Horror Favorites of Ian W Robinson
by Ian Robinson
These are A few horror favorites of one Ian W. Robinson. They are...
Blood on Satans Claw '71
Andy Warhols 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 established classics and obscure personal favorites, and I've excluded any of the real typical and obvious ones since I, for one, am fed up with hearing... ohhhhh 'Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street et. all getting repetitiously cited and touted. Anyway, those are the titles. I'll now get down to relating something about each of them content-wise:
Blood on Satans Claw '71
Firstly, I'll state that that is my all time favorite horror movie title there. An English production set during the 17th century. Like most English horror films, it's very well crafted with good acting and a great story, and it deals with the theme of devil worship, more particularly Satans thrall and influence over youth. The setting is a rural village which is plagued by a rash of horrible phenomenon. A tiller uncovers a grotesque and sinister countenance in a field, beneath the loosened soil, from which it subsequently turns up missing. A town reverend perceives "an insolent ungodlines" growing amongst his young flock, and is then accused falsely of rape.
There are rumored sighting of Old Scratch himself "hobbling about on one leg". Some of the townsfolk are afflicted with a hideous scourge known as the Devils Skin, grotesquely discolored and textured patches of skin covered with coarse animal-like hair, and in some instances whole limbs are miraculously transformed into bestial appendages covered with coarse fur and bearing claws, and mutilation murders subsequently befall these so afflicted ones.
Whats at the source of this horror? 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 amid the village, which thrives on human deprivation and for which these fiendish disciples are constructing a physical vessel that their unholy master may assume full earthly reign, hence the mutilations of the disfigured and murdered victims.
In the end the malign cult is uncovered and vanquished by an organized mob, lead by a rather fierce judge, which descends upon their final meeting and destroys their still "incomplete" master.
The most horrifying and disturbing scene is that in which an innocent young girl is seized and abducted to an old derelict church, the secret congregation site of the vile sect and sanctum of their unholy master, and then, after an eerie liturgy recital ("Holy behemoth, take now my flesh,.. my skin,.. my blood and walk! Rise now from the forest,.. from the furrows,.. from the fields and live!! ), is brutally striped naked and raped by a cult member and then slaughtered, while the others present observe with visible voyeuristic relish. Another young victim is murdered during a game of Blind Mans Bluff and then, for extra sadistic measure, his body is stashed in a woodshed, for his own mother to discover, by the fiendish pranksters.
The mob of righteous townsfolk are also rather despicable and frightening in their own right, and are depicted in a darkly comical manner. In one scene they chase down and apprehend a young woman and then oafishly swing her into a lake to see if she's a witch "If she floats then she be one!" Featuring the gorgeous Linda Hayden as the voluptuously enchanting high priestess of the evil cult, who uses her own sexuality and deceptive fairness to lure their victims. A superb and truly underrated film, and a must see especially for any admirer of the British style of horror film making.
Andy Warhols Blood For Dracula '74
I won’t get bogged down in a big plot description here, but will just state a crucial premise point; this Dracula requires the blood of virgins to drink, otherwise he vomits, and it's a rather sad and tragic tale which also has sexuality, humor and some classically gross scenes.
This movie is quite funny at times, but this isn’t to say that it's a "comedy" exactly. No, the humor in this film is actually rather subtle and never really comes off as "comedy" or even "camp". It's more in the manor of irony and satire. For example, there’s this scene in which Drac is sitting at a mirror and primping narcissistically, applying rouge to his cheeks, red tint to his lips and black dye to his swept-back hair and eyebrows, and then the camera viewer moves 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 wont fit into the car!" "Then it’ll ride on top. We’ll tell people it's the body of a relative that we're returning to his ancestral home." Or when Drac, complaining about his lodgings, declares..."This room is terrible!! It's so filled with light!!! And the kitchen here is filled with impure meat!!!" And the scene where Drac is desperately pumping a girl about her sexual history…
"So, you are a virgin?!!
"Yes
"You’re telling me the truth?!!!
"Yes of course.
"Good!! I believe you!!!
...and then bites her neck and proceeds to slurp…
This movie, while no hardcore splatter flick, does have it's share of pretty gross scenes, yet even they’re clever and witty, and are all relevant to the premise. One such scene has Drac sucking, and then devouring, a loaf of blood-soaked bread furnished by his sidekick and victim procurer, the blood having been collected from the murder scene of a young girl…
"How was she? Was she good?
"Yes!! It worked!! It worked!!! She was pure!!!!
...and the scenes of Drac retching, after drinking some impure blood, are also very gross, yet also highly dramatic and even rather poignant.
This characterization was quite a novel departure from previous portrayals of the old count. There’s a well conveyed dramatic sense of urgency and desperation in this portrayal. This Dracula was also quite novel and innovative in another sense… he has a pronounced sexually androgynous quality which was also something new and different at the time. You could say this was sort ‘a the first post-Bowie variation of ole' Drac. Drac’s loyal and creepy sidekick and procurer Anton is also a very memorable character. Your skin will crawl and your spine will tingle when, referring to the previously mentioned death of the young girl, he exclaims "I was in town when something extraordinary had occurred!!" And when he asks a potential victim whom he's sizing up “How old are you ...little girl?!!"
The Brood '80
Monster children have been a rather rare, yet highly effective and memorable, breed of screen menace. These horrible, ugly, pint-sized, tow headed, salivating, runny-nosed and extremely feral little munchkins, hideous personifications of deranged and fertile mothers seething rage and anguish, were for me the fodder for many unforgettable nightmares. A gruesome and terrifying, yet very thematically intriguing film which also features a top notch cast including ole' Oliver Reed and the very beautiful Samantha Eggar.
Freaks '32
Any true aficionado must have at least a few from the 1930's one of horror cinemas true golden ages. In an early scene, one in which a few of the title characters are introduced, a farmer and town constable are walking along together in a forest, while the farmer declares…
"Mesuir… at first I could not believe my eyes!! All these horrible and twisted things... crawling, whining and laughing!! Ohhh mesuier, the law must be imposed to smother such things at birth… or lock them up!!!
...Then they come upon a small gathering of folks who're engaged in country outing, however comprised of mongoloids, dwarves, a human skeleton and, most incredible of all, a literal half-man who walks on his palms, all frolicking gaily and innocuously while one of their party plays a kazoo. Then the horrified and outraged farmer exclaims...
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! GET OUT!!!!! GO away all of you... you monsters!!!! MONSTERS!!!!!!!
...Thus setting the theme of this timeless classic this was notorious, for many decades, for featuring real genuine “living breathing 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, two "normal" folk, a strongman and woman 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 somewhat funny even, is a scene in wich the fleeing villains 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 where illusion and artifice so often prevails.
Island of Lost Souls '34
Another classic from the good 'ole 1930's. An ingenious, however mercenary, scientist, having discovered the biological agent which determines specie, has created a race of animal men, who are torn between establishing and maintaining a society or wavering to their bestial tendencies. Great atmosphere, great make-up, great performances and great story, and ole' Bela Lugosi is featured as on of the manimals.
