How tragic is it that a film almost a century old, is still more creatively unique and entertaining than the current era sludge watched this month? Charles Brabin's pre-Code adventure The Mask of Fu Manchu may be a H.R. department's worst nightmare, but it's a dream discovery for this blogger.
Another major highlight was Diana Dors's brilliant performance in the compelling prison drama Yield to the Night. Best of my J. Lee Thompson triple bill.
Film:
The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin, 1932)*
Mystery of the Wax Museum (Michael Curtiz, 1933)*
The Weak and the Wicked (J. Lee Thompson, 1954)*
Yield to the Night (J. Lee Thompson, 1956)*
Quatermass 2 (Val Guest, 1957)
No Trees in the Street (J. Lee Thompson, 1959)*
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (Fritz Lang, 1960)*
Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963)
The Party’s Over (Guy Hamilton, 1965)
The Hellbenders (Sergio Corbucci, 1967)*
The Vengeance of She (Cliff Owen, 1968)
The Stone Tape (Peter Sasdy, 1972)*
The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973)
At the Earth’s Core (Kevin Connor, 1976)
Empire of the Ants (Bert I. Gordon, 1977)
The Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie, 1980)
The Monster Club (Roy Ward Baker, 1981)
Brimstone & Treacle (Richard Loncraine, 1982)*
Full Moon in Blue Water (Peter Masterson, 1988)*
The Bikini Carwash Company (Ed Hansen, 1992)*
The Bikini Carwash Company II (Gary Orona, 1993)*
Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998)*
Open Range (Kevin Costner, 2003)
Timecrimes (Nacho Vigalondo, 2007)
Censor (Prano Bailey-Bond, 2021)
Black Bag (Steven Soderbergh, 2025)*
Havoc (Gareth Evans, 2025)*
Heart Eyes (Josh Ruben, 2025)*
Mickey 17 (Bong Joon-ho, 2025)*
The Monkey (Osgood Perkins, 2025)*
Television:
Doctor Who - Season 2, Episodes 1-3 (Peter Hoar, Amanda Brotchie, 2025)*
The Grand National (2025)*
Mastermind - Episodes 27 & 28 (Bill Wright, 2024/2025)*
*First time viewings.
Dada Debaser Notes:
- Preferred the 1953 remake with Vincent Price, but the two-strip Technicolour presentation and the German Expressionist shots from The Mystery of the Wax Museum were pure eye candy for me.
- New Gareth Evans film starring Tom Hardy is a clumsy gun-fu actioner. Ought to have been better given Evans's past credentials.
- Feels like I'm living in Bizarro World after seeing all the love for Steven Soderbergh's latest film. An utterly pretentious spy thriller that made me loathe its very core.
- Timecrimes and Triangle (2009) would be excellent picks for a time paradox themed double bill. Great films.
- Went into The Stone Tape with high expectations expecting another Nigel Kneale penned sci-fi horror gem and mostly got corporate bureaucracy and a bunch of boozed up, British blokes yelling all the time. Can definitely see its influence on John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness (1987), though.
- All these films, and I still managed to blog about one of the best horror films of the 21st century this month.
4 comments:
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM just edges out HOUSE OF WAX for me because of brassy blonde Glenda Farrell. She went on to play another 1930s wisecracking newspaper reporter in the fun Torchy Blane series. However, catching HOUSE OF WAX in 3-D on the big screen is also a real kick.
Honestly taken aback by Glenda Farrell's audacious reporter. The "How's your sex life?" line to one of the policemen, was unexpectedly hilarious.
I blind bought Michael Curtiz's Doctor X (1932). No idea if it's any good, but I liked Mystery of the Wax Museum's eye popping visuals that I figured it was worth getting.
Would love to see House of Wax (1953) in 3D on the big screen. Must have been a great experience.
Add Primer to Timecrimes and Triangle as excellent 2000s time-paradox movies go.
Ashamed to admit both of Shane Carruth's films are blindspots for me.
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