Travel Advisory: Town not on the map? DON'T STOP THERE!

The Vampires' Night Orgy (1974)
Starring: Jack Taylor, Dianik Zurakowska, Jose Guardiola, Charo Soriano, Fernando Romero, Sarita Gil, and Helga Line
Director: Leon Klimovsky
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

After the driver of their bus dies of a heart attack, a collection of domestic workers on their way to new jobs at the castle of a wealthy Eastern European recluse detour to a village off the highway in a shadow-shrouded valley. Although it is not on the map, the citizens seem friendly enough, particularly the Countess who owns the entire settlement (Line). But that's only until the sun sets, at which time the outsiders become what's for dinner.

"The Vampire's Night Orgy" is one of those movies that is entertaining and scary almost despite itself. The characters are universally bland and ill-defined;--except for the "hero" who first noticed the heroine while peeping on her as she undresses, and who continues to secretly watch her even after they've met... and who ultimately decides to save his own skin over that of a little girl who may or may not still be alive; the script is a jumble of barely explained and completely unexplained events--the town is home to vampires but it is also home to some sort of spirit that looks like a little boy spirit and that seems to be at odds with the vampires, and then there's the cop-out ending to the film; the soundtrack is one of the most inappropriate and badly done I've come across, with Musak-style easy listening tunes playing as a vampire attack happens; and, finally, the acting is sub-par, be it on the part of the original cast or the voice actors doing the dubbing.

However, the film's pacing is perfect and clever staging and editing of scenes, plus decent cinematography go a long way to make up for the crummy actors. (Out of all the performers, only Jose Guardiola and Helga Line are any good... probably because they were called on to play parts like ones they've done before where they are called upon to seem friendly yet still carry a mysterious and undefinable sinister air about them.)

Also, despite the fact that one of the story's secrets is given away in the title--there's going to be an abundance of vampires showing up at some points, and what better place than a town where the sun never shines and that isn't on the map?--the way the vampires are deployed as the film unfolds is handled very well. For someone who's watched as many vampire movies as I have, it was particularly refreshing to have a scene where a vampire woman is chasing a half naked man around the bedroom instead of the other way around. It's a little thing, but it's one of the many quirks of this film that makes it fun.

Another thing that's well-handled is the use of children in the film. Often-times, children are annoying in horror movies, either because the child actors aren't any good or because their use in the plot is predictable. While the screenwriters Gabriel Burgos and Antonio Fos must not be parents, must not have had siblings, and must have been raised by wolves with the way they portray children and parenting in this film, they did manage to create a very horrific graveyard sequence build around the mysterious ghost/demon child and the young daughter of one of the traveling domestic workers. As the scene unfolded, I grew increasingly apprehensive for the girl, because I thought I knew where it was going... even if I was equally certain that there was no way the filmmakers were going to dispatch a child in the way it looked like they were going to. And yet they did! It almost makes up for the fact that earlier in the picture, the girl witnesses a man being brutally mutilated yet says nothing to any of the adults. (I'm not going to go into details about the graveyard scene involving the little girl... it has to be experienced.)

The touches of black humor throughout the film are also adeptly done, especially those revolving around the meals served at the inn while the characters are staying there. I can't offer any details without spoiling the movie, but it'll make you think twice about eating any "local delicacy" while traveling ever again.

The strengths of "The Vampires' Night Orgy" almost make up for its weaknesses. If a little more effort had been put into giving it a decent ending, I would probably have given it a Six or Seven Rating. It's well worth checking out, especially if you're looking for a vampire movie to round out a Bad Movie Night that can be seen by young teens.

'Case 39' is good but predictable horror film

Case 39 (2010)
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane, and Bradley Cooper
Director: Christian Alvart
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A social worker (Zellweger) rescues a girl (Ferland) from parents so crazy and abusive they tried to cook her alive in an oven. She takes the child into her home while a foster family is sought, but she soon learns that maybe the parents weren't quite as crazy as it appeared. She soon learns that she may have let a literal demon into her life.

"Case 39" is a well-made but absolutely predictable horror film that is elevated by strong pacing and excellent performances from its stars. There's nothing here you haven't seen before if you've watched at least one "killer kid" movie, be it "The Omen", "Godsend", or even "Bloody Birthday".

Perhaps the best thing about the entire movie is Joelle Ferland as the demon-child Lilly. A common complaint I have about movies is the casting of older actors to play characters younger than they are, something which is usually a bad choice when it comes to roles written for children. Some of the worst examples of this was the 16-year-old Holly Fields as 4th grader in "Seed People" and the busty 20-somethings trying to pass for teens and even younger in "Terror Toons", because in all cases, the actresses don't look like kids, so when they behave like they are, they come across as if they are portraying developmentally retarded characters instead of children. But Ferland, although a teen trying to pass for a ten-year-old is excellent in her part.

It starts with the fact that Ferland is one of the scrawniest 15-year-olds you're likely to encounter outside a Russian women's Olympic gymnastics team training gulag, so she can physically pass for a slightly tall ten-year-old. But she is also a talented actress who is easily convincing as a precocious abused child and who is able to play sweet and inquisitive without coming across as cloying or irritating--with her big doe-like eyes helping immensely when it comes to taking on a wounded puppy air. But because she is older than the character she is portraying, she is equally capable of turning on a sudden, much harder edge, instantly transforming the cute little Lilly into a frightening psychopath that oozes menace from every quietly spoken word and every subtle curl of her lip. The scene were Lilly reveals her true nature to a doomed child psychologist is one of the high lights of the film, and a scene that convinces me that Joelle Ferland is a talent we'll be seeing a lot of in years to come if she sticks with acting and avoids the Lindsay Lohan Trap. But regardless of the future, Ferland has secured herself a place in the Creepy Movie Children Hall of Fame.

Although she is ostensibly the star of the film, Renee Zellweger really has the thankless job of being the victim of Joelle Ferland's demon child. But it's a job she performs admirably. I've heard that some reviewers have stated that Zellweger isn't convincing as a social worker, but I can't see where they're getting that from. To me, she seemed perfectly believable as the sort of dedicated above-and-beyond the call of duty CPS worker who is going to burn out and change careers or become an indifferent supervisor. Zellweger also sells me on her transformation from a woman who is enjoying pretending that she is a mom, to a woman who finds herself trapped and increasingly isolated by her supposed charge. Throughout the film, Zellweger played her part perfectly, whether she was a crusading caregiver or a panicked victim. Going in, I was wondering if she would be able to pull it off, because of other roles I've seen her in and because of the comments I'd heard, but I was instead left wondering what movie those other reviewers watched, because it didn't seem to be this "Case 39".

More often than not, I end up rating a film as predictable as this one at the low end of average, no matter how good the performances or pacing or technical aspects. But this one has the added benefit of a strong ending, one that avoids the habitual "shocking twist" that stopped being shocking 20 years ago, but instead goes with a more classic sort of ending; the film pulls out all the stops in is final 15 minutes and ends when the story is over. No tacked-on crap here... just the end followed by the credits. Even better, we've got a film where good beats evil at its own game, which is always something I find appealing when it comes to films focused on supernatural evils like this one.

There are going to be many, many choices for you to spend your entertainment time and money on this October--with 29 more suggestions coming from this very blog--but if you like supernatural thrillers or horror films about Evil Children, you should make "Case 39" a priority.