Muito mais que apenas um rostinho bonito, o Dr. Anton Phibes foi o badass muthafucka mais estaile do pedaço no início dos anos 70. Enquanto os heróis dos faroestes e dos filmes de kung fu se vingavam na base do tirambaço ou da porrada, Dr. Phibes era mais sutil, elegante até, inspirando-se na G’tach, as dez pragas que assolaram o Egito, no livro do Êxodo. Lembram? Gafanhotos, ratos, rãs, morte do primogênito, etc.

A mulher de Phibes, Victoria, morre durante um procedimento cirúrgico na Inglaterra. Phibes, um famoso organista, que nesse momento se encontra em turnê na Suiça, sofre um terrível acidente de carro ao tentar retornar ao seu país, e é dado como morto. Entretanto, mesmo com o rosto desfigurado e as cordas vocais destruídas, nosso herói sobrevive, e decide buscar vingança contra os nove membros da equipe médica que operaram Victoria. Essa é a base do roteiro de O Abominável Dr. Phibes: “nove a mataram, nove morrerão”.

Nove vítimas, dez pragas? Bom, Phibes era organista e teólogo, não matemático. Mesmo assim, não tentem bulir com o cabra, porque ele é safo: enquanto os outros tão indo com a mandioca ele já tá voltando com a farinha.

Mais um produto com a chancela da AIP, o estúdio do senhor Sam Arkoff, responsável por alguns dos filmes mais legais (e baratos) dos anos 60 e 70. O sucesso foi tanto que garantiu uma continuação, A Câmara de Horrores do Dr. Phibes. Cenários art deco pra lá de bagaceiros, seqüências sem nenhum  sentido e uma inesquecível interpretação over the top do protagonista... Assim é O Abominável Dr. Phibes.

Mas se vocês ainda não estão convencidos, aí vão algumas razões para se assistir a esse clássico camp:

O Dr. Phibes toca um órgão sinistrão e usa uma capa.

Quando toca seu órgão sinistrão, o Dr. Phibes é acompanhado pelos Clockwork Wizards, uma big band movida a corda.

Sua assistente, Vulnávia, é a mulher perfeita: bonita, elegante, muda e obediente como um cão.

Vincent Price é o protagonista.

THE BRIBE is a film I've long wanted to see, maybe partly because of those clips in DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID. Robert Z. Leonard's 1949 noir provides the footage of Charles Laughton, Vincent Price and bits of Ava Gardner, recycled into DEAD MEN's patchwork plot. The name "Carlotta", upon which the Steve Martin / Carl Reiner movie turns, also comes from THE BRIBE.

Ultimately, nostalgia for the spoof is much of the reason for watching Leonard's film -- it's a minor movie which rarely catches fire, despite an exotic, sultry setting and a lurid rogue's gallery of villains. Robert Taylor is too dull and earnest to seem in danger of corruption, even by Ava, and for added bore factor there's John Hodiak. At least the role of tortured drunk gives J.H. something to get his teeth into.

Apart from Gardner's singing and complaining about the heat (Ava Gardner complaining about the heat is a strangely erotic spectacle), the main point of interest comes right before the climax, where Leonard suddenly pulls out all the stops and produces a whole bunch of weird tropes.

A tiny, sweltering hotel room. Taylor has Vincent Price at gunpoint, even firing off a warning shot to stop Vinnie leaving. Charles Laughton, his face a sweaty pudding, watches anxiously, eyes darting from one combatant to the other. Leonard films Price from a low angle, emphasising his authority and weirdly graceless bulk.

With lupine cunning, Price swipes the light switch to OFF, and the room goes black. Taylor fires, and price fires back, muzzle-flare piercing the gloom in angry strobes.

Leonard's camera (actually, cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg's) swishes anxiously around, scanning the velvet darkness for signs of life and danger. It doesn't seem to be tied to anybody's P.O.V.

Madly, Laughton's eyes are still darting about, the only things perceptible in the all-encompassing night. We realise that Laughton has been got up in black-face just for this moment, so that his eyes can hover in the dark like a cartoon's.

Taylor glides into piecemeal visibility, his body criss-crossed by countless unmotivated diagonal shadows.

Laughton's disembodied orbs float silently back into obscurity.

BANG! Fireworks erupt outside (it's the Fiesta di Carlotta), visible through the window by virtue of rear projection, but because the cameraman who shot them had to pan about a bit to keep the flashes framed correctly, the bursts of Greek Fire seem to swim madly around, as if the hotel had come loose from its foundations and started drifting to and fro, like Dorothy's house on the way to Oz (Friends of Dorothy / Friends of Carlotta?)

Price, a perfect profile in silhouette, takes aim: he sees Taylor illuminated by the pyrotechnics. His shot shatters the dresser mirror -- it was only Taylor's reflection he saw. Having thus compressed the entire climax of Welles' LADY FROM SHANGHAI into one shot, Leonard relaxes slightly for the chase and fight climax, which is nevertheless photographically rather impressive:

The episode "The Return of the Sorcerer" with Vincent Price (my personal Jesus) is my favorite episode. I know co-star Bill Bixby is cheesy and the body parts scooting across the floor are ridiculous. But when Vincent makes his entrance wearing  long black robes with the huge red upside down crucifix emblem, I was transfixed.

I am in awe of this mans acting ability. He becomes his character so completely that I actually am concerned that if there is a hell he may accidentally be condemned to it. And the scene where he is talking about his evil warlock brother is just amazing. My favorite lines from that scene are when he is talking about Vern loving his brother ...."She taunted me by loving him.... for POWER!" For POWER over both of us!" 

To this day every once in while out of nowhere at any time or place, Sizz or I will suddenly say "For POWER!" in our best imitation of Vincent and then resume whatever it was we were doing. No one knows what the heck we are talking about and assumes we are crazy.

So check out Night Gallery and try to watch The Return of the Sorcerer episode. It ROCKS!

Only as a producer did William Castle ever make a truly great horror movie.  That was because he had the fortunate luck or the insight to have a great horror novel as the foundation and a master of the macabre as the screenwriter and director.  The film, of course, was “Rosemary’s Baby,” directed by Roman Polanski from Ira Levin’s best selling book.  If “Psycho” ushered in the era of the modern day horror films, “Rosemary’s Baby” gave the genre a more sophisticated acceptance than previously existed, at least for a few short years.

    Now, I am not here to damn William Castle but to praise him.  Yes, his works are mired with dull direction; bad acting and certainly some of the scripts could have or should have been better. But, surprisingly, films like “Macabre,” “The Night Walker,” “The Tingler”, House on Haunted Hill”, “13 Ghosts”, “Strait-Jacket”,  and “Homicidal” hold up today better than expected.  The “Night Walker”, with a script by Robert Bloch, and an excellent cast headed by Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor is certainly still a terrific thriller, as is “Strait Jacket,” again scripted by the talented Robert Bloch. This film starred Joan Crawford and Diane Baker.  Certainly, the casting of these excellent actors was an advantage, which enhanced both of these films. In Matthew Kennedy’s new biography Joan Blondell: A Life Between Acts” Kennedy tells the story that Blondell was all set to play the role eventually portrayed by Crawford until either Crawford assumed the role was hers after talking with Castle at a social gathering or Blondell bowed out due to illness depending on which story is to be believed. Either way it sounds pretty enticing the thought of Joan B. in the role of the psychotic mother. Then there is “The Tingler” and “Homicidal” both still strange and scary enough to send shivers down your spine. The test of time has made William Castle’s work more appreciable.  Known best for his publicity  gimmicks, such as “Illusion O”, where in “13 Ghosts,”  filmgoers were given special glasses upon admission, giving them the choice of whether view the ghosts by wearing the glasses, or not.  With “The Tingler” the gimmick was called “Percepto” which was nothing more than electric buzzers attached to selected seats in the movie house designed send a few shock waves giving the person sitting in the seat a slight tingle.  Can you imagine doing a stunt like this today? Lawsuits would be filed quicker than a 95 mile an hour fastball! Then there was “Macabre” where Castle sold policies, insuring the filmgoer against dying of fright!  As an aside, all this is lovingly portrayed in Joe Dante’s affectionate look at schlock movie making in “Matinee.” (1993)  John Goodman stars, playing a character obviously inspired by William Castle.

              In most cases, Castle’s films have been dumped upon by critics, yet teenage audiences and quiet a few adults of the late fifties and early sixties loved these films. It would probably be politically incorrect to make some of these films today. “Macabre” with its story of a young child being buried alive would be too frighteningly real today.  Like all films, they are a product of their times. 

    Many of Castle’s films are more fun and thrilling to watch than the majority of the blood and gore stuff that is released as horror today. Unfortunately, only a few of  Castle’s films have been made available for home video, “Strait-Jacket”, House on Haunted Hill,” “13 Ghosts” and “The Tingler” with its original color sequence in tact. “The Night Walker” was released years ago in VHS but sadly has yet to see a DVD release. If you are resourceful enough you can find some of the others through private collectors willing to trade barter or sell. In 2007, a documentary on William Castle was released called “Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story.” The film had a limited release and as of now, there is no scheduled DVD release. Also worth seeking out are the trailers,   you know those “Coming Attractions,” of William Castle’s movies, some of the most entertaining ever done, this side of Hitchcock.  Also worth seeking out is his autobiography “Step Right Up! I’m Going to Scare the Pants Off America.”

Utilizando la técnica de animación stop-motion (cuadro a cuadro) con muñecos de ojos grandes y lúgubres figuras de arcilla, muestra el lado que siempre le ha gustado a Tim Burton, la oscuridad, desesperación, miedo y figuras trasnochadas. Es la historia de un niño que sueña con ser como Vincent Price. Esto al parecer, (no me crean) es un poco autobiográfico ya que Burton admiraba profundamente el trabajo de Price, de hecho, el cortometraje esta narrado magistralmente por el mismo Vincent Price y quien actuaría años mas tarde en otro proyecto de Burton, Edward Scissorhands. A esta dupla (Burton-Price) se suma la presencia de los poemas de Edgar Allan Poe en la historia del pequeño Vincent formando una triada, como dirian los teenegers de hoy.. CRyPPy!

5:53

Por cierto, en ese mismo año el actor Vincent Price realizo también la voz para el video-clip Thriller de Michael Jackson y a uno se le paran los pelos cuando hace la asociación en su cabeza de las dos cosas.. Pillenlo!

THE FLY ( 1958 )
David Hedison is a French scientist, husband and father whose bungled teleportation experiment leads to him being crossed with a housefly. Unlike Jeff Goldblum in 1986, there's no metamorphasis. Dude just gets a new fly head and a new fly hand. To get back to 100-percent homosapien his wife, young son and brother (Vincent Price in a non-creepy role) have to locate and capture the unfortunate fly they expect to have his missing human parts. (Good luck!) Not to be dismissed as a standard-issue monster movie, The Fly brings the human drama and creates a sense of urgency, familial crisis and doom. Things end grimly and even if the last scene is an sfx punchline, it's still pretty chilly stuff. Help meeeeeeee!...
***

KREEP'S KORNER

By

Brazillia R. Kreep

En esta web tenéis el texto en inglés y la traducción (mejor que verlo con los sutítulos, que es una adaptacióny no es lo mismo).

Me gusta cómo vincent Price pone la voz de ma la madre. Qué pedazo de actor!

Ya que estoy haciendo una tesis de máster, qué mejor forma que emepzar por el principio!

Tendréis más entradas sobre Tim más adelante!

Ciao!!!

Before the final credits role, enough blood has splashed across the screen, enough women have screamed their bloody guts out, and enough skin has be ripped, pinched, and stabbed, that I don’t advise having the steak tartar afterwards. Really. I’

m quite serious about this. This is hard to watch sometimes or just your thing if you like stopping to look at road kill . Thank goodness the blood is bright orange or more people would loose their lunches instead of laughing their heads off. Lots of Fun extras too! Well worth the bucks my frightfully fine fiends.

What Price Fame?

When Vincent Price came out to play
All the children ran away
They’d scream and dream such awful things
Like long-fanged snakes and hornet stings
For Mr. Price was wicked see
T’bring such woes so eerily
Yet when he finally bid adieu
All the children did boo-hoo
They loved the thrills n’chills he laid
And prayed he would come back someday

DIARY OF A MADMAN ( 1963 )
This Vincent Price vehicle is based on a story by Guy de Maupassant about a 19th century lawyer who becomes possessed by the murdering spirit of a condemned maniac he accidentally kills. Price does a great nervous breakdown as we watch the man succumb to the power of what is explained as a cross-dimensional phantom(!) There's a low death toll, but the first victim is his beloved pet canary which he crushes the life from with his bare hands. A ham-fisted script doesn't detract from the strong story or good performances. There is a pretty hilarious "haunted sculpture" scene that provides more giggles than chills.
**1/2

Eduardo Manostijeras (Edward Scissorhands) es una película dirigida en 1990 por el estadounidense Tim Burton.

Burton escribió el guión (junto a Carolina Thomson) basándose en su traumática infancia. Tim (que acababa de hacer una gran producción, Batman) volvió a hacer un cine muy personal y con mucho menos presupuesto.

Eduardo (Johnny Deep) es creado por un inventor (Vincent Price, en el último papel de su vida), que lo construye y educa. Al morir el inventor, Eduardo se queda solo en una enorme mansión e incompleto (todavía no le habían puesto las manos, teniendo en su lugar unas enormes cuchillas). Eduardo vive ajeno al mundo exterior, hasta que un día, una dependienta a domicilio (Dianne Wiest) decide llevárselo a su casa, al mundo real, un sitio que Eduardo desconoce.

Entre el reparto figuran también artistas como Winona Ryder, Alan Arkin, Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Oliveri y Kathy Baker.

Es un bonito cuento de hadas moderno. Para mi gusto es la mejor película (o al menos, la más completa y personal) de Tim Burton. Muy recomendable e inolvidable.

La película fue dominada al oscar al mejor maquillaje (no lo recibió) gracias a los cortes que tiene Eduardo Manostijeras en la cara.

Trailer Original

Remember doing this?  You’d either meet all your friends there and go crazy screaming at the screen or maybe a first date, hugging each other during the thrills n’ spills?  Maybe you just saw folks doing it in a dozen old movies you loved to watch such as Steve McQueen in The Blob or Vincent Price in The Tingler? Either way, this is a great opportunity to sit in a beautiful classic movie house, and for 10 bucks, get to watch two classic horror/sci-fi gems back t’ back.  C’mon…not another DVD and pizza night?

BTW in the lobby are booths to buy horror & Scr-Fi goodies for the die-hards or your sweetie.  Highly recommended. 

> Portage Movie schedule Here

Remember doing this? You’d either meet all your friends there and go crazy screaming at the screen or maybe a first date, hugging each other during the thrills n’ spills? Maybe you just saw folks doing it in a dozen old movies you loved to watch such as Steve McQueen in The Blob or Vincent Price in The Tingler? Either way, this is a great opportunity to sit in a beautiful classic movie house, and for 10 bucks, get to watch two classic horror/sci-fi gems back t’ back.  C’mon…not another DVD and pizza night?

BTW in the lobby are booths to buy horror & Scr-Fi goodies for the die-hards or your sweetie. Highly recommended.

> Portage Movie schedule Here

<<Come out, Neville!>>

Chiunque abbia letto "I Am Legend" ("Io sono leggenda", Fanucci Editore), difficilmente dimenticherà il grido tetro di Ben Cortman, che ogni notte striscia via dal suo nascondiglio per tormentare colui che un tempo era suo amico, Robert Neville, l'ultimo uomo della terra.

Il romanzo di Richard Matheson (per la prima volta in Italia nel 1957 - ovvero a tre anni di distanza dall'edizione originale - su Longanesi, nel 1989 all'interno della collana Urania Classici col titolo "I vampiri" e successivamente ristampato come "Io sono leggenda", dulcis in fundo riproposto da Fanucci) è una pietra miliare della letteratura fantastica e della narrativa americana degli anni '50, costante fonte di ispirazione per il cinema (di genere) e per tanti altri scrittori (King, furbescamente citato in copertina, è solito indicare l'autore tra i suoi maestri più importanti).

"I Am Legend" nasce tra le ombre di una sala buia al cui interno viene proiettato un vecchio film del 1931, "Dracula" (Tod Browning), l'idea è però quella di rovesciare in maniera speculare il mito del Vampiro, o meglio del diverso: il protagonista non è infatti l'altro, l'affezione che contagia gli esseri umani, al contrario Robert Neville è l'unico essere umano ancora in vita, l'anomalia in un mondo abitato da una nuova forma vivente. La storia prende il via da un'epidemia di origine sconosciuta che annienta sempre più velocemente il genere umano, alla morte segue però un ritorno, i contagiati si risvegliano dal loro sonno e si comportano proprio come i vampiri descritti da Bram Stoker. Robert vede così morire amici, colleghi, moglie e figlia, ritrovandosi definitivamente solo. A questo punto si attiva un circuito inesorabile: al crepuscolo il protagonista è vittima di un costante assedio, all'alba invece deve bruciare i cadaveri rimasti sul prato, rimettere a posto gli specchi e l'aglio, controllare la macchina e stanare altri vampiri. Un po' alla volta la sua umanità sbiadisce, perfino la voce (oramai inutile) diventa un elemento estraneo alla sua nuova condizione, angoscia, orrore, disperazione e solitudine prendono spesso il sopravvento su Robert, che alterna il whisky e le visioni della moglie Virginia allo studio della malattia che ha colpito l'intero genere umano. Egli è convinto infatti che scavando nella superstizione del vampiro sia possibile arrivare ad una soluzione, dunque a una cura. Quando incrocerà in pieno giorno un cane (prima) e una donna (poi) la storia volgerà ad uno splendido ed inaspettato finale...

L'intreccio prende corpo sul grande schermo prima in "L'ultimo uomo della terra" (Sidney Salkow/Ubaldo Ragona, 1964), girato in uno spettrale Eur, accreditato alla coppia di registi ma probabilmente diretto solo dal primo ed interpretato da un magistrale Vincent Price, poi nel minore "The Omega Man" ("1975: occhi bianchi sul pianeta Terra", Boris Sagal, 1971), infine nel disastroso "I Am Legend", con Will Smith ("Io sono leggenda", Francis Lawrence, 2007). In realtà la pellicola che più di tutte ha raccolto le ispirazioni di Richard Matheson è, per stessa ammissione dello scrittore, "The Night Of The Living Dead" di George A. Romero ("La notte dei morti viventi", 1968). Da segnalare l'episodio numero 77 di Dylan Dog intitolato "L'ultimo uomo sulla terra" (Sclavi e Roi, febbraio 1993) e la graphic novel omonima adattata da Steve Niles ed Elman Brown.

<<Ora sono io l'anormale. La normalità è un concetto di maggioranza, la norma di molti, e non la norma di uno solo>>

Antonio Bra Smiraglia

by
The Kreep

When Vincent Price came out t’play
All the children ran away
They’d scream and dream such awful things
Like long-fanged snakes and hornet stings
For Mr. Price was wicked, see
T’bring such woes so eerily
Yet when he finally bid adieu
All the children did boo-hoo
they loved the thrills n’ chills he laid
And prayed he would come back someday

Brazillia R. Kreep a.k.a The Kreep is a forlorn Gothic poet and illustrator living in Kreepsville.  The Kreep lives in an old Victorian mansion near lake Scares.

Brazillia R. Kreep

When Vincent Price came out t'play
All the children ran away
They’d scream and dream such awful things
Like long-fanged snakes and hornet stings
For Mr. Price was wicked, see
T’bring such woes so eerily
Yet when he finally bid adieu
All the children did boo-hoo
they loved the thrills n’ chills he laid
And prayed he would come back someday

Brazillia R. Kreep a.k.a The Kreep is a forlorn Gothic poet and illustrator living in Kreepsville.  The Kreep lives in an old Victorian mansion near lake Scares.

by
The Kreep

When Vincent Price came out t'play
All the children ran away
They’d scream and dream such awful things
Like long-fanged snakes and hornet stings
For Mr. Price was wicked, see
T’bring such woes so eerily
Yet when he finally bid adieu
All the children did boo-hoo
they loved the thrills n’ chills he laid
And prayed he would come back someday

Brazillia R. Kreep a.k.a The Kreep is a forlorn Gothic poet and illustrator living in Kreepsville.  The Kreep lives in an old Victorian mansion near lake Scares.

O filme "A Mosca", de 1986, foi adaptado para os palcos na forma de ópera. A estréia mundial foi no último dia 2 no Teatro Chatelet, em Paris, e em setembro o espetáculo será apresentado em Los Angeles.

O diretor da ópera é o mesmo do segundo filme, o canadense David Cronenberg. Grande cuidado foi tomado com maquiagem e a música foi composta por Howard Shore, o mesmo que fez a partitura do filme. (...) O filme de Cronenberg, estrelado por Jeff Goldblum, foi inspirado em "A Mosca da Cabeça Branca", um clássico do cinema de terror, filmado em 1958 com Vincent Price e que, por sua vez, foi baseado em um conto escrito pelo britânico George Langelaan. (...)

Leia o texto completo, com direito a galeria de imagens, clicando aqui.