Yesterday evening (May the 4th), TCM aired a double bill of horror films, The Haunting (1963) and Ghost Ship (2002). While this post isn’t an in-depth look at either film I wanted to use the experience of watching both films, one after the other, to illustrate why I don’t watch many modern horror films, and therefore why Exploitica concentrates on older films.

The Haunting is a film adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House, which tells the tale of a group of paranormal investigators and their stay in Hill House, a sprawling mansion. Jackson uses the mounting tension between the characters and the sense of impending doom mingled with the emotional breakdown of the main character Eleanor Vance. The novel is a masterpiece of suggestion, and the ending is deliberately vague, leaving it up to the reader’s imagination as to whether Eleanor was actually plagued by spirits or simply a sensitive and emotionally disturbed young woman.

While the widely panned 1999 version of The Haunting went for an all out horror film with plenty of CGI ghosts, the 1963 film is more or less faithful to Jackson’s novel. The horror is implied and very little happens for the first hour or so, yet the sense that something terrible is going to happen slowly builds. The play of light and shadows mingled with the sound effects which vary from tiny tinkling bells to wave-like crashes creates the emotional charge needed to set the nerves on edge and add to the growing unease.

Richard Johnson plays Dr. John Markway, a paranormal investigator looking for evidence of supernatural activity. He contacts a number of people who have supernatural experiences and invites them to spend the summer at splendidly gothic Hill House (Ettington Hall which is now the Ettington Park Hotel). The only two to accept the invitations are Eleanor Vance (Julie Harris) , a shy and sensitive young woman who lives with and cares for her elderly and demanding mother, and Theo (Claire Bloom), an artist and possibly lesbian, bohemian. They are joined by Luke Sanderson (Russ Tamblyn), the heir to Hill House, and resident sceptic. As with any classic haunted house, creepy things come out of the woodwork at night, but instead of gibbering demons or headless ghouls the terror is treated with a light but eerie touch, such as bending walls and booming noises.

Performances are solid, Bloom excellent as the cool and vaguely predatory Theo, though Harris seems on the verge of hysteria almost from the outset, as opposed to the creeping psychosis that slowly dawns on Eleanor (her performance actually reminded me a little of Jack Nicholson in The Shining, in that he already seems crazy before he even gets to the Overlook). As with the novel we are left to wonder whether the ghosts are real or not, neatly playing on both the fear of the supernatural and the fear of insanity.

By contrast, more happens in the first ten minutes of Ghost Ship than in the the entire 112 minute running time of The Haunting, though this isn’t necessarily a good thing. The story is fairly simple. An ocean salvage team attempt to recover anything of value from a luxury liner that went missing in 1962 and discover the original inhabitants are still there, in spirit anyway. Cue lashings of the red stuff, a ‘rocking’ soundtrack, some boobs and a sub-plot involving a demonic soul-stealer. Most of the cast spend their time either shouting to be heard over the sound of things exploding or whispering, meaning  just as soon as you get the volume loud enough to hear the dialogue the ‘rocking’ soundtrack kicks in, rendering you deaf while you grope for the remote control.

Despite being a ghost film the ghouls in Ghost Ship seem to enjoy a fairly hands-on approach to dispatching the crew rather than playing on their, and our, fears. The entire movie comes across as rather dull, in spite of the notorious massacre-by-wire scene in the opening few minutes, and while the cast put in energetic performances one feels it’s with a ‘let’s just get this over with’ kind of gusto.

Ok, Ghost Ship is just one of many horror films released post 2000, but it’s also fairly typical of its type. A film that uses cheap shocks and gore rather than creeping terror (and for those who think I’m completely adverse to gore read my review of Zombie Flesh Eaters), inept mixing in regards to sound, CGI effects (though it’s not only the horror industry who’ve resorted to almost entirely computer generated graphics), and seemed to be directed by someone more suited to making music videos. Mostly, and again this could be a gripe against most any genre of film that’s saturated with commercial directors and writers looking to make a quick buck, these films don’t convey any sense that the people who make the films had any love for them, and that’s really horrific.

 

The other day I attempted to watch the horror comedy Frankenhooker. I say attempted to because it was neither horrific, nor comedic, and looked like the sort of thing even Troma would back away from with their hands raised. I’m fairly sure it appeals to the average drunken Friday night college crowd though I switched off after about half an hour or so, just after the ‘hero’ went cruising in his local red light district for prostitutes to carve up, sew onto his girlfriend’s decapitated head and resurrect her as some kind of sex-crazed zombie (which, granted, sounds more fun than it actually is). Even Basket Case was better than this. Luckily I had also recorded the classic 1931 Frankenstein, which soon eased my aching head with its glorious palette of blacks and and whites, and Boris Karloff’s excellently tragic monster. However it was James Whale’s highly acclaimed follow up that I wanted to write about, The Bride of Frankenstein.

Though a separate film from Frankenstein, Bride contains much of the sub-plot from Mary Shelley’s original novel, especially the Creature’s desire to have a companion like himself. Bride brought back much of the original cast and crew, with Valerie Hobson replacing Mae Clarke as Frankenstein’s love interest Elizabeth (Clarke was ill at the time). Phyllis Brooks and Brigitte Helm (of Metropolis fame) were both considered for the part of The Bride, though the role went to Elsa Lanchester, who was uncredited for the part but who also played Mary Shelley in the opening scenes, for which she was credited.

The film opens in classic Gothic Horror fashion with story night, during which Lord George Gordon Byron (Gavin Gordon), Percy Shelley (Douglas Walton) praise Shelley’s wife Mary (Lanchester) for her novel, Frankenstein. Mary then says that it was only part of the story, and goes on to regale the men with the remainder of her tale. The film cuts to the final moments of Frankenstein and The Creature’s and Henry Frankenstein apparent fiery demise. However The Creature (Boris Karloff) is still very much alive and after killing a villager who falls into the flooded pit beneath the ruined mill he escapes into the countryside. Frankenstein’s body is brought to his fiancée Elizabeth (Hobson) who discovers he is still alive and nurses him back to health. Henry denounces his creation and  at that moment they are visited by Doctor Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) who attempts to persuade Henry to create a woman, a mate for his Creature. Pretorius  shows Henry several tiny homunculi that he himself has made; a queen, archbishop, mermaid, ballerina, devil and a rather lusty Henry VIII clone. Pretorious then offers a toast to a ‘world of gods and monsters’.

Meanwhile The Creature roams the countryside, terrifying all those he encounters with the exception of a blind hermit (O. P. Heggie), who teaches The Creature a few words and gives him a meal. The peace is disturbed however by the arrival of two hunters and in the struggle the hermit’s cabin is set on fire. The Creature flees, still terrified of fire, as the hermit is lead away by the hunters, and hides in a subterranean crypt. He is seen by Pretorius, who tells The Creature that he plans to create a mate for him. Pretorius then visits Henry and Elizabeth again, who are now married, and demands that Henry do his part in creating the female creature. Henry refuses but Elizabeth is kidnapped by The Creature and Pretorius blackmails Henry in working on The Bride in return for Elizabeth’s safety.

Despite his earlier reservations, Henry enjoys working back at his laboratory and exults in bringing The Bride to life, paraphrasing his previous line ‘It’s alive!’ to ‘She’s alive! Alive!’ Pretorius removes the bandages, revealing The Bride’s Nefertiti inspired hair and makeup, and announcing ‘The Bride of Frankenstein!’ The Creature reaches out towards The Bride, asking ‘Friend?’ but she recoils and hisses at him and, saddened and angered, The Creature begins to destroy the lab. Elizabeth and Henry escape but The Creature keeps Pretorius and The Bride with him as he pulls a lever, making the lab explode, and declaring ‘We belong dead.’

The Bride of Frankenstein is a classic horror film for all the right reasons. A good script, well-acted and beautifully shot. The snide and sinister menace of Pretorius with his almost Faustian gloss is a joy to watch, and Lanchester brings a haunting beauty to what is a relatively small, yet central role. The Bride’s appearance is iconic and often imitated in lesser films and television series. If you haven’t seen this I urge you to.