Editorials
Join Clive Barker and John Carpenter for Dinner – 1990 BBC Special ‘Horror Cafe’
You’re invited to a dinner party hosted by none other than Clive Barker (Books of Blood, Hellraiser). The guests are a ghastly group of horror geniuses from both fiction and film: John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing), Roger Corman (The Poe Cycle of films for AIP), Ramsey Campbell (Hanging Moon), Lisa Tuttle (Windhaven), and Peter Atkins (screenwriter Hellraiser 2, Wishmaster). What’s even better than getting to sit in on this group discussing the ins and outs of genre and what qualifies as “scary”, you’ll actually witness their creative process. The task they’ve set for themselves is to “create the ultimate horror movie for the end of the millennium, the year 2000.” Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is their jumping off point. With that, you have the setup for this highly captivating special originally broadcast by BBC Late Night on September 15th, 1990.
I’ve seen almost every horror special that’s ever surfaced on YouTube, but somehow this golden nugget had eluded me until now. I’d just finished a fairly intense, non-stop, two week long creative process and I was mentally drained. I needed something to spark the light of inspiration within me and just like magic (or some overly complicated algorithm) there in my “Recommended” column was a grainy broadcast image of young Clive Barker and a title that read Horror Cafe. I had no choice but to click the link, obviously.
Clive Barker sitting across from John Carpenter in the “Horror Cafe”
After a quick opening that reveals rather gruesome meal-prep in a quite literal “Hell’s Kitchen”, I was treated to an hour and a half “behind the curtains” style conversation among the six talented creators. Despite the blatant studio setting (the stage is dressed in German Expressionist style), the conversation flows very naturally and feels completely unedited as if you’re witnessing a real-time brainstorming session over a three course meal. In truth, the group apparently filmed for over three hours, only to have it whittled down for air. I would certainly be ecstatic to find on uncut version pop up online one of these days.
So do they manage to crack the “ultimate horror movie”? No. Not really. The final conceit is a bit of a jumbled mess due to the conflicting styles of horror from each creator. Carpenter is mostly interested in creating a “popcorn flyer” thrill ride. Barker’s focus is on exploring the fantastical, while Corman is more concerned with the social subtext of it all. That said, some of the images they manage to conjure up are truly haunting and one can’t help but wonder what this idea may have looked like brought to life on screens. Intriguingly, one can compare elements of their Millennial saga to what ultimately became Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness only four years later. Both stories share an apocalyptic WTF-ness that seems far from coincidental.
So, if the combined efforts of such fantastic minds doesn’t end with the greatest horror story never told, what can we gleam from Horror Cafe? It seems, the answer is, plenty. The discussion starts early about audience’s love of the macabre. As Carpenter so succinctly puts it, “Why do they watch our films and read our books? Because they want to feel SOMETHING.” He further breaks down the two main types of horror, “left wing” and “right wing”. The right’s fear is of something evil coming into “our tribe” but the left is afraid of the evil already inside us all. Through it all, Carpenter maintains the more pragmatic voice of the bunch…which should surprise no one.
John Carpenter in the “Horror Cafe”
When the concept begins leaning into a more intellectual, heady direction, Carpenter is quick to point out, “I’m not scared yet.” And with this statement an age old Hollywood Horror push and pull is acted out in the microcosm of a dinner party. That is, “smart” horror can not in fact be successful. The opinion being, the masses prefer more simplistic, straightforward monsters. Carpenter describes a teenage girl after a test screening of The Thing being upset with that film’s ambiguous ending. When told she was to use her imagination, she responded with, “Oh, I hate that!” Barker expresses concern that youths are called upon to use their imagination less and less. This, of course, was long before the over saturation of social media. It’d be interesting to hear his thoughts of today’s youth culture.
Humorously, the table finally settles on making a “good” film if not inherently a runaway blockbuster smash. Afterall, as Corman points out, “…there’s a difference between a work of art and an Oscar.” Ultimately, no real headway is made on the story until the group decides to take turns, each telling a small piece of the story and leaving it up to the next guest to continue where they left off. This is where the special truly takes flight. Watching these horror masters spitball is both exciting and humorous. Not all of the ideas land, but this might be the closest one can get to actually seeing the creative process in its infantile stages. I can’t recommend this enough for all you out there who want to be the next Barker, Carpenter, or Ramsey.
What a shame this didn’t become an ongoing series of specials. Each episode could’ve highlighted a different group of creative minds given a unique brief to inspire their ideal horror movie. In the least, It’d be truly amazing to see a follow up piece, reuniting Barker and crew to brainstorm another film concept for today’s vastly different market. I’m sure that’s a farfetched wish. Nonetheless, a nerd can dream. Do you find inspiration in any horror docs or behind the scenes specials? If so, which ones do you turn to for that creative spark?
Check out Horror Cafe right here.
Editorials
‘Bloodstone: Subspecies II’ Revisited: A Bigger, Bolder Follow-Up to Full Moon’s Vampire Cult Classic
Horror sequels are a peculiar thing. In most cases, follow-ups to scary movies tend to retread the same formula with different victims and more over-the-top scares. This is because audiences tend to be more interested in the antagonists of these pictures than anything else, with even main characters becoming disposable when the time comes to produce a sequel.
That’s why some of the most memorable horror sequels are the ones that actually manage to hold onto interesting survivors from previous films while also pushing the story forward instead of having the same thing happen again to a different group of people. From Scream 2 to Dream Warriors (and arguably even The Exorcist III: Legion), there are quite a few of these innovative sequels to go around.
However, if there’s one franchise that deserves more attention when discussing bigger and better continuations that make the most of episodic filmmaking, it has to be Ted Nicolaou’s Subspecies.
The Full Moon classic spawned an indie horror icon, but bizarre sequel Bloodstone: Subspecies II is even more beloved than its predecessor.
Building a Bigger Vampire Saga
While the film itself takes place almost immediately after the events of the first movie, Bloodstone only entered production a couple of years after the release of the original as both Charles Band and Nicolaou weighed the pros and cons of returning to Romania to continue the series. In an effort to maximize efficiency, the team decided to invest in a trilogy where parts II and III, now fully written by Nicolaou, would be filmed simultaneously over the course of a single grueling shoot.
Much like the first Subspecies, Bloodstone’s low budget meant that the filmmakers once again had to cut corners and re-use as many of their resources as possible. Thankfully, the process was much easier this time around as Nicolaou, with the help of Romanian cinematographer Vlad Paunescu and his wife Oana, became more acquainted with local customs and made new friends. Shooting abroad still came with its own unique set of challenges due to a lack of translators and the occasional safety concerns, but the crew managed to make things work by filming things guerrilla-style and setting up shop in abandoned caves and real medieval ruins.
The director’s newfound contacts, coupled with the relative success of the first movie, meant that he was basically given free rein over an assortment of shooting locations usually considered off-limits for indie horror. That’s why Bloodstone features insanely ambitious lighting and effects work even during scenes shot in the middle of a bustling Bucharest. The filmmakers went so far as to project Radu’s Nosferatu-like shadows over local monuments as if he were a Romanian boogeyman, an idea that was actually encouraged by local cinephiles.
In fact, many of the more elaborate scenes here had originally been planned for the first movie before being discarded due to the lack of available resources. It was only with the support of Romanian fans and filmmakers that Bloodstone was able to give Radu a chance to be even more menacing the second time around.
Michelle’s Transformation Takes Center Stage
However, when it came to the American part of the crew, not everyone was able or willing to return for another round of Romanian adventuring. That’s why Radu’s human-loving half-brother Stefan (Michael Watson) is unceremoniously killed off at the beginning of the film while the role of Michelle had to be recast. Denice Duff took over for Laura Mae Tate, with the character now being joined by her sister, Rebecca, played by Melanie Shatner (yes, that Shatner).
In the finished film, we follow Michelle as she awakens to her new life as a vampire and discovers that Radu has murdered her lover. Struggling with grief and her newfound bloodlust, Michelle contacts her sister overseas, with Rebecca soon travelling to Romania on an ill-advised rescue mission. Meanwhile, Radu (Anders Hove) reaches out to his undead Mummy (Pamela Gordon, underneath heavy layers of impressive makeup effects) and promises to deliver her the coveted Bloodstone artifact while also making Michelle his eternal consort.
Revisiting the movie, I was impressed with how introspective this story is when compared to the original. The sequel assumes that you’re already familiar with the previously established characters, so the story wastes no time in exploring the immediate aftermath of the previous film’s events. From Michelle’s reluctant transformation into a creature of the night to Radu’s obvious mommy issues, Nicolaou is way more interested in pushing these characters into new and uncharted territory rather than recycling existing plot points.
Practical Effects and Gothic Atmosphere Still Impress
Yet, much like the first film, it’s Romania itself that makes the movie worth watching. The ruins of Castle Vladislav are even more majestic now, and visiting the moody streets of Bucharest with its surprisingly punk-rock nightlife made for a nice change of pace when compared to the original film’s quiet village setting. Once again, the abundance of interesting locations makes the movie feel much more expensive than it really is, with the filmmakers surrounding our characters with a living, breathing environment that would be impossible to recreate in a studio.
The increased freedom also allowed Nicolaou to flex his filmmaking muscles and tackle more ambitious blocking/composition in the sequel. The low budget and tropey script mean that the visuals don’t always work, but it’s consistently clear that this neo-expressionist style could only come from a passionate team attempting to pay homage to the shadowy horror classics of yesteryear. If the retro atmosphere isn’t enough for you, there’s enough practical gore here to satisfy even the most demanding of horror hounds!
Radu himself is also far more interesting now that Hove is more comfortable working alongside an international crew, with the actor having gone on record explaining that, while he spent more time drinking vodka than working while shooting the first movie, the sequel was a much more creatively satisfying experience for everyone involved. The character’s relationship with his abusive Mummy is also a highlight of the expanded mythology, especially since the practical effects that bring her to life are just as freaky now as they were back in ’93.
My only real gripe with the horror elements of the picture comes from the glaring absence of the diminutive stop-motion minions from the first film, though I guess the surprisingly entertaining addition of Professor Popescu (Michael Denish) and his archeological antics mostly make up for that.
Bloodstone: Subspecies II is obviously the middle chapter of a trilogy, with the ending feeling a lot less definitive than its predecessor as several plot threads are left to dangle in the wind, but I appreciate how the flick explores new ground while remaining faithful to nearly all the ideas that made the original such a good time. While I don’t think it’s as big of an improvement over the first movie as some fans make it out to be, Bloodstone is definitely worth revisiting if you’re a fan of old-fashioned vampire yarns.
Tune in next time for the thrilling conclusion to this initial trilogy, Bloodlust: Subspecies III!
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