Not a Review Necessarily - My Nosferatu trailer reaction

The 1922 silent German expressionist vampire film "Nosferatu," directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlock, opened the horror genre to vampire movies. 

Count Orlock was the vampire before Bela Lugosi established the quintessential vampire through his depiction of Count Dracula in 1931 with his sleek black hair, alluring Central European/ Romanian accent, debonair appeal, and mysterious and sinister darkness.

Count Orlock is a demon of a vampire both inside and out.

He has an otherworldly appearance, piercing glare, emotionless and unsympathetic demeanor, and his shadow is just as menacing as his person. 

I happened to watch the original "Nosferatu" a month ago and wrote some commentary about which I'll post in October. 

A trailer for "Nosferatu," a remake set to be released Christmas of this year, dropped on Monday. 

It's the second remake of Murnau's brilliant and truly horrific foundational film. The gothic horror movie "Nosferatu the Vampyre" was released in 1979 starring Klaus Kinski as "Count Dracula." He's called that rather than "Orlock" in the movie.

In 2000, the film "Shadow of the Vampire" was released which tells the backstage story about the filming of "Nosferatu." It portrays the suspicions that the film crew had about Max Schreck based on how seriously he took his performance as the vampire. Willem Dafoe plays Schreck in that initial remake.

Willem Dafoe in the upcoming movie, "Nosferatu."

I see "Nosferatu," and maybe Dracula in general, as an allegory for the deadly sin of lust - an enticing powerful emotion that kills love and the soul in the end. It's a vice that makes slaves out of those who give into its seductive allurement, and in most instances struggle all their lives to escape it. 

What person who indulges in lust can stand the sight of a crucifix? The guilt of what the lustful person does in the cover of darkness and secrecy is heavy. The fear of being found out and their secrets being brought out and exposed outside of that darkness is a nagging feeling. But the enticement of lust is too strong and appealing to resist. 

Only the unrepentant soul will cringe at the thought of being exposed, ultimately running away from God. On the other side, the repentant will glorify God for His infinite mercy. 

I worry this remake will get it backwards and glorify the demonic and the seductive while demonizing repentance and the religious which is what the vampire fears. 

It's much too common in Hollywood these days. Perhaps that won't be the case, but I'm not holding my breath. Too many remade stories and the morals they express are often flipped upside down by the progressive minds that run Hollywood. Regressive is more like it. 

"Nosferatu" is directed by Robert Eggers who directed "The Witch" in 2015. That movie does just that. The ending depicts gleeful women being elevated above the trees by demonic forces, no longer bound by the so-called patriarchal repressive powers of the Puritan society the movie takes place in. All the modern articles of the leftwing creed are there (patriarchy and oppression and hatred for religion). His movie "The Witch" is unashamed of depicting evil as a "savior" and good as an enslaver. 

To be fair, Eggers also directed two major hits after "The Witch." That is, "Lighthouse" and "Northman." I saw "Lighthouse" and enjoyed it, though I think I need to see it again because I'm sure I missed something. 

Looking at the trailer for "Nosferatu" I recognize the same storyline from the silent movie. I think the new film will follow that storyline at least. Still, as trailers can be deceiving, I hope the new movie respects the source material - namely the 1922 movie, and Bram Stoker's novel. 

Bill Skarsgård plays Count Orlock in this new remake which isn't a bad casting choice. 

In fact, I predict this will be a winning performance from Skarsgård. He killed it (no pun intended) as Pennywise the Clown in "It" and "It: Chapter 2" directed by Andy Muschietti and based on Stephen King's novel. His performance in both of these movies elevated Skarsgård to the lofty ranks of frightening and memorable movie monsters. His Pennywise will surely stick around for decades alongside Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster, Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil, and Robert Englund's Freddy Krueger. With his boyish face and intense stare that fit Pennywise so well, I think he'll give Count Orlock that same staying power. In other words, he'll raise this vampire back into pop culture territory. I can see Skarsgård making Orlock his own.

Willem Dafoe also stars in this movie as Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz. He's a decent enough actor with a number of entertaining performances.
Nicholas Hoult will play Thomas Hutter - the Renfield of the story. Honestly, I haven't seen a Hoult performance that I found impressive. He was decent... just decent... in "Tolkien." He was well cast in "The Menu." He was boring as Renfield in "Renfield" (speaking of vampires). Basically, he's a mediocre actor from what I've seen of him so far, which includes his performances in the Marvel movies. Mediocre! So, fingers crossed he brings a decent performance.

The original "Nosferatu" is a nightmarish movie. Will this remake be scary? Maybe. There's no way it'll capture the brilliance and imagination of Murnau's film. But if modern ideologies can be left out, maybe this'll be a worthwhile remake. I can see Skarsgård carrying this entire thing on his shoulders.

I'll hold out a spark of hope that the movie will be a faithful retelling of the story. 

I get that impression from the trailer. So, I'm curious enough to see a new retelling. And stay tuned for my commentary of the silent movie this October... among another set of reviews for the Halloween season!

191) The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

"...the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long and final scream of despair."

Director

Roger Corman

Cast
Vincent Price - Nicholas / Sebastian Medina
John Kerr - Francis Barnard
Barbara Steele - Elizabeth
Luana Anders - Catherine Medina
Antony Carbone - Doctor Leon
Patrick Westwood - Maximillian
Lynette Bernay - Maria
Larry Turner - Nicholas as child
Mary Menzies - Isabella
Charles Victor - Bartolome

Ever since I started this blog, I've developed an appreciation for the works of director, producer, and actor Roger Corman. 

Among all his work, he stands out in my head as the guy who created "Little Shop of Horrors." 

The more I read about Corman, particularly his Edgar Allan Poe films, the more I wanted to watch them in chronological order. Of course, there's a list of other movies he directed in his long reign as the "King of cult cinema" which I hope to get to in the future. 

I was sad to hear of Corman's passing last May. He certainly has an amazing legacy in horror/thriller cinema. 

In March, I started watching Corman's Edgar Allan Poe series starting with the first film, "House of Usher" (1960). As I mentioned in my review, Usher is followed by "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1961). And that's followed by "Premature Burial" (1962), "Tales of Terror" (1962), "The Raven" (1963), "The Haunted Palace" (1963), "Masque of the Red Death" (1964), and "The Tomb of Ligeia" (1964). All of these films except "Premature Burial" stars horror icon Vincent Price.
I'll also mention again that there's a few odd balls in this mix. To begin with "The Haunted Palace" is actually based on H.P. Lovecraft's novella, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward." However, the title belongs to Poe.
The 1968 British horror film, "The Witchfinder General," directed by Michael Reeves and starring Vincent Price, is based on Ronald Bassett's 1966 novel. When it was released in the U.S. by American International Pictures, it was retitled "The Conqueror Worm" in order to connect it to Corman's Poe films.

"The Pit and the Pendulum" continues Poe's obsession with premature burial. Like the other Poe films, this is loosely based on his works.

The story takes place in Spain during the mid-1500s. Francis Barnard (John Kerr), an Englishman, drops in on his brother-in-law, Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price) who lives in a huge castle overlooking the sea. Barnard is looking into the disappearance of his sister, Elizabeth (Barbara Steele).

Nicholas, who lives with his sister Catherine (Luana Anders), tells Francis that his sister died from some sort of blood disorder three months ago. 

As Francis presses for more details, Nicholas and Catherine seem reluctant to give him any answers. But Francis is determined to know what exactly happened to his sister. And he refuses to leave the castle until he knows the facts. 

John Kerr and Vincent Price in "The Pit and the Pendulum."

During supper one evening with the family physician, Dr. Leon (Antony Carbone), Francis asks again about Elizabeth. 

Dr. Leon informs him that Elizabeth actually died from heart failure. As he puts it, she "died of fright." 

Things turn stranger from there. 

Francis demands to see where Elizabeth is buried. Nicholas obliges and takes him into a torture chamber. He also reveals to Francis that Elizabeth became obsessed with the torture devices housed within. So much so that she locked herself within the chamber's iron maiden where she died after whispering the name "Sebastian." 

Francis doesn't buy it. In fact, he picks up on what seems like guilt from Nicholas. He shares his thoughts with Catherine. And she tells him of Nicholas's traumatic childhood experiences as his father was a Spanish inquisitor named Sebastian Medina.

Once during his youth, Sebastian snuck into the torture chamber with his mother, Isabella, and Sebastian's brother, Bartolome. While hiding, he watched as his father tortured Bartolome with a hot poker while shouting "adulterer" at him. 

Bartolome didn't survive the ordeal. And after he died, Sebastian tortured Isabella in front of Nicholas. 

Then, Dr. Leon lets the morbid ugly cat out of the bag. 
He tells Francis and Catherine that Isabella was buried alive behind a stone wall in the castle. 

This news leads Francis to believe the same fate befell his sister Elizabeth. Dr. Leon says that if Elizabeth is roaming around the castle, chances are it's her ghost that's doing the roaming. 

The idea of premature burial is Nicholas's most dreaded and traumatizing fear. 

Soon, all kinds of noises start coming from within Elizabeth's room. 

Everyone goes to investigate these noises, and find her room demolished. And the portrait Nicholas painted of her is torn and slashed. 

Nicholas is now convinced his wife's angered soul is truly haunting the castle. He also starts hearing the harpsichord she loved so much play in the middle of the night. 

Shortly after, he insists her tomb be opened. 

Francis opens her grave and finds her corpse frozen in a terrified position with eyes wide open and her mouth wide open as she died screaming. Scratches mark the coffin lid. Clearly, she was buried alive.  And the sight of her makes Nicholas faint. 

That night, Nicholas is bombarded with mental anguish. He can hear Elizabeth calling him. 

He follows the sound of her voice until he reaches her gravesite. There, he witnesses his late wife crawl out of her grave and follow him as he tries to run. Scared out of his wits, Nicholas falls down a flight of stairs. 

Just then, Dr. Leon appears on scene and confirms to Elizabeth that Nicholas is gone. 

But it doesn't end there!

Like "House of Usher," the horror and apprehension grows and grows in  this movie. The excitement intensifies all the way through.

It's horror that doesn't rely on blood and guts, or jump scares, or gnarly hideous zombies and monsters. This fear is pure mental anguish and anxiety culminating in a superb twist ending. It's a fear of a real possibility. The only way out of that fear, as far as the story goes, cannot be met without inflicting a permanent scar. Horror writer Stephen King applies such a technique for the endings of some, if not many, of his stories. 

Once again, Vincent Price is well cast and maintains himself to be the master of horror and the macabre. 

He conveys the terror within the plot remarkably through his face and reactions. It's in his eyes. Through his defeated, lonesome, fear-filled eyes, Price insights those same emotions to the audience with no need for exposition. 

The performances are brilliant all around, but Price carries the entire thing on his shoulders as though it takes no effort. Yet, it's full of effort.

For a low-budget picture, Corman somehow manages to put the audience in a dreamlike atmosphere while the thought of being buried alive where no one can hear you is forced to stay within the audience's collective imagination for sometime.  

Perhaps the term "horror classic" is thrown out loosely for most of my posts, but that term needs to be applied to Corman's "The Pit and the Pendulum." 

As much as I found "House of Usher" to be a well-made horror flick, "The Pit and the Pendulum" manages to earn a few extra points for hitting the right fearful spots, and for Price's continued impressive performance. I have yet to see Vincent Price performance I didn't like. 

190) The Pit (1981)

"They don't eat chocolate bars."

Director
Lew Lehman

Cast
Sammy Snyders - Jamie Benjamin
Jeannie Elias - Sandy O'Reilly
Sonja Smits - Mrs. Lynde
Laura Hollingsworth - Marg Livingstone
Richard Alden - Mr. Benjamin
Laura Press - Mrs. Benjamin
Paul Grisham - Freddy
Wendy Schmidt - Christina
Allison Tye - Alicia
Edith Bedker - Louise

You hear about movies with a cult following all the time. They're the failed movies that somehow earned a great deal of admiration and enjoyment over time. 

I've never thought of myself as a follower to a film labeled as having a cult following. 

I'm publicly declaring that I'm officially a part of this movie's cult following. 

"The Pit," released in 1981, is a Canadian horror flick that was actually filmed in Wisconsin. And things get weirder from there. 

The story centers on 12-year Jaime Benjamin (Sammy Snyders) who, to put it mildly, is an awkward kid. 

The movie starts with a scene that takes place later on in the story. 

It's Halloween night and Jamie is dressed in a not-so-well-executed ghost costume. 

He walks up to an older kid named Freddy Phelps (Paul Grisham). We see a quick cutaway of their initial meeting on the school playground where Jaime asks Freddy if he can join his club. Freddy, in front of his girlfriend, Christina (Wendy Schmidt), responds by punching Jaime right in the face. Christina starts laughing hysterically. 

Jaime says he wants to talk to Freddy in private and show him something. So, for reasons beyond reason, Freddy follows Jaime to some remote location out in the woods. Jaime says he has a big bag full of jewels and stuff worth millions, and he wants to give to Freddy!

When they get to the bag, it's near a huge gaping pit. Freddy starts searching through the bag while standing on the edge of this pit. Jaime sneaks up behind him and pushes him in. 

The movie then goes to the beginning of the story. 

Other people, kids and adults, around town are pretty mean to Jaime. His one friend is his teddy bear which he often talks to. The bear's responses are spoken in Jaime's voice. So, the audience is led to believe it's all in Jaime's head. Or is it?

You see, Jaime as at "that" age. Puberty. He's developed a creepy obsession with females. 

Sammy Snyders as Jaime in 'The Pit.'

Jaime is forced to stay after school and write lines on the chalkboard for bringing a book of nude photography to school. Not pornography necessarily. 

The front page is cut out. Jaime claims the book was in that condition when he checked it out from the library. 

His teacher brings it to the library and hands it over to librarian Marg Livingstone (Laura Hollingsworth). Marg doesn't need an explanation as to who had the book and cut out the front page. 

She knows without a doubt Jaime is responsible. 

Later, his parents take off on a business trip and hire a babysitter named Sandy O'Reilly (Jeannie Elias) to look after Jaime. She's an attractive psychology student whom Jaime takes a quick liking to. 

Once the parents are gone, Jaime wastes little time in bluntly asking if she has a boyfriend. 

He then does a bunch of other weird stuff like watching her sleep, and then admitting to it like it's no big deal. He also asks her if she'll help give him a bath. Though she thinks he's too old for that, she agrees anyways along as there's enough bubbles in the water to provide cover. It's awkward just mentioning it.  

During a conversation at breakfast, Jaime tells Sandy he has a secret he wants to reveal. 

He says that he found a pit in the forest with some weird goblin-looking creatures called trogs living inside it. Jaime calls them tralalogs. 

And he feeds these tralalogs raw meat. 

Jaime starts stealing cash from Sandy's purse to buy meat for them. Then he starts luring people who mistreat him to the pit where he then pushes them in for the tralalogs to feast on, including Freddy and his girlfriend, Christina, on Halloween night. We get to watch that scene play out a second time later in the movie. 

When he first tells Sandy about these creatures, she obviously doesn't believe him. 

Later, after she's had enough of his creepy behavior like his sneaking into the bathroom while she's showering and writing "I love you" on the mirror, she says she'll go see this pit if he cuts his disturbing behavior. 

They go to the pit, and Sandy is shocked to see these creatures are in fact real. She insists on getting specialists out to study these things - the discovery of some new species. 

Jaime doesn't care much for that idea, and after arguing about, Sandy accidentally falls into the pit. He tries to save her but can't, and she becomes the next meal for the tralalogs. 

Jaime breaks down in his room, convincing himself Sandy's death is not his fault. 

It's implied early on that his ragged teddy bear's responses are all in Jaime's head. But in one scene, the bear moves on its own. God knows what Jaime has put this bear through during his alone time.

Anyways, out of anger or frustration, Jamie lowers a rope into the pit to let the creatures out. Carnage quickly ensues as they start eating innocent people around town. 

Towners create a militia to hunt down the tralalogs. They round them up back to the pit and shoot them all. They tell everyone that these creatures are nothing but a pack of rabid dogs. 

After, Jamie's parents take him to live with his grandparents. Once he arrives at their place, he meets a girl his age named Alicia who suggests they should play together. Jaime is all to happy to have an actual friend, though he has kept his teddy bear. 

Alicia has him chase her into the woods where, behold, she has a pit of her own. 

This movie is bad. Yet seldom have I watched a bad movie with such a satisfying ending. 

The opening scene with the flashback of Jaime asking Freddy to be in his club, resulting in a punch in the face, leads the audience to believe Jaime to be a sympathetic character. That dissolves quickly.

Jaime isn't supposed to be a likeable character, nor is he meant to be sympathetic. Jaime is a disturbed kid whose actions go from creepy to outright disturbing and terrible. 

Once he crosses those boundaries way past adolescent curiosity in sex, he goes into the realm of murder and stalking, enjoying it all the while. Disturbed isn't a big enough word. 

Honestly, my first reaction after watching "The Pit" was to make fun of it, which is pretty easy to do. I have to applaud Sammy Snyders for his performance. That's not an attempt at pandering, either. Kudos to him for portraying an awkward kid so well that it makes the audience feel pretty damn awkward, too. 

For Snyders to portray such a twisted problematic kid whom the audience is meant to take a disliking to, and do it convincingly deserves recognition. By the third act of the movie, I couldn't blame Freddy for punching Jaime right in the face. I couldn't help laugh along with Christina, too. I don't encourage bullying, or anything like that. Nevertheless, that has to be the expected reaction after seeing what kind of kid Jaime is, and what he's willing to do to other people. In one scene, he calls Marg from a pay phone, and plays a pre-recorded message telling her that her niece has been kidnapped. If she wants to see her niece again, she has to stand in her front room window and remove her shirt. And she does, fearing the call is real. Jaime, meanwhile, is hiding in her bushes with a Polaroid. And when Marg is standing there, in walks her niece.  

A lot of the lines sound horribly scripted, many scenes are uncomfortable to watch, and other scenes get a laugh when that's not the intended reaction. Seldom have I shouted "you can't be serious" several times during one movie.  Still, it all manages to work in telling an entertaining horror story, which is weird for me to think since there's some creepy stuff in the movie, and I'm not referring to these tralalogs. But it really does entertain! I can see why "The Pit" has a cult following. I want to be among these followers, mainly for Snyders's performance.

The mystery behind Jaime's teddy bear has no explanation. Is there correlation between the tralalogs and this bear? Who knows? It's never explained. There are tralalogs living in a pit, and Jaime's teddy bear is alive somehow. 

I can't say "The Pit" is a good movie. It's not. For all the awful stuff in this movie, it's not forgettable. Again, my hat is off to Snyders for his truly and sincerely unforgettable performance!