Halloween 2019: October 3rd

Atragon (1963)

In 2014, I devoted a large chunk of my Halloween Horror-Fest Blog-a-Thon to review as many kaiju movies as I could get my hands on. During that marathon, I managed to watch all the sci-fi/monster movies Ishiro Honda would direct for Toho in the sixties and seventies... Except for one. For whatever reason, 1963's “Atragon” proved surprisingly hard to find. The DVD was out-of-print at the time, with asking prices well outside the range of reasonable. The film was certainly not streaming on any legitimate website and I couldn't even find it on any of the sketchy, pirated video sites I frequented at the time. Every Halloween season since then, I've looked for a copy of “Atragon,” always coming up empty-handed each time. Either Tokyo Shock re-issued its DVD recently or Amazon is now selling convincing bootlegs, because “Atragon” finally popped up for a decent price. Whatever the reason why, I have now seen every sci-fi/kaiju flick Honda made for Toho.

Mysterious events are happening all around Japan. A late night photography session is interrupted when a car drives into the sea. Strange men in unusual diving suits surface out of the ocean. Strange cab drivers with touches that can burn attempt to abduct people. Earthquakes shake cities. It soon becomes evident that the underwater civilization of Mu – once a technologically advanced continent that sunk below the ocean centuries ago and worship a dragon god called Manda – is threatening the surface world. They demand that a high-tech submarine called the Atragon, AKA the Gotengo, be surrender to them... Along with absolute control of the entire globe. The Atragon has been built by a rogue Japanese Naval officer, who refuses to relinquish it. A special team is assembled to convince him and stop Mu from destroying the surface world.

Though best remembered for the first appearance of kaiju Manda, the giant sea serpent is really incidental to “Atragon's” plot. “Atragon” doesn't just want to be a kaiju movie. The film is best described as a science fiction adventure, with its conflict between a scientifically advanced lost society and our slightly less advanced surface technology. Yet it's also a fantasy, as the Muans hang out in temples, wear robes, and worship a literal dragon. It has shades of a James Bond wannabe, with its brave heroes infiltrating villainous lairs and double agents being exposed. It's also a war movie of sorts, with long scenes devoted to a former World War II captain and his men preparing the bad-ass super submarine. None of these tones are combined in a satisfying form. Nor are these divergent plot points brought together into a coherent whole, leaving “Atragon's” story unwieldy and difficult to follow.

Long portions of “Atragon” is devoted to the conflict between Kusumi, a former admiral in the Japanese navy and now a believer in world peace, and Jinguji, the creator of the Atragon and a Japanese nationalist. Jinguji designed the Atragon to only be used by the Japanese navy. He's one of those legendary soldiers unaware that World War II ever ended. When he learns Japan surrendered, and disbanded its military, he's crestfallen. Initially belligerent and committed to his nationalistic goals, Jinguji is eventually convinced to allow the Atragon to help the entire world. This is interesting because it shows director Ishiro Honda, a fervent supporter of the United Nations, struggling against the strong militaristic elements in all these monster movies he's directed. “Atragon” tries to have its cake and eat it too, compromising its imperialistic past with its global future, showing why nationalism is bad but also allowing cool Japanese military guys to kick lots of ass.

It's really interesting but geopolitical debates is probably not what most people watching “Atragon” signed up for. The special effects are obviously the main attraction. Some of them are very impressive. The scaly diving suits the Muans wear are cool. A sequence devoted to earthquakes collapsing a city is fantastic. And, yes, the Gotengo/Atragon is a bad-ass flying submarine. Yet even these elements sometimes feel underwhelming. Manda is not an impressive kaiju, a mangy-looking puppet that awkwardly thrashes around before being quickly subdued by a freeze ray. The Gotengo doesn't actually do anything until the last third. It then completely steamrolls every adversary it comes up against, destroying the Mu forces in seemingly minutes. Which isn't very satisfying to watch from a narrative perspective. Despite their impressive weapons, the Muans are not smart villains. They make demands, chant and panic in their temples, and are then summarily crushed.

“Atragon” probably wasn't worth all the years I waited to see the movie. Its plot is convoluted, its pacing stop-and-go, and its central monster is underwhelming. Despite not being especially good, “Atragon” was pretty popular in Japan. The film's popularity was exactly why Manda was included in “Destroy All Monsters.” Toho would revisit the Gotengo several times, some version of the flying submarine appearing in “The War in Space,” “Godzilla: Final Wars,” and multiple video games. There was even a two-part anime spin-off called “Super Atragon” in the nineties. So maybe I'm the one who's wrong and this film is a beloved classic after all. [5/10]

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971)

American International Pictures must've been pleased with “The Oblong Box” because, two years later, Gordon Hessler would return to direct the third film in this quasi-revival of the Poe Cycle. Though it's one of Poe's most famous stories, A.I.P had presumably not adapted “Murders in the Rue Morgue” yet because the 1932 Universal version was probably still in regular rotation on television. In large part due to that adaptation, Hessler had decided the story’s twist — an orangutan with a straight razor is the perp — was too well known. Thus, the new “Murders” would be a complete reinvention. Perhaps it strayed too far from the public’s conception. A.I.P.’s second wave of Poe films would end here.

Caesar Charron leads his Grand Guignol theater trope, currently adapting Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue.” His current wife, Madeline, is the daughter of his previous wife. That woman was murdered by an another actor from the trope, Rene Marot, after she accidentally scarred his face with acid during a performance. Rene is thought dead, yet a masked madman with vengeance on his mind is pursuing Caesar and Madeline. While Caesar works with detectives to uncover the truth, Madeline is haunted by nightmares and hallucinations.

If that plot synopsis didn’t clue you in, Hessler’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue” has practically nothing to do with Poe’s story. The orangutan appears in the stage-play-within-the-movie, which itself is clearly more inspired by the 1932 film than the story, but that’s about it. Instead, the film haphazardly combines a number of elements from other unrelated sources. Poe’s fictional detective, Dupin, is replaced with his real life inspiration, Vidocq. The killer has an unhinged dwarf sidekick, clearly inspired by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and implied to be the descendant of Poe’s Hop-Frog. In addition to his deformity and his broken heart, Rene Marot was further driven insane by being buried alive, which is becoming a bad cliche of these movies. Mostly, Hessler rips off “Phantom of the Opera,” with his story of a theater company haunted by a deformed, masked madman fond of fedoras, capes, and the leading lady. Hessler even cast Herbert Lom, who previously played the Phantom for Hammer, as Marot.

“Murders in the Rue Morgue” has its share of death and a notably horny scene set in a brothel but is generally less explicit than “The Oblong Box.” (Which its plot also resembles to a degree.) The main source of its horror is its many dream sequences. Some of which are, admittedly, pretty interesting. The film makes no distinction between Madeline’s dreams and her waking life. This sometimes gifts the film a lyrical quality, such as the repeated flashbacks to the death of Madeline’s mother. Or a long scene where the dwarf leads Madeline through an otherwise empty mansion. Too often, it just makes the story hard to follow though, further maddening the narrative waters.

This “Murders” does have a decent cast. Jason Robards, in a part pretty clearly designed for Vincent Price (who was having a pay dispute with A.I.P. at the time), stars as Caesar. Robards doesn’t go for camp but instead attempts to gift the character with a hound dog sense of regret. Yet the film constantly leaves the viewer uncertain of Caesar’s motivation, making it hard to relate to the character. Lom is better here than in Hammer’s confused, sentimental “Phantom.” He’s certainly an intimidating figure. Christine Kaufmann is properly wide-eyed as Madeline, the kind of beautiful and vulnerable lady audiences can latch onto. Michael Dunn is also pretty creepy as the dwarf.

Ending with a big, incoherent twist, 1971’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue” is a frustrating experience. It’s Poe in-name-only, making you wonder why A.I.P. didn’t just call the movie something else entirely. That’s a serious problem all of the second half of the Poe Cycle had, the films using ol’ Edgar’s name for marketing purpose and nothing else. While it has one or two interesting moments and a decent cast, the plot is largely presented in a baffling way, making these “Murders” an overall perplexing motion picture. [5/10]

Tales from the Cryptkeeper: Sharon Sharalike

After its second season, “Tales from the Cryptkeeper” was canceled by ABC, probably due to low ratings. (Though Disney's acquisition of the network, and subsequent reshuffling of its Saturday morning line-up, might've played a role as well.) However, just like an undead ghoul, “Tales from the Cryptkeeper” pulled itself from the grave when least expected it. For reasons I can find no satisfying explanation for, “Tales from the Cryptkeeper” was resurrected in 1999 – two years after the original “Tales from the Crypt” ended – on CBS. Now presented as “New Tales from the Cryptkeeper,” the show would undergo many changes. A new animation company would take over, resulting in a totally different, more cartoonish visual style. The Cryptkeeper would now interact with the characters in the story. Most pressing, in order to comply with new laws regarding educational content on children's television, the already ham-fisted moral lessons of “Tales from the Cryptkeeper” would become even more exaggerated and obvious.

Take a look at the season three premiere, “Sharon Sharalike,” for a good example of this. The episode concerns a bratty teenager girl who refuses to share her toys with her little sister. In the mail one day, an old talking doll named Sharon Sharalike arrives. Despite not even liking the doll, the older sister claims Sharon for her own. This is much to the younger girl's chagrin. When mom demands Sharon be shared, the older sister hides her instead. That night, the doll springs to life to teach the bratty girl a lesson.

I'll give “Sharon Sharalike” some credit. It is actually attempting to be scary. The scenes of the girl being chased by doll are trying to be suspenseful, even including a heartbeat sound effect. Sharon's cutesy monotone, clearly inspired by Talky Tina, could be seen as creepy to younger kids. However, it's hard to built too much suspense because the teen protagonist is such a hateful little bitch and Sharon is so obviously not a physical threat. She never wants to hurt the girl, just teach her a lesson. Yes, the moral about sharing could not be more hammered into the viewer's head. The new character designs are rather jarring, with their broad, sharp angles. But at least the Vaultkeeper and the Old Witch aren't around anymore. [5/10]

Forever Knight: Baby Baby

“Baby Baby” has Nick's past coming back to haunt him once again. While investigating a mysterious death at a construction site, Nick runs into Serena. At the turn-of-the-century, he turned Selena into a vampire when she was only asking him to get her pregnant. He feels pretty bad about this misunderstanding still. Serena is apparently still longing for a baby, as she's currently romantically involved with the murder suspect. Legends, as told by LaCroix, persist that a vampire can get pregnant – their mortality returned but the suitor left dead – by special men as long as the conception happens high in the sky and under the full moon. Turns out this guy has a third chromosome, prompting Nick to try and stop another killing before it happens.

“Baby Baby” – that's what you'd call a bad title – has some issues. Serena is clearly coded as a lesbian, as she dresses like a man in the flashbacks and works as a welder in the present, which makes her desire to have a baby kind of odd. The circumstances surrounding her becoming a vampire certainly make Nick look like kind of an impulsive idiot though. However, the idea that vampires have legends of their own is an interesting idea. Nick and LaCroix being forced to worked together, however briefly, is a good source of dramatics. Denise Virieux is effectively intense as Serena. Her confrontations with Nick make for good television. I also like a minor scene where Natalie and Schanke talk about the time he wrote a poem for a childhood crush. [7/10]