Editorials
How To Start Getting Into Horror Part 10: Religious
Firstly, I would like to apologize for not having an entry in this How To Start Getting Into Horror series last week. Comic-Con was going on and I didn’t want this to get buried in the mass amount of information we were putting out, like trailers, galleries, announcements, etc… It was a very fast paced few days and this series is all about taking time and easing your way into the genre. With that being said, let’s do this!
Two weeks ago, I wrote about several psychological horror films that, in my mind, were great ways to dip one’s toes into that subgenre. These films didn’t use gore to shock but instead focused on the horror of human nature, of how easily we can be broken and the terrifying consequences that result from our minds shattering.
To that end, I want to dive into a subgenre I feel to be the best next step forward: Religious-based horror films.
Now, clearly to start things off here we should begin with The Exorcist. It’s the ultimate tried-and-true religious horror film and for very good reason. The subplot of faith and the struggle of keeping it is just as much of a battle as Regan has with the demon Pazuzu. What you end up with is a film that shows both the strengths and horrors of religion at the same time. After all, while religion may give you strength, it also creates the very terrors we hope to never encounter.
I’ll admit that The Exorcist never scared me. I think it’s a masterpiece and worthy of every accolade it has received but it never spoke to me on a deep level. I ascribe that to my being Jewish. The possession of Regan and the struggles that her mother and the priests go through simply didn’t speak to my upbringing and culture as it most certainly does to a Catholic. But I understand the fear and I laud this film for having the guts to do what it did. It’s an extremely important film and it should be the basis for diving into the religious horror subgenre.
Once you’re done with The Exorcist, you can stay with the classics and watch two phenomenal Anti-Christ films: Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby or Richard Donner’s The Omen. Both films are graceful, beautifully crafted, and utterly fascinating works. They move in different ways, the former being more of a slow burn while the latter gets pretty gruesome at times (also a way to lay the foundation for gore-based horror). Plus, these two films are highly regarded in the film community, which gives them a sense of importance.
However, if you want to start heading into newer territory, there’s always Frailty. An often overlooked gem, this film once again shows the strengths and utter terrors of religion. When one is so devout and committed to the glory of God, will they really do anything to prove their piousness? Plus, it’s got Bill Paxton, so game over, man!
One film that came about in recent years that absolutely terrified and stunned me was Ti West’s The Sacrament. It’d been a while since I’d seen a film that so effectively made me feel terror, unsettling me to the very core of my being. I simply couldn’t fathom that people would give themselves so entirely to one man, so much so that they are willing to die – and yes, kill – all in the name of his “good word”. The fact that it’s inspired by Jonestown makes it all the more horrific.
If you want to have a bit of fun with this subgenre, you can always go with films that aren’t nearly as lauded but are still a good time, such as Stigmata or The Ninth Gate, the latter of which has this very entertaining adventure-feel to it.
Alright readers, those are a few suggestions to get things started. Why not tell me some of your favorite religious-based horror films in the comments!
Check out the rest of our How To Start Getting Into Horror series.
Auteur Filmmaking is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days in reference to big name directors like Quentin Tarantino and even Wes Anderson, but the truth is that film is a collective medium, and no one person can be responsible for every single aspect of a particular production. However, the smaller a film’s budget, the bigger the individual impact of every creative decision behind it – and the easier it becomes to identify a genuine auteur.
This isn’t necessarily a judgement of value, as blockbuster filmmaking comes with its own challenges and a good movie remains a miracle regardless of how big the crew is, but I’ve always been more interested in soulful b-movies produced by handfuls of passionate artists than blockbusters backed by creative armies.
That’s why I love exploring low-budget franchises that never left the hands of their original creators, as you really get to know the artists involved with these flicks and can accompany their evolution over a period of time. With that in mind, I’d like to invite readers to join me in this multi-part series as we look into a vampire saga helmed by one of the most fascinating auteurs of the 1990s. Naturally, I’m referring to Ted Nicolaou’s criminally underrated Subspecies!
The Birth of an Unlikely Horror Franchise
A proud graduate of the University of Texas’ Film program, Nicolaou got his start in the industry as a sound technician working on Tobe Hooper’s original Texas Chain Saw Massacre. From there, the filmmaker would go on to work for notorious indie producer Charles Band, the founder of both Empire Pictures and Full Moon Productions. According to Nicolaou, Band would usually contact him with an offer to direct a feature after more prominent filmmakers, such as the late, great Stuart Gordon, had already refused, meaning that his projects tended to have lower budgets and more inexperienced crew members.
The plans for Subspecies began almost immediately after the fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, with screenwriter David Pabian turning in an initial draft of the film after a Romanian producer contacted Band and explained that Romanian tax incentives could cover the cost of film production there so long as Full Moon took care of the post-production process. Since Stuart Gordon was unwilling to travel to Romania, Ted Nicolaou ended up taking over the picture.
However, while the financial incentives meant that this Romanian-American co-production could look and feel much more expensive than it really was, with Nicolaou scouting for locations in advance and selecting real castle ruins to be featured in the movie, the director was soon faced with an incredibly difficult shooting process. In interviews, Nicolaou would later describe the experience as something of a nightmare, with language barriers and the generalized distrust of capitalist outsiders sabotaging many of the team’s plans for the film.
In fact, the script, which had already been altered by Band, ultimately had portions of it rewritten by both Jack Canson and Nicolaou himself in an attempt to adapt the story to their unique limitations.
Radu Is One of Horror’s Greatest Underrated Villains
In the finished film, which was released directly to video in 1991, we follow a pair of American anthropology students, Michelle (Laura Mae Tate) and Lillian (Michelle McBride), as they reunite with their Romanian colleague Mara (Irina Movila) in her native land. The group intends to study the folklore surrounding the secluded town of Prejmer, but their research is cut short by the return of Radu Vladislas (Anders Hove) – the evil son of a vampire king (Angus Scrimm) who had previously established a truce with the region’s human residents. It’s now up to Radu’s human-loving half-brother Stefan (Michael Watson) to protect the girls from a fate worse than death as the power-hungry vampire seeks to control a magical artifact known as the Bloodstone.
Right off the bat, you may have noticed that the film’s premise sounds decidedly old-fashioned when compared to other vampire movies from around the same time. While the 1990s saw the rise of cool-looking bloodsuckers with badass elements borrowed from Westerns, as well as the sexy aristocrats of Anne Rice’s stories, Subspecies has a lot more in common with Nosferatu and the Hammer Horror series than any of its contemporaries.
This is both a blessing and a curse, as the film falls victim to overly familiar genre tropes while also standing out as a rare example of a ’90s vampire flick that isn’t afraid to flex its muscles as a Creature Feature. In fact, I’d argue that the presence of age-old clichés is a small price to pay when confronted with one of the most compelling vampire antagonists in all of cinema.
Named after Vlad the Impaler’s real-life brother, Anders Hove’s Radu is such a fascinating character and the main reason why Subspecies is still worth watching 35 years later. From his animalistic mannerisms to the joy he feels in simply existing as a chaotic creature of the night, and that’s not even mentioning the iconic makeup that almost certainly inspired the undead from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Radu is a hypnotic presence harkening back to a time when audiences didn’t mind purely evil villains that couldn’t be redeemed through tragic backstories or sex appeal.
Gothic Atmosphere on an Indie Budget
Of course, the film’s Romanian setting and authentic art direction do a lot of the heavy lifting whenever Radu isn’t around. From the masked festivals of the village to the visually interesting selection of local extras, Subspecies’ multicultural elements help it to stand out when compared to similar flicks from the ’90s.
That being said, Nicolaou’s unique eye for special effects and exciting action sequences – as well as Vlad Paunescu’s excellent cinematography – make the movie a delight for fans of expressionist cinema and old-timey gothic horror. While the crew is obviously dealing with limited resources, many of the flick’s blemishes (such as the odd stop-motion demons that serve Radu) end up feeling more like charming idiosyncrasies than actual flaws.
I’d argue that the only real issue here is pacing, as there are long stretches of film where the protagonists are simply bumbling around without realizing what’s really going on around them. Thankfully, the gorgeous visuals and surprisingly effective soundtrack usually make up for this. Besides, how can you dislike a movie where shotgun shells are loaded with rosary beads and our lead vampires duke it out in a dramatic swordfight that would feel out of place during the golden age of Hollywood?
Your overall enjoyment of Subspecies will mostly depend on whether or not you find low-budget corner-cutting and janky practical effects charming rather than distracting, but I know I’ll keep coming back to this Full Moon feature again and again in the future.
That being said, while this first movie is worth revisiting by its own merits as the birth of an indie horror icon, I’d like to invite you to join us as we look into the cult sequel Bloodstone: Subspecies II soon.
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