The Monster Club

From the moment I started watching, I was enthralled by every set piece, costume and plot detail.

This film, to understate, is rare indeed. A low-budget "horror" movie with a moral, loveable monsters and superb acting. Each of the three stories is well thought-out and entertaining, and the scene in which we learn of monster genealogy is wonderful.

Price is on top form, as usual. He is, with the possible exception of Peter Cushing, the best horror actor of all time. His sincere manner coupled with his traditional English accent make him the most unusual vampire you will ever see.

The first story is slow to start, but soon quickens pace. It features the best acting of the three tales, and the three lead characters have deliciously different personalities. It encompasses a moral, and is touching at times, but still manages to retain at least a little horror. The premise is not very good, but I liked it all the same.

The comedy in this film is plentiful. The second story features horrormeister Donald Pleasence in his catch-the-evil-creature role he played six times in the Halloween series. But the way his character meets his demise and the wonderful plot twist will have you rolling on the floor with laughter.

The third story is not really funny, or scary. It is the most serious of the bunch, and I suspect the filmmakers intended it to be awfully frightening. It just isn't. It show its age, and features poor acting. The set pieces are top-notch, though, and are definitely its saving grace. I can tell you now that the plot twist at the end is totally expected, and not very good.

The stories are interjected with entertaining dialogue between Price and Carradine, and new wave 1980s rock music. Some of you will recognise a youthful UB40 performing a song. There is also one about a stripper, and when you see the stripper's act, you will be suitably impressed. I won't say any more about that - watch it for yourself.

All in all, it was a good way to spend an hour and a half, and I was sad when the stories were over. Just one word of advice, though - don't be put off by the costumes of the monsters.

I love this movie. When I began renting exclusively horror movies in the late eighties I'd rent movies like The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula and Monster Club and The House That Dripped Blood... and eventually I realized they were all by the same director, Roy Ward Baker. What stands out in his fillms to me is the colors. He goes for some really bold color choices. Monster Club is a funny movie. The musical interludes betw2een the vignettes are pretty damn snappy f you've heard them a hundred times, and I have. The stories are good. The dippy costumes are effective and fun. I saw it hosted by Elvira Mistress of the Dark and that made a lot of difference but it's a good movie with or without her breastesses.

Fun horror anthology film from producer Milton Subotsky, who produced similar pictures for Amicus in the 1960s and 70s. It's directed by Roy Ward Baker, who also directed some of those previous anthologies. There are three stories here plus a wraparound segment that connects everything. The first story is about a shadmock (don't ask). It's an ok segment with a standout sympathetic performance from James Laurenson. The second story is about a vampire hunter (Donald Pleasence) targeting the father of a bullied boy. It's a decent story with a goofy ending. The third story is the best. It's about a move director (Stuart Whitman) who finds himself trapped in a town full of ghouls while scouting for a filming location. This is the only story that feels like it could have been its own movie. The wraparound segments feature Vincent Price as a vampire who takes famed horror writer John Carradine to the titular club where monsters hang out and dance to early 80s rock bands. Super cheesy but also loads of fun.

All in all this isn't as good as many of the older horror anthology films but it's all very charming and innocent fun. Hardcore horror nuts will likely hate it for not being serious or gory enough. I think in my initial viewing years ago I was unimpressed but it's grown on me over the years. Give it a shot. The music numbers alone are worth your time.

What can I say? I liked it. Then again, I've had a love affair with Britain's Hammer, Amicus and Tony Tensor's Tigon films since I was a kid in the Los Angeles area in the early 60s and caught Hammer's Hound of the Baskervilles (1959).

For me, it's just a kick to see John Carridine and Vincent Price together again. I'm also a Roy Ward Baker fan and enjoy most of his work.

Are the stories truly scary? No, not really. They're eerie. Strange. That's good enough for me. That works.

And the capper is getting The Pretty Things as the Monster Club's house band. I have no idea what song Phil May & Co. play, but I love it. I've got several PT CDs as well as their 2-CD anthology and it's not contained in anything I've ever found. I'd dearly love to get a copy of their MC music.

Any horror fan who writes that it was high time Hammer and Amicus rode off into the sunset ain't no horror fan, because they just don't make classy little gems like this anymore.

It's been many years since I last saw this anthology, and though it's usually reviled I think it's gotten better with age. I love the air of black comedy that prevails in the scenes with Vincent Price and John Carradine in the Disco (both perform very tongue in cheek and appear to be having some fun spoofing their images), and the three horror tales aren't bad, either. The stories manage to be satirical, humorous, and even a little scary. I even liked some of the rock tunes sung at the club (my favorite probably being B. A. Robertson's SUCKER FOR YOUR LOVE). I also like MONSTERS RULE O.K. by the Viewers. Okay, so I wouldn't go out and buy the album perhaps, but the songs work nicely within the bizarre context of the film. Price and Carradine actually get up on the dance floor to boogie with the ghouls, and it's good fun all around. **1/2 out of ****