cinema history class: devil's nightmare (1971)

The session: Odds and Sods
Four oddball Halloween-appropriate movies from different countries

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 2: The Devil's Nightmare (1971)
Directed by Jean Brismee

My Level of Prior Knowledge
Never heard of it.

Plot:
A group of travelers takes shelter for the night in a gloomy castle, unaware that their host is a cursed baron whose daughter, a succubus, preys on the seven deadly sins. One by one, the guests fall victim to their own vices as the demonic daughter exacts her infernal revenge.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
The Devil’s Nightmare is an interesting little morality tale. Each of the guests in an old castle represents one of the seven deadly sins, and each meets a death that supposedly reflects their vice. The idea is clever, but the execution is uneven—some deaths, like those tied to gluttony and greed, make perfect sense, while others feel like a stretch and are therefore forgettable. Maybe the writers lost track of which sin was which after a while—easy enough to do after seven.

None of the characters are especially likeable, so it’s hard to feel much when they meet their fates. On the bright side, that does make it easier to watch them die. Still, you can see a seed of the slasher formula that would blossom later in the ’70s and ’80s: people trapped in a confined setting, getting picked off one by one. The makeup effects are actually impressive, though, and they give the film a little extra polish it otherwise lacks.

By that point, though, logic had packed its bags and left the castle. And I have to admit, it’s a bit sad when you realize near the end that they killed the wrong girl at the beginning. That twist almost makes you want to give the movie more credit than it probably deserves.

And, as always, Joe rated it a ten!

cinema history class: mad doctor of blood island (1969)

The session: Odds and Sods
Four oddball Halloween-appropriate movies from different countries

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 1: Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969)
Directed by Eddie Romero and Gerry DeLong

My Level of Prior Knowledge
Never heard of it.

Plot:
On remote Blood Island, an American doctor discovers a mad scientist turning villagers into green-skinned killers with a bizarre serum.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
Mad Doctor of Blood Island is a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, the scenery is gorgeous—lush jungles and tropical vistas that make you almost forgive the film for what comes next. Unfortunately, the camera work is a nightmare: the throbbing, rapid zooms during supposedly shocking moments are so relentless they’re genuinely nauseating.

The movie veers between silly and slightly impressive. The monster looks great in some shots but downright comical in others, and the comic book–like plotting makes it hard to care about any of the characters. At least the filmmakers bothered to give a plausible (if horror movie–plausible) explanation for the chaos, which is more than I was expecting early on.

There’s a surprising amount of explicit gore, which adds a curious touch of interest—even if I usually prefer the power of imagination over a flood of blood. Acting and dialogue are uniformly bad, but somehow, that fits the overall tone of absurdity.

At least Bobbo had fun watching it!