THE
MONSTER CLUB (1981)Director: Roy Ward Baker
Pathfinder Home Entertainment
THE
MONSTER CLUB (1981)England's Amicus Films was best
known for producing a series of successful terror anthologies that started in
the mid 60s and ended in the mid 70s. After founders Milton Subotsky and Max
Rosenberg went there separate ways, Subotsky came back in the early 80s, producing
yet another anthology, THE MONSTER CLUB. Directed by Roy Ward Baker (veteran
of several Amicus efforts) and based on stories from R. Chetwynd-Hayes, the
film stars horror legends Vincent Price and John Carradine, holding things together
in the framing narrative.
An older, kindly vampire named Erasmus (Price) buts the bite on another elderly man during hisnightly stalkings. He doesn't bite deep enough to turn his victim into a bloodsucker, and when he discovers that he's the famous horror novelist "R. Chetwynd-Hayes" (Carradine), he invites him back to a club where all the patrons are monsters. Always looking for writing material, Chetwynd-Hayes excepts his offer, and a monster genealogy chart is the topic of discussion and helps unveil three macabre tales.
In
the first tale, shifty couple George (Simon Ward) and Angela (Barbara Kellerman)
plan to swindle a wealthy recluse out of his fortune. Angela pretends to be
in love with Raven (James Laurenson), who in fact is a ghoulish Shadmock, and
agrees to marry him. Shadmocks can not whistle, or else... and the couple discovers
this the hard way!
The second story is played strictly for laughs. It's introduced by actor Anthony Steel as film producer "Lintom Busotsky" (an obvious homage to Subotsky) as a new movie about his childhood. Young Lintom (Warren Saire) is tormented by his school mates and is curious as to why his father (Richard Johnson, looking a lot like Robert Quarry's "Count Yorga") works at night and sleeps all day. Something of a legendary vamp, dad is hunted down by the B-Squad, a troop of well-dressed, professional vampire hunters led by Donald Pleasance and Anthony Valentine. The mom is played by a glamour-less Britt Ekland.
The
last and best story involves an American film director named Sam (Stuart Whitman),
and his quest to find an authentic location for a horror movie shoot in England.
Sam's drive takes him to a remote village that appears different than the rest
of the world. Foggy and primitive, the town is inhabited by flesh-eating ghouls
who dig up graves for food and clothing. Sam tries to fight them off with the
help of peaceful Luna (Lesley Dunlop) who happens to be a Humghoul (half human,
half ghoul), and daughter of the innkeeper (Patrick Magee). They attempt to
escape, but naturally, it's not going to be that easy!
In between these stories is the
priceless chatter between the two horror stars (who despite their advanced age
and Carradine's crippled arthritic hands, were still in pretty good shape),
there are 
energetic
pop/new wave musical performances by the likes of Night, B.A. Robertson, and
one of my favorite British Invasion bands, The Pretty Things. The music has
stirred some negative criticism from fans, but like the film, it grows on you
with repeated viewings. The different stories have individual and very different
composers: John Georgiadis, Alan Hawkshaw and Amicus staple Douglas Gamley,
all which add to the lively atmosphere that accomplished director Baker has
created. Don't expect blood and guts or anything too sophisticated; THE MONSTER
CLUB is just a good old fashioned horror film in a welcomed retro style of Amicus
and Hammer, and plays like one big fun (and sometimes silly) Halloween party.
There
is disclaimer at the beginning of the movie noting that the original elements
were not made available for the transfer, and that the best possible video master
was used for the disc. Despite this, the transfer is more than satisfying. If
you compare this with the old Thriller VHS and laserdisc versions (hosted by
Elvira), it's like night and day. Colors are now more stable, and the level
of detail has been upgraded greatly, especially in the final Stuart Whitman
sequence which used to be impossible to see clearly. The new transfer also presents
the film in 1.85:1 widescreen (but no anamorphic enhancement), and it now has
the feel of a theatrical feature, rather than something made for television.
Audio is also improved over the previous transfer, with a mono Dolby Digital
2.0 that's pleasing to the ears. Anyone used to seeing THE MONSTER CLUB in its
previous video incarnations and syndicated TV versions will be delighted by
the superior transfer on this disc.
Aside from the fun feature at hand, Pathfinder has also supplied this release with a number of extras. First off is a full commentary by film buffs Luke Y. Thompson and Gregory Weinkauf. It might just be me, but I found the commentary pretty worthless, as the two offered no relevant information or insight on the film, and it's mostly laced with off-color remarks. One of them admits to seeing the film only days prior to the commentary, and little knowledge of the subject matter is reflected, settling for comments like "he looks like a guy I went to college with" and the like. Fans of the movie or horror films in general will get nothing out of this, so you'll want to listen only if you're really curious. I wish they could have got director Baker or at least someone knowledgeable on the film instead. This was the only thing about the disc that I didn't care for.
The
other supplements are sure to please fans more so than the commentary. There's
the original British trailer, production notes, bios, an affectionate essay
(written by DVD Drive-In's own George Reis), as well as a still gallery that
contains some memorabilia from the films. Another great feature is that the
entire soundtrack is playable on a separate menu--track by track. Easter Egg
hunters will want to be on the lookout for a real treat: a video interview with
actor Sean Barry-Weske, who (uncredited) played a ghoul in the final segment.
He discusses how he got the part due to his knowledge of weapons (in this case,
a sling), and he ends up doing a sling demonstration on the beach! Peter Cushing
is talked about, as well as a funny story from the set of the Amicus anthology,
THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD.
THE MONSTER CLUB is one of those films that has built a large and loyal following in the U.S. courtesy of video rentals and TV showings (it was never shown here in theaters!). Now finally on DVD, Pathfinder has presented this title the way it was meant to be seen. A recommended purchase! (Carter Hutchinson)