La Herencia Valdemar II : La Sombra Prohibida (2010)

After a wait that seemed forever, but has only actually been about 11 months, the follow up of the story started in the superb La Herencia Valdemar (The Valdemar Legacy) has hit DVD. (*Spain only again so far...*) For a more in depth look at the first film, check out my Starburst Magazine Column from July/Aug. La Sombra Prohibida (The Forbidden Shadow) starts with a quick re-cap on the first film, then is straight into the story of the missing taxation expert Luisa (Silvia Abascal), who has escaped her captors, only to be almost run over by her boss Eduardo (Rodolfo Sancho), who is en-route to the Valdemar house at the insistence of the company owner, the sinister looking Maximillian (Eusebio Poncela).She takes refuge in an old gypsy woman's caravan, but is soon back in the clutches of the bad guys. Lots of things happen very quickly and sadly, the story telling in this second part is a little too jumbled to recap without having too many spoilers. There is a new character introduced in the shape of Santiago (Santi Prego) who is both creepy and slightly sympathetic. He attempts to help the stricken good guys but things are not always what they seem..

Paul Naschy's role as the servant Jervas is kept to only a small number of scenes, but you can see he is not very well so it's probably fair enough (the film is dedicated to the legendary actor's memory), the 'flashback' scenes as such are kept very brief, basically just to set up the rest of the story.

I was really looking forward to this film, as the first part was such a fantastic little tale and well executed (in my opinion) but I'll be honest, I was very let down. Like I said, the story got kind of puddled, I think they tired to do much in the short time they had, and the much anticipated appearance of Cthulhu (not a spoiler - it's on the poster and was in the "continued..." section at the end of the first film) is spectacular, but far too short. The visual effects don't seem as strong in this part either, which is surprising.
It's certainly not terrible, but coming after such a strong first film, I had hoped the story would have had a better pay off. The modern day part of the story I guess just wasn't as well thought out as it should have been. A shame. A wasted opportunity. 6 out of 10

Retro review: Panic at the Casino (aka Black Jack) (1981) rare Peter Cushing

Now here's a curiosity - a Spanish crime caper with an international cast. Panic in the Casino, (aka Black Jack or Asalto al casino) has Peter Cushing as the head of a crime syndicate plotting a casino robbery. Mexican acting legend Hugo Stiglitz (Nightmare City, Cemetery of Terror, Night of 1000 Cats and Jaws rip off Tintorera, - such a cult actor he had a character named after him in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds) is the police chief, and a cast that includes Claudine Auger (from Bava's A Bay of Blood, and classic giallo The Black Belly of the Tarantula), and Brian Murphy, best known for George and Mildred.

Hugo Stiglitz cult legend

Peter Cushing. Just a legend.

We open with a nice Spanish guitar and a violent hijack of a security van, the robbers' even managing to off a postman who just happens to catch their eye. This 'action' scene has all the skills of a higher budget but even worse acted Cliff Twemlow movie, but we'll let that pass for now.
Next, we are in jolly old London with Cushing's character, Sir Thomas Bedford plotting his casino job and opining the delights of "a good whiskey and a good horse!" His plan involves using a visiting singer, Dynamite Duke (played very badly by the director, Max H. Boulois) and his crew to unwittingly pose as cover for getting the money out. No one would search or suspect a musician's equipment now would they?

I pity the fool who would cast the director as the singer in this film!

Brian Murphy's character is probably just in here for a little comic relief, and to be honest he's the best thing in the film - he is a chancer going through the casino finding the machines that are going to pay out, in a way that the security can't fathom, and basically, well, being George. All the mannerisms are there, his scenes could have easily been spliced in from the series! But I like Murphy, he's fun to watch (The Devils is a great example) and it's down to his portrayal of George in the TV shows that made them such a big hit (in my opinion)

Brian Murphy doing his "ticklish" routine seen so often on the TV

Anyway, back to the film, Murphy is really just a MacGuffin here. The heist has gone wrong, and the police are surrounding the casino, unable to find a way out the gang decide to take the richest and most famous of the clientèle at the casino's masquerade ball hostage. This includes Duke, dressed as Darth Vader, and an incredibly drunk guy who seems to think it's all a joke. What the gang don't count on is one of the hostages being the most sought after Nazi war criminal, Karl Kaufman, who makes his presence known when they are offered asylum by Israel. If this sounds all convoluted and puddled, well, believe me it is!
The film is pretty badly made, poorly edited and badly dubbed. Duke (the director remember) is so badly dubbed is he is practically indecipherable. Cushing is is usual nonchalant self, cruising through it like the pro he was. At least they let him dub his own lines. The music is awful the disco stylings of Dynamite Duke (performed, again by the director) are worse than your worst Spanish holiday nightmare (his "Brown Girl In The Ring" makes you wish for Boney M) and the incidental music doesn't help things either. From piano power cords to a synth sound that could have come from Pigeon Street. Then we come to the slow motion fight sequence a the end, set to the phasing synthesizer sounds that would suit a Star Wars knock off rather than a drama. The production values are low, obviously all the budget went on the gunshots and explosions as they couldn't afford a proper sign to be made for the "dressing room" in the casino, making do with a hand written one! Las Vegas have nothing to worry about from these Spanish slots.. One of the worst Eurocrime films I've seen, saved only by Peter Cushing and Brian Murphy. Good old Brits eh? 3 out of 10

Secuestrados (aka Kidnapped) (2010)

A few years ago I came across a short Portuguese  film called I'll See You In My Dreams (2003). It was a great little film about a man having to protect his little village from zombies. It's director, Miguel Angel Vivas showed promise. So I approached Kidnapped with the view to enjoying it. What followed was almost 80mins of brutal carnage.

A family are just moving into their new luxury home, in a private complex. Their peace is shattered when three balaclava wearing East Europeans force their way in. The father is taken out to withdraw as much as possible on all the families credit cards, while the mother and daughter are left with the remaining two men. Then we are subjected to some of the most horrendous, unflinching, relentless and graphic cinema I've seen in a while. It's made all the more horrific because the situation is one that anybody could face. Do we know who the next person to knock on the door would be? Would we be prepared for it?

The film is incredibly well made, and I can't fault Vivas on that count. There's a bold move using split screen techniques to show us both sides of the 'action' (I don't recall it being used this much since Wicked, Wicked (1971) - which famously used it all the way through), and long takes which allows for lots of camera movement and little cut-aways, a technique Hitchcock used on Rope (1948).

Home invasion movies are not uncommon, but usually there is some reason given, or back story, or perish the thought, even a happy ending, but not here. By the end of it all I was left with a very sour taste and very disturbed. Probably the effect that was wanted? In this day and age, the down beat ending is nothing new, but to be SO relentless and downbeat is fairly unique. Like I say, it's an incredibly well made movie, but by no stretch of the imagination is it enjoyable.
Approach with extreme caution.
7 out of 10.

Retro review: Horror Express (1973)

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing headline this Spanish made flick from 1973, and despite all the odds, it's a belter! 
Professor Saxton (Lee) has found the fossilised remains of what he believes to be 'the missing link' in the evolution. Even before he has manage to get it aboard the Trans-Siberian Express, a thief has been found dead in the station, his eyes as white as a blind man and blood dripping from his extremities. A strange monk (Alberto De Mendoza, doing a passable impression of Paul Naschy) at the station, who is travelling with a Count and Countess, believes it to be the work of Satan, and when he attempts to draw a cross on Saxton's crate in chalk, nothing happens, proving his point (to him at least). Dr Wells (Cushing) is an old acquaintance of Saxton, although you get the feeling early on there is some rivalry and no love lost between them. Curious as to what the fossil is, Wells bribes the baggage handler to discreetly drill a hole in the crate so he can have a peek inside. When he does this, he is attacked and killed by the beast, which then goes missing, the body of the dead baggage man replacing it in the crate.
Wells and his assistant, Miss Jones (Alice Reinheart) perform an autopsy on the body and find that, as well as the blank eyes, the brain has been 'wiped clean' of all its memories, which is obviously what you can tell when you find a perfectly smooth brain. He comes to the conclusion the creature is taking the memories and knowledge from its victims. A perfectly obvious deduction, especially from someone in 1906, when this is based!
The creature is gunned down by the on board inspector, (of police, not ticket inspector) but rather than just dying, it transfers its powers and memories to the inspector. While everyone is breathing a sigh of relief that it is dead, Saxton and Wells have teamed up to examine the remains. They remove its eye, and after taking a sample of liquid from it, discover images embedded into the liquid - of the last thing it saw, the inspector, but also of prehistoric creatures, and then more startling - the earth from outer space! The creature is in fact, an alien form that was using the human body as a host.
Telly Savales turns up as a over zealous Cosssak, Captain Kazan and is promptly killed off in less than 15mins of screen time. The final showdown involves the monk becoming the host to the creature, and all its victims coming back to life as white eyed zombies. So, what's not to like then?
Considering this was a low budget European movie you'd expect it to be really bad, right? No, how wrong can you be! There is so much to enjoy here, Cushing and Lee are at their top form, and play well off each other. The music is fantastically atmospheric, there's plenty of gore, more than you'd expect and certainly not one for eye-phobics (all you Fulci haters out there). The biggest plus is the cracking dialogue, there are some intentional laugh out loud lines that you'd just not expect. The story isn't too bad, robbing as it does from "Who Goes There?" which was also the basis for "The Thing From Another World" (and its remake). Considering this film seemed to be on UKTV almost every couple of months, I'm surprised it isn't as well revered. Its reputation has maybe been sullied by the fact it's in the public domain; you can download it legally from The Internet Archive but it's definitely worth another look if you haven't seen it for years.

Some wonderful dialogue : 

Inspector: Is it true you're a doctor?

Wells: ask me when I've finished dinner

Inspector: its urgent...

Wells: what are the symptoms?

Inspector: he's dead.

Wells: Miss Jones, I need your assistance

Miss Jones: yes, well at your age I'm not surprised

Wells: with an autopsy!
Miss Jones: oh well, that's different

Countess: oh yes, England. Queen Victoria, crumpets, Shakespeare.
Saxton: I admire Poland, madam. I believe there is a bond between our two countries

Countess: my husband, the Count says that in the fifteenth century your King Henry betrayed us to the Russians

Saxton: I hope that you and your husband, madam will accept my profoundest apologies.

Inspector (to Sexton and Wells after the creature is loose in an unknown body): the two of you together, that is fine.. but what if one of you is the monster?
Wells: monster? We're British, don't you know! 

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If you have never seen it, I urge you to change that as soon as possible, you won't regret it. If you have, re-watch it and enjoy!
8 out of 10