Editorials
‘Tales from the Crypt’ Movie Remains One of the Best Horror Anthologies [Horrors Elsewhere]
Amicus Productions turned to an unexpected muse for its fourth portmanteau film; the horror output of EC Comics was the inspiration behind 1972’s Tales from the Crypt movie. While Amicus was not far from closing its own doors, films like this one demonstrate the company was still within its creative peak regarding anthologies.
Five macabre comics from the defunct American publisher were entwined with a signature Amicus wraparound. Here the framing device involves five strangers trapped in an enclosed section of some catacombs along with the anthology’s obligatory storyteller (Richard Greene). His guests say they have more important places to be, but the enigmatic Crypt-Keeper convinces them to stay. One by one, the visitors hear how they will die.
The first in this train of terror tales is the most familiar thanks to another adaptation of the same Vault of Horror story; it is the second aired episode in HBO’s Tales from the Crypt. “…And All Through the House” stars Joan Collins as Joanne, the murderous matriarch who kills her husband on Christmas Eve. Mucking up her best “sleighed” plan is the convenient arrival of a Santa-suited murderer (Oliver MacGreevy). This version of “…And All Through the House” is faithful to its roots, minus one minute detail. The original comic keeps a lid on the killer, whereas the film openly displays its sinister Santa. It ultimately makes no major difference; the just-desserts outcome is what matters in this naughty proto-slasher.
Ian Hendry’s character Carl is then shown a vision of his own ghastly fate in “Reflection of Death”. Amicus founder and producer Milton Subotsky made some big changes from the Crypt comic; his screenplay has the protagonist abandoning his family with a mistress in tow as opposed to simply coming home with a friend from a New Year’s Eve party. The life-altering car accident still occurs, along with the same plot twist not exactly telegraphed but also not too surprising. If any segment in this anthology can be considered terror set on a low flame, it would be this one. Both the nocturnal cinematography and a fair degree of sustained tension help to keep the viewer engaged.
Peter Cushing chose not to play a narrator again after doing so in Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, although he would resume the part in Amicus’ final anthology, From Beyond the Grave. He instead plays opposite the conniving main character in “Poetic Justice”, the first of two consecutive stories taken from issues of The Haunt of Fear. The vignette’s doomed leading man, James (Robin Phillips), despises his and his father’s neighbor across the street; Cushing is a trash collector beloved by all the neighborhood children. So, James runs a secret smear campaign against Mr. Grimsdyke, hoping to drive him out of his home. “Poetic Justice” hardly deviates from the favored EC formula — bad people get their comeuppance — yet the audience will without a doubt rejoice at this one’s fitting resolution.
“Wish You Were Here” is largely based on W. W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw”. This cautionary tale with a xenophobic undercurrent has since been adapted countless times in film and television. In this variation, Ralph (Richard Greene) is an unscrupulous businessman who is on the brink of monetary ruin until he and his wife Enid (Barbara Murray) discover the secret to their trinket from Hong Kong. This figurine, made in the likeness of the Chinese Eight Immortals, grants three wishes to its wielder. And, as things go in this kind of narrative, Enid naturally makes wishes that backfire on both her and Ralph. The pervasiveness of Jacobs’ story in pop culture will likely dull the shine of “Wish You Were Here”, but EC’s trademark grisliness sets this one apart. Interestingly, director Freddie Francis helmed the Tales from the Crypt episode “Last Respects”, which more or less reimagines this piece rather than taking anything from its actual comic counterpart.
So far, the Crypt-Keeper’s company has proven to be one lousy lot, but Nigel Patrick’s character, William, gives his peers a run for their money. In his chapter, the former military captain has been hired as the new director of a home for the blind. William immediately cuts costs to pay for his own luxuries, including steak dinners and expensive artwork for his office. Meanwhile, the residents go without in every respect. All it takes is one tragedy before they then retaliate in the most brutal manner possible. “Blind Alleys” is a slow yet satisfying approach to revenge. In addition, this Crypt-derived tale predicts more contemporary horror trends like torturous retribution and sadistic traps.
The emphasis on startling twists and turns applies more to the smaller stories of an anthology than the wraparound. After all, these films have made a habit of endangering the audience within. This enduring facet of horror omnibuses is inspired by 1945’s Dead of Night, but Amicus took the concept even further by subjecting the characters to fates worse than death: absolute damnation. EC Comics’ sense of morality was exceedingly black and white, as was its usual response to unethical behavior. Amicus’ Tales from the Crypt movie on the other hand, slaps on a god-fearing element that goes beyond EC’s notion of life after death. Instead of reanimated corpses emerging from their graves to carry out swift justice, folks like Joanne, Carl, James, Ralph, and William are sentenced to divine punishment on top of their individual demises.
EC Comics was sadly laid to rest in 1956 after losing a battle with the moral police; parents, psychologists, and churches all found the publication’s horror output objectionable, and they did everything in their power to shut the company down. In the years after the backlash, longtime fan Subotsky convinced Amicus partner Max Rosenberg to bring these gruesome tales to the big screen for two separate adaptations; the other being 1973’s The Vault of Horror. This daring move not only made a lot of previous readers happy and nostalgic, it was a reminder of how innovative EC truly was for its time. Still is, in many respects. The classic source material yielded enthusiastic and sharp films that, to this day, stand out among Amicus’ esteemed collection of anthologies.
Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
The problem with filming sequels back-to-back is that, unless you can afford expensive reshoots, there’s no easy way to adjust course in between movies if fans react badly to where the story is headed. That’s why it’s important to have a complete narrative thought out well in advance lest you accidentally kill a budding franchise.
However, this isn’t always the case. Every once in a while, it seems like the cinema gods smile upon certain chaotic productions and gift moviegoers with complete franchises that feel like more than the sum of their hastily produced parts. Ted Nicolaou’s Bloodlust: Subspecies III is precisely one of these miraculous pictures, with the raw talents of the artists involved (as well as the continued support from Romania) turning the feature into an effective conclusion for a series that kind of made things up as the filmmakers went along.
That’s why I’d like to invite my fellow readers to join me on this third part of our journey through the Subspecies franchise as we look into Bloodlust and talk about how it remains a surprisingly satisfying finale to the original trilogy.
A Trilogy Planned on the Fly
Released only a year after Bloodstone found plenty of success in rental stores and mail-in VHS catalogues worldwide, 1994’s Bloodlust was produced at the same time as its predecessor in (mostly) the same locations and with the same team. This means that the movie benefited from all the same upgrades as Bloodstone, with the crew now being more experienced with the ins and outs of surviving a low-budget Romanian production and the cast really settling into their characters.
At this point, everything from location scouting to the makeup process had been streamlined, with Wayne Toth and Norman Cabrera, the main duo behind special effects, even switching out time-consuming prosthetics for latex gloves in order to speed up Anders Hove’s monstrous transformation. The titular “subspecies” demons were also once again relegated to a mere cameo appearance due to the laborious puppetry required to bring them to life.
The only real hiccup came from the fact that actress Denice Duff had replaced the first film’s Michelle (Laura Mae Tate) and was immediately expected to portray the character as both an innocent victim in part II and as a secondary villain in part III. According to behind-the-scenes interviews, the hectic production schedule that blended two different movies meant that Duff would often find herself having to alternate between two incredibly different versions of Michelle during the same shooting day – though it’s obvious that she’s having more fun with Bloodlust’s more traditionally vampiric version of her character.
In the finished film, we pick things up immediately where the previous entry left off as Rebecca (Melanie Shatner) is forced to leave her vampire sister Michelle (Duff) behind in the dungeons of Castle Vladislav due to the rising sun. This allows Mummy (Pamela Gordon) to use Michelle’s blood to revive the vicious Radu (Hove) so that he may continue his quest for the coveted Bloodstone – a magical artifact that perpetually drips the Blood of Saints.
Meanwhile, the dreamy US embassy agent Mel (Kevin Blair) agrees to help Rebecca plan a rescue mission, though they’re unaware that Radu has become infatuated with Michelle during his attempts to guide her growing bloodlust. This all culminates in a climactic confrontation meant to tie up all of the series’ loose ends in one of Full Moon Pictures’ most ambitious productions.
The Evolution of Radu
Like its predecessor, Bloodlust: Subspecies III was also warmly received by fans who argued that the series was an even bigger success than Full Moon’s other major horror franchise, Puppet Master. This praise wasn’t unanimous, however, as 1994 had seen the rise of a more modern breed of sexy vampire popularized by Anne Rice, with old-school Nosferatu like Radu being viewed as obsolete when compared to the likes of Lestat and Gary Oldman’s take on Dracula.
In a way, one might argue that Nicolaou’s film is something of a swan song for the classic vampire story, as Bloodlust combines all of the traditional elements we tend to associate with these tales into a single tragic yarn that ties a neat little bow on Radu’s story as well as the old-fashioned monster movies that he represents. The finale remains shocking despite the fact that this is the third time we see Radu get brutally killed onscreen, with the brief tease that he may one day return feeling more like a nod towards the nature of evil rather than sequel bait.
The film dabbles a bit in gothic romance and even explores the inherent power fantasy behind transforming into an immortal creature of the night, but the filmmakers never lose sight of Radu as a demonic force even when he’s willing to betray his beloved Mummy for Michelle’s sake. In fact, his twisted “love” for his fledgling makes him even creepier as we get the feeling that his passion comes from a dark and disturbing place.
Anders Hove is at his absolute best in this film, with the effects department boosting his moments of what the younger generation would call “aura farming” whenever Radu emerges from shadows like a 90s version of Count Orlok. There are even a couple of surprisingly effective jump-scares here, which is why I’d argue that Bloodlust cements Radu as one of the most memorable cinematic vampires of all time despite his humble origins.
Subspecies Saves Its Best For Last
Nicolaou and Vlad Panescu also saved the best for “last” (more on that in a bit) regarding the film’s visuals, with the cinematography and overall atmosphere of Bloodlust absolutely surpassing what we saw in the previous films. Everything feels appropriately climactic this time around (including the wonderful soundtrack that was co-composed alongside an authentic Romanian orchestra), and I appreciate how this is the fastest-paced entry in the trilogy since the film doesn’t need to waste time setting anything up.
Bloodlust still suffers from some of the same low-budget blemishes as its predecessors, but there’s so much creative passion here that no amount of wonky effects work or stilted dialogue can get in the way of appreciating the flick’s gothic grandeur. That’s why it’s not surprising that the movie’s definitive(-ish) ending would later be retconned as fans begged for more Radu.
Of course, the next entry in this series would be a different kind of vampiric endeavor altogether, with the filmmakers attempting to engage with the same trends that ultimately killed Radu and his antiquated kin. That, however, is a story for another time. For now, I’ll merely insist that Bloodlust: Subspecies III remains a highlight of Full Moon’s expansive catalogue and is definitely worth seeking out today.
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