The Cutting Room Floor 12.11.02: An Introduction And A Drooling God-Thing
Posted by Bill Doughty on 12.11.2002
A mission statement of sorts, a bit of a rant and a creepy Dean Stockwell. Sounds like a recipe for fun to me.
Have you ever heard actors or directors complain that their best work was left on the cutting room floor? Or, conversely, that their work was better off being left there?
Well, that’s sort of the basis of this here column. I’m going to help sift through everything and help point you in the direction of some of the cinematic gems that often times slip through the cracks, as well as some films that are probably best left undiscovered in the first place, but still manage to be entertaining all the same. With that said, I’m Bill, and welcome to The Cutting Room Floor.
Now let’s talk some ground rules. My goal for this space being what it is, I’m not going to review all the latest hot new releases, the ones Blockbuster or Hollywood Video have 4,256,243,987,569,283,476,942,387,543,987 copies of on the shelf at this very moment. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, but there’s plenty of other people doing that on this site (and not to mention the rest of the free world) at this very moment, and quite well at that. You can bet that I’m also going to stay away from the big budgeted Summer and holiday season extravaganzas, like Xtreme Whatever or Thingy Thingy Blah Blah 3: Blah Blah With A Vengeance for the same reason.
There’s nothing really wrong with these movies, per se. Hell, I’ll probably be standing in line to see the next in the Thingy Thingy Blah Blah series on opening night. But so much out there that’s worth seeing goes completely unwatched because about 90% of us only ever look at the new release section at the video store (the percentage is admittedly made up, but it sure seemed that way at the video store I used to work at). I want to maybe help change that. Or at the very least give you a list of movies that requires your friendly neighborhood Blockbuster employee to check the computer to see if there’s a copy available. And making a Blockbuster employee actually have to do something is always worthwhile.
Okay. Enough with this whole “mission statement” thing. Let’s move on to a movie already so we can have a practical example of how this is going to work. For no particular reason other than that I saw this on American Movie Classics the other night, I thought I’d start with director Daniel Haller’s 1970 H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, The Dunwich Horror, starring Dean Stockwell, Sandra Dee (the original Gidget!) and Ed Begley, Sr. (not to be confused with E.B., Jr., his allegedly well-endowed son).
Stockwell plays Wilbur Whateley, the official oddball of the town of Dunwich. Years ago, his great-grandfather tried to summon the elder gods from another dimension to our world. It seems they used to rule this place before all of us pesky humans were here and they’d like the place back, thank you very much. The townspeople stopped him before he could complete the ritual and then lynched him for his troubles. They’ve never trusted the Whateley family since, and rightly so, as Wilbur would like to finish the job great-grandpappy started. All he needs is a virgin to impregnate with the gods’ offspring and the Necronomicon, a book containing the rites needed to open the doorway to their dimension.
Enter Dr. Armitage (Begley), who conveniently has both. He studies the occult and owns one of the only existing copies of the Necronomicon. He also has a sweet, blonde and virginal assistant, Nancy Wagner (Dee), who is alternately captivated and creeped out by Wilbur. Nancy slowly succumbs to Wilbur, thanks to his intense, creepy stares and drugged tea, and she is prepared her for the ritual. Dr. Armitage races against time (and really, aren’t most races against time?) to prevent the door from being opened. The townspeople are itchy to form another lynch mob and charge the Whateley estate, what with all the shenanigans and goings-on. And don’t forget the drooling, tentacled elder gods that no Lovecraft story is without!
This movie relies more on atmosphere and camera work than on gore and special effects, and it’s able to produce some moments of prolonged discomfort and genuine creepiness. Flashing colors and quick cuts are used to underline the moments of greatest action, and are used to great effect. Dee and Begley the First are rather bland in spots, but Stockwell has rarely been better. His performance is very reserved, but the less energy and emotion he gives to Wilbur, the creepier he becomes. If you only think of him as Al on Quantum Leap, your preconceived notions of the man will quickly be tossed aside.
MGM has released this on DVD as part of its “Midnite Movies” series, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. If you prefer genuine chills over plot-concealing effects and gore, you should enjoy this a great deal. Run… RUN, I TELL YOU… to your video store and get this today. Seriously. Today. What else are you going to do with your time? You’ve been meaning to quit that job of yours, anyway.
Well, that’s the first column done and ready for the history books. See how this is going to work? Good. That’s all for this week. Thanks for stopping by and come back again next week. I’ll save you a spot on the Floor.
