Films for October-- Part 1

It’s October, a time when leaves change colors, when the weather gets cooler and people get ready for Halloween. Now I don’t celebrate Halloween myself, but I must admit I like suspenseful, scary movies; particularly the classics. I’m not talking about torture porn or bloodfests (basically, very little from the past 10 years). The fun thing about a lot of these movies are that you can watch (most of) them with your family (not the very young, of course, who will probably just get bored since most are in black-and-white). And many of them are playing on Turner Classic Movies this month (http://www.tcm.com/). Check the schedule as well as Netflix and your local video store.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956): This was remade in 1978 and again in 2007 as The Invasion, but nothing can top the original with Kevin McCarthy who, through a bookend framework, explains that aliens are replicating the inhabitants of a small town. One of the best of the 1950’s spook shows.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925): Yes, the silent film with Lon Chaney. Is the phantom psychotic or misunderstood, villain or victim? In this version, he's not the victim. And that unmasking scene still packs a jolt.

Nosferatu (1922): F.W. Murnau’s haunting classic was the first filmed version of Dracula (and done so without permission of the Stoker estate). Forget about Edward Cullen, Lestat or even Nick Knight; Count Orlock (whom Leonard Maltin calls “the ugliest vampire in film history”) is the reason we still look over our shoulders late at night.

The Blob (1958): Okay, how can you take a movie about a red gelatinous mass terrorizing a city seriously? It’s difficult, but our hero is Steve McQueen in his star-making role in the film whose theme song was written by Burt Bacharach! You could do better, but you could also do much worse.

Cat People (1942): Again, NOT the 1982 remake. This movie delivers some genuine thrills and suspense, mainly due to Nicholas Musuraca’s cinematography and Jacques Tourneur’s direction.

Part Two coming soon!

Embracing Evil

Today I have a few thoughts regarding vampires. I do not have a lot of time or space to say everything I'd like, but just a few things. For one, ever since I was a little kid I enjoyed vampire movies (please follow me here and reserve any judgment until the end). There are several that even today stand out in my mind: Dracula, Fright Night, The Lost Boys, Nosferatu (both versions). But the I can't get into the newer stuff particularly Twilight and Sookie Sackhouse (True Blood), which I believe were ushered in by the Interview With The Vampire movie adaptation in the 1990s. Some people would say that Believers shouldn't watch anything with vampires, period. But there's something about people fighting a diabolical creature, an epic struggle of good versus evil, and seeing the seemingly invinclible monster defeated.

That's it! Film critic Leonard Maltin calls the vampire in 1922's Nosferatu "the ugliest vampire in film history." This first (and unauthorized) film version of Dracula scared many people because of the rat-like creature. He is thin, bald, has two long sharp close-set fangs jutting out from his mouth, and long, claw-like fingers with sharp nails. In fact, the 1979 German remake explains the vampire's arrival as the cause of the great Plague. (Okay, stay with me here.)

That's what's so wonderful about Dracula, that eerily filmed 1931 Universal classic starring Bela Lugosi. Who can forget that accent? "I don't drink... vine." The movie still knows how to hold an audience, and imagine what it did to those post-Depression moviegoers investing their hard earned coins to see this charming deceptive creature prey on the unsuspecting! They probably wanted to yell at Renfield (Jonathan Harker in the novel): "Get out of there! He's going to bite you!"

And that's the difference. The vampires of old were threats. Death incarnate. Evil personified. Countless works have been written on the Christian symbolism in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, the book that popularized the vampire myth. The power of the Cross, the burning of holy water and sunlight, and of course, the drinking of blood. The Bible cautions us not to drink blood because the blood is the life. The vampire is a symbol of the devil. He gets his strength from people not believing he is this evil thing. He is undead. There is no life for him, but he is immortal; however, he can only retain his immortality by taking the lifeforce within the living. He can take an unsuspecting life walking outside among the world, but must be invited into one's home before he can attack there. And once the invitation is given it cannot be revoked.

Today's vampire culture is the exact opposite of Stoker's original vision. The vampire is a misunderstood outcast who only wants to find a place in this world. The vampire protagonist is not evil, although his enemies are and usually for personal reasons. Crosses have no effect. Holy water only makes him wet. He will attack in someone's home if he so chooses. Sunlight seems to still be a factor, although some modern stories have "daywalkers," vampires who are not even affected by sunlight.

In other words, they are saying the devil is not really evil. The great vampire stories of old contain innocent people whose lives are threatened by demonic beasts. Today, these creatures are the innocent victims, who only want acceptance and love... and blood. Do not invite them in! There is a wonderful new novel addressing the idea of a vampire who does evil, but thinks he's doing good. Unlike most stories today, this one does not shy away from this troubling issue, but tackles it head on in a grippingly suspenseful way: http://www.thejudgingnovel.com/.