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Released by: Pathfinder Pictures
Released on: 4/20/2004
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Cast: Vincent Price, John Carradine, Donald Pleasance, Britt Eckland, Richard Johnson, Anthony Steel, Roger Sloman, Patrick Magee
Year: 1980
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The Movie:
The final nail in the coffin of Amicus Studios, The Monster Club was a flop when it was released in 1980 but has since developed, and deservedly so, a solid cult following. And it makes sense. The star power of Vincent Price, John Carradine and Donald Pleasance ensures that the film has to have some redeeming qualities, and with experienced Hammer/Amicus director Roy Ward Baker behind the camera, it should at least look nice, right? Well, more or less. Except that by the time of this film's release, Amicus Studios had pretty much run their anthology films into the ground. The glory days of The House That Dripped Blood and Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors were behind them and there wasn't really much left to work with.
The film was based on the anthology book by Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes (whose work also served as the inspiration behind the studios earlier effort, From Beyond The Grave), which follows the story of the author himself, played here by Carradine. One night, the scribe encounters a vampire named Eramus (Vincent Price) who invites him to a literal Monster Club, where he hopes the author will find some inspiration for his work. Here, he's told three stories, all of which are linked back through to the club where the two are talking and in between each song, we're treated to a song by the band playing in the club that night. It's this premise that provides the wraparound story.
The first story revolves around Angela (Barbara Kellerman) and her boyfriend George (Simon Ward) who meet up with Raven (James Laurenson). Raven is a Shadmock, a monster if you will. George, a rabid antique collector, convinces his girlfriend to work as Raven's secretary so that he can get her to leave the safe open in hopes that he'll be able to rob it. When Raven catches George red handed, a transformation occurs… much to George's dismay.
Next up, an American film producer named Lintom Busotsky (Anthony Steel) introduces us to his next project in which a younger version of himself (Warren Saire) deals with some issues at school while trying to figure out just what his nocturnal father (Richard Johnson) is up to. When
vampire hunter named Pickering (Donald Pleasance) and his comrades show up, things get complicated.
Last but not least, a film director named Sam (Stuart Whitman) is out doing a location scout in England hoping to find the right place to shoot his next picture. He finds a strange old village that looks like it would be perfect but soon learns that the village holds a secret.
Something about this movie just works, even when it shouldn't. Yes, it is corny and over acted for the most part and a lot of the makeup effects haven't aged very well at all. The music is ridiculously dated (but completely enjoyable) as are the fashions of the club goers and the musicians (look for UB40 doing their thing). But how can you not love a movie with a werewolf secretary and a stripper (Suzanna Willis) who truly takes it all off?
The black humor works more often than not. Price, though looking rather frail, is still Price and that counts for a lot. He's got that charm and that charisma and that screen presence that really made him one of a kind. Carradine is Carradine, we can't ask him to be anything else and his performance is exactly what you'd expect it to be but he too is able to bring his own certain quirks and instantly identifiable style to his role. The interaction between the two is playful and comedic but sinister at the same time, never going overboard with the hamfistedness you might expect them to deliver. Pleasance intentionally hams up his part here and the movie is all the better for it while a salty Stuart Whitman is fun to watch too. On top of that we get supporting work from Patrick Magee, Richard Johnson and Britt Ekland to really round out that cast in a big way.
Additionally there's a lot of really nice visual style here. The scenes that take place in the club where the various bands play have a lot of great primary colors that give those scenes some fun and spooky atmosphere that is just a whole lot of fun. And that more or less sums it up - fun. It's not particularly scary and it's not gory but it is pretty quickly paced and just ridiculously entertaining.
Video/Audio/Extras:
A disclaimer appears at the beginning of the presentation alerting viewers to the fact that the original elements were not made available for the DVD presentation and that the best possible video master was used for the disc. I saw this, my heart sank, and I expected the disc to look lame. Well, luckily enough, Pathfinder did find a pretty decent video master to use and while the picture is sadly not enhanced for anamorphic television sets it is widescreen and the picture quality, while not perfect, is pretty solid. The colors look pretty nice and while there is some print damage, it's not major and it doesn't detract from the image too much. Some compression is there, but again, it's minor. The picture quality isn't immaculate, but it's good and it's considerably better than the old VHS release with the Elvira introduction that surfaced ages ago.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is pretty solid. There's a bit of hiss in a few spots but for the most part it is clean and clear and plenty easy to follow. Those expecting a DTS 6.1 remix will be disappointed but really, the movie doesn't need that kind of treatment. What's here gets the job done just fine.
Some decent production notes are included on the disc as well as biographies for the key players in the film. Also included is a decent stills gallery and the films original theatrical trailer.
Luke Y. Thompson and Gregory Weinkauf (both of whom write for New Times out of Los Angeles) are on hand to deliver a full length running commentary track. Fans of the film will want to give it a listen as it is a pretty entertaining track - the two critics have a pretty solid knowledge of the film and its background. While there isn't a ton of new information to be gleaned, it'll give those more familiar with the film a nice refresher course.
The coolest extra though, hands down, isn't even listed on the back of the keepcase! Hidden away amongst the special features on this release are the songs used throughout the movie, in their entirety.
The Final Word:
The movie holds up. Price and Carradine steal the show and Pleasance is great as always. Through some nice looking ladies, a solid script that works well within the anthology format, and Roy Ward Baker's typically slick direction and The Monster Club is a winner. Pathfinder has done a nice job on the presentation and it's great to have the soundtrack on the DVD!