Welcome to "The True Death". A page created by two grown men with way too much time on their hands. They suffer from that "1st World" problem of just sitting around watching moves and arguing about the merits of them. But why should they limit these opinions to themselves when they can share their movie reviews and ridiculous thoughts with the world. The Blog will mostly focus on Horror movies but could contain any nonsense that is on their mind at that moment in time.
STRANGEST OF SIGHTS... The brain of an animal... the form of a woman!
An insane scientist doing experimentation in glandular research becomes
obsessed with transforming a female gorilla into a human...even though
it costs human life.
Captive Wild Woman (1943) is a sci-fi horror film, starring John Carradine, Milburn Stone, Evelyn Ankers, and Acquanetta. It was released by Universal Pictures and was directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film comes from Universal but it doesn't fall into the category with Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man. In fact, it's a bit goofy. The amazing thing is that it must have done well at the box office because it spawned two sequels...Jungle Woman and Jungle Captive.
Most elements are traceable to glandular disorders.
Without question John Carradine steals the show. His mad scientist portrayal is sinister. He's going to complete his experiments....so what if people have to die. This is science and it's actually Carradine's first leading role in a film. Evelyn Ankers is here, from Wolf Man fame, but her character or performance isn't very memorable. Most of the movie is footage of lions and tigers getting whipped by a lion tamer. Seriously, at least half the movie is animal training sequences with Clyde
Beatty from an old Universal film, The Big Cage. If you're into Jungle Animals this is your film.
Acquanetta is here as the woman that was created from the ape. She has a certain animal magnetism but her performance is helped by the fact that she doesn't utter a single line of dialogue. There are more whip cracks than actual dialogue it seems in the film. It''s a quick moving film that clocks in at about 61 minutes. If you're a fan of old Universal horror you might want to take a gander if you want to view one of the lesser known titles. But I felt like a Captive Wild Man after about 40 minutes of the film.
Arggggggggg
End Narrator: So, behind these gates is buried the legend of a mortal who went beyond
the realm of human powers and tampered with things no man should ever
touch.
Kevin Booker Trivia:
The fight between a lion and a tiger in a circus was arranged but was real, and filmed live without editing.
Milburn Stone,
generally used by Universal as a supporting player, played the lead
because his wiry frame and naturally curly hair matched the archival
shots of Beatty.
Relies extensively on the use of archive footage from The Big Cage.
This was John Carradine's first leading role on screen, filmed from December 10-31, 1942. Release took place July 2, 1943.
Clyde Beatty receives special thanks for "His cooperation in staging the thrilling animal sequences in this film"
From Beyond the Grave is an Amicus horror anthology that is a surprisingly disturbing experience. It is the rookie outing of director Kevin Connor, who delivers a film that, while not flawless, is able to offer some solid chills. Boasting such genre veterans as David Warner, Donald Pleasence, and the legendary Peter Cushing, From Beyond the Grave is a superior anthology film that is in the best tradition of the subgenre.
The movie tells four stories of people who have, shall we say, unfortunate encounters with the spirits of the dead. In the first segment “The Gate Crasher,” Edward Charlton (David Warner) acquires an antique mirror that houses the spirit of an ancient killer. The second segment, "An Act of Kindness," follows Christopher Lowe (Ian Bannen), an unhappy husband who is offered an unusual way to make his life much better. In “The Elemental,” Reggie Warren (Ian Carmichael) finds himself plagued by a homicidal spirit that is bent on killing his wife. Finally, in “The Door,” William Seaton (Ian Ogilvy) purchases a sinister but beautiful door that leads to a hellish room. The common factor in all these stories is the mysterious antique shop owned by a kindly old man (Peter Cushing) who has the tendency to pass severe judgments upon those who wrong him.
The first of this film’s strengths is that it takes itself seriously. The stories could easily lend themselves to parody or black comedy, but Connor and his screenwriters never fall for that temptation. With the exception of “The Elemental,” which does have one broad, comic character, the stories in this film are presented as straightforward ghost stories. This presentation lends the film a foreboding quality that inculcates a sense of unease that pervades all of the stories. We never get the feeling that the cast or the filmmakers feel that they are above this kind of film, and this adds a sense of believability to the stories.
Like most anthology films, From Beyond the Grave provides O. Henry or Twilight Zone type stories with malevolent twists and harsh morals. All of the characters that come to bad endings have cheated Peter Cushing’s character out of money in some way. The only character that does not cheat him, William Seaton, survives his encounter with the supernatural. The punishments are a bit severe (forcing a person to commit multiple murders and then trapping them inside a mirror is indeed a harsh sentence for tricking someone out of money), but that is part of the fun of these films.
The cast is, to a person, excellent. It is not surprising that Peter Cushing offers a subtle and nuanced performance as the narrator, a role in the vein of Ralph Richardson in Tales from the Crypt. In his scenes, Cushing does not go the slightest bit over the top; he underplays throughout, which makes him more chilling than if he had began chewing scenery. The great David Warner does very well with a character that has, at first, the condescending arrogance of a man who believes that he is in control of everything, but soon learns that his life is no longer his own. Donald Pleasence, portraying the street merchant Jim Underwood in "An Act of Kindness", is also a pleasure to watch. Pleasence sets a very ambiguous tone for Underwood. We never know if he is just offering a supportive ear to Christopher Lowe, or if he has some ulterior motive in mind. The strong and nuanced performances bolster the quality of the film, and help make it a very enjoyable experience.
The one and only David Warner
While this is a quality horror anthology, it does contain some flaws. Not all of the director’s choices work. For example, the exorcism scene in “The Elemental” seems unsure of the tone it wants to set. Margaret Leighton plays the exorcist role of Madame Orloff for laughs, but Connor presents the rest of the scene in a straightforward manner. In addition, while the stories are engaging, there are times when they cannot overcome the “silliness” factor. This is due mainly to very unconvincing makeup and effects. The makeup worn by Marcel Steiner in “The Gate Crasher” is extremely weak, looking more like a Halloween costume than a malevolent ghost. A similar complaint exists for Jack Watson’s makeup in “The Door” segment. Additionally, David Gamley’s musical score is weak, punctuated with the occasional xylophone for unwanted comic effect. This type of score can puncture the sense of unease in this type of film, and it does so here.
Despite its few flaws, From Beyond the Grave is a charming film (if indeed a horror film can be charming) that does not insult its audience with unnecessary comic relief. The acting is top-drawer, the direction is solid, and the stories, if not astounding, are enjoyable vignettes of horror. This film is a welcome addition to the Amicus canon.
