Thursday, October 20, 2016

A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku - DAY 20: Mass Murder, Torture & Exorcism (1971-1974)





Welcome back, Boils & Ghouls...



... to 'Day Twenty' of "A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku" in which I shall bring you my next batch of fright flicks from the enormous back-catalogue of macabre movies that have been thrilling cinema-goers for more than a century and can now be streamed to your television sets via the magic of Roku player - so, let's dim down those lights... and get on with the frights! :-O


If you read my special hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which I published at the end of September, then you'll know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article each day, throughout the month of October, and to feature one horror movie per year from cinematic history, starting in 1895 and ending in 2016. This should average out at about four films per day, so you'll have plenty of choice for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en! ;-)


To get things started, in the first week of this blogathon, we went all the way back to the end of the 19th century for some of the earliest horror cinema ever recorded. The movies on day one were from 1895 - 1898 (inclusive) and featured beheadings, vampires, skeletons and nightmarish dreams. For my second article on day two of this series, I shared four films (one for each year) from 1899 - 1902 (inclusive) and those featured ghostly apparitions, aliens and selenites, plus a visit from the devil to a convent. In my next post on day three, I shared four films (again, one for each year) from 1903 - 1906 (inclusive) and those featured impish devils, demons and ghost brides, plus a man who practices entomology being pinned to a cork like an insect. For my fourth article on day four in this series of posts, I shared four more films (one for each year) from 1907 - 1910 (inclusive) which featured evil spectres, haunted houses, plus the first filmed version of the story of Frankenstein's monster. Following that post, on day five, I shared four films (again, one per year) from 1911 - 1914 (inclusive) and those were all based on works of literature by either Dante Alighieri, Robert Louis Stevenson or Edgar Allan Poe. Next up, on day six, four more films were shared (one for each year) from 1915 - 1918 (inclusive) and those included one about a spooky portrait, another about the victim of a kidnapping, plus a Faustian tale told from a female perspective and another about an artificial creature produced by a mad scientist. For my next post, on day seven, I (again) shared four more films (one for each year) from 1919 - 1922 (inclusive) and those featured an epic account of the horrors of war, plus tales of vampires and phantom carriages, as well as a hypnotist who used a somnambulist to commit acts of murder!


To kick-off the second week of my month-long blogathon, on day eight of this series, I shared another four films (again, one per year) from 1923 - 1926 (inclusive) and those included tales of hunchbacks, phantoms, and a pact with the devil plus a pianist whose hands were replaced by those of a murderer (following a train accident) after which he discovered they had a will of their own! Then for my next post, on day nine, I shared four films (one for each year) from 1927 - 1930 (inclusive) and those included a truly stunning "mood piece" based on the work of Edgar Allen Poe, along with the story of a master criminal who terrorized the occupants of an isolated country mansion, plus the creepiest, spookiest, mystery melodrama ever produced, with an early animated horror short thrown in for good measure. After that, on day ten, I shared four more films (again, one for each year) from 1931 - 1934 (inclusive) and those told various tales of terror, including: two American honeymooners trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest, a colossal gorilla hitting the heights in New York with a movie starlet, a tale of love between a siren, a giant and a dwarf from a circus sideshow, plus the story of the strangest passion the world has ever known! Following on from there, on day eleven, I shared four more films (one per year, as before) from 1935 - 1938 (inclusive) and those featured the story of an escaped convict who used miniaturized humans to wreak vengeance on those that framed him, more tales of the horrors of war, and a Chinese ghost story (of sorts) plus the film which, when first released, was billed as the super shocker of the twentieth century! In the subsequent post, which I made on day twelve, four more films were shared (one per year) from 1939 - 1942 (inclusive) featuring strange creatures such as Werewolves, Cat People and The Hound of the Baskervilles, as well as some light-hearted comic relief (of the horror variety) courtesy of Bob Hope! Yesterday... the four films that I shared, on day thirteen, were from 1943 - 1946 (inclusive) and there was (again) one film per year - as there has been for each of my previous posts from this series. That batch of macabre movies included films about ghosts, zombies, and severed hands, plus what is widely believed to be the forerunner of all the horror anthology films that would follow it - a British film, from Ealing Studios! Yesterday, on day fourteen, I shared four more films spanning the years from 1947 to 1950 (inclusive) with one movie per year (as previously) Those included faceless killers, hidden secrets and a tale of human avarice, plus further light-hearted comedy (of the 'tongue-in-cheek' horror variety) courtesy of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello!


Then, as we entered week three of this month-long blogathon... on day fifteen, I shared another four films (again, one for each year) from 1951 - 1954 (inclusive) and those featured a dinosaur-like beast out to destroy the world, an artist (out for revenge) who created wax sculptures from human cadavers, a woman who visited her local shaman and was turned into a white reindeer vampire, plus... the tale of the thing that turns your blood ice-cold, as it creeps and crawls, then strikes without warning! For my next post, on day sixteen, I shared four more (one film per year) from 1955 - 1958 (inclusive) and those included the tale of of a sadistic boarding school headmaster whose wife & mistress plotted to kill him, another about a doctor with a demonic curse put upon him by a devil cult leader, and one from Hammer Films involving Count Dracula, plus the extraordinary tale of the most awesome fate that ever happened to earth people... with the invasion of the body snatchers from another world! For the next post, on day seventeen, I shared another four films (one for each year) from 1959 - 1962 (inclusive) and those featured a "Haunted House" party where the guests had to spend their night with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors, and; the tale of a woman, caught in a storm while driving, who got off the highway and pulled into a remote motel managed by a quiet young man who seemed to be dominated by his mother, and; another based on a ghost story written by Henry James, wherein a woman experiencing apparitions had to confront the evil spirits & exorcise the demons head onplus one more story... "so unusual, it will burn itself into your mind"! After that, on day eighteen, I shared four more films (again, one per year) from 1963 - 1966 (inclusive) and those included tales of ravens, repulsion, The Red Death and a Gothic horror from Mario Bava! Following on from there... for my next post, on day nineteen, I shared four films (one for each year) from 1967 - 1970 (inclusive) which featured a tale about a group of people beset by flesh-eating zombies, as well as the second part of the "Coffin Joe" trilogy - featuring more possessed corpses and sadistic practices, and another about a demented cremator who enjoys reading the Tibetan book of the dead, plus a surreal tale in which love, fear, sex and religion merge into one fantastic world! All of which brings us rather nicely to this post, in which I will share another four films (one per year) from 1971 - 1974 (inclusive) and those are set to feature the film widely considered the "grandfather" of the modern slasher film, a mystery surrounding a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town, and a teenage girl possessed by a mysterious entity, whose mother must seek the help of two priests to save her, plus a group of youngsters who are plunged into a never-ending nightmare when they meet a family of cannibalistic psychopaths! As with other movies shared (thus far), bearing in mind the time period in which they were made, some may look a bit dated, but they are none the less watchable as further examples of early horror films whose influence can still be seen in far more modern movies from the genre.




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First up today... is a feature-length film from Italy, directed by Mario Bava, which was first released in 1971 under the original title of "Reazione a Catena"... but is (perhaps) better known to British and American audiences as, "A Bay of Blood", which was the world-wide English title they used for the release of this film. That said, this movie reportedly has more alternative titles than any other movie, with "Blood Bath", "Twitch of the Death Nerve" and the (slightly) shortened "Bay of Blood" being three of the more commonly known variations - not counting the numerous international versions! In fact, not only did this film have numerous release titles, but also several working titles throughout the production. Among them "The Stench of Flesh", "Thus Do We Live To Be Evil" and "That Will Teach Them To Be Bad"... although, "Reazione a Catena" ("Chain Reaction") was the final choice. The film begins with an elderly Countess Federica (Isa Miranda) being killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes, including the beautiful bay area surrounding her home. However, the Countess' husband is then murdered himself, more or less straight after committing the act and hiding the body. After that, other family members and a real estate agent conspire, each with their own murderous aspirations, to claim the inheritance. When the Countess' daughter Renata (Claudine Auger) and her husband Albert (Luigi Pistilli) arrive at the bay, and start investigating the goings-on themselves, they soon discover everyone could somehow be trying to claim the bay for themselves. What ensues is an all-out murder spree, as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by teenagers - Duke (Guido Boccaccini) and Denise (Paola Montenero) [credited as Paola Rubens] together with Robert (Roberto Bonanni) - who have all decided they are going to enjoy themselves by camping-out in a dilapidated building on the Countess' estate...






Roberto Bonanni with Guido Boccaccini and Paola Rubens in Reazione a Catena (1971)
PHOTO CREDIT: movieplayer.it






Guido Boccaccini and Paola Rubens in Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971)
PHOTO CREDIT: movieplayer.it


POINT OF INTEREST:- This film is often considered Mario Bava's most influential, and the film that started the "slasher" craze... with these (un)lucky teenagers widely believed to have been the first ever teens to be "slashed" in a movie. For this reason... many fans consider this the "grandfather" of the modern slasher film... and, of all the films he made, this is also Mario Bava's personal favourite! :-)






Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [Italian Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: amazon.it






Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [Alternative Italian Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: filmtv.it






Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [Alternative Italian Poster #2]






Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [French Poster]






Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [UK Poster]






Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [USA Poster Alternative]






Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [USA Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com



As with a lot of these early films, we are fortunate to have free copies to watch on Roku devices... and, thanks to the internet, they are available on YouTube as well as other video streaming resources. So, please feel free to watch this movie online, or else use the link to cast it from your 'YouTube' app (via Roku player) and watch on the big screen for maximum shock value! Either way, here it is...



YOUTUBE LINK:- Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [IMDB Rating: 6.7]




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Our next film today is another feature-length film from Italy... but, this time, directed by Lucio Fulci, and first released in 1972 as "Non Si Sevizia un Paperino" - but, British and American audiences are (perhaps) more likely to know it as "Don't Torture a Duckling"... which was the world-wide English title that Fulci settled for, to avoid any conflict with Disney over the literal translation - referring to the "Donald Duck" doll (seen in the film). As it happens, it took many years for the film to even make it to some parts of the world... because, due to the film's controversial storyline (which criticized the Catholic Church) the movie was blacklisted and received only a limited theatrical run throughout Europe and was never released in the United States, until Anchor Bay secured the rights in 2000! Anyway, this movie tells the story of a reporter and a promiscuous young woman trying to solve the mystery surrounding a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town that's rife with superstition and distrust of outsiders... and where, it seems, everyone has a skeleton in his/her closet!






Florinda Bolkan in Non Si Sevizia un Paperino [aka Don't Torture a Duckling] (1972)






Non Si Sevizia un Paperino [aka Don't Torture a Duckling] (1972)
PHOTO CREDIT: cinepaxy.wordpress.com






Non Si Sevizia un Paperino [aka Don't Torture a Duckling] (1972) [DVD Poster]






Non Si Sevizia un Paperino [aka Don't Torture a Duckling] (1972)
[Alternative Italian Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: daemonbox.blogspot.com






Non Si Sevizia un Paperino [aka Don't Torture a Duckling] (1972) [French Poster]






Non Si Sevizia un Paperino [aka Don't Torture a Duckling] (1972)
 [Spanish Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com




Just like "Reazione a Catena" [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) above, we are very fortunate to have free copies of this horror classic to watch on Roku devices... and, thanks to the legions of horror fans out there, it is readily available on YouTube as well as other streaming resources in both the original Italian version, plus an assortment of subtitled versions in various languages. So, please feel free to watch this movie online via web browser, or use the link (below) to cast the video from 'YouTube' (via your Roku player) and watch it on the big screen for maximum effect! Either way, here it is...



YOUTUBE LINK (ENG SUBS):- Non Si Sevizia un Paperino (1972) [IMDB Rating: 7.2]


PLEASE NOTE:- That the above 'YouTube' video also offers subtitles in French, for those who would rather enjoy this film with the dialogue translated for that particular language preference ;-)




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Our third film today is a feature-length film from the USA, which was directed by William Friedkin, and first released in 1973 under the original title, "The Exorcist"... which, I'm fairly certain, will be a horror title that most (if not all) of you will (at least) have heard of - even if you have yet to watch it! Anyway, it tells the tale of a visiting actress in Washington, D.C., who notices dramatic changes in the behaviour and physical make-up of her 12-year-old daughter, Regan (Linda Blair). Meanwhile, a young priest at nearby Georgetown University begins to doubt his faith while dealing with his mother's terminal sickness. Also, book-ending the story, is a frail, elderly priest who recognises that there is no alternative but to endure a show-down of epic proportions with an old demonic enemy!

WITH THANKS TO: Andrew Harmon for his contribution to the storyline.






Linda Blair in The Exorcist (1973) [Movie Still]






The Exorcist (1973) [Movie Poster]






The Exorcist (1973) [Alternative Poster #1]






The Exorcist (1973) [Alternative Poster #2]
PHOTO CREDIT; filebb.org






The Exorcist (1973) [USA Re-Issue Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: subscene.com






The Exorcist (1973) [French Poster]






The Exorcist (1973) [Italian Poster]






The Exorcist (1973) [Japanese Poster]






The Exorcist (1973) [Spanish Poster]





The Exorcist (1973) [British Quad Sheet Poster]



Unlike the two previous films shared today, I was unable to find a decent copy of "The Exorcist" that was both free-to-stream and compatible with the requirements for playback on Roku devices. Sure, there are some rough copies out there... either with reduced aspect ratios, heavily cropped, or shrunk to less than one quarter screen-size - not to mention those with foreign language audio dubs and/or subtitles, plus a few whose sound and/or picture quality left a lot to be desired. Please feel free to do your own search for those, if you wish to do so. For my part, I am recommending you go with the only viable option I could find for streaming "The Exorcist" (1973) and that is via 'Amazon Video'.






If you have yet to install this Roku channel, you will find it under "Film & TV" in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store that is built-in to your Roku streaming media player(s). Those of you who are Amazon Prime members are already good to go and can watch this film for free once you're signed into the app with your Amazon UK login. Those of you who are (currently) not Prime members can either choose to take advantage of the 30-DAY FREE TRIAL of Amazon Prime for new subscribers, or you can simply rent the video from Amazon Video UK for £2.49 (SD) - or else, buy it (again, via Amazon UK) for £6.99 (SD) - and watch it via the Amazon Video channel on your Roku device. Do bear in mind that, when renting from Amazon Video UK, you have 30 days to start watching... and 48 hours to finish your video rental, once you have started playback for the first time. Details of various options are shown in the screenshot (below) taken from the Amazon UK website and there is a link provided beneath the screenshot image which will take you directly to the webpage shown therein:-





HINT: Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!








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Our last film for today, is another feature-length film from the USA... but, this time, directed by Tobe Hooper, and first released in 1974 under the original title, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre"... which was based on a story written by the director and then adapted into a screenplay with the assistance of Kim Henkel. En route to visit their grandfather's grave (which has apparently been ritualistically desecrated), five teenagers drive past a slaughterhouse, pick up (and quickly drop) a sinister hitch-hiker, eat some delicious home-cured meat at a roadside gas station, before ending up at the old family home... where they're plunged into a never-ending nightmare as they meet a family of cannibalistic psychopaths who more than make-up for in power tools what they lack in social skills...


WITH THANKS TO: Michael Brooke for his contribution to the storyline.






Edwin Neal and Marilyn Burns in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [USA Movie Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: moviescounter.com



  


The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative USA Poster #1]





The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [USA Poster Alternative #2]
PHOTO CREDIT: moviesfilmsandflix.com






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [French Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative French Poster]






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [German Poster]






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Italian Poster]






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative Italian Poster]






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative Italian Poster #2]





The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative Italian Poster #3]






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Japanese Poster]






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Spanish Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: pinterest.com





The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [UK Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: ukhorrorscene.com






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative UK Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: comicvine.com






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative UK Poster #2]






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative UK Poster #3]






The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [Alternative UK Poster #4]
PHOTO CREDIT: pinterest.com




As with all but one of the movies shared (above) in today's post, we are very fortunate to have free copies of this horror classic to watch on Roku devices... and, thanks to the legions of horror fans out there, it is readily available on YouTube and other video streaming sources. So, please feel free to watch this movie online via web browser, or use the link (below) to cast the video from 'YouTube' (via your Roku player) and watch it on the big screen for maximum effect! Either way, here it is...



YOUTUBE LINK:- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [IMDB Rating: 7.5]



IMPORTANT NOTE:- If you find that the sound is a little "off" (i.e. slow, muffled, etc.) when you watch this video, go into the 'Settings' for the video on YouTube (on the play-bar at the bottom) and click on 'Speed', then change it to "1.25" and you should find that the sound improves for you! ;-)




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Anyhow, that's all I've got time for today... but do remember to come back again tomorrow, for more macabre movies from the history of horror cinema, when I serve-up another batch of four films on 'Day Twenty-One' of "A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku" right here on this blog. Meanwhile... please be sure to visit the Countdown To Hallowe'en website and show your support for this annual online Hallowe'en extravaganza... PLUS don't forget to use the links you find there and check out all the other 'Cryptkeepers' taking part this year. I know they'll appreciate it if you visit their blogs & share your thoughts on the contribution(s) they've made.




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BEFORE I GO: Don't forget that, aside from all the Hallowe'en / Horror-themed ghastliness going on around these parts for the next month, you can always keep up with all the UK Roku action (as it happens) by following the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels where you will find that up-to-the-minute info on all things Roku-related is posted on a daily basis (well, almost).



Until the next time, then...



That's all folks !!





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