Not A Pond For Skinny Dipping

Want a movie that has all the elemts of a b-movie, psycho-thriller, suspense, mystery, horror, independent and black and white film? The 1963 horror flick Dementia 13 is a good film for you to watch. The film was the first "mainstream" film written and directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, for those of you who admire his work. It the first film I can't really tell you that this film is bad or good since it is highly subjective. Everyone has their own opinion, but we will get to that later. The film is public domain and can be watched here, but first you might like to know a little more about it.

The film begins with John (William Campbell) and Louise Haloran (Luana Anders) taking a midnight boat ride to the sound of an upbeat rockability song on the transistor radio. Just as he is telling her that if he dies before his mother (Eithne Dunne), Louise will inherit nothing, he has a heart attack in their boat without his pills to help him through the incident. She disposes of the body and intends to travel to his mother's gloomy Irish castle to convince her to change the will, not letting the family know that her husband's body is in a lake somewhere. Louise goes "in place" of her husband for the memorial service of a mysterious person known as Kathleen (Barbara Dowling). Louise finds out that Kathleen is her husband's baby sister who died in a weird drowning accident back in Ireland, which the family still keeps shrouded in mystery. When she arrives there, Louise discovers that her late husband's family is a lot stranger than she counted on and is keeping some terrible secrets.And whatever you do, stay away from that pond.

The film is widely considered a b-movie, especially being produced by Roger Corman who was a famous b-filmmaker. Opinions are pretty much split on the movie. Some love it, some hate it, and others really can't make up their mind. Coppola fans say this early film gives insight into his future works. Slasher film fans say this film is a natural ancestor to the subgenre. Hitchcock fans say that this film is a blatant rip-off of Psycho, from the low-budget style to the black and white to the script. The best way to figure out what is true is to watch the film for yourself, but some reviews might also be helpful.

As I said, a lot of Hitchcock fans believe the film is a Psycho wannabe, such as the review here. Classic-horror.com did a sort of mixed review here, which might be helpful to some. There are some who believe the film is a waste of time, like those at 100misspenthours.com, whose review is here. Contemporary critics universally panned the film, but it is gained considerable cult popularity over the years. Also, the message board at IMDB for the film is a good place to get info on the film.

This is a very dark film and since it is an ancestor of slasher films, there is a good deal of blood and violence. There are tons of twists, turns, and creep outs, but its all worth it for a good scare.

Intergalactic Goo Takes Over the World

After watching The Haunting, I think you're going to need a horror film that isn't exactly horrifying. One of the first handful in the independent film tradition, a celebrated B-movie, a drive-in movie favorite and starring the illustrious Steve McQueen, just about everyone has heard of or seen a parody of The Blob. I couldn't find a full version on the internet that would play for me, but a YouTube user has split the film into parts, if you want to watch that here.

The Blob has a somewhat unbelievable plot, though you must take into consideration, it is the mother of all Fifties drive-in horror films. The Blob itself an a weird goo-like substance that is transported to earth during a meteor crash to a small town in Pennsylvania. The old man, who's property the Blob landed on, goes out to investigate and is soon attacked by the Blob. The man, in fear, runs and is nearly hit by two teenagers out on a date. He begs them to take him to the local doctor. The doctor discovers that the Blob slowly absorbs all humans it comes in contact with, only to be eaten himself. The blob then goes on a horrific path of trying to eat every person in sight, growing larger and larger as it does. It is up to the teenagers to save the world from the Blob's gluttonous conquest of Earth.

So, yes, not really an Oscar contender here. It's not the best film I've ever seen, not the worst. It's really a toss up to individual taste whether you will regard this one as a horror movie or a comedy. Most tend to put it into the latter category, even those who saw it when it was first released. This is a movie made for the times when the Cold War was brewing, Sputnik was in the air, and everyone was a little worried about what might be "out there" in the universe. Still, it has a lot to say to modern audiences.

Just some quick and random facts about a movie that is frighteningly funny to me personally. The old man in the first few sequences is played by legendary film actor Olin Howland, a name not many may recognize. Howland's film career covered over 200 movies, going all the way back to the days of silent film. The Blob was his last picture. The Blob has developed a cult following and is widely considered a cult movie nowadays. The film has its own website, which you can access here and several sequels and remakes of the film have been made. Horror collector Wes Shank owns the rights to the film and you can read an interview with him about it here. The swinging theme song to the movie was written by Burt Bacharach and Mack David and you can listen to it here, courtesy of kingtet.com, who have posted it for free to listen to. Don't just give it a few seconds listen either. If you listen long enough, you get to hear the lyrics!

The Blob is a classic movie, though what type of classic is perhaps yet to be determined. Still, people have been enjoying this film for fifty years now and that proves that it is capable of standing the test of time.

Introduction and Sort-of Mission Statement

The 1930s and 40s are often given the title of the “Golden Age of Hollywood”since it saw the rise of the studio system, some of Hollywood’s most famous and enduring stars, as for studios churning out new films like mass manufactured factory products. I have always thought of the “Golden Age of Hollywood” as a much larger time period, from the Silent Film Era of the 1910s until the mid-1960s when the cultural revolutions took over Hollywood and films became more about shock value and pushing boundaries than producing enjoyable content.

In our modern times, film has become about the bottom line, test audiences, how many action figures can be produced, and originality has been left on the cutting room floor. Most of the films we see now are remakes of older films, adaptations from books, bio pics, or ideas that are so formulaic and repetitive that you can decipher the plot before you even walk into the theatre, pay about ten bucks for your ticket and another ten for your popcorn and soda. Not to say that there hasn’t been a single good movie since 1965. I enjoy tons of modern films, but before the modern era, film was different. It had an unattainable essence of romance, creativity, and originality we now lack.

In the earliest of days, everything was new and an experiment. Special effects have come along way and seeing how far we’ve come when watching “King Kong” is an amazing experience. Filmmakers, writers, and executives gave more credit to the audience in these older films, believing they could follow along with witty, quick dialogue exchanges, sudden plot turns, and didn’t patronize them by over explaining everything to them, giving them credit for paying attention and picking up on plot details. Now if you want to feel like an intelligent audience member, you are relegated to watching indie films or films which are getting so much Oscar buzz people believe them to be too complicated for the average viewer to understand. Actors then had more theatre training, most of them performing for periods on stage in places like New York and London before moving to Hollywood. Silent film stars rely solely on their emotions to convey what is happening in a scene and it is amazing to see how they can communicate with the audience without the power of words.

I find that by watching older movies, I can understand newer ones more easily. Not to mention that there is something inherently romantic about watching classic film. It is also interesting to see how they portrayed scenes of love and violence during the times of the Hays Code and the creativity that went into making sure the audience read between the lines to find out what was going on. I think modern filmmakers need to go back to their roots and see what it was that made film so great during the Golden Years.