The Monster Club
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Steel, Fran Fullenwider, John Carradine, Roger Sloman, Vincent PriceBrand: Monster
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-22
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Pathfinder Home Ent.
Movie Reviews of The Monster Club
Movie Review: "I'm from Transylvania! And I'm a pain in the neck!"
Summary: 5 Stars
Ah, "The Monster Club". This crazy little masterpiece is one of my all-time favorite movies. A sort of combination horror anthology/variety show, we're treated to three unusual short stories (all of them good, but very different in tone from one another), each one sandwiched between a musical number by a long-forgotten, early Eighties British New Wave band.
When a gentlemanly vampire by the name of Eramus (the one and only Vincent Price) doesn't realize that the man he just attacked was in fact his favorite writer (John Carradine), he attempts to amend the situation by bringing him as his special guest to a nightclub where no humans -- only monsters -- are allowed. During the course of his evening there, Carradine is told a trio of frightening tales, and this (together with the music and dancing) provides the basic idea behind the film (I have no idea how closely this movie resembles the book on which it was apparently based). Of the stories, I liked the third one best, for all its great atmosphere (a dreary village where everything is blue and gray and shrouded in never-lifting fog), unsettling thoughts and occurrences (I shudder every time the girl says the words, "good eating"), and fantastic artwork (the black-and-white still images we see as we learn the village's back-story, which are just gorgeous). Nevertheless, the first two stories are enjoyable too ... while the first is so sad and sweet and stylishly put together, the lighthearted second (which stars Donald Pleasance, for fans of "Halloween") makes an attempt at a more humorous storytelling style.
But what really makes me smile with "TMC" are the linking pieces of narration, set in the nightclub ... in an anthology film such as this, the framework tends more often, I've found to be the weakest part fo the movie ... but not here. WE're treated with some great music (my favorite has to be vampire singer B.A. Robertson's "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love", mainly for the song's goofy bounce, terrible pun-filled lyrics, the wacky way the camera the single camera used to film the performance moves while Mr. Robertson does his thing), and the overall enthusiastic silliness of the whole sequence. But I really should say that I enjoyed all four of the songs we get to hear, and that I often put the disc in just to view the performances and enjoy the music.
But really, Price is the true star of the movie, clearly enjoying every second he's allowed to spend before the camera. From his first meeting with Carradine to his explanation of monster genealogy to his lecture on why humans are truly the greatest monsters of all,, Price really makes TMC his own from start to finish and is definitely the best thing about the whole film. If there's any reason to see this movie at all, it's to watch the man at work. Price is (was) one of my very favorite actors, and in this film he certainly doesn't disappoint. Plus, we get to see him boogie down with a monster on the dance floor as the final musical number plays ... and who could refuse a chance to see that?
The folks at Pathfinder have released TMC in an edition that include a number of special features (mostly in the form of highly interesting reading material), the complete soundtrack of the film (for my money the best special feature of all, as these are the original soundtrack album versions, and not the live ones we hear in the movie), and really quite a bit more. There's an Easter Egg too, on the special features menu, if you can find it. I must say that I would have loved to have heard director Roy Ward Baker on the commentary track, but the one included hear, by a pair of Generation X movie critics, is an entertaining listen even without him.
I will conclude by saying that with a goofy, fun and yet still-creepy horror film full of great music and memorable performances, together with enough bonus material to keep you busy for quite a while after the movie's over, "The Monster Club" is a movie you just shouldn't turn down if a copy manages to come your way. So before October 31 rolls around grab a copy for yourself, and make it a double feature with 1970's "The House that Dripped Blood", a classic horror anthology from the golden age of the genre. Then turn out the lights, pop some popcorn, and get ready to have some fun.
Carry on Carry on,
MN
Summary of The Monster Club
A writer of horror stories is invited to a monster club by an old gentleman named erasmus. There the mysterious erasmus spins three chilling tales of monsters ghouls & vampires. Studio: Pathfinder Home Ent Release Date: 04/20/2004 Starring: Vincent Price Donald Pleasure Run time: 104 minutes Rating: NrSimilar DVD Movies
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