Movies: Mermaid from the Black Lagoon?

Mermaid Heather, long-time ANTSS supporter and one of the folks who inspired this very blog you are reading, is celebrating her fifth year of blogging with guest posts about film favorites. She graciously invited me to join in so I sent in some thoughts on my personal fave: The Creature from the Black Lagoon. It starts a little something like this:

The Creature is, unabashedly, my favorite of all the old Universal monsters. This is why I've never actually written a review my favorite horror film, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, before. And, honestly, I don't think I can do it now. You can't review something you love. That would be like giving a clear-eyed critique of your lover's sexual chops while you're both still in the afterglow. (If you think that's a good idea, try it and see.) So this is less a review than a tribute - which is appropriate since this whole shebang is a tribute to another horror-centric amphibian: Mermaid Heather. So, with her kind permission and your patience, let's talk Creature.

Of all the classic marquee-grade monsters in Universal stable, two of them are notable in that they never receive a name. Though he's often erroneously called by his creator's name, Frankenstein's tormented creation is never named. The other nameless horror is the man fish creature at the center of the Black Lagoon franchise. Unlike Dracula or Larry Talbot or Imhotep, these two characters remain "the Monster" and "the Creature."

Curiously, these also happen to be the two monsters whose backstories are scientific rather than supernatural. Though there's a notable distinction between the two. The Monster, of course, is a product of Frankenstein's mad science. He's a freakish thing, an affront the natural order, a rip in the sense of the world brought into being through an act of supreme will and profound hubris. In this, Frankenstein's monster most resembles a work of art. He's a unique imposition of man's will onto the raw material of nature that, once created, takes on a life of its own.

The Creature, on the other hand, is unique in the Universal pantheon in that he (and everybody assumes the Creature is a he) is not a freak of nature. Richard Carlson, doing his heroic-square bit in the role of Dr. David Reed, repeatedly mentions that the Creature is a logical result of evolution. The isolated, Edenic lagoon of the title is, the good doctor tells us, "its natural habitat." When skeptical Dr. Thompson and the jovial, yet curiously sinister, guide Lucas express doubt as to the existence of the Creature - even after two other doctors on the expedition claim to have seen it - the nay-sayers are given a lecture by Kay, the expedition’s resident hottie and fashion plate, on the amazing diversity of amphibious life. The impossible, Kay suggests, is just the real we haven't discovered yet. The Creature is, in an odd way, the anti-uncanny. Instead of "what should never be," the strange and mysterious Creature is: He's as he should be, in his natural home.

The rest is o Heather's site. Go check it out.

House of Silent Scream: Just a hunch.

While it is always a pleasure to introduce a guest blogger, this one is special for me. There wouldn't be an ANTSS is it wasn't for her. Literally. It was Heather's Mermaid Heather horror blog that convinced me - for better or for worse - that I should try my hand at horror blogging.

So, you see, she's the one to blame!

When my first post went up in September of 2006, her blog was one just three links on the ANTSS sidebar. She's been an inspiration to and supporter of this blog from its earliest days. And for that, I thank her.

Screamers and Screamettes, Boils and Ghouls, here's Heather!

Around a month ago I got this email from CRwM telling me that his fourth year anniversary as a blogger was coming up. He also asked if I could help him out, by reviewing a silent era film as part of his silent film reviews. As you all know, he visits these films every time his blog anniversary roles around. CRwM has told me that my blog happens to be one of those that inspired his own, so how could I refuse helping him out? Even though CRwM has outdone me in every way: a better writer (in my opinion anyway), with more posts, and more followers, and the list goes on. Wait, why am I doing this again? One simple reason really. CRwM is a great guy, and one I am proud to call a friend.

When CRwM asked me to review a silent film, I had no clue which film to watch. This is a genre, if that is the correct term, that I have rarely visited myself. If I'm not mistaken, this could very well be my first review of a silent film actually. It took me a while to figure out which film to watch, which I think worried CRwM just a bit. After some research, and some debate with myself, I narrowed it down to two films. Needing to get my mind off things for a while, I decided to watch The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1923). Even though it isn't listed as a horror film, I always come across it on lists for silent horror films.

In 15th century Paris , times are ripe for a revolt. King Louie XI is running things with an iron hand, and the peasents are getting tired of being treated like mere sheep. Clopin (Ernest Torrence) is something of a king to the poor people of Paris . His foster daughter, Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller), is a woman that seemingly every man wants. Jehan (Brandon Hurst) is a brother of an archdeacon, who is trying to get Clopin to revolt against King Louie, and Jehan is also very interested in having Esmeralda. Then there is the newly appointed Captain of the guards, Phoebus de Chateaupers (Norman Kerry), who is also attracted to Esmeralda. However, Phoebus represents everything that Clopin hates about the upper class. Even though Esmeralda wants to be with Phoebus, she knows that it could never happen. In the mix with all this is Quasimodo (Lon Chaney Sr.).

Quasimodo is the deformed hunchback of the title. He is half blind, deaf, and has a hump on his back. Because of this, he is treated worse than poor people. The church has taken pity on him though, and allows him to do small duties around the church. Quasimodo's greatest joy though is to ring the grand bell, since he can feel the vibrations from it. He is also attracted to Esmeralda, but knows he doesn't stand a chance. Jehan tricks Quasimodo into kidnapping Esmeralda for him, but it doesn't go as planned. Quasimodo is arrested for the crime, while Jehan slinks off into the shadows. After Quasimodo is punished, Esmeralda is the only person to give him water and be kind to him. When Esmeralda gets into trouble later, Quasimodo takes it upon himself to come to her rescue. With a revolt about ready to boil over, can even Quasimodo save Esmeralda?

One of the things I noticed right away while watching The Hunchback Of Notre Dame is that it gives you the feel of actually being filmed in Paris . It isn't like the film takes us on a tour of Paris , but because of the massive church, it still feels like Paris . In truth, it was all filmed on sets. The cathedral set remained standing until a fire in 1967 destroyed it. It grossed over $3 million dollars at the time, or roughly $23 million today I think. Lon Chaney was a well known actor already, but this film is said to have made him a star in the eyes of Hollywood . When it was filmed, it was one of the biggest movies as far as extras being used. In some of the opening scenes, you can see just how many extras were being used for the film.

One of the problems I have with silent films is that there seems to be a lot of talking going on, but they only give you the readers digest version of what is being said at times. With The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, I sometimes felt I was missing something. For example, they make Phoebus out to be a womanizer at the start of the film. Esmeralda likes him from the start, but the film makes it clear that Phoebus has no real feelings for her. Then at some point in the film, with no real explanation, Phoebus and Esmeralda have promised to be married. I thought I had missed something at some point, but that may not have been the case after all. It wasn't the only time I felt a little confused by the events in the film. As it turns out, two reels were dropped from the film once it was released for home rental. It is said that 10-15 minutes of film is still missing. Maybe this helps explain some of the gaps that I felt were there.

Lon Chaney's makeup for this film was supposed to be his most extreme yet. To me this is one of the things that holds up well in this film. Even better than his makeup though, was how well Chaney sells the character of the hunchback. I can understand how he became a popular actor in silent films. Chaney seems to throw everything he has into his character, and then some. Patsy Ruth Miller and Norman Kerry also do a wonderful job, but it is truly Lon Chaney's film.

Even though this was the first time I have watched this film, there were scenes I remembered from it. Either they were used in other films, or in a documentary somewhere. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame ends up being a longer film than I thought it would be. Most of the older films I have watched run a little over an hour, but this one came in around the same time a film from today usually runs. I enjoyed watching it, even if I did feel like it dragged just a little. But I have a very hard time calling it a classic horror film. It is much more the drama film that it claims to be. Still, I want to thank CRwM for inviting me to review a film for his blog. I truly hope we see many more years of blogging from you.