October Movie Challenge 2012 (10/29)

Remember, if you would like to make a pledge toward Scare-A-Thon 2012 (benefitting FRIENDS OF CHILDREN) at any time, drop me an email at drach101@gmail.com to let me know how much you would like to pledge per film. Your donation is tax deductible, 100% of goes directly to aid the kids, and seriously, even a penny per film helps. Thanks in advance!

Soul of a Monster, The (1944) (1st viewing) d. Jason, Will (USA) 61 min.

Val Lewton-like Faustian tale of ailing benevolent surgeon George Macready who is miraculously granted a new lease on life…but at a price (as these things often go). Rose Hobart lends a chilly calm to the proceedings in the Satan role, now seemingly everywhere that Macready goes, a fact that proves discomfiting to former flame Jeanne Bates and colleague Jim Bannon. Overall, a pretty solid melodrama of good vs. evil with a whole lot of Christianity on hand (down to a completely superfluous rendition of “Ave Maria” sung by a practicing boys choir), so if you’re the type offended by such things, be forewarned.

Visible Secret (2001) (1st viewing) d. Hui, Ann (Hong Kong) 98 min.

“Give me back my head.” This is the frequent refrain heard throughout this polished if unaffecting ghost story, made just before the U.S. remake of Ringu kicked the Asian ghost story machine into hyperdrive. Amiable slacker lad Eason Chan and quirky goth gal Qi Shu meet cute at a dance club, but she soon reveals herself to be more than a handful, not least of which due to her ability to see ghosts (solely through her left eye). The dialogue quoted above is voiced by any number of folks, possessed as they are by a wandering spirit – it is here that the film’s central mystery resides, and truth be told, it’s not a very engaging ball of yarn to unravel.

All the Colors of the Dark (1972) (1st viewing) d. Martino, Sergio (Italy) 94 min.

The gorgeous Edwige Fenech stars alongside George Hilton as a couple recovering not only from a car accident, but also from her resulting miscarriage. She’s also been having some rather strange dreams in which Ivan Rassimov attacks her with a knife. When pills and psychiatrists fail to resolve the nightmares, she is persuaded to go all new age by lovely blonde Marina Malfatti, only to discover she’s been lured into a coven of lascivious Satanists. Truly, wonderfully bonkers with wicked visuals – like Rosemary’s Baby dunked in marinara sauce.


Total Movies: 96
First Time Views: 96
Money Raised for Friends of Children: $1037.76