Horrible History

[sw2borshch]

Mark Gatiss on the History of Horror starts tonight on BBC4 at 9pm.

[Mumpo]

Horrible History

Tempting. But Horizon - 'What Happened Before the Big Bang?' - looks a better bet.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Horrible History

I'm watching Whitechapel and counting the extra money my house is worth.

[ian.64]

Horrible History

Seen the first part of Gatiss's series last night and can happily say it's a rewarding watch. He's as happy as a pig in brown stuff as he gets to have a gander at Lon Chaney's original make-up box (complete with left-over glass eye) and is informatively enthusiastic about his favourite film genre. What's also a plus is his refusal to be overly reverential to certain films and a willingness to be critical of them (he's also honest enough to hear dissenting voices - John Carpenter's 'overrated' dismissal of the original Cat People film is aired).

It's pretty good stuff and I'm looking forward to the next part. On top of that, they even showed The Bride Of Frankenstein after it. Triffic.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Horrible History

Shame, I'd like to watch that. Maybe it will turn up on some video sharing site.

I had a bit of a Hammer marathon over the weekend, including my first viewing of the much-maligned Dracula AD 1972, which – for the most part – wasn't that bad.

[ian.64]

Horrible History

Haven't you got iPlayer, Stumpy?

The thing with BBC Four is that they'll probably show that programme again in a few days, so it may be worth having a gander at the schedules just to be on the safe side.

And I remember Dracula AD 1972 as being a bit shambolic but fair fun, nontheless.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Horrible History

I can't watch the iPlayer abroad and all my attempts to connect through proxy servers have failed.

The first ten minutes of Dracula AD 1972 is positively Austin Powers and Christopher Lee is criminally underused throughout the film.

But the picture is pretty much carried by Peter Cushing, who is always dependable. Some great shots of early 70s London and a good cast, including Stephanie Beacham, Caroline Munro and Marsha Hunt (all looking very foxy).

[sw2borshch]

Horrible History

Your other option is for me to DVD it for you then post it. Next week’s is on Hammer and the like.

I really enjoyed this, as a horror fan but not an aficionado – the true fans may have found it too lightweight or broad-brush perhaps. The footage from “Freaks” was really interesting, I got the impression that it was less exploitative than I had thought, or perhaps more sympathetic would be more accurate.

[Eggchaser]

Horrible History

I thought this was going to be a thread about the brilliant BBC kids' show taken from the Horrible Histories books. It's a genuinely good show.

[sw2borshch]

Horrible History

If I'd known of the existence of such a show I would have put a bit more thought into the title, something snappier, say "sw2boro's thread of Mark Gatiss' History of Horror".

I've read a few of the books, really enjoyable, probably a better gateway drug than those AJP Taylor "The Twenties", "The Fifties", "The Seventies" books I used to love so much. Was there ever "The Eighties", I wonder?

[sw2borshch]

Horrible History

Re the above, I can find no internet trace of the books I'm on about. Does anyone else remeber them (or clackers or Spangles etc.)? A4 hardbacks, published by the likes of Usborne, basically a precis of the main historical themes of a decade, plenty of social history, pictures, maps, the works? Were they even AJP Taylor?

[ian.64]

Horrible History

It gets better. Last night's edition about Hammer and the influence it had on filmmakers such as Roger Corman and Mario Bava was excellent. I greatly appreciate Gatiss's postscripts where he takes time to point out the contribution that actors have made to the genre: last week's was about Bela Lugosi's ultimately doomed attempt to resurrect his Dracula role in places like Eastbourne and getting laughed off the stage. This week's was a visit to Peter Cushing's home town and a peek at the small museum that houses his props from the film - even a foray to the cafe where he spent most days in his last years.

The only small, almost piffling detail missed is when he neglected to mention the cameraman on Corman's Masque Of The Red Death adaptation - some bloke called Nicolas Roeg - but, that apart, this programme is a real treat, and Gatiss's presentation, genial, knowing and warm, is the icing on the cake.

Tremendous.

[Purves Grundy]

Horrible History

Yeah, I saw this last night and thought it was very good. I particularly liked the fact that right from the off, Gatiss declared he wasn't going to be doing this in an arch, knowing sense, but instead would approach it seriously and with real enthusiasm, tinged with real regret at the way Hammer went off the rails in the early 70s. Best documentary I've seen in a long while.

[evilC]

Horrible History

I nearly always like programmes (documentaries or news/reviews) where the presenters are genuinely enthusiastic about the topic. My favourite example was "Nick Baker's Weird Creatures". And Jonathan Ross was only ever really watchable on "Film..." as it was the only time he let his facade slip. Thus, I'm looking forward to seeing this, but I've managed to miss both episodes so far! I'm just hoping I'll find the first one on Youtube somewhere.

[evilC]

Horrible History

A couple of things following up on this.

My Dad has since told me that Boris Karloff used to live around these parts for a while: near Frensham, about 5 miles up the road from me. Turns out it's true. Not only that, but he was a keen cricket enthusiast and used to umpire occasionally for Farnham cricket club, which my Dad briefly played (bowled) for, though at a different time.

Secondly, I thought that those interested in the history of Hammer might appreciate this text (in .pdf format) which I chanced across online and which seems to be complete.

[ian.64]

Horrible History

To my brainless shame, I thought there was four parts to this series, but it's a bit disappointing that there's three - there's a feeling that Gatiss had a lot more up his sleeve, although, that said, he has intimated on Twitter that he could do something on Euro horror.

But, all-in-all, an immensely satisfying treat and benefitting from the host's relaxed, unforced and engaging style. I did sympathise when Gatiss bemoaned the more explicit, cookie-cutter torture-porn enterprises that took their cue from the Carpenter/Hooper era and just bogged down the genre in cruelty and lack of imagination. I think Gatiss made it pretty clear that the afore-mentioned directors had more of an understanding of what constituted movie horror and embraced the genre with a more adult sensibility rather than the more redundant and adolescent minds that bring us the usual pap you see today (I watched Paradise Lost on Film Four a month or two ago and really found it dull - not saved by clever effects of a anaesthetised girl having her kidneys and stomach wrenched out of her body by a mad doctor. That was fun).

It's apt that Saw has a theme ride based upon it, because that's what film horror is now, a theme park ride which the 'experience' is the stuff that supposedly involves the viewer. Trouble is that horror in cinema was a bit more than that. In the '30's and '40's, it could almost be witty and profound. In the 60's and '70's, new boundaries were cleverly broken.

Today, cookie-cutter adolesence.

[evilC]

Horrible History

This is precisely why I'm quite excited at the prospect of Del Toro's 'At The Mountains Of Madness'. If he handles that deftly and is allowed to respect the written version, it could hopefully inspire a new generation of horror films that are based not around gore, but around the 'uncanny' and 'macabre', just as the early movies were.

If nothing else, I hope it kind of 'reclaims' the setting of the tale, which was ruthlessly plundered by the laughable 'Aliens vs. Predator' and, to a lesser extent, Carpenter's 'The Thing'. By the same token, I'm worried that some dullards might think that it is actually a rip-off of those films, and thus people might stay away from the cinemas if/when it finally emerges.

[Guest]

Horrible History

All the episodes were enjoyable and I really like Gatiss, both as a personality and as a creative talent. If you have a genuine affection for horror films and take them seriously as an artistic endeavour, as I do, then its great just to see somebody on teevee treating them likewise. That alone pretty much supercedes any nits I could pick. But I've got time on my hands, so I'll pick away anyhow - first off, I was irritated by the recurrent clips of climactic moments from a large number of films; A fair proportion of viewers (I'm hoping) would be young people just getting into the genre, and such spoilers were completely unnecessary. There were also (the inevitable) glaring omissions. Was there really no mention at all of Dario Argento and Lynch's Eraserhead, or was I making coffee at those points? And he could have at least paid lip-service to 70's cult outsider figures like Pete Walker and Norman J warren rather than spending ages on the overrated Blood on Satan's Claw and claiming that Brit horror collapsed after the equally overpraised Wicker Man. That stuff has been done to death, give us something a bit new.

Thats small beer, though, so back to positives - great to see Babs Steele and Tobe Hooper and grouchy John Carpenter (who looks older than methuselah, but can only be 60-odd). And Gatiss is bang on in decrying the current wave of nihilistic nastiness. Its depressing to think that for a lot of kids, horror means Saw and My Bloody Valentine 3D. Definitely a fun watch if not particularly enlightening to the seasoned viewer.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Horrible History

Just watched all these back-to-back, after some kind soul posted them all on YouTube.

Yes, terrific stuff from a genuine enthusiast (who's also into all the same films I am). I think previous posters have all made good points I agree with, so I won't repeat them.

But I just can't agree with his closing premise that decent horror films finished in the late 70s. This really ignores a lot of terrific films made thereafter -- particularly in the 80s.

That good horror films are getting fewer and far between, I would agree with. (But the original Saw was still a ferociously original and imaginative film.)

[ian.64]

Horrible History

But the original Saw was still a ferociously original and imaginative film.

And I'd agree, so it's very annoying to see that it's presence in the genre has been reduced to a 'fun' wallow in shite Psycho-Heath-Robertson torture machinery with the arrival of its faintly interesting yet wildly ridiculous sequels, which the more convoluted they got the more they drew everybody's attention from the fact that the first one was a lean, knowing and suspenceful piece of work, which, if it didn't have all those dumb, till-chinging sequels, may have had a greater and more glowing reputation afforded it as an genuine original.