Silver Screen Stories: Night of the Demon

 

It's Halloween time again, and for 2025, I thought I'd talk about one of my favorite classic horror films, the 1957 British classic, "Night of the Demon". It's a lesser known movie, but in this man's opinion one of the best horror films ever made, of any era. It also happens to be one hell of a "supernatural drama", or "psychological thriller", in an era when the latter especially, was not very common. 

 

 

The U.S. poster.

 

 

It was also released in 1958 in the United States, under the title "Curse of the Demon". However, it was shortened for some stupid reason, by roughly 14 minutes, and while it's still a good movie, the U.S. audience was definitely cheated, as some of the cut scenes help round out the story and make things make more sense. I first saw it, most likely, in the late 2000s, once I started regularly renting movies from Netflix (back when it was for renting DVDs, and nothing more). I can't honestly remember if I saw the "Curse" or "Night" version first, but either way, I loved it from the start. It's definitely not your average 50s monster movie (though I adore those with a burning passion).  

 

 

Stonehenge has nothing to really do with the plot, but it's still a cool visual.

 

 

The film stars Dana Andrews, a great and incredibly underrated (and not very well known) dramatic actor. One of his best films, was a little known suspense/drama called "Zero Hour", which just so happens to be the movie that the 1980 comedy hit "Airplane" copied, some scenes note for note. But "Night of the Demon" is another of his bet roles, because he brings a gravity and soberness to the character, and the story, that really grounds the movie, and makes it feel like serious business. Andrews plays Dr. John Holden, a prominent psychologist, who also specializes in "debunking" supposedly supernatural and psychic phenomena. He arrives in England to give a lecture on just such a thing, helping to debunk a supposedly "magick" cult, when he discovers that his colleague, Professor Harrington, has met with a mysterious death.

 

 

A parchment of runes.

 

 

The film begins with an opening scene showing Harrington, frantically trying to meet with one Julian Karswell, a rich eccentric who is an alleged "sorcerer", with many local followers. It seems Karswell arranged for the Professor, who was publicly criticizing him and his cult, to receive a supposedly "cursed" parchment of runes, like the one seen above. And the Professor had come to believe, for whatever reasons, that the curse was real, and he begged Karswell to revoke it. However, since the parchment had already flown into a fireplace, seemingly of its own accord, and burned to ashes, Karswell simply states he'll "do what he can", after the Professor promises to publicly recant. Of course, the mysterious Mr. Karswell knows something we the audience don't, as while making his way home, relieved, poor Professor Harrington finds himself accosted by what seem like supernatural forces, and he dies.

 

 

Dr. Julian Karswell, the central figure in the tale.

 

 While Dr. Holden's international colleagues seem to think there might be something to the "supernatural" elements surrounding Harrington's demise, Holden himself remains ever the staunch skeptic, refusing to believe there is any such thing. He insists that there must be a rational explanation for these events, and proceeds to the British Museum Reading Room, to do further research for his upcoming presentation on Karswell. He happens, by supposed chance, to run into Karswell himself while there, where the man appeals to him, to drop his expose, and even offers to allow Holden to come to his mansion, to check out a rare book on magick that seems to be missing from the Museum Library. What Holden doesn't see, however, is that when Karswell "accidentally" knocks over some papers, when returning them to Holden, he had slipped in, you guessed it, another sinister parchment...

 

 

 

The brave leading lady.

 

Dr. Holden, while attending Professor Harrington's funeral, meets his niece, Joanna Harrington, whom he had previously encountered, though he didn't know it, on his airplane trip to the UK. She is trying to discover what truly happened to her uncle, whom she was very fond of. She has his private diary, which details his final days, in which it seems that certain strange events, caused him to shift from being a total skeptic like Holden, to being a firm believer that something was amiss, and his life was in danger. He had definitely come to respect and fear what he believed was Karswell's very real power. 

Joanna wants to meet Karswell, to see if she can learn anything, so they go together, Holden having been formally invited. When they arrive, Karswell and his mother and servants are holding his annual Halloween party, for the local children. Karswell himself is dressed up somewhat like a clown, performing innocent magic tricks for the kids, while his mother serves them home made ice cream. But when walking and talking alone with Holden later, Karswell shows his "darker" side. As a demonstration of his supposed power, he claims credit for a sudden strong and seemingly unnatural wind that rises, forcing them into the mansion. When Holden still refuses to believe that Karswell has any kind of "magick", and refuses to cancel his lecture and expose, Karswell, deadly serious, informs Holden that he will die in precisely three days. 

 

 

This film oozes atmosphere and mood.

 

 

Now this movie was directed by one Jacques Tourneur, a French filmmaker who had made quite a career for himself in Hollywood, throughout the '30s, '40s and '50s. He was known for a wide variety of genres, from serious dramas, to romances, to westerns, noir crime and even war films. But most importantly in relation to this film, in the early 40s, he directed three consecutive horror movies for RKO, and producer Val Lewton. Those films were 1942's "Cat People", and 1943's "I Walked With a Zombie" and "The Leopard Man". In all three cases, though most especially in "Cat People", Tourneur makes liberal use of shadows and dark rooms, dark streets and spooky atmosphere. He also plays with the audience, making them wonder if there is indeed something "more", something supernatural, at work. 

And he brings all of those tools and tricks back for Demon, though in my opinion, he outdoes those flicks, classics though they are. For pretty much the entire film, you are along for the ride with ultra-skeptical Dr. Holden, who believes that all instances of "the paranormal" are explainable, and therefor hogwash. Yet as the story unfolds, much like his unfortunate colleague Professor Harrington before him, even he, and through him the audience, begins to question. 

After their visit to the Karswell estate, while talking alone back in Holden's room, a piece of parchment he had no idea was hidden among his notes, seemingly flew (with no noticeable breeze) of its own accord, directly for the fireplace. Though unlike the Professor, Holden was spared by the timely intervention of a metal fireplace screen, which stops the parchment from burning, and allows him to recover it, unbeknownst to Dr. Karswell. But from this instance onward, as time gets ever close to his presentation, he starts experiencing a variety of things, always feeling cold, hearing strange noises, his vision blurring at times, or thinking that he's starting to hallucinate, etc. It doesn't stop his skepticism cold, but it does make him begin to wonder. 

 

 

Hallucination, or something more? 

 

 

And I feel that is a big part of what sets this apart from many other classic horror films, many of which some would label "campy" or "schlocky". From beginning to end, it takes itself, and its subject matter, seriously. It presents you with both facets of the story, that of clinical, skeptical science, and the possibility of actual "magick" and paranormal activity. The film itself doesn't seem to "side" with either point of view, not completely, instead opting to merely present you with plenty from both "sides", and focuses on telling you a good story. 

Karswell, for his part, played brilliantly by the great Niall MacGinnis, makes the movie. Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins are fantastic as our believable and sympathetic heroes, but no story is truly great, without a great antagonist, and Karswell is definitely that. MacGinnis revels in the role, playing the arrogant and self-assured "sorcerer" to the hilt, while still not going over the top at any point. Which makes him all the more chilling, because he doesn't really come off as delusional, and he isn't your stereotpically "mustache twirling villain". No, he seems to know exactly what he's talking about, and exactly what he's doing. He seems to know how things will unfold, and seems confidence he's going to win, calmly, and chillingly confident, throughout. 

The movie leaves it somewhat to the viewers imagination, as to whether the "supernatural" things in the story are truly that, or just some kind of advanced hypnosis or hallucination. To that end, the studio made one interjection that Tourneur didn't agree with: they wanted the titular "demon" to be seen. And so while Tourneur himself had intended to keep it even more ambiguous, by only showing simply shadows, lighting and the occasional distortion or wind or smoke, the film does in fact show us a physical demon, hunting people down and seemingly attacking them. To be fair, the demon looks pretty damn good for what was surely not a big budget movie, and I also don't believe it being shown dampens or lessens what Tourneur was going for. Though I can also see why he would have wanted to show much less. 

 

 

Hey, how are ya?

 

 

Ultimately, while showing the demon could have been "cheesy" and detracted from the suspension of disbelief, it doesn't. It still works, in that it could very well be an honest-to-God "fire demon", materializing in a cloud of smoke, to smite Karswell's intended victims. Or it could just be some powerful post-hypnotic suggestion on Karswell's part, infecting their minds, and it's just coincidence that they happen to die horribly while having these horrible visions. Me, personally, I'm a spiritual kind of guy (though not at all religious), plus I've had a fascination with monsters and the supernatural since I was a kid. So I, naturally, lean towards the demon being real. But that said, I also like the attempt at ambiguity the film goes for. I like that it still leaves it up to the viewer to decide whether it was all real, or imagined. In a way, that makes it spookier and more mysterious, than if the film itself simply told you precisely what was what. 

I personally think that Jacques Tourneur is one of the most underrated, and talented, filmmakers of all time. Not exactly one of my personal top favorites, but I've also either liked, or at least appreciated, everything I've thus far seen of his. He was absolutely a master, and that isn't anywhere better on display, than in "Night of the Demon". I won't spoil the later events, or climax of the film for you, because if you've already seen it, then you know. And if you haven't, then by golly, do yourself a huge favor this Halloween season, and make sure you go find it, and WATCH it! You'll thank me.  

So I hope you enjoyed this piece, I hope you go enjoy the film, and above all, may you all have a very Happy Halloween!

 

Creatures of the Night: The Best of Classic Movie Monsters

 

Halloween time is creeping up again, so it's time for me to bust out another spooky yarn. In the past, I've given you detailed run-downs on actors from classic horror films, as well as Part 2 and Part 3 of that series. I also gave you detailed run-downs on the history of notable werewolf cinema, both classic, as well as more modern films. But today, I'm going to take a look at some of the most iconic movie monsters of all time, the true classics, and what I feel is each of their best representative films.



                                                               *******************

 

 First up to bat, is a movie monster that has, perhaps, been the subject of more films than any other: The Vampire! Vampires, beings that live like parasites off of the blood or life essence of living beings, especially humans, have been a part of various cultural folklore the world over, for a very long time. There have been various differing depictions in fiction, film especially, but in the modern era, most follow the mold set by author Bram Stoker's famous creation, Dracula.

And it is that film, or rather, the first truly official film adaptation thereof, that is my no-brainer for best film representation. The chilling German silent film Nosferatu came a few years before, and in its own right is a great version of the story (albeit with the names changed). But for my money, it never has, and never shall get any better than Tod Browning's 1931 masterpiece. The perfect gloomy, hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. The crisp pacing and snappy writing. The fantastic acting turns by pretty much the entire cast, but most especially Dwight Frye as Renfield, Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing, and of course, Bela Lugosi in the role he standardized and immortalized, Count Dracula. 

There are arguably more exciting, or scary, or tense versions of the Dracula tale by itself, let alone other vampire tales. But while Christopher Lee is iconic in his many turns as the Count, to me, the best Hammer film to depict vampires, also a strong runner up, is Brides of Dracula, which doesn't actually feature Lee or the Count at all. They continue regularly releasing vampire flicks in the modern era, even new adaptations or twists on Dracula. But I think Mr. Lugosi and his bridge-between-silent-and-sound epic, stands on a mountain all its own.

Pick for best vampire film: Dracula (1931)

Other great vampire films: Nosferatu (1922), Vampyr (1932), The Return of the Vampire (1943), Horror of Dracula (1958), The Brides of Dracula (1960), Kiss of the Vampire (1963), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), Count Dracula (1970), Fright Night (1985), The Lost Boys (1987) 

 

 

 

 

Probably the second most iconic movie monster behind the vampire (this side of Godzilla, whom I've done an entire series about), is Mary Shelly's creation, Dr. Frankenstein's Monster. Of course, "Frankenstein" (as he's usually generically and incorrectly called) is a singular figure, unlike an entire "race" of undead terrors. But he is one hell of a singular figure. Created infamously from the parts of many dead men, Dr. Frankenstein's vain and insane attempt at creating what he thought would be the "ultimate man, without flaw", the Monster was "born" an unstable and potentially hugely destructive creature. Immensely strong, and quite possibly indestructible, Frankenstein's creation became something he didn't intend, and could not control. 

There have been far less film adaptations of the Frankenstein story than vampire tales, or even just Dracula, of course. But there's still really only one true answer for this one. I'm a bit split, however, as I feel James Whale's 1931 original Frankenstein film is a spooky masterpiece on its own, and a more straightforward adaptation of the book (with some changes). But my vote has to go to its sequel, Whale's Bride of Frankenstein, for three reasons. One, Dr. Frankenstein, played by Colin Clive, is a deeply conflicted character here, showing great horror and remorse at what his creation has done. Two, because the new antagonist, and instigator of further ungodly experiments, Dr. Pretorius, played brilliantly by Ernest Thesiger, is an unforgettable and highly entertaining addition. But the third and probably deciding factor, is that the Monster itself, is given more emotion, and actual lines, so that Boris Karloff has more room to really portray the creature with depth.

There are other strong Frankenstein films, but nothing comes even close to James Whale's original movies.

Pick for best Frankenstein film: Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Other great Frankenstein films: Frankenstein (1931), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Frankenstein 1970 (1958), Young Frankenstein (1974), Frankenstein Unbound (1990) 

 

 

 

 

Universal Studios immortalized several classic monsters, basically creating the "monster movie" genre, in the early 1930s. Among those, was the 1933 adaptation of H.G. Wells' science fiction classic, The Invisible Man. Universal themselves, wound up making a whole series of mostly unconnected Invisible movies, but nothing would come close to the tone, spectacle, and acting chops of the original. Claude Rains put on a master class performance, all with just his voice, and some gestures (when he's clothed).

A largely unknown or forgotten film, from the early 90s, starring Chevy Chase, no less, that I feel is a good second best representation, is John Carpenter's oddball Memoirs of an Invisible Man. It has the comedic elements that you'd expect from Chase, and the drama and tension that you usually expect from Carpenter, but it's a creature all its own. And its most outstanding feature, and why it's my runner up vote, is because it does a better job than any other film I've certainly ever seen, of depicting what it might really be like for some "everyday Joe", to have to deal with the practicalities and inconveniences of being invisible.

Pick for best Invisible Man film: The Invisible Man (1933)

Other great Invisible films: The Invisible Man Returns (1940), Invisible Avenger (1954), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)

 

 

 

 

Another early 30s sci fi/horror adaptation, this time by Paramount Pictures, was of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There had been several adaptations prior, including Paramount's own silent 1920 version. There would also be other famous adaptations after, such as the 1941 Paramount "remake", starring Spencer Tracy. But while Tracy does a great job, their 1931 film features what I feel is Fredric March at the character's best.

He is suitably sympathetic and conflicted as Dr. Jekyll, the well-meaning scientist who wants to "remove evil from man". But he really lets loose and goes to town when playing the chemically induced alter-ego, Mr. Hyde. I'd gladly put his Hyde up against any other performance of the character. He's almost charming, in a bestial way, if he wasn't such an evil bastard. 

Pick for best Hyde film: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

Other great Hyde films: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)

 

 

 

 

There are plenty of varieties of "undead" persons in human folklore and mythology. I think something deep and primal in us, is just (rightly) scared shitless by the idea of dead people getting back up and moving around. It's a frightening proposition. And while zombies have undoubtedly been in far more films by this point, I think perhaps the most iconic flavors of "undead", besides vampires, are Egyptian mummies. Made famous around the turn of the 20th Century, when famous archeological digs made world news, the idea of supernaturally reanimated, linen-wrapped ghouls from long ago, captured the imagination of millions. Most especially after they started becoming the subject of movies.

Arguably the most famous of these, was one of the first, Universal's 1932 The Mummy. Starring Boris Karloff, it's a very different beast than most mummy flicks that would follow, including Universal's own unrelated series. Featuring a strange sort of (one sided) love tale, the reanimated Imhotep, sees a girl he believes is the reincarnation of his long-lost love, and he seeks to make her his once more. It's definitely a classic, and Karloff does a great job as the titular monster.

But this time around, I'm actually going to give it to England's Hammer Films, who made their own series of horror films in the 50s, 60s and 70s, based largely around the classic movie monsters I'm discussing here today. Their first in their own mummy series, was also aptly and simply titled The Mummy, starring their two big guns of the era, Peter Cushing as John Banning, a surviving member of an archeological expedition, and Christopher Lee as Kharis, a mummy reanimated to destroy those who opened the tomb of the Princess Ananka. There are some great mummy films, including Universal's, but Hammer's 1959 entry just has the right amount of atmosphere, chills, great pacing, great sets and visuals, and fantastic cast performances, that to me it is the ultimate in mummy fare.

Pick for best mummy film: The Mummy (1959)

Other great mummy films: The Mummy (1932), The Mummy's Hand (1940), Pharaoh's Curse (1957), The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964), The Mummy (1999)

 

 

 

 

Last but certainly not least, is probably my personal favorite of the classic movie monster mold: the werewolf. Much like vampires, werewolves, or people who can turn partially or fully into some kind of beast, have long been part of human folklore and human fears. And like vampires, there have been many (though seemingly not near AS many) movies about persons of the "were" persuasion.

As far as I'm concerned, though I admit it's part of an unintentional theme here, the original 1941 Universal classic The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr., is the one to beat. The Wolf Man make-up, by what many call "today's standards" may not be as frightening as it was in the 1940s, but it still looks great, even if it isn't my favorite look for a werewolf. But what really sells this original film over others, to me, is Lon Chaney's performance. He is a good-hearted and earnest man, who would never intentionally hurt anyone. And yet, because of his misfortune to be bitten by a werewolf, a man who himself was likewise good but afflicted by a curse, he transforms against his will during full moons, and commits atrocities he wakes up not remembering.

As stated, there are other great werewolf films, with great werewolf performances. One of my favorites, and the closest to a "runner up" I'll talk about, is 1985's Silver Bullet, which features a young Corey Haim, as a wheel-chair bound boy, who is trying to protect his town from what only he believes is a werewolf, after it kills his friend. Bullet gets my vote for best modern werewolf movie, and best overall werewolf flick besides the Chaney classic. But Lon Chaney is a damn champion in Wolf Man, and his humanity, and sorrow at a curse he cannot change or escape, that ruins, fundamentally ends his life. He sells it so damn well, you really feel for him. It is perhaps a more tragic tale than any other classic movie monster film I can think of. 

Pick for best werewolf film: The Wolf Man (1941)

Other great werewolf films: Werewolf of London (1935), The Undying Monster (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), The Werewolf (1956), The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), Silver Bullet (1985)

 

 

                                                                     *****************

As a final aside, two more modern films that I would say, if you're a fan of these classic movie monsters, that provides great and interesting incarnations of said creatures, are 1987's The Monster Squad, and 2004's Van Helsing. Both have, in my personal opinion, two of the best movie designs for werewolves that I've seen. The most bestial and lupine, for sure. And both are highly entertaining films, well worth watching.

With that said, I hope you all have a very Happy Halloween! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forgotten Gems: Doom 64

 

Imagine you're a kid in the early 90s. You're used to console games like Super Mario Bros. or Sonic the Hedgehog. You know PC gaming, the likes of Math Blasters, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, or King's Quest. And then all the sudden, one day at the store in 1993, you lay your eyes on the gruesome, evocative image above. You'd basically flip your shit, right?

Well even though things like Mortal Kombat had already come along a year previously, that's still how many kids, and adults, felt at the time. The computer game, Doom, by Id Software, was a "game changer", in many ways. Even though it wasn't actually the first of its kind!

Say hello to Catacomb 3D.

And his brother Wolfenstein 3D.

Id Software themselves, had actually already laid the groundwork for what would become known as the "First Person Shooter" sub-genre of gaming, a year prior themselves with the classic 1992 PC hit Wolfenstein 3D. But there's more! They had actually already made what was basically a prototype to THAT, the year prior in 1991, with a far-lesser-known gem called Catacomb 3-D. Catacomb was a 3D sequel to top-down games they had previously made, and was essentially a "fantasy" version of the genre (think Heretic or Hexen), where you fight goblins and demons and things, and shoot magic missiles instead of firing a gun, etc. Catacomb is actually a lot of fun, and a lot more people should go dig it up and give it a whirl!

For Wolfenstein's part, it was also inspired by previously existing 80s games called Castle Wolfenstein and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, which were simple, Berzerker style "guy goes from room to room" affairs. When developing what would technically become the third in the franchise, Id didn't have the rights to call their game Wolfenstein, even though they wanted it to be. They eventually got the rights, and BAM, the now infamous Wolfenstein 3D, starring BJ Blaskowitz, was born! 

That BJ, hell of a guy.

For my own part, as I may or may not have related in some past article, while I had certainly SEEN games (maybe even sampled) like Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racer, Cruis'n USA etc. in my pre-teen years, the very first 3D game that I'm fairly certain I ever really got to play myself, in depth, was in fact Wolfenstein 3D. My friend Harold popped over one day, and with him, he had a Shareware disk (free/cheap disks that contained the first parts of PC games, as a ploy to get you to buy the rest of the game, something we coveted greatly in those days), of you guessed it, Wolfenstein! I wasn't even sure if our clunky old 386 IBM Compatible would play a 3D game, hell it didn't even have a sound card! But lo and behold, it loaded up fine, and the next thing you know, Harold and I were immersed in 3D polygonal corridors, viscous attack dogs, food just lying on the ground all over the place, and nazis around every corner!

It was likely actually a more intense, spooky experience for us, because all my PC had were little beeping system sounds for the game, no music, etc. Though somehow it did still have the voice samples, like "Halt Stop!" etc. This was, again, only a shareware edition, so it only contained the first third or so of the game, just a handful of levels really. But we played the hell out of them. Even though FPS games, to this day, have never been a major favorite of mine, I will always look back fondly on the time I spent getting immersed in 3D "for the first time" (kinda), and just getting lost in this crazy, maze-like nazi world. 

Pump up the jams!

Say, that's a Big Fucking Gun!

When Doom hit the shelves in December 1993, it made a huge impression. Not only did it cause a major shit-storm, similar to how games like Mortal Kombat, and believe it or not, the Sega CD cheese-fest Night Trap did, but it also became a massive hit. So much so that, to this day, while Catacomb and Wolfenstein came first, and deserve all the credit, most people still refer to these older "corridor" types of shooters, as "Doom Clones", and many give Doom undue credit for establishing the genre. I would amend that to say, it didn't establish it, but it certainly DID popularize it.

The basic setting of Doom is that, in the not-too-distant future, the Union Aerospace Corporation have established a base of operations on the planet Mars, but because travel to and from Earth takes so damn long, they've also had military scientists experimenting with a way to shorten that travel. To that end, they create a means of what they think will "jump" them near instantaneously from Mars to Earth. But what they REALLY did, was opened a gateway to a very Hell-like dimension, and once done, hellish demonic hordes flooded their base, and began wiping everyone out. You, as an unnamed space marine (Doom, or "Doom Guy"), must single-handedly battle your way back from being stranded on the moon, Phobos. 

This game doesn't fuck around, as you make your way from Phobos, to Deimos, and eventually, the pits of "Hell" itself. And in the sequel, Doom II: Hell on Earth, you finally make it back to Earth, only to find that the demons have invaded there, as well. But the story wasn't really what most people were playing these games for. What really made it stand out, and got parents riled up, was the amount of gore they had! Whether it be with a chainsaw, a pulse rifle, a shotgun, or even your bare fists, every time you hit an enemy, blood would spurt, and when you killed them, they would collapse to the ground as a gory, bloody, puply mess. Even your main character's mug, shown on-screen near your health, would eventually get bloody, if you took too much damage. 

Say hello to the Cacodemon!

While the main attraction to Doom, obviously, is running around blasting everything in sight and watching it go splat, a core aspect of the gameplay is actually exploration and, to some degree, even puzzle solving. You don't clear stages by merely killing all the baddies (though that'd be kinda neat). Instead, you have to find, collect, and use colored "Key Cards" (red, blue and yellow), which unlock doors, and eventually allow you to leave via the exit, onto the next stage. Sometimes these cards could be a real bitch to find, as you would have to solve little stage "puzzles", to get doors or hidden panels to open, etc., just to reach them. It was, frankly, the more cumbersome element to Doom, but I suppose it also added to the challenge, and mixed things up. But, much like an old monster movie, when you just want people to stop talking, and have the damn MONSTERS appear already (at least as a kid), sometimes in Doom, you just wanna blast stuff and move on!

The Ultimate Doom?

Now by April 1997, Doom had not only been ported to several different platforms (even the Super Nintendo), but there was the aforementioned Doom II, Ultimate Doom (an expanded version of the original game), and Final Doom. which you could honestly call the original (actual?) Doom III. But in 1997, having launched the previous fall, the Nintendo 64 console was the new hotness, and being more powerful than the Sega Saturn or Sony Playstation, it seemed like it might be tailor made for the Doom experience. But thankfully, instead of being cheap, having someone just make a "straight port" of the now over three year old game, what we got was a completely new adventure!

That's right, a DOUBLE chainsaw!

That lighting, though.

Licensed out to Midway, who developed it in house, this N64 exclusive would not only give us completely redrawn graphics and redesigned enemies, but it also had all-new levels. This was an entirely new game, no skimping, and to any Doom fan, that was awesome. But more than that, at least to my mind, Doom 64 provided what I still to this day consider the ultimate Doom experience. Plus, when it released, roughly half a year after the console itself launched, the system didn't have a TON of games yet, so Doom 64 was a very welcome addition, and actually became something of a hit itself.

While the graphics weren't as impressive, to some at that time, as the fully polygonal games such as Quake or N64's own Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (which had released just a month prior), I would say they were quite impressive, really. Thanks to the N64's hardware features, the 3D stages and textures never looked better, and the redrawn pre-rendered enemy sprites looked fantastic! But the real deal-maker, to me, was the lighting. While the game for some stupid reason had some crazy SUPER dim pre-sets (we had to actually turn the brightness up on the TV), also thanks to that 64 hardware, the game showed off some very eye-popping uses of advanced lighting effects. Very clever uses, in some instances, like a series of corridors where everything's pitch black but for certain little spots, or a room with a spinning "strobe" effect, which is not only disorienting but had a slight effect on near-invisible enemies. In its own way, I would consider Doom 64 to be something of a graphical showcase, as its basically the best looking of the classic, sprites-as-enemies "corridor" shooter mold.

Just look at them sprites.

Meet the Unmaker.

But as if textures, shaded sprites and lighting effects weren't enough, what REALLY puts the Doom 64 presentation straight over the top, is the sound. Unlike the previous Dooms, which had arguably cheesy rock guitar music that kinda ruined the creepy vibe they were going for, Doom 64 has no soundtrack, zero tunes. They instead leaned HARD into the creepiness, as the only sounds you hear, are your gunfire, monster noises, and (progressively more as you advance through the game) ambient, spooky background noises. It really added to the tension and atmosphere, when you'd be in a dark room, surrounded by semi-invisible enemies, but you could hear them (in glorious stereo, if your TV had it). As you progress through the game and make your way to the "Hell" dimension, things REALLY ramp up, as you start hearing more things like ghostly whispers, demonic growling, and what sounds suspiciously like babies crying in the distance. That kind of shit made playing this simple "run and gun" shooter, in the middle of the night with the lights out, some genuinely chilling stuff. 

Along with all-new stages and some new versions of enemies, Doom 64 also gifted us with one totally new exclusive weapon: The Unmaker. Prior to this, the "BFG" (Big Fucking Gun) was THE ultimate weapon for Doom fans. But this Unmaker, which you don't get till late in the game, seems to be made of flesh and bones, truly a weapon from "Hell", and it spews forth evil death-rays, that pretty much lay waste to all but the strongest enemies, quickly. 

Mother is angry....

The game also has an exclusive final boss, never before seen in the series. Up till now, the "Big Bads" had been things like Barons of Hell, or a giant Spider-Demon, or some big evil Face in the Wall. Doom 64 takes it a step further, and introduces us to the MOTHER Demon, ostensibly the very source of all these evil hordes that have been spewing forth from our ill-begotten portals! The Mother Demon fight is a doozy, too, lemme tell ya. Not only is she tough herself, but as she seems to be the source of the demon hordes in general, she also summons demons to help fight you. I always kinda liked this idea, and overall, to me, Doom 64 feels like the true "Doom III", the final end to the series.

I know that an actual Doom 3 would come along later (which I wasn't a fan of), and later games besides. But while I appreciate the attempt at the "old school" approach that the 2016 game and Eternal tried for, to me THIS is it. Much like I prefer my Mortal Kombat 2D, with "digitized" characters, I prefer my doom with blocky corridors, and hordes of 2D sprites to mow down, as well. I don't like the "clever" term some have slapped on these old style shooters of late, "Boomer Shooters" (hell I dislike that idiotic "Boomer" term for anything slightly old, in general). But I DO love these classic kinds of shooters. Like I said, FPS has never been a favorite of mine, but with the exception of N64 Goldeneye death matches (THE best ever), classic shooters like Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem 3D, Hexen, and Doom are where its at. And as far as this man is concerned, Doom 64 is the best of the bunch. The Ultimate Doom. 

So thankfully for all of you, if you've never played this bad boy, it happens to be available on most modern platforms (Playstation, Xbox, Switch, PC, maybe even mobile devices for all I know), as a fairly inexpensive digital download. AND they even fixed the dim pre-set lighting problem, so the graphics and lighting effects look even better than ever! It's a hell of a fun game, with a surprising amount of atmosphere and spookiness going on. So give it a whirl!

And may all of you have a very happy Halloween!

Godzilla Chronicles: Terror of Mechagodzilla

 

Well here we are! This Godzilla Chronicles journey began all the way back in May, 2014, in part as a way to honor a "new Godzilla" coming out, the first Legendary Pictures film. I was always going to write about my love of classic Godzilla films, but that seemed like as good as time as any to finally get started. I wound up deciding to cover the entire Showa series of Godzilla films (as in Toho films of that era that actually featured the "Big G" himself), and wound up most years, doing two entries, or if you prefer two movies a year. And as I said, here we are! It's now October 2022, essentially the 10 Year Anniversary of Retro Revelations itself, and what better way to celebrate, than by wrapping up what I consider the greatest period in monster movie, and certainly Godzilla history? 

The final battle?

When I left you last time, I was discussing 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, or as I had first known it as a kid, "Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster". While all of the Showa Godzilla films (and most other assorted non-Godzilla Toho monster/sci fi flicks of the era) are technically connected, some of them are actually direct sequels to one another. For instance, Godzilla Raids Again was a direct sequel to the original Gojira. Invasion of the Astro Monster was a direct follow-up to Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster. And in a looser sense, Godzilla vs. Megalon was KINDA a sequel-ish to Godzilla vs. Gigan. And with a couple of odd exceptions, Terror of Mechagodzilla is a direct continuation of the first Mechagodzilla film. 

His helmet lets you know he's special.

Those couple of exceptions, are really cosmetic for the most part, but still odd changes, or in one case exclusion. Firstly, you'll notice in the picture above, that those dastardly aliens from the Third Planet of the Black Hole, have upgraded their attire to include some very stylish helmets! I have no idea why they didn't bust these bad boys out in the first movie, because they certainly scream "Hey, we're ALIENS over here!" I guess cool headgear was only part of their "If our FIRST attempt fails" plan. 

The exclusion I mentioned, is that in the first film, it was pretty clearly established that these kooky xenos, were actually some kind of strange green ape-men. Their "human" looking facade would disappear when they were either damaged, or would die. Yet in Terror, the only time you see any of them change form like that, a dude just straight up rips human-looking makeup off, to reveal underneath a decidedly NON-ape looking, either mutated or burnt face. Again, totally cosmetic, but a very odd, non-continuity conscious choice on Toho's part.

In THIS corner, the Big G himself!

And in THIS corner, Mecha-G...Mark 2?

As I mentioned in the other article, "Cosmic Monster" was a movie I first discovered thanks to the wondrous spinning VHS rack out in the aisle at our local Walmart, when I was probably around age 10 or 11. For Terror, however, the only reason I got to see it, was because it was included in one of the Godzilla Marathons they ran a couple of times in my pre-teens on the original format of my beloved TNT's MonsterVision. In those early pre-Job Bob Briggs days, when MonserVision focused pretty much entirely on classic sci fi, horror and monster flicks from mostly the 50s and 60s, with a dash of 70s, I clearly remember there were at least two major Godzilla marathons they ran. The one that stands out the clearest in my memory was "Godzilla Bash '94", which was a New Years Eve all night celebration. I don't remember which one I first saw Terror in, but I do know that it was one, along with Godzilla vs. Gigan (or as it was called "Godzilla on Monster Island"), and probably Mothra vs. Godzilla, that my grandmother stayed up and helped me record on blank tapes (which of course I was thrilled about). 

Whip it, whip it good!

 

Now while I was, of course, absolutely thrilled to be able to see "new" Godzilla movies I hadn't yet seen, as I wanted to see them ALL, it would only be fair to relate that even upon first watch as a kid, I remember being a little disappointed in this movie. Not that it doesn't have its finer points. I knew from a cool Godzilla book I found at the library, that this was the last of the original Godzilla series. And I also knew it was a sequel to the tape I already owned. But somehow, this film being a much darker affair, along with the new monster Titanosaurus (we'll get to him in a bit) being somewhat goofy and underwhelming, it just didn't feel as cool to me, as the first Mecha-G film. And for the most part I still feel that way today. 

 

 

The master at work.

 

One of the reasons this movie is notable, is because after taking several years away from directing films, to rest and do a bit of television work, the great Ishiro Honda returned to direct this. I'm not entirely sure, in the planning stages, if they knew for certain that this would wind up being the last Godzilla film for a decade, but that is of course what it wound up being. So in that sense, it was only fitting that the director to help originate this phenomenon, return to the helm one last time. And one last time is exactly what it was, for Terror would wind up being the last film that Honda directed himself. He would, in later years, spend time assisting his close friend Akira Kurosawa with some of his 80s and early 90s works. 

Akihiko Hirata, back one last time as Dr. Shinzo Mafune.

His haunted daughter Katsura.

Plot-wise, the film focuses on both the efforts of Japanese military and scientist trying to find the remains of Mechagodzilla in the ocean, as well as the case of a mysterious girl and her allegedly dead father. The father in question is Dr. Shinzo Mafune, a disgraced and bitter scientist, played by none other than Akihiko Hirata, who played Dr. Serizawa in the original Gojira film. That was a nice touch, having him basically book-end the series. But where Serizawa was a reclusive but more or less benevolent scientist, Dr. Mafune is more your angry-at-the-world mad scientist variety. He has teamed up with those bastard aliens, both because they saved his daughter once upon a time, and because they offered him the means to prove his theory of being able to control animals through technology. The specific animal in question, being the giant (and doofy looking) Titanosaurus, the last brand new Kaiju of the Showa era. 

Hello, my name's Fred.

I do clearly recall, even as a kid obsessed with monsters and monster movies, feeling that poor ol' Titano, or as his friends call him, Fred, was kind of a let down. Not a TERRIBLE monster design, but basically, he's a giant amphibious dinosaur, with fins even on the end of his tail. And aside from apparently a REALLY strong bite, that's his whole attack, outside of brawling, is turning around and fanning his tail-fin back and forth, creating hurricane force winds. A monster attack, I might add, already done by flying monsters like Rodan and Mothra, but far more imposing. I don't mean to dump on poor Fred, it's not his fault, after all. But in all blunt honesty, of ALL the 70s Toho kaiju they came up with (the creatures in Space Amoeba, Hedorah, Gigan, Megalon, King Caesar, Mechagodzilla, hell even the SUPER obscure Daigoro and Goliath), Titanosaurus is unfortunately kinda the lamest one. 

The roles are reversed!

Since their "invincible" Mechagodzilla was defeated by the combined might of two monsters (though mostly Godzilla) in their previous caper, those mad-cap clowns from the Black Hole decided to take a page out of the enemy's playbook. THIS time, they were gonna use an "improved" (not really) Mecha-G, in tandem with Mafune's controlled Titanosaurus, both to crush Godzilla once and for all, as well as to conquer Japan. The thing is, they included this wacky idea to have Katsura, Mafune's daughter, who as it turns out they had to turn into a CYBORG to save her life in the past, be connected mentally to Mechagodzilla. In addition to her already being the one who handles controlling Titano. So they literally put all of their eggs in the Katsura basket, even though she's conflicted, and has a thing for studly scientist Ichinose, who has been trying to study Titanosaurus too, and "believes in her". Hoo boy!

That's just not right.

Christ, I'm on fire!

Well, their nefarious plot seemed to pay dividends at first, as their Titanic Team, their Colossal Connection, did in fact wreck some major havoc on poor Tokyo, AND they managed to do a real number on poor Godzilla when he first shows up. As seen above, Titano apparently has a SUPER strong bite, and neck, because at one point, he just bites Godzilla's lip, and uses THAT to slam him around like a rag doll. Quite possibly the goofiest looking thing the Showa series ever produced, outside of Godzilla flying backwards. As you can ALSO see above, and not for the first time in the series, at one point when explosions were going off on set, the Godzilla suit caught a bit of FIRE, so thinking it looked wicked-cool, they decided to leave it in. 

Take THAT!

Wait...WHAT?

There really isn't too much to say about the final showdown between Big G, Mecha G, and Fred. I personally would have preferred if they had dusted off Godzilla's buddy Anguirus (my 2nd favorite kaiju) one last time, and made it a tag team affair again. For one, because it would have been a bit more interesting, and for another, it would have been a nice opportunity to follow up on the previous film, and have Angy seeking revenge for Mecha breaking his damn jaw! But alas, they decided to have Godzilla go it solo against two opponents, I suppose to make him look stronger in the end.

Ichinose, the good guy science man, discovers almost by accident while aboard a submarine, that Titano's mental control device (basically a pair of metal antennae), can be disrupted by sonic waves. So he and the Science Squad concoct a setup that allows them to shoot his ass with sonic waves from a helicopter, aiding Godzilla by more or less taking Fred out of the fight. This leaves Big G and his metal doppelganger, to finish the fight as they should. Though honestly, Mecha was more imposing in his first outing. He's supposed to be "upgraded" here, but he actually lacks the force field ability. Instead, his only new gimmick, essentially, is a "GOTCHA" moment to the audience, as in their previous fight, Godzilla ripped his fuckin' head clean off! And this time, when he does it again, SURPRISE, he doesn't need no head! As seen above, he instead has this doofy little dome that shoots a laser. 

I wouldn't have spoiled even THAT much of the final battle for you fine folks, but I felt it was too funny/novel not to share.

Hey, it was the 70s man.

So in a nutshell, as I intimated earlier in this piece, the way I felt about this movie after my first viewing back in the mid-90s as a youngster, is pretty much how I still feel about it today. That isn't the case with certain movies, even just in the Godzilla series. For instance, as I mentioned in its own article, the first time I finally got to rent and watch Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, for whatever reasons I wasn't very impressed. But upon coming to own it in my 20s, and repeated viewings over the years, its really grown on me, to the point that I'd probably put it in my Top 5 Godzilla films. I also turned quite a bit on All Monsters Attack (or as I first saw it on TV, "Godzilla's Revenge"), which even as a kid I felt the overuse of stock footage, and the fact that Godzilla and Monster Island in the film were just a kid's daydreams, was kinda lame. But my sour take on that film improved, and while the glut of stock footage IS still lame, I appreciate it for what it is now. 

But Terror of Mechagodzilla? I still feel, in a way, that it was the Showa era going out with a bit of a whimper, instead of a bang. It's not a BAD movie at all, in fact in certain ways I think Honda did as good a job as he could, given even tighter budgets than he had to deal with in the 60s. But when I really think about it, out of all 15 actual Showa Godzilla films, I might honestly like Terror the least. Yes, even below All Monsters Attack, surprisingly. That film has a charming and endearing story of a kid who has to spend a lot of time alone because of working parents, coming to grips with bullies, and life, at its core. Terror is still interesting, and I DO like it, it IS definitely a good movie, but I dunno. It just somehow kinda lacks that spark that even the first Mechagodzilla had. 

Still a great monster, though.

All that said, there isn't a single Showa Godzilla film, or even any of the greater Toho Showa sci fi catalogue, that I truly dislike. They all have a spirit and a charm that is just unmatched by more modern takes, even with bigger budgets and improved effects and filming technology. The "suitmation" techniques they used, especially for these old films, was an art form unto itself. It took a lot of hard work, to build the miniature sets, to make things look reasonably believable at a small scale, to build these elaborate (and often great looking) monster suits, for tough-as-nails actors to actually ACT in those heavy, sweat-house things. You name it! It's an art form that's largely lost now, at least in feature film form. I do believe shows that continue to get made in Japan, like the Super Sentai (Power Rangers), still use suitmation and miniature sets. Which is good, because much like 2D animation, or Stop-Motion animation, or Jim Henson type puppetry, I don't EVER want to see this wizardry that Eiji Tsuburaya pioneered, truly fade away. That would be a tragedy and a crime.

With the last of the Showa Era Godzilla films covered, I am also now going to put the Godzilla Chronicles sub-series to bed, I think. My goal was always mainly to just cover the old, original series Godzilla films that I love so much. I do think I will, eventually, do pieces on non-Godzilla entries I love, such as Rodan, Mothra, Frankenstein Conquers the World, or King Kong Escapes. Hell, I may even someday get a bug up my ass to go ahead and cover the Heisei, or even Millennium film series. But for now, I think that the end of the Showa Era, is a fitting end to my Godzilla series as well. 

So as always, I want to wish you all a very happy Halloween season, and I sincerely hope you take my works as inspiration, and watch a lot of these wonderful old films that exist. SO much goodness, and it breaks my heart to know there are TONS of people who are perfectly content to mostly just watch whatever new shit comes out. Ignoring the vast array of amazing older shows, cartoons and movies (and games, books, music, comics, etc.) that exist, I truly believe is doing yourself a major disservice. But I digress! Just please do old "Retro" a favor, and watch some classics as we count down to another All Hallows Eve, ok?

                                                 *********************************

 

As an added bonus, I thought I'd share my personal order of the Showa series, ranked from most liked to least!

1. Invasion of the Astro Monster (Godzilla vs. Monster Zero) - 1965

2. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster) - 1966

3. King Kong vs. Godzilla - 1962

4. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster) - 1971

5. Destroy All Monsters - 1968

6. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster - 1964

7. Gojira (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) - 1954

8. Godzilla Raids Again - 1955

9. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - 1974

10. Godzilla vs. Gigan - 1972

11. Mothra vs Godzilla - 1964

12. Son of Godzilla - 1967

12. Godzilla vs. Megalon - 1973

14. All Monsters Attack - 1969

15. Terror of Mechagodzilla - 1975

                                                     ****************************

Here is the full list of Godzilla Chronicles articles, if you've missed any:

1. The Beginning

2. Gojira (aka Godzilla: King of the Monsters)

3. Godzilla Raids Again

4. King Kong vs. Godzilla

5. Mothra vs. Godzilla

6. Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster

7. Invasion of the Astro Monster (aka Godzilla vs. Monster Zero)

8. Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

9. Son of Godzilla

10. Destroy All Monsters

11. All Monsters Attack

12. Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster

13. Godzilla vs. Gigan

14. Godzilla vs. Megalon

15. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

 

 

 

Thank you for reading!