Fisher, arguably Hammer’s best director, is at the helm here. As he did in all his best movies, Fisher created some truly memorable scenes in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. The Creature’s first appearance is classic, one of the most memorable scenes of its kind. The scene when Victor murders Professor Bernstein features a great stunt where Victor pushes the Professor off a second floor balcony to his death, and we actually see the stunt double hit the floor head first with a neck breaking thud. It’s a jarring scene. And this is 1957.
There are lots of other neat touches as well. When Victor’s fiancée Elizabeth (Hazel Court) peers into the acid vat in which Victor has been disposing unwanted bodies and body parts, she covers her nose- a great little touch.
Jimmy Sangster’s screenplay is one of his best. Probably the best written scene is the scene where Victor tries to convince Paul how well he has trained his Creature by having the Creature stand, walk, and sit down. Paul is unimpressed, saying “Is this your perfect physical being, this animal? Why don’t you ask it a question of advanced physics? It’s got a brain with a lifetime of knowledge behind it, it should find it simple!” It’s also a great scene for Christopher Lee, as it’s one of the few times he invokes sympathy for the Creature.
But THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN sinks or swims with Peter Cushing. Rarely has an actor delivered such a powerful performance in a horror movie. Cushing is flawless here. He draws you into Frankenstein’s madness and convinces you he’s right.
If I could give you one gift this holiday season, it would be to watch THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Rediscover it today, more than 50 years after it was made. It’s time this movie received its due as one of the best ever, which isn’t news to those who saw it in 1957. After all, it was the biggest money maker in Britain that year.
One of its original lobby cards reads “THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN will haunt you forever.”
It will.
—END—
—This is a reprint of a column which originally ran in the HWA NEWSLETTER in December 2010.
This Is My Creation: The Blog of Michael Arruda 