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Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: February 17th, 2015.
Director: Robert Thom
Cast: Jennifer Jones, Lou Rawls, Roddy McDowall, Jordan Christopher, Holly Near
Year: 1969
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The Movie:
The "head" movie.
Filthy stinking rich fairly obnoxious couple Willy (Charles Aidman) and Astrid (Jennifer Jones) have a fat eighteen year old daughter named Tara (Holly Near) that they've shunted away to a European boarding school. Embarrassed by their offspring's unattractiveness and even more by her virginity, they bring her back to the United States and decide to try to improve her life. The plan? A massive "coming out" party for the girl replete with hip guests - including rock star Bogart Peter Stuyvesant (Jordan Christopher).
Helmed by writer/director Robert Thom CULT OF THE DAMNED (aka ANGEL ANGEL, DOWN WE GO) is such a period piece it probably belongs in a time capsule labeled "counterculture late 1960's". Almost psychotically nonsensical at times and stuffed to the LSD soaked gills with period lingo and kooky camerawork, the film possesses an odd power. Essentially a series of vignettes involving interloper Stuyvesant and his bizarre crew of bandmates (who include screen legend Roddy McDowall and crooner Lou Rawls) the entire movie traffics in a strange combination of absurdity and confrontation. The opening narration, where daughter Tara talks about her "perfect parents" is the initial tip off that she's a classic unreliable narrator considering that we see her mother and father up to all sorts of sleazy behavior early in the film.
CULT OF THE DAMNED's title seemed to be an attempt to capitalize on the then recent Charles Manson murders, but the film doesn't precisely deliver on that front. One of the biggest problems here from a marketing perspective is that this film is so bizarre it really can't be categorized. The overwhelming vibe here is sleaze but focused on inappropriate sex as opposed to overt violence. There's even a thinly veiled suggestion of incest at one point that is fairly startling. Beyond that, Willy is clearly a closeted homosexual and his wife brazenly admits to performing in porn films in the past. A lot of them. Then there's the rock band. Between the endless head-speak and 'rapping" from these guys, CULT OF THE DAMNED can become a bit exhausting. Bogart in particular simply never shuts up and at times his lack of real acting chops threatens to torpedo the film. But CULT gets by on sheer manic energy. While it isn't as slick as something like THE TRIP, Thom does have a firm grip on keeping things flowing with kinetic energy. Absurd scenes like Tara (in the middle of a drug trip) talking to people from the ceiling come off as wacky instead of stupid. Indeed, one of the key strengths of the film is that while it looks on the surface to be an incoherent mess, it's well constructed enough to consistently hold the viewer's attention.
The film's climax certainly works however thanks to some clever foreshadowing. But this really is a film that requires a certain mindset to enjoy. Anyone hung up on the image of star Jennifer Jones as one of Hollywood's classiest beauties will hate this. She's not only playing a despicable character, she has a lot of sexual scenes and even a dalliance with Bogart. Nobody here is even remotely likable - this is a universe filled with venom-spewing narcissist perverts and overweight simps. The music is pretty good though as far as 60's rock goes.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Kino's 1080p 1.85.1 framed AVC encoded transfer is on the higher quality end as far as catalog presentations go. The print itself is in great shape, and detail, black levels and color are all excellent. This is a VERY colorful film, and it's nice to see things "pop" when it is called for. I didn't notice any tear marks or print damage of note either. Aside from a white speck here and there, this disc's transfer is pristine. Finally, no DNR is present. Audio is on a DTS-HD Mono track that has nice fidelity and element separation. There's a lot of music in this movie and this track handles it surprisingly well for a mono affair. Bottom end is present and all dialog is clear.
Cult film experts Nathaniel Thompson (of website Mondo Digital) and Tim Greer sit for a full length audio commentary and it's a real winner. These guys know their facts and have great rapport. The creation of the film itself was quite a convoluted mess and Thompson and Greer do a first rate job of walking the viewer through it. Discussion of casting issues, financing, and simply astute observations about the production are all served up in an entertaining manner as well. As historical commentaries go, this is one of the best. A still gallery and trailer are also included.
The Final Word:
Provided you know what you're getting into with this one, CULT OF THE DAMNED is worth a watch. It's a counterculture film that is actually a real example of counterculture cinema as opposed to the slick facsimiles that the major studios of the era occasionally pumped out. Weird, sometimes disturbing and just plain off kilter, it's a fascinating piece of work. Director Thom never directed another film (due to this one tanking at the box office) but went on to be a successful screenwriter. Anyone with an interest in outré 60's films and watching faded stars out of their comfort zones should have fun with this one. And considering it never even got a DVD release stateside, Kino should be applauded for bringing this oddity to market - in quality HD no less. And the commentary is a great supplement.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
