Mater Tenebrarum: The Second Mother

Video Nasty #26

 

TERROR THAT'S HOTTER THAN HELL!

 

 

Inferno

1980

 

 

COME FACE TO FACE WITH HELL.

 

NTSC Running Time: 106:08

Directed by Dario Argento

Written by Dario Argento, from a story by Daria Nicolodi

Produced by Claudio Argento, Salvatore Argento & Guglielmo Garroni

Additional Effects & Direction by Mario Bava

2nd Unit Direction by Lamberto Bava

Starring: Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi, Alida Valli, Ania Pieroni, Gabriele Lavia, and Veronica Lazar

Body Count: 8, plus a bag full of cats (simulated), a mouse (genuine), and [Spoiler Censored]

Availability: Region 1 BluRay/DVD from Blue Underground.

 

 

BBFC Status

 

Why it's a Nasty: Animal cruelty.  But I bet the gore helped.

What was cut: Footage of a cat eating a mouse was excised from the cinema release in March of 1980.  Additional cuts were made for the 1987 video release to a scene purporting to show a cat being abused.  A slightly longer version dropped 8 seconds of cuts for video release in 1993.

Current BBFC status: The uncut version of Inferno was granted an 18 certificate on June 8, 2010.

UK Availability: All-Region BluRay/DVD from Arrow Video

Inferno was seized, but escaped prosecution.

 

You didn't think I'd forgotten my promise to cover the Three Mothers trilogy, did you?  Well, I couldn't wuss out on watching this second film as it's the only one to make the Nasties list...but I hadn't forgotten.

 

In New York City, Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle) is engrossed in an old book titled The Three Mothers which tells of three ancient witches who control the world: Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs; Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness; and Mater Lachrymarum, the Mother of Tears.  The book is written by an Italian architect who claims to have built homes for all three, one each in Freiberg, Rome, and New York.  She fires off a letter to her brother before having an ominous and surreal adventure that nearly results in her death.

 

In Rome, Mark Elliot (Leigh McCloskey) is a music student who is opening his sister's letter in class when he becomes captivated by a mysterious beauty (Ania Pieroni).  The woman leaves and he pursues, leaving the letter behind.  Sara (Eleanora Giorgi) takes the letter to give to him later, but cannot overcome her curiosity and reads it.  She begins an investigation of her own...

 

My descriptions are somewhat vague for a reason.  You need to see Inferno.  I want you to be interested enough to seek it out.

 

Like Suspiria, Inferno comes from an idea had by Argento's then-girlfriend Daria Nicolodi, who is uncredited on the film.  After fighting tooth and nail to get her writing credit for Suspiria, Nicolodi decided that she didn't want to waste the energy it would take to win a victory over Argento's colossal ego and didn't pursue the matter.

 

Working through a debilitating illness during the shooting, this is nevertheless Argento in top form.  Every nuance of the film seems honed to perfection.  This film does not fuck around.  Inferno captivates.  Everything from sets to cinematography to dialogue are perfectly crafted.  The colors are almost as intense as those seen in Suspiria.  The climax is operatic, though no one sings.  (Leigh McCloskey performed the stunts in the final sequence himself, and it must have been terrifying.)  There are multiple events that would require explanation in any other film, but Inferno's relentless pace and dreamlike atmosphere cause the viewer to accept these happenings as they are without question, a remarkable feat for the discerning filmgoer.

 

Inferno probably would have been left alone by the BBFC despite the gory murder sequences because of its quality.  Anyone can see that this is masterful cinema.  But the inclusion of some intense footage involving animals is something the BBFC still takes a strong stance on, and the film was cut accordingly.  The main focus was the genuine footage of a cat eating a mouse, somewhat clumsily edited in near the end of the film.  It reminded me of a similar scene in The Burning (See Video Nasty #17), and plays as though they happened to get the footage and it was too good not to use.  One character is overly abusive to the neighbourhood cats, slapping them around, then drowning them in a burlap sack, and cuts were made to those scenes when the film went to video.  (The cats were not actually harmed.)

 

Inferno features the work of Mario Bava, who contributed to the spectacular effects at the climax of the film, as well as creating the New York skyline for some exterior shots.  Because Dario Argento was battling acute hepatitis during the shoot and at one point couldn't get out of bed, leaving only Lamberto Bava's second unit filming, rumor has it that Mario Bava (Lamberto's father) also directed the "underwater ballroom" sequence.  No matter what the actual extent of the elder Bava's contributions to the picture, his expertise is nothing but an asset.  Sadly, he died of a heart attack on April 27, 1980.  This was the last picture he worked on.

 

As I said before, you need to see Inferno.  It's a classic of horror cinema and an all-around great film.  The Three Mothers trilogy was left unfinished until 2009 when The Mother Of Tears was released, and I'll be covering that one later.  Until then, frequent your local bookshops.  Find an old book that looks interesting.  But maybe don't take it too seriously.  It could lead to trouble.  I'll be sticking to fiction.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.

Deserted Schools & Power Tools!

Video Nasty #25

 

 

 



WHEN THE KIDDING STOPS...THE KILLING STARTS!

 

Pranks

1981

 



 

A CRASH COURSE IN TERROR!

 

 

 

Original Title: Death Dorm

Alternate Title: The Dorm That Dripped Blood

Running time: 88:02 (Death Dorm Director's Cut)

Directed and Edited by Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter

Written by Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow, and Stacey Giachino

Produced by Jeffrey Obrow and Stacey Giachino

Cinematography by Stephen Carpenter

Starring: Laurie Lapinsky, Stephen Sachs, David Snow, Pamela Holland, Dennis Ely, Woody Roll, and Daphne Zuniga

Body Count: 10

Available on Region 1 BluRay/DVD from Synapse Films

 



BBFC Status







Why it's a Nasty: Gore murders.

What was cut: Never certified for cinema release before the Nasty panic, Pranks took 10 seconds of cuts to the drill murder for an 18 certificate for video release on July 1, 1992.

Current UK status: A DVD release on May 4, 2001 was also the cut 18-cert version.

Pranks was seized, but was not found to be obscene.

 

What is it about the 1980s?  The hair is feathered, the clothes are awesome, and every single guy is a total pig.  Gotta love that dated kitschyness.

 

A man ducks under a fence for unknown (but likely nefarious) purposes.  We never find out, as he is murdered immediately in another great shock opener with no relation to the rest of the film.

 

Grad student Joanne (Laurie Lapinsky) is staying at school over Winter break with Patti (Pamela Holland), Craig (Stephen Sachs, who was also stunt coordinator for the picture), Brian (David Snow), and Debbie (Daphne Zuniga, in her film debut).  Charged with selling off all of the furniture in the place, they have two weeks before the power goes off and the dorm is demolished.  Brian and Joanne are flirty, and it looks to be a fun two weeks.

 

But then things stop going so swell: Debbie's grandmother has taken ill and she has to leave, a potential buyer comes on a little too strong, and there's this weird guy skulking around.  What the others don't realize at first is a grisly sojourn for the audience: Debbie's father beaten with a nail-studded bat, her mother strangled, and Debbie herself has her head crushed like a melon.  Their unknown assailant makes off with the bodies, and the saga of Death Dorm commences.

 

Directed by the tag-team of Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow (without monitors!), this is a good slasher flick, with effects by Matthew Mungle (The Midnight Meat Train, Edward Scissorhands) that do not disappoint.  The film is too dark in places, and almost every male character is either crazy or a creep.  On the plus side, the film is never boring and the denouement shocked me.  This movie isn't "fun" exactly, but it's a decent slasher that delivers the goods.

 

This new release from Synapse is not the version released to theatres or video.  Rather, it is a once-lost longer version with extended scenes.  Most of these extensions consist of characters walking or talking, but there are also longer versions of the bat beating and drill murder, meaning that if this version had been released to video in the UK, it may not have escaped judicial punishment.

 

So the next time your boyfriend wants to go skiing, you should tag along, lest you find yourself trapped with a homicidal madman.  I'm gonna start packing for that trip now.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.

Join Us...

Video Nasty #24

 

The Evil Dead

1981

 



THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE IN GRUELING TERROR!

 

NTSC Running time: 85:12

Written and Directed by Sam Raimi

Produced by Bruce Campbell, Robert Tapert, and Sam Raimi

Edited by Edna Ruth Paul and Joel Coen

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor (credited as Hal Delrich), Betsy Baker, and Theresa Tilly (credited as Sarah York)

Body Count: 4

Availability: Region 1 BluRay, DVD, and NTSC VHS from Anchor Bay.

 

BBFC Status

 

Why it's a Nasty: Comedic amounts of gore, and a very bizarre rape scene.

What was cut: 49 seconds of cuts to gore sequences were required to obtain an X certificate when the film was submitted for classification on October 4, 1982 for the UK theatrical release.  (It is important to note that the X-certificate version was the cut released on videocassette that landed on the Nasties list.)  When finally submitted for video release on March 15, 1990, an additional 1 minute 6 seconds of cuts to scenes of gore and the trees' attack on Cheryl.

Current UK status: The Evil Dead was finally released uncut March 2, 2001 with an 18 certificate.

UK Availability: Region 2 BluRay and DVD from Sony.
A prosecution of The Evil Dead was attempted, but dismissed by the judge, one Owen Stable QC, who has earned a place in my heart for his awesomeness in the matter of this film.  More on this later.

Five young adults head for a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend of drinking and fun.  Ash (short for Ashley, played by Bruce Campbell), his sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker), Ash's joker pal Scotty (Hal Delrich), and Scotty's girlfriend Shelly (Sarah York) are a likable bunch, though we don't have a whole lot of time to get to know them under normal circumstances.  Weird things start happening almost immediately when Scotty loses control of the car and nearly slams them into a truck.  They arrive at the cabin (in a beautiful tracking shot, one of the best in the film) and settle in, looking forward to a relaxing, unsupervised vacation.

It is not to be.

The kids find a book bound in human flesh in the basement, along with a tape recorder left behind by the previous occupant.  Playing the tape, they unwittingly unleash horrible spirits.  Cheryl, who is single and therefore the only one spending time alone, heads into the woods that night to investigate strange voices...wearing only a robe.  Once away from the cabin, the trees around her come alive.  Vines restrain her, tear open her clothes...and she is finally vaginally penetrated by a large branch.  She escapes and returns to the cabin, an unseen something in hot pursuit.  But unfortunately for our heroes, they have already been doomed.

One of the most widely respected horror films of all time, The Evil Dead was the feature directing debut of Sam Raimi, who is now a successful mainstream director (the Spider-Man trilogy, A Simple Plan, Oz The Great And Powerful).  This independent horror film was shot under the title Book Of The Dead, changed to The Evil Dead by producer Irvin Shapiro, who reportedly thought people wouldn't go to a film that mentioned reading (which is codswallop, but whatever).  The film builds slowly, but relentlessly, and is never boring.  The blood doesn't really begin to flow until the second half, and steadily becomes more intense until the splatter-filled climax.

Hundreds of pages have already been written about the grueling production of The Evil Dead, and if you're interested I recommend http://www.bookofthedead.ws for online info, and in book form go with Bill Warren's The Evil Dead Companion, a comprehensive look at the creation of the film from idea to franchise.  That's right, franchise.  Raimi made Evil Dead 2 in 1987, a comedic remake of the first film with gobs more multi-colored gore; and Army Of Darkness in 1992, an action comedy in which Ash battles an army of skeletal deadites in medieval times.  While Raimi's love of The Three Stooges shines through more in these later films, it is still present in The Evil Dead, but the comedy aspects of the first film are almost completely overshadowed by the dark, unrelenting violence.  Bruce Campbell has to carry much of the film on his own (was indeed the only starring cast member present for the entire shoot, with heavily made-up "fake shemps" filling in for the already-possessed), and has grown to be a respected actor and cult hero based on his trio of performances as Ash.  Rumor has it he makes a cameo in the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead in a post-credits scene, which I am anxiously awaiting my chance to screen. (Also of note is the 2011 post-slasher opus The Cabin In The Woods which draws heavily from The Evil Dead, as well as the stories of H.P. Lovecraft.  The Cabin In The Woods cannot truly be appreciated without a knowledge of modern horror film in general and The Evil Dead in particular, and is a treat from beginning to end.)

All in all, this is one of the finest horror films to come out of America in the 1980s, and is required viewing for any fan of horror cinema.  It is one of the most notorious Nasties, and was subject of an amazing legal decision in the UK.  The Evil Dead was submitted to the BBFC for cinema and was awarded an 18 certificate after 49 seconds of film were cut.  The films distributor, Palace Pictures, released this version to video simultaneous with its' release in cinemas on February 24, 1983.  I would like to remind you that this particular Video Nasty wasn't even uncut and had been approved for public cinema exhibition by the BBFC.

Then the Video Nasty panic descended, with The Evil Dead being among 51 other films named as Nasties in June of the same year.  Vocal censorship advocate Mary Whitehouse showed scenes from the film, along with scenes from other Nasties, in the House Of Commons, and Palace Pictures was raided by police.  In 1984, a court in Leeds acquitted a video shop, Barker's Video Tape Centre, of obscenity charges, and Palace's lawyers wrote to the DPP requesting they drop all pending charges against the film.  The DPP said fuck you and went ahead with more prosecutions against The Evil Dead.

Oops.

Sam Raimi flew to England prepared to defend his film in the Summer of 1984, but was told that his intentions as a filmmaker were not on trial and he went back to America without a chance to state his case.  It didn't matter.  On November 7, 1984, following a screening for judge and jury, the presiding judge, Owen Stable QC (to my non-British readers, that stands for Queen's Counsel, which means that if the law were martial arts, a QC would be akin to Chuck Norris) reamed the DPP a new one, saying no, fuck you, they were irresponsible in continuing to bring charges against this film after the decision in Leeds, foolish for ignoring the request to cease litigation they received from Palace's solicitors, and forcing them to pay the defense costs incurred from the four-month court battle.  Just basically telling them they were clowns who didn't know when they were beat.  The Evil Dead was removed from the Nasties list in September of 1985 and the BBFC teamed with the British Video Association to figure out how to best regulate home video.

In the whole of the Nasty saga, this was where justice came closest to prevailing.  Picturing the scene of Judge Stable verbally bitchslapping the DPP in open court for their persecution of The Evil Dead brings tears to my eyes.  If anyone has audio or (dear lord do I dare to dream it?) video of this, VCR Rebellion would very much like to obtain it.  Preferably on cassette.  Such an event requires the ultimate in media storage.

The BBFC refused to pass the film for video until 1990, and removed an additional 1m 6sec before they would allow The Evil Dead in British living rooms and dens.  Not until 2001 was the film available uncut, when Anchor Bay brought the film to VHS and DVD...and FilmFour brought it to television.  Today, The Evil Dead is rightfully available in all its' glory in the UK.

My thanks to the Book Of The Dead website for the wealth of info available (again, that's http://www.bookofthedead.ws), including an archive of newspaper cuttings from the Video Nasty era that I'm still drooling so hard over that I can't read them - I get too excited and can't focus.  I'll have to calm down, I'm going to need that knowledge.  The Rebellion is fueled by it.  And I don't want to run out of fuel.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.

Green Light!

While I've been away, a lot has happened and I haven't had the time (or the energy) to keep the Rebellion running at a level where it is truly a Norse to be reckoned with.

I may never have been at that level...but this has been a new low.  It's been a year since I've watched a genuine official Video Nasty.

Part of this is due to the constraints of life: I have been working full-time, whereas I was unemployed when we began - and it's no coincidence that my youngest child just turned 1.

But part of this is not due to such mundane events.  I'll fess up: I've kind of been stalling.  I have been stymied by Expose, James Kenelm Clarke's 1976 sex thriller starring Udo Kier and Fiona Richmond.  As the only Nasty to actually come from Great Britain, it was rarely seen elsewhere.  A cut R-rated American VHS is available (the US title is The House On Straw Hill), but that is not my quarry.  My eyes have been searching for the Intervision release, the banned UK tape that landed on the DPP list of prosecutable films.  And such a tape is:

A - is not likely to be sitting in a book or video shop in Southern California,

and

B - would most likely cost many hundreds of pounds if I were able to locate one.

But just the other day, I saw this!

The House On Straw Hill

The bottom dropped from my stomach.  My pulse accelerated.  It was too good to be true!  But true it is.  A BluRay/DVD combo R1 release done with the involvement of director Clarke that claims to be sourced from the uncut print.  This is news that makes me happier than it has any right to.  I'm betting this film is a cut above most of the others (has, in fact, been ranked as the best film of the bunch by someone who has seen them all), and only its' scarcity has kept it from being more appreciated.

There are a few other films (Human Experiments, The Slayer) that will be difficult to locate, but a whole lot less impossible.  There are a few films that need better releases (Evilspeak, Toxic Zombies), but what is out there is acceptable for my purposes.  I've felt like there's been someone standing in front of me saying "Red light...red light..." for a long time, and now they've finally turned their back so I can progress to the next phase.

And the next phase is what it will certainly be.  Once I view the next Nasty (most likely Dario Argento's Inferno, see previous post), I will have seen a third of the list...and then some, since there are some films (The Evil Dead and Cannibal Holocaust to name a sampling) that I've already seen but not yet covered here.  I think it's time to do a little research and release the brake.  But I'll check my blind spots first.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.

Mater Suspiriorum: The First Mother

Suspiria

1977



THE ONLY THING SCARIER THAN THE LAST FIVE MINUTES ARE THE FIRST 90!



American dancer Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) enrolls in a German ballet academy, but dancing is one thing she does very little of.  Overtaken by a mysterious illness, with only her friend Sara (Stefania Casini) for comfort, Suzy and Sara are drawn into the mysteries of their alma mater.  Who murdered Pat, a former student?  Where do the teachers go at night?  And why has no one ever seen the headmistress?

Written with then-girlfriend Daria Nicolodi (who can be seen on the left side of your screen as Suzy arrives at the airport, and features in both Inferno and Tenebre), Dario Argento's Suspiria is not only the first chapter in a trilogy that wasn't finished for thirty years, it is one of the few strong horror films that is appreciated by both genre fans and "serious" film critics.  Printed with the Technicolor 3-strip process, Suspiria boasts a palette of ultra-vivid colors that overwhelm the eyes, while the score by Italian prog-rockers Goblin assaults the ears, combining to create an experience like no other.  Argento collaborated on the music with Goblin before production began, which let him play it at top volume while filming to scare the shit out of the actors.  It totally worked: fear permeates every frame.

The little touches seem to mean everything: placing certain doorknobs at head-height to the actresses, making them seem to be little girls in a monstrous world; Claudio Simonetti hissing half-heard words on the soundtrack to punctuate important moments; Suzy protecting herself with nearby crystal-plumed bird (self-referential much, Dario?).  Every shot seems hand-crafted for perfection.  Though the parts are little more than a series of setpieces, the whole becomes more and more until we aren't quite sure where we are anymore.  Jessica Harper, fresh from her starmaking performance in Brian DePalma's The Phantom Of The Paradise, brings the right amount of confusion and awareness to Suzy.  Joan Bennett and Alida Valli supply the right amount of old-guard haughtiness and arrogance as the school's administrator and instructor.  Udo Kier makes an appearance too, stealing the show during every second of his all-too-brief role (I love me some Udo Kier, he's captivating, sexy, and a top-notch actor who doesn't get enough praise).

While not a giallo film, Suspiria still has all of Argento's trademarks: a protagonist who knows too much, but doesn't understand the information; a brutal murderer of which we see only their hands; over-the-top murder setpieces; a pounding rock score; a sinister mystery only the protagonist can solve.  It's classic Argento, one of his finest, and well worth watching...though if you're reading my page, I'm betting you've seen it already.  Well, watch it again.  I know I will.

The second chapter in The Three Mothers Trilogy, Inferno, is a Video Nasty and will be reviewed here soon.  The third part, The Mother Of Tears, wasn't made until recently (2009), and will also be featured here.  Cuz that's how I roll.

Until next time, my fellow rebels, I bid you farewell.  Remember: Be Kind, Rewind.  Watch out for falling maggots.  And don't trust seeing-eye dogs.  These friendly reminders will keep you safe, and I'll make sure I follow them, too.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.

...still in hiding...but not for long...

(shhh...the rebellion has been forced underground for the last long while by an unfeeling force of evil sucking the lifeforce and will from your tour guide and chronicler so we can only bring you this short message but if youre still out there we are marshaling our forces to burst back into the daylight and resume our work of preserving what some want lost and others cannot forget stay safe stay sane look out behind you and hold steady i will do the same because my names justin...JustinCase.)