Foreign Horror for the Horror Novice: The Beginner's Shelf Part 3

Foreign Horror for the Horror Novice:
The Beginner's Shelf Part 3

Foreign Horror is known for disturbing and shocking images, so EXTRA care must be taken when introducing this horror sub-genre to those not accustomed to our beloved style of film. In this 3rd part to the BHM Beginner's Shelf trilogy learn how to indoctrinate the horror novice to Foreign Horror the right way, and lead the Meek to Horror Freak!

Written by The Zombie Master Lee Roberts
September 14, 2007

At the end of The Beginner’s Shelf Part 2, I mentioned that we would try to wean the “horror novice” into the fine art of foreign horror (foreign to those from the United States that is). This was going to be a learning experience for me also, as I did not have any foreign horror on my “beginner’s shelf” when I made this statement. The investigation into the foreign horror appropriate for the Horror Novice was a journey, and through this journey I made a few discoveries.

The main thing that I discovered was that 90% of the foreign horror that is not intended for the horror aficionado sucks. That being said, it is the other 10% that we are going to look at in the third installment of The Beginner’s Shelf. I will warn you though; there is a fine line between “beginner” and “intermediate”. Just be careful.

We begin our journey into foreign horror movies appropriate for the horror novice with a bit of horror movie history, namely:

British – Hammer Horror

In 1955, Hammer Film Productions made a film entitled The Quartermass Xperiment and single-handedly revived a starving genre. 1957 saw the release of The Curse of Frankenstein, a retelling of the classic horror by Mary Shelley. On March 31st, 1958, a full legal agreement was made between Universal and Hammer which opened the floodgates for remakes and sequels of all of the classic Universal horror starting with Horror of Dracula and The Revenge of Frankenstein both released in 1958. These films also brought to light the directing genius of Terence Fisher and the acting talents of both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. I like all of the Hammer films, even The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, but the best is still the classics. Let’s say anything between 1955 and 1972.

Italian – Black Sabbath (1963)

How about a little more history, this time about Italian horror movies? In 1960, Mario Bava made his directorial debut with a film entitled Black Sunday. What Mr. Bava did not know at the time was that he would become one of Italy’s most influential horror directors. In 1963 he released Black Sabbath, a three story anthology with Boris Karloff as the narrator. “Il Telefono” follows a woman who happens to be receiving phone calls from the grave. “Wurdalak” is taken from a Tolstoy story about an aging vampire (played by Boris Karloff) who can only feed on those that he loves. “La Goccia d'Acqua” (The Drop of Water) tells of a woman who steals the ring from a body that she is preparing for burial only to be murdered by the rightful owners ghost.

Black Sabbath is a great way to introduce people to the works of the director of the first giallo film (The Girl Who Knew Too Much - 1963), the first comic book adaptation (Danger: Diabolik – 1968), and one of the first slasher films (Twitch Of The Death Nerve (a.k.a. Bay Of Blood) – 1971). Not too bad for a lowly lighting and special effects technician, Mario Bava. As a follow up I would suggest that you slowly introduce films by Argento – and then Fulci at your own discretion.

Korean – A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

Asian horror has made a very deep gash in the horror market and is here to stay. With the prowess of directors such as Miike, Nakata, Masumura, and others the horror populace have been given a special viewing into the “sick and twisted” minds of an alternative interpretation. Let’s take A Tale of Two Sisters as an example. Directed by Kim Ji-Wun, the story is about two sisters (duh), Su-mi and Su-yeon, who return from an unexplained absence to the house of their father and step-mother. We soon discover that tensions are high between the sisters and the step-mother who has ruled the house since the death of their mother. Not your conventional supernatural horror movie but Ji-Wun has created a movie that will haunt you for a while after viewing. Good follow-ups would be two other Ji-Wun films; The Quiet Family and Foul King.

Japanese – Ju-on (2000)

Yes, I know that The Grudge was released in 2004. However, I am not talking about the American version starring Buffy. I am talking about the original Shimizu Takashi masterpiece. “Ju-on: A curse born of a grudge held by someone who dies in the grip of powerful angers”. I don’t know about you but that just made me want to see what the fuss was all about. Takashi was tutored by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (director of Kairo) and Hiroshi Takahashi (writer of the Ringu Trilogy) and he takes the classic Japanese haunted house story and flips it upside down. The storytelling is classic and there is a dark beauty in the overall production. You can continue on with Ringu, Dark Water (original please), and Marebito.

Not all genres of film require the same care given to a novice that the horror genre does. Action, Drama, Comedy etc. all have there sub-genres that some will like or dislike but Horror requires some thought before you pop in the DVD and press play with others in the room. A few questions you should ask are, “What do you consider horror?”, “What was the last movie you saw that scared you?”, “Does watching a human head roll down a set of stairs make your stomach quiver?” In the end the answer lies in how well you know the “novice”. If you allow yourself to think about the person that you are trying to introduce to this wonderful socio-political art form you will know just how much said “novice” will be able to endure.

I truly hope that this three part tutorial has helped you in your endeavors to not only pass on the horror torch but to reignite your own passions to seek out the not-so-mainstream in search of the best of the best that horror has to offer. Questions or comments about Foreign Horror for the Horror Novice? Contact us!

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