Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural

Scary repeated showings on Thing Theater in Chicago during the 70's did their damage to me. Vampirism, lesbianism, witchcraft all done in that plodding, atmospheric 70's way. Eerie.

A dark, atmospheric little film, it is quite bizarre and intriguing to watch, with shadow enhancing lighting, flashy colours, great sets, and a fine lead performance by Cheryl Smith, who is a perfect choice to play an innocent uncorrupted. On the other hand, the writer-director gives off a somewhat restrained performance as a priest, and towards the end, the film heads off into rather messy territory, with excesses of horror and too many slow motion, plus it takes forever to wrap the story up. There are some interesting ideas at hand, and a few worthwhile production elements, but overall this is a film that is much more so interesting than it is great.

The late and sorely missed Cheryl Smith stars as Lila, the lovely pubescent daughter of a notorious gangster, who is being fostered by a kind-hearted minister. Unaware of her father's whereabouts and concerned for his well-being, she receives a letter indicating that he lays ailing in a mapped location, and should she choose to visit him, then she must do so alone. Thus begins Lila's dark odyssey...from the minute she steps away from the familiar safety of her front door, her nest of childhood innocence is given way to a bleak and frightening world fraught with drunks, strumpets, and lecherous men...but a corporeity of a far more uncanny and sinister nature awaits her at her journey's end...the mysterious letter she received was a siren-song luring her to the incommunicado home of Lemora, a vampiress with an appetence for the blood of youths. This ancient, statuesque creature resides with her cackling old charlady and a mottle of emaciated children in a dark swampland where savage ghouls prowl the night.

The bizarre nexus ensuingly forged between Lemora and Lila is simultaneously horrific and erotically charged...the small-framed, willowy Lila futilely resisting, though apprehensively drawn to, the imposing and mysterious Lemora. It's an arousing 'butch/femme' dynamic which works well, and is illustrated more intricately than most examples of the gratis lesbiana inclusive to vampire cinema.

An artfully executed celestial nightmare with subtexts touching on religious hypocrisy and elegiac loss of innocence, LEMORA demonstrates perfectly how integrity, creativity, and resourcefulness can compensate heartily for dearth of funds in a motion picture production.

Superior. 9/10.

This highlight of seventies horror cinema is a vibrant and lush Gothic fairytale story of a young girl's odyssey as she searches for her father in a world of vampires and demons that wont hesitate to take her innocence at any opportunity that they get. Richard Blackburn's film takes influence from a number of sources across both film and literature, but in spite of this; the writer-director has managed to mould together a tale that is both haunting and original. The story follows Lila Lee, the daughter of a notorious gangster who, after finding his wife in bed with another man, proceeds in blowing both her and her lover to bits. Shortly after her father had fled the town to avoid the law, Lila Lee receives a letter telling her that her father is on his deathbed and wants her to come and see him. Only thing is, this letter is signed 'Lemora'. The film plays out like an offbeat coming of age drama, with the innocent young Lila Lee learning that all is not as it seems, and that danger lurks around every corner. The supernatural elements serve brilliantly as a metaphor for the similar dangers in real life.

The acting in Lemora clearly isn't the most important aspect of the film, but there are still some notable performances on display. Cheryl Smith takes the lead role as the angelic Lila Lee, and completely looks the part as a bewildered young girl in the centre of a world she knows nothing about. The title role of 'Lemora' is taken by Lesley Gilb. This actress doesn't have a film credit to her name after this film, and it's not really surprising as despite looking the part; her performance is wooden in the extreme. Writer-director Richard Blackburn is surprisingly effective in his small role as a reverend. He completely convinces as the odd god fearing preacher. Really, though, it's the more aesthetic elements of the film that rule; and the atmosphere and the make-up are absolutely excellent. The nighttime filming helps to create a sense of danger at every turn, and brilliantly compliments the fear that the child at the centre of the story is feeling. The make-up is effectively done, but not overdone; which makes the monsters feel very real despite their otherwise otherworldly appearance. Lemora, despite it's low budget and inexperienced crew, is a surprisingly professionally done film. While most films released at this point in time relied on high body counts and gore levels to draw audiences; Richard Blackburn has put the focus on story and atmosphere, and that is why Lemora is the enduring, albeit lost, classic that it is today.

This is an unusual and enjoyable film that may have ambitions beyond it's means but is nevertheless a very brave attempt to do something just that little bit different. We begin with Cheryl Smith as the angelic, purer than pure, Lila Lee, star of the local church and living under the protection of her minister in the absence of her gangster father. Both here and later in the scenes with the magnificent lesbian vampire, Lemora, played by Lesley Taplin (Gilb) there are unmistakable hints that these older 'guardians' have more than the interests of the virgin child at heart. The opening scenes in the church and the later ones in Lemora's residence are colourful and rather grandly shot but it is the sequence depicting the young girl's seeming trip to find her father that is most astounding. From the moment she leaves the protection of the minister, she seems not only most vulnerable but the sets seem flimsy and almost laughable, but I'm guessing that this was deliberate and that even the bumpy creaky bus with the unbelievable driver are all designed to let us know that maybe not all is how it seems here. After this great sequence we meet the impressive Lemora and various zombies but despite a rather creepy bath scene there is just a little too much, running about. Still, unusual and well worth seeing.