Five Cinemacabre Masterpieces

by Ian W. Robinson

These are five horror favorites of one Ian W. Robinson (five because there’s no way I'm going to list ten or twenty and be able to tell you WHY I included them). They are:

Blood On Satans Claw '71

Andy Warhol’s Blood for Dracula '74

The Brood '80

Freaks '32

Island of Lost Souls '34


As you can see, I've got a good mix of some established classics and some rather obscure personal favorites and have excluded any of the really typical and obvious ones, since I, for one, am fed up with hearing ohhhhhh 'Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, Halloween and 'Nightmare on Elm Street et all. getting cited and repetitiously touted. Anyway, those are the titles, now I'll get down to saying something about each of them content-wise...


Blood On Satans Claw '71

Firstly, that is my all time favorite movie title there. This is an English film set during the 17th century. Like most English films it's very well crafted with good acting and a good story dealing with the theme of devil worship, particularly Satan’s trawl over youth. The setting is a rural village plagued by a rash of mysterious and horrible phenomenon. A tiller unearths a sinister and grotesque countenance in a field, beneath the loosened soil, which subsequently turns up missing. A local reverend perceives an "insolent ungodliness" growing amongst his young flock and is then is falsely accused of rape. There are rumored sightings of old Scratch himself “hobbling about on one leg". Some of the townsfolk are stricken with a hideous scourge called the Devils skin, and in some cases whole limbs are miraculously transformed into bestial appendages covered with course fur and bearing sharp claws, and mutilation murders subsequently befall these so afflicted ones.

What’s at the source? It is ultimately revealed that these murders are being perpetrated by a secret cult, largely comprised of young children, who are in diabolical intrigue with an elusive preying supernatural malevolence hiding out in the wilderness, witch thrives on human depravation and for witch these unholy disciples are constructing a physical vessel that their unholy master may assume full earthly reign, hence the mutilations of the disfigured victims. The malign cult is finally uncovered and vanquished by an organized mob, led by a rather fierce judge; witch descends on their final meeting and destroys their still "uncompleted" master.
The most horrifying and disturbing scene is that in witch an innocent young girl is abducted to an obscure and secluded derelict church, the congregation site of the secret sect and sanctum of their unholy master, and after an eerie liturgy recital ( "Holy behemoth, father of my life, take now my blood, my flesh, my skin and walk!...Rise now from the forest, from the furrows, from the fields and live!" ) is brutally stripped naked and then raped and slaughtered by a cult member, while the others present observe with visible voyeuristic relish. Another young victim is killed during a game of Blinder Mans Bluff and then, for extra sadistic measure, the murdered lad’s body is stashed in a woodshed for his own mother to find by the fiendish pranksters.
The mob of righteous and indignant townsfolk is also rather despicable and frightening and is portrayed in a darkly comical manor. In one scene they chase down and seize a young woman and then oafishly swing her into a river to find out if she's a witch “If she floats then she be one!!". Featuring the gorgeous actress Linda Hayden as the voluptuously enchanting high-priestess of the malign cult, who uses her own sexuality and deceptive fairness to endure their victims. A superb and truly underrated film, and a must see especially for admirers of the British style of horror filmmaking.


Andy Warhol’s Blood for Dracula '74

My favorite vampire flick. I wont get bogged down in a big ole plot description here, but will only state two crucial premise points; this Dracula requires the blood of virgins ( otherwise he vomits ) and his bite turns his victims into amorous concubines, and that it's a rather sad and tragic tale witch also has sexuality, quirky humor and some pretty classically gross scenes.
This movie has its funny side but that isn’t to call it a "comedy" exactly. The humor in this film is actually quite subtle and never really comes off as "comedy" or even "camp" but is rather more in the mode of satire. For example, there’s this one scene where Drac is sitting in front of a mirror and is engaged in primping narcissistically, applying rouge to his cheeks, red tint to his lips and black dye to his slicked back hair and eyebrows, and then the viewer pans over toward the mirror to reveal that he doesn’t even have a damn reflection! Just occasional moments of subtle irony like that. There’s also some pretty funny dialogue at times, like "My bed won’t fit in the car!" "Then it’ll ride on top. We’ll tell people that it's the body of a relative we’re returning to its ancestral home” or when Drac, complaining about his lodgingsexclaimsms “This room is terrible!! It's so filled with light!! And the kitchen here is full of impure meat!!" Or where Drac pumps a girl about her sexual experience..............................

"So you are a virgin?!

"Yes

"And you’re telling me the truth?!!

"Yes, of course

"Good!! I believe you!!!

...and then bites her neck and commences to slurp.
This movie, while no hardcore splatter flick does have its share of remarkably gross scenes, all of witch are also very clever and witty and are always relevant to the premise. One particularly gross and clever scene has Drac sucking and the devouring a loaf of bread soaked with blood gleaned from a young girls murder scene, and furnished by his creepy sidekick

"How was she? Was she good?

"Yes!! It worked!! It worked!!! She was pure!!!

...And the scenes of Drac wrenching, after drinking "impure" blood, are also very gross, yet are also highly dramatic and rather poignant.
This characterization of Drac, performed by Udo Keir, was quite a novel departure from previous screen portrayals. There’s an excellently conveyed sense of urgency and desperation witch was previously unknown in Dracula films. This Dracula was also rather novel and innovative in another sense as well; he has a pronounced sexually androgynous quality. One could say that this was the first post-Bowie variation of the old count.
Arno Jugering (I wonder what manor of name that is?) is also terrific as Dracs creepy sidekick and procurer Anton. You’re skin will crawl and you’re spine will tingle when he says, referring to the death of the previously mentioned young girl, " Something extraordinary had occurred in town today!" or when he asks a young girl, whom he's sizing up as a prospective victim, "How old are you,....little girl?".


The Brood '80

Monster children have been a rare, yet often very effective, breed of screen menace, and the horrible, ugly, pint sized, tow headed, runny nosed, salivating and very feral little munchkins in this movie, vile personifications of deranged and fertile mothers seething anguish and rage, were for me the fodder of many terrifying nightmares. A terrifying and gruesome, yet also thematically intriguing film witch also features a top notch cast, including old Oliver Reed and the very beautiful Samantha Eggar.


Freaks '32

Any true aficionado must have a few favorites from the 1930’s one of horror cinemas true golden ages. In an early scene, in witch some of the title characters are introduced, a farmer and town constable are walking along together in a forest, while the farmer declares “Mousier, at first I could not believe my eyes! All of these horrible twisted things crawling, whining and laughing!! Oh messier the law must be imposed to smother such things at birth...or lock them up!!" Then they come upon a gathering of folks engaged in a country outing, however these folks are either dwarves, mongoloids, a human skeleton or, most incredible of all, a literal half-man who walks about on his palms, all frolicking gaily and innocuously while one of their party plays a kazoo. Then the horrified and outraged farmer exclaims “EEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAACCCCHHH!! Get out!!!!!! Go away all of you, you monsters!!!!! Monsters!!!!!!" Thus setting the theme of this timeless classic witch was notorious, for many decades, for featuring real genuine "living breathing human monstrosities!” The setting is the 'Rollo Brothers traveling circus, and the tale is one of both fraternity and revenge, culminating in the freak folds grotesque retribution against the films villains, a strongman and female trapeze performer, who conspire to murder a wealthy midget for his money. These scorners both receive their due comeuppance during a stormy caravan trek. Particularly creepy, and also somewhat funny, is a scene in witch the fleeing villainess is chased, out of an overturned wagon and through the rain, by the vengeful freaks. A true masterpiece of cinemacabre and a rare pariah of authenticity in a medium in witch artifice and illusion so often prevail.


Island of Lost Souls '34

Another classic from the good'ole 1930's. An ingenious, however mercenary, scientist, having discovered the biological agent witch determines species, has created a race of animal-men who are torn between establishing and upholding a society or wavering to their bestial tendencies. Great atmosphere, great make-up, great performances and great story, and ole Bella Lugosi portrays one of the manimals.

***Author’s note*** This is a corrected version of a list that I already submitted. If possible please post this one over the last one.

***Editor’s Note*** Sorry, no can do. -Don