The House on the Lake (2019) Starring: Oriane Gyseling, Jeremy Murrow, and Lenise Buttner
Director: Damien Kazan
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
A young woman (Gyseling) is watching videos of her childhood when she realizes that she is not alone in the isolated house.
Featuring "The House on the Lake" was originally released as a color film, but writer/director Damien Kazan decided to see what it would look like in black-and-white... and, with digital magic, he bled all color from the films world, making the film darker and spookier than the color version! (You can watch it and compare the two versions by clicking here. Please tell us which version you like best!)
Although some of the scenes seem underlit (although they may have looked fine before the color was removed), this is a spooky and tense film. Actress Oriane Gyselings has a very expressive face and she does a great job moving from relaxed happiness, to unease, to outright horror. Her performance is made even more impactful by great camerawork and tight editing and story pacing.
Click below to check it out, right here from this post!
Edgar Allen Poe (aka "Edgar Allan Poe") (1909) Starring: Herbert Yost, Linda Arvidson, Arthur V. Johnson, David Miles, and Anita Hendrie Director: D.W. Griffith Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
Writer Edgar Allan Poe (Yost) is struggling to make enough money to purchase the food and medicine needed by his ailing wife (Arvidson). Can he find a publisher for his latest peom before it is too late?
"Edgar Allen Poe" is a fictionalized version of the circumstances surrounding the creation and publication of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous work, "The Raven". It condenses several key events in Poe's life to make them occur simultaneously, but what it lacks in historical accuracy it makes up for with heightened drama and tragedy.
One mildly amusing fact about the film is that Poe's name is misspelled in the title--no, for once I did not make a typo in the heading, the film is actually titled "Edgar Allen Poe". This error is typically explained by the fact that the film was rushed to market in order to capitalize on the centennial anniversary of Poe's birth (he was born in Feburary 8, 1809, and the film began playing in theatres on Feburary 8, 1909), having been filmed over two days in January of 1909. By the time the error was noticed, copies of the film had already been made and were shipping out to movie theaters.
This film is far superior to what it's rushed production schedule might seem to infer. It is another innovative entry in Griffith's unfolding invention of much of what remains technical standards in filmmaking today--in this specific case, it was how Griffith lit the scenes.
Whether you have an interested in Edgar Allan Poe, silent movies, or just well-made dramas, I think you might find the few minutes it takes to watch this film. Click below and sit back.
The Vampire (2021) Starring: Lucy Rose and Jennifer Forristal Director: Brian Elliot Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
A woman (Rose) is bitten by a vampire (Forristal), and she transforms from prey to hunter.
"The Vampire" is a short film that was made with the intention of capturing the feel of classic horror films such as "Seven Footprints to Satan" (1929), "Dracula" (1931) and "White Zombie" (1932). With the exception of the acting being a little too subdued at times, writer/director Brian Elliot and his cast did an excellent job at this.
Elliott applied some commonly used digital tricks to "age" the film, but he did not do so to excess (thankfully), so it's not intrusive. More importantly, though, is that he actually manages to capture the essense of those classic horror films he was emulating... and THAT is what makes efforts like this succeed! If this had just been another one of those flat gray films made black-and-white through no other effort but digital color desaturation and the application of the aforementioned "aging" effects, such as artificial scratches. Even better, Elliott includes a couple of sly references to the movies from which he drew his inspiration, such as the vampire doing the same odd hand-twisting gesture that Bela Lugosi did as Murder Legendre in "White Zombie". (This is one of my favorite moments in the film.)
If like the old horror films we focus on around here, you're going to to enjoy "The Vampire" and it's straight-to-the-point, three-chapter tale of a woman who goes from victim to vampire. We're equally certain that you'll find the Halloween Spirit stirring within you as you watch it! Go ahead and click below... then leave your opinions in the comments section to tell us how right or wrong we were!
Lot in Sodom (1933) Starring: Friedrich Haak, Hildegarde Watson, Dorthea Haus, and Lewis Whitbeck Directors: Melville Webber and James Sibley Watson Rating: Five of Ten Stars
The sex-hungry homosexuals of Sodom cross the line when they hit on a buff angel who's visiting the home of the god-fearing Lot and his family. Will Lot and his wife and daughter escape the city alive or will they, too, be destroyed by the Wrath of God?
"Lot in Sodom" is based a tale that's found in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Koran--in which two cities full of perverted sinners are wiped from the face of the Earth. I suspect everything able to read these words is familiar with, but I will still try to avoid spoilers as I write these comments.
The directors of this film were self-funding filmmakers who made a small handful of experimental films between 1928 and 1933. I've previously reviewed "The Fall of the House of Usher" by them, and this film has many of the same strengths and weaknesses as that one. It's also a silent movie like the previous one, despite being made after sound had become the standard in all films. The filmmakers here make clever use of the silent format on more than one occasion like having words heard by characters float across the screen instead of presenting them on intertitles with explanations.
On the plus side, the extreme Art Deco vibe (the sets and lighting of the scenes that consists of sharp angles and razor-straight lines) mashed together with an Art Nouveau sensibility (the rounded shapes of the writing bodies of scantily clad, cavorting homosexuals, the way Lot's wife and daughter are lit and the angles from which they are film) creates a visually engaging experience that feels unique and almost alien. Meanwhile, Lot seems to swing back and forth between looking angular and more rounded, depending on lighting or camera angles. Lot actually seems out of place when compared to the other characters in the film--he looks like he just stepped out of an Assyrian bas-relief where everyone else looks like they came from an Alphonse Mucha or W.H. Robinson drawing; the majority of the human figures in the film are beautiful and graceful, while Lot is homely and dumpy.
On the downside, this film will make very little sense to anyone who isn't familiar with the tale of Lot and the two cities the citizens of which God decides are beyond redemption. Even with the direct Bible quotes on the screen, viewers will need to be familiar with the story to know what's unfolding on screen. The same problem existed with their screen adaptation of "The Fall of the House of Usher", but even more so here. The filmmakers seem to be relying on viewers being familiar with the source material, so they can follow the basic story and so appreciate the spin they put on it so much more.
"Lot in Sodom" was not only the most successful film to result from the Webber & Watson collaboration--it ran for several weeks in New York City theaters the year it was released, and it played steadily in theaters around the U.S. and overseas well into the 1940s--but it's also one that holds up nicely. In fact, its presentation and outlook on homosexuality might even play better with many modern viewers than in the 1930s and 1940s.
If you're in the mood for something very artsy-fartsy and a little creepy, I think you'll find that watching "Lot in Sodom" is time well spent... and I've made it easy for you by embedding it below.
Flapper Fanny is here to make you smile, and everything about her is good fun. What isn't fun, however, is real-life domestic violence.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month--an all-too-real horror that many are living through even as the rest of us have fun with imaginary horrors. We as a society tend to still ignore than men can be victims of domestic violence and other forms of spousal abuse.
So, while we can smile at the puns and truths dished out by Flapper Fanny, we can also take steps to understand the causes of domestic violence, learn to recognize victims and abusers, and how to take steps to help them. A good place to start is at this webpage, but the important information can be found here.
_as_Edgar_Allan_Poe_in_1909_Biograph_film.jpg "Herbert Yost, Anita Hendrie, and David Miles in \"Edgar Allen Poe\" (1909)")
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