Author: unkle lancifer

How did I come up with the idea for this post "Satan's Unsung"? It was easy, first I started working on "Seven From The Seventies: Part 2" and then I totally lost my steam after four films. Luckily each movie I had mentioned had Satan in it so I retitled the post and viola! I love it when a plan comes together in such a way that it cuts my work nearly in half while simultaneously exposing the type of non follow-through that has kept me from getting anywhere in life! Hail, Satan!

THE MEPHISTO WALTZ (1971)

ROSEMARY'S BABY opened the door for many a cinematic occult tale and the seldom-mentioned body-switcher movie THE MEPHISTO WALTZ is in my opinion, one of the better ones. Sure, it's a bit overstuffed and convoluted, but there's more than enough swirly seventies strangeness to keep you on your hooves. Fans of NIGHT GALLERY-type distorted images and kooky camera angles take special note.

Truth is, MEPHISTO sports one quick visual, a dog wearing a mask of a human face, which I have always found highly effective. It's nearly as alarming as the costumed indiscretion in THE SHINING, it foresees the banjo-bum/doggie hybrid from INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and holy Haddonfield, sources say the mask itself is the same WILLIAM SHATNER design that was later used in a flick called HALLOWEEN. A little streamlining would have gone a long way and ALAN ALDA is woefully miscast but that lone bizarre image and the presences of JAQUELINE BISSET (THE DEEP), BARBARA PARKINS (VALLEY OF THE DOLLS) and PAMELYN FERDIN (THE TOOLBOX MURDERS) render most of MEPHISTO's lapses in judgment benign. (No offense, Mr. ALDA, you rule in CRIMES AND MISDEMEANERS!)

THE BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN (1971)

BROTHERHOOD has a shockingly low rating on IMDb which leads me to believe that people are insane. In some ways I think it may be the most consistently creepy (and I mean creepy in every sense of the word) movie that I've ever seen. Perhaps some are put off by its long stretches of inactive silence, but I find those periods only add to the overall tide of weirdness. Avoid the pan and scan version like the plague, this has to be seen in all of its widescreen glory. I also suggest throwing literal mindedness out the window. If you allow this baby to be as surreal as it needs to be, it's a bonanza of visual and audio strangeness. Dolls and statues come to life, fog roams the countryside like a living force and there is a tea party gutted straight out of a demonic version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

This PG anomaly involves children being kidnapped by elderly Satanists with the plan of switching bodies for a free extra ride on the Ferris wheel of life. The premise is intrinsically disturbing if not terribly original and for someone who is easily scared by old people like myself, it really inspires the cringes. In fact I'm starting to believe that in a lot of these seventies flicks the fear of Satan really just masks a post sixties exasperation that that the "old ways" can never be fully scraped off our shoes. Call me nutzo, but sans the light doses of psychedelia the overall mise-en-scene here reminds me of an amalgamation of vintage JOHN CARPENTER and as always, the dropping of the JC name stands as my highest praise. If you can stomach some good old-fashioned ambiguity this is a gloriously eccentric quiet storm of freakiness that demands reappraisal.

THE EVIL (1978)

Who doesn't love a haunted house movie? The problem is some reach for subtlety and grab uneventful and long winded instead. THE EVIL seems to know that it doesn't have the mastery required to go the suggestive route so it pulls out all the stops and puts on a real show. This is a haunted house movie where things go down and they go down in your face (utilizing mostly practical effects, thankfully.) It flirts with silliness and plays with many a cliché but you can't accuse it of not delivering. RICHARD CRENNA is a psychologist who along with his wife and a merry band of victims in waiting decide to restore an old house with a troubled past. Slasher tropes are utilized to separate and dispense of the group one by one and folks are pulled around and pushed about by unseen forces as if auditioning for PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3.

THE EVIL was filmed in a real castle in Montezuma, New Mexico and, per usual, the utilizing of an actual space with authentic history pays off. Frankly the location alone is more than enough to recommend this movie. THE EVIL is more frivolous fun than under the skin unsettling, but it's not completely brain dead either. Unlike many a haunted house flick it comes off as generally interested in the supernatural. An eleventh hour, from left field, appearance of hokey VICTOR BUONO as Satan himself may leave an unnecessary campy taste in some mouths but I refuse to throw stones at something so unexpected and idiosyncratic (not to mention, PHANTASM-y!) THE EVIL has just recently and finally been released on DVD, and if you're fond of the seventies and have a soft spot for haunted house movies then this is a must see that, despite its hoary nature, still throws some original curves.

THE REDEEMER: SON OF SATAN (1978)

THE REDEEMER: SON OF SATAN doesn't have Satan in it, but if the title is to be believed then it does feature his kid (this one also goes by CLASS REUNION MASSACRE.) I'm guessing Satan's son is the little boy who walks out of a lake who takes a bus to a church and then possesses a priest who contacts six people to come to a fake class reunion where he kills them one by one for being sinners while brandishing puppets and wearing a variety of disguises. I'm not sure why Satan is suddenly against sinning or why having a job and a sex life are considered worse sins than torturing and murdering people, but I guess we all have different interpretations of the Bible. I kind of wish somebody had an interpretation that wasn't really mean but what do I know? I eat shellfish. Maybe they're saying something here about how religion can be used to hide the devil's work but that still doesn't explain why the priest has extra thumbs.

I'm not sure if I like this movie as much as I'm fascinated by its baffling morality and penchant for talking out of both sides of its mouth. It's all kind of shoddily done but I'd be fibbing (a sin) if I didn't admit that it gave me some heebie jeebies. The goofy masks, the mocking voice, the mean spiritedness of the kills, all kind of make me want to take a Silkwood shower and thus I find it successful. It's ridiculous and yet the grim, claustrophobic mood kind of works in a weird way. Plus, considering it was released before HALLOWEEN ya gotta give it props for its intuition on the direction horror would be heading. It may be the bottom of the barrel that we're scraping here but slasher fans who relish the twisted in spirit and don't mind a little gritty residue may find this hobbled together oddity a guilty (and perplexing) trash treasure.

You all know I'm a dyed in the Huxtable wool sweater eighties kid, but lately I've fallen into a slippery seventies rabbit hole. I've always appreciated some seventies cinema but for some reason (is it your doing EATEN ALIVE?), I've recently been finding that decade's films exceptionably pleasurable to watch. One explanation for my revved up affection might be the fact that many of these films were never properly presented all cleaned up and in their proper ratios until now. The truth is though; I've ended up digging through boxes of scraggily VHS tapes as well, so it may be something more.

Overall, seventies movies just feel so darn earthy and natural compared to the films that came after them and they have a laid back, "I'll get there when I get there" stride that I admire. Furthermore, they're not as hung up and social mores and they tend to be less sycophantic towards the audience. They take a certain pride in going against the grain and they're oblivious to political correctness. Plus, people looked human back then.

So allow me to throw out a quick list of seven films from the grooviest of decades that I think should not be allowed to fall between the floorboards. I know there's plenty, plenty more but there's no way I'm going to be able to fit them all in one post. I figure seven is a good number to start out with and we'll hit the rest in a bit. If the me decade has taught me anything it is just to relax and go with the flow (and also don't hitchhike).

BLOOD AND LACE (1971)

I wrote about BLOOD AND LACE very recently but it deserves another shout out. It's certainly not without its flaws (that darn soundtrack!) but overall it's a unique story driven shocker that's not afraid to get ugly and name names. GLORIA GRAHAM as the twisted and abusive orphanage overlord Mrs. Deere proves that the facade of normalcy can be just as frightening as any rubber mask. Remarkably ahead of its time, the film's final revelations hammer its cynical point of view home.

TOWER OF EVIL (1972)

I first became aware of this British production when it confused the hell out me by appearing in a newspaper ad in the early eighties as BEYOND THE FOG. How was I to know that it wasn't an official sequel to JOHN CARPENTER's movie and was just an older film with an altered title cashing in on that film's recent success? When I finally got a chance to check it out decades later I was expecting the worst and instead found myself rather impressed. The foggy atmosphere is old school, the kills are new school and its crappy sets, funky blue screens and kooky semi-nude BUGALOOS in hell wardrobe somehow only add to its bizarre psychedelic charm.

THE BELL FROM HELL (1973)

It's impossible not to be intrigued by this movie's weird history. The director actually died on the last day of filming by falling from the tower that held in place the bell in the title! This Spanish horror flick tells the tale of a guy wrongly committed to an institution by his scheming relatives and how he exacts his sick proto torture porn revenge upon release. The pacing requires patience but the consistency of the bleak tone gets under your skin. The biggest selling point though may be the chance to see a wheelchair bound VIVECA LINDFORS (CREEPSHOW) chomping down hard on the gothic scenery.

CANNIBAL MAN (1972)

Up front I'll tell ya, this movie does not have any cannibalism in it at all but it's still damn good. This is basically a character study of a mostly likable slaughterhouse worker who needs to learn how to solve his problems without using a cleaver. I don't mention it often but I love sharp under the microscope personal films about psychopathic killers (1974's DERANGED, 1980's MANIAC, 2002's DAHMER et al.) This particular one is artfully shot and I really like the performance from the lead actor even though he's dubbed. CANNIBAL MAN gets some flack for having a homosexual character befriend the guy and not snitch about his deeds but I haven't got a problem with that in the slightest. As long as the gay guy isn't orchestrating ambush makeovers I think it's progressive.

TERROR AT THE RED WOLF INN (1972)

Here's some cannibals for ya! Everything about this movie makes you think it's going to blow and yet I find it really enjoyable. Sadly, I've yet to witness a good transfer but a little dash of grit only adds flavor to this mostly bloodless satire. Its premise involves a college student who ends up staying in a house full of creepy oldsters and lives to regret it when she finds out she's on the menu. I love this set up, it's so SCREAM PRETTY PEGGY, SILENT SCREAM and THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL among many others and the campy couple hosting the festivities point the way to MOTEL HELL. This ain't gonna scare your socks off or chill ya to the bone, but it's quirky cozy and brimming with dark humor.

MESSIAH OF EVIL (1973)

This one looks like it's going to be the next LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH and jump out of obscurity to claim its rightful reputation thanks to a recent well-done DVD release (thanks CODE RED!) Its arty, surreal and ambiguous nature should allow for various viewings and interpretations for years to come. There's a scene in a movie theater that brilliantly mimics HITCHCOCK's THE BIRDS and the way random assemblies of people are used to unnerving effect reminds me of a half way mark between CARNIVAL OF SOULS and DEAD AND BURIED. This really is a must see, the way it takes somewhat normal situations and quietly turns them on their head truly unsettles and its got a quiet off kilter vibe all its own.

THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE (1971)

Christian Ziegler, wherever you are I am eternally grateful to you for turning me on to this movie! I probably never would have checked this out but a pal brought it over once (under the title SUCCUBUS and inexplicably in B&W) and it haunted me. A bunch of travelers stay the night in a castle and are killed in ways based on the seven deadly sins. When the woman responsible shows her true face, it's simply one of the scariest mugs I've ever seen (kind of cross between WHO'S THE BOSS's Mona and an electrocuted catfish.) I have this one in one of those multiple pack DVD sets and the image quality is frightfully good. I'm kind of obsessed with the hypnotic wallpaper throughout which brings to my mind THE SHINING and that ESCHER wall from SUSPIRIA. My DVD plays in a never ending loop with no menu so I have been known to fall asleep to it while it plays over and over again just to freak myself out! I vow to give this more of a spotlight on these pages one day but for now you'll just have to take my word for it. ERIKA BLANC (THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE) is really something else in this one.

O.K. that's seven but like I said, there's plenty more underrated seventies horror we can explore at a later date! Look out for "Seven from the Seventies: Part 2" (and possibly "Six from the Sixties"?) to appear…whenever.