The Grim Cellar

1965, UK, Directed by Terence Fisher

Colour, Running Time: 86 minutes

DVD, Region 2, Optimum, Video: Anamorphic 2.35:1, Audio: Mono

A group of travellers are heading towards Carlsbad (a fantastic village better known as Karlovy Vary, in Czech) when they come across a priest while staying at a tavern. He warns them against heading in that direction, knowing that Dracula’s castle is in the vicinity; despite the fact that Dracula has been dead for ten years he still innately fears the place and the vampire that once inhabited it. Ignoring his instruction the travellers head off anyway but are confused when their coach driver gets so far before refusing to continue. Forced to proceed on foot they realise they’re not going to make it before dark and agree to stop in an old woodcutter’s hut. At that point an unmanned horse and carriage arrives and, thinking they can utilise this to continue their trip, they board it. But instead of taking them to Carlsbad it heads straight to the castle where they strangely appear to be expected. Reluctantly, in some cases, they stay for the night as beckoned by the solitary butler, but the next morning two of the four have already disappeared - one to provide blood for the resurrection of Dracula, one for a vampirically consumed quenching of thirst.

The third chapter in Hammer’s series, this was more so marketed as a sequel to the first film (Christopher Lee wasn’t in the second, Brides of Dracula), beginning with a sequence that encapsulates the events of Dracula. Lee doesn’t utter a word throughout (according to Lee, the dialogue was too bad: so why accept the script in the first place then?), and Barbara Shelley does a nice job being smartly turned from a frigid, unadventurous woman into a sexy, volatile vixen thanks to the vampire curse. The first 45 minutes are brilliant - pure classic gothic horror set-up. Despite us knowing that this is a Dracula film, the voyage of the travellers is filled with a sense of spooky mystery, and the atmosphere is dense with the supernatural - a slow paced build up to the eventual resurrection. The latter 40 minutes follow a relatively conventional route of the protagonists trying to despatch the undead and prevent their loved ones being taken, and is less captivating. But for the first half alone, being among Hammer’s best material, this film is worth the money in my book.

Anamorphically enhanced (as opposed to the letterboxing of the original UK DVD presentation), the film looks good in its intended ratio. It’s not massively detailed and blacks could be deeper, but it’s generally an acceptable transfer. The also disc comes with the fairly long Many Faces of Christopher Lee documentary, which was included on the Scars of Dracula 2-discer in the US (Anchor Bay). Overall a good disc from Optimum (part of their Ultimate Hammer Collection), improving on the previous UK release.

1967, UK, Directed by Terence Fisher

Colour, Running Time: 92 minutes

DVD, Region 2, Optimum, Video: Anamorphic 1.66:1, Audio: Mono

Amusingly they had to retitle this in the States for fear that American audiences would think it was a Western - it became ‘The Devil’s Bride’. Based on a Dennis Wheatley novel (who ended up being pleased with this cinematic conversion) the film introduces us to Richleau (Lee), who meets up with Rex to catch up with an old friend, Simon. It turns out though that Simon has become wrapped up with a society of Devil-worshippers who are intending to ‘baptise’ Simon and a girl called Tanith, thus begins a race to prevent the baptism. On their adventure they come across a manifestation of Satan himself and have to face demonic forces in a climactic showdown.

One of Hammer’s most famous films, it’s a well shot adventure-horror story that progresses rapidly and is quite ambitious in its attempts to recreate Wheatley’s supernatural story. I feel it hasn’t dated brilliantly, partly due to Lee’s overly emphatic performance - I think Charles Gray (as Mocata) managed to get the balance right personally. James Bernard’s score is also a bit over the top, but then again his scores always did seem to be trying to force the point home with a sledgehammer. There is a great car chase in there, which is quite unusual for the genre. Despite the now dated special FX and the aforementioned issues (that are probably unique to me), it is a well paced and entertaining film.

The Optimum disc (as with the others I’ve looked at, available separately or as part of the Ultimate Hammer Collection boxed set - see Amazon for a price that’s too good to pass up at time of writing) reveals a surprisingly beautiful transfer - lovely colours and lots of detail, you can’t ask for much better on DVD for a 60s film, plus it’s correctly framed at 1.66:1 and anamorphically enhanced to boot - perfect job! The only extra is a trailer but the disc can be bought cheaply anyway.

1971, UK/USA, Directed by Robert Fuest

Colour, running time: 91 minutes

DVD, Region 2, MGM, Video: Anamorphic 1.85:1, Audio: Mono

Vincent Price plays a surgically-knowledgeable ex-musician seeking biblical revenge, with the help of his attractive assistant, on nine doctors whom he considers responsible for the fact that his wife died during surgery. Strangely, his wife was ‘played’ by Caroline Munro in what must be one of the most non-existent roles ever. Each death is inventive and varied, predating the modern slasher film in some ways, and the film is laced with an undercurrent of black comedy whilst being played against a backdrop of colourful sets.

The film has a camp feel, coming across as a mix of Danger Diabolik, the 60s Batman TV series, and Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe cycle. Price seemed in his element with this kind of material, overacting to his heart’s content, while never actually opening his mouth on screen due to wearing a mask to cover his horrifying scars. Instead, he speaks through a device attached to his throat and routed through a sound instrument. The strange brand of humour works in one or two places (for example, the police having to physically rotate a victim’s entire body in order to release it from impalement), and the production is quite imaginative, but generally I do get a little bored with this film, though it has its fans and is considered a cult piece. It was quite popular at the time and resulted in a sequel a year later.

The UK MGM disc features a bright, appropriately saturated and very detailed anamorphic transfer that is surprisingly attractive on the eye, making it a good buy for fans (despite the only extra being a trailer) - you can generally pick the disc up for a low price. The US release was basically the same.

1988, Italy, Directed by Michele Soavi

Colour, Running Time: 102 minutes

DVD, Region 1, Anchor Bay, Video: Anamorphic 1.84:1, Audio: Dolby Digital EX

La Chiesa begins several hundred years ago when an army of Teutonic Knights slaughter an entire village of suspected Satanically-possessed people, burying them in a mass grave upon which a church is later built. Skipping forward to the present day, a new librarian unwittingly unlocks a gravestone beneath the church, unleashing demonic forces. Hell almost literally breaks loose in the church with a whole group of people becoming trapped with the awakening demonic forces.

Soavi proved to be an interesting genre director, making the above average slasher Stagefright before this, followed by The Sect and, his best film, Dellamorte Dellamore in 1994. He decided to concentrate on TV following that, thus the genre lost one of its more promising assets. Up until the mid-eighties the Italian film industry was populated with a large number of rip-offs (albeit good ones in many cases) and someone like Soavi was capable of taking material into relatively unexplored territory rather than just rehashing what the Americans had already done. The Church took me some time to appreciate but it does prove to be a rewarding experience - the demons themselves are less obviously used than in something like Demons 1 and 2 (to which this film was once announced as a sequel), and are in some ways more effective. It is a stylishly shot and fairly unusual movie.

AB’s disc was released in a period when most of their transfers look similarly grainy - this one is no different. It’s hardly unwatchable but neither is it a stellar example of what DVD is capable of. It is, however, probably the best way to view The Church currently - in fact I don’t know of any other disc releases. The sound fairs better than the picture, with a DD-EX track giving the brilliant music in particular quite a bit of weight. Overall, a pretty essential watch/purchase.

1976, UK, Directed by Peter Sykes

Colour, Running Time: 89 minutes

DVD, Region 2, Optimum, Video: Anamorphic 1.62:1, Audio: Mono

Based (very loosely) on a Dennis Wheatley novel, film presents author and occult expert Varney (Widmark) as someone assigned the job of protecting a young ‘nun’ (Kinski) from the clutches of a Satanic cult leader (Lee) who runs a church that, from the outside, looks like a legitimate Catholic operation. The story essentially becomes a battle for possession over the girl before her 18th birthday, at which point the intention is to ritualistically offer her to the Devil.

A latter day effort from Hammer, it was made just as the studio was about to be effectively finished as a film production outfit. They had no money at this time but managed to strike a deal to adapt the novel but Wheatley was reportedly pissed with the results, as it contained little of what he wrote in the book. Lee was disgusted with the (admittedly quite unique) scene of a demon baby climbing back into Nastassja Kinski’s womb (er, yes, Chistopher, it’s a ‘Horror’ movie, sh*t like this happens…) and the conclusion was knocked up by one of the producers who randomly decided that the original ending was too close to Scars of Dracula. Thus the conclusion to the film now is noticeably unsatisfying and a real flaw with what otherwise is not actually a bad piece of work. It managed to break away from the formula that Hammer had trapped itself into and paved the way for an interesting new future - but it was not to be. Peter Sykes once again demonstrates himself as a director of talent and potential. Don’t get me wrong, the film is not exactly enthralling, but it did delineate elements that were quite intriguing.

The DVD transfer is excellent. Optimum’s disc also contains the extras from the old US Anchor Bay disc: a 24 minute documentary which is extremely captivating (frustratingly punctuated with clips from the film - why is this demeaning practice necessary?) revealing the story of the film plus Hammer’s situation around the period. Lee outlines the details behind the ending of the film, how it was changed, etc. - it’s a pity that the original ending (which was filmed) couldn’t have been found to create a director’s cut because nobody liked how it was changed (except the idiot who endorsed it, it seems). There’s also a brilliant 7 minute excerpt of an interview with Eddie Powell (RIP), who stood in for Chris Lee during the nude ritual and did other stunt work. He is a fascinating person and it’s a pity that his entire interview couldn’t have been included. Overall, a good disc of a flawed film that’s worth making your own mind up about (available separately or as part of the Ultimate Hammer Collection boxed set).

1966, UK, Directed by John Gilling

Colour, Running Time: 86 minutes

DVD, Region 2, Optimum, Video: Anamorphic 1.75:1, Audio: Mono

Following the death of his brother, Harry Spalding and his wife move to an inherited house in a Cornish village where they find defensive locals and the town doctor who is unusually protective over his daughter (Pearce). We know something supernatural is occurring in the village due to the opening sequence where someone is killed by a snake-like individual - Spalding is encouraged to leave, first by the benevolent bartender (Michael Ripper in one of his bigger roles for Hammer) and then by the doctor. Exhuming his brother’s corpse reveals a distinctly unnatural death while Pearce appears to go into a strange trance during the performance of a musical piece at the doctor’s mansion - Spalding realises that there is something possibly horrific occurring in the Cornish town.

Gilling demonstrated talent with a couple of Hammer films, this one included. It abides by the conventions of the period but quite skilfully. The location has some atmosphere (recognisable if you’ve already seen Plague of the Zombies) and boasts strong performances. Pearce has a striking presence and benefits from a slightly longer role than that she had in Plague… The musical sequence (Pearce playing an Eastern instrument) is nicely shot and edited, reflecting a hypnotic feel. The climax is a little too typical but overall The Reptile is generally a good watch.

The Optimum disc presents a below average transfer containing washed-out colours, inadequate contrast and faint vertical lines visible occasionally. It also looks to me like it is cropped all around, despite being anamorphically presented at 1.75:1. It’s watchable but noticeably inferior to most of the other transfers in this collection. There is also no bonus material, though the film itself just about makes the disc worth owning for Hammer fans. It was released by Anchor Bay in the US several years ago - that disc contained a World of Hammer episode plus a couple of trailers so, regarding film-specific extras, it wasn’t a particularly superior DVD.

2006, Czech/USA, Directed (and screenplay written) by Neil Burger

Colour, Running Time: 110 minutes

Cinema screening, Image: 1.85:1 Super 35, Audio: English (in foreign accents…)

Adapted from a short story Burger’s film focuses on a magician around turn-of-the-century Vienna who runs into the childhood sweetheart that he was forced to leave behind years earlier thanks to a class divide and the narrow minded authorities who thought it was a relevant point. As an adult she’s about to marry a reputedly violent Crown Prince, who has his own political agenda based on the initiation of his proposed marriage. The magician finds himself being pushed away from the one he loves once again and, as far as he’s concerned, he’s not about to let it happen again. But he’s up against overwhelming forces in the shape of corrupt police and amoral royalty (hang on, we are still in Vienna here aren’t we….?).

It’s a good film and the performances are generally great, Norton as the eponymous protagonist and particularly Rufus Sewell as the Crown Prince. In fact I didn’t recognise Sewell for a while. The visuals are especially attractive, my favourite sequence from an aesthetic point of view being the flashback to Norton’s youth - shot almost in silent movie style visually. Philip Glass, probably one of the greatest living composers, provides the beautiful score (string heavy, as can be expected). The story is an interesting one and enough to keep the attention throughout. Avoiding general Hollywood conventions in many ways, this is worth checking out at the cinema.