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Horror Movie A Day: Quint on THE DUNWICH HORROR (1970) The Old Ones are coming back. I’m going to let them through.
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with today’s installment of A Movie A Day.
[For those now joining us, A Movie A Day is my attempt at filling in gaps in my film knowledge. My DVD collection is thousands strong, many of them films I haven’t seen yet, but picked up as I scoured used DVD stores. Each day I’ll pull a previously unseen film from my collection or from my DVR and discuss it here. Each movie will have some sort of connection to the one before it, be it cast or crew member.]
Welcome to the first (of 31) Horror Movie A Day columns. If you’re wondering where the regular A Movie A Day column is… well, it’s still here, but the regular list is on hold. I froze it with LAURA and will continue it November 1st with another Gene Tierney film, BLACK WIDOW, but in the mean time I’m trying something a little different.
I have a list of (so far) 50 movies that fall either into the horror, thriller or suspense category. These titles were pulled from my stack of AMAD flicks. What I’ve done is write down the title to each film, one title on one slip of paper, and put them all in a plastic bag. The plan is to draw, at random, a film a day. There are a good dozen or so horror films that I left out of the drawing pool for this month because they’re already locked into the regular AMAD list and I don’t want to take all my horror out of the next few months.
I’ll be updating the master list as I pick up new titles. October’s great for horror sales, so there little doubt that I’ll be picking up many titles over the month and putting them in the running. In fact, I have 5 or 6 movies headed my way ordered off of Amazon and Deep Discount DVD that I’ll update as soon as I have them in-hand.
The first film drawn was THE DUNWICH HORROR, an AIP picture for 1970 starring Dean Stockwell (Al!!!) as the great grandson of a cult leader trying to bring the Lovecraftian Old Ones back to Earth.
Of course, I use the term “Lovecraftian” and that’s probably inaccurate since this movie is more than Lovecraftian. It’s actually based on one of Lovecraft’s short stories… so maybe techinically it isn’t Lovecraftian so much as it is Lovecraft.
The cast is fairly fascinating for a B Picture. You have Sandra Dee looking older than her 28 years, but still hot, as the girl Stockwell chooses for his cult practices, Ed Begley Sr. as a traveling lecturer and owner of the Necronomicon, Sam Jaffe (who AMAD readers might remember I loved in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE as Doc Riedenschneider) as Stockwell’s crazy white-haired grandpa and then there’s Stockwell himself at his late ‘60s/early ‘70s sleaziest.
There’s also another familiar face in a bit role of a Nurse. She’s credited as Talia Coppola, but she became famous a few years later as Talia Shire, Adrian herself.
Now, I’ve been meaning to give this one a view for some time now, but I know a lot of people who tried to warn me off of it. The film isn’t highly rated at IMDB either, but I knew some day I’d just have to bite the bullet and give it a view.
And let me tell you, it’s not all that bad of a film. In fact, the first half of the movie is pretty good. You have Dean Stockwell, not exactly the most good-looking charmer to grace the silver screen, seducing Sandra Dee while trying to get his hands on the Necronomicon. There’s a charm in watching him play the role of Wilbur Whateley. He’s soft-spoken, non-threatening… there’s something about him not being the obvious pick for this kind of demented cultist that really works for me.
He ends up getting Sandra Dee to drive him to his mansion in Dunwich where the main mystery of the movie is set up (what is Stockwell up to? Who or what is locked in the room at the top of the spiral staircase? Why does he live with his crazy grandfather?) and this is also where Stockwell uses a combination of charm and drugs (he keeps slipping something into Dee’s tea) to coerce her into taking part in a ritual where her body will be the vessel the Old Ones use to return to this world.
The seduction is what bridges us from the good first 40 minutes to the second cheesy, iffy 40 minutes.
I don’t really blame the filmmakers… the last 40 minutes needed a payoff and the closest we get is a glimpse at the creature living behind the bolted door at the top of the spiral staircase, something that is used quite effectively, but I’m sure looked cheap as shit without the trick lighting and camerawork.
In fact, this thing “exists in two dimensions” so when it gets loose and is called to the sacrificial altar by Stockwell it is represented by wind (M. Night Shyamalan style)… Oooohhh, wind… scccaaarrrrryyyy.
The writing isn’t particularly strong either, with the final confrontation coming off as just silly. Basically you have a robed Stockwell standing over a writhing drugged Sandra Dee on a stone altar on the top of a hill and Ed Begley races up to stop him. Stockwell and Begley essentially baby-talk back and forth, shouting passages from the Necronomicon at each other, until one of them spontaneously combusts and falls off the hill into the crashing waves below.
When I say baby talk I’m not really kidding. The supposed-to-be-creepy passages are just a step up from Gah-Gah-Goo-Goo.
So, I guess that’s why the film has a low rating. The second half turns into a cheesy, but not all that fun typical cult film due to budget constraints and some iffy writing.
Speaking of, one of the writers is none other than a very young Curtis Hanson, who later went on to direct LA CONFIDENTIAL, WONDERBOYS and 8 MILE. Interesting, huh?
The highlight of the movie for me was Jaffe as Stockwell’s crazy grandfather. He was forced to carry around this horrible prop, a cheap staff with a crazy sun symbol on it, every time he was onscreen. He’s essentially the “You’re all doomed” character, the grumpy old bastard trying to warn everybody away. It could have been very stupid, but Jaffe gives it his all and makes the character stand out.
Also keep an ear out for some very nice music from Les Baxter (BLACK SABBATH, SWITCHBLADE SISTERS, X: THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES). Baxter’s score is probably the best thing about this film, even if I don’t think it fits a lot of the time. His main melody is a very sweet tune that would probably feel more at home in a nice romantic drama than an AIP cult film.
Interestingly enough, someone’s already remade this movie, with a release date this Halloween. I’m not sure what kind of release it is, but Jeffrey Combs plays the Stockwell character and Stockwell returns, this time playing the Begley character. I’m curious. Lovecraft on a budget is damn near impossible to pull off, but the original was very ripe for a remake.
Final Thoughts: It’s a heavily flawed movie, but one that I wouldn’t necessarily warn anyone off of. You should just know going in that it gets ridiculous by the end. But it’s worth seeing for a very hot young Talia Shire, Ed Begley, Dean Stockwell and Sam Jaffe alone. There’s also a really neat animated opening credits sequence that is worth seeing. And who could totally hate a movie that ends with a zoom in on a fetus?
The titles up for grabs during the randomly picked Horror Movie A Day October:
Wednesday, October 1st – Friday, October 31st: H-MAD! Horror Movie A Day! Check out the list here!
Alright. First Horror Movie A Day in the bag. Can’t wait to see what the coming few weeks have in store! As usual, feel free to leave any suggestions in the talkback below for titles I have to hit. I’m especially looking for fun horror from the ‘70s and ‘80s. I’ve seen a great many from that era, but you never know what has slipped through the cracks.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
Previous Movies:
June 2nd: Harper
June 3rd: The Drowning Pool
June 4th: Papillon
June 5th: Gun Crazy
June 6th: Never So Few
June 7th: A Hole In The Head
June 8th: Some Came Running
June 9th: Rio Bravo
June 10th: Point Blank
June 11th: Pocket Money
June 12th: Cool Hand Luke
June 13th: The Asphalt Jungle
June 14th: Clash By Night
June 15th: Scarlet Street
June 16th: Killer Bait (aka Too Late For Tears)
June 17th: Robinson Crusoe On Mars
June 18th: City For Conquest
June 19th: San Quentin
June 20th: 42nd Street
June 21st: Dames
June 22nd: Gold Diggers of 1935
June 23rd: Murder, My Sweet
June 24th: Born To Kill
June 25th: The Sound of Music
June 26th: Torn Curtain
June 27th: The Left Handed Gun
June 28th: Caligula
June 29th: The Elephant Man
June 30th: The Good Father
July 1st: Shock Treatment
July 2nd: Flashback
July 3rd: Klute
July 4th: On Golden Pond
July 5th: The Cowboys
July 6th: The Alamo
July 7th: Sands of Iwo Jima
July 8th: Wake of the Red Witch
July 9th: D.O.A.
July 10th: Shadow of A Doubt
July 11th: The Matchmaker
July 12th: The Black Hole
July 13th: Vengeance Is Mine
July 14th: Strange Invaders
July 15th: Sleuth
July 16th: Frenzy
July 17th: Kingdom of Heaven: The Director’s Cut
July 18th: Cadillac Man
July 19th: The Sure Thing
July 20th: Moving Violations
July 21st: Meatballs
July 22nd: Cast a Giant Shadow
July 23rd: Out of the Past
July 24th: The Big Steal
July 25th: Where Danger Lives
July 26th: Crossfire
July 27th: Ricco, The Mean Machine
July 28th: In Harm’s Way
July 29th: Firecreek
July 30th: The Cheyenne Social Club
July 31st: The Man Who Knew Too Much
August 1st: The Spirit of St. Louis
August 2nd: Von Ryan’s Express
August 3rd: Can-Can
August 4th: Desperate Characters
August 5th: The Possession of Joel Delaney
August 6th: Quackser Fortune Has A Cousin In The Bronx
August 7th: Start the Revolution Without Me
August 8th: Hell Is A City
August 9th: The Pied Piper
August 10th: Partners
August 11th: Barry Lyndon
August 12th: The Skull
August 13th: The Hellfire Club
August 14th: Blood of the Vampire
August 15th: Terror of the Tongs
August 16th: Pirates of Blood River
August 17th: The Devil-Ship Pirates
August 18th: Jess Franco’s Count Dracula
August 19th: Dracula A.D. 1972
August 20th: The Stranglers of Bombay
August 21st: Man, Woman & Child
August 22nd: The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane
August 23rd: The Young Philadelphians
August 24th: The Rack
August 25th: Until They Sail
August 26th: Somebody Up There Likes Me
August 27th: The Set-Up
August 28th: The Devil & Daniel Webster
August 29th: Cat People
August 30th: The Curse of the Cat People
August 31st: The 7th Victim
September 1st: The Ghost Ship
September 2nd: Isle of the Dead
September 3rd: Bedlam
September 4th: Black Sabbath
September 5th: Black Sunday
September 6th: Twitch of the Death Nerve
September 7th: Tragic Ceremony
September 8th: Lisa & The Devil
September 9th: Baron Blood
September 10th: A Shot In The Dark
September 11th: The Pink Panther
September 12th: The Return of the Pink Panther
September 13th: The Pink Panther Strikes Again
September 14th: Revenge of the Pink Panther
September 15th: Trail of the Pink Panther
September 16th: The Real Glory
September 17th: The Winning of Barbara Worth
September 18th: The Cowboy and the Lady
September 19th: Dakota
September 20th: Red River
September 21st: Terminal Station
September 22nd: The Search
September 23rd: Act of Violence
September 24th: Houdini
September 25th: Money From Home
September 26th: Papa’s Delicate Condition
September 27th: Dillinger
September 28th: Battle of the Bulge
September 29th: Daisy Kenyon
September 30th: Laura
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Off to a good(ish) start. Will we get X-MAD in December?
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If we don't blow through the 3 Christmas Horror titles on the list, maybe I can gather together enough for a week of Christmas movies... Probably not, though.
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..."The Mountains of Madness"? Having just seen "Pan's Labirynth(sp?)" I'm convinced Del Toro can do a film that will do justice to a Lovecraft story.
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Neon Maniacs, The Car, Witchboard, Scarecows, The Destroyer, Waxworks, I Madman, The Dead Pit, In the Shadow of kilimanjaro, The Dark Age (best killer croc movie ever)...Not all at great films but I think you'll enjoy them and they'll make for interesting reviews.
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All that there television watchin'... gonna strain your eyes sonny.
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Wow. I know Carpenter's version gets all the love around here, and actually is truer to the Campbell source material. But the Arness version is damn good if dated fun. You'll like it.
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Never, NEVER trust an imdb-rating. Some might be accurate, but most of them are useless bullshit.
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Right on cue you have started with my peronal favorite out or you grabbag! That is what I call good service! Alas, no mention for Daniel - that sucks and BIG!
Recomendations for 80's Horror from me will get you only Fulci and other italian gore-meisters. For repulsivness at its best (apart from SALO) try "Buio Omega" and "New York Ripper"! -
I watched this last night for the first time. loved it. Bloody rubbish, but I loved it.
Fantastic opening theme though. -
Oct 02, 2008 7:04:37 AM CDT
Quint, I'm so glad you brought this to the light of day
by shut the fuck up donny
I saw this film a few years back at 3AM on HBO and adored the shit out of it. The particulars I enjoyed were the same as yours: Stockwell's idiosynchratic sweetness/weirdness (which I think really gels well with Lovecraft's method of creating creepiness by inserting things not being quite right, instead of arbitrarily throwing monsters at us), and more importantly THE SCORE. I've told people for years the score to that film makes it. In fact, I would kill for a copy of the soundtrack, if not at least the main theme. Would you happen to know if that exists?
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Oct 02, 2008 7:06:39 AM CDT
And I'm sure you have already made your list of horror films
by shut the fuck up donny
but you should totally add Ravenous to your list. Granted, it was made probably within the last 10 years or so, but it was SO overlooked and is SO well-done, it deserves some renewed recognition. Plus, it also is one of those films that is totally sold because of its score.
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looks like the score was released.
It's by Les Baxter -
as I was hoping to find a CD of it. I don't have an LP player.
*sigh* I guess I'll have to hunt down a torrent of it.
At least it exists... -
a real mix of the good and the shit. Have you seen some obscure things like Peeping Tom or Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General? They're more worth a look than some of the stuff on there.
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I KNEW that song came from somewhere! Stupid me never checked IMDB. I have a 3-CD set of Henry Mancini music, and Jesus Jumped-Up CHRIST, but Experiment In Terror is a fantastic piece of music. I hope the movie lives up to its main theme!
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please say you're going to review reanimator!
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Ridiculous giant snails and all. Not exactly HPL's finest achievement.
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is an awesome piece of music. For all of you Pittsburgh's Chiller Theatre used Al Caiola's very cool surf/jazz guitar version of same. It's on the Ultralounge CD Mondo Holywood. Another Lovecraft movie is now available: Best Buy exclusive double bill DVD of It/The Shuttered Room.
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How about... Criminally Insane (AKA Crazy Fat Ethel) or Criminally Insane 2. I reviewed them for oh-the-horror.com several months ago and I'm just now getting over the combined awfulness. C'mon Quint. I dare ya.
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You should take on The Blood on Satan's Claw. It's got some creepy scenes as well as some nice young British nudity. I enjoyed it when I saw it a couple months back on TCM's Underground.
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The originial 1980 version of Humanoids From the Deep for some top notch cheese horror from Roger Corman...
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It's because, in general, his character's motivations are never really there. Usually, they feel compelled to do things even though they don't make any sense. I love Lovecraft, but read The Mountains of Madness or The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and you'll see that a third of the narrative is the narrator explaining that his actions made no sense. It's almost as if Lovecraft stories are proto-cheesy-80's horror films
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When are you going to post the winner???
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It differs quite a lot from the source material. Has there ever been a Lovecraft adaptation that gets it right?
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Have you seen The Call of Cthulhu? It's pretty faithful and managed to do a pretty convincing job of approximating a silent film.
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and thought this was one big giant snoozefest of a movie. No monster! No ghost! A waste of my $1 admission!
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I watched this film last night as well! Are the Old Ones trying to send us a message? (The H.P. Lovecraft film festival begins tomorrow in Portland Oregon!) This review is dead-on, by the way.
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Did you have to steal 'Horror Movie A Day' from the guy that's been doing it for two years? How about a little acknowledgement, at least? Just becuase AICN gets a lot more traffic doesn't mean you couldn't show a little professional courtesy.
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Um... no. Horror Movie A Day is an off-shoot of my regular Movie A Day column, special for October. There have been people doing a movie a day thing before I started mine, but I didn't find out about them until after I started. And from what I gather, mine's a bit different with the usual connecting tissues.In regards to the Star Wars contest... still in the works. Sorry, guys. It's going to take me at least another week before I get all the entries sorted and pick a winner. Rest assured I haven't forgotten about it.Thanks for the suggestions so far. I've seen a great many of them and have looked up a few that I haven't seen. I had been meaning to include Peeping Tom on the list, but kept putting off the pricey Criterion purchase. But I just did it, so Peeping Tom will be included as soon as it gets here. Keep them coming!
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Just had to say that. Coincidentally enough, I *also* watched this movie over the weekend, along with "Die Monster Die", both of which I got from that Amazon 3-DVDs-for-$10 deal. Its mildly entertaining nonsense, mostly courtesy of Stockwell and the score. As for Lovecraftian adaptations, my two favorites are Stuart Gordon's "From Beyond" (which admitedly uses the Lovecraft story as a jumping off point only) and Dan O'Bannon's excellent "The Resurrected" with Chris Sarandon, which is a take on Lovecraft's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (which I believe was also the source of Coreman's "THe Haunted Palace" with Mr. Vincent Price).
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So there's a remake coming out this month? Same title?
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This one is airing on TCM on Halloween. Stockwell is fairly creepy in this one. Also recommended if you like random female nudity and quasi-hippie witches.
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I just watched DEATHWATCH and FRIGHTMARE a few weeks ago, both worthwhile viewing. In fact, in terms of period horror films I preferred DEATHWATCH over the recently viewed THE BURROWERS at FF. Different time periods, different horror, but period horror pictures nonetheless.
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I never got that from the description . . . more of a shambling mound of tissue, mouths, and eyes . . . and this is one of Lovecraft's minor stories . . . didn't stray from the Machen cookie-cutter mold much.
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Agree with you Quint. Nice beginning to the film, loses it at the end.Have you seen "Nomads" from 1986. It was the first team-up of John McTiernan and Pierce Brosnan. McTiernan made "Predator" the following year.Also I suggest "Them." One of the biggest infuences on James Cameron.Your list as is has some really solid stuff (The Thing and Dr. Phibes) and and stuff that became iconic for 1970's-1980's (like Race With The Devil, The Wraith, and The Hunger!!).-----later-----m
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Watched that also recently. Odd movie. Good ending.
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I'm going to have to throw Prophecy out there. Inside-Out Bear for President!!!
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Superstition (best haunted movie ever made- I swear!) Lady in White. Eyes Without A Face. Wes Cravens Chiller. Mutilator. The Borrower. Street Trash. The Prowler. The Keep. Magic. Visiting Hours. Tombs of The Blind Dead. Martin (pretty sure you've seen it) The Day of the Triffids. Shivers. Cemetary Man. The Nail Gun Massacre. Patrick. The Munchies. The Case of the Scorpion's Tail. Day of the Animals. Tourist Trap. The Unseen. The Brain that wouldnt Die. Lets Scare Jessica To Death. The Final Terror. Horror Express (Another Thing Adaption). The Stuff. The Cat o' Nine Tails. What Have You Done to Solange?. Long Weekend.
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This movie scarred me for life. Saw it on Night Flight in the 80's. Chopping kids hands off freaked me out.
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Oops -- man, I hate it when I do that. Anyway, Quint, really digging the AMAD feature, and as a die-hard horror fan, loving that you're focusing solely on horror/thriller flicks this month. My favorite movie month of the year! So... you may or may not have seen it, but "The Beast Within" would be a perfect addition to this if you haven't. Some great, gory moments, using some of the same SFX tricks that The Howling used (air bladders under make up). The scene I remember most is when the sweaty old bastard is making a hamburger. Totally disgusting, and then he gets turned into hamburger. A great 80's B-movie gore-fest! Check it out!
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The master of Gore films was left off the list. His works are legend and legion...Wizard of Gore, Gore Gore Girls, She-Devils on Wheels, Blood Feast, Blood Feast II: All U Can Eat, 2,000 Maniacs. Blood Feast and Wizard are easily the best of the bunch, but all are full of T&A...
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This is the kinda movie in which, when someone gets attacked by a monster, the camera advances on an actor who looks scared and yells, "No! Stay back!"
The weird dream imagery reminded me of LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM, though. -
I'll second the Herschell Gordon Lewis recommendation. Blood Feast, Gore Gore Girls, and Two Thousand Maniacs! are all recommended.
The man is in marketing now, I believe. I have a really odd (in that it's so normal) article about marketing that he wrote, from a trade magazine from the early 00's. -
The Uninvited (1944) ghost movie, very nice. Or maybe you already reviewed it? I forget. But, I thought it was terrific.
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can't wait for the rest..
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I haven't seen that since I wa sin high school but it made an impression on me. I should try to dig that up somewhere.
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A movie about a boy and his dummy. It's pretty good, if I remember correctly. Creepy. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095871/
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Thanks for continuing the column. I'm looking forward to a whole month of horror flick reviews.
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of Lovecraft's. It's a genuinely creepy mystery with a great ending. This is the kind of film Hollywood should be remaking. A film that didn't have the right budget when it was made but has a great premise. Of course, I'm not sure if it's really a remake if they're both based off the same source material.
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I missed the boat on this one...is it a theater release or DTV? Combs will make it watchable at the very least.
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Quint - Can you pull the next movie the day before you watch and let us know which one you pulled so we can watch along with you like we can with standard AMAD?
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If October is "31 days of horror" why was the first movie up on Oct. 2nd? And this has been up for over 36 hours now - where the next one? Has the change in format finally thrown Quint off his schedule? I hope not, this is the best article series on AICN ever, but we all miss a deadline eventually.
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I did miss a day, but don't be thrown off by the date stamp on the first article. My sleep schedule is such that I didn't get to both watch and post the October 1st article until the wee-hours of the 2nd. I got fucked for yesterday's column by that very same sleep schedule, but I will be posting my thoughts on the next movie shortly and will immediately watch today's HMAD and write that one up, too.
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that's a good idea. I'll do that starting with yesterday's title (Experiment In Terror). I'll pull the title for the one I watch tonight and make sure to keep that up from now on.
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When THE DUNWICH HORROR was broadcast on the "CBS LATE NIGHT MOVIE", the censors deleted the entire ending (we learn that Sandra Dee has been impregnated by the Cthulhu entity). I mean, huh? Then again, the network even censored old movies like X-THE UNKNOWN (criminally underrated Hammer film).
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('51 version) should be appended to the venue (wonderful acting ensemble in the latter. Love the Carpenter flick but definitely don't underestimate the classic). Another worthy addendum: THE GHOST BREAKERS (Bob Hope film; perfect hybrid of horror/comedy).
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"Murder By Decree" stars Christopher Plummer, James Mason, Donald Sutherland, John Gielgud, Genevieve Bujold, Chris Wiggins, etc. Plummer is Holmes and Mason is Watson and they're investigating Jack The Ripper. Directed by Bob Clark of Black Christmas fame. Likely inspired Alan Moore's graphic novel and the ho-hum Depp film, "From Hell", but more creepy.
- "The Changeling" stars George C Scott. He's lost his wife and child to a car accident and has retreated to a large lonely, and of course, haunted house. Scary highlight of film involves a seance and a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Not to be confused with Clint Eastwood's new movie. -
There is a ref to a new Dunwich Horror, complete with character sketches
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