Don’t Torture a Duckling

(1972) dir. Lucio Fulci
    Don’t torture a what? I know, I thought the same thing when I first read it. But thanks to the phenomenal success of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, almost every giallo released in Bird’s wake had an animal in its title – The Cat o’ Nine Tails, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Lizard in a Woman’s Skin, Tail of the Scorpion, Black Belly of the Tarantula, Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye, ad infinitum.

I suppose one could wax philosophic about the use of animals as reflections of the giallo’s cold brutality, man being just another animal himself, “man as meat”, etc., but in truth many of these titles were unessential to the film’s plot, and simply attempts to jump on the commercial bandwagon set in motion by Bird. However, such is not the case with Don’t Torture a Duckling, which next to Bird with the Crystal Plumage is one of the most intelligent, if not historically important, giallos ever made. Duckling’s title is not a red herring, but is rather a guarded yet integral shell for the film’s story – a perverse tale of child murder, pedophilia, good mommies, bad mommies, black magic, and ultimately, the agony (and the ecstasy) of Catholicism.

Installment 2 of four brings our exploration of the italian horror genre squarely into the 1970's, and more bloodthirsty territory... Please enjoy BobsBarb's continuing overview of the genre, and keep an eye out for future volumes in later weeks! -Mrheck

Blood & Black Lace

(1965) – dir. Mario Bava
So where (you might wonder) did all those ‘80s and late ‘70s body-count/slasher movies originate from? With film still being such a young art form, it’s easy to find the answers to such questions. Halloween, Friday the 13th, ad nauseam, all owe their red dye-stained DNA to Bava’s Blood & Black Lace.

PART ONE (of four)

Editor's note: Italian horror is of particular fascination to the staff of the late night picture show-- and judging by audience attendance for our previous italian horror engagements, you, the audience, feel the same way!

As the Clay's upcoming screening  of Lucio Fulci's THE BEYOND draws closer, we're taking it as a perfect excuse to share with you a retrospective on 20 influential italian horror films that constitute must-see viewing within the genre by Landmarkafterdark staff writer BobsBarbs, colossal italian horror afficianado in his own right. Enjoy, and if you love seeing these films, be sure to follow the 'contact us' link on the main menu or add a note to the suggestion box, and encourage us to bring you more of them! Read more after the link. --MrHeck

Saturday May 24th is Solstice Lounge night (21+ w/ID) where the bar will be serving drinks both Skeksis and mystics are sure to agree on! And… also Saturday May 24th: a Special Musical pre-show by San Francisco Muppet-Core band Mr. Stopmotion and the Yellow Dress!

If Labyrinth failed to convince you that Jim Henson (at some point or another) was taking copious amounts of psychedelic drugs, then The Dark Crystal will leave you without a doubt. It is the story of life on the planet Thra, where the dark crystal is kept. A thousand years ago the crystal was broken, and  it separated one race into two different (but equally creepy-looking) creatures.

Now, the Mystics are the goooood guys and the Skeksis are the baaaaad guys.  And, according to prophecy, only a Gelfing (a cute sort of puppet, for a change) can restore the dark crystal and save everyone on the planet Thra before 'the great convergence'. Can this puppet make it through the magical forest and deliver the goods? Or will the Skeksis have their way when the three suns align?

“He choose you, honey! From all the women in the world to be the mother of his only living son!”
All right… I’ll just come right out and say this from the top – Rosemary’s Baby is one of the best horror movies of all time.
Whenever I verbalize this in person, I’m often barraged by a flurry of “What?! How!? Why?!

"But it’s not even scary! Rosemary’s Baby is not a horror film! There’s like barely any blood! The movie doesn’t even have an on-screen death!” (If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that Hell hath no fury like a contradicted, overly invested genre-lover.) But I’ll get to the reasons WHY it’s one of the best in a few minutes. First, the important stuff…

In 1957, A young boy named Jason Voorhees drowned at Crystal Lake. In 1958, two camp counselors were murdered at Crystal Lake Camp. Now in 1979, Crystal Lake is finally being reopened  with a new owner and the help of a few new counselors. Ignoring the warnings from a local wacko, the murders begin again at the hands of a mysterious stalker. It is revenge  the killer is looking for? Who will survive the nightmare and live to tell the story?