Review: Die, Monster Die!, with Boris Karloff

1964, 80 minutes, color, American International Pictures. Directed by Daniel Haller. Starring Boris Karloff as Nahum Witley, Nick Adams as Stephen Reinhart, Freda Jackson as Letitia Witley, Suzan Farmer as Susan Witley, Terrence De Marney as Merwyn and Patrick Magee as Dr. Henderson. Schlock-Meter rating: 4 stars out of 10.

Die, Monster, Die! is one of the more lackluster of AIP’s 1960s Poe/Lovecraft adaptations. The film is supposed to be based on a H.P. Lovecraft’s story Color of Our Space, but really bears no resemblance. There’s virtually no suspense in this slow-moving clinker, but a lot of unintentional laughs as mumbling Nick Adams arrives in England from America to visit his English girlfriend (Farmer) at her forbidding castle with her creepy parents (Karloff and Jackson). It seems that Father Witley (Karloff) has been conducting experiments with radioactive stones, with disastrous results.

The movie starts out with promise. Adams arrives in a small town and can find no one in a tiny English village who will take him to the Witley house. In fact, these villagers are downright rude to old Nick! So, he takes a long walk to the house, and there’s some good atmospheric scenes as Adams passes decayed forests, creepy fences, gates, and is watched by a specter in black. 

At the house, he’s greeted coldly by a forbidding Karloff, playing his role in a wheelchair. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, appears the bubbly Farmer, looking like she just stepped out of an AIP beach movie. She’s totally wrong for the part (there’s no way this vivacious blonde would be the daughter of the dour Karloff) and her presence kills the atmosphere and hope of sustained suspense. 

Director Haller, who does a competent if uninspired job, tries to substitute shocks for suspense, but even those are weak. Viewers are treated to a black, homicidal specter, hanging objects in the castle that are supposed to be scary, lots of fog, mutant plants, and radiation-mutated humans, including Mother Witley (Jackson) who for no reason turns maniac late in the film.

The best scene in the film shows a mutated tree attempting to encircle a surprised Farmer in his branches, but even that was done a lot better two decades later in Evil Dead.

Adams is also wrong for the part. He reminds me of a Marlon Brando wannabe. He would seem more comfortable battling Johnny Friendly on a loading dock than matching wits with mad scientist Boris Karloff. Karloff is fine, but isn’t really given much to do. He’s in a lot less scenes than Adams and he mostly whines, threatens or talks of his need to see his wife.

The final scene, where a green, ringing, radioactive Karloff character rises from his wheelchair and goes after Adams and Farmer is pure camp and will inspire a lot of chuckles from viewers. I imagine they used a double for the elderly Karloff in that scene.

Be forewarned: There’s no scares in Die, Monster, Die!, but if you are a fan of AIP horrors or Karloff, it will hold your interest, barely. You can watch it, as of April 10, 2021, on Amazon Prime and at Daily Motion. A trailer is on YouTube.

-- Doug Gibson

Night of The Seagulls – the fourth “Blind Dead” film

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This 1975 Spanish horror film, "Night of the Seagulls," written and directed by Amando de Ossorio, is the fourth and final entry in the Knights Templar “blind dead” series – and is the sequel to The Ghost Galleon (1974). The film was also marketed as “La noche de las gaviotes,” “Don't Go Out At Night” and “Night of The Death Cult.” Although it's often thought of as the least effective of the four blind dead films, I find it to be a much better film and more entertaining than The Ghost Galleon and the second blind dead film – Return of The Blind Dead (1973).

Young Dr. Henry Stein (Victor Petit) and his wife Joan (Maria Kosti) arrive at a small, inhospitable coastal town in Spain. Stein is to be the new doctor of the village. The current doctor is an elderly man who wants to retire and leave the village immediately. He tells Stein that the villagers don't want doctors in the village and to not ask questions, pry into anyone's business or go out at night. He communicates a deep sense of fear about living in the village. The Steins are staying at the elderly doctor's house.

After settling in the elderly doctor's house that night, the Steins hear a church bell and the screams of a flock of seagulls. Joan mentions that seagulls are not supposed to scream and fly at night. The Steins leave the house to investigate and come across a procession of villagers dressed in hooded robes walking along the beach. The procession ties a young woman dressed in white to a rock on the beach. The corpses of Knights Templars, who have been dead for over 600 years, arrive on horses to kidnap the young girl and sacrifice her to a Sea God statue.

In the following days, the local villagers, including a grocery merchant, continue to ignore and avoid the Steins. Joan meets a young girl named Lucy at the local store. Lucy asks for a job as a housekeeper at the Stein's home. Joan agrees to her employment while Lucy reminds her that the villagers don't like strangers. The two become good friends.

Dr. Stein's first day on the job does not go well, since no patients arrived for an appointment. The Stein's hear the sound of the bell again and the screams of seagulls as someone aggressively knocks at their door. A young girl named Tilda is at the door – hysterical with fear. Dr. Stein gives her a tranquilizer to calm her down. Tilda's father arrives to take her home, upset that Stein has treated her and tells Stein to leave Tilda and the villagers alone. The procession of villagers arrives to escort Tilda to the beach where she is to become the next sacrifice to the Templars. Her heart is cut out at the statue of the Sea God.

The next morning, the Steins walk the village to inquire where Tilda has disappeared to. Tilda's father lies to Dr. Stein and says she left with a cousin to the city. Lucy tells the Steins that every year for seven days, a sacrifice to the Templars is made of seven victims. The procession of villagers take Lucy from Stein's home. She is to be the next sacrifice.

Dr. Stein locates Lucy at the sacrificial rock and frees her from the rock as the Templars on horses arrive to take her away. The Steins and Lucy barricade themselves inside the Stein home as the Templars try to get inside. They make their way to the attic and get out, sliding down the roof and onto the horses of the Templars.

Unlike scenes in the first three blind dead films, most of the scenes of Templars in Night of The Seagulls are shot in well-lit and near-dark environments, which reveal greater details of their features, especially with close up shots. The closing shots of the Steins riding on horses as they are chased by the Templars are some of the most effective, gloomy sequences of the film because of the grainy appearance of the shots. The Templars approaching the beach on horses to confront their next sacrificial victim are also some of the most effective shots in the film. Many of these shots are shown in slow motion, which adds to their creepy appearance.

The four blind dead films do not need to be watched in the order of their release to enjoy them. They can be watched out of order and still enjoyed, although the first film – Tombs of The Blind Dead (1971) does go into the greatest details about who the Knights Templar are and where they came from. Two of the blind dead films – Tombs of The Blind Dead and Return of the Blind Dead (1973) inject a predictable love triangle story that we don't see in this fourth film. Leaving the love triangle story out of Night of The Seagulls makes it a more effective and gloomy film.

Blue Underground released an interesting DVD box set of the four films in 2006 contained in a collectible coffin shaped box. The set also contains a booklet about the films with lots of production photos, and a DVD documentary about director Amando de Ossorio. Watch a trailer of Night of the Seagulls here. Happy viewing.

-- Steve D. Stones

'The Sinister Urge' - Ed Wood's film no headliner in newspaper ads

"The Sinister Urge," Ed Wood's first (sort of) barely nudie film, certainly his final helm as director of a close-to-mainstream film, hung around for bookings. The above is from a Hartsville, Ala. daily dated Sept. 6, 1967. The film was released in late 1960 by Headliner Productions, run by Roy Reid. Not surprisingly, it often ran with other Headliner releases. On this day it was paired with Headliner's "The Violent Years," scripted by Wood, that was close to five years older than "The Sinister Urge!" 

You can read a review I wrote a while back of "The Sinister Urge" here. I recall reading in Rudolph Grey's "Nightmare of Ecstasy" that "Sinister Urge" was an introduction to adult films. I thought that was an exaggeration for years, but I finally realized that the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version -- the only version I saw for a long while -- was edited. There is brief nudity in the film, semi-explicit sex murder scenes, and explicit bondage photos showed, and seen in full prints, by actor Harvey B. Dunn playing a father complaining to cops Kenne Duncan and James Duke Moore. Duncan and Moore are no Friday and Gannon. They are bland and earnest but with no humor. Still, they are Ed's actors and who can't love them!

Above are a couple of newspaper clips of "The Sinister Urge" playing with "The Violent Years," swapping top billing (it usually was a co-feature to "Violent Years," and another Headliner film, "Married Too Young." But, as mentioned, "The Sinister Urge" played adult theaters. Above it's featured with "Case of the Stripping Wives" and "College Affair" in El Paso, Texas, in 1966. This shows that as a director Wood was already familiar with seeing his films in the nudie theaters, likely before "Orgy of the Dead."

Above we see "Married Too Young" a headliner over "Sinister Urge" in 1963. Wood also wrote some of "Married Too Young." He got some work in the 50s and 60s from Reid's Headliner Productions. According a newspaper clipping source for this blog, my friend David Grudt," Roy Reid's LA Times 1987 obituary said he booked vaudeville acts in Long Beach, Calif., early in his career. When booked at Adult theaters, "The Sinister Urge" often headlined. Examples are above with Ed Wood's film above "His Wife's Habits" in Texas in 1965 and above "Heat of the Summer" in an Illinois theater. I find it fascinating that at that Ilinois adult theater, Roman Polanski's classic "Repulsion" is slated to play there in the future. By the way, "Heat of the Summer" was a (presumably) sexy French film import made in 1959.

Above are a couple of more clips. In one "The Sinister Urge," playing by itself in Texas, is the sole film advertised. In the other, from Alabama, it's below "Violent Years" but is soon to be replaced by something title "Water Hole No. 3." My favorite part of "The Sinister Urge" is a fight scene between Ed Wood and Conrad Brooks lifted out of the aborted "Hellborn" production, which was started but never finished.

NOTES: Another reason to see "The Sinister Urge" is for the crazy, over-the-top performance of poured-into-her clothes Jean Fontaine as a "godmother" of porn, but with mostly unseen demanding crime bosses. (I have often, just half seriously wondered if her gravel voice was dubbed). She was great fun in this film. Wood semi-regular Carl Anthony plays her producer/director. You expect Fontaine to chew and spit nails at any point of the film. An interview with Fontaine would be fascinating. Harry Keaton, (Keatan in credits) who plays a grizzled old porn cameraman, was in comedy shorts 40 plus years ago. I've never been sure if he has some relationship to Buster Keaton. A young acting student named Dino Fantini plays the sex killer, and he's actually pretty believable, even frightening.

-- Doug Gibson 

The Phantom Planet: Low-budget, corny, enjoyable space opera

By Doug Gibson

"The Phantom Planet" is a 1961 low-budget space opera that is often mocked for its special effects and melodramatic plot. In fact, the 'bots on MST3K have spoofed it. Nevertheless, I find it a lot of fun. It is part of that endearing 1960s genre of low-budget space exploration films that are too ambitious for their plots. Films such as "Space Probe Taurus" and "The Wizard of Mars" come to mind.

"The Phantom Planet" takes place in 1986 and involves space ships out probing outer space for life. Some U.S. spaceships are disappearing so a new team is sent out. The two-man team is sucked toward a mysterious planet. One of the crew dies but Captain Frank Chapman (Dean Fredericks) survives. He lands on the planet Raydon, where everyone is 6 inches tall or so. He instantly become the same size,due to the weird atmosphere. 

Eventually Frank learns that Raydon is a planet trying to keep to itself and avoid conflict. One assumes there are a lot of people there but you never see more than a dozen or so Raydonians. There are a couple of beautiful sisters and Chapman is offered to choose one as a mate. I must add there is a sort of "Me Tarzan, You Jane" aspect to relations in this film that was common in these genre space operas.

 Eventually, after a few personality conflicts Frank bands together with the Raydonians to fight the planet's enemies, the Solarites. A Solarite is a rather gross, tall chicken-type creature. The budget only allows for one (played by Richard Kiel of Eegah fame) and he proves easy to vanquish. Frank falls in love with a beautiful Raydon girl (starlet Dolores Faith) and frets whether he should return to Earth. I'll spare future plot details to those who want to see this film. 

It's a fun time-waster. It slows a bit in the middle when Frank gets to Raydon and is out of the space craft, but the pace picks up at the end. All the genre fun is there: bizarre-looking space monsters, "popcorn-type" meteorites seen through a space capsule window, teeny tiny spaceship models moving clumsily through "space." It's corny but entertaining, what more can you ask of 90 minutes!

 

 The film is easy to find. It is in black and white although I just saw a colorized version courtesy of Legend Films. It was directed by William Marshall, a 1940s "big band" star who became an actor. One of his wives was Ginger Rogers. Former silent film star Francis X. Bushman played the Raydon leader. Hugo Grimaldi, who later helmed the cultish "The Human Duplicators," was part of the production.