Halloween 2020: October 12th

West of Zanzibar (1928)

My history with Lon Chaney Sr. really starts with “Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces,” a documentary about the silent film star that aired on Turner Classic Movies in 2000. As a twelve year old kid with few exposures to silent cinema, I found myself very intrigued by what I saw and heard in the doc. It would be years before I started to really dig into silent film but the work of Lon Chaney was always near the top of my list. Late in his career, Chaney would re-teamed him with Todd Browning to create “West of Zanzibar.” The two previously made “The Unholy Three,” “London After Midnight,” and “The Unknown.” At the time, the movie was decried by some as grotesque or perverse but it proved popular with audiences.

The magician Phroso performs in a traveling circus with his wife, Anna. The strongman, Crane, tries to talk her into leaving her husband for him. Crane and Phroso get into a struggle, the magician is pushed over a railing, and is left crippled. Sometime later, Anna has given birth to a daughter and then died. Sixteen years pass and Phroso engineers an elaborate revenge on Crane. While living in Africa, Phroso sabotages Crane's ivory smuggling business by intimidating the cannibal natives. He makes sure Crane's daughter, named Maizie, grows up in poverty. Now, Phroso has arranged a meeting between the man he hates and the daughter. Yet more revelations are to come.

Since the American horror tradition was still formulating in 1928, “West of Zanzibar” is not truly a horror movie. Instead, it is most accurately described as a gothic melodrama. And it's extremely melodramatic. The film features many of the story elements typical of its day. The plot is built around a love triangle. Misunderstandings that could've been clarified with a simple conversation instead birth grudges that last for decades. That's to set up dramatic reveals later in the story. Chaney discovers his ex-wife's body just after she dies, for an example of how contrived the melodrama is here. That's far from the only romantic entanglement. Upon arriving at Phroso's trading post, Maize immediately falls in love with a man. Also, as you might expect from 1928, the movie is painfully racist. The African natives speak in broken English, practice both cannibalism and blood sacrifices, and are extremely superstitious. Browning portrays the black characters, even the sympathetic ones, as nothing but dark-skinned Others. 

If you can overlook the racism – I'd understand if you can't – “West of Zanzibar” has more than enough elements to interest classic horror nerds. Browning includes many of his pet themes. The circus-set opening was surely inserted at Browning's insistence. As in “The Unknown,” Chaney plays a cripple who is pushed to the edge when a strongman steals the woman he loves. “West of Zanzibar” exists in the same twisted shadow world as “The Unknown” or “Freaks.” Even the film's heroic figures, Warner Baxter's doctor, is a hopeless drunk. Aside from Chaney's deformity, there's certainly other spooky stuff. The magic trick involves a skeleton in a casket. There's a wonderfully creepy shot of a costumed monster wandering out of the dark jungle, part of the ploy to steal Crane's ivory. The nightmarish, black-and-white photography definitely tickles this horror nerd.

If “West of Zanzibar” had none of this other stuff in its corner, it would still have Lon Chaney. Chaney was truly one of the greatest silent film stars because of his ability to express everything simply with a look. As Phroso, he's playing an especially pathetic, despicable character. Chaney spends large portions of the film slithering around on the ground, much like a worm or snake. When explaining his vengeful plot, he sneers wickedly. As unlikable a character as Phroso is, Chaney still manages to make him sympathetic too. When he realizes how wrong he's been, you can see the contrition on his face. Which helps further the impact of the film's poetic ending. This is obviously Chaney's show though the rest of the cast is also pretty good. Mary Nolan as Maizie is especially charismatic. 

“West of Zanzibar” would prove to be one of Lon Chaney's last films. He would collaborate with Tod Browning one more time, for another circus-set melodrama called “Where East is East,” but you don't hear too much discussion about that one. “West of Zanzibar” itself would be remade in 1932 as “Kongo,” the title of the original play. Supposedly that one has even more horror elements than the original. Notably, the 1954 film “West of Zanzibar” is not a remake of this one, which was a bit confusing for me. I might check out those later movies some days but Browning's “Zanzibar,” though painfully dated in many obvious ways, still has a strange power that can't be replicated. [7/10] 

Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001)

In the late nineties and early 2000s, things were getting better for horror fans. The success of “Scream” had put the genre in vogue again and a whole wave of movies arrived to capitalized on that. Yet one thing had definitely not changed. If a series had a cool villain or a decent gimmick, horror fans would follow it even into the depths of direct-to-video hell. Just take a look at Pinhead or the Leprechaun for proof of that. That is where the “Wishmaster” series would end up with its third installment, verbosely subtitled “Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell.” Notably, however, leading man/monster Andrew Divoff would not follow along, forcing some other schmuck to don the cumbersome Djinn make-up for the third go-around. 

College student Diana is still struggling with memories of her parents' deaths in a car wreck. It's been affecting her relationship with boyfriend Greg. Or maybe she's just more focused on her history studies. While assisting her history teacher, Professor Barash, she comes upon an ancient box. Inside is a red opal. Unknowingly, Diana has just unleashed the wicked Djinn back into the world. Once again, the evil genie most convince the woman who freed him to make three wishes, so he can unleashes his demonic race on the planet. Assuming the form of Professor Barash, the Djinn goes about reeking havoc on campus. Diana ends up finding protection in a very unlikely place. 

The first two “Wishmaster” movies already felt slightly disconnected, with different motivations for the Djinn. “Beyond the Gates of Hell” drifts even further away from established series lore, even as it returns to some of the ideas from part one. I'm not even sure “Wishmaster 3” is about the same Djinn, as he's trapped in a “Hellraiser” style puzzle box rather than a Pre-Islamic statue. He also looks and sounds very different, owing to the change in budget and actor. While the Djinn in the first two movies clarified that he had nothing to do with western ideas of good and evil, “Wishmaster 3” directly introduces Christian ideas. Diana summons the Archangel Michael to protect her and he refers to the Djinn as a demon. From there, “Beyond the Gates of Hell” becomes a very cheap and silly attempt at an epic fantasy film, with a magic sword, a choreographed fight scene, and baritone-voiced otherworldly entity possessing human bodies.

While angels and demons seriously mix up the cosmology of the “Wishmaster” universe, part three is otherwise the kind of horror garage typical of its time and place. There's plenty of dumb jump scares and several chase scenes scored to techno music. Director Chris Angel, previously of “The Fear: Resurrection,” throws in some goofy Dutch angles and music video-style effects. When not indulging these quirks, “Wishmaster 3” looks extremely flat and TV-like. Yet, credit where it's due, the sequel does throw in a few clever gore gags. A girl vomits up her guts until she shrivels away into a corpse. The Wishmaster explodes someone's heart right out of their chest. The villain's indestructible status is played up here. He twists his bones back into place after being run over by a car and graphically regrows a hand after it's sliced away. None of it compares to the Casino of Death from part two but it's not bad. 

What really makes “Wishmaster 3” garbage is its characters. Diana's dead parents and childhood trauma has no effect on the story. Instead, her inability to tell her boyfriend she loves him motivates her character arc. It's extremely difficult to give a shit about this and the movie ends on a very dumb note because of it. A.J. Cook and Tobias Mehler are both quite terrible in the roles, with Mehler's performance getting especially embarrassing after he's possessed by an angel. Their friends are even more ridiculous, as they are pre-occupied with getting laid. One very stupid scene involves them getting busy while someone near-by watches a music video. There's a lot of gratuitous nudity in the film, which may or may not be a bonus depending on personal preference. In the plus column, Jason Connery – yes, Sean's son – is amusingly hammy at the Djinn's human form.

Ultimately, “Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell” is obviously nonsense. It's a piece of direct-to-video trash, produced cheaply and without much effort. Yet there's just enough gore and campy dumbness in it to keep this non-discerning horror fan amused. To be totally honest, I feel some slight nostalgia for this era of low-budget horror. From the moment I saw the Artisan Entertainment logo, I was transported back to my early teen years, where every shitty horror movie was distributed by either Artisan or Lionsgate. Those without any sort of childhood connection with this disreputable brand of horror will probably find “Wishmaster 3” a totally tedious experience. As oppose to seeing it as only mostly tedious. [5/10]

Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Tale of the Midnight Madness

“Are You Afraid of the Dark?” has become a real pop culture touchstone for people my age. Lots of nerds got their first taste of horror because of this show. It has become iconic enough to receive a recent revival. As I've said in the past, I was never a regular watcher. Outside of that incredibly spooky opening, the show simply never hooked me. One of the few episodes I do recall seeing during the program's original run was “Tale of the Midnight Madness.” A little bit of research shows me that this one regularly crops up on lists of the scariest “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” episodes. Sounds like a good pick for October then!

Teenagers Pete and Katie work at the Rialto, a classic movie palace that has fallen on hard times. It seems black-and-white cinema isn't attracting an audience and the theater is facing closure. Peter, who loves movies, tries to rally support for the Rialto but hope seems to be running out... Until a mysterious fellow called Dr. Vink arrives. He brings with him a film reel, of a silent vampire movie, that he assures the owner will start to pack in customers. Though the staff is skeptical at first, late night screenings of this variation of "Nosferatu" – where the vampire wins in the end – does start to attract crowds. When the theater renegotiates on his deal with Dr. Vink, Nosferatu steps off the theater screen and begins to terrorize Pete and Katie. 

I feel like if any episode of “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” was going to win me over, it would be this one. There's so many elements here that appeal to me: A movie-loving protagonist, a vintage movie theater as a setting, a villain straight out of the classic horror era, and a metafictional story that has the vampire stepping right off the screen. And yet, “Tale of the Midnight Madness” strikes me as mostly lame. I appreciate the affection for classic cinema inside the story, even if the handling of the budgetary realities of operating revival theaters is obviously childish. But the episode has no idea about the deeper meaning of the concepts it uses. The power of movies, especially classic horror, to entrance and transport is only vaguely touched upon. The idea of a monster violating the fourth wall is presented with no further depth.

Graf Orlok remains one of cinema's creepiest vampires and, I suppose, his rendition here looks spooky enough. Yet “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” undermines tension and thrills at every turn. Nobody ever feels like they are in any real danger and the heroes save the day way too easily. The musical score is continually light-hearted and cartoonish. The characters, especially the ridiculous Dr. Vink, are too exaggerated to be believable or compelling. The romance between Pete and Katie, totally one-sided until it suddenly isn't, is distracting and forced into multiple scenes. Kid-friendly horror doesn't have to be this fangless and maybe other episodes of “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” handle that balance better. I think I might just be too much of a jaded horror snob to get much out of “The Tale of the Midnight Madness.”  Read Clive Barker's “Son of Celluloid” instead. [5/10]

The Mad Doctor (1933)

Since the first short I watched this Halloween Blog-a-Thon was a spooky Disney cartoon, it made sense to watch another bit of creepy animation from Uncle Walt halfway through the season. “The Mad Doctor” is another rare classic Disney short that's in the public domain and this one stars Mickey Mouse himself. On a dark and stormy night, a robed intruder grabs Pluto and drags him off to his spooky castle. After strapping the dog into a torture device, the mad doctor – whose name is Dr. XXX – reveals his plan to cut Pluto in half and combine him with a rooster. Mickey pursues his pet through the creepy castle, being attacked by many living skeletons along the way.

Even if you're a horror nerd who turns his nose up at Disney stuff, you'd probably admit “The Mad Doctor” is pretty cool. Animator David Hand and his team squeezed so much spooky Halloween ambiance into this thing. There's creepy-looking bats flying towards the viewer and the shadows of demons cast onto walls. Dr. XXX decorates mostly with bones, as his clocks and door-knockers are animated skulls. Mickey even gets caught in the spider web of a skeleton spider! This shit is cool. And if that's not metal enough for you, Mickey also gets strapped to a table and has a buzzsaw pointed at his dick.

“The Mad Doctor” is also beautifully animated. A sequence, where the point-of-view is positioned behind Mickey's back as he walks through a corridor that narrows into a ramp, is still impressive eighty years later. It's also rather reminiscent of a video game. In fact, the entire short – Micky running through a themed location, avoiding hazards and fighting similarly-styled enemies – essentially has the structure of a classic platforming game. As with a lot of classic Mickey shorts, I do wish “The Mad Doctor” had more actual jokes. Though the gag where the scientist makes sure to dust off his surgical table before torturing on Mickey is pretty funny. Also, “The Mad Doctor” was deemed so potentially frightening to children that it was banned in the U.K.... As well as Nazi Germany! [7/10]