Jamie C. Pritchard's Blog, page 9

Partners In Evil: Burke & Hare

You may have heard of William Wallace, the Scottish knight who fought against the English before he was ultimately captured, hanged, drawn and quartered. His butchered body was apparently sent to the four corners of England, his head skewered at the top of the Tower of London. Six centuries later the skin of William Burke was used to make a case while his skeleton remains visible to the public eye in the anatomical museum of Edinburgh medical school. Wallace’s fate was for the purpose of warning others. Burke’s posthumous arrangement was done for the purpose of, in the words of Lord David Boyle who sentenced him, “…that posterity may keep in remembrance of your atrocious crimes.”

In 1828, over a ten month span, William Burke worked in deadly cooperation with fellow Irishman William Hare to kill 16 individuals for the purpose of selling their corpses for financial gain during an era of grave robbing.

The fresher the corpse the better and so it was not uncommon for witnesses to see their own get dug up shortly after being laid to rest, when the deceased’s blood had not yet gone cold. You could sell them to medical schools and that is exactly what Burke and Hare did when a lodger died in the latter’s boarding house. There was still 4 pounds of debt to be paid off by the old codger, and so Burke and Hare retrieved the body to give it over to professor Knox for the tidy sum of 7 pounds and 10 shillings. When they saw another old tenant not doing so well they readily prepared a whiskey tonic as a dastardly light bulb went off.

In a method known as ‘Burking’ one would restrain the victim while the other covered their mouth and pinched their nose. This had the double whammy of neither damaging the specimen or leaving incriminating evidence.

To prevent the epidemic of grave robbing, metal girders and watchtowers were placed in cemeteries – to protect the dead from the living! This forced Burke and Hare to get creative, luring in people from Edinburgh’s poorest communities, skulking those narrow, Georgian streets in one of history’s most despicable acts.

After tricking poor old Marjory Campbell Docherty that she was a distant relative they did their final ‘burking’. As it was her body was discovered by a bed and the police were informed. Perhaps a good old ‘Burking’ would have been poetic. Instead they got the noose in front of many angry faces and sad hearts.

It’s funny looking back at those sketches of old criminals. With no photographs or videos we’re left with the same evidence with which we write fiction…but such things do happen, and unless it’s confined to the mind we can only hope it never happens again.

 

Top 5: Horror Flicks of The ’70s

Here is a short countdown of what I believe to be the top five.

5) The Omen (1976)

Little Harvey Spencer Stephens doesn’t try to be moody or creepy, and that’s why Damien works. The one-who-should-not-have-been-born plays his part perfectly as the centrepiece of all kinds of shit hitting the fan. Never has being marked for death been so well executed (pun intended). An impaled priest, a decapitated reporter and…”It’s all for you, Damien!”

4) Alien (1979)

The Scariest Sci-fi film there has ever been. Sigourney is magnetic as Ellen Ripley, a badass who is clearly vulnerable which really makes you root for her. The chest-bursting scene ranks as one of the most shocking in cinema and a harbinger of what’s to follow with a masterfully designed creature that enjoys puncturing skulls with its second mouth!

3) The Wicker Man (1973)

It’s not the goriest flick but it’s unusually sinister. Good Christian man Sergeant Howie is searching for Rowan Morrison, but the people of Summerisle aren’t the most helpful as he frowns at their bizarre customs. There’s definitely something fishy about the place but as he begins to investigate he doesn’t realise how many eyes are on him. They have great plans for the unsuspecting policeman…JESSSUSSS CHRIST!

2) Zombi 2 (1979)

This one is very gory, and it was my pick over Dawn Of The Dead as the leading Zombie classic. Take a trip to the lovely island of Matul where voodoo is brining the dead back to life! Packed with awesome scenes – Zombie vs. Shark, the eye-splinter, the neck rip – this is a compact, bloody ride that gives you a masterclass on how a zombie should look and kill – See My Video Review

1) The Exorcist (1973)

It’s was ground-breaking in its day and still is. It may have been mocked just like the Mona Lisa has, but the simple tale of a sweet girl possessed by a demon in rural America is still horrible. The scenes have lost little power while the special effects remain brilliant. Many have their shield up already because ‘it’s the film that’s supposed to scare you’ but for a true test, (if you’re feeling a bit evil), show the crucifix scene to a kid…

 

Top 5: Horror Flick of The ’70s

Here is a short countdown of what I believe to be the top five.

5) The Omen (1976)

Little Harvey Spencer Stephens doesn’t try to be moody or creepy, and that’s why Damien works. The one-who-should-not-have-been-born plays his part perfectly as the centrepiece of all kinds of shit hitting the fan. Never has being marked for death been so well executed (pun intended). An impaled priest, a decapitated reporter and…”It’s all for you, Damien!”

4) Alien (1979)

The Scariest Sci-fi film there has ever been. Sigourney is magnetic as Ellen Ripley, a badass who is clearly vulnerable which really makes you root for her. The chest-bursting scene ranks as one of the most shocking in cinema and a harbinger of what’s to follow with a masterfully designed creature that enjoys puncturing skulls with its second mouth!

3) The Wicker Man (1973)

It’s not the goriest flick but it’s unusually sinister. Good Christian man Sergeant Howie is searching for Rowan Morrison, but the people of Summerisle aren’t the most helpful as he frowns at their bizarre customs. There’s definitely something fishy about the place but as he begins to investigate he doesn’t realise how many eyes are on him. They have great plans for the unsuspecting policeman…JESSSUSSS CHRIST!

2) Zombi 2 (1979)

This one is very gory, and it was my pick over Dawn Of The Dead as the leading Zombie classic. Take a trip to the lovely island of Matul where voodoo is brining the dead back to life! Packed with awesome scenes – Zombie vs. Shark, the eye-splinter, the neck rip – this is a compact, bloody ride that gives you a masterclass on how a zombie should look and kill – See My Video Review

1) The Exorcist (1973)

It’s was ground-breaking in its day and still is. It may have been mocked just like the Mona Lisa has, but the simple tale of a sweet girl possessed by a demon in rural America is still horrible. The scenes have lost little power while the special effects remain brilliant. Many have their shield up already because ‘it’s the film that’s supposed to scare you’ but for a true test, (if you’re feeling a bit evil), show the crucifix scene to a kid…

 

The Horror Vet: Mr Chinnery

I’ve always been a big fan of The League of Gentlemen, Britain’s dark comedy series, not just because it had me in stitches but because of its unique blend of laughs and the macabre. A black comedy is not really accurate, more like a sick comedy, hinged on a collection of disturbing and depressing characters. There are even splashes of gore, usually in the wake of Royston Vasey’s resident veterinarian, Mr Chinnery.

The legend behind this polite chap is that his great-grandfather (Edmund Chinnery) was apparently cursed and ended up killing whatever he attempted to treat, and despite Matthew reassuring every pet owner as they accept his services it never goes quite to plan!  A tortoise fired out of its shell via ‘air-pressure treatment’ (then accidently used as a sponge by a window cleaner), a healthy dog put down only for the real one to be brought in after a lethal injection has been administered, a young boy ready to give his bird of prey freedom which ends up flying into electrical wires overhead because of an overly long tether – there is sense of loss to go with the graphic finales.

Out of all his botches I think the best is during a visit to a farm for the benefit of a primary school. A pregnant cow is due to give birth except Matthew makes the mistake of shoving his hand up its arse. Despite a young boy’s amusing observation that “that’s its bum, I saw it poo out of it,” Chinnery reaches deep inside and asks for a little assistance to pull the new-born out. As they do so they actually rip out an intestine as a bucket of blood splashes on the ground.

I think with the right script, Chinnery would make a great horror character but, considering his endless bloody trail, it does make you question where he got his qualifications from!

 

If Santa Was Evil…

…then all of his elves would be put into a mincer having been promised jobs. All the naughty children would be hired for the purpose of filling stockings with nettles and pictures of deceased childhood pets. As he took to the skies with his trusty reindeers, rather than leaving a trail of sparkles he would drop all kids of pesticides to destroy life in countless water bodies. Once inside each house he would poison Christmas trees, ensuring all their needles fell out before the youngest began to stir. Mousetraps would be inserted into cards, crackers would be tweaked so that their bang may cause deafness. Every turkey in the fridge would be replaced with an endangered species he had slain on the way while Christmas puddings would be soaked in cannabis oil. The Grinch would be altered so his heart shrivels to the point he becomes a serial killer while It’s a Wonderful Life would end with George beating those kids’ heads in. What sounded like Christmas carols would in fact be incantations to reanimate history’s most rotten souls, and before little Johnny’s head hit the pillow again he would make a vow to be as naughty as possible next year so that he could get into the true Christmas spirit!

Hilarious Monsters

Stephen King wrote about the importance of comedy in horror…but not to the point it took away from the horror! Here are a few of the most hilarious antagonists in cinema history.

From Hell it Came (1957)

This walking tree stump is neither scary or clever. The manner in which it awkwardly shuffles only serves to illustrate how easily you could escape from its bark-laden grasp. Not only that but the majority of its body is its face – a stoic looking one, one that’s about to fall asleep. How can you take this seriously?

The Giant Claw (1957)

I can admire the effort that goes into models and props, but this abomination (ironically from the same year as my first pick), is a laugh a minute. What starts out as a U.F.O. is in fact an impossibly huge, very goofy and highly uncoordinated bird of prey. Throw in its shrill Squawk as it attacks planes and you’ll question what the hell you’re watching. Couple this with the obviously poor techniques – men being dangled in front of another screen – and there’s a chance you’ll be in tears. Now of course a bird that big could never be airborne, but this does not merit logical criticism.

Sting of Death (1966)

Not a bad title…until you find out where the sting of death comes from. A grown man inside of a skin tight blue costume, horrendously decorated with blue cables (apparently stingers). It looks like a mess, but nothing can compare to its head – clearly a man head inside of a transparent beach ball. Yes, I just wrote that. There is virtually no effort here. It’s so bad it almost goes beyond laughter, something that could inspire the viewer to destroy every last copy of this piece of doodie that should not qualify as cinema.

 

Horror In Non-Horror Films

 

One of the key ingredients in being scared is the element of surprise, and so it stands to reason that some of the scariest scenes have come from non-horror films. Here are three of the best.

Melted Faces (Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981)

The original and best installment of the series, ROTLA is a rollercoaster of classic scene after classic scene – especially the crescendo! With the bad guys finally in possession of the ark they open it up to see a strange glow begin to worsen. Indy instructs Marion to keep her eyes closed at all times during hypnotic scene in which bolts of energy are shot through Nazis, ghosts begin to float up to the camera, faces melt, shrivel and then explode!

Vera Becomes a Robot (Superman 3, 1983)

Many have suffered and will continue to suffer from this day time fright. The kooky third installment of the Christopher Reeve’s portrayal as the superman is a bit of a mixed bag but entertaining nonetheless. What isn’t entertaining though is when one of the bag eggs, Vera, attempts to escape the supercomputer she was intending to do dastardly things with. Almost clear, but then some strange force pulls her back into this bed of wire which smother her face. Cue whimpering and then a robot with no pupils…ugh…

Sandworms (Beetlejuice, 1988)

Yes, technically it’s a fantasy which means it is well within its rights to have scary things in it, but Beetlejuice is saturated with things that should not be, a real tour de force of ideas that brilliantly straddle fantasy and reality. I’m spoilt for choice here but I remember what it was as a kid that got me good, and the concept is still frightening – Sandworms. Upon opening a door Barbara suddenly falls into this alien desert. Adam calls for her, his voice echoes. Reuniting is some comfort but then comes this huge sand dweller in black and white stripes. The feeling of not knowing where you are, of being isolated and hunted are key emotions in dreams and why this scene is still a little disturbing – even if the spx are a bit dated now.

 

 

 

Nosferatu (1922)

It’s probably the first famous horror film. 1922’s Nosferatu remains a milestone in cinema. An adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it ran into copyright issues and so had to make some key changes, but it’s those very changes which remain this silent slayer’s trademark. Instead of Dracula himself we get Count Orlok – a creepy, rat-like biped, played to perfection by Max Schreck.

For my money he is a more intimidating foe than the more famous Count, partly because of how familiar Dracula is, partly because of the strange Orlok is. There is something deformed about him, something diseased, and the fact we see him shuffle about in silence gives young eyes the impression they’re watching some ‘incident’ happen in the olden days. The classic shot of Orlok’s silhouette sliding up the staircase is also probably the first ever classic scene in cinema.

It wasn’t released in the United States until June, 1929 when ‘Talkies’ were about to become all the rage, and so to give it a bit more clout an orchestra was often present to help set the mood. I think it works just as well with music or as it was originally intended.

It was the work of German director, F.W. Murnan whose portfolio includes 1924’s The Last Laugh which is credited with the first point-of-view shot in cinema. The amount of classic shots in Nosferatu are more than adequate to demonstrate his talents behind a camera.

Never does it grow weary from re-watches. With that sepia tone of the film the scenes change like the pages turn on a well worn book. It has the timeless quality, an atmosphere which is never settled. But what’s perhaps spookiest of all is that only the bootleg version exists after Murnau was sued for copyright infringement by Stoker’s widow.

It’s as if something wanted it to live on…

 

Jack Pierce: Making Monsters

His face is taut with concentration, a brush is in one hand as he analyses, considers the next touch. There is almost a smirk as he goes about his business, as he does things his way. Immortalised for his recreation of classic monsters, Jack Pierce left a mark on cinema like no other makeup artist ever has, or probably ever will…

Born in Greece in 1889 he immigrated to the United states as a young lad to try his hand at a variety of professions, many of which related to cinema, and he would soon find that his calling was rather different from baseball. 1925’s The Phantom of The Opera was one that really caught Jack’s eye as he saw how frightening Lon Chaney made himself look with his own personal makeup kit. Two years later the aspiring artist would give more than a glimpse of his talent in The Monkey Talks.

A type of greasepaint was made for Bela Lugosi to apply himself in Dracula but it was Pierce’s work on 1931’s Frankenstein where his talents ascended into legend. A very patient Boris Karloff had to sit still for hours every morning as Pierce applied layer after layer of cotton and collodion (a kind of liquid plastic) to his face. A head filled with more cotton was seamlessly blended onto Karloff’s gaunt, heavy-lidded mask. All kinds of great moments of inspiration moulded this now ‘official’ look of Mary Shelley’s creation including getting Karloff to remove a denture to create that dent in his face, making the head flat and sticking electrodes on the side of the neck to explain how this thing could be zapped into life. Apparently Karloff would sometimes sleep in the makeup to save time the next day. You could say the burden of wearing of this stuff was channeled into his performance.

The second most iconic creation would have to be Lon Chaney Jr’s Wolfman from 1941. With even longer sitting periods, Jack would apply layers and layers of Yak’s hair to get that great, really coarse effect. Throw in the distinct canine nose and underbite and you have the accepted model for a wolfman. Peirce had a more rocky relationship with Chaney than he did with Karloff as Chaney sometimes claimed Pierce would scald him on purpose when applying the wolfman makeup! They were however cordial enough to complete several films together.

The most telling thing here is the nose came from a latex mould – something Pierce was not a fan of.

Jack liked to build everything up, perhaps getting a catharsis out of the arduous grind as Michelangelo did sculpting, but his method was more time consuming, and as Hollywood went more for prosthetics and latex masks, Pierce found his services less valued. He went onto get involved in B-films and, rather ingloriously, applied some makeup to Mr Ed. By the time he passed in 1968 apparently few were at his funeral, the great man exiting the world much like a tiny credit whizzes past.

Today though, with the power of the internet, his legacy is probably stronger than it’s ever been, and new fans will quickly discover that perhaps even more impressive than his creations are the number of other legends he inspired to do as he once did – to be stubborn and brilliant!

Halloween: Get Stuck In!

Out of all the holidays, Halloween is probably considered the least important. A good percentage don’t celebrate it at all, growl at those who trick or treat and view the whole thing tacky. Many over 18 simply take it as another excuse to go out and get leery with costumes becoming more random and spookless (Power Rangers/Marilyn Monroe) as the years pass. Christmas always encroaches on it, further lessening its presence, distracting participants from asking that basic question which even the most drunk Irishman will ask on St Paddy’s – what’s it all about then?

It’s essentially a combination of superstition and remembrance – the former for warding off ghosts in the Celtic festivals known as Samhain and the latter for those who have checked out. Admittedly it may seem inappropriate remembering Grandad while a bunch of kids dressed up as Star Wars characters run past, but you shouldn’t let things that make you frown stop you from having your own Halloween.

While much of what you see is American-influenced there are some great traditions to this spooky season that everyone should get involved with. Taking decorations as an example – Halloween far surpasses Christmas which is why it’s a crime they overlap. Christmas themes are limited. Evil comes in all forms. There is much more artist expression in carving a pumpkin than there is in hanging baubles on a tree. The rise in popularity of the Halloween tree is a welcome modern creation. To me it symbolises poisoning Christmas before it’s begun!

The opportunity to dress up is another we should all embrace. A chance to break out of that socially conditioned shell and get in touch with the big kid inside is good for the soul. A big percentage of those who completely denounce Halloween will be sour individuals who deserve a good scare, which brings me to the most crucial point.

So long as we’re not doing it to oldies with a dodgy ticker we should all try and get a good scare in, just as most try to get in a good fool on the first of April. It is the essence of Halloween to unnerve another, to get them to believe in (if only for the slightest of moments) that all is not right. It is when life’s boundaries are completely set that things can become rather boring. How to stop someone feeling bad about work? Make a dash at them with artificial foam coming from the mouth!

To finish you can’t beat gathering around to watch a horror flick – there is something cosy about watching things that might follow you upstairs and enter dreamland. There can be something nice about nightmare’s….no? It might just be me! The reality of most ‘celebrating’ Halloween at movie time will involve them getting drunk out of their minds, and so while they may not even be asking that most basic question regarding where it all comes from – at least they will be doing great impressions of zombies!