Skip to main content

Song At Midnight (1937) - Weibang Ma-Xu

The late 30's were such a turbulent time for the world. Thus not many films were getting made. China was involved with skirmishes with it's aggressive neighbor on the seas, Japan. During war, Weibang Ma-Xu still found time to create a western-influenced remake to the Phantom of the Opera. Although, clearly this is influenced by the Dracula and the Phantom of the Opera that came from the US. However, it still carries traditional Chinese themes in its musical styles and artistic approach. 

The effects are minimal but great for its time. It's a shame this movie didn't get a full western release. The cinematography is really clean and well done. The sets are creepy enough and the costumes are a definite highpoint. This movie doesn't disappoint. It is influenced by the western version of Phantom but takes its own liberties and that doesn't bother me. 

 The movie showcases the origin of the "Phantom" character. It shows his face being mangled by acid and the horrific effect it took on his skin. The makeup on the character, Song Danping, is actually grotesque. It's worth watching just for the scene when he sees himself in a mirror for the first time. Mimicking the famous "reveal scene" in the original Phantom of the Opera from 1925. The showdown at the end of the movie is good too. 

 All in all the movie is decent. It runs really long, but it's full of character. This is definitely a forgotten gem from the early days of film. A quick Google search finds that almost every horror movie database on the Internet doesn't even list 1937 as having a horror movie. This needs to be rectified. This movie is plenty frightening and qualifies for a solid entry. It is definitely a top contender for the top 20 horror movies from the 1930's. 
I LOOK LIKE A WILD ANIMAL!


  • This movie has been remade several times and actually has a sequel, Song at Midnight 2 (1941)
  • The movie was given high honors in China in 1999 and 2005. It is listed in the top 100 Chinese films.
  • 夜半歌声 was screened at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival. 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t...
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »

Humanoids From the Deep (1980) - Barbara Peeters and Jimmy T. Murakami

This is your standard old drive-in Creature Feature that has tons of gore and boobs. It's great if your in for a cheap thrill. This film goes right up along side any Roger Corman produced picture from the eighties. It's rumored that Joe Dante was approached to direct this movie but he turned it down. Humanoids from the Deep, also known as Monster, is a strange but forgettable piece of exploitation that failed to make it's notch in history. Don't let that detour you though. This is a really fun little film that doesn't fail to be entertaining.  A small sea town in California is terrorized by some mutated creatures from the deep. They look like some sort of mutated fish, merman-thing. They seem to have one goal in mind and that is raping and impregnating the females of the town. Also the town is being taken for a ride by a shifty businessman and his new corporate cannery. Could this evil cannery corporation be responsible for the Extreme Creatures of the B...
2 comments
Not scared yet? »

Escape From Tomorrow (2013) - Randy Moore

This review may contain spoilers. An American independent horror movie from filmmaker Randy Moore. It stars Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Jack Dalton, Annet Mahendru, and Alison Lees-Taylor. It premiered at the official selection of Roger Ebert, at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18th, 2013. Synopsis Jim is a depressed middle-aged man that despises his family life but wants to try to hold it together for a vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort. Jim receives a call before they leave and, unfortunately, Jim has lost his job as well. It proves too much to handle as this trip to the Magic Kingdom becomes a hellish nightmare. Jim’s mind cracks as we watch him deal with Disney’s seedy underbelly. Complete with elaborate corporate conspiracy, undercover sex workers, and demons. Oh and two very young French girls that Jim lusts over. It’s gross. Analysis The acting is amateurish. It’s nothing that’s going to win any awards or anything. The wri...
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »