Day 325: White Zombie

White Zombie

Thunder Kiss '65

Zombies are totally in right now. Thanks to The Walking Dead, a rash of zombie movies, and a few real-life face-eating incidences, zombies are the hip thing. There used to be a time when you actually had to explain to people what a zombie was. Now, even little old ladies know to shoot them in the head. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just hard having your special thing become pop-culture. Thankfully, there are plenty of other zombie-related things out there for the super horror fans to enjoy. As one of those zombie nerds, I've seen a lot of them. Many of the newer ones are just plain terrible, so I'm forced to go back in the past to find a gem. Might as well go all the way back to the first feature-length zombie movie, right?

White Zombie is a 1932 zombie movie starring Bela Lugosi (Dracula, Son Of Frankenstein) as Murder Legendre. In the country of Haiti, Madeline Short (Madge Bellamy, The Iron Horse, Under Your Spell) reunites with her fiance, Neil Parker (John Harron, The Invisible Menace, Street Girl). Set to be married that night, the two travel by coach through the Haitian forest, when the happen upon a burial in the middle of the road. Their native driver informs them that it prevents grave robbers from doing their unholy business. As they travel, they come across Murder Legendre, a local sugar cane baron and voodoo master who supposedly controls zombies. The driver sees these zombies and quickly pushes onward, leaving Legendre holding Madeline's scarf. They arrive at the home of plantation owner Charles Beaumont (Robert Frazer, The Three Musketeers, Law Men) who secretly loves Madeline. Desperate to win Madeline, Beaumont asks Legendre for help. Legendre gives him a potion that will give Madeline the appearance of death, only to rise like a zombie at a later time. The potion works and Madeline is soon buried. A depressed Neil later discovers that Madeline's body is missing from her tomb and enlists the help of Dr. Bruner (Joseph Cawthorn, The Taming Of The Shrew, Lazy River) to find out what has happened. Beaumont comes to regret his decision as a zombified Madeline shows no emotion and is a shell of her former self. He begs Legendre to change her back, but is drugged himself. Will Neil stop Legendre from zombifying the entire island and save Madeline before it is too late?

Staring contest! 123go!

White Zombie is widely considered to be the first feature-length zombie film. The story plays out as one might expect, though that is probably due to later films following the movie's lead. There is a good amount of suspense in the film and some tame action. I generally wanted to know what was going to happen to Madeline and Legendre. Legendre is a classic old-timey villain, complete with evil-looking eyebrows. His intentions were a little too vague for my liking and could have used some more attention and detail. The zombies are the traditional drugged and mind-controlled people of voodoo legend. You can't really expect to have corpses rising from the grave and eating people in the 1930s. The zombies themselves tend to look a bit silly, with some extra hair glues to their face. The movie had a fairly small budget and reused many sets from Universal's other horror movies of the time. While the small budget didn't completely hurt the movie, I think a little more money could have gone a long way.

It should be no surprise that Bela Lugosi is the best thing about White Zombie. He often channels his inner-Dracula, using his piercing glare to control his zombies. It was neat to see how the movie focused on his eyes and his hands so much. Never has a movie shows closeups of hands and been so full of tension. Madge Bellamy pulls off her zombified state very well, having a completely blank stare for entire scenes. Her large eyes and doll-like features certainly helped give her a stone cold appearance as a zombie. Both John Harron and Robert Frazer are way over-the-top in the portrayal of their characters. Certain scenes become almost comedic thanks to their overacting.

"Gasp! They're real and they're spectacular!"

Though very tame by today's standards, White Zombie is still an enjoyable horror movie. It's influence was seen in later zombie movies such as "I Walked With A Zombie" and "King Of The Zombies". The story is incredibly simplistic, but good nonetheless. There are some eery moments and a small fright here and there. Bela Lugosi is very enjoyable to watch, especially when he goes into his mind-control stare. Without him, the entire movie would have been a horror footnote at best. The zombies don't look that great, but they serve their purpose well enough. While it is not in the same league as other Universal horror movies like Dracula, The Wolfman, and Frankenstein, White Zombie is still a horror classic and can be enjoyed by many different age groups.

7.5/10

Day 241: Dust Devil

Dust Devil

Dust buster

When you think of horror-producing parts of the world, Africa usually doesn't top the list. Most people think of the United States and Japan, with a sprinkling of European nations, Canada, and Australia. You would think more horror would be based in Africa with it's unique landscapes and regional legends. With movies being made via smartphones and the ease of distributing entertainment on the internet, perhaps Africa will be the next hotbed for horror in the near future.

Dust Devil a 1993 horror movie set in the African nation of Namibia and stars Robert John Burke (Thinner, Good Night and Good Luck) as the title character. Dust Devil is a “naghtloeper” or shapeshifter that possesses human beings. He is trapped in this world and must kill in order to free himself. He focuses on those without any hope and with nothing to lose. Dust Devil walks down an empty road and receives a ride from a woman named Saarke. In the act of making love, he snaps her neck and mutilates her body, using her blood to draw symbols around her house before burning it down. At the same time, a woman named Wendy Robinson (Chelsea Field, Masters Of The Universe, Flipper) leaves her abusive husband Mark and sets out in her car for the coast. Sgt. Ben Mukurob (Zakes Mokae, The Serpent And The Rainbow, Vampire In Brooklyn) heads the investigation into Saarke's death. Ben enlists the help of Joe Niemand (John Matshikiza), a Sangoma, or healer, who informs Ben that the symbols were part of a strange witchcraft ritual. On the road, Wendy picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be Dust Devil. During the ride, Dust Devil disappears from the car, much to Wendy's shock. That night, Wendy almost kills herself with a razor, but decides against it. The next morning, she goes to her car and finds Dust Devil sitting inside. Despite being initially scared, Wendy agrees to drive with him. Meanwhile, Mark has set out after Wendy. Ben's investigation continues, revealing that there have been a string of similar murders dating back almost 100 years. Speaking to Joe, Ben learns about Dust Devil and his black magic, but refuses to believe. Wendy and Dust Devil have sex and he tries to kill her afterward. She knocks him out with a lamp and escapes, but gets into a car accident. Dust Devil pursues her into the desert of Namibia. Will Ben be able to stop Dust Devil before he kills Wendy?

Grrrrrrr....

Interesting is probably the best word to describe Dust Devil. The movie mixes philosophy and abstract ideas and tries to make a coherent story out of it. Unfortunately, it is an intellectual overload that focuses too much on expanding our minds and not on entertainment. A horror movie can be existential, but there has to be a ceiling to keep things from getting too weird. Using a narrator is hit or miss for movies, but it worked for Dust Devil because we would have had no idea what was going on if not for narration. Perhaps there is something lost in the cultural translation, but I had a difficult time understanding just why Dust Devil kills people. There's something about being trapped and killing people out of necessity to free himself. If that's the case, he should have been a more sympathetic character, perhaps showing remorse or regret for having to kill people. There is some good violence and gore, but not nearly enough to keep my interest.

Despite my lack of interest, the movie is incredibly well made. Director Richard Stanley (Hardware, The Island of Dr. Moreau) gets the most of his locations with sweeping aerial shots that capture Namibia's unique landscape. While the intellectuality of the movie didn't entertain me, it did allow for some pretty cool scenes. Robert John Burke is good as Dust Devil, combining charm with viciousness, though we never see the full extent of this evil spirit. Chelsea Field is fine in her role, though the writing for her character should have been much stronger. We never see her in full despair leading up to her almost-suicide which is a shame because it would have drawn more sympathy to the character. John Matshikiza was very good as Joe and the narrator, his voice carrying weight and meaning to all of the existential thoughts and ideas.

Good times!

Dust Devil is an ambitions, thoughtful horror movie that gets mired in it's own thoughts. There is not enough action and very little horror to speak of. Not once was I afraid and entertainment is scarce. There should have been far more character development. The mixture of occult and western is interesting, but not exciting. I don't particularly like voodoo-based horror movies and Dust Devil was very similar to that genre. The movie looks very good and the Namibian setting was certainly unique in the world of horror. It's not that Dust Devil is a bad movie, because it's not. Something just gets lost in translation along the way and never really recovers. I would suggest that if you are interested in seeing Dust Devil, see it for yourself. Maybe you'll enjoy it more than me.

5/10

Day 176: Zombie (Zombi 2)

Zombie (Zombi 2)

His smile can light up a room

Thanks to television and the internet, more people have seen iconic scenes from movies than the actual films themselves. While shows like Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments and clips on Youtube are great for introducing unknown movies to the masses, plenty make the mistake of just watching the clips and never seeking out the full experience. It's worth taking the time to see these movies to truly understand and appreciate why these scenes mean so much. It's also worth seeing these movies if they have zombies in them.

Zombie is a 1979 zombie horror movie, directed by Lucio Fulci (City Of The Living Dead, Don't Torture A Duckling) and starring Tisa Farrow (L'Ultimo Cacciatore, Fingers) as Anne Bowles. An abandoned yacht is discovered floating aimlessly in New York Harbor and is boarded by the Coast Guard. A hulking zombie appears on the boat and bites one of the officers in the throat. The remaining officer kills the zombie and the dead officer is taken for an autopsy. Anne Bowles, who's fathered owned the yacht, is questioned by the police, but can only tell them that he was doing research on a tropical island. News reporter Peter West (Ian McCulloch, Survivors, Doctor Who) investigates the mysterious boat and comes across Anne doing some investigating on her own. They discover that Anne's father was working on the island of Matool and had been suffering from a strange and unknown disease. They get to the main islands and are able to hitch a ride with a couple, Brian and Susan. During their trip, Susan goes scuba diving and comes across a shark. As she is hiding from the shark, she is attacked by a zombie. She breaks free while the shark and zombie battle it out underwater. On the island, they meet Dr. David Menard (Richard Johnson, Aces High, The Haunting) who works as a physician on the island. Menard asks them to check on his wife at their house and they discover her being devoured by zombies. They make a run for it and are attacked by zombies rising from the grave. Will they be able to get off the island and warn the world that the dead are coming back to life?

Sometimes a shark just needs a hug

This movie has a complicated history, but I'll give the cliff notes. For those that don't know, Zombie was also released under the name Zombi 2 after George Romero's Dawn Of The Dead was recut and the name changed to just Zombi. Zombi 2 isn't a sequel to that movie, was most likely used as a way to get more people to see it. Zombie is also known as Zombie Flesh-Eaters, Island Of The Living Dead, and Woodoo. The iconic scene I was referencing was the “Zombie vs. Shark” part of the movie. Just about every horror fan loves that scene. It is pretty amazing that they were able to pull it off convincingly. I've read that they used a well-fed and heavily sedated shark, which makes sense, but I didn't see any air bubbles during the scene. That leads me to conclude it was a real zombie. It's a very cool scene, though it didn't really add much to the story itself.

Speaking of the story, Zombie is your basic island-based voodoo horror movie. Thankfully it focuses more on zombies than voodoo which tends to bring down the entertainment and fear in movies such as The Serpent And The Rainbow and Ritual. The first hour of the movie is a little slower than expected and even boring at times. All roads lead to the characters getting on the island, but it takes a while to get there. Stick with the movie, because the last 30 minutes or so is well worth it. Fulci revels in the extreme gore that got the movie banned in some countries and recut in others. When I say gore, I mean GORE, enough to make me to raise my eyebrows in surprise at some of the things they were able to pull off. Some scenes are gruesome, but still entertaining. The zombies all look great and, thankfully, are the slow, shambling style of zombie. 

Zombies: Now in Sepia tone

There are many versions of the film floating out there, but the one I watched had a weird mixture of English speakers and bad dubbing. It confused me at times to see English speakers in a scene where their costars appeared to be dubbed. That threw me off a bit, and made it a little hard to critique the acting. That being said, the actors still put on good performances and captured feelings of fear and terror. There is a good amount of action, mainly towards the end of the film. The movie has a final stand against the zombies that many of us have probably fantasized about.

Overall, Zombie is an entertaining movie, despite a slow beginning and a story that was not particularly interesting or original. Fulci does a good job capturing all the violence and does not shy away from the extreme. It's a bloody good time with great makeup and effects. The amount of blood and gore may shock some, but if you like your horror red and sticky, you'll really enjoy Zombie. The zombie vs shark scene alone is worth your time. It's been referenced in song (Send More Paramedics - Zombie Vs. Shark) and even on t-shirts. It is no wonder that the movie has become classic, and that scene is one of the main reasons why.

7.5/10

Day 118: Mask Maker

Mask Maker

Stupid mask. We can see the zipper.

I have to get this out of the way before I can start. Mask maker, mask maker, make me a mask. Find me a find, catch me a catch. Ok, I feel much better now. I haven't watched a slasher movie in a while and decided to give a modern movie a try. It feels like most modern slashers just go through the motions and come off like Friday The 13^th and Halloween rehashes. Will Mask Maker show me something new or just the same old stuff?

Mask Maker (originally and unfortunately titled Maskerade) is a 2010 horror slasher starring Nikki Deloach (Days Of Our Lives, Ringer) as Jennifer and Stephen Colletti (One Tree Hill, Kill Katie Malone) as her boyfriend Evan. Evan secretly purchased a 19^th century plantation home and takes Jennifer out to see it. At first she is mad that he made such a big decision without her, but she quickly gets over it pretty quickly. They invite their friends for a house warming/fixing party. The house has a history and locals refuse to talk about it. One man, Mr. Peck (Terry Kiser, Weekend At Bernies, Friday the 13^th Part VII) is particularly afraid of the house and refuses to answer questions. The group unknowingly resurrect the man who used to live at the house. He suffered from some sort of skin condition and had to stay wrapped in bandages. Though some sort of voodoo, he has come back and is an unstoppable killing machine. He goes on a killing spree of the friends, cutting off their faces and wearing them as masks (hence, Mask Maker). Jennifer discovers that Mr. Peck is connected with Mask Maker through their sordid past. Will Jennifer be able to stop Mask Maker and get out alive?

Fork you

If this feels like you've seen this movie before, you're not alone. On the surface, it's pretty much your average “College Kids Go To Murdertown”. There are plenty of slasher movie cliches, including people going off to have sex only to be killed, the silent, faceless inhuman killer, and secretive townspeople. There's the usual nudity and the killer uses an axe as his weapon of choice. The movie deserves credit with their attempt to add some voodoo/magic curse into the mix, but it's never fully explored and just left me kind of confused. Ultimately, none of the back story is important, which is a shame because it could have helped set the movie apart from other slashers. Really, its just a combination of all the good slasher tropes with a dash of originality.

The film is well shot and looks good compared to some of the lower-budget affairs that are now polluting the horror genre. The directing is fine and the acting is passable, though Terry Kiser plays a drunk the way Andy Dick plays someone normal. There are some good acts of violence, though the movie lacks the amount of blood and gore necessary to make it particularly thrilling. That's not to say there isn't plenty of stabbing and chopping, just not as much as I expected. I mean, the killer wears people's faces. You'd think that'd be incredibly gorey and violent, but not really. In fact, there is one scene where he wears one of the female friend's faces complete with long hair. It is unintentionally funny as he looks like a cross between Leatherface and Bjork. 

Weekend At Bernie's gets a gritty reboot

If you've seen a slasher movie before, you've already seen most of Mask Maker. While it's not particularly original, it still has some entertainment value. There are some good kills, though the lack of extreme blood and gore is unfortunate. The movie has it's moments and it's not a bad watch, but it could have been better.

6/10

Day 71: Tales From The Crypt: Ritual

Tales From The Crypt: Ritual

Dreaming in red

I was absolutely terrified of Tales From The Crypt when I was younger. Not because of the stories, but because of the Crypt Keeper. That puppet was really scary with his corpsey look and high-pitched squeals of delight. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate the sick humor of the Crypt Keeper, much in the same way that I can now laugh at Freddy Krueger. While it made it's name with the comic book and television show, TFTC also made 3 full-length movies. Time to dive into one I've never even heard of, Ritual.

Ritual follows Dr. Alice Dodgson (Jennifer Grey, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Dirty Dancing). Her medical license has been revoked after the accidental death of a young patient. Alice is haunted by her death and travels to Jamaica to be a personal physician for a very wealthy patient, Wesley Claybourne (Daniel Lapaine). Wesley's brother, Paul, informs Alice that Wesley believes he is a zombie, under the control of an Obeah (Jamaican version of Voodoo) curse. Alice soon realizes that Obeah is very real and begins to suffer from horrific hallucinations. She is aided in her research by Dr. Hope (Tim Curry, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clue) and Caro (Kristen Wilson, Dr. Doolittle, Bulletproof). Under Alice's care, Wesley begins to show improvement. Caro also suffers from hallucinations and Dr. Hope is mysteriously murdered. Not is all as it seems and it's up to Alice to help Wesley. Who can she trust and how can she find a cure?

You got a little something...ehh, never mind

The movie says Tales From The Crypt, but there is absolutely no reference to the show or comic book. How can you have a TFTC movie and not have the Crypt Keeper? According to some research, because the previous movie, Bordello of Blood, did poorly at the box office, they removed references to TFTC. I was expecting something fun in the demented sense. I guess my version didn't include any of the references. Instead I got a boring voodoo-flavored movie that is more mystery than horror. The only horror that exists come in people's dreams and hallucinations. You figure out pretty quickly that that is the case, taking away any fear or excitement because you know it's not real. While there are some differences, the movie strongly reminds me of The Serpent and the Rainbow; White doctor goes to an island, thinks voodoo is fake, learns voodoo is very real, the police is corrupt, save the day.

Jennifer Grey does a decent job in her role, but unfortunately the movie is so low-budget, they couldn't give her a bra for multiple scenes. Kristen Wilson is quite good as the native Caro. Tim Curry is his usual eccentric self, but has a pretty minor role. Daniel Lapaine comes off as a bit doofy and it makes it hard for the audience to cheer for him. Ritual is one of those movies where you ask yourself, “Why don't the just move away?” The Serpent and the Rainbow answered that question when the main character made it back to the US, but was still attacked. I don't think that's the case in this movie, mostly because that would involve a creative, well-written story. Most of the movie is fairly boring with a few flourishes of psychological fear. That's certainly not enough to keep you entertained for a movie that is almost an hour and forty-five minutes long.

Hi! I'm in a better version you didn't watch! EEEEHEHEHEHE!

Ritual is a disappointment on multiple levels. There is no Crypt Keeper or any real reference to Tales From The Crypt. The story, supposedly based on I Walked With A Zombie, is boring and uninspired. The is little horror involved and the horror that does exist quickly becomes predictable. The acting is decent and the direction is fine, but it can't overcome a boring story. Save yourself the trouble and avoid Ritual.

3/10

Day 21: The Serpent and the Rainbow

The Serpent and the Rainbow

Somewhere over the rainbow...

I had been wanting to see this movie since I first saw a clip of it in Bravo's “100 Scariest Movies Moments.” I wasn't quite sure what to expect. There is talk about zombies, but this isn't a zombie movie in the horror movie sense. These are traditional, voodoo zombies. They are in a death-like state, buried alive, and then rise from the grave, doing the bidding of a voodoo priest. Their souls are enslaved, but they are still technically alive and they are not munching on flesh.

The Serpent and the Rainbow is the story of Ethnobotonist/anthropologist Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman, Independence Day, Spaceballs). Allan travels to Haiti for to find a zombie-like drug that can be used as an anesthesia for a big pharmaceutical company. Assisted by the doctor Marielle, Alan delves deeper and deeper into the mystical world of voodoo. He is warned to leave and when he refuses to leave, he tortured by the commander of the Haitian secret police, Captain Peytraud. Despite all this, Alan learns how to make the drug and escapes back to the US with it. The distance is not enough to stop Peytraud as Alan is attacked by his boss's possessed wife. He heads back to Haiti to stop Peytraud, but is poision by the zombie drug and is buried alive. Alan must escape and put an end to Peytraud before he can kill Marielle.

My heart will go ooooooonnnnnnn

The Serpent and the Rainbow isn't your usual horror movie. You don't see voodoo too much in movies, especially nowadays. Witchcraft doesn't count. Most of the horror comes from dreams and visions, but there is plenty of real life terror as well. While there is no traditional horror movie creature, Peytraud is more of a monster than most vampires, werewolves, or aliens. I appreciated that the movie included the overthrow of Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier. It added a lot of context and purpose to the story.

The movie works because it there is an air of mystery going throughout the entire story. Questions like “What is the drug?” “How do you get it?” and “What does it do?” keep the viewer invested in the story and keeps us guessing. Fear of the unknown is a big factor in this film. Acting is solid all around and Pullman has a heck of a scream. The movie has some good makeup work and decent effects for the time. The movie is a little over an hour and half, but it felt longer. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

No! Don't make me watch Sex and the City!

The Serpent and the Rainbow is a good all-around movie with a good story and a few scares. It you want a real movie, this is it. If you want lots of blood and monsters, look somewhere else. Beautiful sets, solid acting, and a good script make this a complete watch. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a zombie movie, but enjoyed myself nonetheless. Its worth your time and non-horror fans can enjoy it as well.

8/10