''The Monster Club'' is a 1981 British
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...
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, ap ...
directed by
Roy Ward Baker 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
Ronald Henry Glynn Chetwynd-Hayes (30 May 1919 – 20 March 2001) was a British author, known best for his ghost and horror stories.Mike Ashley (writer), Mike Ashley , ''Who's Who in Horror and Fantasy Fiction''. Elm Tree Books, . (p. 52-3)Chris ...
. It was the final film from
Milton Subotsky, who was best known for his work with
Amicus Productions; 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
Ronald Henry Glynn Chetwynd-Hayes (30 May 1919 – 20 March 2001) was a British author, known best for his ghost and horror stories.Mike Ashley (writer), Mike Ashley , ''Who's Who in Horror and Fantasy Fiction''. Elm Tree Books, . (p. 52-3)Chris ...
(
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 ...
) is approached on a city street by a strange man (
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 ...
) 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), 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) 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) of a peaceable family of vampires lives a miserable, lonely life where he is bullied at school and his father (
Richard Johnson) 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), 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
*
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 ...
as Eramus
*
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 ...
as R. Chetwynd-Hayes
*
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 ...
as Pickering
*
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 ...
as Sam
*
Richard Johnson as Mr. Busotsky
*
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 ...
as Angela
*
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 ...
as Mrs. Busotsky
*
Simon Ward 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 U ...
as Mooney
*
Anthony Steel as Lintom Busotsky
*
James Laurenson as Raven (The Shadmock)
*
Geoffrey Bayldon as Psychiatrist
*
Lesley Dunlop as Luna
*
Neil McCarthy as Watson
*
Warren Saire 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, ultim ...
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
An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...
of the real film's producer, Milton Subotsky.
* Busotsky introduces a film called ''From Beyond the Tombstone'', an allusion to ''
From Beyond the Grave''.
* The cast includes
Patrick Magee,
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 ...
and
Geoffrey Bayldon, 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 ...
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,
John Bolton (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 Engl ...
'' 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.
See also
*
Vampire film
Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptat ...
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