Tower of Evil (1972)

... aka: Beyond the Fog
... aka: Devil's Tower
... aka: Horror of Snape Island, The
... aka: Horror on Snape Island

Directed by:
Jim O'Connolly

Higher levels of sex and blood than usual, plus its possible influence on later slasher flicks, are all that separate this from the pack. Two fishermen; elderly John (George Coulouris) and his son Hamp (Jack Watson), venture onto Snape Isle, a small, fog-bound, rocky island that's barely big enough to house a single lighthouse. As soon as they step foot off the boat, they find a naked, dead man face down in a puddle of water (plus a crab chowing down on his dismembered hand). Upon further investigation, they find a decapitated girl and another dead man pinned to a wall with a spear. Suddenly, a crazed young woman pops out, stabs John to death and is then knocked unconscious by Hamp. The girl - Penny (Candace Glendenning - star of the sleazy SATAN'S SLAVE) - is taken to a psychiatric clinic and subjected to tests that are supposed to unlock the secrets to what happened there. Though in a "complete state of catatonic stupor;" doctors are able to use a drug and multi-colored lights to kick start Penny's brain long enough to get some information out of her. Too bad the next batch of visitors to Snape Isle aren't privy to the info before they head there...

Because one of the murder weapons was an ancient, solid gold Phoenician ceremonial spear, "one of the most exciting archeological discoveries" in years, and that confirms rumors that a wealthy explorer died there and was buried with his treasure years earlier, Professor Lawrence Bakewell (Dennis Price, in a one-scene cameo) decides to put together an expedition to be headed by Dan Winthrop (Derek Fowlds). Also coming along are Dan's wife Nora (Anna Palk), art expert Rose Mason (Jill Haworth), Rose' ex-fiancé Adam Masters (Mark Edwards) and investigator Edward Brent (Bryant Haliday, from the memorable DEVIL DOLL), who's been hired by Penny's parents to find out what actually happened on the island. Hamp, whose brother Saul and his family used to live on the island (before they mysteriously drowned), and his first mate Brom (Gary Hamilton), are in charge of captaining the boat to get them there.

After the expedition arrives, someone, or some thing, manages to blow up their boat, stranding them there. And then the movie plays out as your standard stalk-and-slash where those dumb enough to wander off by themselves - when they should know better - get killed off. Someone's pushed from the top of the lighthouse. Another gets a sword stuck in their head, a neck is snapped and someone's burned alive. Underneath the island are a series of caves containing the treasure and a giant gold statue to an ancient God.

It opens strongly, with an opening sequence that pulls you in and well-edited scenes of Penny recollecting her horror vacation afterward, but once the expedition arrives on the island it becomes a bit too routine. The characters are neither sympathetic nor interesting, and the identity of the mystery killer isn't much of a surprise. Still, there's much here to admire: an unusual island setting, decent art direction, handsome photography courtesy of Desmond Dickinson, and, of course, plenty of bloody moments, as well as some nice eye candy provided by Glendenning, John Hamill and Seretta Wilson. Palk doesn't get naked, but she runs around in little more than a bra for the duration of the movie. The cast also includes Anthony Valentine as a psychiatrist, William Lucas as a police inspector, Robin Askwith (of "Carry On" fame) and UK cameo queen Marianne Stone.

Director O'Connolly had previously made BERSERK! (1967) with Joan Crawford, which was also considered quite violent for its time, and the cowboys vs. dinosaurs film THE VALLEY OF GWANGI (1969).

Original theatrical version THE HORROR OF SNAPE ISLAND runs 85 minutes and had five minutes removed. It was also on video as BEYOND THE FOG.

★★1/2

Twisted Nerve (1968)

Directed by:
Roy Boulting

Entertaining, well-acted, well-made psycho-thriller; this didn't make much of an impact at the box office back during its day and would be the only genre release from the fledgling Charter Film Productions (who cranked out a couple of comedies after this and then folded). The film was actually somewhat controversial upon release for what some felt was an irresponsible attempt to link mongolism (a condition we now refer to as Down's Syndrome) with psychopathic and criminal behavior. To counteract that, the film had a disclaimer ("Ladies and gentlemen, in view of the controversy already aroused, the producers of this film wish to reemphasize what is already stated in the film; that there is no established scientific connection between mongolism and psychotic or ciminal behavior.") spoken by a stuffy-sounding man tacked to the beginning. Aside from the scientific nonsense; which really only comes into play briefly at the end, doesn't amount to much of anything anyway and can easily just be overlooked, plus the fact the film isn't particularly well-known and underperformed at the box office, it would go on to become an influential effort in some rather surprising ways.

Twenty-two-year-old Martin Durnley (Hywel Bennett) lives at home with his overly nurturing mother (Phyllis Calvert) and his stern, wealthy stepfather (Frank Finlay). Since all of his siblings suffered from "mongolism" and Martin was born "normal," his mother has been a bit smothering over the years and managed to seriously spoil her son in the process. However, Martin's stepfather wants him to get out and begin his life independently of them; especially seeing how Martin doesn't do much but sit upstairs listening to records and is frequently getting in trouble with the law. While out shoplifting, Martin is caught by the police. He gives them a false name ("Georgie Clifford") and pretends to be mentally retarded. Pretty, sweet Susan (Hayley Mills), a student who works as a librarian, sympathizes with "Georgie" and helps get him off the hook, but when Martin returns home and his stepfather gets wind of what took place, he gives Martin some money and tells him he has to move out.

Martin then decides to adapt the "Georgie" persona and wedge himself into Susan's life. Susan is temporarily staying with her lonely mother Joan (Billie Whitelaw) while she completes her studies. Joan owns a boarding house and has already rented out rooms to Gerry (Barry Foster), an abrasive alcoholic struggling to get by in the film industry (who's also Joan's lover), and Shashie (Salmaan Peerzada), an Indian medical student. One evening, "Georgie" shows up with a forged letter from his father asking them to take him in while he's out of town on business. They're reluctant at first, but since he seems relatively harmless and soon proves to be a big help doing various chores around the home, Joan soon takes a liking to him. It isn't long before "Georgie" sneaks off to murder his stepfather and his true intentions for Susan begin to surface. Sensing there's more to their new boarder than meets the eye (and finding a handwriting book with the name Martin Durnley written over and over again inside), Susan investigates.

Despite running nearly two hours, this has no problem maintaining interest. It's helped along by very good performances, an interesting screenplay (written by the director and PEEPING TOM scripter Leo Marks) and solid production values. Bennett does an effective job as the psycho (a showy, edgy role allowing him to take on two different personas), Mills (a former child actress just starting to move into more adult roles here; she'd marry the director right after filming was complete) is likable as our heoine and there are nice supporting performances from Whitelaw (whose character finds herself sexually attracted to "Georgie" in one of the ickier subplots), Finlay, Calvert and most of the rest of the cast. There are also a number of D.H. Lawrence references throw in (obviously because of the author's own Freudian mother fixation), including a direct visual allusion to Lawrence's masturbation parable "The Rocking Horse Winner."

Someone must have liked the chemistry between Mills and Bennett because the two were re-teamed in the Agatha Christie adaptation ENDLESS NIGHT just a few years later. And apparently Alfred Hitchcock liked what he saw of Whitelaw (who won a BAFTA Award for her performance here) and Foster, because after viewing this film he decided to cast both in his hit FRENZY (1972). Bernard Herrmann's eerie, memorable whistling theme later turned up in rip-off artist Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL: VOL 1 and other films. I also just noticed checking out the debut episode of the new series American Horror Story, that it not only recycles the same theme music, but also has a neighbor character (played by Jessica Lange) with a Down's Syndrome daughter (whom she refers to as a "mongoloid").

It's well-photographed by Harry Waxman, and also features Hammer film regular Thorley Walters and an uncredited Marianne Stone in small roles. The DVD is from Optium Releasing.

★★★

Witchcraft (1964)

Directed by:
Don Sharp

In my small hometown, there was a very old hotel located near the heart of the city that had been around since the early 1800s (nearly 200 years). It was finally demolished a few years back and I found my reaction to that a little bit surprising; I was a little upset and not entirely sure why. Perhaps because it was a familiar landmark I remember since childhood (after all - at five stories high - it was easily the largest structure in town) or perhaps because I recalled so many old black-and-white pictures of the place in its heyday. I wondered what this place was like when it was first built and it's hard to say who'd stayed there over the years. After all, where I come from is along the Ohio River, which was a popular route of travel for European settlers and political figures during the 19th century. Sure, the place was run down, possibly had major structural damage and was rumored to be filled with vagrants, bums and drug addicts, but deep down inside I hated the fact that no one bothered to restore or renovate it. You know, save it; save a piece of history. But I guess that's what we call progress; tearing down the old to make way for the new (though in this case, in place of the now-extinct hotel is just a vacant and usually overgrown lot).

Witchcraft is about (at least in part) the perils of progress and how 'making way for the new' with no reverence for, or understanding of, the old, can lead to disastrous consequences. The film opens with the distressing sight of a bulldozer leveling ground in a cemetery, crushing tombstones in its path. Morgan Whitlock (Lon Chaney Jr.) is understandably furious since his family plot, which had been there for centuries, has just been destroyed. He'd already been warned numerous times that developers who purchased the land were planning to build new houses there (the town is having a sudden population boost) and was given the opportunity to relocate the graves, but Morgan was unwilling to budge. After all, many of his ancestors are buried there. And since his ancestors are witches and warlocks, he definitely knows it's not a bright idea to desecrate their resting places.

Wealthy land developer Bill Lanier (Jack Hedley), whose business partner Myles Forrester (Barry Lineham) was actually the one to OK the bulldozing over the Whitlock graves, and his family are then promptly haunted by the ghost of 17th Century witch Vanessa Whitlock (Yvette Rees), a great-great-great-great (or maybe great-great-great-great-great) grandmother of Morgan's. As rumor has it, Vanessa had been captured by townsfolk and buried alive for practicing the black arts. Those responsible for her early entombment were distant relatives of the Lanier clan, so needless to say Vanessa has a bone to pick with the Lanier descendants. Bill, along with his former tennis champion wife Tracy (Jill Dixon), his aunt Helen (Viola Keats), his younger brother Todd (David Weston) and his elderly grandmother Malvina (Marie Ney), who refuses to walk and hasn't left her bedroom since her husband died, all become targets.

To add extra complications, Todd has fallen in love with Morgan's niece Amy (Diane Clare), and members of both families frown upon the relationship. Vanessa uses "devil dolls" (voodoo dolls) to start killing people off. She drowns Forrester in his bathtub, makes Helen drive off a cliff and attempts to make Bill and Todd do the same. While the two men are away on business, Vanessa, Morgan and the rest of the 'circle of thirteen' (local devil worshippers) decide to strike out at the other Lanier family members. Malvina (who finally musters up the courage to get out of her chair and walk) is pushed down the stairs and Tracy ends up drugged drugged and tied to a sacrificial altar. Naturally the men show up just in the nick of time.

Though competently-made by Don Sharp (KISS OF THE VAMPIRE), this is lacking the wry black humor, thoughtfulness and intellectualism that made some other British Satanism / witchcraft movies from around this time - CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957) or NIGHT OF THE EAGLE (1962), for instance - so memorable. It's also a bit jumbled when you look past the sometimes handsome black-and-white images (the witch walking through a rainy cemetery, Satanists marching in single file through the woods, the witch slowly creeping up behind Malvina on the stairs, etc.). The film seems to finally side with the developers (the 'progress') who've trashed the cemetery, by revealing Morgan to be an evil warlock who doesn't mind sacrificing his neighbors' lives. And poor confused Amy, who decides to abide by her uncle and the old customs, pays the ultimate price for doing so. Even more interestingly, Amy is willing to risk her life by setting fire to the Satanic altar in an effort to save Todd, but Todd is unwilling to enter a burning building to try to save hers.

This film played theatrically in America on a double-bill with THE HORROR OF IT ALL (1963) and used a special "ghost deflector" gimmick (which was nothing more than a little green badge). It never saw the light of day on VHS and was forgotten for a very long time. MGM finally unearthed it for a belated DVD release where it was part of their Midnite Movies line and paired with DEVILS OF DARKNESS (1966).

While nothing special (which might account for its long-delayed home viewing debut), it's well-acted (sharp-featured Rees is particularly well-cast as the witch), nicely-photographed (by Arthur Lavis) and lit and makes good use of shadow and fog. It's also interesting to see Chaney in a British genre production, though his role is actually smaller than his top billing might lead one to believe. Prolific character actress Marianne Stone also has a small role as a secretary.

★★1/2