If for some reason you missed the first volume of misplaced
or forgotten horror films from Arrow then by all means seek it out. It’s not
that all of the movies included were fantastic but they were interesting and
saved from disappearing altogether. Arrow has a reputation for doing that,
saving movies that were either long lost and thought gone or that were released
in poor versions on both VHS and later disc. They take these movies, clean them
up and offer them in the best format possible with plenty of extras to
entertain. Now they’re releasing a second volume and after watching it one can
only hope that they carry on this series.
Both box sets contain three movies that were made some time
ago. This time around we have the films DARK AUGUST, DREAM NO EVIL and THE
CHILD. Like last time I’d heard of at least one item here but not the other
two. And like last time the one I’d heard of wasn’t the one that I found to be
the best film.
The weakest of the three for me was THE CHILD. Made in 1977
the film has that low budget made in some backwater location that can sometimes
be a good thing but here, not quite. Laurel Barnett stars as Alicianne Del Mar,
a young nanny sent for by Mr. Nordon (Frank Janson) to take care of his
daughter Rosalie (Rosalie Cole). Having met a neighbor first who told her that
the girl had behaved a bit strangely ever since her mother passed away
Alicianne isn’t sure what to expect. In addition to Rosalie and her father her
older brother Len also lives in the house and works for his father there. Soon
strange things begin to happen, people go missing and Rosalie is conversing and
raising the dead. Just how far this will go makes up the last part of the film.
For a movie to work like this it depends on the performances to make them
believable. While Barnett does a decent job Cole is terrible as the little
girl. It’s more like she’s reading rather than acting the role. The fact that
this is her only acting credit is no surprise.
DREAM NO EVIL (1970) also suffers from the low budget blues
but still offers and interesting movie. Grace MacDonald (Brooke Mills) works in
a tent evangelist show where she dives off a high ladder into a foam filled
platform. The evangelist is Rev. Paul Jessie Bundy (Michael Pataki) who took
over when his father passed away. Grave is engaged to Patrick Bundy (Paul
Prokop) who’s studying to be a doctor. When the show stops nearby his college
the pair visit one another. In the town where they’ve set up the tent Grace
goes to meet her father (Edmund O’Brien) who is apparently living in a
retirement home/part time brothel staffed by elderly women. There she meets the
owner and local undertaker who tells her that her father passed away. She goes
to visit him and he wakes up and kills the undertaker. Grace then hides her
father on a nearby ranch. But stranger things than his simply waking from the
dead begin to take place and much of it involves Grace’s sanity. The ending
provides a nice twist. Some poorly done special effects, done this way no doubt
due to their budget, and that sheen of poor quality grade film stock make this
one a definite low budget film. In spite of that it presents a decent story and
better than terrible acting.
The third movie in the set is DARK AUGUST (1976). Of the
three I found this film to be the best of the trio. Sal Devito (J.J. Barry) is
an illustrator recently who’s moved into a small town to get away from the big
city. Unfortunately not long after his arrival he accidentally hit and killed a
young girl who ran out in front of his car. Now her grandfather has placed a
curse on him for revenge, connecting with evil spirits to do so. As misfortunes
begin to affect both Sal and those close to him, including new girlfriend and
gallery owner Jackie (Carole Shelyne) he doesn’t know what to do. Jackie tells
him she knows of a woman in town who might be able to help, a spiritual healer
she’s been to. Adrianna (Kim Hunter) can tell there are dark forces around Sal
and offers to help. But the battle between good and evil is not one to be taken
lightly. The movie has a slow pace to it but it works making the story more
believable. In addition to that the acting here is the best out of the three
films in this set. Hunter, past her prime when she starred in movies like A
STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and the PLANET OF THE APES movies brings her talents to the
film making the character less nutball than it could have been played as. The
revenge motif works well and the battle between dark and light forces stand up.
The American Horror Project is co-curated by author Stephen
Thrower, the author of “Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation
Independents”, and he appears in the extras talking about each film. Not only
that Arrow delivers a ton of extras here as well as 2l restorations of the film
from original film elements. The extras here include reversible sleeves for
each film with original and newly commissioned artwork, “American Horror
Project Journal Vol. II” a limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the
films by Stephen R. Bissette, Travis Crawford and Amanda Reyes, “Dream No Evil”
a filmed appreciation by Thrower, “Dream No Evil” a brand new audio commentary
track with Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan, “Dream No Evil – Hollywood After
Dark: The Early Films of John Hayes 1959-1971” a look at the director of the
film by Thrower, “Dream No Evil – Writer Chris Poggiali on the career of actor
Edmond O’Brien, “Dream No Evil – Excerpts from an audio interview with Rue
McClanahan who worked with Hayes, “Dark August” a filmed appreciation by
Thrower, “Dark August” a new audio commentary track by writer/director Martin
Goldman, “Dark August” a new interview with Goldman, “Dark August” a new
interview with producer Marianne Kanter, “Dark August – The Hills Are Alive:
Dark August and Vermont Folk Horror” author/artist Bissette discussing genre
filmmaking out of Vermont where the film was shot, “Dark August” the original
press book, “The Child” options for either 1.37:1 or 1.85:1 presentations of
the film, “The Childe” an appreciation by Thrower, “The Child” a new audio
commentary track with director Robert Voskanian and producer Robert Dadashian
moderated by Thrower, “The Child” a new interview with Voskanian and Dadashian,
“The Child” original theatrical trailer and “The Child” original press book. As
you can see there’s more than a movie’s worth of extras to watch as well as the
three films.
None of these three films will ever be noted for their
success on the big screen or for their influence on a generation of film
makers. But they are a part of film history and deserve to be treated as such.
Thankfully Arrow is there to insure that this happens, giving them the loving
touch that they do with everything they release. Horror fans, grindhouse fans
and movie lovers should give this one a look.
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