The Devil Rides Out

The Devil Rides Out has always been a favourite of the Hammer Horror films. An absolute gem that doesn't waste any of its screen time. As soon as the ominous titles are over we are straight into the action as the Duc De Richleau and Rex Van Ryn (Christopher Lee and Lorne Green) arrive for a reunion and find that their friend Simon Aaron (Patrick Mower) has not turned up. When they visit him at his new pad, they find him mixed up in satanism. They kidnap him to keep him safe, but the leader of the coven, Mocata (Charles Gray) is very unhappy about this and so begins a cat and mouse game.

The sheer pacing of this film alone makes this Hammer entry a must-see; it rattles along at a fair lick barely pausing for breath. Each of the actors play their parts with an intense glee, and if the dialogue they are given to speak seems a little thick-ear and melodramatic, it's perfectly in keeping with the source novel by Dennis Wheatly, whose books were very much Boys Own fare, albeit with an adult slant. Charles Gray's turn as Mocata is surely one of the most sinister portrayals in an English horror movie, reminiscent of Karswell from Night Of The Demon, but with more blackness of heart - it's a truly chilling performance.

There are many fine set pieces on offer - the orgy where they rescue Simon (again) is superbly realised and a thrilling, heart stopping ride as Mocata raises the Goat Of Mendes. Also of note is the evening they spend within a sacred circle, knowing that Mocata will be trying to break their spirits during the night, as he sends giant spiders and horsemen of hell to try and tempt them from theirholy barricade.

The battle rages until the big climax where the devil is summoned and Mocata is foiled and ends up being taken to hell himself and time itself is reversed to give us the happy ending. If you only ever watch one Hammer Horror, you cannot go wrong with this one. Everybody is on top form, including, and most importantly, director Terence Fisher who keeps such a tight hand on proceedings there's no wonder it's such breathless entertainment.

Somewhat bizarrely, as much as I love this film, it is one that I reckon could be remade without the usual problems inherent in such undertakings. Of course, it would have to be sympathetic with both the source novel and original film. but if they didn't try and set it in more modern times it could be pulled off. In fact when the news came through the other year about Hammer beginning to produce movbies again, I actually thought that they would redo this, and I firmly believe they would have been better off doing so.

Merge

I've been blogging now for 6 months and I decided to make a change. The main blog was simply meant as a record of every film I watch and then I started another to hopefully record different aspects of my thoughts in a very genre specific medium. Suddenly the whim took me to merge them. This I know is going to throw up some very different bedfellows - Laurel and Hardy sat next to Dario Argento isn't you're usual progressions, and indeed if there a person out there who enjoys the similar kind of range as I do, well I'd be happy to hear from them - we are a strange breed! But as much as I am blown away by the cinema of Buster Keaton, I am similarly struck by the work of Jean Rollin. For every great Hitchcock movie, there is a Jess Franco film that demands the same attention. I know that, compared to some of the great blogs out there, my meagre additions to the world of film appreciation don't amount to a hill of beans but as I gain confidence in puting my thoughts down it all starts to become more important to lat my obsessions live side by side, of which there are many:

My Obsessions

• Silent Comedy
• American Comedy up to 1950
• British Comedy up to 1980
• Giallos
• Eurohorror
• Eurotrash (which encapsulted some of the above [possibly below too!], and although I'm not a huge fan of the term, it fits the purpose here)
• Brit-Horror
• French Cinema

NOT an exhaustive list. I basically just love film. Currently my obsession with Giallos, Franco, Rollin and the ilk is prominent but like all multi-obsessives, allegiances shine bright and wane only to return stronger. As I look forward to my France trip this year I fully expect an abundance of French films to be watched, 'cause that's what I'm like. I also have a family who have their own tastes, which, sometimes regretably, has to be taken into consideration. So there will be a mixed bag, and if you do stumble upon this site I hope some of it is to your liking. And if it all is, you just might be my long lost brother or sister.

Spasmo

Bonkers giallo that goes beyond the usual giallo convolutions and takes twists and turns to a new height. But this is one of the reasons we watch giallo. A couple, after finding a mannequin hanging in an old building come across a women lying unconscious on the beach. She quickly recovers and vanishes but Christian trackes her down at a boat party and soon they become a couple and get embroiled in murder. Is she all she seems? Is Christian all he seems? And what of the mannequins that keep turning up 'murdered'?
I can safely say that you'll never work this one out but it sort of wraps itself up well at the end, albeit with many threads unexplained. It is though made with enough style to keep you happy and the Morricone soundtrack is a pearler.

Anna

A bizarre oddity from 1967 French television. Serge Gainbourg wrote and scored this musical for Anna Karina, one time wife of Jean Luc Goddard. There are many surreal touches that are horribly dated but after discovering that this was the first colour production on French television, they become understandable. The main thrust of the film is Serge's (Jean-Claude Brialy) search for Anna, who is mistakenly photographed as she disomunts from a train as she arrives in Paris hoping to find a soulmate. Unfortunately she wears thick glasses so the picture of her makes her difficult to find. His obsession grows as he realises this is love at first sight and this is all-consuming. He doesn't realise she works in his company's building and even has a few encounters with her, not recgnising her. She knows he's looking for the girl in the picture, but doesn't realises it's her and she is sad because she is falling for him. As the film progresses both characters get lost in their misery.

It is easy to see how this became a French favourite, it has immense (sometimes intense) charm and it draws you in to root for the star-crossed lovers. The music is brilliant (and is now firmly in place in the car stereo) and includes many numbers that refuse to budge from your brain. Top song is Roller Girl where Anna dances maddly as she imagines herself a wild child. Both leads play their part marvellously but the film belongs to Anna Karina whose cutenss, carefree ways and melancholia will stay with you forever.

Black Belly Of The Tarantula (1971)

A thoroughly well made giallo that maybe lacks some of the devices that make gialli such a pleasure, such as twists. That aside it does deliver a few original ideas. The detective here isn't the usual hard-boiled hard living type chap, he is a man in a dilemma - he's not sure if he's cut out for the force. He knows he's neglecting his woman and it pains him, but any indecision is blown away by the ending.
The film is also exceptionally well directed with detailed close-ups (which to me where a clue in themselves to the killer's identity) and some edgy shots that unease, especially when they go hand-in-hand with the occasionally dischordant soundtrack by Morricone.

A class film.

The Girl From Paris

There's not a lot to say about this film apart from It's one of my all-time favourites. A simple tale of Mathilde Seigner giving up her teaching job in Paris to take up goat farming in the Vacleuse doesn't have much originality but the playing of both leads (the other being the grumpy old ex-owner of the farm who isn't moving out for 18 months) are beautifully realised and make what could easily be a mildly diverting feel good film into a tale that sucks you right into the lives of the protagonists. A perfect film.

Trailer Park Of Terror

It may be slickly made with oodles of gore but this film just bores. You just don't care about anything that happens. I am giving up on modern American horror, for the time being anyway.