I am back with two movies, one from last night, the other this evening. For this Halloween season I am trying to watch some classic horror flicks that I haven't seen in a while, so here we go.
Last night I watched the notorious and terrifying "Blood On Satan's Claw"(1971), notorious because of a scene in the middle that I shant describe, except to say that it was definitely over the top for 1971 and remains so even in today's climate of extreme horror. It''s something you probably shouldn't see if you are the least bit squeamish. The film terrified me the first time I saw it, during a sleepover at the late Mike B's house when I was twelve years old. The notorious scene was cut out for television, but even so, the movie scared The Bejeezus out of me and Mike. We never forgot it, and in later years ranked it up there with "Burn Witch Burn" and "Quatermass and the Pit" as one of the scariest horror films ever made. I'm trying to do only The Scariest of The Scary for Halloween this year, just because it seems appropriate for 2020, and it also helps take my mind off the election (just in case they pull the rug out). Once again I'll only give a synopsis (not ready for full length reviews just yet), but the movie opens in the English countryside. The time period is unspecified but looks to be in the early 1700s. A young man is plowing a field, and he uncovers some bones, including the remains of a hand with clawlike nails, and also part of a deformed skull, with tufts of fur attached and one eye remaining in it's socket.
Being superstitious, he runs to tell the village official, a Judge who oversees all criminal inquiries. The young man babbles about witchcraft and claims he's dug up a "fiend", but the Judge - a city man, well educated and modern - puts paid to all that nonsense. "There's no such thing as witchcraft", he tells the farmhand. "It's all been proven false".
Well, suffice it to say that the Judge will come to have second thoughts about his pronouncement, and in fact he will ultimately go the young plowman one better : "No, Ralph", he explains later, "it's not witchcraft but far worse".
"Blood On Satan's Claw" was directed by a guy named Piers Haggard, and he achieved a horror masterpiece by taking the material seriously, hiring capable actors, keeping them and the entire production "in the period" (it is a period piece, after all, and the costuming and sets are just right), and finally, using the English countryside to great effect. The photography is superb and reminiscent of an art film, and a spooky soundtrack adds to the eerie outdoorsiness.
The print on Youtube was perfect, and I was surprised to find it. I put in in the search box just for the heck of it, and lo and behold, there it was. They really should do a Blu-ray of it, but for now, watch the Youtube print, but only if you are a hardcore horror fan. This film doesn't mess around. ///
Our second feature is also a legend of sorts : "The Town That Dreaded Sundown"(1976), a title that was guaranteed to put teenagers in the seats, and it was a minor hit upon it's release. My friends and I saw it in the theater, likely on the first weekend, and in my memory all these years later I recalled it as being one of the scariest movies ever made. "Town" is the true story of a Zodiac-type killer who operated in Texarkana, which spans the Texas/Arkansas border, in 1946. Like the Zodiac, "The Phantom" (as he is called) was never caught. The movie has gone on to become a cult classic, and has even merited a Blu-ray restoration from Scream Factory. This must have been the print I saw on Youtube, because it looked fantastic.
In watching it a second time, after 44 years, I must revise my opinion, but only to a degree. You see, I'd forgotten all about the movie's style. It was written and directed by a guy named Charles B. Pierce, who was sort of an auteur of southern fried independent films. He made a name for himself in the early 70s with a picture called "The Legend of Boggy Creek" (which I have yet to see). That film earned him some dough, and a reputation, and in short, he was a talented filmmaker. All one has to do is watch the first ten minutes of "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" to see that he could create period imagery (1946 America) with the best of them. This film has the look of an A-list director. He also created a Psycho Killer that preceded and may have influenced all the slasher horror biggies to come. "The Phantom" wears a hood (called a "mask" in the movie), therefore all future movie killers wore masks (Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, et al). So Charles Pierce was ahead of the curve on that score, and indeed - the scenes with The Phantom doing his thing, operating at night out in the woods where young lovers park their cars, are some of the most frightening in horror history. But I'd forgotten that the film was also in large part about the investigation, and that Pierce had inserted himself into the movie, as an actor in a role of comic relief. So there are a lot of scenes featuring his character "Sparkplug" (a nerdy police officer) that play like they are from a Burt Reynolds chase movie.
In total, this makes the movie somewhat of a hybrid, rather than a 100% start-to-finish Horror Film like "Blood On Satan's Claw". Actually, I'd call it a true crime film with comedic overtones and horrific scenes (decidedly not for the squeamish), but then you have the top-notch production design and art direction, and the superb wide screen photography and color coordination, and I guess that makes it a one of a kind classic. Just call it a Charles B. Pierce film.
I remember that my friends and I made a note of his name, and wondered once in a while what became of him. After watching tonight, I looked him up on IMDB, and he's passed away now, but it said that he went on to work as a writer, and he met Clint Eastwood, who gave him a job on "Sudden Impact". And it said that Charles B. Pierce was the guy who came up with the line uttered by Dirty Harry : "Go ahead.....make my day". Of course, that line went on into the lore of Hollywood, but it was also repeated by The President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, in 1985.
So that was Charles B. Pierce. He could make a low budget moneymaker like "Boggy Creek" (which I will make a point to see), or he could make a weird, high production value, scary but comedic horror hybrid like "Town That Dreaded Sundown", or he could write a line for Dirty Harry that made it's way to the President.
And, he was a funny character in this movie.
So to sum up, "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" was not one of the scariest movies of all time, as I had remembered it to be, but it does indeed have some of the scariest scenes ever, and one of the most frightening slasher-style killers (and the original one). It also looks great, and is a must-see for all the above reasons. ///
We will continue our Halloween Horror-Thon, so stay tuned..........
Elizabeth, that was another great picture today, which must be from Porcupine Mountains, right? The sky was so blue, and it looked like a lovely day as I mentioned in my comment. What a great vantage point, to be up above the water and the trees, from where you took the photograph. I love the rocks, too. :):)
See you in the morning, with much love sent all night.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox :):)
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