Am I Too Late?

Hello lovelies! I am back with a post that was long overdue. I know that in the current political climate, it almost seems trivial to type out another blog post. But if you are anything like me, temporary distractions are a necessity. I intended to create a blog post titled “Five Halloween Picks” for Halloween but skipped out last week due to taking time for my own mental health.

I spent October exploring the horror genre which is honestly not my favorite or most watched genre. I lean towards more film noir and thrillers than anything else, but giving myself this challenge really opened my eyes to the wonderful world of horror. And I am FULLY aware that this month is Noirvember which is one of my favorite months of fall for that reason alone. But with the horror going on currently in real life, what better way to distract yourself than watching some absurd horror films from yesteryear? So in true Melody fashion, I’m a little late to the party but hope you will enjoy this post on 5 horror films to watch before we delve into the wonderful world of noir later this month.

1. Dead of Night (1945) is a British anthology horror film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Chrchton, Basil Dearden, and Robert Hamer. This was my favorite of the horror films that I watched last month. This film is a precursor to TV shows such as The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) and is unique in so many ways. The film follows an architect named Walter Craig (played by Mervyn Johns) who goes to a country home to work on renovation consultation. Upon entry he is puzzled because the setting seems familiar to him. He realizes there are other guests in the country home and small, specific memories come back to him of this day. He isn’t sure what exactly will take place in the home, but he is aware that it will be something awful and dark that will occur later in the night.

The other guests are intrigued, but one guest is skeptical—the psychologist Dr. Van Straaten (played by Frederick Valk). Some of the guests begin to tell stories of odd occurrences that have taken place in their lives, ending with a tale from Dr. Van Straaten which features one of the most popular and used elements from the film—the story of an unstable ventriloquist who believes his dummy is alive and amoral.

The film delves into reality, dreams, and repetition. What is real and what isn’t? How does the world work? Each story told is skillfully directed by each of the directors involved. This is a film that once you begin to watch, you become increasingly intrigued. As a HUGE lover of Rod Sterling’s The Twilight Zone, it was fun to catch so many references from an earlier work. I HIGHLY recommend giving this a watch. It is available on Kanopy (if you have a library card, you can watch 20 movies a month for free on this app).

2. House on Haunted Hill (1959) is an American horror and mystery film directed by William Castle. This film stars one of the kings of horror, Vincent Price as Frederick Loren who plays an odd millionaire who sets up a challenge where 5 guests must stay with him and his wife, Annabelle (played by Carol Ohmart) in a haunted mansion for 24 hours. Whoever stays and survives will win $10k each. This film reminded me of a campy version of Dead of Night due to the fact that it involves a number of guests in a space being haunted by both storytelling and the actual events taking place.

Keep in mind this is a film with early special effects and was a low-budget film production. It is a campy film and to the modern eye it is not “terrifying.” But it is highly entertaining as you try to discover who will kill who. Will it be the creepy terrors that haunt the home or will it be the guests themselves? There are many twists and turns along the way. Watch this when you need a good laugh or to watch something a bit ridiculous.

Besides there are many iconic scenes in this film such as, the bedroom scene in which one of the guests, Nora Manning (played by Carolyn Craig) is tied with rope around the feet. Another iconic scene involves the same character opening her suitcase to find a hacked off bloodied woman’s head in it. (Note: Nora Manning does A LOT of screaming in this film. Take a shot every time she throws her head back and lets out a blood curling scream.)

I discovered actress Carol Ohmart, who played the wife, in this film and she was magnetic. Every outfit she wore in the film was a fabulous late 1950s/early 1960s ensemble. She has been regarded to as “the female Marlo Brando,” and played in films and on TV shows mostly from 1950s-70s. Some of her notable films (mostly horror and film noir) are: The Scarlet Hour (1956), Wild Youth (1960), One Man’s Way (1964), and Spider Baby (1967). I highly recommend checking her out!

This film is public domain and is available on: Amazon Prime, YouTube, Daily Motion, and a number of other platforms.

3. Eyes Without a Face (1960) is a French horror film directed by Georges Franju. I honestly don’t know where to begin with this film. I recently watched this earlier this week on Turner Classic Movies and am still unpacking it as there are many disturbing and brilliant qualities about this film. Eyes Without a Face is a haunting tale about a father, Doctor Génessier (played by Pierre Brasseur) who caused a horrific car accident to occur with his daughter, Christiane (played by Édith Scob) in the car. The accident completely damaged and destroyed her pretty face causing an obsession for her father to correct his error.

Doctor Génessier is a physician and thus has devoted his time going to extreme lengths to fix his daughter’s face. He experiments procedures on a number of dogs that he holds in hostile ways in his home. His assistant Louise (played by Alida Valli) helps him find young, attractive women with similar facial features and hair coloring to Christiane. She finds ways to lure them back to the doctor’s home where they perform nonconsensual heterograft surgeries meant to replace Christiane’s face. This leads to kidnappings, murders, and a police trail.

Eyes deals with obsession and the desire for mankind to defy odds at all costs. One French critic at the time described the film as a film about and of “anguish” and that is the best way to describe it.

This was a very modern film for the times and was met with mixed reviews in France due to the nature of the film. Eyes has a legacy in Europe and has influenced many films (specifically slasher films) all over the world. From French film Faceless (1988) to American film Slasher (the series), this film is a must watch. It is currently available on Criterion Channel.

4. Carnival of Souls (1962) is an American independent horror film directed by Herk Harvey. This is a movie that I watched during quarantine and wanted to write on and recommend for the longest. I figured this is the perfect post to do so. This is a very low budget film, $33k for the production and filming but my does it pack a punch. Carnival has a cult following due to its delayed acclaim and the fact that many of the scenes and images have become iconic.

Carnival of Souls follows a woman, Mary Henry (played by Candace Hilligoss) who begins the film in an awful car accident with two other women. From there she plunges out of the water and we are taken on her journey. She moves from Kansas to Salt Lake City where she was hired as an organist for a local church. In this new city she encounters a ghoulish figure, The Man, over and over. She is haunted by strange organ music and “lost souls.” She tries to navigate her new life in Salt Lake City but is tortured by these demons that follow her.

This film is odd and artistic in its approach. The viewer is unsure what is real and what isn’t. But we are taken on a journey of a woman trying to navigate her internal struggles. I recommend giving this a watch during the day or with a friend and not alone at midnight, the way I mistakenly did. You will be left with an eerie feeling but I HIGHLY recommend this film even if horror isn’t your genre of choice. This is another public domain film that can be watched on YouTube and Amazon Prime.

5. Last but certainly not least Repulsion (1965), a British horror/psychological thriller directed by Roman Polanski (cringe) and starring the incomparable Catherine Deneuve. This film is the first of The Apartment Trilogy by Roman Polanski—Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Tenant (1976) are the other two. I saw this film for the first time in high school on Cinemoi and decided to watch again during quarantine. It is just as disturbing and thought provoking as it was when I watched as a teenager—maybe more so as an adult.

Catherine Deneuve plays Carol Ledoux, a stunning manicurist who lives in London with her older sister Helen (played by Yvonne Furneaux). Carol is repulsed by the idea of being intimate with a man. She hates her sister’s lover and loathes hearing them make love while she is in her room. Thus she reacts by throwing out his belongings and actively showcasing her dislike of him. She is bothered by and dislikes a man whom she is dating.

Helen leaves her sister to go to Italy with her lover leaving Carol at home alone. Carol becomes increasingly disturbed by the idea of men and begins a journey of a slow mental decline. She hallucinates horrific acts of sexual violence and disturbing imagery which causes her to react in a variety of unusual ways.

There are so many ways to interpret this film. I do not want to give away too much but I HIGHLY recommend you give this a watch and message me on social media or by email on your thoughts on Repulsion. Catherine Deneuve does a fabulous job in this role as a tortured woman repulsed by sexuality and men. I also must mention that the score was done by jazz drummer and bandleader, Chico Hamilton, who has done fabulous work in other films most notably, Sweet Smell of Success (1957)—more on that film here. The score for this movie is wonderful. My favorite song is “Carol’s Walk,” which I’ve only been able to find on YouTube from the film and not the full song. I am on the hunt for a record with tracks from this film!

You can watch this on Youtube.

I know that this is an odd time to post horror film recommendations but I do hope that watching or reading about some of these give you a bit of a distraction. I find that the power of a good film can really help improve my day even if it is a bit disturbing or ridiculous. I also highly recommend scrolling through my blog archive and finding previous posts on film recommendations to add to your To Watch Lists.

I will see you next week! Stay safe and take care of yourself. xx
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the photographs in this post.