Fool's Views (8/1 – 8/16)

There's 2020 in a nutshell for ya....

Howdy, folks!

As the summer sun starts falling beneath the horizon earlier and earlier with each passing day, it’s hard to believe that we’re only eight months into this crazy, crazy year. I’m not going to be the one to ask what the next four months might have in store because, honestly, I’m not all that sure I want to know.

The first half of August’s Horror Views were, as is often the case, highly influenced by the guiding hand of one Jon Kitley – he who loaned me several of the titles featured below, two of which I employed to complete my Kryptic Army mission in high style. For the Civilian quarter, a couple of rarely-discussed titles fell into my sights completely out of the blue, squaring off across secret agent exploits and dusty gunfighter tales.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

THE BURNING COURT (1962) DVD Review

The Burning Court (1962) d. Julien Duvivier (France/Italy) (110 min)

A collective of family members gather at an ailing relative’s secluded country estate to discuss matters of finance, only to have their host abruptly shuffle off this mortal coil under less-than-natural circumstances. However, what starts off as a standard “inheritance murder mystery” quickly becomes something significantly chewier; seems that the late Uncle Mathias (Frederic Duvalles) was the last remaining descendant of a policeman who brought a supposed witch to justice in the 1600s, said sorceress cursing his family line with her dying breath. Along with two squabbling brothers, Marc (Jean-Claude Brialy) and Stephane (Claude Rich), understandably eager to get their hands on the family fortune, further thickening the pot is mystery novelist Michel (Walter Giller), down for the weekend to interview Mathias about his dark lineage. And wouldn’t you know it, Michel’s wife Marie (Edith Scob) just happens to be the last remaining descendant of the witch in question… who was also named Marie. The end result is an “old cursed house” supernatural horror whodunit where the suspects are plentiful, one of whom could be an actual ghost!