''The Monster Club'' is a 1981 British anthology

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Roy Ward Baker Roy Ward Baker (born Roy Horace Baker; 19 December 1916 – 5 October 2010) was an English film director. His best known film is ''A Night to Remember (1958 film), A Night to Remember'' (1958) which won a Golden Globe for Golden Globe Award for ...

and starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

and

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

. An

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

, it is based on the works of the British horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes. It was the final film from

Milton Subotsky Milton Subotsky (September 27, 1921 – June 27, 1991) was an American film and television writer and producer. In 1964, he founded Amicus Productions with Max J. Rosenberg. Amicus means "friendship" in Latin. The partnership produced low-budg ...

, who was best known for his work with

Amicus Productions Amicus Productions was a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg. Films Prior to establish ...

; Amicus were well known for their anthologies, but this was not an Amicus film. It was also the final feature film directed by Baker.

Plot

Prologue

A fictionalised version of author R. Chetwynd-Hayes (

) is approached on a city street by a strange man (

) who turns out to be a starving

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

named Eramus. Eramus bites the writer, and in gratitude for the small "donation", takes his (basically unharmed but bewildered) victim to the titular club, which is a covert gathering place for a multitude of supernatural creatures. In between the club's unique music and dance performances, Eramus introduces three stories about his fellow creatures of the night.

The Shadmock

A young, financially struggling woman (

Barbara Kellerman Barbara Rose Kellerman (originally spelt Kellermann; born 30 December 1949) is an English actress, known for her film and television roles. She trained at Rose Bruford College. Kellerman was born in Manchester, Lancashire. Her Jewish fath ...

) takes a job at a secluded manor house owned by Raven (

James Laurenson James Laurenson (born 17 February 1940) is a New Zealand stage and screen actor. Early life Laurenson was born in Marton, North Island, New Zealand. He was a student at Canterbury University College in Christchurch (now University of Canter ...

), a hybrid creature called a Shadmock, who leads a troubled and tragic existence and is notorious for its demonic

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a lar ...

. As time goes by, the girl, Angela, develops a friendship with the mysterious Shadmock, and he eventually proposes to her. Alarmed, Angela refuses, but her controlling boyfriend (

Simon Ward Simon Anthony Fox Ward (16 October 194120 July 2012) was a British stage and film actor. He was known chiefly for his performance as Winston Churchill in the 1972 film ''Young Winston''. He played many other screen roles, including those of Sir ...

) forces her to go through with it to gain the Shadmock's vast wealth. On the night of the engagement party, Angela is caught robbing the Shadmock's safe and screams that she could never love him. Heartbroken, the Shadmock whistles and destroys Angela's face. Her boyfriend is driven insane and locked away in an asylum upon seeing her.

The Vampires

The timid son (

Warren Saire ''Lady Jane'' is a 1986 British costume-drama romance film, directed by Trevor Nunn, written by David Edgar, and starring Helena Bonham Carter as the title character. It tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, her marriage to Lord Guildford Dudley, an ...

) of a peaceable family of vampires lives a miserable, lonely life where he is bullied at school and his father (

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

) spends little time with him. The son discovers his father is a vampire, being relentlessly, if ineptly, hunted by a team of bureaucratic undead-killers, The Blini or B-Squad, led by Pickering (

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

). The hunters break into the house and stake the vampire father, but the tables are turned when the father bites Pickering, meaning that he will now have to be staked by his own assistants. A chase ensues, and Pickering is staked. After his men take his body away, the timid son and his mother (

Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (; born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress, model and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Double Man'' (1967), ''The Night They Raided ...

) return to the basement to find that the father faked his death using a stake-proof vest filled with tomato ketchup.

The Ghouls

A movie director (

Stuart Whitman Stuart Maxwell Whitman (February 1, 1928 – March 16, 2020) was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to ...

) scouting locations for his next film pays a horrifying visit to an isolated, decrepit village, Loughville, where the sinister residents refuse to let him leave. He discovers to his horror that the village is inhabited by species of corpse-eating demons called

ghoul A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...

s who unearth graves for food and clothes. And now there are no more graves to plunder, and the ghouls are hungry for flesh. While imprisoned by the ghouls, he meets Luna (

Lesley Dunlop Lesley Jane Dunlop (born 10 March 1956) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Norna in the ''Doctor Who'' serial "Frontios", Anna Kirkwall in '' Where the Heart Is'' and Zoë Angell in ''May to December''. Her current role is Bre ...

), the daughter of a ghoul father ( Patrick Magee) and a deceased human mother, making her a Hum-ghoul. Luna advises him to hide in the church, as ghouls cannot cross holy ground. Whilst in the church, the director discovers the terrifying truth of Loughville; centuries before, a swarm of ghouls invaded the village, mated with the humans, and made their nest there. With the aid of Luna, the director attempts to escape and almost succeeds - only for Luna to be killed by the ghouls and the director captured again and returned to the village by ghoul policemen.

Epilogue

At the end of the film, Eramus cheerfully lists to the other club members all the imaginative ways that humans have of being horrible to each other and declares that humans are the most despicable monsters of all. Thus Chetwynd-Hayes is made an honorary monster and member of the club.

Cast

as Eramus *

as R. Chetwynd-Hayes *

as Pickering *

as Sam *

as Mr. Busotsky *

as Angela *

as Mrs. Busotsky *

as George * Patrick Magee as Innkeeper *

Anthony Valentine Anthony Valentine (17 August 1939 – 2 December 2015) was an English actor best known for his television roles: the ruthless Toby Meres in ''Callan'' (1967–72), the sadistic Major Horst Mohn in ''Colditz'' (1972–74), Bob in Tales of the Un ...

as Mooney * Anthony Steel as Lintom Busotsky *

as Raven (The Shadmock) *

Geoffrey Bayldon Albert Geoffrey Bayldon (7 January 1924 – 10 May 2017) was an English actor. After playing roles in many stage productions, including the works of William Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series '' ...

as Psychiatrist *

as Luna * Neil McCarthy as Watson *

as Young Lintom Busotsky

Behind the scenes

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

was originally sought for the role of Chetwynd-Hayes, but flatly turned the offer down simply upon hearing the film's title from his agent.

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

also turned down a role. It was one of the last feature films for Anthony Steel.

In-jokes

There are a number of in-jokes in the movie relating to Amicus Films: * The character of Lintom Busotsky is a film producer, and his name is an anagram of the real film's producer, Milton Subotsky. * Busotsky introduces a film called ''From Beyond the Tombstone'', an allusion to ''

From Beyond the Grave ''From Beyond the Grave'' is a 1974 British anthology horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by Kevin Connor, produced by Milton Subotsky and based on short stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes. It was the last in a series of anthology films ...

''. * The cast includes Patrick Magee,

and

, all of whom appeared in the 1972 Amicus anthology film ''

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

''. * There is a reference to a producer "Dark John" - many Amicus films were made by

John Dark John Dark (7 April 1927 – 29 June 2015) was a British film and television producer. Dark produced ''Half a Sixpence'' in 1967 and a series of Edgar Rice Burroughs films, including '' The Land That Time Forgot'' and '' At the Earth's Core'', ...

Reception

The film was released to cinemas in the UK on 24 May 1981. Chetwynd-Hayes was disappointed with the film, finding the humour silly, disliking the script and how his original stories were changed (he said only ''Ghoulsville'' was faithful), and hating the pop music. He also thought John Carradine was too old to play him.Ed. Allan Bryce, ''Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood'', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 160-161 The movie was a critical and commercial failure.

Music

Musical artists performing between stories include

BA Robertson Brian Alexander Robertson (born 12 September 1956) is a Scottish musician, composer and songwriter. He had a string of hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s characterised by catchy pop tunes and jaunty humorous lyrics, including " Knocked It ...

, The Viewers and

The Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. The soundtrack features

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

though they do not appear in the film. The rock band

Night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...

perform the track "Stripper", which did not appear on either of their albums. The film's soundtrack album including both songs and instrumental tracks is included as a bonus feature on the US release of the DVD and Blu-ray.

In other media

In 1980, ''The Monster Club'' script — before the film itself was shot — was adapted into a 25-page comics story by

Dez Skinn Derek "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books o ...

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...

(21 pages), and David Lloyd (4 pages). Used as a promotional tool for the film, the comic was originally published in a

one-off In the field of vehicles authorized to drive, a one-off vehicle is a vehicle that was manufactured only once. The production of unique vehicles is reduced to one unit in each case. The easiest cases to analyze are those of cars and motorcycles. Un ...

called ''The Monster Club'' magazine.Skinn, Dez. "At the Monster Club," ''Halls of Horror'' vol. 3, #1 (#25) (1983). It was later reprinted in two parts in ''

Halls of Horror ''The House of Hammer'' was a British black-and-white magazine featuring articles and comics related to the Hammer Film Productions series of horror and science fiction films. The brainchild of Dez Skinn,Dakin, John. "'Marvel Revolution' in Eng ...

'' issues #25-26, published in 1983. In 2019 , The Suncharms released a single called 'Monster Club' on iTunes and Bandcamp.The track was inspired by the film and by The Limit Club on West Street in Sheffield. A version of 'Monster Club' has been included on their debut album 'Distant Lights' released on Sunday Records in 2021.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monster Club, The British horror anthology films 1981 films 1981 horror films British supernatural horror films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films directed by Roy Ward Baker Films scored by Douglas Gamley Amicus Productions films Films set in London British vampire films 1980s monster movies British monster movies British exploitation films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films