THE RATS ARE COMING, THE WEREWOLVES ARE HERE - A MOVIE REVIEW

"Hello, I'm Monica, the middle sister. The BITCH! The one they always talk about behind her back!" 
Monica Mooney (Hope Stansbury) The Rats Are Coming, The Werewolves Are Here

Imagine taking an episode of Dark Shadows and replacing the sound track with an episode of Jerry Springer Show. That is what this movie is like. The title alone of this movie 1972 horror film screams bad. It is also a case of a movie being made and then altered at the last minute, in this case to cash in on the popularity of the films, Willard and Ben.

This is one the horror films of 60s and 70s filmmaker Andy Milligan. The films of Milligan are clumsy, blurry, illogical (green vampires chloroform victims), filled with oversights (medieval castles have lights switches) and bad gore effects. They also feature outrageous costumes (Milligan was a dress maker before taking up film), disturbing subtext and snippy, hateful dialog.

The story takes place in 19th century England. It revolves around Diana Mooney (Jackie Skarvellis - who has a nice tan for 19th century England), who returns to her family mansion with her new husband, who she met at medical school. Her father, Pa Mooney (Douglas Phair), disapproves of her marriage, because he feels she is the only hope in curing the family's lycanthropy. The family includes two sons, the Tony Randall-ish Mortimer and Malcome, a mentally deficient feral individual that the family keeps locked up with chickens (I'm not kidding). Diana's two sisters are the overprotective "daddy's girl" (In more ways than one) Phoebe and (my personal favorite) Monica, a deranged, sadistic proto-Goth chick, who acts and talks like a bratty little girl.

Monica Mooney played by Hope Stansbury

Monica is played by the very beautiful Hope Stansbury. Her performance is both over-the-top and yet, she is one of the best actors in the film. She steals the show and every scene she is in. Monica Mooney is also one of the great unhinged women of 70s film, along with Sissy Spacek as Carrie and Jessica Harper as Evelyn in Play Misty For Me. She is the kind of woman Helen Reddy sang about in the 70s. I'm sort of in love with Monica or maybe Hope Stansbury.

The producers, The Mishkins, decided to add another dimension to Monica's creepy persona: Monica had pet rats. She buys rats from a creepy looking, disfigured alcoholic storekeeper named Mr. Mcawber (Chris Shore), who claims his face partially eaten by the rats. When she kisses a rat and it bites her, she throws it to the ground. She goes back to the store and demands her money back. When Mr. Mcawber tells her he "drank it up," she sets him and his store on fire.

Monica also jumps out of a closet and tries to stab Diana's husband. Later, she chops the hand off of a retarded neighbor girl, so she can get her hands on the girl's pet snake. She whips and pours hot candle wax on her feral brother Malcome. When Monica is not killing people, she drives nails into her pet rats. In a recent interview, Hope Stansbury makes it clear that she was not the person killing the rats. She says she was so afraid of the rats that Milligan put a pane of glass between her and the rodents for the scene in the above photo (There is a visible glare during that scene too). Also, the rat she kisses is rubber. Matter of fact in the rat torture scenes, you will notice that Monica suddenly has "man hands."

The original film, made in England, was to be called Curse of the Full Moon, but the Mishkins had Milligan add the rat element later to cash in on the two recent rat horror films. Monica even names two of the rats Willard and Ben. Those portions were filmed in New York with Stansbury, Shore and the rats.

Once we finally see the family change in to werewolves, the make-up isn't that great. However, The Rats Are Coming, The Werewolves Are Here is a great place to start if you want to experience an Andy Milligan horror film. It has all the elements: the bland opening credits, the same Valentino Music used in all of his movies, people being set on fire, bickering, insults, slapping, abusive clergy, whips, torture, hands chopped off, mentally challenged people, incest, bad color, bad sound and (what looks like) the camera being dropped. If you like your horror films bad, you need to try this gem on for size.
Here is the trailer for the film.

"DO THE FREDDY" - FROM BRITISH INVASION DANCE CRAZE TO 80s HALLOWEEN SONG

Last week, I posted a list of my favorite British Invasion hits of the 60s. My sister, Villanova, who was in elementary school when the British Invasion started, ask why I left off Freddie and the Dreamers. My first thought was to say "Because they suck," then I thought I would be fair to the group and bring up a forgotten Halloween song of the past.

Freddie and the Dreamers had about five charted hit singles in America. Their biggest was the number one hit "I'm Telling You Now" in 1964. Their last record issued in this country was 1966, which made them a short lived phenomenon in the United States. Part of their problem was the novelty of their act. Other bands simply played songs and either made it by being cute and nice (The Beatles, Herman's Hermits, Dave Clark Five) or bad boys (The Animals, the Stones). Freddie and the Dreamers not only looked like nerds, but they hopped from leg to leg when they sang. Lead singer Freddie Garrity wave his arms like a skinny, bespectacled bird trying to take off for the clouds. Freddy also had a wacky, goofy laugh like a drunken witch that he worked into songs.

The group's second big hit was a 1965 dance number, based on the group's unusual stage movements, called "Do the Freddie." Here is video of them performing the song on TV in 1965.




Flash forward to Halloween of 1987. Some mad genius somewhere decides to create an LP to cash in on Hollywood's hottest monster, Freddy Krueger of the Nightmare on Elm Street movie series. The LP, entitled Freddy's Greatest Hits, featured a studio group, referred to on the cover of the LP as the Elm Street Group, recorded covers of several oldies ("In the Midnight Hour", "All I Have to Do is Dream") and some original songs inspired by the Nightmare on Elm Street films. On each track, Robert Englund, the actor who played Freddy Krueger, would growl or make some of Freddy's trademark bad puns or threats.

The song that was released as a single from this LP was "Do The Freddy." The spelling of the name was changed, but it was the same song. I might be wrong about this, but I don't believe the LP was ever issued on CD, because, at the time, CD's were new and this was a Halloween novelty LP aimed at kids. Here is the Elm Street Group version of "Do the Freddy."



This has to be one of the oddest covers of a hit song ever, but I'm sure child of the 80s played this at a Halloween party. Nothing like going from Freddie and the Dreamers to Freddy's nightmares. 

 

THE STORY BEHIND TERROR TALES AND THE OTHER EEIRE PUBLICATIONS

February 1973

As I mentioned in my last post, I only recently became aware of these wacky black and white horror comics magazines of the late 60s and 70s. Some of the artwork I was familiar with because it had been used on some DVDs and LP/CD covers. I recently purchased these at a comic book convention here in Springfield, Missouri.

Inside are black and white reprints of pre-code horror comics. The stories seem to date anywhere between the 30s to the 50s, with about one new story per magazine. Besides being in black and white, the publisher has had artist redraw some of the panels to add more blood or a touch of female nudity.

However, what makes these memorable are the unorthodox cover art. They are a monster kids wildest dreams mixed with absurdity and insanity. There seem to be a pattern to the covers. There are usually at least two monsters featured. They are usually fighting each other, with heads being lopped off, eyeballs gouged out and hearts staked. They all have fangs and pointed ears, even skeletons. In the middle of all of this mayhem is a buxom female victim in a torn dress. There is also an abundance of blood, drool, (possibly) vomit, and slime. I'm surprised they didn't have the female victim wetting or soiling her pants.

While the Warren horror comic magazines of the day featured well drawn covers, these have a cartoonish feel. The color is garish. Like those magazines, you will occasionally see a famous face in the covers. Herman Munster (He has fangs, pointed ears and robot parts falling out of his dismembered body), Barnabas Collins, Jack Palance, Max Shreck (from Nosferatu), Oddbod from Carry on Screaming and the Mad Scientist from Monsters Crash The Pajama Party all pop up on various covers. Also cover were sometimes reused for a magazine of another title.

These were created to cash in on the success of Warren's Creepy and Eerie magazines. The publishing company was even named Eerie Publications. The mad mind behind it was a comic book artist named Myron Fass, best known for the mid-60s Captain Marvel who would yell "Split!" and then break into pieces.

None of the titles seemed to be published on a regular basis. Besides Terror Tales, there was Horror Tales, Tales from The Tomb, Tales of Voodoo, Witch's Tales and Weird.

These have a growing cult following among collectors. I might consider buying a few at a reasonable price, although I would prefer to save my money for Creepy and Eerie.

TERROR TALES Vol 4 No. 5 August 1972

I recently discovered these black & white horror comics of the late 60s and early 70s. I will tell you more about them soon.

THE DEAD ONE (BLOOD OF THE ZOMBIE) - A MOVIE REVIEW

This is as close as you will get in this movie

The great thing about the Countdown To Halloween is that I can do things related my love of monster movies.

Every monster kid probably saw a photo in a monster magazine or film history book, in the dark days before DVD, You Tube and mail order video, and said "That looks cool! I would love to see that!" many times they are a real disappointment. Here is one such film.

The Dead One (a.k.a. Blood of the Zombie)  is a film that bridges the gap between the old PRC and RKO voodoo zombies and the rotting walking corpses of Night of the Living Dead and the current popular crop of zombies. The Dead One is the work of Barry Mahon, a WWII fighter pilot turned nudie cutie and children's movie director/producer (Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny).

Why I wanted to see this, was a photo I saw of the long-haired zombie attacking a woman in a bedroom (photo above). The movie works in that late show/drive-in monster movie. It has slow plotting and bland, lackluster cinematography. Everything in this movie seems to have been filmed from about 50 feet back from the subject. The photo above must be a staged publicity photo.

The plot revolves around John (played by actor John McKay), who has just married Linda (played by actress Linda Ormond). They go on their honeymoon to New Orleans where they see a performance by some jazz groups, then on to see a belly dancer named Bella Bella. Now, I like jazz from the 50s and 60s, I also like belly dancing. However, do we need to see a whole set of jazz and a belly dancing routine. (Actually, we did need to see the whole belly dancing routine, ONLY THE CAMERA NEEDED TO BE CLOSER!!!)

After, that John and Linda start on their way to visit John's Cousin Monica (played by an actress named, you guest it, Monica Davis) at the old family plantation. They see a car broke down and stop to help. In a surprising coincidence it is Bella Bella (Played by Darlene Myrick. You seriously didn't think they could find an actress named Bella Bella...did you?). John decides to take Bella Bella to the plantation until her car is fixed. Okay, Linda should have worried about going to see a belly dancer on her honeymoon and then taking that belly dancer (In an extremely tight leopard print dress) to their destination, but unlike some of Mahon's adult films, none of this is discussed.

Cousin Monica is less than hospitable, because she thinks John and Linda are going to take the plantation away from her. She swings back and forth from snippy comments to ranting and raving like a talk radio show host. She says that she and "Jonas" were promised to be always be the caretakers of the plantation. John explains that Jonas was her late brother. He also points out to Linda and Bella Bella that Monica, Jonas and the servants practice voodoo.

Of course, the audience already knows that Jonas (played by an actor named Clyde Kelly, who probably wished his name was Jonas instead of Clyde) is a zombie, because of a sequence at the beginning of the movie where Monica performs a ritual that causes Jonas to rise from his tomb.

As I mentioned above, the movie moves slow and the camera is so far away from the action, that it is often hard to tell what is going on. However, Jonas (pictured above) is kind of a poor man's Frankenstein, rather than a flesh-eating ghoul. When we actually get a good look at Jonas, he is a rather cool looking zombie, with yellow skin, long, mangled hair and a gangly-frame.

The Dead One has it's flaws but it is fun to watch at least once, just to see if it is as cool as the picture in the book makes it look.  

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2013

Let the fun begin!!!

DESDINOVA'S TOP 30 FAVORITE BRITISH INVASION HITS

The British Invasion of the early 60s is the second most important event in the history of rock and roll. To use modern terms, it was a game changer. I have loved the British Invasion music since I became interested in rock and roll in elementary school. I took some flak for liking this music in junior high and high school.

Overall, I have found that Ozarkers hate the British Invasion music. Not sure why. Of course, the local media doesn't help. Over the years, I've seen the Springfield News Leader run countless articles filled with quotes from idiots who hate the Beatles, Stones and other British Invasion acts. Recently, one of the CHR stations ask people on their Facebook page if they thought the Beatles were overrated. I can't believe a radio station would even bring up a topic like that.

I work as a producer on a popular radio show. I researched and scripted and idea for this program called "The British Invasion Songbook." We played hits of the British Invasion that had been recorded previously (and less successfully) by other artist. When it was finished, an insurance agent called a complained, saying he "always hated the British Invasion music. Don't ever do that theme again!" Like we should care what kind of music an insurance agent doesn't like.

Since I have a firm belief that I should force Ozarkers (and others around the world) to like the same music I do, I present my list of my favorite hits of the British Invasion. These are not ranked by chart performance or in any chronological order. I also decided to limit to the main years of the British Invasion's popularity, which would be 1964 - 1968, this way I can get a mix of the first wave (1962-66) and second wave (67-70) of the British Invasion, while including a few hits by first wave acts that hit during the second wave. Also trying to concentrate on the more "power pop" feel of the British Invasion rather than the later progressive/blues/metal British groups (that would make a good follow up list).

1. "She Loves You" - The Beatles
2. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - The Rolling Stones
3. "You Really Got Me" - The Kinks
4. "I Can See For Miles" - The Who
5. "The House of the Rising Sun" - The Animals
6. "Bus Stop" - The Hollies
7. "Heart Full of Soul" - The Yardbirds
8. "She's Not There" - The Zombies
9. "Needles and Pins" - The Searchers
10. "Come See Me" - The Pretty Things
11. "Gimmie Some Lovin" - Spencer Davis Group
12. "Pretty Flamingo" - Manfred Mann
13. "Wild Thing" - The Troggs
14. "She's Fallen In Love With a Monster Man" - Screaming Lord Sutch
15. "Sunshine Superman" - Donovan
16. "I Only Want To Be With You" - Dusty Springfield
17. "Mystic Eyes" - Them
18. "Go Now" - Moody Blues
19. "It's Going To Be Alright" - Gerry and the Pacemakers
20. "Fire Brigade" - The Move
21. "White Shade of Pale" - Procol Harum
22. "All or Nothing" - Small Faces
23. "Sign of the Times" - Petula Clark
24. "Something I've Got To Tell You" - Glenda Collins
25. "Bits & Pieces" - The Dave Clark Five
26. "Here Comes My Baby" - The Tremeloes
27. "Game of Love" - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
28.  "No Milk Today" Herman's Hermits
29. "To Sir With Love" - Lulu
30. "The Knack (and How To Get It)" -John Barry Orchestra

I'm sure I left off someones favorite. Leave it as a comment and I might create another list.