This is a slight detour but on this night of trick or treating I wanted to delve into horror. The 1970s produced a plethora of horror films. Have you noticed how horror film soundtracks are particularly expressive? Take Poltergeist, Candyman, and Taste The Blood Of Dracula for example. I digress! The first two Omen films are a great starting point. The idea of Satan being half human/half jackal and taking over the world via politics is quite frankly scary. Especially when in the guise of a cherubic boy.
The scenario is firmly based in real world events and incorporates religion, increasing the plausibility factor. Unlike the OTT blood and guts horror films that border on the cartoonish, this seems like something that could potentially happen. How can we know what goes on behind closed doors amongst people in power?
1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is loosely based on real events. To say it’s shockingly terrifying is an understatement. Gruesome torture unfolds like a blood curdling nightmare when we realise these characters have stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time. Cannibalistic Leatherface and co. are completely amoral in their relentless pursuit of their victims. Director Tobe Hooper sustains the level of violence throughout.
Nicholas Roeg’s eerie 1973 film Don’t Look Now, starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as married couple John and Laura, is another favourite. During a holiday in Venice I wandered across bridges and alongside canals, imagining which scenes had been filmed where.
The opening scene is truly horrific. Utter disbelief of first John then Laura upon realising their daughter Christine has drowned. The bright red raincoat and wellington boots worn by the little girl are in stark contrast to the stillness of her death. Slow motion filming increases the sense of desperation and a “this isn’t happening” moment.
To help them heal, John’s accepts a renovation project working in Venice. It’s a gloomy grey Venice, providing a perfect backdrop for yet more tragic events. The couple encounter two sisters; one of whom is psychic and blind. They impart a warning in the form of a chilling premonition.
The Hunger from 1983 is another prime example. I’m lucky enough to know someone who worked on the film. They generously gave me their script. My own piece of movie memorabilia! Classical music features quite heavily too, an added bonus.
This offbeat film starred David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve as John as Miriam Blaylock. Vampires prowling the New York night, searching for human blood to maintain their youth. John begins having trouble sleeping, signifying the beginning of his end. Susan Sarandon plays Sarah, a doctor researching sleep and the ageing process. John visits her at work in the hope she can halt or reverse his deterioration. A standout sequence follows in which John ages drastically in two hours. Desperately hungry he needs to feed, but it’s too late.
Lonely Miriam realises she needs a new companion to replace John, as he’s succumbing to the same fate as her legion of ex lovers. Soon he’ll be confined to a coffin in the attic. Sarah feels drawn to the opulent Blaylock residence, ostensibly to talk to John. Charismatic Miriam initiates an unwitting Sarah into her private world of immortality during dreamlike lovemaking. Sarah becomes seriously ill and suspects it’s connected to Miriam. She angrily confronts Miriam, who calmly explains the situation. Sarah refuses to endure a depraved existence so kills herself. For the first time in centuries, a disconsolate Miriam is alone.
Miriam’s comeuppance occurs when, in a collective sense of betrayal, her ex lovers rise out of their coffins in an overwhelming attack. Panicked she flees, falling over the bannister to her death, before rapidly disintegrating physically. The twist at the end sees Sarah reincarnated and living in London, with Miriam doomed to the everlasting torment she once inflicted. There’s a similarity to The Picture Of Dorian Gray. Namely the eternal youth leading a secret debauched life, and consequently undergoing accelerated decaying at the point of death.
The range of horror films on offer is staggering. From creepy to blood and guts, ghostly hauntings to psychological, occult to monsters, vampires to werewolves. Allowing us to indulge our penchant for being scared, albeit from the safety of our living rooms.