The Haunting of Morella

 

The Haunting of Morella

1990

Director- Jim Wynorski

Cast- Nicole Eggert, Lana Clarkson, David McCallum, Christopher Halsted, Jonathan Farwell, Maria Ford, Gail Thackery

            The movie begins with a witch, Morella (Nicole Eggert best known from the 80s sitcom Charles in Charge and her stint on Baywatch), being tortured by a mob of angry villagers. Her milquetoast husband stands by with their infant daughter while villagers prepare to finish her off. Morella pronounces a curse that her spirit will live on in the body of their child, Lenora, and that one day she will have her revenge.

            Fast forward and Lenora (also played by Nicole Eggert) is 3 days away from her 18^th birthday, upon which she will come into an inheritance (in a rare bit of spot on casting, Nicole was herself 17 at the time and 4 months away from her 18^th birthday).

Her father has become eccentric over the years and a tad unhinged not to mention he has also gone blind. Lucky for them he’s filthy rich. He has kept Lenora confined to their plantation her whole life. He secretly fears his dead wife’s curse and hopes to shield her from anything that might bring out his dead wife’s spirit.

He is aided by a governess Coel (statuesque Lana Clarkson better known to fans from her sword and sorcery movies like Deathstalker and Barbarian Queen). Unbeknownst to him though, Coel was a disciple of Morella and secretly works to bring back her dead mistress’ spirit.

A young handsome, lawyer shows up with legal papers for Lenora’s inheritance but he’s quickly turned away lest he stir up Lenora’s adolescent loins and risk a return of Morella. Coel decides to take matters into her own hands and leaves Lenora’s father’s diary conspicuously out for Lenora to find. From its pages, she learns the truth about her mother.

Morella, it turns out, wasn’t just a witch, she was working on a Bathoryesque scheme for immortality, complete with bathing in virgin blood. This proves to be just what the witchdoctor ordered. Morella’s personality begins to surface and Coel begins dark, bloody rituals to hasten her mistress’ return.

The movie was directed by Jim Wynorski (best known for the 80s horror-comedy, Chopping Mall and the mainstream debut of Traci Lords in Not of This Earth). It was produced by Roger Corman. It is nominally an adaptation of a story by Edgar Allan Poe. But if you’re familiar with Corman’s work (i.e. Pit and the Pendulum, Masque of the Red Death among others), you know better than to expect a strict (or even faithful) adaptation. This is fine by me as Corman’s Poe pics were all pretty entertaining, just don’t watch one to help you write your book report.

Rather than Poe, this film is more like an erotic retelling of Mario Bava’s Black Sunday. Both films begin with a witch issuing a curse before her execution. Both films have a Gothic setting. Both involve the spirit of malevolent ancestor trying to replace their innocent descendant. Both have the star playing two characters, one evil, one good (this was something that Barbara Steele did several times in her career, including Black Sunday).

Now, I don’t want to sound like I’m equating Black Sunday with The Haunting of Morella. Black Sunday was a landmark film that spawned the Italian Gothic horror genre. Morella is, when it comes down to it, a B movie, all be it a B movie with pretty good production values.   It looks as good as the better Full Moon pictures of the same era. It has impressive sets, a good musical score and good costumes (though probably too revealing for its vaguely early 19^th century American setting).

            But more importantly than what it is, I think you’ll notice what it isn’t!. If you know Wynorski’s catalogue, this film is distinctly unlike most of his other offerings. His older 80s stuff was very entertaining but very tongue in cheek. His 21^st Century stuff has mostly been T&A flicks with porno names (Bare Wench Project, The Da Vinci Coed, The Breastford Wives, Witches of Breastwick….see a pattern here?).

            The Haunting of Morella, on the other hand, is dead pan serious. If I didn’t know better I’d think it was directed by some alternate universe Wynorski. It makes me wish he’d a done a few more movies like this. That’s not to say that this movie is without his signature dose of nudity. There is a fair amount of nudity here. Lana Clarkson fans, especially, will be pleased by her rather lengthy nude scenes.

            But even though Nicole Eggert was seventeen at the time, you don’t have to worry about Chris Hanson showing up if you decide to watch this. This isn’t To the Devil aDaughter. Though Nicole has several erotic scenes, all of the nudity is accomplished with editing and a body double. The use of a double is so obvious in fact, it’s a bit distracting. If I have any complaint about the movie it would be that they should have just ditched her naughty scenes rather than try to pull them off in such a convoluted fashion.

            As for the performances, Nicole was good, especially for someone so young. I wish that she had spent more time in horror because I think she could have been a good scream queen. It was interesting to see Lana in a much more reserved role without a sword. Older fans may recognize David McCallum as Lenora’s father. He was in the creepy Disney movie Watcher in the Woods but he is best known as Illya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

            So to sum up, if you’re wanting a thoughtful adaptation of Poe, this is not the film for you. But if you like Gothic creepiness, and you enjoyed Full Moon and Vestron flicks from the 90s, then you will probably find this erotic thriller both entertaining and possibly a little arousing.

The Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf

  

The Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf

1985

Director- Phillippe Mora

Cast- Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning, Annie McEnroe, Reb Brown, Marsha Hunt

            

     Howling 2 is nominally a werewolf movie in that it has werewolves. It also has an ancient cult (pack?) led by a sorceress queen, a gargoyle bat, an undead dwarf and so much weird stuff that it’s just barely a werewolf movie.

            

     

     The story begins with a quote from Revelations (read by Christopher Lee) about The Whore of Babylon, an allusion to the movies chief antagonist , Stirba (Sybil Danning) the queen of the earth’s werewolves. A type of werewolf apocalypse is coming. We don’t know what this means other than “all werewolves will reveal themselves”, but it must not be good.

Their queen, Stirba, is about to have her 10,000^th birthday and they are apparently throwing a big werewolf party to usher in the new age. Stirba is a type of Elizabeth Bathory character. She appears as an old crone, but after the sacrifice of a young girl, she transforms into the super-hot Sybil Danning.

Christopher Lee is an occult investigator who has an extensive knowledge of werewolves. He leads a team to Eastern Europe to destroy Stirba and her werewolf cult. He has to confront much more than the standard werewolf problems. Stirba has the forces of darkness at her command. She can cast spells, perform mind control, and summon a gargoyle.

           

     The original Howling is at least one of the 3 best werewolf movies of all time. It was really scary and had revolutionary werewolf designs. The Howling 2, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t make anyone’s werewolf top10 list. It was generally panned by critics, but what do they know? If the film hadn’t been called “The Howling 2” it probably would have been better received. Much like Halloween 3, it has been maligned for its departure from its source material. The Howling franchise was long and varied and none of the other volumes lived up to the original. At least part 2 tries to do something different and fun.

           

     

     The only area where the movie is really lacking is in its werewolf designs. Most of the werewolves look like either extra-hairy cavemen or at best extra-angry Sasquatches. There are a few really good designs though. Veteran genre actor Freddy Mayne has a small role as an elderly werewolf and they did a really good job of capturing what an old werewolf looks like. Sybil Danning never goes full wolf but spends a lot of time as a blonde hirsute she beast. She still manages to look hot despite being covered in hair.

            

     Howling 2 has a lot going for it, if you’re willing to forget that it has nothing to do with The Howling. As previously stated, it’s weird. Along with the sorcery there is a giant werewolf S&M orgy (you read that right) that seems to last for half of the film. Sybil, in her main costume (a sexy leather and brass design), looks like the lead singer of an 80s glam band.  It has a real frenetic energy, at times, helped by its New Wave soundtrack. The location adds a lot of authentic atmosphere. It was shot in Czechoslovakia and the real castles and villages create the atmosphere of the old Universal horror films.

The movie was obviously done with less resources that its predecessor, but it’s one of the best vehicles for Sybil Danning I’ve ever seen. She and Christopher Lee have so much charisma, they make up for a lot of the movie’s shortcomings. Christopher Lee hated the movie, probably because he was expecting something more like the first film, but he still turns in a good performance and is entertaining.

Watch the movie if you want something crazy weird or if you just like Sybil Danning.

           

Fun fact- This movie has a special Hammer films connection. Not only does it star Christopher Lee himself, it also stars Marsh Hunt as Mariana, an up and coming werewolf in Stirba’s cult. Marsha is probably better known for her role as Gaynor in Dracula 1972 A.D. (which also starred Lee).

 

 

The Masque of the Red Death

 

The Masque of the Red Death

1964

Director- Roger Corman

Cast- Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston, Nigel Green, John Westbrook, Skip Martin, Verina Greenlaw, Patrick Magee

            

   This is one of the Vincent Price /Roger Corman collaborations that the pair did through the early 1960’s. It, like the others, is loosely based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The Poe story serves mainly as inspiration for a much larger story.

            

    Prince Prospero (Price) is an evil nobleman who terrorizes the locals under his power. He has people taken prisoner and executed at a whim. He is a loyal devotee of Satan and he seems intent on doing evil purely for the sake of evil. A plague, the Red Death, is ravaging the countryside. Prospero withdraws behind his castle walls and invites the landed gentry to join him while the commoners die. Prospero uses this as a chance to humiliate and degrade his peers. Juliana (Hazel Court), his mistress, is trying to get him to induct her into the deeper mysteries of devil worship. She might have succeeded except that a new plaything has caught his eye.

          

 

    He meets a young peasant girl, Francesca (Jane Asher), who is virtuous and kind. Prospero kidnaps her and holds her fiancé hostage.  He wants to corrupt her and turn her to evil. Prospero treats everyone else like dirt, but he dresses her in finery and is quite cordial, all the while espousing the virtues of a life devoted to evil.

            

    He throws a masquerade ball to celebrate the fact that he and all of his hangers on are safe from the plague while everyone else dies outside.  However, an uninvited guest shows up. It’s not Satan, as he hoped, but rather the spirit of Death itself. Will it spare Prospero as reward for his life devoted to evil? Will it spare the virtuous Francesca? Will it spare anyone?

            

    This movie doesn’t get into deep psychological examinations like Pit and the Pendulum or House of Usher. No one is on the verge of losing their mind. Instead, this movie is about the submission to evil. Prospero has done it and his mistress Juliana is attempting to do it.  Will Francesca submit to it as well?

      This is Corman's most straight forward horror movie with not the slightest bit of camp or humor. Its also Price's darkest film, with the one exception of Witchfinder General. The film is absolutely beautiful to look at with a superb color pallet, not quite to the extent of Suspiria, but certainly beyond what you'd expect from most horror movies. A must see for fans of Roger Croman or Vincent Price.