A new way to watch new Japanese horror films

I like to plug movies rather than companies, but this brand new label is specialising in recent Japanese cinema, including horror films. I'm still a big fan of J-horror and it was always frustrating to hear about new films coming out in Japan, only to have to wait four or five years for a US or UK distributor to release it on DVD with the all-important English subtitles.

Japan Flix have the potential to be faster in making translated J-horror films available, and have some from 2009. Their label may also signpost the future of home viewing - the films will initially only be available to either watch online, or buy from iTunes in HD. An American firm, they hope to expand into the UK.


What immediately caught my eye was the debut of the latest in the Tomie series, Tomie vs Tomie (reviewed here) (made in 2007, also called Tomie x Tomie) which hasn't been available in the US before. It's on Japan flix here. While low-budget, it's one of the better sequels. It's not good news that Robogeisha director Noboru Iguchi is hoping to make the next Tomie instalment.




Japan Flix also have two new horror films directed by Koji Shiraishi, who last year caused controversy when his extreme Grotesque was banned in the UK. When usually his horror films are the typically spooky Ring-like urban legends, like Noroi: The Curse and Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (reviewed here).


In the same vein are his two Teke Teke films, both available with Japan Flix. Shiraishi playing it safe with schoolgirls, urban legends, and a shot-on-video Tomie/Grudge vibe. The creepy killer creature scuttling around in the dark is effective, but the witless Scooby duo on its trail (above) make the detective work hard-going, even for a short film. Japan may still have a hundred urban legends, but it may have run out of inventive ones.


This tale is bloodier than most, the creature enjoys cutting its victims in half. I'm still interested in where the story goes next in Teke Teke 2.

Trailers for all their films are on the Japan Flix website.

TRON: LEGACY (2010) - a look back

Revisiting a place I've never been...

I'm continually fascinated with the way movies present us with places that never really existed, but we get to know so well it's as if we've been there. Many recognisable locations that appear in films can become enduring tourist spots, but some of our favourite places might only have existed for a few days.

Movies show us rooms that were only ever sets, and buildings that were only facades. Editing and visual effects weave them together into a convincing structure. But once filming is over, everything is destroyed or revamped. All that's left are the images that can live on in our imaginations and memories.

The Psycho films explored the Bates Mansion so thoroughly that I'm sure I could draw a good floorplan of the whole house. But it's not an actual house - the exterior has no recognisable interior.


Good production design can convince us that these places are real, even if they're in the future or the past. For example, the detailed sets in Blade Runner looked lived-in and totally functional. The same year I first saw that, I also saw Tron and kept going back to it through the years. In the story, Jeff Bridges' character has a home where he also works, Flynn's video arcade.

Watching Tron: Legacy, I was shaken by an unexpected return visit to this non-existent place. I got to see Flynn's again, 28 years later. The coin-op video game arcade (how I miss those early machines) was laid out the same way, but sadly covered in dustsheets.

Flynn's quarters overlooking the games room still had the same furniture in it. The sight of the corner couch actually hit me with a heavy pang of nostalgia. It was also under plastic sheets, but I was suddenly glad to see it again. The 3D experience in the cinema was similar to looking through a huge glassless window. A portal that had opened up again for a few minutes.

This attention to detail, and of course the casting of Bruce Boxleitner and Jeff Bridges as their original characters, is faithful to the continuity of the story, but also to those who remember the original Tron. It must be the longest gap there's been between a movie and a sequel. Long enough for producers to decide to scrub the past away and invent whole new characters for a sequel. It would also have been simpler to remake it. For an audience who were mostly new to the story it wouldn't matter.

But those of us who recognise the remainders of the original world of Tron, it was good to see it respected after all this time. After this early scene at Flynn's, knowing that Tron: Legacy hadn't discarded the original Tron, I was far more excited by it. More welcome. Without this new film, nobody would be talking about an old Disney movie that I thought had been forgotten. The characters, the designs, the concepts, the building. The old place has a new lease of life.

LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM (1989) - Hugh Grant vs the snake vampires

THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
(1989, UK)

Cheeky horror spoof mixes Hammer with Carry On...

This is a lot of fun and doesn't take itself toooo seriously. Director Ken Russell decorates the story with hints of history, if only to justify some outrageous dream-imagery, graphically pitting paganism against Christianity. He also mixes in vampirism, in a nod to Bram Stoker's far more famous novel, Dracula. One of the publicity stills shows a half-naked nun impaled on a stake, a reference to Vlad The Impaler, though I didn't spot it in the film. The legend of the D'Ampton worm, quoted in the film, is an actual English legend. Russell points out that an older derivation of the word 'worm' could also mean serpent or dragon, alluding to the British legend of St George.



All that backstory and a very impressive cave location should be enough for a good horror film, but Russell is more interested in the sex. Anyone familiar with his other movies will be unsurprised. While Roman soldiers ravaging nuns looks more like a cheap spoof of The Devils, the antics of the sensual villain (Amanda Donohoe) are comparatively subtle. She's especially good at the serpentine double-entendres hinting at what's to come.

The minor amount of gore occasionally shocks and there's an good monster considering the budget. The climax is all the more impressive for being shot in forced perspective, sidestepping the need for obvious visual effects compositing.


Like Altered States (1980), Russell's trademark imagery is relegated to wild hallucinations, mixing up snakes, nuns and fire. These were realised using electronic bluescreen on video transferred to film. Derek Jarman also used this method for several of his later films. (Jarman also worked as production designer for Russell's The Devils). The visual texture is suitably different to the reality of the rest of the story.

Simply put, an archaeologist (Peter Capaldi) discovers a monstrous skull on the site of an old temple, on land owned by a local Lord (Hugh Grant). The discovery is of great interest to the mysterious Lady Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) and provides a clue in a string of local disappearances near a dangerously deep cavern...


Although tongue-in-cheek, some unintentional humour can be had from some of the 'northern' English accents on offer. Sammi Davis' accent is distracting and Catherine Oxenberg sounds like she's been completely redubbed, sabotaging much of her performance. She was the most famous cast member at the time, presumably chosen to stir up controversy in the newspapers. Oxenberg is related to British royalty, had played a Princess on Dynasty and even starred as Princess Diana in a US TV movie. Russell was playing with her Diana image by cheekily sexualising and terrifying her character.

Hugh Grant is effortlessly upper-class here, very early in his movie career, five years before his breakthrough hit Four Weddings and a Funeral. Not yet a buffoon, his character has far more steel than in later comedy roles.

Another young performer in the film who has since hit his stride is Peter Capaldi (seen here with Sammi Davis), the cruel backbone of In The Loop and The Thick of It, only known back then for his supporting role in Local Hero (1983).

It's a shame that Amanda Donohoe's sensational and memorable performance didn't keep her in higher profile roles. She enjoys the punny dialogue and doesn't overplay it. Before providing most of the outrageousness by running around completely naked, painted blue, sporting the hugest fangs this side of Fright Night. She'd again court controversy by giving American TV an early lesbian kiss in the hit series LA Law. Coincidentally, Donohoe and Oxenberg both recently appeared in Starship Troopers 3 (2008).

After Gothic (1986), Ken Russell made this as part of a three-picture deal for Vestron Pictures, along with Salome's Last Dance and The Rainbow (a prequel to his earlier hit, Women In Love). But this was the last time he was allowed a creative spurt in the cinema. The three films shared many of the same actors and even a few overlapping themes, worth viewing together as a very diverse trilogy.

After these, Russell only made one more film, Whore, before being tossed back into TV, and making video projects in his garage with friends and fans. At least there was The Girl With Golden Breasts, a suitably bizarre segment for the horror compendium Trapped Ashes (2006), which showed that his titular obsessions and humour are still rampant.

Russell's golden days of big budgets were the 1970s. His seriously horrific The Devils (1971) would have made The Exorcist (1973) look relatively tame had it been given a wide and uncut release. It continues to be controversial today, still missing from DVD (review and more details here).

The Lair of the White Worm is fun as a comedy horror and a fair introduction to this uniquely cheeky director. The last time the film appeared in the UK was on VHS (at top), though it's been on DVD twice in the US, both times in anamorphic widescreen. My 1999 Pioneer Special Edition DVD also has an amusing and brash commentary track by the director.

There are other fans of the film out there - witness this screengrab-heavy review from The House of Self-Indulgence.

The original release trailer is clumsy, unsubtle, full of spoilers and presented here in washed-out full-frame. The DVD looks much better than this...

Farewell Jill Haworth - a favourite scream queen

A visual reminder of Jill Haworth's horror roles...

I've stopped writing tributes because it was turning into a full-time job. I also prefer to write about my favourite movie people while they're still alive, and that's what I was hoping to do for Jill Haworth, having written to her last year with a few questions. For whatever reason there was no reply, but I still held out hope of perhaps seeing her at a convention or a public interview. I wasn't expecting her to pass away this young, at 65, earlier this week.


Many obituaries and tributes have lead with her biggest role in Otto Preminger's Exodus, opposite Sal Mineo. Or that she originated the role of Sally Bowles in the first production of Cabaret. But I was always more excited by her work in the horror genre. While most of these films were low-budget, they were made with a cast who'd take them seriously. No matter how silly the script or the situation, some of these films were awash with great talent.


While my taste for horror films includes the cheaply-made, I tune out really quickly if the acting is poor. This restricts what I enjoy quite severely - I'm unreasonably demanding low-budget horror with good casts. I'm also more likely to watch an actor in their low-budget roles rather than their biggest movies.

THE OUTER LIMITS
'The Sixth Finger' (1963, TV episode)

After Exodus, Jill's major film roles soon gave way to TV appearances like this. She played opposite David McCallum (The Man From UNCLE, The Invisible Man) in this tale of a scientist meddling with evolution in a Welsh mining town! As Cathy, she witnesses the past and the future of humanity...

IT! (1967)

Returning to England, Jill again found leading roles in movies, albeit in low-budget horrors. But at least she was playing opposite Hollywood star Roddy McDowall. She plays Ellen, who discovers that Arthur, a local museum curator, has unearthed the legendary Golem and knows how to control the indestructible creature. As Arthur falls in love with her, despite the protests of his dead mother (!), she finds herself in an impossible situation - not being able to say no to a man with absolute power...

 More about IT! here.

THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR (1969)
(also called Horror House or The Dark)

Although she gets top billing under Frankie Avalon, this and Tower of Evil are more ensemble pieces. A small crowd of young people lined up for serial killing shenanigans. Only when the crowd thins out a little, that she really gets a chance to shine. Her final moments in the film are some of the most horrifying I've seen, purely down to her performance.

More about The Haunted House of Horror here.

TOWER OF EVIL (1972)
(also called Horror on Snape Island or Beyond the Fog)

Another horror film that predates Black Christmas and Halloween with a crowd of youngsters battling a monstrous evil that carries pointy weapons. Again Jill has an amusingly bitchy character, but still evokes sympathy when she gets into trouble. The kind of trouble where you're being chased around an old lighthouse by some thing with an efficient-looking sacrificial blade...

More about the wonderful Tower of Evil here.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

(1972, TV movie)

Only just passes as horror nowadays, but fascinating for seventies TV. They spill as much blood as they dare, when a pitchfork murderer is stalking around in a yellow raincoat! Plot twists courtesy of Joseph Stefano (Psycho, The Outer Limits), direction by John Llewellyn Moxey (The Night Stalker, City of the Dead). A definite attempt to assemble actresses from horror films. Only young Sally Field is new to the world of slashers, but she sure can scream like a pro! A treat to see Eleanor Parker (Eye of the Cat), Jessica Walter (Play Misty For Me), Julie Harris (The Haunting) all together,with Jill easily holding her own. Some formidable scenes of duress and madness push some of the cast over the top, but that's all part of the fun.

THE MUTATIONS (1974)

(also called The Freakmaker)

The Mutations is hard to recommend, because of the variable acting and a queasy presentation of sideshow performers as 'monsters'. But it still draws an audience because of Donald Pleasence as a mad scientist, and future Doctor Who Tom Baker as a mutated killer (already wearing The Doctor's hat and scarf), plus some ambitious giant killer plants. Jill is knocked down the cast list to merely a co-star, no longer the leading lady. Julie Ege takes the starring role, willing to strip down for the part.

So how many horrors qualify you as a scream queen - surely these are enough? And she really could scream...



Jill Haworth's page on IMDB.

Much more about the making of The Haunted House of Horror here on director Michael Armstrong's own website.Finding photos to illustrate Jill's horror roles wasn't easy - but Monster Magazine World has dug up some great publicity photos for these movies.



Robert Fuest - a stylish approach to horror

Unique visions and eccentric horrors...

Robert Fuest is a director whose name I learned early on in the world of horror movies. I was then very disappointed when his name stopped cropping up. Reports of a third (and fourth) Dr Phibes movie turned out to be rumours and Fuest settled back into TV and TV movies, most of which I haven't seen. Partly because they were rarely shown, but also because I was afraid they'd mar my admiration for his best work.

While he's mostly associated with the stylised world of The Avengers and the two Dr Phibes movies, he also made two straightforward horror films, the original And Soon the Darkness and The Devil's Rain. Between directing episodes of The Avengers and The New Avengers, he directed almost a cult movie for every year.

Fuest had directed eight episodes in the Tara King (Linda Thorson) era of The Avengers in 1968-69, but had been a production designer for many earlier episodes. It had an obvious influence on the visual style of his films and he continued to work with producers and writers from the series.

AND SOON THE DARKNESS (1970)

A sober change from The Avengers, this was definitely a horror film. No spoofing, but an attempt to do nail-biting suspense in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock. Like the methods of the 'Master of Suspense', Brian Clemens' script created a plot which would play on the audiences' expectations and try to keep them guessing. (My full review is here).

While The Avengers and The Final Programme are set in surreal and stylised universes, The Devil's Rain and And Soon the Darkness are set in the real world. His trademark bizarre set designs are completely absent, but what remains is the sparseness, using empty landscapes instead of soundstages. The French countryside in And Soon the Darkness is open and flat - the cyclists are often alone in an expanse with no one else around. The 'stage' is empty apart from a few key players. There are very few towns or buildings and very few places to hide...

The rocky plains of Lapland at the start of The Final Programme also resonates with The Devil's Rain, set almost entirely in an American desert. Again, wide open flat space with only the key buildings visible. A wooden church literally in the middle of nowhere. The location stripped down to the place 'where it all happens'.

THE ABOMINABLE DR PHIBES (1971)

A hugely enjoyable black comedy, with Vincent Price murdering his enemies with a variety of themed murder methods. It was fun to see reviews of Se7en remember this film as a possible influence.

Many dark jokes arise from Phibes having had his face burnt off, meaning he has to eat and drink through unseen cavities in the side of his neck, and plug in a speaker to make himself heard.


As I watched this again, I kept catching myself thinking "nothing is happening in this scene". Fuest, like Phibes, makes time for the finer things in life. Beautiful corridors, exquisite women in exquisite dresses, music, dance, fine food and wine. Between murders, and even during murders, Phibes does everything with style. When his assistant Vulnavia appears, she walks down a corridor built especially for a grand entrance. And Fuest takes the time to watch.


Vincent Price is supposed to be stoney-faced - perhaps a technique he perfected for Witchfinder General - but shows just how little he needs to still make it humorous. My favourite scene is when he leaves one murder only after giving the corpse a withering look after sniffing some cheap wine, then re-entering the shot to shake his head at some doubtful art hanging on the wall. Subtle, silent asides.

Fuest demonstrated his comfort with visual story-telling by taking us through the first ten minutes of the film without a word being spoken, by which time we get to know Phibes, the man, his mission and his methods. Throughout the film are many more music-only segments.

In the stripped-down style of The Avengers, he continued to use sets that were sparsely furnished, only containing the elements needed for each scene. In TV, this would have suited the limited budgets and fast shooting schedules. Phibes' main hall contains a (huge pink) organ, his mechanical band, and a dance floor - everything needed for the opening scene, but nothing more.


The second murder in The Abominable Dr Phibes reminds me of the surreal look of The Avengers. On seeing the 'frog mask scene' on DVD for the first time, I was shocked at how little set there was - little more than a staircase and a pillar! But the framing of each shot emphasises the characters and the action, and any object placed close to the camera can easily take up half the screen - why waste money on an expensive set if you can't see it?

But this isn't to say he was always constrained by budget. The gorgeous interior of Phibes' pyramid hideaway, and some of the rooms in Jerry Cornelius' mansion look huge - but still empty of clutter.

Fans of Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter may recognise actor John Cater without his glasses and hunched back, as the detective's furious boss. A role so popular that he's brought back for the sequel.

DR PHIBES RISES AGAIN (1972)

Vincent Price returned as Phibes, wreaking more havoc on the living with phase two of his master plan, moving his operation to Egypt in search of ancient magic. Again, he uses far-fetched methods to eliminate anyone who get's in his way.

This feels more vicious than the first and it's been reported that it was bloodied up at the request of the producers, while Fuest intent on increasing the comedy. The murders end up as more prolonged and nasty, while the plot feels far thinner than the first. Phibes' motivation is well established, but the murders aren't part of the plan this time, and the doctor makes a silly mistake that slows down the plot.

There are still some priceless visual gags (Phibes' head hidden among some skulls) and the wonderful finale. Plus a cameo from Peter Cushing and roles for Robert Quarry (Count Yorga), a young Fiona Lewis (The Fury), a young John Thaw (The Sweeney) and Lewis Fiander (Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde, Who Can Kill a Child?).

THE FINAL PROGRAMME (1973)

At this point, Fuest turned down directing another Vincent Price serial killfest, Theatre of Blood, for fear of being typecast. Though I would have loved to see his version.

Instead Fuest wrote, directed and designed The Final Programme, though I'll vouch that he included an awful lot of Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius mythology. While the author wasn't happy with this presentation of his anti-hero, Fuest's film is still a hell of a homage.

After the death of his father, international playboy and genius Jerry Cornelius inherits the family mansion. Three scientists are very interested in something in dad's safe and employ a troubleshooter to help Jerry break back into the house to get the information and save Jerry's sister from his drug-crazed brother Frank. As the world descends into chaos, Jerry has no idea that he could also be its the saviour...

At the time, just after 2001: A Space Odyssey, it was very hard to sell science-fantasy to an audience for them to take seriously. The film spoofs as much sci-fi as it presents, also portraying the action hero as a clumsy coward. When it's not spoofing, it's a satire on the future of humanity. Full of ideas, many are mentioned and not shown - you have to listen carefully to realise the Third World War is well under way. Much of the best dialogue is almost lost in the mix, "she got absorbed in someone else...".

I enjoy the many references to Moorcock's work, but don't take it as a serious representation of his character. Though it's thrilling to see the central crux of Moorcock's epic Eternal Champion story played out in the second act, as Cornelius returns home to his beloved (I mean truly beloved) sister Catherine to face off against his rival, Frank. My favourite 'facet' of the character were the books about Elric of Melnibone, going through the same motions as Cornelius but in an alternate dimension.

Fuest repeatedly highlights strong, no-nonsense female characters. The mute sidekicks around Phibes are decorative but also deadly. And Soon the Darkness has the fiesty Pamela Franklin. But the strongest of all is Jenny Runacre as the formidable Miss Brunner, a power-driven nasty version of Emma Peel - unnaturally strong, intelligent, scheming and vampiric...

Jon Finch (The Vampire Lovers, Hitchcock's Frenzy, Polanski's Macbeth) looks good as Jerry Cornelius but winds up as a foppish clown and a victim of circumstance. Watch out for a young Sarah Douglas (Ursa in Superman II, Return of the Living Dead III) as Cornelius' sister, bedridden much like Phibes' wife.

THE DEVIL'S RAIN (1975)

While the two Phibes and The Final Programme can be enjoyed as spoofing their respective genres, the last in this batch wasn't intentionally funny. I initially had trouble linking in And Soon the Darkness and The Devil's Rain, which are both played seriously (despite Shatner's over-acting). Fuest can do genuine horror if he wants to - generating unease, suspense and shocks.

The common theme is the remote setting and the barren landscape - like the town in the middle of the desert. A church that god has abandoned, and satanists have moved in. Their quest for power needs only one thing, a mysterious book...



When it was released, The Devil's Rain was one of the squishiest horror movies I'd ever seen. But because the gore was made of wax, it was possible to show gushing fluids pouring out of people at a time when blood-letting was still seriously censored in the cinema.



The images echo Dr Phibes when he's melting the wax busts of his victims after each successful kill. Pointing a blowtorch at each 'face' was another violent image that wasn't actual violence being committed. The use of humour and the outlandish methods in the Phibes films also enabled some nasty murders to escape censor cuts.

The Devil's Rain has an unusual vibe to it, set up during the titles backed by queasy visions of hell as painted by Hieronymus Bosch. While the soundtrack isn't memorable, the mix of unsettling tones and human crying prefigures the music of Suspiria.

With so much going for it, the film's main drawback is the lack of story development or urgency, especially in the middle. Also having John Travolta in a bit part and a half-naked William Shatner co-star are distracting for any serious viewers. But Ernest Borgnine is effective as a resurrected devil-worshipper - a formidable villain with some nasty powers, looking suitably demonic before the make-up effects kick in. Also interesting to see Tom Skeritt before he tackled Alien.

THE NEW AVENGERS (1976, TV)

But after that Robert Fuest mostly returned to TV, including two episodes of The Avengers reborn, both of which are recommended. The Midas Touch features one of the tightest TV car chases and the creepiest of murder methods. The Tale of the Big Why is one long mysterious chase and features actress Jenny Runacre from The Final Programme.

But that was the end of Fuest's busiest and most creative period. There are a couple more films of his that could be interesting which I hope to see soon, but the above list includes his most surreal work and all of his horror films. If you've liked any one of this list, you should see the rest.

I guess And Soon the Darkness was the most straightforward film of Fuest's to be remade, maybe The Devil's Rain would be the next (anyone?). It was interesting to learn (in the DVD notes on Dark Sky's edition of The Devil's Rain) that Fuest also turned down The Legend of Hell House (hmm) and The Neptune Factor (thankfully)!

All of the above have made it to DVD and I'm sure will continue to entertain.

THREE DANGEROUS LADIES

(1977, segment 3 'The Island')

The rest of his directing jobs were mostly in TV. This half-hour section of Three Dangerous Ladies is the strongest of the three, and Fuest recalls Graham Crowden (The Final Programme, O Lucky Man) and Jenny Runacre, opposite Charles Gray and John Hurt! 

A rich wall-to-wall soundtrack, recalling the vocal elements of Dr Phibes, and a gorgeously shot journey to the island lead up to a large house with enigmatic occupants. A great build-up to a pay-off you'd expect in a Victorian short story. But for anyone desperate for every last drop of Fuest, this is worth a look. 

REVENGE OF THE STEPFORD WIVES (1980, TV)

Not necessarily a must-see, but Revenge of the Stepford Wives is a taut, and occasionally nasty, TV movie, the first sequel to the 1975 film, directed by Bryan Forbes. Sharon Gless plays a reporter, drawn to the too-good-to-be-true statistics of Stepford residents. She befriends a young couple, played by Don Johnson (between A Boy and his Dog and Miami Vice) and Julie Kavner (between Rhoda and The Simpsons) and locks horns with Arthur Hill (Mission Impossible, The Andromeda Strain) about Stepford's new, deadly secret...

I enjoyed this more than the original movie (where even the poster is a spoiler), because I didn't know where it was going to lead. It has no tell-tale, Fuestian hallmarks, but is effective like his other straightforward thrillers.

This is only currently available on VHS in the US.



 

It's surprising that one hasn't arrived sooner, but there's now a book out about Robert Fuest, but, it's only available in Italian!

Author Michael Moorcock talks about his experience of the adaption of The Final Programme in his recent public interview at the BFI. Though as movie connections go, he prefers The Land that Time Forgot (1975) which he scripted! Now that's a different beast altogether...

(Updated August, 2013 - to include Revenge of the Stepford Wives review.)