Halloween 2023: September 21st

Renfield (2023)

As someone fascinated by the horror movies produced by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960, I have followed the company’s attempts to reboot the Universal Monsters as a modern franchise with rapt attention. It’s been, mostly, a series of failures ranging in severity from box office disappointments to full blown fiascoes. After years of non-starters, Universal finally touched on the right idea when they let Blumhouse remake the monsters as medium-budget horror films. Based on the box office success and critical acclaim of Leigh Whannel’s “Invisible Man,” Universal announced a whole slate of new monster movies. Then another snag emerged, in the form of COVID-19 bringing the globe to a standstill for two years. It’s hard to say if Elizabeth Banks’ “Invisible Woman,” Paul Feig’s mysterious “Dark Army,” James Wan’s “Frankenstein” project, Ryan Gosling’s “Wolfman,” and an untitled animated feature are ever going to make it out of Development Hell. 

Three years later, we’ve finally gotten our next entry in this new series of Universal Monsters movies. “Renfield,” a self-described gore comedy conceived by Robert Kirkman, was initially to be directed by Dexter Fletcher. Instead, Chris McKay would realize the movie. A direct sequel to 1931’s “Dracula,” it positions R.M. Renfeld as the vampire count’s put-upon assistant. He’s been protecting Dracula during the day time, securing victims for him, and reviving him when vampire hunters inevitably track him down again for decades now. Even the bonus of longer life and superpowers, activated by eating bugs, has done little to ease Renfeld’s ennui. Fed up with the abuse by his boss, Renfeld seeks out a support group for dealing with toxic relationships in modern day New Orleans. His attempts to separate himself from his bloodsucking boss quickly entangle with a local crime family and the rookie cop determined to bring them down. 

For a 64 million dollar studio movie, “Renfeld” is kind of weird. Horror comedies are rarely box office hits — as the movie’s meager gross can attest to — and it’s hard to imagine the pitch meeting that successfully got this green lit. The only recent hit movies I can compare it to are the “Deadpool” series. In fact, “Renfeld” frequently feels like a horror-ified attempt to replicate the specific Deadpool formula. It combines self-satisfied vulgar dialogue with hyper-bloody action scenes. Meanwhile, Renfeld directly addressing the audience via narration and the frequent subversions of the film medium — such as a flashback to the 1931 “Dracula” that deep-fakes Nicholas Hoult and Nic Cage’s face over Dwight Frye and Bela Lugosi’s faces — remind me of the flippant superhero saga’s meta elements. 

Of course, a large percentage of the Letterboxd audience find “Deadpool” unbearably obnoxious. “Renfeld” is definitely at its weakest when emulating the Merc with a Mouth. The self-consciously profane dialogue is sometimes unbearable. The rocket-sled editing takes some getting-used-to. Dialogue that takes its time explaining the specifics of Renfeld’s bug-eating superpowers and setting up the story suggest a certain lack of confidence in the viewer. Sequences that explain the mechanics of Dracula’s magic blood or circles of salt feel at length feel like belabored attempts to set up later events. For the first half-hour, I genuinely wasn’t sure if this movie was going to work for me or not. 

However, “Renfeld” eventually find its gory groove. The movie is at its best when contrasting the horrific circumstances of its character with a more mundane setting. Renfeld going on a shopping spree via montage or pasting the walls of his pastel apartment with self-motivational posters made me laugh. This is best exemplified in a scene where Dracula shows up at his home, casually sipping on a martini glass full of blood and eyeballs. Or when Hoult breaks into his neighbors’ place and chugs the contents of an ant farm. That kind of loopy absurdity pairs better with the gory gags than the f-bomb laden dialogue. 

If nothing else, “Renfeld” does commit fully to the gore comedy label. When empowered by devoured creepy crawlers, Renfeld can easily rip his opponents apart. Heads are punched off, bodies are cleaved in half, intestines are spilled, and torn-off arms are fashioned into makeshift spears. There’s more practical effects here than expected, which certainly gives a little more heft to the bloody mayhem. The accompanying action scenes suffer a bit from the same overediting that effects the whole movie. That Deadpoolian commitment to juvenile gags rears its head during a “Mortal Kombat”-style x-ray fatality. Yet, by the time Renfield fashions vampire fangs into improvised knuckledusters, I realized I was having a good time with this. 

If anything holds this nutty genre hybrid together, it’s a cast enjoying themselves. Nicholas Hoult probably would’ve been funnier if he emphasized Renfeld’s pathetic desperation more. Instead, he plays him as a worn-down optimist doing his best to regain control of his life. Yet Hoult proves to be a plucky, likable protagonist nevertheless. (Ben Schwartz, who plays the obnoxious secondary antagonist, might have pulled off that combination a little better.) Awkafina, a performer who can be incredibly annoying sometimes, has decent chemistry with Hoult, even if she can never enliven what is definitely the least inspired part of the movie. Of course, the real catch here is Nic Cage as the Count. Cage’s Mega Acting is well suited to an oversized character like the king of vampires. His — if you’ll excuse the pun — theatrical vamping gets more than a few laughs. Cage is at his best when going on indignant rants, not unlike the last time he played a bloodsucker. 

Ultimately, I get the impression that “Renfeld” would’ve been sturdier with a more confident tonal mix. If the crime story B-plot was played less wacky and more grounded, its sequences of cartoonish violence and subversion of gothic horror trappings would've gotten bigger laughs. As it is, the movie feels like a unsteady mixture of "Braindead" style splatstick and a standard comic book inspired action flick. Despite these flaws, I still enjoyed myself with this one. McKay's direction has enough visual panache in it to make the movie distinctive looking. The leads are compelling, especially when leaning into the absurdity inherent in the material. Ultimately, I guess I'm predisposed to enjoy a movie this fucking odd, that blends classic horror characters with entrails and F-bombs. I'm not shocked in the least that it failed to connect with a wide audience but "Renfeld" will probably grab a cult following in years to come. [7/10]

The Corpse Vanishes (1942)

The time has come, once again, for me to return to the realm of Bela Lugosi's Monogram movies.  The iconic “Dracula” star made nine movies with the poverty row studio throughout the forties. None of these movies are especially well regarded, with some of them being considered among the horror icon's weakest work. At the same time, almost all of the films Lugosi made for the famously threadbare studio fell quickly into the public domain. Producers looking to make a quick buck by filling out the bottom half of a double feature, as cheaply as they could, weren't all that concerned about intellectual property. (It's not like television and home video existed yet, so once these flicks ended their run in theaters, they might as well not exist anymore in the logic of the time.) This means that, no matter how lame these flicks might be, they survive through countless horror host programs, cheap DVD box sets, and every video streaming website around. “The Corpse Vanishes” is one such typical example. 

Young brides, on their wedding days, are dropping over at the altars, seemingly dead. Afterwards, the bodies vanish under increasingly mysterious circumstances. Female reporter, Patricia Hunter, signs up to investigate the case, much to the chagrin of her editor. She soon learns that each bride received a mysterious orchid, laced with a strange drug, before their weddings. She tracks down local orchid expert, Dr. Lorenz, for his opinion. Hunter doesn't realize that Lorenz is the culprit, stealing the girl's body and draining their corpses of vital fluids in order to keep his vain wife young and beautiful. While stuck at Lorenz' home during a torrential storm, Patricia uncovers the doctor's macabre operation. She races to catch him before he strikes again. 

“The Corpse Vanishes” is a good snapshot of the kind of horror movies Monogram produced during the forties. In the sense that its story is largely a compilation of the genre's most frequent clichés at the time. Lorenz operates out of a spooky mansion, with a secret laboratory in the basement. He has several henchmen in his service, including a hunchback and a dwarf. (The former is given the unassuming name of “Mike” while the latter is played by “Freaks” Angelo Rossitto.) The hunchback, naturally, develops a crush on the lovely Patricia, pawing at her sleeping body. Among the story's more unlikely plot developments is the dark and stormy night that strands our heroine at the doctor's abode.  Much like Lugosi's most famous character, Lorenz is also found of lurking over sleeping maiden's body and has some hypnotic powers, though that's not explored much. The story of a mad scientist performing arcane experiments to maintain a woman's beauty is certainly a cliché too, though one that wouldn't reach its peak until the days of “Dr. Orloff” and “Eyes Without a Face.” 

Bela, it goes without saying, could play a role like this in his sleep. Lugosi deploys his often called-upon villain act, leering wickedly and intoning with sinister intent. (His legendary hand acting is underutilized.) “The Corpse Vanishes” also has a mildly captivating heroine, as played by Luana Walters. The film almost becomes interested when it puts Walter's Patricia through the casual sexism wringer. She gets slapped suddenly by Lorenz' cruel wife. After seeing all sorts of creepy shit in his basement, the doctor does everything he can to gaslight her into believing she saw nothing. None of the men around her take her seriously at all. Even her love interest, in the form of Tristam Foster's virtuous doctor, doesn't seem to believe her. “The Corpse Vanishes” is 100% of its time, so these sexist structures are presented without criticism. Her getting swept off her feet by the bland hero, who she's known for all of a day, is presented as a happy ending. 

“The Corpse Vanishes” isn't without its recommendable attributes, especially to life-long classic horror nuts like myself. There's some okay shadowy atmosphere in a few shots. Lugosi is entertaining, as always. The bad guy having a whole family of deformed weirdos at his disposal, who eventually turn on him, provides some mild novelty. There's the neat detail of the doctor and his wife sleeping in caskets. (Which, now that I think about it, also recalls “Dracula.”) However, there's no escaping that “The Corpse Vanishes” is, like so many of Monogram's B-movie programmers, unforgivably slow. The film runs barely over an hour and feels much longer than that, the pace lumbering along at a sleepy speed on its way towards an underwhelming climax. The script feels both hopelessly rushed, in that every event leads into the next without much build-up, while also generally listless in its construction. 

You can tell “The Corpse Vanishes” is a ramshackle affair in other ways too. When it runs out of horror cliches to use, it delves into other genres as well. There's a comic relief sidekick working in the newsroom alongside Walters, who mugs it up in a few scenes. A handful of extremely mild car chases and shoot-outs unwind too, curbing considerably from the detective movies Monogram also produced. Even to an experienced classic horror nut, there's only so much to enjoy here. Due to its public domain nature, most of the prints of the movie are overly dark and grainy. The edition shown during a very relaxed season one episode of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” is of such a vintage. Better copies exist now, though whether or not it's worth digging up one of the nicer editions for such a mediocre movie is up to you. [5/10]

Cabinet of Curiosities: Graveyard Rats

I don't know how big a name Vincenzo Natali is, even among horror nerds, but I'm a fan. I was excited to see him included among Guillermo del Toro's “Cabinet of Curiosities.” For his episode, Natali adapts a classic of weird fiction from Henry Kuttner. Set in 1900s Salem, “Graveyard Rats” follows Masson, a cemetery caretaker who also robs the graves for valuables. However, the rats that occupy the graveyard have started making off with the corpses before he can burgle them. When Masson learns a rich man is going to be buried with his priceless saber, he's eager to rob the casket so he can settle up his debts. As he digs it up, he finds the rats dragging the body away. Masson descents into the tunnels under the graveyard after his target, uncovering a world of horror under his feet. 

“Graveyard Rats” is exactly the kind of classy but grotesque gothic horror thrills I hoped for from “Cabinet of Curiosities.” Natali and cinematographer Colin Hoult create a delightfully atmospheric looking episode. The seasick greens and grays of the gritty settings – of haunted looking graveyards, greasy brothels, dreary mortuaries, and rat-infested tunnels – establish the correct mood. Some memorable visuals appear, such as Masson being hammered into a casket during a nightmare scene or his face enlarging when looking through a glass bottle. Once the episode is underground, the dingy tunnels and bone-filled catacombs are properly claustrophobic. The rats might be mostly CGI but they still induce some squirms when crawling all over someone's face and body. 

Another pleasure of “Graveyard Rats” is its star. Natali brings along his regular leading man, David Hewlett, to play Masson. Hewlett happily hams it up in the part. He gnaws through reams of colorful, complex dialogue while playing a charismatic dirt bag. Much like “Lot 36,” this is a story of a less-than-honorable fellow getting a suitably ironic punishment for his greed and lack of respect for the dead. Yet Hewlett makes Masson almost a lovable scoundrel, as he schemes his way around the various brokers and coroners he interacts with. It's almost a one man show for him too, which Hewlett is more than capable of handling.

Also like “Lot 36,” this story involves a cursed artifact that awakens eldritch horrors when they are purloined. Kuttner was a contemporary of Lovecraft – both were regular features in “Weird Tales” – so it's not surprising that he dipped his toes into some of the same story tropes. The creature effects are obviously well done, with a giant rat monster being especially disgusting and intimidating. Overall, “Graveyard Rats” is a delight for fans of this kind of material. It looks great, has an amusing lead performance, and features all sorts of squirmy thrills. [8/10]

Chucky: The Sinners Are Much More Fun

With the set-up of the first episode out of the way, “Chucky” can get to the actual premise of its second season. Jake, Devon, and Lexy have been shipped off to Incarnate Lord, the same Catholic boarding school for troubled youths that Charles Lee Ray grew up in. While trying to integrate themselves among the strict staff of priests and nuns, the three teens wait around for the murderous doll's inevitable reappearance. Soon enough, Chucky sneaks into the school through a charity toy drive and begins tormenting the youths and bumping unlucky side characters off. Meanwhile, Chucky's equally homicidal squeeze, Tiffany Valentine, is still inside the body of actress Jennifer Tilly. She's still tormenting Nica Pierce, whose arms and legs have been cut off and whose body contains a part of Chucky's soul. 

It's already obvious that “Chucky” is going to have some fun exploiting the Catholic school setting. One of the nuns, upon seeing Chucky's angelic plastic face, thinks he's a vision of our Lord and Savior. Ideas of sin, temptation, and redemption are clearly on the writers and showrunners' minds this season, if the conversation Jake has with one of the teachers is any indication. Much more fun is the strange relationship brewing between Jake and Father Bryce. I can't help but wonder what direction this show will take the idea of a Catholic priest expressing an interest in a teenage boy. Finally, I really like Lexy's quirky roommate, the kleptomaniac Nadine, played by the suitably off-beat Bella Higgenbotham. She immediately becomes part of the gang here, so hopefully the show will keep her around for a while. 

Obviously, we are all watching this show for the killer doll. Chucky gets a few good moments. It seems, like everyone else, he's become obsessed with taking selfies with his cell phone. His interaction with a nun, that he scares to death, also got a chuckle out of me. As did his reaction when a teenage girl screams at him. Whether the subplot about Tiffany/Jennifer Tilly and Nica goes anywhere compelling remains to be seen. Fioana Dourif still does a great impersonation of her dad. Tilly is still utterly delightful as the unhinged killer. But I can also see this subplot dragging things down. I guess we'll see. Overall, this is a pretty fun episode, even if not nearly as much stuff happens here as in the premiere. [7/10]