The Black Gloves

"The Black Gloves" (2017) (aka "The Owlman 2" for streaming release) is the newest film by the team at Hex Media which includes director Lawrie Brewster and writer Sarah Daly. This is the second film to feature their creepy, scary Owlman who was also prominent in "Lord of Tears" (aka "The Owlman"). The filmmakers have created a whole mythology around the Owlman with its roots in the folklore and old religions of the Scottish highlands. This movie takes place and is styled after the film noir movies of that period and is even filmed in black and white, which adds to the atmosphere of the film. The film is a wonderful mash up of genres: film noir, psychological thriller, gothic and atmospheric horror.

The film stars Jamie Scott Gordon as Finn Galloway, Macarena Gómez as Lorena Velasco, and Alexandra Nicole Hulme as Elisa Grey.

Finn Galloway is psychologist recovering from the recent loss of a young patient of his who had been haunted by an owlman creature she sketched. To help with his grief, he begins an investigation to discover the truth behind this mythical creature. The investigation leads him to an imposing mansion at the isolated Baldurrock Estate in the Scottish highlands where a once famous ballerina, Elisa Grey is living in seclusion and silence with her very intense ballerina teacher, Lorena Velasco. 

 

Finn Galloway tries to convince the women that he can help bring Elisa out of her long, silent, fugue-like state by conducting counseling sessions with her.  Elisa is a fragile and lost soul after a fall from fame and other horrors she has experienced at the house. Her ever watchful and very intense ballet teacher, Lorena, is a task master that demands nothing but the best from the fragile ballerina with hopes Elena will return to stage to perform her legendary performance as the Black Swan. Lorena herself is a former ballet star who faced an injury that prevented her from pursuing her destiny so she keeps pushing Elena so she can vicariously live through any future glories of her student. The codependency of the two women is extreme with Lorena the strict mother figure and Elena the helpless child. Can Dr. Galloway figure out the puzzle of Baldurrock, the Owlman, Moloch the ancient god, the controlling and overbearing teacher and the ethereal but wounded figure who is Elisa?

Macarena Gómez who plays the wonderfully over the top and sinister teacher is a Spanish actress whose looks, gestures and speech all fit beautifully into the film noir experience the filmmakers have created. The beautiful and talented, Alexandra Nicole Hulme does a superb job playing the broken ballerina, Elisa, who does what she can to reach out to the visiting psychologist for help from the horror she is trapped in. Jamie Scott Gordon is commanding as Dr. Galloway who is working through his grief and wants to help the young woman but has his own controlling nature and tragic life experiences to deal with.

Director Lawrie Brewster, writer Sarah Daly and their team of filmmakers provide us with a film you can really enjoy. The filmmakers excel at the cinematography. The rocking motion of the camera during the dream and/or reality sequences adds to the intense turmoil and tension on the screen very effectively. The filmmakers painstakingly created a film like that from the 1940s, very effectively using black and white film while mastering the use of shadows, reflections, sinister silhouettes and candlelight that makes this film so memorable. The Victorian looking Owlman with its long fingers and tall figure, is a very sinister creature you wouldn't want to run across in the woods or lurking around the corner of the hall. Whenever we see the Owlman onscreen it is a startlingly creepy experience.

Will the lengths that Elisa goes through trying to survive her experiences at Baldurrock with the Owlman, Lorena and Dr. Galloway, give her the strength to find herself and to live for another day?

I really enjoyed this horror noir film and highly recommend you immerse yourself into the dark, moody, contemplative and psychologically complex experience that is "The Black Gloves".

You can purchase this film at Hex Media's Hex Store.

A Cure For Wellness

“A Cure For Wellness”	2016
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, Ivo Nandi, Adrian Schiller and Celia Imrie Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Description: Lockhart (DeHaan), an ambitious Wall Street executive, is sent by his company to a remote sanitarium in Switzerland to retrieve a high ranking company official, Pembroke, who believes he is ill and will not leave.
Review: The wellness center sits in an ancient castle on a hill in a remote area of the Swiss Alps. People in the nearby village see the rich guests being driven up to the spa but they never see anyone leave.    Lockhart arrives to the picturesque setting and is given the runaround to see Pemboke. He is told to return later in the evening. On his way back to the village he is in an accident causing him to wake up in the sanitarium three days later with a broken leg.   So starts his journey unraveling the puzzle that is the sanitarium and its powerful residents. There’s the facility’s Director Volmer (Isaacs) who doesn’t want anything to set back the treatment of his patients. There’s a young woman, Hannah (Goth), who says she’s a special case and is under the guardianship of Volmer. There’s patient Victoria Watkins (Imrie) who likes to solve puzzles and is digging deeper than she should into the dark history of the institution. There's the "vitamins" everyone takes from blue bottles. And last but definitely not least is the Sanitarium itself, a gothic castle framed by the mountains of the alps – full of majestic beauty and wellness of its famed healing waters on the outside but masking a dark reality of its many treatment rooms and wings and even darker creatures in the aquifers.   This movie is visually stunning. One can’t help admire the castle, the mountains, the treatment rooms, the swimming pools, the architecture and the lighting. In addition to its sunny appearance, there’s the mysterious atmosphere and dread that builds as the story moves forward. Once its over, you may be left with many questions to ponder but overall I enjoyed this captivating piece of gothic horror.

The Babadook

"The Babadook" (2014) starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall is surprisingly creepy horror movie about a children's pop up book that has a horrible creature that comes to life to terrorize a mom and her young son.

Widowed mom Amelia (Essie Davis) is trying to keep up with the demands of life - working and being a single mom to a very precocious son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman).  Her husband died taking her to the hospital when her son was born seven years earlier.  She is still working through the grief of losing him.  Samuel is quite a handful, getting kicked out of school, causing problems with his cousin and making life very difficult for his mom.

One night Samuel picks out the nightly storybook to read together before bed.  It is titled "The Babadook" and is a scary popup book about a shadowy creature that is trying to get in and terrorize the family in the book.  As Amelia reads it, she quickly sees it escalate into violence between the mother and the son and immediately hides then tries to destroy the book.
However, being a special book, it is returned to them and the Babadook monster, first only seen by Samuel, continues to intrude deeper into their lives.  Soon Amelia, and the viewer, doesn't know what is reality or what is within the characters' minds.

"The Babadook" is a very effective psychological thriller and horror story.  It creates a menacing and oppressive atmosphere as the mother and son become isolated from the world around them as they try to deal with this monster that may or may not be only in their minds.  The cinematography, music, eerie sound effects and great acting by Essie Davis contribute to an enjoyable horror film that will send chills down your spine.

House of the Long Shadows

"House of the Long Shadows" (1983) starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, John Carradine and Desi Arnaz Jr. is a comedy / horror movie about a man who on a bet goes to a haunted house to write a book.

Kenneth Magee (Arnaz), an American writer places a $20,000 bet that he can write a novel in one night.  In order to concentrate and get in the mood, he goes to an old mansion without electricity to write the novel.  It is supposed to be deserted but soon after his arrival in the dusty old house, other people start arriving.  Who are the assorted characters that keep coming out of the stormy night?  And who else has been hidden away in the house for the last 40 years?

A somewhat fun comedy / horror story that brings out all the classic horror tropes: candlelit walks through a dark, scary house, thunder and lightning, secret passageways and creepy characters.  Classic horror stars Price, Lee and Cushing join in the fun and even though not a spectacular movie, it may just be worth it to you to see these horror greats all together in one film.

Knife Edge

"Knife Edge" (2009) is a horror / thriller starring: Hugh Bonneville, Natalie Press and Matthieu Boujenah that takes place in a large country mansion in England.

Emma is a successful New York stock broker who has a five year old son Thomas.  She is also recently married to Henri who has whisked her back to her home country of Great Britain and surprised her with the purchase of a huge country mansion and a lush estate.  Their new life seemed perfect until things start unraveling in the new house.

It turns out the house has a terrible secret in its past.  Emma, who has always been able to see glimpses of the past, believes she is now getting visions of murder in the past at the house.  She starts to hear a child calling for her from upstairs and it's not Thomas!  Thomas has an imaginary new friend named Tobias and carries an old doll around that Tobias gave him. Emma tries to share these visions and her fears about the house with Henri but he is too caught up in his own financial troubles to be of any support.

This turned out to be a great thriller.  Filled with spooky atmosphere that an old English Mansion with overgrown estate can provide.  An eerie tree that keeps haunting Emma in her dreams also seems to be a part of the secret.  Lots of scary moments, suspense and an interesting story keeps you guessing until the end.

Horror of Dracula

"Horror of Dracula" (1968) starring  Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, John Van Eyssen, Michael Gough is a Hammer Films version of the classic Dracula story.

It is the year 1885 and Jonathan Harker (Van Eyssen) arrives at Count Dracula's (Lee) castle in order to work as the Count's librarian.  After being bitten by one of Dracula's vampire women, he disappears.  Dr. Van Helsing (Cushing) arrives to the castle later in order to find the missing Harker.  He is given Harker's journal from some fearful townsfolk and soon finds himself involved with all the horrible goings on at the castle.

Christopher Lee does a superb job playing the titular role of Dracula.  Hammer Films excelled at these Dracula films and you will find it all here: creepy castle, terrified townspeople, sexy vampire women, scary atmosphere and the dapper but dangerous Dracula.  

    

The Brotherhood of Satan

"The Brotherhood of Satan" (1971) starring Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, Charles Bateman is an excellent horror movie about a family trapped in a desert town with a bunch of old Satan worshipers.

The family of Ben (Charles Bateman), his girlfriend Nicky (Ahna Capri) and his daughter KT (Geri Reischl) are on their way to Grandma's house when they witness a terrible car accident.  They drive to the nearest town of Hillsboro and they are mobbed by the local townsfolk and quickly flee in their car.  However, they don't get far until their car breaks down and they have to return to Hillsboro.

They discover the town has been cut off from the outside by unknown forces for over a week and one by one their children have gone missing.  Ben joins with the Sheriff (L.Q. Jones, also the movie's writer and producer), the local doctor and priest to determine what is happening to all the children.

While this is occurring, the film also shifts to the local witch's coven which worships Satan and is gathering the children for its sinister plans.  Who in the small town is the leader of the coven?  You soon find out and you get a good look at the elderly denizens of Hillsboro who will do the unspeakable to stay alive and young.

"The Brotherhood of Satan" is a surprisingly good horror flick.  It is visually well filmed and the idea of a town being cut off from the rest of the world creates a sinister sort of claustrophobia.  There are some extremely creepy scenes in this movie, especially the birthday party scene where the children are catered to by unseen figures in black robes.  I highly recommend that you find and watch this film!

Fear in the Night

"Fear in the Night" (1972) starring Judy Geeson, Joan Collins, Ralph Bates and Peter Cushing is a Hammer horror movie about a woman who moves in to her new husband's home on the grounds of a boys' school and keeps getting attacked by a one-armed stranger.

Peggy Heller (Geeson) is recovering from a nervous breakdown and has just married Robert Heller (Bates), a teacher at a boys' school in the English countryside.  On the eve of moving to her new home, she is attacked by a one-armed intruder who has a prosthetic arm.  Her landlady and new husband have a hard time believing her because there is no evidence and of her recent breakdown.

The couple moves into the a cottage on the school grounds between quarters and Peggy wanders through the old Tudor school which is currently empty of students.  She also meets the headmaster and his wife, Michael and Molly Carmichael (Cushing & Collins).  While away on business, Peggy is once again accosted by the one armed man and no one believes her.  She also interacts with the creepy headmaster who happens to have an artificial arm that the viewer notices but apparently not Peggy.

"Fear in the Night" is a film that slowly builds tension and mystery and takes place in the empty school and estate and keeps you guessing until the end.