Mario Party: Kill, Baby...Kill

I won't mock this classic.  Today's film is Kill, Baby...Kill, a film by the great Mario Bava.  I love me some Italian Maestros of Horror, be it Bava or Argento.  We'll actually get to the younger Bava next- just be patient.  Before you ask, this is not the sequel to Faster, Pussycat...Kill, Kill!  I know- I was surprised too.  It's a horror film that seems to set up dozens that would come to pass in the future.  Did they all copy this film?  I'm not saying that.  However, you can see the influence that it must have had on cinema for the next forty-odd years.  The film is a tale of murder in a small village and a few people's quest to find out the cause. That cause ends up being something that would most certainly show up in other horror films- many of which are actually from Asia.  If you haven't seen this film yet, go see it and THEN read this review.  When you come back, read on...

The movie begins strongly with a woman falling to her death after being followed by a mysterious shadow.

Our hero arrives to help solve the case, bringing this awesome high-angle shot along with him.

The man on the right is the Inspector and he's going to solve this case.  Well, he would if he was actually the lead.

What do the murders have to do with this mysterious lady in her messy house?  Keep reading to find out!

Hey, Inspector- how's the investigation going?

...oh, I see.  Well, at least you managed to protect this girl from being killed by an evil spirit...

...oh, never mind.  Well, it turns out that the killer is the vengeful spirit of a young girl.  Try to spot her in this creepy version of Where's Waldo?, readers.

As it turns out, the Mother of the young girl is a Medium and summons the girl to attack the town.  Her reason: the town 'let her die.'

Seem familiar, Slasher Movie Fans?

In The End, our hero manages to save the heroine- who is the sister of the dead girl to boot- and another Medium sacrifices herself to stop the evil woman.  How this actually happened is never explained?  The End.

Inexplicable Bangkok Dangerous death aside, this is a great flick.  It does come with a caveat- this is old-school, Gothic Horror.  If you love those kinds of films, it's a must-see.  If you're just into gore and kills, you really won't get that.  The film is all about Bava's strengths: cinematography, the use of colors and heaps of atmosphere.  All of that is on display here, as I'm sure you picked up from the Screen Caps.  The movie's plot is a bit stodgy, but it's a representation of its time period.  The heroine could be more proactive- granted.  The hero could have more personality- I'll give you that.  Bava, however, focused on what he felt was important.  As I said, this film is a product of its era overall, but clearly inspired so much more.  How many vengeful spirits have we seen grace the silver screen since this film?  How much does the Mother remind you of Mrs. Voorhees?  How many films about a town's long-held secret being their downfall have you watched?  Hell, even the look of the girl reminds me of so many 'evil kid' films that I've seen.  How much it directly-inspired those films is certainly up for debate, but I just found it neat to see a film that seemed to.  If you haven't seen this film yet, I implore you once again to check it out.  Will this crazy camera angle help?

Next up, Lamberto Bava steps up to the plate with a 'true tale.'  It's a weird, weird movie about love and...body parts.  Stay tuned...

Mario-mania: Beyond the Door II (aka Shock)

This one is a bit confusing to explain, but I'll do my best.  In 1977, Mario Bava made a film called Shock with Daria Nicolodi about a young mother who is haunted by the ghosts of the house she now lives in with her new husband.  This is actually the last feature film completed by Bava, but that was not enough for international distributors, so they retitled it Beyond the Door II.  Why?  We all know why, so I won't bother with the obvious answer.  Actually, there is one connective thread: the same actor who plays the young boy is in both films.  Not that he plays the same characters, mind you, but he's there.  Fortunately, proper cuts of the movie and good DVD distribution companies have all but erased that from history.  As for Beyond the Door III...not so much.  I'm getting ahead of myself here, so let's stay focused.  Blue Underground released a very nice DVD presentation of the film, which I'm honored to bring to you.  No burned-in subtitles or VHS transfers here.  This is...

Beyond the Door II aka Shock

The film centers around a family that has gotten through a tragedy and is ready to move on.  The woman (Daria Nicolodi) is back in her old home that was inhabited by her deceased ex-husband.  There is a less-than-subtle mystery to the story however.  You see, the woman has just gotten released from an insane asylum after the murder of the husband.  The husband (John Steiner) has been the one pushing for them to move back into the house, but his motives are not fully-known just yet.  The kid they have is a young boy that has a personality that seems to be equivalent to a Slinky going down a set of stairs.  The wife is very insistent that they should not be there, but the husband insists.  Mind you, he is an airline pilot and is constantly going off for work.  If you leave your wife in a house that drives her crazy, you just might be...a bad husband.  The weird stuff comes in many forms, the most notable of which involving the kid telling the mom that he 'has to kill her.'  A lot of this stuff is subtle, while some of it is very, very direct.  All in all, it makes for a moody atmosphere, even if nothing is exactly clear.

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As things get worse, the kid appears to be talking to some invisible person.  Just to note: this predates Poltergeist by five years.  The kid seems to go out of his way to make some weird, magical effects to affect the family.  At one point, he causes the father's plane to nearly crash by putting a cut-out of his face on a swing and pushing it around.  Maybe you should not have bought your kid Voodoo For Dummies!  He also causes the mom to go even more over the edge before the truth finally comes out.  You see, she killed her husband because he was an abusive drug addict who forced her to do the stuff too.  After the stabbing, a life-long friend (Steiner) staged the death as an accident and had her committed to avoid prison.  His reason for moving them back into the house: to get rid of the body.  Apparently, it was dumped in the basement wall and would have been discovered upon renovation.  The woman repays him for all of this work by stabbing him to death in the same basement.  She lets loose a serious of screams that put Jamie Lee Curtis to shame.  The furniture appears to be cornering her in the basement and driving her to suicide.  A chest presses her against the wall and opens to reveal a box cutter, which she uses on her own wrists.  As she dies, the kid can be seen in the yard having tea with the invisible force.

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This movie is actually pretty good, although it still does not make a whole lot of sense.  As part of the Beyond the Door 'series,' it is the strongest entry so far.  As a Mario Bava film, it has all of the usual touches that you expect.  Is it ever going to replace Black Sunday or Black Sabbath as the premiere Bava films?  No.  The movie offers a lot of atmosphere and does actually wrap up it's story in a fairly-logical fashion.  There's just some intangible thing missing from the film though, which I can't place.  It is a rare starring role for Daria and she does not get killed in a violent, sadistic fashion by a killer like she does in nearly all of her Argento films.  If you are going to see one film with Beyond the Door as part of its alternate titles, make it this one...even if I don't get all of it just yet.

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Next up, we wrap up the 'series' with a 1989 film set in the Czech Republic.  Well, at least it does not star an aged Bo Svenson.  What do you mean 'he's in it?!?'  Stay tuned...

Anthologicious: Black Sabbath

You know, I think that this is the first Mario Bava film that I have reviewed here. Can Hercules in the Haunted World  or Knives of the Avenger be far behind? It's also the first good horror anthology I've done in full. Yes, I'm making fun you, Creepshow 3! This movie has a lot going for it, considering its director and its narrator: Boris Karloff. In spite of Bela's ranting in Ed Wood, I love Boris to death for his later roles like this. Hell, he plays the crazy grandfather in The Comedy of Terrors, a movie that I love to death. The idea is pretty simple here: Boris is our narrator and tells us three tales of the macabre. Is there a connective thread in them? No, not really. All we get is Boris & that works for me! Let's just jump right into...

Black Sabbath

The film begins with Karloff walking onto a sound stage with a bunch of weird, flashing lights behind him. Weird light effects in a Mario Bava film? Can you imagine?!? Interestingly enough, Karloff is not playing some all-seeing/all-knowing character like Dr. Diablo from Torture Garden or a recurring one like Karen Black's character from Trilogy of Terror. He's just Boris Karloff and he wants you to see some scary stories. Okay then.

1. A woman begins to get threatening calls on the phone. No matter what she does, the person keeps calling and can apparently see everything. No, they don't ask her if she likes scary movies. As it turns out, evidence begins to point towards the caller being a man she testified against earlier. Guess who just escaped from jail? The lady freaks out even more & turns to calling a friend that she has not spoken to in a long time. She agrees to come over and alleviate her fears. Oh wait, she is also the person making the calls. This should get interesting...

The two get settled in as the 'friend' agrees to stay the night. Meanwhile, someone else lurks in the shadows. But, if she's there, she's over there and Istanbul is in this general area, then who is that? While the victimized woman tries to sleep, the other one writes a letter explaining that she faked the calls to get an invitation to come over and make-up. Of course, while she writes that, the escaped prisoner sneaks up and chokes her to death. Oh Mario, you love irony. Using a 'Checkov's Gun,' our heroine manages to stab the attacker to death. So, the lesson is, don't trick people...I guess. I'll figure that one out later.

2. A wandering nobleman shows up at a quiet farmhouse, but it is not exactly a 'good time.' As it turns out, a crazed killer was out in the woods & the father (Boris Karloff) has been out to get him. He warned the family that if he did not come back in five days, then he will have become a wurdalak (aka vampire). As day five arrives, he shows up and has the head of the killer in tow. The only problem: the family does not know whether or not he is a monster. His behavior is different, but that can be explained away with stress. The dog does not like him, but that can be explained with the human head he was carrying. He's creepy as hell, but he's Boris Karloff. The family is extremely worried and tells the nobleman to leave, but his lust for one of the daughters makes him stay. That night, all hell breaks loose! One of the brothers is found dead in the kitchen and the young child has been kidnapped by Karloff. This can't end well?

The son is found dead and the father goes to decapitate the corpse in order to stop him from coming back as a vampire. The wife won't let him, which allows the son to come back that night and set up her death. We get a domino effect as the now-vampiric wife kills the husband! The nobleman and the woman flee, but that is not enough. She ends up being captured and turned before our hero can save the day. Rather than face life without her, he hugs her and allows her to bite him. The moral: don't trust your libido at an old farmhouse, but we already knew that from the story of the traveling salesman.

3. Our final story is one of greed and regret. A nurse is called to a home to prepare an elderly matron for her funeral. When she gets there and works on the body, she discovers that the woman has a ring that only basketball players' wives whose husbands have been accused of rape get! In a moment of weakness, she steals the object. In a continuation of that moment of weakness, she takes it home with her. Unfortunately, she did not pay enough attention to the glass of water that spilled as she did the deed. In addition, a fly decided to be more than a little friendly with her, but she blew that off too. Back at her home, she begins to be bothered by several events.

First off, the fly makes another appearance and buzzes around her mercilessly. You may think that flies aren't scary horror villains unless you've seen Amityville 3-D! Her powers goes out as well and the sound of dripping water fills the apartment. Great! Now you're under siege by the thing from Dark Water too! Things only get worse as the old woman's body appears on her bed! Incidentally, this is probably the moment that most people remember from this whole movie. The corpse begins to strangle her, at least, that's what she thinks. Driven mad, she actually strangles herself to death. When the police discover the body the next day, they find no outside signs of attack. Oh wait, there is one thing. Apparently, there is bruising on her finger from a ring being pried off of it. This worries the concierge, who is greeted by a familiar insect.

The film concludes with our narrator, who is made up in his outfit as the grandfather from the second story. He closes out the film as he rides the mechanical horse used for simulating a horse-riding shot. The film ends with the camera panning out to reveal a whole mess of people working the set. Normally, this would just be odd, but, since it is Karloff, it is actually one of the freakiest shots of the whole movie!

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This film is really good and full of suspense. I've always been a fan of horror anthology films, even when they are sub-par efforts like The Monster Club or flawed ones such as The Offspring. This a Bava film though, so there is not much to complain about. I feel odd filling my summary without adding some silly insults, but there's not much to nitpick here. Some of the make-up work looks odd in a modern context, although it is still freaky as hell! This one was made in the last several years of Karloff's career, so his physicality was limited, but his presence was quite strong. There's not much else I can say other than this: see it.

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Just another reminder: this is part of the 'Final Girl Film Club.' Check out her site if you haven't & share in the efforts. The more the merrier.

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Up next, I return to the world of Dolph Lundgren and terrorists. What does this film have going for it that the others don't? Two words: Jerry Springer. Stay tuned...