#Donald Pleasance

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HALLOWEEN (1978)

Director: John Carpenter Cinematography: Dean Cundey

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[cantsayidont]

So, let's say you've endured the awful 2024 Robert Eggers remake of NOSFERATU (my condolences) — OR, you were curious about it, but have so far managed to avoid it. Here's what you should see next if you watched the Eggers atrocity (or instead, if you haven't):

NOSFERATU, PHANTOM DER NACHT (NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE) (1979): Languid, magnificently composed Werner Herzog spin on DRACULA — like the Eggers film, a loose remake of the 1922 silent, which was a Germanized adaptation of DRACULA — starring Klaus Kinski as the pathetic, infinitely lonely Dracula, an embodiment of plague whose coming brings not only death, but the collapse of social order, with Isabelle Adjani at her most achingly beautiful as the frightened but ultimately heroic object of his lust and instrument of his destruction, and Bruno Ganz as the hapless, doomed Jonathan. Herzog situates the story's horror very differently than most DRACULA stories: The scariest thing in the film is not Dracula, but rather the slow, implacable advance of time, against which both the living and the undead are powerless. Herzog's existentialist themes largely mute the 1922 film's antisemitism, and the 1979 film takes a rather more ambivalent attitude toward the original's themes of Christian martyrdom. CONTAINS LESBIANS? No. VERDICT: Not to every taste, but a legit masterpiece, clearly superior to both the Murau silent and the agonizing 2024 film.

DRACULA (1979): Romanticied '70s update of the Hamilton Deane/John L. Balderston play that was the basis for the 1931 movie, starring an extremely cunty Frank Langella as Dracula, with such swag that he scarcely needs to hypnotize anyone. Like Herzog's NOSFERATU, released the same year, it transposes Mina (Jan Francis) and Lucy (Kate Nelligan), for no obvious purpose. Nelligan is okay and Langella is fabulous, the diametric opposite of Klaus Kinski in NOSFERATU, but Laurence Olivier (as Van Helsing) and Donald Pleasance (as Seward) are very hammy, and the story is let down somewhat by some unnecessary contrivances and a foolish new ending. CONTAINS LESBIANS? No. VERDICT: Worth seeing for Langella, who really redefined "sexy Dracula" for the modern age, although a mixed bag as a complete film.

SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2000): Unique, deliciously eccentric fictionalized version of the making of the 1922 NOSFERATU: Imperious control-freak director F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) sets out to film an unauthorized screen version of Bram Stoker's DRACULA with the character names changed, informing his cast and crew that the vampiric Count Orlock will be played by an obscure theatrical Method actor (Willem Dafoe), who insists on remaining in character at all times. Before long, some of the crew start to fear that Murnau may have taken his commitment to authenticity a little too far — and what, exactly, has he promised to pay his star? At once an homage, a parody, and a pastiche of NOSFERATU (it will play better if you've seen at least one of the three versions), anchored by Dafoe's brilliant comedic performance: Much of the suspense hinges on the uncertainty about whether he's an eccentric weirdo, a dangerous monster, or both. The film's main weakness is Cary Elwes as cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner; Elwes' ludicrous attempt at a German accent is the film's truest horror. CONTAINS LESBIANS? No. VERDICT: A delightfully weird horror-comedy.

I'm a little reluctant to recommend the original 1922 silent (which is in the public domain in the U.S. and easy enough to access) — whatever its bona fides as an early horror film, watching it is very uncomfortable if you recognize that the way the film depicts Orlok is essentially a distillation of a century's worth of ugly antisemitic caricature, so it might as well be BLOOD LIBEL: THE MOTION PICTURE. (DRACULA is itself a rather racist story, but the 1922 NOSFERATU is worse, and the Eggers film is as well.)

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[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my Spooktober Filmfest...Halloween (1978) on glorious vintage Media Home Entertainment VHS 📼! #l#movie #movies #horror #Halloween #johncarpenter #michaelmyers #theshape #jamieleecurtis #lauriestrode #donaldpleasence #ripdonaldpleasance #NANCYKYES #NancyLoomis #pjsoles #CharlesCyphers #ripcharlescyphers #TonyMoran #nickcastle #KyleRichards #brianandrews #nancystephens #mickeyyablans #adamhollander #vintage #VHS #70s #Spooktober #october #mediahomeentertainment

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“I spent 8 years trying to reach a 6 year old child, and then another 7 trying to keep him locked up, because I realized what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply… Evil.”

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Esta semana, especial television infantil britanica inquietante.

“The Spirit Of Dark And Lonely Water” (1973), un programa en el que un terrorifico espectro con la voz de Donald Pleasance previene a los niños sobre los riesgos de jugar.

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Donald Pleasance as Dr Carnacki

The Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes

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On June 27, 2017, Raw Meat was released on Collect's Edition DVD and Blu-ray by Blue Underground.

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Horror Fest 2024 Day 15: Halloween (1978)

It’s been a while since the last John Carpenter film that I’ve reviewed so I figured it was about time. All of the things I said about Christine apply to this one. The dialogue is particularly bad in this one but again, somehow John Carpenter makes it all work when blended together. The music, however, is fantastic. Of course the theme is iconic but the score throughout is also really good,…

[travsd]

50 Years Ago: "The Mutations" a.k.a. "Freakmaker"

September 25, 1974 was the release date of the horror film The Mutations a.k.a. Freakmaker. The Mutations is the farthest thing from a classic, even (arguably) a horror classic, but it has its selling points. It was directed by Jack Cardiff, best known as the cinematographer of films like Powell-Pressburger’s Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948) and John Huston’s The African Queen…

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[duranduratulsa]

Now showing on DuranDuranTulsa's Horror Show...Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #movie #movies #horror #halloween #Halloween4 #Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers #johncarpenter #michaelmyers #theshape #dwighthlittle #DonaldPleasence #ripdonaldpleasance #elliecornell #danielleharris #BeauStarr #GeorgePWilbur #KathleenKinmont #sashajenson #michaelpataki #carmenfilpi #ripcarmenfilpi #nancyborgenicht #TomMorga #vintage #vhs #80s #durandurantulsa #durandurantulsashorrorshow

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Classic Sequel Gets a Lenticularly EVIL! "Halloween II" reviewed! (Via Vision / Limited Edition Blu-ray)

“Halloween II” Limited Edition Blu-ray + 6 Photo Lobby Cards! Order here! The horrific Halloween night massacre in Haddonfield where a masked escaped mental patient named Michael Myers murdered the close friends of Laurie Strode has not yet ended.  Hurt and in shock after narrowly escape Michael’s relentless pursuit, Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital to receive treatment from a…