31 Days of Halloween: The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

One year ago: The Raven (1935)

There have been many film adaptations of Gaston Leroux's novel, and the one that remains most revered is the original silent version, dominated by the great Lon Chaney's performance. This 1943 adaptation, starring Claude Rains, is sadly overlooked, more often than not. Filmed in lavish Technicolor, the film's wonderful cast, excellent music score, and lush cinematography make it a worthwhile viewing experience.

Enrique Claudin(Rains), a twenty year veteran violinist at the Paris Opera House, is hideously scarred in an accident over the supposed theft of the music he has composed. Retreating to the bowels of the Opera House, he makes a new existence in the catacombs where no one dares wander. As the Phantom, he continues to train and guide young Christine Dubois(Susanna Foster), whose training he had paid for prior to his scarring. Claudin is devoted to Christine, and extremely jealous of her two suitors Inspector Raoul D'Aubert (Edgar Barrier) and Anatole Garron(Nelson Eddy). The Phantom's devotion to and obsession with Christine drives him to ever more horrific acts, until he finally takes her as his own, descending into the catacombs with her. Raoul and Anatole must put aside their differences to pursue the Phantom, and save Christine.

Many people seem to dislike this adaptation because it changes the story of the Phantom significantly. That is actually one of the reasons I enjoy the film; with so many adaptations to choose from, this film's attempt to put a different spin on things appeals to me. If it had been poorly made, the new approach wouldn't matter, but thankfully, this film is not poorly-made at all. Most of the cast is excellent, with Rains predictably standing above all the others with a performance that is alternately chilling and heartbreaking.

The film reused the auditorium set, which had been constructed for the 1925 Lon Chaney adaptation(and the set is still standing!). Much of the sets were used for the Boris Karloff film The Climax, which was shot soon after. It was originally planned as a sequel to Phantom, but unfortunately, those plans fell through, and the film is unrelated.

With so many horror films available for viewing, it is inevitable that some gems will slip through the cracks. This version of The Phantom of the Opera isn't forgotten, but it is certainly ignored, for the most part. It's high time for that to change. Even if you don't like the idea of a film tampering with the character of the Phantom and his origins, give this one a shot anyway. Its quality just might win you over.

31 Days of Halloween: Boris Karloff collector figure

One year ago: The Mummy (take one)

There is a large market for high-end sixth-scale (12" tall) figures of which I'm really not a part. There is a lot of very impressive work being done with sixth-scale figures, but unfortunately, I just don't have the kind of disposable income to buy them on anything resembling a regular basis. However, Amok Time produced a figure a few years back that I simply had to splurge for. They made a sixth-scale figure of my favorite actor: Boris Karloff.

Lucky for me, Amok Time's products are not nearly as expensive as those of most other companies catering to the high-end figure collector market. The figure is very nice, with an excellent likeness of the beloved actor. The outfit is well-made, although the collar on the shirt is too damn big. It can be pulled down a bit, which looks better for a while, but it always creeps back up. One of these days, I'll have to come up with a more permanent solution. Oddly, the right hand they chose is sculpted as if he were holding a gun. It's not a big deal, but it does look a bit odd in many poses. The hands look yellowish in the photo, but they don't look that way to the naked eye.

Although he is best remembered for his horror roles, Karloff was a very versatile actor who enjoyed a very long career, and he stayed in demand right up until the end of his life. In order to capture him in three of his iconic looks throughout his career, Amok Time included three heads. I chose the Grampa Boris look, since that's how I best remember him outside of his roles that involved the use of lots of makeup and prosthetics. Someone really needs to make a Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney(Sr. & Jr.) to go with him! He resides on the top of an extra dresser, next to that large Frankenstein Monster we looked at a few days ago. There are a lot of great sixth-scale figures made, and  I have to pass up pretty much all of them, but I'm glad this is one of the very few I was able to get.

31 Days of Halloween: House of Leaves

One year ago: Horror of Dracula

House of Leaves aspires to reach into your brain with its sticky fingers and leave its messy fingerprints all over your mind. Simply put, Mark Danielewski's novel is a book-within-a-book-about-a-movie-that-doesn't-seem-to-exist... hell, that doesn't sound simple at all! And it really does get a bit complicated, but trust me, it's worth it. Even pages that look like this

or this

reward you for the minor amount of work you put into them. Some portions of the book are really just an academic critique, and those bits can drag, but even that works in the book's favor, as it adds to its authenticity. See, the book focuses on The Navidson Record, a film chronicling the story of the titular Navidson family as they realize that their new house is not what they expected. It begins when they realize the house is larger on the inside than on the outside, and things quickly escalate from there to levels of impossibility that boggle the mind. The elderly blind man Zampano has written a lengthy manuscript analyzing the film, and upon his death, it falls into the hands of Johnny Truant. JT becomes obsessed with the manuscript, reading further and further along, desperate to finish it, even as his life unravels around him. He provides footnotes that frequently ramble for pages at a time, and these footnotes often have footnotes of their own. JT's tirades can get tiresome, particularly when they distract you from some of the more interesting parts of the main narrative, but they do add more color and background if you read through them. However, if they are truly annoying you, many of the long one can be just skimmed, or even skipped altogether.

There is a good deal of what I feel compelled to call "wankery" present in the book. I gave you a glimpse of some of that in the images above; in addition, we have certain words or phrases printed in different colors-- the word "house" is always blue, for instance-- and codes worked into some pages, collages with hidden clues, and all manner of, well, wankery. I never really felt that the book was trying to be too clever, however; some of the purely cosmetic tricks, such as the blue "house," don't amount to much, but most of the techniques truly serve to enhance the story. There's a stretch of about twenty or so pages where only a few words are printed on each page, and it serves to propel the narrative at an even more blistering pace than would otherwise be achieved. I literally could not turn the pages fast enough, and it enhanced the mood during that scene a great deal.

As the book ends, there are a fair amount of unanswered questions, and it leaves the reader with a lot to mull over. Where these ruminations lead you can significantly alter your perception of what you've just read, and I came to my own conclusion not long after I put the book down.

Some of what follows may be considered mild spoilers, so hit "page down" a few times if you want to avoid them! I don't think anything I've typed will ruin the book or any of the suspense for you, but here's fair warning, just in case! Enjoy these kitty pictures in the meantime. (nothing says "Spoilers ahead" like kitties, eh?)

Ready? Zampano does not exist. Johnny Truant clearly suffers from serious mental illness, quite possibly the schizophrenia that plagued his mother. There are numerous occasions in JT's footnotes where he does and creates things completely independently of his conscious mind. I'm convinced that Zampano, and therefore the original HOL manuscript itself, is an unconscious creation of JT's. There are several things here and there that support this interpretation, but the main piece of evidence that sticks out to me is this: We are told again and again that Zampano is blind. His blindness is not something that happened recently. How does a blind man watch a film and describe so precisely every last visual element in the film, to the point of fauning over Navidson's exquisite composition of every shot in which he is in control of the camera? The vast majority of Zampano's contributions are firmly based in the realm of the visual, to which Zampano did not have access. A weak argument could be made that the film was intricately described for him, but such an argument seems so feeble that it carries no weight.
So, that brings us back to my original declaration: Zampano does not exist. This casts everything in an incredibly suspicious light, and indeed, the entire book can easily be dismissed as a work of pure fiction(the book is obviously fiction, of course, but we're talking about what's what within the world of the book itself, so bear with me here). Like all theories about this book, this does leave some loose ends. For instance, what about the hidden message to Zampano in one of the letters JT's mother writes to him from the mental institution? Could be dismissed as pure coincidence, of course. But maybe not, and it can still work with this theory. Many of the people and events he relates are surely fictional, and that could easily extend to the letters from his mother. Creating these letters himself, unbeknownst to himself, such coded messages were inserted by his subconscious mind to help perpetuate his false reality.
This theory also means that the Navidson record is almost certainly a creation of JT's mental illness as well. This covers all the bases, including why the film apparently does not actually exist, why none of the celebrities who supposedly commented on the film have ever heard of it when JT contacts them, and why a great many of the sources cited in the manuscript do not exist. The whole thing is the result of the inner workings of a complex and damaged mind.







END OF POTENTIAL SPOILER AREA






That's what I took from the book. I'm sure you have your own theories if you've read it, and they may well blow mine out of the water. However you interpret the material this books presents to you, it's a fun exercise. Any work that draws the reader in and involves them to such a degree is truly something special, and anyone with an interest in the horror genre-- though this book truly straddles several genres-- owes it to themselves to check it out. It took me a long time to get to it, but I'm damn glad I did.
My score:

31 Days of Halloween: The Creature from the Black Lagoon figure

One year ago: Bride of Frankenstein

It's time to look at another really cool monster figure! Today, it's the Creature from the Black Lagoon figure Diamond Select released last year. Aside from a rubbery stretch toy, this is the first Gill Man figure I've ever gotten. For whatever reason, I have always had the worst luck when it comes to action figure representations of this guy. I won't bore you with the details; suffice to say, every time one has been made, events seem to conspire to prevent me from getting it. That finally changed last year.

Like the Mummy figure that was part of the same line, Gill Man doesn't have much in the way of articulation. Aside from a couple of joints on the arms, he's nearly immobile from the neck down. There are swivels on his ankles, but they don't move much, and are no help in posing him to where he can actually stand up. He really has to be put in front of something that can help prop him up a bit, or else he'll be falling constantly. The way his feet and legs are molded, there's just no way to put him in a stable pose on his own with the meager articulation he has. That's really my only gripe with him.

The sculpting is excellent, with some great detail. Julia Adams looks pretty spiffy, too! The likeness is very good, ans she has a joint at the head to get it in just the right pose relative to where you put the Gill Man. The figures are the base are clearly based on this photo from the film, and they pulled off the recreation pretty damn well.

That does it for today. Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone, and don't forget to creep back by tomorrow!

31 Days of Halloween: Frightening Frankenstein Figures!

One year ago: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

It's Frankenstein Friday once again! Today, we're gonna look at some of the Frankenstein action figures I've picked up over the years!

This is another figure from that Toy Island set I mentioned a week or so back. Lime green skin and green clothing, which is kinda weird. I've seen him in a green coat pretty regularly on various merchandise, but rarely with green pants as well. (They appear gray in this photo, but they're greenish in person.) Anyway, this is a pretty cool figure, with a good deal more articulation than most classic monster figures tend to have. Ideally, he'd be a bit larger; the scale was rather inconsistent with this line. Still, I was pretty pleased to get him.

This came from a Scooby Doo two-pack, and ran me about $4. I don't collect Scooby Doo stuff, but I had to pick it up when I saw this in the set. I love the design, and they did a fantastic job translating it into three dimensions. He doesn't have much articulation, but smaller figures like this rarely do, outside of GI Joe. He looks great on the shelf with the other stuff I have that's a similar size.

This came from a line Jakks Pacific did close to ten years ago. It included Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Frankenstein Monster. Each had a diorama, and came in both color and black & white versions. They were pretty overpriced, but I picked up this one and the Wolf Man on clearance. (Dracula was long gone by that time.) This is a recreation of the scene from Bride of Frankenstein where the Monster has been subdued by a large mob; temporarily, as it turns out. The sculpting is good, with a strong Karloff likeness. The details are pretty accurate to his appearance at this point in the film. Articulation is adequate, but not that great. He does have a ball-jointed head with a great range of motion, though. Gotta give Jakks props for making it so he can work well either in or out of the chair. There is a lever built into the chair that, when depressed, raises the Monster's arms, mimicking his escape from the chair in the film. Unfortunately, this means he has a big hole in his back when you remove him from the chair. Still, I leave him in it all the time, so it's no big deal.

Finally, we come to this guy. Large and in charge, this Frankenstein figure is the build-a-figure from that Toy Island line. Yes, the BAF was just a larger version of one of the regular figures in the set. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but there it is. He makes a nice display piece, even if his large size makes some of the flaws more apparent. For instance, there's this weird ridge around his pants, just below the knees. (They're on the smaller version too, just not as obvious.) The only thing I can think of is that maybe that's supposed to be the tops of his boots, but if so, it still looks very odd. The hip joints do not work at all. seriously, they don't move. I've seen other complaints about this, so apparently it was a widespread issue. I just leave him in a standing pose so it's not a big problem, but it's still kind of annoying. His skin is a more subdued shade of green than the smaller version, and he looks all the better for that. I always intended to add some more scarring and repaint him, but I've never found the time for it. Maybe one of these days...

That's it for today! We're supposed to go to the Terrortest haunted house tonight; it should be fun! Do yourself a favor and head to a local haunted house yourself this weekend, you've only got a couple more weeks before they're gone for another year!

Rant Review: The Shade #1, My Greatest Adventure #1

Back again with the two new miniseries which launched this week. Let's get rollin'!

The Shade #1
Written by James Robinson, Art by Cully Hamner
This one has been a looooong time coming. Before Robinson's magnificent Starman Series had even ended over a decade ago, he made it clear that he intended to tell us the Shade's full origin eventually. (There is also the matter of the tale of Jack Knight's trip to Japan, but that's another story altogether. We haven't forgotten about that one either, though!) It's taken a long time to finally happen, but now it's finally here!

Let's get this straight right away: this is not a book for new readers. If you haven't read Robinson's Starman series, this is not the place to begin. (And if you haven't read that series, you really should. It's one of the finest superhero comics ever published.) Fans of these characters will be delighted, however. The Shade has grown a little too complacent, a fact that is pointed out several times in the issue. We check in with a few supporting characters, including Mikaal Tomas and Hope O'Daire, and a subplot is brewing that involves Shade acquaintance William Von Hammer. The art will be handled by a different artist each issue, and Hamner's art here is the usual very nice and crisp work we've come to expect from him. This issue is mostly setup, but it's filled with the promise of great things to come.
My score: 

My Greatest Adventure #1
Written by Matt Kindt, Art by Scott Kolins(Robotman); Written & Drawn by Aaron Lopresti(Garbageman); Written & Drawn by Kevin Maguire (Tanga)
The first story in this anthology is a reboot of Robotman. Apparently no longer affiliated with the often-rebooted Doom Patrol, Robotman is a sort of adventurer-for-hire... and he seems to have a bit of a death wish.  With only 11 pages to tell their story, Kindt & Kolins do a good job of establishing exactly who Robotman is, familiarizing us with his new status quo, sending him off on his next adventure, and leaving us with a nice cliffhanger. Very nice, economical work. This story shows some serious promise.

The story starring Garbageman didn't grab me at all. I didn't read the previous anthology that introduced the character, and it seems to continue from there with very little to get new readers caught up on events. So, nothing that happens really means anything to me, and it's not interesting enough on its own to make me care.   At this point, Garbageman just comes off as a poor man's Swamp Thing.

Much like Garbageman, the Tanga story makes no attempt to inform new readers of exactly what the hell is going on. Unlike the Garbageman story, some of what happens here is interesting enough that I may check out some back issues to get caught up. Maguire's always-gorgeous art certainly doesn't hurt.

Overall, as with most anthologies, this is a mixed bag. I enjoyed the Robotman story a good bit, the Tanga story is mildly interesting, but I don't care for Garbageman at all. At this point, I'm really not sure if I'll bother with the next issue or not.
My score: 

That does it for today, at least, as far as comics are concerned. There will be another 31 Days of Halloween post in a couple of hours though, so don't forget to swing back by for that!

31 Days of Halloween: The Monster Squad

One year ago: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

For a monster-loving kid in the 1980s, director Fred Dekker's The Monster Squad came along at just the right time. There just weren't many movies made that decade in the classic horror mold; most horror movies of the '80s featured alien creatures such as the aptly-named Aliens, or else they were more generic slasher fare such as the seemingly endless sequels to Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street. There's nothing inherently wrong with those films, but they simply didn't appeal to a lover of the classic monsters such as me on anywhere near the same level. So, in 1987, The Monster Squad seemed like a godsend.

The movie revolves around a group of children who belong to a club based on love of classic monsters, called the Monster Squad. The group includes Sean(Andre Gower), Patrick(Robby Kiger), Horace(Brent Chalem), Rudy(Ryan Lambert), Eugene(Michael Faustino), and, after she helps recruit a very important new member, Sean's adorable little sister Phoebe(Ashley Bank). The kids discover that many of these monsters are actually real, and pursuing some nefarious purpose right in their hometown. With the help of an elderly friend(Leonardo Cimino), the Monster Squad sets out to stop the monsters, and destroy them if possible. They'll have to face Dracula(Duncan Regehr), the Frankenstein Monster(Tom Noonan), the Wolf Man(Carl Thibault, played in human form by Jonathan Gries), the Gill Man(Tom Woodruff Jr.), and the Mummy(Michael McKay) before it's all over.

This movie is a delight from start to finish, and even more so for anyone who grew up in the '80s. It is truly a product of its time, despite its reverence toward the classic Universal monster movies. The cast does a good job in their roles overall, with a couple of the children standing out. A couple of the monsters get short shrift, which was probably inevitable with such a large cast. The Mummy, in particular, doesn't really get a chance to shine. From a design standpoint, however, I'd name this Mummy second only to the Karloff version.

The Gill Man also impresses, with a wonderful design that comes off extremely well onscreen. The Frankenstein Monster design is evocative of the Universal version, yet remains different enough to retain its own identity. The Wolf Man is one of the better film werewolves we've gotten over the years. Dracula is clearly modeled on the iconic Lugosi version, and Regehr does a pretty good job in the role. He maintains an air of cordiality much of the time, but he unleashes a brutal nastiness at times that gives us a glimpse of what the Count is truly like.

The Monster Squad is a wonderful blend of monsters and comedy, and like the classic Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, it remains respectful of the monsters. That is one of the main reasons why it works so well. Some aspects are rather dated, but those don't harm the movie; in fact, they'll only enhance the experience for any child of the '80s. There haven't been many great monster movies made in the past three decades, but The Monster Squad is one of them.

Rant Review: Legion Lost #2, Resurrection Man #2, Deathstroke #2, Grifter #2, Mister Terrific #2, Suicide Squad #2

If you missed yesterday's reviews, you can find 'em right here.

Legion Lost #2
Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Pete Woods
This issue gives us the rest of the information the debut issue was lacking, and it's all the better for it. Despite my lifelong inability to get interested in the Legion, this small group, placed in the modern day, makes it manageable. The team has their first encounter with a human who has been infected by the virus from the future, and the results are disastrous. Where the first issue was a little too chaotic, this one reins it in a bit, and gives us a tale with some personal ramifications for Wildfire. I knew nothing but his name before, but after this issue, I've gotten to know him a bit. Hopefully the series will continue down this path, giving us solid adventures that shine the spotlight on a different member of the team.
My score:

Resurrection Man #2
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Art by Fernando Fernando Dagnino
Mitch heads to the rest home where his father had been staying to find some answers. Unfortunately, the supernatural forces are still hot on his trail, as are the females assassins the Body Doubles. This series feels like it's going somewhere interesting, but it's not quite firing on all cylinders yet. The cliffhanger definitely makes me want to read the next issue right away though; it looks as if business is about to pick up!














My score:

Deathstroke #2
Written by Kyle Higgins, Pencilled by Joe Bennett, Inked by Art Thibert
If you want to watch Deathstroke kill about 90 people, this is the comic for you. After a few pages where the contents of the mysterious briefcase are teased, the rest of the issue, right up until the final page, is a gigantic battle. If you buy a comic with a name like "Deathstroke," though, you know pretty much what to expect. This issue is over-the-top fun, if a bit on the goofy side at times.
My score: 

Grifter #2
Written by Nathan Edmondson, Pencilled by Cafu, Inked by Jason Gorder
Things intensify fast as Cole meets with his girlfriend, trying to convince her that the things he is seeing and hearing are real. Meanwhile, his brother is hot on his trail. There's plenty of action in this issue, and a nice sense of momentum is building. My one big gripe is that it seems to end a little too quickly. I'm enjoying this series more than I expected to, and looking forward to next issue's showdown.
My score: 

Mister Terrific #2
Written by Eric Wallace, Pencilled by Gianluca Gugliotta, Inked by Wayne Faucher
This issue finds Michael dealing with the disaster from the final pages of the debut issue, with some science that seems rather ridiculous even by comic book standards. Several subplots are also developed, including what looks to be a larger threat looming in the future. We meet the mastermind behind the brain hijackings, and Mister Terrific get's ready to throw down with him. This isn't one of the best comics this week, but it's a fun read.
My score: 

Suicide Squad #2
Written by Adam Glass, Pencilled by Federico Dallochio, Inked by Andrei Bressan
The team launches into their inaugural mission, taking on a stadium full of what basically amounts to techno-zombies. There are a few twists and turns along the way, and some nice character interaction. Another twist at the end means things are about to get even tougher for our "heroes." This book isn't Secret Six, but it's pretty fun when judged on its own merits.
My score:

That's it for the ongoing series for this week. Pop back by tomorrow for reviews of the new miniseries My Greatest Adventure, as well as the long awaited debut of the 12-issue series The Shade!