Social Media Post: WIWLN Goes to Paris

"Stop! This is the Kingdom of the Dead"

Where does horror reside? One answer is in the abject. The abject is a place where we are exposed to transgressive objects - things that should not be or fewest things that should not be seen. Crossing into the abject is to abandon the known, familiar and welcoming for the unknown, unfamiliar and unwelcoming. As horror fans, we are often dedicated to exploring the abject from the safety of our friendly places.

 

Our own bodies are often the first exposure to this frightful realm. Knowledge of the whole unseen world under our skin can be both fascinating and frightening. The first sight (or taste!) of blood, seeing the exposed organs of a carcass or the pictures in my mother’s anatomy textbooks and the first time touching a corpse are cemented in my mind. These days, encountering a skeleton outside its meat envelope is no longer disconcerting, but being amongst the six million skeletons residing in the Paris Catacombs was a somber reminder of what awaits us all.

 

Dr. Pretorius toasts a freshly harvested skeleton's new life in The Bride of Frankenstein.

The Killer Victim - Social Media Post

 The Killer Victim

Two of the most common motives in revenge films are the Lex Talionis Adjudication and Survival Mode. Lex talionis is Old Testament, eye for an eye justice. An act of righteous retribution, delivered by the victims, balances the scales. In Survival Mode, the priorities are different. The victim must turn the tables on the killer to stay alive. 

Social Media Post: Horror Rises from the Tomb

Horror Rises from the Tomb (1973)

Spanish horror cinema from the 1970s is full of mind bending craziness. Screenwriter and director Jacinto Molina Alvarez, better known as Paul Naschy, holds an especially enduring place within that lunacy. His 1973 Horror Rises from the Tomb, (El espanto surge de la tumba) is an excellent example of his love of classic horror cinema and his “everything but the kitchen sink,” over-the-top storytelling. His script explores the eternal nature of evil and the power of good to overcome it. There are ancient warlocks and witches, multi-generational curses, bloody hearts being ripped out of living bodies, and plenty of other audacious delights.

Social Media Post: A Taste of Blood

A Taste of Blood , Argentina


Last week I got a chance to watch a pre-release screener of Argentinian vampire film Sangre Vurdalak, which has been on my watch list since 2020! The movie will be available in North America on Blu-ray and VOD on May 10th as A Taste of Blood. directed by Santiago Fernandez Calvete and based on Aleksey Tolstoy’s 1839 short story “The Family Of The Vourdalak.'' The film examines a family coming apart as they battle a monster whose main weapon is their love for each other.

 
Mario Bava previously filmed the “Family of the Vourdalak” in 1963 as part of his Black Sabbath anthology, with Boris Karloff giving one of his finest performances as Gorca, the family patriarch. Calvete has done an admirable job of updating the story and moving the setting to rural Argentina while keeping the elements the same as the source: a family waits in anticipation for the return of their father, worried that he has been turned into a vampire. There are a couple of pretty good scares, but also some heartbreaking moments, as the director points out that those who love us the most are also the ones that hurt us the most.

Releasing May 10, the film stars German Palacios, Tomas Carullo Lizzio, Naiara Awada, Lautaro Bettoni and Alfonsina Carrocio.

Social Media Post Eaten Alive! (1976), directed by Tobe Hooper

 Eaten Alive 1976 Tobe Hooper (Why is this crocodile still hungry?)

Eaten Alive! takes the viewer on a journey to the darkest heart of America that can be found the swamps of Texas. Tobe Hooper's first feature film after the iconic Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) invites guests to spend a night in terror at the Starlight Hotel, struggling to survive proprietor Judd’s swinging scythe and the hungry jaws of his pet crocodile in this underrated masterpiece.


First 15 minutes makes TCM appear demur as a young prostitute is ejected from her whore house for refusing to have anal sex with Buck (pre-Nightmare on Elm Street, Robert Eglund), who declares “My name is Buck and I’m raring to…” Seeking shelter at a local hotel, Clara (Roberta Collins) is slaughtered by disturbed Vietnam Vet Judd (Neville Brand) and fed to his crocodile. From this point forward, Eaten Alive! begins introducing a string of disaffected Americans, all searching for something or on their way to something better only to find their quests cut short at The Starlight Motel. Notable among the victims is distinguished actor Mel Ferrer, who also was in another Eaten Alive! - Umberto Lenzi’s 1980 cannibal fest. Also, Marilyn Burns (TCM’s Sally Hardesty!) again proves she was one of Hollywood's toughest actors as Faye, a suburban mom traveling with her child and neurotic husband.


Eaten Alive! featured veteran actors Stuart Whitman and Carolyn Jones (proto-goth-girl Mortician Adams from the The Addams Family TV series in the 1960s). Decorated World War II soldier turned actor Neville Brand turned in a thoroughly over-the-top performance as the bitter, paranoid and completely insane Judd.


Not nearly as well known as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Eaten Alive! left a definite mark on popular culture. When released on VHS in England, it was declared a video nasty and removed from rental shelves in 1982. Quentin Tarantino referenced its opening lines in 2003’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1: sleazy orderly Buck introduces himself to the comatose Bride, “My name is Buck and I’m here to…”

Eaten Alive! is currently streaming on Shudder and Tubi.