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Showing posts from June 27, 2013

The Island of Lost Souls (1932) - Erie C. Kenton

This is quite possibly the best adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic story  The Island of Dr. Moreau . I am a fan of movies that create a kind of controversy, and this movie did just that. The movie was banned in the UK due to animal cruelty laws. Although I am very much on the side of the animals here, I am very intrigued. Also I am pretty sure that the movie doesn't really harm any animals.  The movie is about a man who gets stranded on a boat that is on its way to Dr. Moreau's Island. This mad Dr. who looks like Hitler, experiments on animals turning them into some sort of man beasts. There is also a sexy panther woman who is used to seduce men into Dr. Moreau's clutches. The island is not on any map and the evil doctor likes to keep it that way. He has created an entire tribe of man-beasts, which he controls with the crack of his whip. The movie features some pretty eerie stuff, mostly just monsters in great make-up creeping around in the dark. The Island of

Vampyr (1932) - Carl Theodor Dreyer

There is a large gap between the height of expressionism and this French-German, Danish directed mock silent picture. Vampyr, otherwise known as Not Against The Flesh, is a fantastic post-expressionist film. In that manner, that the art is very dark and the shadows  do their jobs to the settings. You can really feel the pre-war Germany in this one. They even reference the silent era by sneaking Title Cards in during the non existent dialogue.  This is a beautiful film about a town terrorized by Vampyrs that lure people out of town to commit suicide. This turns out to be a clever ploy to enhance the numbers of Satan's army. Allen Gray is a wanderer that studies the occult and gets folded into this tale of mystery and the macabre. This really interesting film held my interest all the way through and left me wanting to recommend it to anyone wanting to listen. If you liked Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or any pre-war Germany expressionist pictures like Metropolis, then you will mo