When “Get Out” broke the mold by becoming one of the few horror movies to actually win an Oscar, newly minted Master of Horror Jordan Peele immediately announced it would be the first in a series of socially-minded horror movies he planned on creating. It didn't take long for his follow-up to arrive in theaters. “Us” would ride a similar wave of buzz and critical respect – not to mention an early-in-the-year release date – to box office success. Suggesting that Peele has, and by only his second feature, already reached the status of a marquee name director, in a time when brands are arguably more important than talent. Whether “Us” was scarier, stronger, or weirder than “Get Out” has already been debated endlessly but we can all agree that Peele is obviously the most talked-about horror director of our modern age.
As a young child, Adelaide had a traumatic experience on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, getting lost in a hall of mirrors and supposedly encountering a duplicate of herself. Thirty years later, she is returning to the beach with her husband Gabe, teenage daughter Zora, and younger son Jason. While on vacation, Adelaide can't escape this feeling that her lookalike is finally going to catch up with her. She's right. That night, a nightmarish mirror image of the family descends on their vacation home, clad in red jumpsuits and carrying golden scissors. As they barely survive their encounter, they realize events like these are happening all over the country.
Following the extremely dumb argument over whether or not “Get Out” was technically a horror movie – it was – Peele decided to make “Us” as unambiguous a horror picture as possible. Which means his trademark mixture of social commentary and comedy is still present. The family's banter is highly amusing, especially once they start stacking up their body counts. Some choice musical choices, jabs at Alexa, or pay-offs on earlier running gags show a puckish comedic glee. Yet “Us” is still damn effective as a horror picture. The initial home invasion fantastically keeps upping the suspense, each family member facing down their other in increasingly taunt situations. Gabe, leg disabled, being hounded by the howling Abraham is especially tense. If the first home invasion sequence is drawn out in its tension, the second is a gore-soaked gut punch. Friends of Gabe are suddenly struck down by scissors-wielding assassins, an evil pair of twins somersaulting through the house or a drawn-out death scene set ironically to the Beach Boys.
Some of the story turns in “Us” have been controversial. More than half-way through, there's a moment when the story suddenly opens up. What was previously a home invasion becomes a nation-wide, organized series of attacks. The film then barrels towards increasingly intense sequences, leading to a fantastically choreographed showdown between Adelaide and her double in the underground. It's the revelation that follows shortly afterwards, a twist ending, that really throws me off. The last minute reveal certainly connects with the film's thematic concerns, showing how close the upper class family is to their seemingly monstrous other halves. Yet it ends up treating the dream logic of the premise more seriously, while also feeling like a cheap and easy shock for the audience to think about on the way out. And that sticks in my teeth.
Though you never know, it seems unlikely to me that “Us” will receive the same kind of attention from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science that “Get Out” did. This is a gory horror picture, practically a slasher film, that isn't as obviously about important social issues as Peele's debut was. But I honestly think I might rate “Us” a little higher. It's more fun, stranger, and more stylishly constructed than “Get Out,” Peele growing more confident with his second feature. Now if only there wasn't that lame twist ending... While Peele's next directorial project hasn't been announced yet – he's producing a new “Candyman” movie, which certainly seems like it would fit this series of socially conscious horror pictures – I certainly hope the director will continue to balance his grisly thrills, sly social commentary, and goofy character-based comedy. [8/10]
Danza macabra
I need more Barbara Steele in my life. Yes, I love “Black Sunday” and, like many fans before me, found Steele's haunting beauty and piercing eyes unforgettable. Beyond Bava's classic of gothic horror though, I haven't seen nearly enough of Steele's other starring roles. After that film's success, Steele starred in a string of gothic horror flicks made in Italy. While many of these titles – such as “The Ghost,” “The Horrible Dr. Hichcock,” or “She-Beast” – are known to me, I've never actually sat down and watched them. “Castle of Blood,” also known as “Danza Macabra,” seems especially well regarded. Watching it now would also continue the totally unintentional theme of public domain horror movies I have going right now.
A journalist by the name of Alan Foster has a chance encounter with Edgar Allen Poe. Poe claims that all of his morbid stories are based on fact. His latest tale concerns his friend Lord Blackwood. The Blackwood family castle is supposedly cursed, as nobody has managed to stay a whole night in the abode over All Souls Day without dying. Foster takes the bet. Once inside the castle, he meets the beautiful Elizabeth Blackwood as well as her chillier sister, Julia. It soon becomes apparent to Alan that Elizabeth and Julia are ghosts. And they aren't alone, as Castle Blackwood is haunted by the spirits of everyone violently murdered there.
Luckily, the fantastic gothic trappings are not the only thing “Castle of Blood” has going for it. The film's particular variation on the haunting concept is interesting. These ghosts are physical and can interact with the living. They have free will up to a certain point but are ultimately forced to live and die in the same ways they originally did. There's an undeniably sexual element in the film. Elizabeth seduces Foster. In scenes cut from the original American print and only surviving in Italian, the two actually have sex. A similarly excised sequence reveals an incestuous element to Elizabeth and Julia's relationship. Also among the ghosts is Elizabeth's enraged lover. “Castle of Blood” portrays ghosts as trapped in an unending cycle of doomed passion, forever consumed by their frustrated sexual desires. The ghost also act a little like vampires, literally feeding off the blood of the new victims invited into the castle.
“Castle of Blood” had a somewhat difficult production. The project was conceived by Sergio Corbucci but a scheduling conflict prevented him from directing it, with Antonio Margheriti taking over production early on. Margheritti was dissatisfied with the film and would remake it in 1971 as “Web of the Spider,” a decision the director would later regret. The film wasn't very popular in Italian theaters but has developed a following in the years since. It also shouldn't be confused with another Barbara Steele gothic thriller, “Nightmare Castle.” I've mixed those two up over the years myself. As for “Castle of Blood,” it is exactly My Kind of Shit, full of the kind of gothic atmosphere and themes I love. [8/10]
“All the Gory Details” – sort of a shame that perfectly E.C. Comics-esque title was wasted on the kid's cartoon, isn't it? – follows muckraking journalist Sally. She's on the trail of Dr. Cromwell, a Frankensteinian mad scientist who sewed together some undead creations in the forties before disappearing. She's teamed up with a Mr. Klump, a tabloid writer and a sexist jerk. They track the doctor to a ridiculously wholesome small town, which has never heard of Dr. Cromwell or his macabre experiments. Eventually, Sally and Klump realize the doctor is hiding out in a strange castle on the edge of town. They sneak inside and are confronted by a crowd of hideously deformed monster. But this situation is not exactly as it seems...
If it wasn't for the lack of adult content and a sickly sweet moral about not judging books by their covers, “All the Gory Details” probably could've worked as a proper episode of “Tales from the Crypt.” Dr. Cromwell's creations are surprisingly grotesque, some having multiple heads or arms in the place of legs. The twist ending, concerning the connection between the mysterious doctor and the wholesome townsfolk, is actually pretty clever and feels totally abreast of the E.C. Comics style. Though its delivered with Saturday morning cartoon hamminess, even Mr. Klump's character arc totally fits this style. An unscrupulous journalist getting punished for his crime is exactly the kind of moral relativism “Tales from the Crypt” has always specialized in. In other words, it's a pretty good episode. Though, I'll admit, the slapstick rivalry between the Cryptkeeper and the Vaultkeeper in the host segments are beginning to ware on me. [7/10]
For the fourth episode of its second season, “Forever Knight” features that old chestnut of “Jack the Ripper was a vampire.” The episode begins with a surprisingly graphic sequence of a Canadian football player being torn to pieces right in front of his date. This attracts the attention of Liam O'Neal, an Irish detective that has been on the trail of this infamously grisly murderer for years. O'Neal believes in vampires, following a childhood encounter with one, and suspects Nick's secret. Naturally, Nick had a chance to stop Jack the Ripper decades ago, the notorious killer having a direct connection with Nicolas and LeCroix.
The Jack the Ripper connection in “Bad Blood” ends up being unimportant to the rest of the story. When we meet the notorious serial killer in the episode's last third, he's a snarling and inarticulate beast. (There's also not a single mention of prostitutes in this episode.) However, “Bad Blood” is still a worthy episode. The relationship between Liam O'Neal and the other police detectives, most notable in a car ride with Natalie and Nick where they discuss the little people, is pretty entertaining to watch. So is the scene where he heads to Club Raven and starts randomly flashing the crucifix at people he believes to be vampires. A lot of humor arises from the other cops tolerating O'Neal's eccentricities, while some tension exists as Nick worries about being revealed. The ending of the episode is action-packed and even a little spooky, as Schanke and a new recruit explore the foggy, run-down lair of Jack. Even if that final scene ends things on an unnecessarily downbeat note... [7/10]
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