| Author | Message | ||
     John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
If you haven't already heard about this, Mark Gatiss is working on a History of Horror series for the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/comingup/history-of-horror-with-mark-gatiss/ I'd imagine there's only so much he'll be able to cover in three one hour episodes, and despite the title it seems it'll be focused on film only, but should be interesting. Busy man, Gatiss, what with this and an adaptation of Wells' FIRST MEN IN THE MOON coming up as well. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/10_october/28/moon.s html | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.177.115.63 |
I wasn't aware of the Wells adaptation so I'm quite looking forward to that. The Edward Judd/Lionel Jeffries version was a real favourite of mine when I was a lad. Thanks for the heads up on both, John. | ||
| Mark West (Mark_west) Username: Mark_west Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.171.253.12 |
Saw the ad over the weekend, it looks like it might be pretty good. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Ooo, both of these sound rather good. Thanks for letting us know, John.  | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 86.139.29.214 |
Thanks for the heads up John. Mark Gatiss always comes up trumps in the genre. His ghost story trilogy last year was a marvel. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 142.179.13.54 |
I mentioned this series on Facebook, and a friend there said that Barbara Steele had recently been interviewed by a 'very nice young man from the BBC'. Gatiss, I suspect, so I guess we'll be seeing some interviews with her over the course of the programme. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
Does anyone know when this starts? It's as if they try to hide the start date from you - never mentioning it in reports. Which is why I always miss stuff. "Coming at some point in the future but we won't tell you when: a show you'd really, really like, if we told you when it was on so that you could watch it. But we won't. So fuck off." | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 142.179.13.54 |
It's been confirmed as starting on Monday 11 October on BBC4. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Zed - At least you get 'stuff.' I do miss quality British TV, especially as it's so hard to find. | ||
| Matthew_fell (Matthew_fell) Username: Matthew_fell Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 142.179.13.54 |
Frank: A little site called www.thebox.bz makes it very easy to find! | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 217.39.93.223 |
>It's been confirmed as starting on Monday 11 October on BBC4.< Excellent! Thanks Barbara! I've set my digibox to record the entire series. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.68 |
Pretty good first episode, I thought, but I'll admit to being disconcerted by John Carpenter's comments about Val Lewton. Presumably I shouldn't have described Halloween as the slasher film Lewton would have made (though I still think so). | ||
| Paul_finch (Paul_finch) Username: Paul_finch Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 92.2.67.184 |
Couldn't agree more, Ramsey. I feel that Carpenter has dined out a lot on HALLOWEEN and THE THING (though I also quite liked IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS), but he always seems to get masses of air-time on these horror history things. To hear him criticise Lewton was a bit of a shock. I loved Gatiss's insights into the various Frankenstein movies. Even my wife, who is no horror buff, was sufficiently interested to say that she could have happily continued to watch it for another hour. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
I thought it was excellent - Gatiss is clearly a genuine horror fan - and was also suprised by Carpenter's comments re: Lewton. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Matt - just seen this, as in the link. Cheers, mate, most appreciated. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Oh damn - forgot about it! Is it repeated somewhere/some time?  | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Me too!! Surely it must be repeated! | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 81.152.74.159 |
Lord P just sent me this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00v9gy5/A_History_of_Horror_with_Mark_Gati ss_Frankenstein_Goes_to_Hollywood/ I like the disclaimer: "WARNING: contains horror".  | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I think I know what you mean, Ramsey, about 'Halloween'. The slow burn build-up, evocative use of shadows and lack of explicit gore is quite Lewtonesque, although Carpenter created an edge-of-the-seat driving tension in that movie that has rarely been bettered in cinema. Perhaps the concentration on subtle chills, rather than heart-pounding suspense, is the problem Carpenter had? If so he's entirely misjudging the movies imo. I must get to see this programme! | ||
| Mark West (Mark_west) Username: Mark_west Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.39.177.173 |
I thought it was great and, like Paul F, it was accessible enough that my wife enjoyed it too. The Carpenter thing was a surprise, but there you go - though I do remember that in Halloween, there are plenty of times that you don't see the monster. Bodes well for future episodes. | ||
| Matthew_fell (Matthew_fell) Username: Matthew_fell Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 142.179.13.54 |
It was excellent, and I'm looking forward to the next episode to see what he does around the Hammer productions. And, yes, what Carpenter had to say was something of a surprise. But then, lots of so-called authorities surprise us from time to time. (Think Susan Hill. . .) Gatiss certainly seems to know his stuff, and I loved the in-a-cinema setting. Really well done. | ||
| Degsy (Degsy) Username: Degsy Registered: 08-2010 Posted From: 86.134.41.203 |
Some shrewd obsevations by Gatiss and I loved the lingering tracking shot along his DVD collection - obviously a true fan. I thought Carpenter was simply being contrary for effect and baiting the interviewer with his Lewton comments - I'm sure I've seen him cite 'Cat People' as an influence in another interview. It did make me want to see 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein' again though - a timeless classic! | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.171.129.74 |
Annoyingly the BBC4 Freeview channel dropped out here. Exactly for the hour the show was on. I was so peeved I didn't watch Bride of Frankenstein when the channel started working. Grr and arrrgh and other such mutterings. Any note of the literary side of horror? Or was it all movies? (Watched the first episode of the remake of V, the old 80s alien invasion mini series, on Channel One instead of Bride, of anyone cares to know.) | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Mark - I was told that the new series is quite good. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
I don't think Carpenter was being entirely serious in his opinions about Cat People etc. As Degsy's noted, there seems to have been an element of teasing in his tone. Mind you, I can't say I completely disagree with what he said, but that's a matter of personal taste. Good programme, though, made with a lot of evident passion for the material. Looking forward to the next two. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.176.41.85 |
I thought JC had a point about the pool sequence. I remember the light and shadows being nice enough but I didn't feel anything. In contrast the scene with the woman being followed in the street and the bus stopping, that still worked very well indeed. Unfortunately my Cat People is somewhere on an old vhs tape that will probably not play well anymore. It's a movie I should watch again. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 142.179.13.54 |
'Some shrewd obsevations by Gatiss and I loved the lingering tracking shot along his DVD collection - obviously a true fan.' All right, hands up everyone who craned their head sideways trying to read all the titles. . . . I thought it was an excellent and thoughtful introduction to cinematic horror in general and the Universal films in particular. The clips used were very good, and the interviews were fascinating. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
What makes the Val Lewton horror films still stand out is their unashamedly literary aspirations. These are not shallow frightfests but true works of cinematic poetry - more akin to the silent masterpieces of Murnau, Wegener, Christensen, etc. Sadly popular horror cinema largely gave up any attempts at artistic relevance in the decades that followed... | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 86.153.165.30 |
An excellent program. I'm in the mood now to watch all those old classics in my collection and hunt for those I don't yet have. It was wonderful to see that so many actors from the old Universal movies were still with us with so many great memories to share. Next week's Hammer episode will be a corker! | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 81.152.74.159 |
My hand's up, Barbara!  By lucky coincidence, we'd very recently watched several of the films featured in this instalment, which was a special treat. Well done, Mr Gatiss! I loved the bit where he got to peek inside Lon Chaney's makeup kit. I couldn't help but wonder what Chaney would have thought if he'd known it would be a museum relic one day, eyed with reverence by millions. | ||
| Martin Roberts (Martin_roberts) Username: Martin_roberts Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 86.5.239.91 |
I caught up with the first episode last night and was also impressed. The only slight problem I had was the 'spoilers' when the end of Freaks was given away etc (Helen has not seen these films yet) and Carpenter's comments also suprised me. And I bet we all went got got got at the DVD tracking shot | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.171.129.75 |
(Frank - I rather enjoyed the first episode of the new series, though it certainly wasn't without flaws. But that's another thread.) | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.253.174.81 |
A very good documentary, pitched just right. Oddly enough I was just showing Kate one of Alan Frank's books the other day in a second hand shop and saying how I knew them all word for word and picture for picture when I was a lad. Some nice music choices in there as well I thought - the subtle inclusion of all sorts of tracks from Taste the Blood of Dracula to Dressed to Kill to accompany things rather than just random library music. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Thanks to Kate for the link, reminding me about iPlayer - I watched this last night, and I loved it! Basically, I echo what you're all saying here. Great to see someone with real enthusiam for the genre presenting this - a bit like watching David Attenborough present a nature programme. Gatiss' enthusiasm is infectious, and I can well imagine that someone who isn't really into old horror films could have been inspired by this to try them. It made me long to watch them all again too! Lovely to see my all-time film hero, Boris Karloff, shown in all his glory! And next week it looks like I'll be seeing my second all-time favourite, Peter Cushing, in the same way. Re Kate's comment: "I loved the bit where he (Gatiss) got to peek inside Lon Chaney's makeup kit." He looked like a happy schoolboy who'd got to see something precious belonging to his hero, didn't he? I empathised with this totally, as a few years ago, I was lucky enough to look inside Roy Ashton's Hammer make-up kit which is housed at the National Media Museum, and also to see a full head cast of Peter Cushing. My eyes probably lit up the same way Gatiss' did on that programme! Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next instalment (trying not to forget when it's on this time). I hope he gives kudos to Amicus, Tigon and AIP from that era, as well as Hammer. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.68 |
It looks as if Carpenter wasn't kidding: http://maddrey.blogspot.com/2010/09/halloween-countdown-1940s.html | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Well, when Carpenter says "when you're a kid, you don't want to see shadows," I suppose I have to agree with him. That's how most kids feel. But of course many of us grow up. For grownups, shadows more than suffice. Carpenter's argument goes to the heart of why films such as PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT become such divisive films among horror lovers. A certain segment of the horror-loving population won't stand for a film in which the monster isn't shown. I don't really understand this logic, but there you go. For me, the moment a monster -- a man in a zippered suit, of course, or more commonly now a awkwardly lit, awkwardly moving CGI creation -- appears in a film is the moment I am suddenly alert to the fact that I'm watching a movie. It's check-out time for me. Odd, though, that Carpenter was so adept at using shadows and the full camera frame to such effect in Halloween. (Of course, Michael Myers was no zippered-suit monster, to be fair.) Makes me think that Carpenter's success in that film was a sort of accident. Weird. | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 86.153.165.30 |
>It looks as if Carpenter wasn't kidding< He's entitled to his opinion of course, but... When I watched Carpenter's classic 'Halloween' with my eldest boy last year he said, 'where's the blood? Show me the gore!' It was a horror film and he wanted bloody, Friday 13th type, slayings which he didn't get. He certainly felt cheated. I tried explaining subtlety and atmosphere to him, the 'less is more' concept. He doesn't get it. Maybe John Carpenter could better explain his technique to the unshockable 'Net' youth of today. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
When is this repeated? | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.143.178.131 |
Tonight I believe. Fairly late. Carpenter's comments don't stop me liking the best of his films, but he's wrong in my opinion. I think as you age and develop in sophistication then less really is more. That bus scene it Cat People scared the absolute bejuses out of me when I first saw it and in The Haunting (though not a Lewton film) you don't see any ghosts at all, but it still gets me. Great documentary though. I had feared it would be a repeat of info and anecdotes we'd all heard 800 times before, but Gatiss was genuinely insightful and seeing such things as Lon Chaney's makeup box and the bat from Dracula was a real treat, as were the interviews with the very elderly ladies of classic movies. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.111.132.33 |
Yes. Caught up with it last night and look forward to next week's one. I didn't agree with Carpenter...sometimes the worst monsters are those which/who are not clearly present. Give people a hint of it and let them use their imaginations. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Stevie - if you don't catch it tonight then I'm sure you can still see it on iPlayer. You'll love it! | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
11.00 tonight on BBC4 - I've just set my alarm and won't miss it! | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Just watched it - thoroughly entertaining. What I would call "great big smile" TV, I sat hugging myself all through it lol. I was particularly proud of the wee mention of Belfast, how the audiences must have cheered Bela up by screaming, an extremely poignant moment... John Carpenter would get on well with Clive Barker, I've heard him come out with the same argument, and disagree with him just as passionately. But that's why the horror genre is such a great one, it embraces everything from extreme physical shock and revulsion to creeping psychological fear and paranoia and on to outrageous black humour. Personally, I'm a fan of all approaches. 'Cat People' is as much a masterpiece as 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' or 'Carry On Screaming' imho. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 142.179.13.54 |
'It was a horror film and he wanted bloody, Friday 13th type, slayings which he didn't get. He certainly felt cheated. I tried explaining subtlety and atmosphere to him, the 'less is more' concept. He doesn't get it.' I think a lot has to do with individual taste, regardless of age; there are plenty of grown-ups who'd rather watch SAW than the 1963 THE HAUNTING, say. And while it's difficult to imagine, I guess that even HALLOWEEN doesn't look particularly 'shocking' to a lot of younger people today when you see what goes on in a lot of modern horror. Tim, now thirteen, has seen some pretty gruesome horror films, but he's still happy to watch HALLOWEEN or PSYCHO or PAN'S LABYRINTH or the original HAUNTING and appreciate them all (it helps, I think, that he's interested in the technical side of filmmaking, if you will, things like tracking shots and wipes and deep-focus cinematography, which you tend to see more of in films that aren't concentrating on the gore quotient). Watching PSYCHO with him when he saw it for the first time was great: he had no idea what was coming, so when the reveal in the cellar came I was watching him, not the screen. I'll never get to see PSYCHO again for the first time, with no foreknowledge, so watching it with Tim was the next best thing. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Barbara - I was thinking about Psycho the other day, especially about the overhead camera technique employed when Norman/Mother rushes out across the landing and stabs Arbogast (Martin Balsam). I remember seeing this for the first time, and I was terrified. Years later, even knowing what's about to happen, it still frightens the daylights out of me. I think the technique in masking the identity, or blurring the true identity is one of the most fully realized moments in a film which heightens the fear. Perhaps it's because we are looking down, like puppeteers, unwillingly forced into the proceedings...I don't know. | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 86.150.87.200 |
I see next week's episode is to be followed by Hammer's 'The Brides of Dracula'. One of my favourite Hammer Horrors. I haven't seen it in decades! | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Just thought I'd bump this to the top again to remind you all to watch it. I haven't checked the actual time it's on yet myself, but I think it is later tonight on BBC4 isn't it? | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
Yep, Caroline, tonight at 9pm again. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.238 |
There's a documentary about Poe on Thursday, too. | ||
| Rosswarren (Rosswarren) Username: Rosswarren Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 217.39.69.169 |
Anyone know how soon after it will be on iPlayer? | ||
| Paul_finch (Paul_finch) Username: Paul_finch Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 92.2.67.184 |
Tonight's was an excellent round-up of the Brit horror flicks of the late-50s to the early-70s. No film that I rate went umentioned apart from HANDS OF THE RIPPER. So a bit rushed, maybe, but that's to be expected when you've only got three episodes to play with. Next week's is going to have to cram an awful lot in, if it's going from PSYCHO through to the present day. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
I think he's only going up to the late 70s/early 80s, Paul. So not quite as much to fit in, but it looks unlikely he's going to be able to touch on any of the European cinema of the period (although snatches of the SUSPIRIA soundtrack suggests that Argento will get an airing). Another good episode, though, and I was pleased to see BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW get the credit I think it's due. There was some really charming and lovely footage of Vincent Price and Peter Cushing in there too. And I guess that must have been Roy Ward Baker's last interview. Surprised they didn't dedicate the programme to him, actually. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.179.36.225 |
Gatiss also said that it wasn't going to be an exhaustive run-through; more that it was his personal choice of films. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Very enjoyable, and I identified completely with the little anecdotes from his childhood. I was completely forbidden from watching these movies until almost in my teens! But every now and again a kindly babysitter would let me stay up to watch a Hammer or Universal horror, the effect was as magical as Gatiss described. Was glad pretty much all my favourites, particularly 'Blood On Satan's Claw', were mentioned. | ||
| Mbfg (Mbfg) Username: Mbfg Registered: 09-2010 Posted From: 212.219.63.204 |
A wonderful series. Repsectful, moving and not the usual half-mocking, trashy horror-related television. Mark Gtiss shwos a real undersndign and feel for subjct tt obviouly measn as muh o him as it does to us. rrely, for a TV presenter, he GETS THE POINT. | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 09-2010 Posted From: 81.155.23.31 |
Typos r us. Glad Gatiss picked out Plague of the Zombies. This first came out as a B film (remember B films?) that I saw in the cinema. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
My main gripe would be that there was no mention of my two favourite Hammer horror films; 'The Devil Rides Out' & their glorious last hurrah, 'To The Devil A Daughter'. The curse of Dennis Wheatley strikes again, no doubt... Also, even though it's sci-fi/horror, at least a word about 'Quatermass And The Pit' would have been appropriate. But I know I'm nit-picking. | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 81.152.74.159 |
I'd love to have seen Hands of the Ripper and the Dennis Wheatleys get a mention but hey - he couldn't include everything. It was probably agony enough for him having to choose which ones to leave out! John and I were comparing notes on monsters vs. "things that go bump". We both like getting to see the actual demon in Night of the Demon but The Haunting doesn't work for him the way it does for me. Something unseen banging on the door and holding my hand in the dark would terrify me while John says he'd have to go check it out to prove it was nothing. (He'd be the first one dead in such a film!) But for me - if it isn't a sinister ghost who means me harm, then I'm going mad. Both possibilities are equally frightening, which is why The Haunting is my ideal film (and the book even more so). I think it was Stephen King who said that showing you what's behind the door isn't half as scary as letting you imagine what *might* be behind it. I can't help but wonder if the series is cursed, though. Gloria Stewart died just before episode 1 aired and then Roy Ward Baker in episode 2... Who does Gatiss interview in episode 3? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.194.128 |
I watched a few a Hammers this week - The Mummy and Frankenstein. Really enjoyable. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Stevie - Gattiss states in the show that it's a personal journey through cinematic horror, so he's bound to leave out a few of everyone's favourites. I'm finding it oddly moving that a lot of Gattiss' childhood memories chime so precisely with mine - even down to individual films (JLP and I often have this, too, even recalling the exact same TV showing of certain films) and books. It's all making me very nostalgic and melancholy. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.194.128 |
I look forward to Shane Ritchie's forthcoming A History of British Situation Comedy for the same reasons. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Maybe John Carpenter's about to pop his clogs!! The story about sneaking down to see 'The Revenge Of Frankenstein' really chimed with me. I can remember sitting on the stairs in the dark as a child straining to hear and "visualise" the soundtrack of films on in the living room, after I'd been sent to bed, because they were deemed not for my eyes. This created a craving in me that remains unquenchable to this day. My happiest memory was when my Mum allowed me to sneak down, about the age of 11, after my younger sister was asleep, to watch Hitchcock's 'The Birds' with her. Dad was out and I know she hadn't seen it since first release in the cinema so I think letting me stay up was as much for her benefit as my own. To this day that was my most magical TV experience, and 'The Birds' remains my personal favourite of all Hitch's movies. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
I'm lucky that my mother allowed me to watch this stuff - to this day, I don't think she actually realised what she was letting me watch.  | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 81.152.74.159 |
Re: parents not quite realising what we were watching... I recently got hold of an old film that terrified me as a child and I asked my mum if she remembered it. It was The Children and was about a school bus that drove through a toxic cloud, turning the kids into black-fingernailed zombies that burnt their parents alive by hugging them. She didn't remember the film but when I described it to her she said she couldn't believe she'd have let me watch something like that. So I think perhaps they were a bit clueless about what they let me watch too. They took me to see both Alien and Friday the 13th in the cinema, after all. And pretty much anything that was on TV was fair game. I was traumatised by The Exorcist around the same period. Ah, if only I'd known about giallos back then... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.194.128 |
I used to go to school on that very bus. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
My old man pretty much educated me about horror films from the age of six or seven. ALIEN, THE THING, if it had a monster in it then he'd pop it on. I ate it up. He's also the man who kick-started my horror reading. When I went to visit him I was drawn to the books on his shelves. "What's the one about, dad?" "Killer rats." "And this one?" "Killer crabs." Sold. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.194.128 |
What a cool dad. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Ha! My parents never realised what they were letting me watch either. Three cheers for clueless parents!  Just caught up with the 2nd part of History of Horror on 'catch up TV' tonight - loved it! It seems Gatiss loves Peter Cushing as much as I do. That's now covered both my favourite eras of horror film - I never found any enjoyment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and films of that ilk. But Gatiss presents these programmes in such an enthusiastic manner I'm wondering if he might sell me on the idea of trying some of them again after next week's programme ... Ross - did no-one answer your query about how soon it would be on iPlayer? If you haven't caught it yet, I noticed it was still on there today. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.152.74.159 |
He's also the man who kick-started my horror reading. When I went to visit him I was drawn to the books on his shelves. "What's the one about, dad?" "Killer rats." "And this one?" "Killer crabs." Sold.  Splendid!!! | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
John - classic, mate. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.111.132.33 |
Fascinating. Blood on Satan's Claw 1971 (which I haven't seen) and The Wicker Man. 1973. More reading up on both tomorrow. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.146.143 |
Blood on Satan's Claw is something of a cult film, but some nice photography doesn't make up for its crudely moralistic theme: if teenage girls are sexual they are 'evil' and possessed by Satan. The film takes the opportunity provided by its time to portray female sexuality, but does so only to condemn it in the most archaic terms. A pretty film on the surface, an ugly one at heart. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.237.21 |
My old man pretty much educated me about horror films Same here. We used to watch Hammer horror films together late at night, after my mother and sister had gone to sleep. Afterwards we'd discuss what we had seen, whether the events eneacted were possible or not etc. He also introduced me to science fiction (almost exclusively Wyndham and Bradbury). And I discovered a horror anthology in the household library containing stories by Poe, Derleth, Lovecraft, Stoker . . . | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
>>A pretty film on the surface, an ugly one at heart.<< I thought it was interesting that Piers Haggard, the director, said he thought now with hindsight that the rape scene was way too strong. I saw him, and the writer whose name escapes me, interviewed a few years ago at the National Media Museum, before a screening of the film. At that time, Haggard was adamant that he'd done the right thing, but the writer apparently always felt they shouldn't have that scene in at all. I think this was the first time they'd seen the film in years. I wonder if that screening, together with the audience reaction, was what made Haggard change his mind? I think what makes the rape scene in that film particularly repugnant to me is the fact that the girl being raped actually seems to be enjoying it. It was clearly done to feed the male fantasy at the time. Ally - you might not enjoy it! BTW, do you mean you've never seen The Wicker Man either? I thought everyone had seen that!  | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.111.132.33 |
I'll probably not bother with Blood on Satan's Claw. Both films are apparently 'folk horror' so that is why I metioned The Wicker Man. Yes, Caroline, I've seen the Wicker Man quite a few times. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Ally, watch 'Blood On Satan's Claw' and make up your own mind. The rape scene is terrifying because it involves children who are explicitly shown to be possessed by the devil, this time given horrific physical form. The film is a spellbinding work of dark fantasy and one of the most genuinely frightening horror films ever made in Britain, as well as one of the most beautiful. It conjures up a sense of period that is completely convincing, and matched only by 'The Witchfinder General' imo. The themes of child sexuality and cruelty it touches on were given a modern reworking 2 years later in 'The Exorcist'. You should be no more shocked or offended at what is shown in this film than you should be by the image of Regan masturbating with a crucifix. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Yes, sorry, I wasn't trying to stop you from watching it, Ally - just warning you what to expect and giving my own point of view. By all means watch it and make your own mind up. It would actually be interesting to hear another woman's view on it. Perhaps I'm just being over-sensitive? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.111.132.33 |
I might catch up with it eventually, Steve, and Caroline you aren't being over-sensitive. If the subject matter and how they deal with it is offensive to you then you have a valid reaction. Mark Gatiss also referred to the 1968 Witchfinder General alongside The Wicker Man and Blood on Satan's Claw as being 'folk horror.' | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 81.152.74.159 |
Here's another woman's POV on Blood on Satan's Claw: I love it! It's fantastically weird and disturbing and scary and sexy and even funny. The rape scene is horrible, but shouldn't it be? However, unlike the uncomfortably realistic scene in Irreversible, this one is so much folk horror and black fantasy that it doesn't bother me at all. Yes, the girl enjoys it by the end but that's because she's been seduced by Satan, not specifically because she's had sex forced on her. There's a similar starry-eyed ecstasy in everyone who falls under the spell, whether it's explicitly sexual or not. And hey - what about Angel Blake falsely accusing Reverend Fallowfield of trying to rape her? Surely that's every bit as reprehensible. There really isn't another film like it and I agree that it's an underrated gem. I don't see it as a slasher-esque morality tale at all. It's just a scary and disorienting story about some kids who fall prey to the devil. It's not perfect by any means but for me that only adds to its charm. And that soundtrack! It's our favourite for when we're driving through the dark and rainy Welsh countryside. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
I'm with Kate on this one. Here's an idea, Ally: watch the film and decide for yourself. I dare ya. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.111.132.33 |
We'll see. I know something for sure, Zed, I'm definately not watching A Serbian Film. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
I'd honestly recommend that you don't. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.111.132.33 |
I don't think I'd ever be able to get the imagery of 'that' rape scene out of my head. I can't even imagine how the director approached it etc... | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.33.242.34 |
I love Blood on Satan's Claw and I'm glad to see someone highlight it as a picture worthy of appreciation. There are few films that portray the insidious spread of utter evil in an isolated community so well. The damp chilly locations and all the bits that people might not like in it serve to contribute to that, including an utter disdain for the powerlessness of the organised religion of the time. Even physically trying to cut the evil out is shown to be useless. The acting is great, the music worms its way under your skin, and for a script that doesn't make a whole lot of sense the film overcomes its shortcomings and scares me silly even now. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.194.128 |
I've never seen Blood on Satan's Claw. Is it a Hammer film? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.194.128 |
Hey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=triPkcSYVkY | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 99.126.164.88 |
I'm another big fan of BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW. I saw it first way back when, on American local TV out of L.A., where Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, spent the whole time ridiculing and mocking it. And yet... it disturbed me, and stayed with me long after, despite that ludicrous treatment (the same as with the Spanish film, THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED) - always the sign of a good horror film, its horror can survive the comedy foisted upon it.... Thanks for the link Gary! I think I'll download that to my iPod! | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 86.155.107.148 |
Mark Gatiss' little homage to Peter Cushing was brill also. There seems to be an awful lot of us on here who grew up watching '70s 3 channel TV horror double bills on Saturday nights on BBC2. Or sneaking a watch when we could. This is why anything Mark Gatiss does in the horror genre has my rapt attention. He's 4 months my junior and we've never met but he knows me sooo well. After watching I decided I must have my own copy of 'Blood on Satan's Claw' which I'd only seen once before many years ago. Next day at lunchtime I picked it up in a second hand shop I'd never been to before along with Cushing's 'Shock Waves' which I've never seen and have long wanted to. Funny that. | ||
| Mark West (Mark_west) Username: Mark_west Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.171.253.12 |
Sean - spot on, I feel the same way. I've never seen "Blood On Satan's Claw" but I did see "Shockwaves" years ago (perhaps 15 or so, thinking about it) and it's not a bad little chiller at all. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
What shop's that, Sean! I've never even heard of 'Shock Waves' before, but 'Blood On Satan's Claw' has long held pride of place in the old DVD collection. I seriously rank it as one of the most frightening horror films I've seen. "Give me my skin...", that barely glimpsed hopping thing in the woods, the claw scuttling under the floorboards, etc... the stuff of pure nightmare. | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 86.153.163.245 |
Mark (West) - I mean Gatiss even mentioned collecting the 'Hammer House of Horror' magazine religiously in the seventies which I did too. I own every issue of which the 'Plague of the Zombies' cover is my absolute favourite. On next weeks episode I fully expect him to say how he was traumatised after sneakily watching 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' in a mates' house during the 'video nasty' era. Stevie, It's a 'Retro' collectables shop facing (a few doors up) the usual little Bookshop we frequent. It's full of sixties/seventies memorabilia,toys,records,clothes,cinema posters,etc. As well as those 2 DVDs mentioned above I also picked up 'Burnt Offerings','Peeping Tom' and 'Blood from the Mummy's Tomb' (Valerie Leon, YES!!)all for £2 each. By all accounts 'Shock Waves' is a great little non gore traditional SS Zombie shocker. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
I'll check it out after pay day this week, Sean! |