Tag Archives: Halloween

March 7, 2015 · 11:47 pm

MALDOROR 8: AN INSATIABLE THIRST FOR THE INFINITE

Balladeer’s Blog continues its poem by poem examination of the 1868 French language work The Songs of Maldoror by Isidore Ducasse, the self-titled Count de Lautreamont.

AN INSATIABLE THIRST FOR THE INFINITE

Maldoror 8This section begins with Maldoror wandering through the darkness of the night, at times nostalgically recalling the terror and dread with which he used to regard the sounds and distant impressions of the overnight hours. But that was when he was merely a human child and his mother would try to calm him as he huddled beneath his blankets listening fearfully to the savage or vaguely sinister sounds made by the beasts who roam the night.

She would explain away the horror of the distant noises by assuring him that the beasts meant no harm, but were instead filled with an insatiable thirst for the infinite, the same thirst she sensed in the son she was trying to comfort. Now, fully grown and more than human Maldoror prowls the night as one of the beasts making noises that terrify others in their beds. Supreme in his element our narrator blissfully describes some of the nightly tableaus that catch his attention. Continue reading →

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March 5, 2015 · 11:31 pm

MALDOROR 7: FROM TODAY I ABANDON VIRTUE

Maldoror 7Balladeer’s Blog continues its poem-by-poem examination of the 1868 work The Songs of Maldoror by Isidore Ducasse, the self-titled Count de Lautreamont. The title I’m assigning to this 7th piece for cross-reference purposes is From Today I Abandon Virtue. Prose translations are readily available in English for those who dislike poetry.

FROM TODAY I ABANDON VIRTUE

This poem begins with our supernatural figure Maldoror boasting of a tacit alliance he has made with prostitution to sow discord among families and erode the societal bond. He begins to recount the origin of that pact.

One night while walking through a graveyard Maldoror encountered a glow-worm as large as the mausoleum it stood next to. The light given off by the creature was blood-red, not greenish like glow-worms usually give off. The glow-worm, speaking to him in French told him he was providing illumination for him to read the inscription on a nearby tomb. Continue reading →

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March 3, 2015 · 5:38 pm

MALDOROR 6: THE BLOOD AND TEARS OF A CHILD

Maldoror 2Balladeer’s Blog resumes its examination of The Songs of Maldoror, the neglected 1868 masterpiece of surreal horror written by Isidore Ducasse, the self-designated Count de Lautreamont. As I’ve mentioned previously this 1868 work was so far ahead of its time it is still considered disturbing not only for its violence and demented sexuality but also for its vehement assault on religion and its overall tone.  

The Blood and Tears of a Child is the title I have chosen for this 6th poem from The Songs of Maldoror. I will be assigning unofficial titles to each poem for the sake of clarity and for easier cross-referencing. Titles will work better in the memory since otherwise we have only the poem numbers to go by. My unofficial titles should be more efficient than having to refer to a section of the book as “the part where Maldoror is crucified and his testicles are full of spiders” or such.  

THE BLOOD AND TEARS OF A CHILD

This section begins with our mysterious, once-human figure Maldoror rhapsodizing about how wonderful it is to let one’s fingernails grow for fifteen days (shades of Coffin Joe or Freddy Krueger’s bladed glove). He considers it the perfect length for plunging them into the breast of a child you’ve snatched from its bed. He cautions against killing the child outright, so that its long-term suffering can be better enjoyed.

Blindfolding the child first is a must, the monster maintains, because after days of slashing the child’s flesh from its body and breaking the child’s bones Maldoror enjoys slipping away, then returning to the torture room pretending to be a good Samaritan rescuing the child. Continue reading →

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February 28, 2015 · 4:29 pm

MALDOROR: A NEGLECTED MASTERPIECE OF SURREAL HORROR

“Maldoror and His Smile” by Lord Orlando

Balladeer’s Blog begins a comprehensive examination of The Songs of Maldoror, often referred to as just Maldoror. The original 1868 French language work by the self-designated Count de Lautreamont (real name Isidore Ducasse) was in verse form, which is great for poetry geeks like me but if you prefer prose there are plenty of prose translations available. 

This work of surreal horror was so far ahead of its time that the author himself, in one of the few existing copies of his correspondence, expressed fears that he might be jailed or thrown into an insane asylum and requested that the publisher literally “stop the presses.” Just 88 copies of the book were completed in that initial run and for a few decades The Songs of Maldoror languished in obscurity.  

By the 1890s those few copies of Maldoror had been circulating among the more adventurous literati of the time period and the work began to be hailed as a forgotten masterpiece by Maeterlink, Bloy, Huysmans and de Gourmont. This new acclaim ultimately resulted in a new run of copies – this time in the thousands instead of dozens like the first run. This also accounts for why some reviewers mistakenly refer to The Songs of Maldoror as an 1890s work, despite its original publication date of 1868. Continue reading →

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October 31, 2014 · 12:02 am

FIVE ZOMBIE FILMS THAT ARE ACTUALLY UNIQUE

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! If you’re like me you’re bored with all of the zombie and pseudo-zombie films that seem to come out every few months. The 21st Century is as mired in tiresome, cookie-cutter zombie flicks as the 1980’s were in tiresome, cookie-cutter slasher flicks.

Here is a look at five films which, while technically classified as zombie films at least adopt unique perspectives and don’t follow established formulas.

Maleficia

Maleficia

MALEFICIA (1998) – This offbeat item from France was directed by Antoine Pellissier, who was an actual practicing physician at the time so viewers can rest assured that the looks they get at the insides of slaughtered human beings are reasonably accurate (I’m kidding.)

The 1860 setting should appeal to Goths but the ENORMOUS amounts of blood and gore will satisfy even fans of the most graphically violent zombie films. A few vampires eventually show up, too, in addition to the zombies if you’re looking for a little variety.

A family is on their way by carriage to a castle they’ve inherited from a relative involved in secret occult activities. Enroute they come across a Satanic ritual with naked humans being sacrificed by way of crucifixions intentionally staged as blasphemous parodies of the crucifixion of Christ.   Continue reading →

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October 30, 2014 · 10:50 pm

THE WEREWOLF (1896) AND THE OCTAVE OF CLAUDIUS (1897)

WerewolfTHE WEREWOLF (1896) – By Clemence Annie Housman. Halloween month continues at Balladeer’s Blog! Here are two more neglected works of Gothic Horror, this first one features a female author writing about a FEMALE WEREWOLF so that makes it a bit special right there.

The Werewolf is set in 1890’s Denmark. Amidst werewolf attacks plaguing the countryside a Danish family finds itself being charmed by a sultry, seductive woman who calls herself White Fell. The woman travels alone by night so is obviously the werewolf at large. Unfortunately her potent beauty allays suspicion and even pits brothers Sweyn and Christian against each other.   Continue reading →

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October 30, 2014 · 7:41 pm

SON OF SVENGOOLIE: SOME HALLOWEEN SONGS

Rich Koz

Rich Koz

It’s Halloween month at Balladeer’s Blog! Rich Koz, the Babe Ruth of Movie Hosts, portrayed his comedic vampire character as Son of Svengoolie from 1979 to 1986, then again on his new show The Koz Zone in 1989 and 1990 before returning in 1995 as just plain Svengoolie. Along with The Texas 27 Film Vault, Koz’s original run was the closest in spirit to the later program MST3K than any of the other early Movie Host shows when it came to the “so bad it’s good” aesthetic.

Here are some of Sven’s fun song parodies adjusted to fit various psychotronic films presented on his show.  

HIT THE ROAD, DRAC (To the tune of Hit the Road, Jack)

BOOGIE WOOGIE BOOGEYMAN OF BERWYN (To the tune of Boogie Woogie Bugle Man) Continue reading →

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October 29, 2014 · 10:36 pm

GOTHIC HORROR: CARL BLUVEN AND THE STRANGE MARINER (1833)

KahlbrannerCARL BLUVEN AND THE STRANGE MARINER (1833) – By Henry David Inglis. Halloween month continues! This story from Norway would likely appeal to fans of the recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies with its combination of marine lore and supernatural doings.

One evening Carl Bluven, a poor fisherman, is given a gift for his upcoming wedding. That gift is a cask of butter washed back up from a merchant ship that was sucked into the legendary Maelstrom off the coast near Bergen and Stavenger. The gift is from Kahlbranner, the undead and supernaturally-powered mariner who rules the whirlpool called the Maelstrom and owns all the booty from the ships sucked into it.

After his honeymoon Bluven is settling into married life with his bride Uldewallas and one evening the tide, commanded by Kahlbranner, withdraws prematurely, grounding Carl’s fishing boat amid rocks. The strange mariner rises up from his home at the bottom of the Maelstrom in a sailboat that moves with no wind in its sails. Pointing to a ship on the horizon Kahlbranner informs Bluven that the whirlpool he controls will suck that ship down to the bottom of the sea and he will send along another gift.   Continue reading →

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October 28, 2014 · 11:08 pm

TWENTY-FOUR CLASSIC SILENT HORROR FILMS

Crimson Stain Mystery

Crimson Stain Mystery

Halloween month continues at Balladeer’s Blog with this look at two dozen of my favorite silent horror films.

THE CRIMSON STAIN MYSTERY (1916) – This was a 16 chapter silent serial that contained multiple horrific elements. The fact that it is so little remembered these days makes it perfect for this list, given Balladeer’s Blog’s overall theme. A mad scientist calling himself the Crimson Stain experiments on human guinea pigs in an attempt to create an intellectually superior race. His experiments all fail, producing hideous, mutated monsters. The Crimson Stain organizes his misbegotten menagerie into a villainous organization and wages a campaign of terror on the world at large. A heroic detective leads the opposition against them and tries to learn the identity of the Crimson Stain. Chapters in this serial boasted wonderfully campy titles like The Brand of Satan, The Devil’s Symphony, Despoiling Brutes and The Human Tiger.  

THE MAN WITHOUT A SOUL (1916) – A man returns from the dead bereft of any trace of morality or humanity. He now views the people around him as victims and prey. 

THE GOLEM AND THE DANCER (1917) – In the very first known horror movie sequel Paul Wegener starred and directed himself once again as the clay monster called the Golem. In this enjoyably “meta” production decades before Scream or The Human Caterpillar II, Wegener played himself. In an innovative storyline the Continue reading →

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October 22, 2014 · 10:58 pm

FREDDY’S NIGHTMARES (1988-1990): FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

Freddy's Nightmares

Freddy’s Nightmares

FREDDY’S NIGHTMARES (1988 – 1990) – With Halloween just over a week away what better time to examine this forgotten series! I’ve always been a Freddy Krueger over Jason Voorhees kind of guy. I found Voorhees a dull imitation of Michael Myers from the Halloween movies, plus it isn’t even Voorhees doing the killing in at least two of the Friday the Thirteenth films. Throw in a mention that the boring as hell slice and dice man didn’t even don his iconic hockey mask until the third movie. Now add the fact that no matter how bad some of the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels were NONE of them were as lame as so many of the FT13 flicks.

I always thought the Continue reading →

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