The Legend of Hell House (1973)

Today's film is The Legend of Hell House.  I think haunted house movies are some of the best spooky movies. Today's film is no different.  A bit spooky, and a bit mysterious.

Hell House is actually a mansion owned by Belasco, a sexually depraved rich individual.  The house is so haunted that whenever someone tries to stay the night, they either go insane or get killed.  15 years before, a group of scientists and psychics stayed to figure out what was happening.  Is it something that can be proven by science, or is it truly something supernatural?  Everyone from this group, except a 15 year old child genius medium, died or went crazy.

Now, an old rich guy purchased the house and wants to use it to find out the secrets of life after death.  He hires a physicist, a young medium, and the only survivor of the last group from 15 years ago.  Most of it is the physicist arguing that nothing supernatural is happening and that he can prove it and the medium telling him that it is ghosts and she can prove it.  Meanwhile increasingly weirder things start happening.  Are there really spirits inside the house?  And why did everyone die last time, and will this group be safe?  Of course they're not safe.

As far as haunted house movies go, this one is very enjoyable yet has a silly ending.  It didn't have to rely solely on special effects since everyone's acting was very good.  I will give this film a 7/10.

Mad Max (1979)

Today's film is Mad Max.  I don't think I know enough about cars to fully appreciate this film.

 

The whole film is about dirty bikers in the Australian Outback and their constantly being chased by the MFP (state troopers).  The best and most handsome of the MFP is Max.  About 80% of this film is car chases, which is alright by me.  The bikers chase and run over Max's wife and baby and now Max is all kinds of mad.

 

I didn't see this as a film I definitely had to see before I die.  It's a simple film.  I didn't learn anything from it, I didn't feel for any of the characters, but I thought it was a fun movie with some exciting scenes.  I don't think it would have been so memorable if Mel Gibson wasn't in it. So I will give it a 5/10.

The Rescuers (1977)

Today's animated feature is The Rescuers.  It's one of the few Disney films based on a children's book rather than a fairy tale.  This is also the last Disney film that Don Bluth worked on before he left to create his own animation company.

I didn't care too much for this film.  I thought a lot of it was too dark for my child, but it wouldn't be too bad for an older child.  I thought it was funny when the little girl they were supposed to rescue asked them why they didn't bring anyone big, like the police.  That's what I thought too!

Evinrude is a boat motor!  The dragonfly who drives the leaf boat is named Evinrude.  He acts as the boat's motor.  Evinrude is a boat motor!  It has taken me 20 years to get this joke.  This must be what it feels like when people solve a rubik's cube.

Anyway, it's not my favorite Disney animation, but it's superior to anything else they made since the 1960s.  Also, the box office revenue was one of their highest and showed that the animation company could make it without Walt Disney, who passed away a few years prior.  I will give this film a 6/10.

El espíritu de la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive) 1973

Today's film is The Spirit of the Beehive.  I...I don't understand it.  I don't know what it's trying to say.

In 1940s Spain, a town gets the movie Frankenstein and watches it.  A little girl and her sister become obsessed with it.  The older sister, Ana, tells the younger sister, that the Frankenstein monster wasn't real, but later says he is real and is a spirit.  They play by an abandoned farmhouse and well where they believe Frankenstein monster lives.  Meanwhile, their dad has some sort of chicken wire/glass beehive that he watches.  And that's the entire film.  Nothing happens.  It's not a bad film; just nothing happens.  Many of the characters are not explained and the beehive is talked about but what does that have to do with Frankenstein? I'm so lost.  I'm giving this film a 6/10.

Halloween (1978)

I know it's early, but today's film is Halloween.  It's a typical slasher flick where a psychopathic killer stalks and kills random innocent teenagers in a supposedly safe neighborhood.  I have a few gripes with this film.

 

First gripe:  It's not Halloween. At all. It looks like a warm spring day.  I could believe this if it took place here in Florida, where the seasons don't change much, but it takes place in Illinois.  There should maybe be some snow on the ground, or at least the leaves should be changing colors.  There should be some signs of fall, and I don't see any.  My husband pointed out that even the oak trees were fully green.  Good catch.

 

My second problem is with Annie, the girl who was murdered in the car.  She spills something on herself in the kitchen, takes all her clothes off except her lingerie, puts on an oversized white shirts, and calls it a day.  She walks outside to her laundry room pants-less and walks across the street pants-less to drop off Lindsey, the girl she is babysitting.  She couldn't find another pair of pants in that entire house? None? She just wraps a plaid blanket around her and thinks that's okay.

 

I've seen this film several times since I was little because my mom says it was filmed in her and her friend's houses.  Which is neat, but when my mom told the little me that we were going to watch a film made in her house, I was not expecting it to be so scary!  Luckily my mom pointed out objects and parts of their houses I didn't notice so I forgot how scary it was.

 

Remember the little girl Lindsey, who constantly ignores Annie?  My mom told me she named me Lindsey after this film because I am always ignoring her, but I don't believe her.  Also, she said many other things about this film but I was not listening.

 

Another thing, after the teenage couple have sex upstairs, the guy walks downstairs to grab his girlfriend a beer.  Then, after he is attacked and stabbed, he is fully clothed!  When does he have time to put all of his clothes and shoes on just to walk downstairs?  And why doesn't anybody close that kitchen door?  It appears that all of Michael Myer's victims are promiscuous teenagers, starting with his older sister.  Interestingly, Jamie Lee Curtis is the daughter of Janet Leigh, who played the famous shower victim in Psycho.

 

One more thing: Why can't Michael Myers die?  He was stabbed in the throat with a knitting needle, stabbed with his own knife, shot several times, thrown out of a window, and still runs away.  My theory is that he cannot feel any pain, emotional or physical, and getting hurt only makes him angrier.  Still, he could have bled to death.  I don't know.  There are so many discrepancies that take away from my enjoyment of this film.  I will give this film a 6/10.

Vampire Circus (1972)

Today's film is Vampire Circus.  I picked it because I find circuses fascinating and scary.  Even though I don't like vampire films, I still greatly enjoyed this.

This film takes a long time, like 13 minutes just setting up why the townspeople hate their count and how they get cursed.  Seems like he has been kidnapping children to suck their blood.  The schoolmaster's wife becomes enamored with him (because vampires are hot) and sleeps with him.  The townspeople drive a stake through his heart (well really the middle of his abdomen) and burn his castle down.  They assume the schoolmaster's wife died in the fire.  Why are vampires always Counts?  Are there no kings or lords or dukes?

15 years later, the town is under quarantine because of a plague.  They all think it's because the vampire count cursed them that they and their children will die, and that he will live again.  The doctor knows better and flees town to find medicine for everybody.  He said that they left the burnt castle to ruin and the vermin the breeds there caused the illness.  Meanwhile, a circus has set up in town.

The circus acts alone are worth watching the film.  The best part is the tiger dance.  Instead of a trainer whipping a tiger around, which is cruel, the tiger is replaced by a dancer.  She is wearing a striped bodysuit which looks painted on and together she and the "trainer" perform a beautiful and powerful modern dance piece. Also, David Prowse, who is famous for being Darth Vader, plays the silent strong man.

Another thing which surprised me was how well done the special effects were.  Having the bats transform into the acrobats flying through the air was impressive.  Also, one of the vampires turns into a panther and vice-versa.  So, vampires aren't only bats; they're panthers too.  It's not as violent as I thought it would be, although someone does get his head shot off with a crossbow.  The decaying bodies looked believable and the wounds of the victims showed decent makeup skills. Overall, I enjoyed this film very much and will give this a 7/10.

This post is part of the Hammer Halloween Blogathon hosted by the Classic Film & TV Café. (www.classicfilmtvcafe.com) To view the complete blogathon schedule go to http://www.classicfilmtvcafe.com/2013/09/coming-this-october-hammer-halloween.html.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Today's film is Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Here is proof positive that one doesn't need a large budget to make a great film!

The six members of Monty Python play the majority of the characters, but there are a few extras, many of which were also crew for the film.  The main story is about King Arthur, his knights of the round table, and their quest given to them by God to find the Holy Grail.  Many of the scenes were filmed in actual, privately owned castles (such as the scenes of Castle Anthrax and the French castle.  Camelot was a plywood model, which is why when King Arthur led them towards Camelot, his servant Patsy says, "It's only a model".  Since there wasn't enough money for everyone to ride a horse, they bang coconuts together to make the sound of horse's hooves.  This actually became part of the humor of the movie.

Every single scene overflows with hilarity, especially scene 24, which is a smashing scene with some lovely acting.  It is also the most quoted film from my parents.  "You must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest - with a herring!"  There's even some scenes that coincide with the modern world.  There's no guessing what will happen next because this movie is so silly.  I'm not going to explain any scene because I find them all too funny and cannot choose between them. I'm giving this film a 10/10.