Everyone has their staples for Halloween watching, like John Carpenter’s “Halloween” and “Nightmare Before Christmas.” But be forewarned, gentle reader, because your master of Scarimonies (God, I sound like the Crypt Keeper), Dukey Flyswatter, will suggest some gems and themes that may have flown drastically under your radar, like a schizophrenic Vampire Bat.
This week’s theme is Horror Obscura: The foreign market. Most scream fanatic fiends will know these flickers from across the pond and beyond, but I’m always surprised at how many of these get the short shrift on the Devil’s A-List.
Wednesday Oct. 12th The Whip And The Body (1963)
Italy/Spain co-production. Director: Mario Bava as John M. Old. Stars: Christopher Lee, Dahlia Lavi, Tony Kendall.
Kino Lorber has once again gone out of their way to restore a nearly forgotten film to its former glory on Blu Ray with a ton of gorgeous extras. Christopher Lee is the devil-may-care son of a nobleman who has caused scandal for the family because of his penchant for kinky sex and violence. He is allowed back into the fold by his father, but his brother’s wife develops a fascination for him until his corpse turns up, and then his phantom is present at the scene of forthcoming murders. It’s deliberately paced, but the cinematography is densely atmospheric and the plot is decades ahead of its time.
