AND HERE WE HAVE ALREADY another issue of WE BELONG DEAD . .
. and that is not a bad thing at all! Editor and Publisher Eric McNaughton has
apparently been riding the wave of inspiration with a fusillade of monster
goodness from “across the pond”. While the focus is on Hammer and other UK
productions it is not myopically British, and includes material from the US,
and indeed, anywhere else in the world where there is something of value to say
about horror film history.
WBD is a fan magazine, and many of its articles are written
from a fan’s perspective, which do not at all diminish its effectiveness and only
illustrate the zeitgeist of the world
in which the horror fan lives. But make no mistake, the ‘zine is capable of
also serving up scholarly and learned material as well.
In “Confessions of a Hammer Lover”, Matt Gemmell shares his affection
of Hammer films with WBD readers reminiscing about his personal history with
the UK monster industry giant. Like many ‘a Monster Kid from the States who were
similarly (and more than willingly) initiated by the Shock Theater TV package,
he recounts his own exhilaration with watching Hammer films as a youngster and how
they affected him throughout his life. The analogue is easily perceived and serves
to only further liberate this unique pop culture phenomena from the insular to the
international.
The “Keep My Top-Loader Open” Department offers up a review
of GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE, one of those films that can be categorized as
marginally-watchable, but nevertheless still maintains a nostalgic cult
following. The main talking point here is the opening sequence, where, in a typical
Drive-In trope, the vampire kills the boyfriend and then has its way with the
girlfriend. In this case, it is taken to an extreme, and instead of being
carried off to the monster’s lair, the girlfriend is raped in the vampire’s
open grave. The suckling on blood instead of milk scene is another 70’s “shocker”
that is still discussed today by critics. Columnist Julian Hobbs does a good
job himself in milking whatever is worthy to be unearthed in GRAVE OF THE
VAMPIRE without falling into the familiar pitfall of turning a film into the
proverbial silk purse by way of sentimentality.
Another personal reminisce is told by Peter Benassi in his “An
Homage to The House of Hammer Magazine”. In 1976, the first issue of House of
Hammer hit the newsstands. Published by überfan Dez Skin, it went on to a
measured popularity with Hammer film fans. Benassi recounts the joy of the
original run’s 23 issues and its lackluster return in 1982. He gives an
often-heard reason from a monster fan that has roots in the classic (Hammer)
years of horror cinema: “…the old magic was gone, sadly. Admittedly, we were in
an entirely different era with any trend-setting horror films few and far
between so it wasn’t exactly the fault of the magazine itself. During this
period, we were being saturated with slasher films, video nasties and other 80s
cinema shenanigans.”
Next up is WBD editor Eric McNaughton’s “Afternoon Tea with a
Horror Icon”. Clearly, this is a scoop of an interview with Hammer Films Hottie
and perennial fan-favorite (for obvious reasons), Caroline Munroe. I, myself,
was smitten with Miss Munroe when I first saw her as Margiana in Ray Harryhausen’s
THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1973). How could any red-blooded male forget her
scene with John Philip Law’s Sinbad, dark hair streaming, speaking in an exotic
accent and ample bosom heaving under the firelight in her wispy eastern garb?
Along with Harryhausen’s exquisite animation (which I was experimenting with
myself at the time), Munroe was a major reason why I stayed in the Hollywood
theater for a second viewing! Munroe she speaks fondly of her work on the film,
saying outright that she “loved doing it”. She also mentions that Tom Baker,
who played the villain, Khoura, was selected for the role of the fourth Doctor
Who as a result of being spotted in GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD. When asked about
Harryhausen, she has this to say: “He was on the set all the time and I became
a close friend of his. And I loved him and I miss him so much. I see his
daughter and she comes down from Scotland and we go out and have a little
girlie dinner. I miss him very much.” McNaughton conducts an excellent
interview as he facilitates what must have been an extremely pleasurable conversation.
Kudos also to Caroline Munroe who obviously enjoys her notoriety from this era,
recognizes that her career is sustained largely by her past accomplishments, and
embraces it instead of marginalizing or outright shunning it like we have seen so
many other actors do.
Further on in the issue, Richard Gladman interviews another
Hammer Hottie, Madeline Smith. A revered personality canonized in the halls of “Hammer
Glamour”, she began her career in modelling, and, despite the demure attitude she
professes seen in one of the special features on the recently-released Blu-ray
of Hammer’s THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, the large-eyed Smith is nevertheless seen quite
often in provocative publicity poses showing more than enough cleavage to
satisfy any vampire. The interview focuses on her recollections from some of
the notable horror films she has played in over the years, beginning with TASTE
THE BLOOD OF DRACULA. As for her role in THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, she remembers
Ingrid Pitt as being “formidable, but lovely to me” and Director Roy Ward Baker,
who “cajoled a performance from me that nobody could have imagined.”
The issue goes on with a veritable parade of pleasing
features, including remembrances of Ray Harryhausen (by film historian Tony
Earnshaw) and Richard Matheson, a comparison of Joan Crawford’s TROG and Rick
Baker’s SHLOCK, Hammer’s Mummy movies, collecting classic horror and sci-fi
movie books, the Hammer Karnstein film trilogy, Mexican vampires, and tons
more.
For all the reverie regarding Hammer films, the gem of the
issue is about a movie rooted in Hollywood and directed by a Czech.
However, it does star a very famous British actor and it is all the better for
it. Matthew E. Banks’ retrospective, “The Black Cat: Re-examining a Horror
Classic” delves deep into the perverse psyche of this unquestionably bizarre
entry in Universal’s classic era of the 1930’s. Subtitled, “A Catalogue of
Satanism, Sadism, Homoerotica, Necrophilia and Murder”, THE BLACK CAT
(Universal, 1934) is not a “monster movie” at all in the conventional sense, and
instead relies on the characteristics of the human monster and the limits of
grief, guilt and suffering – along with a generous dose of the dark side of
human nature. The film exudes decadence, and for good reason. Director Edward
G. Ulmer, co-writing the film treatment with mystery author Peter Ruric, derived his inspiration from Polish decadent fantasist and mystic,
Gustav Meyrink, author of Der Golem
(1915), which Paul Wegener filmed as an early silent (Ulmer worked on the film as well, helping to design the sets). Along with
Hanns Heinz Ewers, author of Alraune
(a 1911 entry in the Frankenstein
cycle that tells of the creation of a homunculus
by fertilizing the womb of a prostitute with the semen of an executed murderer)
and Karl Hans Strobl (a prolific writer of schauerromanen
influenced by Poe and contemporary Ewers, and who later became a supporter of
the Nazi party), Meyrink is the most notable of the Germanic supernatural and
weird fiction writers. Once a member of the elite secret occult organization, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,
Meyrink immersed himself in the European mysticism and metaphysics that had its
golden age during the mid-to late 1800’s, the same period that the Decadent and
Symbolist movement in art and literature flourished. Ulmer capitalized on
Meyrink’s perverse and unholy themes and turned one of his film’s subplots from
diabolism into outright Satanism. THE BLACK CAT, even though once removed from
its Universal gothic brethren of the times, transcends the comparative triteness
of mere scary monsters into a world of true horror and human debasement. Themes
of transgression and subversion abound in THE BLACK CAT. For instance, elements
of homoeroticism in the film – both left in and edited out – are discussed
using references by author David Skal, who has a knack for trolling through
film history for these examples. Although other actors were considered, Karloff
and Lugosi could not have been better choices for the two lead roles.
Overlooking the usual (and thankfully brief) comic relief sequences that were needlessly
added into otherwise serious horror films, THE BLACK CAT is infused with a
dreamlike, no nightmare-like quality
that at least equals Carl Dreyer’s celebrated horror fantasy, VAMPYR (1932),
released just two years before. The essay is well-researched and written, but
contains some errors. For instance, the spelling of author Gustav “Meyrinck”,
while a being possible alternative, is more commonly spelled, “Meyrink”. Also,
the reference to “Alister Crowley” is misspelled from Greg Mank’s source and
quotation and carried on into the narrative – the correct spelling of the man’s
name who was known for a time in the British press as “The Wickedest Man in the
World” (and who, like Meyrink, was a member of The Golden Dawn) is “Aleister” Crowley. All things considered,
Matthew E. Banks’ erudite and thoughtful work would not be lost in the running
for a spot on the “Best Magazine Article” ballot of this year’s provincial but
prestigious Rondo Awards.
I mentioned that WBD is a fan magazine. While this may be
largely true, great care is evident in its production. The design, layouts, and
reproduction make it a cut above rival publications. With a few issues under
its belt, there is a sense of new life to WE BELONG DEAD, and considering the
depth of material covered in each issue, I guarantee it is well worth your purchase.
Click on the WE BELONG DEAD cover image on the sidebar for ordering
information.