The Innocents (1961)

 

 

The Innocents tells a tale about a governess played by Deborah Kerr, whom has taken a job to care for two young orphaned children at their family manor in the British countryside. We soon discover that the manor has a dark past and might potentially be haunted by ghosts. 

The beautiful structure of this film will have you thinking that the governess might actually be losing her mind, then moments later thinking the manor is really haunted. Although this style of story telling can often fall into being deliberately confusing, The Innocents remains interesting in its delivery and the ambiguity will have you thinking about this film long after its end. 

The acting is superb and the whole production is nothing less then pure class. The shots are masterfully executed and thought provoking. This is the type of movie than I'm sure is analyzed in film schools around the world. The Innocents is beautifully made. 

Some incredibly scary and uncomfortable moments make this film special, especially for 1960's era horror. One notable scene involves the young boy, a dead pigeon and kiss which left me uncomfortable and mesmerized. 

The Innocents has clearly had a huge impact on this genre, and I was shocked to be reminded just how much of 2001's The Others and 2015's Crimson Peak have been visibly influenced by this film. With Mike Flanagan's series "The Haunting of Bly Manor", we see another telling of this story and its not bad but its not The Innocents. 

In my opinion this gothic horror masterpiece is criminally underappreciated by genre fans, and seems to get more love from film makers and fans of classic cinema then from us nerds of horror flicks.

Are they ghost's real?, Is the governess losing her mind?, the reality is they might both be true. Watch this film and come to your own conclusion.

Frailty (2001)

 

Bill Paxton's directorial debut is astonishing and easily one of my favorite films. Frailty delivers a thriller about a dysfunctional and loving family as they descend into the insanity of religious destiny.

A mysterious man played by Matthew Mcconaughey walks into a Texas FBI office and proclaims he knows who the "God's Hand Killer" is to a Investigator played by Powers Boothe. The FBI agent doubts the validity of these claims but as this man recounts his childhood the evidence could be true.

Bill Paxton's "Dad" is a single father raising his two son's, Adam and Fenton in small town USA in the late 1970's. Dad works a standard nine to five job as a mechanic and his two boys go to the local school. They live in a small secluded house behind the towns local rose garden, which was originally built for the old gardeners of the park. Dad wakes his family up after having a dream vision explaining that god's angels have commanded him to find and execute demons that have taken human form. Adam, the younger son has blind faith in his father, but Fenton doubts these visions and believes him to be having a mental crisis. When Dad begins killing people and proclaiming them demons, the two boys struggle with their loyalty to each other and their father. 

 

I grew up with a younger brother always at my side so this story resonated with me on a very personal level. The family relationship between the three is so relatable and dynamic, it feels real and should be acknowledged as a testament to Bill Paxton's acting and abilities behind the screen. The passing away of Bill Paxton in 2017 and not being able to see what else he could create in the genre is a terrible blow, but having Frailty as your debut directed film is stunning to me. 

Frailty is so good you might be convinced Alfred Hitchcock directed a John Steinbeck story. Frailty packs a punch, and will shock you with it's ending.

Thank you Bill Paxton for this masterpiece.

The Woman in Black (2012)

A Gothic love letter to the Hammer films of the past, starring Daniel Radcliff. The Woman in Black is creepy and unsettling with a few moments that will startle you. The real treat is the stylized visuals and the magnificently eerie manor with it's tidal marshlands that surround it. 

The story weaves a sombre, moody tale about an entry level solicitor named Arthur Kips. Arthur is sent to audit the paperwork of a recently deceased client and discover if she has additional wills. Daniel Radcliff pulls this character off fairly well, and to his credit gives off a great performance as a young lawyer struggling with loneliness. Arthur Kips has moments of being reminiscent of Johnathan Harker, or Ichabod Crane with a heavy dose of brooding melancholy.

Arthur has a young son, his wife died in child birth. He is the primary caregiver to his child but we see that he travels alot and the boy is raised by the nanny mostly. Arthur arranges it so his son will meet him at the town where he will be working on the friday of this week.

Arthurs journey to the town reveals that something is off there, clearly the towns folk dont want him around and it has something to do with his audit of Alice Drubows estate, the old Marsh House. To get to the old manor one must travel the "nine lives causeway" a road that floods over during high tide and is surrounded by the sinking mud of the marshlands. The imagery really captivated me and the setting felt hauntingly interesting. 

Arthur begins seeing the specter of the Woman in Black while working at Marsh house. Some of the local children suffer tragic deaths to which the citizens of the town cast blame upon the new comer, but what connection does the Woman in Black have with these deaths. Arthur is determined to find the answers before friday when his son arrives fearing his son will be harmed.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, sure it had some predictable plot points but it tells a scary ghost story. The Woman in Black holds true to the British horror stylings that is borrows adoringly from and is a high recomendation to watch if you enjoy a ghost story. 

Patrick (1978)

 

Patrick is an Australian film, about a telekinetic killer who obsesses about the women in his life. The movie has wonderful cinematography and acting for a film from a low budget production. Patrick came out of nowhere for me, as I randomly discovered it streaming during a day off I had from work.

Patrick murders his mother and his mothers boyfriend by throwing a plugged in portable heater into the bath that they were being intimate in. Patrick becomes a comatose vegetable escaping reality for the comfort of his sinister mind. He ends up at a quaint hospital run by a small team of nurses led by head nurse Matron Cassidy and Doctor Roget. 

A women named Kathy who recently left her husband seeks employment to become a nurse at this hospital and manages to get a job here caring for Patrick. Patrick involuntarily spits often as a impulse from his comatose condition. Kathy begins to see a pattern with Patrick's spiting and soon realizes that Patrick is trying to communicate with her. Its not long before Patrick's obsession with Kathy manifests in unusual ways and events in Kathie's life might be manipulated by him.

I can see some people finding this film slow or even boring, but I personally found the pacing to be a good decision by the director. The slowness adds to the narrative, and lets some of the strange events sit in your mind. 

 

The Job interview with Matron Cassidy and her mention that this type of nursing position attracts, lesbians, necrophiliacs and enema specialists was bizarre. The doctor and all of the scenes with him and his frog specimens were disturbing. But the most cringy was when Kathy is trying to stimulate Patrick to prove to a doctor friend he is cognitive, she gives him a few strokes under the covers!

 

The Hitchcock inspired camera work and the great performances really mold Patrick into a likable film. I doubt it will tickle everyone's tastes, and most people would be better off watching the 1976 Carrie. If you're in the taste for something interesting, surprising, and can handle a slow burn, then Patrick will be for you.

From Beyond (1986)

 

From Beyond is Stuart Gordon's follow up to the 1985 masterpiece, Re-Animator. Like Re-Animator, From Beyond is based on a story from horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. 

I had been pointed in the direction of watching Re-Animator early in my exploration of the genre, and I have watched it dozens of times since. So it goes without saying that when I saw From Beyond available to stream I was instantly drawn to watching it.

 

Dr Edward Pretorius and his assistant, Crawford Tillinghast (played by Jeffery Combs) have developed a machine called the resonator to stimulate the brains pineal gland using vibrations emitted from the machine. When Crawford tests the machine out, he summons some strange eel like aliens which fly through the air. Dr Pretorius refuses to turn the resonator off, and the experiment goes wildly out of control. Doctor Pretorious dies horrifically and Crawford is arrested and brought to a mental hospital for analysis. At the hospital a young psychiatrist Dr. Katherine McMichaels (played by Barbara Crampton) wishes to take Crawford back to Pretorius manor to explore the claims and investigate his pyschosis. The two are joined by a detective Bubba Brownlee (played by Ken Foree). 

Crawford, Dr McMichaels and detective Brownlee return to Pretorious manor and turn the resonator back on. Dr Pretorious returns as a goo covered aberration, and a nightmare of body horror and creature effects are splattered across your screen

I have a soft spot for 80's era monster movies and From Beyond delivered magnificently to my tastes. Jeffery Combs, Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree are believable characters who have enough 80's type casting to help keep the nostalgia afloat. Ted Sorel, who plays Dr Pretorius delivers some chills and creepyness as a BDSM scientist that only knows how to give pain not pleasure. 

 

The creature effects are wonderful, and disgusting. From gore soaked mutations, to pineal gland eye stocks from the forehead, the practical effects were awesome.

The film touches on some schlocky fetish stuff and even has Barbara Crampton dressed in leathers, which I'm not going to comment about. 

From Beyond relies a lot on the classic 80's tropes for this type of cinema, but I do think it stands well on its own. I can understand why From Beyond isn't always mentioned when compared to Re-Animator and to be honest I do think its not as good overall in comparison.

I do think that if you like this type of 80's gore fest, then From Beyond is a must watch.

From Beyond is gore, slime, and perversion, rolled into a beautifully aged cheese from the 80's cellar of cinema.