On Sunday the 30th, the Portage Theater on Chicago's north side is hosting Vincentennial, a Halloween commemoration of the 100th birthday of Vincent Price. Events include a Q&A with Vincent's daughter, Victoria Price, short films & classic trailers, a vendor's area, and a double feature of House on Haunted Hill and The Last Man on Earth. The Portage is a great old venue, just run down enough to give it old school charm, and they serve booze.
I'm not likely to be attending, however, as I've just recently re-watched both films. Seeing them on the big screen might have enticed me to come out anyway, but I am pretty sure the showing will be digital projections of DVD's. The Portage has a pretty good set-up, but digital projection just lacks that special something film has.
But I am always happy to celebrate Vincent Price, so tonight I am sharing The Monster Club, a 1980 film notable as the last film produced by Amicus. It's anthology film based on the short stories of R. Chetwynd-Hayes, who is portrayed in the movie by John Carradine. After being recognized by a hungry vamopire, a famed horror author is invited to a party at the titular establishment where he is regaled with a trio of uncanny tales and disco music.
The Monster Club is not a great film. The musical numbers are poor, the monster make-up is rather terrible, and the camp attitude is overplayed. But Price and Carradine as as fun to watch as always, and some other genre favorites (including Donald Pleasence, Patrick Magee, and Richard Johnson) turn up as well. And if the stories themselves aren't scary, they do have some neat ideas and as eerie a feel as the budget could accommodate. The Monster Club is just the kind of the thing to have on while doing some last minute Halloween decorating.
This pretty much says it all.
The illustrations and concept art for the film were done by legendary British comics artist John Bolton, who also worked on an adaptation of the film with the equally renowned David Lloyd. Oh, look - there's copy right there!
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