Pendragons Princess

I have decided to include mentioning at least one childfree film per month in this blog. This might be a drama, comedy, or horror film. For my first post of this kind, the film I have chosen is “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark”, a 1973 made for television film.

The movie opens up with a childfree couple, Alex and Sally Farnham, moving into a new house they inherited from Sally’s grandmother. A rather large house complete with turrets, there is one small room in the cellar which has been completely barricaded inside: the fireplace is sealed up, and the windows have been boarded over. Sally’s curiosity gets the best of her when she decides to unbolt the small door on the side of the chimney, not knowing what she is about to unleash on herself. The carpenter, Mr. Harris, told her to leave the chimney door bolted but never tells her why - in fact, he never tells Sally or Alex exactly what it is that exists in the depths of the old house. Before she knows it, Sally has some secret admirers who keep whispering her name day and night in the house, and they are hell bent on getting to her, whether it means life or death for her. Alex is completely tied up in his work and doesn’t give Sally the attention she needs so the mysterious creatures take over that role.

Kim Darby turns in a credible performance as Sally, the woman harrassed by unknown beings from down below. Jim Hutton as Alex is sometimes stiff in performance but makes up for it during the animated scenes he has with Mr. Harris, played by William Demarest. What makes this movie work so well as a horror film is that it is very much a atmospheric film, directed by John Newland. Unlike so many horror films since the late 1970’s, this one actually leaves something to the imagination: the viewer is never informed as to where these hideous monsters came from nor how they got into the house. Halfway through the film, I expected some mention of black magic or aliens but alas, that was not to happen. The only thing that Mr. Harris says is that the being who lived beneath the house were there since the time of Sally’s grandfather. Camera angle shots plus most of the scenes where the monsters appear are in the shadows make this a truly haunting movie, particularly the horrific ending.

“Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is great viewing for anyone who doesn’t like seeing kids in movies and as a side note, given the nature of this film, really is not for small children to view, despite the fact it was on ABC during prime time in 1973. The movie has not been released on DVD but can be watched on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAfUbsSUDi0&feature=related

It’s that time of the year once again, when spawn dress up, go door to door, and yell “Trick or Treat!” They do not come to our door, thank goodness, but the entire event brings to mind movies will hell spawn in them. Not surprisingly, a good number of them are horror films, or thrillers. So, here is my list of hellspawn films:

The Omen, 1976. Damien is a boy who is literally Satan’s spawn. Anyone who crosses him, gets knocked off. How precious. Not.

The Bad Seed, 1956. Patty McCormack was nominated as Best Actress for an Oscar in a supporting role in this film. Patty portrays a cold-blooded murderer who appears to be all sugar and spice on the outside. No doubt the Menendez brothers idolized Patty.

The Fallen Idol, 1948. Philip, the Satan-spawn of a French ambassador makes life a total living hell for everyone around him and especially for the butler, Baines. Baines (Ralph Richardson) is suspected to be involved in a murder but is innocent. No wonder the parents of this monster are always away from him - I would be, too. This film won the BAFTA 1948 award for Best British Film and was also nominated for an Oscar the same year.

Village of the Damned, 1960. Long considered a classic of the horror genre, the children of an English village all have the same bleached-blond hair and eyes that control the actions of adults. Sounds a lot like the spoiled brats in America 2008, minus the hair color.

The Twilight Zone, “It’s a Good Life”, 1961. Not a movie, but worth mentioning here. Billy Mumy as hellspawn with powers that will punish any adult who is not nice to him. Yeah, America 2008 again but thank God most hellspawn don’t have the powers that Anthony Fremont has.

It’s Alive, 1974. It’s those precious babies once again, only this time, they are killing machines, even killing its bearer, the doctors, and nurses in the hospital at the beginning of the film. The special effects are a bit dated, but they are still effective and graphic.

The Other, 1972. Written by Tom Tryon, a former actor, this story is about twin brothers, one good, the other one, downright evil. Bizarre accidents start to happen but only grandma knows the truth about the twins.

Dennis the Menace, 1993. More accurately classified as hellspawn dark comedy, why anyone would want to have a child like this is beyond me. This kid is so evil, he almost gets the elderly neighbor Mr. Wilson’s nuts cut off with a canoe in the attic. Crotchdump extraordinaire.

The Exorcist, 1973. Little Megan is possessed by the demon Pazuzu after playing with a Ouija board. If you ask me, all unruly kids are possessed by demons but as to whether their names are Pazuzu, I have no idea.

Mildred Pierce, 1945. Joan Crawford stars as the mother of a spoiled rotten crotchdump and cannot win its affection, no matter how much the mother does for the dump. I personally think every young mother of today should be forced to watch this film. I’d be very surprised if they even know who Joan Crawford is.

The Children’s Hour, 1961. A female Satan-spawn at a private girls’ school makes life a living hell for two female teachers. Audrey Hepburn and Shirley Maclaine star in this Oscar nominated film. More proof that children are not innocent or precious.

Let’s face it, more movies have portrayed children as being pure evil than innocent, precious snowflakes from seventh heaven. But, such films are a great form of birth control.