Then Is Now Podcast - VAMPYRES (1974)

I'm the guest voice on the Then Is Now Podcast again and we have a major European horror classic to discuss! The subject is Jose Larraz's 1974 erotic vampire creeper VAMPYRES and boy - is there a LOT to talk talk about. It’s both sexy and violent and will jar your nerves as a pair of vampire women lure men to a secluded mansion in order to feed. And that description barely tells you anything! You have to see this one to believe it. We had a fun conversation about the film, it’s cast and director with a few juicy behind the scenes details scattered throughout the conversation. This episode is part of the show's 13 Days of Hallowtober and the entire series well worth your listening time this October season. Check it out here!

New Commentary Track Announced! - BLACK CANDLES (1982)

Today Severin announced the details of their forthcoming Blu-Ray of the Jose Larraz film BLACK CANDLES (1982) and listed first among the extras is the commentary track that Troy Guinn and I contributed! We've been sitting on this news for months and are very happy that we can finally crow about this this one. Or baa. Or bleat. Or whatever noise a sexually satisfied goat makes. If you've seen the film you know I mean.

But I think that the other extras are even more interesting! Check them out.

Audio Commentary With Rodney Barnett And Troy Guinn, Hosts Of NaschyCast

La Dama Del Fantaterror — Documentary Short On Actress Helga Liné By Filmmaker Diego López

Made By The Devil — Interview With Gavin Baddeley, Author Of Lucifer Rising: Sin, Devil Worship & Rock'n'Roll

An Exception To The Norm — Interview With Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, Author Of Spanish Horror Film

A documentary on the amazing Helga Line? Plus two other interviews with knowledgeable film writers? This is looking like one heck of a disc!

Also - because Severin are sly merchandisers - they are offering replica necklaces as seen in BLACK CANDLES so you too can join in the Satanic depravity.

 

These items go on sale on the Severin website on Black Friday a.k.a. midnight of November 26th! So go grab you a big Blu piece of Spanish horror history packed with nudity, Satanism and beastiality. If you wonder what in the world it was all about just listen to Troy and I and we'll help you through.

LINK!

 

José Larraz's SYMPTOMS (1974)

Director José Larraz is best known for his incredible erotic lesbian vampire film VAMPYRES (1974) but anyone coming to SYMPTOMS (1974) expecting a similar blood-soaked nudity parade from the great man's most prolific period is going to end up disappointed. While this film does have a comparable atmosphere to the sexy vampire tale it is much more of a slow burn character study. The horror elements are present and accounted for but the deliberate journey to the third act revelations is a big part of the joy.

This is a film that takes it's time doling out details but is never boring for several reasons. First is that the two main actors are very talented ladies who are able to communicate paragraphs of emotion with their faces. Lorna Heilbron plays Anne who has come to stay for a few days with her friend Helen in her English country house getaway. Helen is played by Angela Pleasance and in many ways this is her film. The mystery that unfolds carefully over the movie's 91 minutes centers on her past romantic relationship that appears to have gone bad. Anne is trying to get her mind in order after breaking up with the man in her life while Helen seems drawn to her friend in an increasingly needy if not obsessive way. Patterned on Polanski's REPULSION (1965) this is a carefully told tale of pain and madness that spirals out of control. It rests on excellent performances from the leads with smart help from the legendary Peter Vaughn as the house's groundskeeper who knows just enough to get himself into harm's way.

But the second reason the film is so captivating is now only possible to evaluate because of the recent Blu-Ray release from Mondo Macabro. The way most Euro-Cult fans have seen SYMPTOMS for decades has been through a dupey bootleg VHS print that was barely watchable. This HD release allows us, for the first time, to see the glorious cinematography on display! Director of Photography Trevor Wrenn shoots the large house, the woods surrounding it and the nearby lake with the eye of a painter. Almost ever scene holds multiple moments of stunning beauty captured perfectly. This is a gorgeous movie and the careful framing and lighting adds immeasurably to the mesmerizing nature of the whole experience. There are shots that could be printed and hug on gallery walls for the admiration of the general public and they are all in service of this fascinating little horror-drama. I find it hard to believe that a man as clearly talented as Mr Wrenn only shot one other film for Larraz before ending his cinematography career. 

Needless to say I highly recommend seeing the MM Blu of this film if possible. Go in with the understanding of the slow build quality of the narrative and the revelations and shocks that come later will be all the more powerful.

EDGE OF THE AXE (1988)

I watched Jose Ramon Larraz’s 1988 horror film EDGE OF THE AXE the other night and was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t surprised because I don’t expect to like a movie made by Senor Larraz. In fact I have generally loved the horror efforts of that Spanish director with his VAMPYRES (1975) being a truly amazing erotic horror film that stands up to repeated viewings. I was surprised because EDGE OF THE AXE was made so much later in his career and I generally expect such efforts to be less than great if not bad. Adding to my trepidation was the knowledge of it being an 80s film- a period during which the huge success of the slasher genre tended to smother the production of any other kind of horror film. I’m not against watching a fun slasher now and then but I wasn’t in the mood for one which is why I decided to finally see this film. Well, of course, it turns out that this is Larraz’s entry in the slasher cash-in craze and it may be only one of his stabs at the genre in the 1980s as the descriptions of a couple of other titles on his IMDb page sound suspicious. I might have been disheartened except that by the time I realized my mistake I was already fascinated by the film.

Don’t get me wrong- this is not a great movie but it has so many elements that I find entertaining I could not have stopped watching it if you had threatened me with gunfire. The film is one of a number of movies made in the United States by an independent production group with Spanish ties. I’m not sure if any of the movie was shot in Spain but the exteriors were mostly done in rural California. This location work and the 80s fashions on display were of interest to me as I find that decade’s popular clothing and hairstyles to be hysterically awful. I was also intrigued by the two cast names that I recognized from my viewing of Spanish horror cinema. The lovely Patty Shepard plays an aging wealthy woman who has married a much younger man and the mighty Jack Taylor plays a church choirmaster friend of Shepard’s character. As this is a slasher film neither makes it to the closing credits but at least their deaths are entertaining. Both Naschy cast alumni acquit themselves brilliantly with Miss Shepard even getting to be chased through the woods by the masked killer.


And about that masked killer. The film opens strong with something I have never seen before in any movie- an axe murder inside a carwash while the car is being washed! How this white masked, axe toting madman managed to get in and out of the place unseen in broad daylight is beyond me (or the screenwriters) but I loved every second of it. The look of the mask reminded me of the one used in Bava’s excellent BLOOD & BLACK LACE with the only difference being eye-slits. The killer cuts a very imposing figure and the attacks are very well staged with us being able to see the axe striking the victims and leaving bloody marks each time. This is old school special effects and extremely effective stuff. Another plus is that the story throws so many possible killers into the mix that guessing who it really might be is virtually impossible but when revealed the identity still feels satisfying. The film also sports a great final image for the credits to roll over.

It should be understood that this is not a classic horror film destined to be rediscovered and acclaimed by the general populace. The film has the usual faults of European productions shot in the States in this period- dialog that often sounds like is was poorly translated by the cheapest available computer program; odd leaps in logic; bizarre ideas that don’t make sense beyond the dizzy plot; etc. For me these are the things that make such Euro-trash horror movies irresistible and even riveting but I’m aware that not everyone will respond as favorably. I’m not going to pretend this is a great movie but I have to admit I got a big kick out of it. I was smiling throughout the entire running time and I can’t say that about every horror film I watch. How can you not enjoy a movie from this period that has two people getting to know each other romantically over computers hooked up to an embryonic internet system? In 1988! Craziness.