In 1927, actor and filmmaker Castleton Knight created a short horror film that drew its inspiration in equal parts from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Premature Burial" and Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C-Sharp Minor", which the composer stated was inspired by a nightmare about a premature burial.
Knight's film, "Prelude", was created to run as Rachmaninoff's "Prelude" was being played, either on a recording or live. As such, Knight ended up creating the first music video in history!
And now, to help you build up the proper Halloween spirit, we present this historic milestone, as it was meant to be seen by its creator! Click below, turn up the volume, and sit back and watch this well-crafted film unfold!
Today, we've got a rarely seen one-page weird tale by the great Richard Sala. It was never published in any magazines or anthologies, but now you can enjoy it here... and it might even help stir a little Halloween Spirit within you! (Click on the image for a larger, more easily read version.)
If you are in the streets after most sane people are sleeping soundly in their beds, you might see them.
They are the Night Dancers, mysterious and graceful beings who can be seen moving from shadow to shadow, sometimes pausing beneath the streetlights and dancing to music only they can hear. As Halloween draws closer, sightings of Night Dancers become more common.
It is unknown where the Night Dancers come from or where they disappear to, but it is said that those who witness one of them dancing through the night will have good fortune and find happiness in the near future. On the other hand, those who interfere their dance or pursue them are rumored to suffer dark and terrible ends.
Photographer Dane Shitagi is one of the few people who have managed to catch Night Dancers on film. We share some of the more intriguing results of his work in today's post.
If you have had an encounter with a Night Dancer and wish to share it, we welcome you to use the Comments Section below.
You can also let us know if you think any of these songs are close to what the Night Dancers perform to...
We struck a gothic tone with Anne Hathaway yesterday... and we continue it with today's spooky short film!
Tale of the Deaf (2021) Starring: Husky and Anton Adasinsky
Director: Philip Yuryev
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
A mysterious illusionist and organ grinder (Adasinsky) enters a shabby tavern where he takes to the stage to entertain a crowd who just abused the previous performer (Husky).
"Tale of the Deaf" is a fabulous Russian short film that was originally produced as part of an effort to spotlight popular musicians (in this case, a rapper named Husky) in mini-fright films for the Russian counterpart to YouTube. I can't speak to any other entries in the series, but this one soars far and above its gimmicky origins and rises to the level of horror movie greats. If you enjoy those classic, gothic-horror flavored films from the 1920s and early 1930s (and even some of the Hammer Film flicks from the late 1950s), you're going to get a big kick out of this one.
Almost everything about this film is perfect. From the expert use of light and shadow to make maximum use of the black-and-white format (and resulting in visuals that bring to mind the best work of filmmakers like James Whale, Tod Browning, and Benjamin Christensen), the elaborate tavern set, and a collection of background characters that are deftly given depth with some very brief, but well thought-out, touches.
The only reason that this is not a Ten-star film is that there's a bit of the ending that doesn't seem like it fits with what happened earlier in the film. It fits in over all, it's perfect in a twisted poetic justice sense, but I found myself wondering how it was happening.
(By the way, if you happen to be a DM who runs games using the Ravenloft setting, you REALLY need to watch "Tale of the Deaf". There's a wealth of inspiration to be had from it!)
Slow Danse with the Dead is the name of a darkwave solo project by Albuquerque-based singer/songwriter/musician Johnny Ray. "Death Upon Your Eyes" is the lead single from his Lost and Alonealbum, and the video for it tells the story of a spell-battle between witches and has a vibe that put me in mind of the great RKO horror flicks from the 1940s and black-and-white supernatural chillers from early 1960s. The music isn't bad... but the video is excellent!
Check it out... I'm sure you will find it to be great viewing as we build toward the Big Night on October 31st!
What if B-movie maestro Charles Band (the creator of many oddball doll-driven horror films) was to write and direct a music video? Well, we're pretty sure it would turn like something like the one for "Talking to Myself" by the Linda Lindas.
Talking to Myself (2022) Starring: The Linda Lindas Director: Ryan Baxley Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
The Guest (2013) Starring: Ben Tiramani and Eliza Skelton
Director: Eric Woods
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
A man (Tiramani) checks into an isolated hotel, carrying with him a closely guarded secret. Little does he know that the night clerk (Skelton) has plans for him...
"The Guest" is a film that starts in mystery, adds more questions and mysteries as it unfolds, and ends with no questions answered, and even adds one final question as the end credits. I watched it twice, paying very close attention each time. I'm fairly certain I did not miss anything, and I am certain that everything obscure about this film remains obscure.
More often than not, this sort of approach bothers me; I am of the mindset that there should at least be enough hints dropped during a film for viewers to recognize a certain kind of stock character, or get some hint as to what might be going on, or why characters are behaving in this or that way. We get none of that in "The Guest"... and I hardly mind at all. What this film lacks in exposition, it makes up for in style and atmosphere to the point where we WANT to know the hows, whats, and whys of what's unfolding in this mysterious hotel, but still feel satisfied when we get no answers.
This is like the cinematic version of "Hotel California"--something weird and supernatural seems like it might be going on, we never get to know exactly what, but we don't care because the mysteries are presented to us in such a cool fashion.
I came upon "The Guest" in a remote, rarely visited corner of YouTube where I find many of the short films I spotlight here at Shades of Gray, and my first impression was that it was the only thing the lead actress and director had ever done. I thought that was a terrible shame, because this is a fantastic piece of atmospheric filmmaking. Although it's positioned as an effort in capturing a film noir vibe, it put me more in mind of late silent/early sound horror films. Why don't you take a few minutes to check it out, and then let me know what you think of it!
As it turns out, "The Guest" was NOT the only thing that writer/director Eric Woods and lead actress Eliza Skelton had done. In fact, you can watch more of Woods' works on his YouTube Channel, and you can visit Eliza Skelton's channel for the same.
Further, there's a second version of "The Guest", also available on YouTube, and Eric Woods appears to have revisited it several years later. He re-edited it, added a different music soundtrack, improved the sound mixing, added a few visual flourishes, and changed the opening titles and end credits. Most significantly, he added a classic B-movie style informational-newspaper-headline shot to provide a bit of an explanation to what's going on in "The Guest". Well, he attempted to, but doesn't quite succeed.
If you enjoyed the original cut of "The Guest", perhaps you will like the 2017 version as well. It seems to be the one that the director prefers, as it's what you'll find if you visit his YouTube Channel. Personally, I prefer the original, even if I understand why Woods made the changes he did, and I can appreciate that the "what" and the "why" are both much clearer.
Check out "The Guest" 2.0--let me know which version you prefer!
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