The Horror of It All

1983's "The Horror of It All" is a documentary that attempts to cover the cinematic history of terror in only 58 minutes. That said, it can't help but come off as somewhat lacking so director Gene Feldman's real ace in the hole is recent footage of some of the renowned filmmakers responsible for many of these favored gems. On hand are directors like Rouben Mamoulian (1931's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"), Curtis Harrington (a personal friend of "Frankenstein" director James Whale), and Roger Corman ("The Masque of the Red Death"), producer Herman Cohen (Michael Landon's "I Was a Teenage Werewolf"), and author Robert Bloch ("Psycho"). Film historian David Del Valle is seen displaying his collection of posters, and some scenes were filmed at the Haunted Mansion in Long Branch, New Jersey, your typical haunted house for the young at heart (which went down in flames from a 1987 fire). Many actors are well represented: Gloria Stuart discusses working with James Whale and Boris Karloff in 1932's "The Old Dark House," Dana Andrews covers the 1957 Jacques Tourneur masterpiece "Curse of the Demon," Martine Beswicke displays a preference for the dark side as we see shots of her from Hammer's 1971 "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde." The venerable John Carradine appears on camera to go over the popularity of horror films, why he's never been afraid of the dark, his dear friend John Barrymore's interpretation of Jekyll and Hyde, and his cherished leading role in Edgar G. Ulmer's 1944 "Bluebeard" - "which hangs in my memory not only because I was the star of it but because it had a depth of characterization which in that period in Hollywood was not often seen on the screen." Narration is capably handled by Jose Ferrer, though Carradine may have been the more logical choice with a far more storied history in genre films. Clips are mostly familiar, but there are surprises such as Chester Morris in "The Bat Whispers," Fredric March's transformation from his Oscar-winning turn as both Jekyll and Hyde, and John Barrymore's 1931 "Svengali," featuring the indelible impression of sightless eyes performing their hypnotic trance on Marian Marsh's lovely Trilby from a great distance, one of his finest ever performances. The 20s and 30s are better represented than later decades, understandably since they laid the groundwork for all that followed, ending with a brief dismissal of current gory trends in the 'mad slasher' era.

For the most part, this is a satisfactory overview of the horror genre. Movie clips included are everything from Fritz Lang's silent sci-fi classic METROPOLIS to Francis Ford Coppola's '60's slasher flick DEMENTIA 13. Also featured are interviews with actors and directors who have had a strong influence on the horror genre, including John Carradine, Roger Corman, Curtis Harrington, and many others. Recommended.

Favorite documentary of all time. Includes scenes from the famous Long Branch Haunted Mansion.The Mansion was a three story Haunted Attraction in the 70's and 80's that burned down in 1987.It has a huge fan base,so this documentary's rare scenes of it's interior and exterior are widely sought out. I watched it so much my VHS tape fell apart.Luckily I had a duplicate that I found in my parents attic. The Horror of it All contains some of the view points of classic actors and directors who are no longer with us. Including Titanic's Gloria Stewart who talks about Boris Karloff in The Old Dark House.I believe the same company that produced this also made a great documentary on Bela Lugosi and which was narrated by the great Forrest Ackerman.

The Horror of IT All (1983)

*** (out of 4)

Jose Ferrer narrates this documentary that takes a look at the history of horror films. We get interviews with John Carradine, Roger Corman, Gloria Stuart, Dana Andrews, Robert Bloch, Herman Cohen, Curtis Harrington and Rouben Mamoulian among others.

The documentary pretty much traces the horror films starting with the German movies from the 1920s and then moving through the American silent pictures, the Universal monsters, low-budget shockers from Monogram, the Val Lewton productions, the radioactive monsters and throughout all of this we get clips from the movies as well as comments from those involved in them.

Watching this film today, there's no question that the highlight are the interviews with the filmmakers who are no longer with us. Stuart shares some nice memories of working on THE OLD DARK HOUSE. Carradine talks about several of his horror films. You've got Mamoulian talking about DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE while Andrews talks about NIGHT OF THE DEMON. These interviews are rather priceless since these folks are no longer with us. The interview footage with Corman is also quite good as he discusses how special effects are changing things.

Of course, this here just covers the golden era of films and there's some bashing of overly graphic films. It seems everyone here isn't happy with the current trend of slashers and we get to hear why these aren't "real" horror films. With that being said, fans of the genre will certainly enjoy what is here.

Directors and writers Gene Feldman and Suzette Winter make a great documentary for fans of horrors. Narrated by José Ferrer, the documentary shows highlights of scenes of horror films and archive footages along the cinema history, and interviews with cast (such as John Carradine, Dana Andrews, Gloria Stuart, Martine Beswick), crew (John Carl Buechler), producers (Herman Cohen), writers (Robert Bloch) and directors (Roger Corman, Rouben Mamoulian) among others. This documentary was recently released on DVD in Brazil as a bonus in a Bela Lugosi box set. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "The Horror of It All"