Horror Movie Guide: Bluebeard (1944)

As promised last week, it's time to get back to working my way through the Horror Movie Guide. I left off midway through the B's so now we're onto another oldie, Edgar G. Ulmer's 1944 film Bluebeard. This was one I had no previous knowledge of due to its absence from my local video stores, but it's now on the chopping block so let's dive in

The citizens of Paris live in fear of Bluebeard, a seemingly uncatchable strangler of young women. How long before he strikes again?

I found this one was a bit of a bore, though I admit it was pretty cool to see John Carradine, not only when he was young, but also in a leading role. You know, it would be funny to count up how many movies in this Guide that Carradine is actually in. I feel like I've already covered half a dozen two letters in. He's definitely one of those guys where you think, "was he ever young?" so it was good to see some proof. He's rather dapper and solid in this one, but doesn't get to do as much as I'd like.

I'm assuming that the Hays Code was weighing on this production heavily because you never get to see anything remotely graphic onscreen here. You'll get the close-ups of Carradine's eyes after the first few frames of a strangle and then a shot of the victim on the ground. 

They also do that thing where someone gets hit on the head and then freezes in tableau for a few moments before keeling over. Oh, and this actress clearly failed dead body school.

I guess I was also distracted by the story which seemed to have more in common with Jack the Ripper than Bluebeard. Wasn't Bluey the one that hid all his dead wives in a locked room? Carradine's character Gaston is a starving artist bachelor in this tale, and most of this movie is spent talking about art dealing, painting and puppetry.

While I did fall asleep during my first attempt to watch this, I did find it more interesting in the third act. The police sting sequence and the last chase across the Parisian rooftops were somewhat exciting even if they both ended rather clumsily. Speaking of the latter, the most positive attribute I would say about Bluebeard is the set design which was almost certainly influenced by the Expressionism movement of the 20s.

This is another one to file under glad I watched it, but it's not really the best is it? It's surely no Bedlam. What's surprising to me is that the Guide highly praised this picture.

To each their own I guess. Next up is the 1972 version of Bluebeard with Richard Burton and Raquel Welsh... if I can find it. Stay tuned.

Dudes and Nudes.

Ok, time to get back on the horse and fire up some languishing features here at THS. You can expect regular VHS posts on Fridays and also the continuation of the Horror Movie Guide log on Mondays going forward. Let's kick things off with a title that is a long time coming in Jon Irvin's go at gothic, 1981's Ghost Story.

Don (Craig Wasson) returns to his hometown for his twin brother's funeral and gets pulled into a mystery involving the elder statesmen of the village.

I gotta admit, this is totally not what I expected. I thought Ghost Story was going to be about moldy geriatrics sitting around a fire swapping stories - and to be fair, to a point, it is. The four old timers - who adorably call themselves The Chowder Society - do wax scary tales for a time, but then it goes off the chain in all kinds of fun ways. Before I knew it I'm seeing the face of a rotting corpse that I have a vague recollection of peeping on a Fangoria cover as well as some flying Wasson-peen. Okay, you have my attention.

There is a good collection of character actors here. Wasson no doubt carried this character's constant bewilderment with him into Body Double three years later and Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Melvyn Douglas match up well with John Houseman, who was already well versed at telling spooky stories from his stint in The Fog one year prior. I think the real heart of the picture of Fred Astaire as Ricky Hawthorne though. Alice Krige is great as the icy femme fatale and provides 100% more nudity than I was anticipating. This is not your mother's ghost story, folks.

In addition to the aforementioned, there are a few more gore gags that are pretty badass, especially that creep above that looks like something out of Creepshow. Oh, and also Moosehead sighting!

Man, they were really pushing their brand in the early eighties. Love to see it! Ghost Story feels like it is of two minds, as you have the fairly standard gothic haunt with a DePalma-like trashiness leaking through the cracks. I wager it's that mix that sets it apart from other haunting yarns of the time.

Good Morgan To You!

As I await the release of Stopmotion, Robert Morgan has released a new short online called Ray Incident. Check it out below.

Jan 24th Horror Trivia Screening List

To all those who came here from the event or Storm Crow's FB page, welcome! I am Jay, one half of the horror trivia quizmasters and this is my humble blog. Here's the selected list of titles mentioned at the last event. Click on the titles to be redirected to their Imdb listing.

Horror Trivia Night happens at Storm Crow Manor in Toronto. If you're in the area, come on down! Register here. If you're not local, we do occasionally stream the event on @ruemorguemag Instagram.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

Abigail (2024)

Pieces (1982)

Spree (2020)

The Last Broadcast (1998)

Cannibal Girls (1973)

Fall (2022)

Becky (2020)

Hellworld (2005)

Rabid (1977)

Tusk (2014)

Idle Hands (1999)

The Last House on the Left (1972)

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Jan 10th Horror Trivia Screening List

To all those who came here from the event or Storm Crow's FB page, welcome! I am Jay, one half of the horror trivia quizmasters and this is my humble blog. Kicking off 2024, here's the selected list of titles mentioned at the last event. Click on the titles to be redirected to their Imdb listing.

Horror Trivia Night happens at Storm Crow Manor in Toronto. If you're in the area, come on down! Register here. If you're not local, we do occasionally stream the event on @ruemorguemag Instagram.

Firestarter (1984)

Skinamarink (2022)

Seed of Chucky (2004)

The Amusement Park (1975)

Duel (1971)

Silver Bullet (1985)

The Company of Wolves (1984)

Dog Soldiers (2002)

Werewolves Within (2021)

Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

Ginger Snaps Back (2004)

Unfriended (2014)

The Rats Are Coming - The Werewolves Are Here! (1972)

Ice Cream Man (1995)

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Christine (1983)

Children of the Corn (1984)

Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Urban Legend (1998)

The Mutilator (1984)

Behind The Mask (2006)

13 for 2024!

Hello all. Hope your hangovers have subsided. Rather than do a 2024 Preview, I'm attempting something new for this year. Shit, maybe I've done this before and forgotten, I'm too lazy to look.

I'm going to list 13 movies that I plan to see this year, and then 12 months from now, I'll check back in and see where I'm at and perhaps offer a few thoughts. Hell, play along if you like.

The first three titles are highly anticipated titles from well regarded soldiers of the genre.

Pearl was my fave film of 2022 so Maxxxine has been at the top of my wish list ever since the teaser played at Midnight Madness to an MCU level ovation. Robert David Mitchell held off for a decade to hit us with a sequel we likely didn't need, but always (at least me) hoped would come. With Maika Monroe (and hopefully Disasterpiece) in tow, there's no reason to think They Follow won't be worth the wait. Robert Eggers is a titan when it comes to dark period pieces and Nosferatu is smack bang in the center of his wheelhouse.

The next three are films I missed when they were touring the festival circuit, but am eagerly awaiting their release on streaming or Blu-ray.

Ir should be no surprise to anyone that I am chomping at the bit to see Robert Morgan's debut feature, Stopmotion. Much like his short Invocation, I believe this also mixes stop-motion and live action. Sign me up. I'm also chuffed to see Late Night With the Devil. I'm definitely getting Ghostwatch vibes from this latest effort from the Cairnes Brothers. Lastly, The Man in the White Van just sounds like a cool, ripped-from-the-headlines horror movie. I have no idea of its status, the Web seems to suggest it came out around Halloween, but I have no record of its playing anywhere, except for a handful of canned reviews.

The next three I reserved for old eighties movies that, for whatever reason, I have just never got around to watching.

The Dead Pit is one I remember because of the flashing green eyes on its coverbox. I've been trying to watch it with my buddy Schwartz, but rug paternal duties and a pandemic have been putting it off for the better part of a decade. I believe the time has now come to cross it off the list. Xtro was just another Alien knock-off I passed over, but recently I saw in one of those In Search of Darkness docs on Shudder, just how many bonkers effects there were so now I'm onboard. Flowers In The Attic is one I constantly hear about how fucked up it is - or at least when they saw it way too young - and I'm all about that. Plus, Kristy Swanson.

The next three are just ones I've put on my list in the last couple of years.

During one of my friend's 24 hour Horror Marathons on Twitch, I saw a weird faux-doc called The Nobodies that was oddly engaging despite its micro budget. It was some time later that another pal told me that Jay Burleson had since made not one, but two equally genre-bending slashers called The Third Saturday in October Part 5 & 1 (yes, in that order). That's just too good to pass up.  Then, there is Dawn of the Mummy, which I saw during Nathan Boone's Trailer Trash events. It looks like weird Lenzi/de Ossorio hybrid madness from Egyptian filmmaker Frank Agrama.

Then, last but certainly not least;

My good friend Chris Nash has been slaving away in the forests of Northern Ontario for the last few years in order to bring you In A Violent Nature. I am thrilled that it will be unleashed at Sundance this month and I can't wait to get my eyeballs on it.

So, that's the 2024 Thirteen. Let's re-adjourn in December and discuss. 

2023 Wrap-up.

Greeting kiddies. We made it through another one. The Big C is finally on the run, or at least ignored for the time being while we deal with more pressing atrocities. Me, I've been trudging along, making regular visits to the Revue Cinema to soak in my gal pal Serena's terrific programming.

The trivia business is booming. At one point, Pat & I were doing it three times monthly at two different venues. We've now amassed a pretty decent roster of regulars as well as constant walk-ins. In the New Year, we're going to strive to make streaming the event a more common thing so those of you outside the Big Smoke can partake. On the Rue Morgue side of things, I have taken over the Short Cuts column from the exiting Bryan Christopher. With me already watching a thousand short films a year for various film festivals, it made sense for me to slide in there. My first go at it is in the Jan/Feb 2024 issue hitting stands (or your mailbox/inbox) imminently. I have another couple of things I'm cooking up for 2024, but maybe I'll leave them unsaid for now...

As for absorbed media, I think it was more quality over quantity this year. Don't get me wrong, there are many things I enjoyed in 2023, but I'm just going to leave you with the Top 5, because I'm lazy. See you in 2024!

A masterpiece, the gold standard of adaptation.

The rawest realization of waking from a nightmare I've ever seen.

This guys get what makes ED great & what it needs to be going forward.

Nostalgic, yet topical. And so, so intense.

Flanagan's Netflix swan song is up there with his best.