Hooptober 4.0 Film #12
TASK #5: Six films from the following: James Whale, Tod Browning, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Wes Craven, Tom Holland (mix-and-match or all one)!

DIRECTOR #5: Tod Browning

A horror film that manages to expertly skewer the entire genre, Tod Browning's Mark of the Vampire may not have the best-constructed story but it's still a rather delightful watch thanks to its creepy atmosphere and entertaining performances.

My 2016 October Horror List (aka Why I'm Extremely Pale in October)
Movie #4

I can't help but feel that the entire movie was shot just for the joke that Bela Lugosi delivers in the final scene.

There's a lot of scenes of people running around, tying weeds to door handles, or arguing about whether vampires are real, but the only time that I was really into this was when the vampires were on screen. Tod Browning knows how to shoot horror and set dress horror that actually is effectively creepy. Too bad that most of the film is just a seemingly plot-less mess. With a surprise ending that sort of explains things, but not really. And the aforementioned final Bela scene which is almost enough to save everything and made me laugh out loud. So yeah, there's at least that.

Hooptober 2017: 15/38 - Directors, Tod Browning

Afterthoughts: This ain’t a scene, it’s a goddamn snoozefest!

All I can muster for this one is that it’s bloody boring.

Best thing about it is it’s only 60 minutes long, and every time Bela Lugosi is onscreen it brings back happy memories of Tim Burton’s best film, Ed Wood.

One Depraved Month in Hell: Michael & Lorna's Hooptober 2017

Hooptober 2017

MGM's attempt at a Universal horror picture that ends up almost a parody of those films, especially Dracula.

Bela Lugosi is here but the standout is his alluring and entrancing female accomplice Luna played by Carroll Borland- who has an iconic look that inspired numerous female vampires.

The film can't make up its mind if it wants to play it straight (which it does quite well with spooky atmosphere on par with Dracula) or if it wants to send-up the genre with broad comedy that doesn't really work.

Needs more vampires and less of the uninteresting plot.

Lionel Barrymore (playing a doddering Van Helsing clone) and Lionel Atwill (who would get cast in similar roles in Universal flicks) are both in it as well.

The Scooby Doo-like twist ending doesn't quite make sense but worth it for the punchline with Bela.

It's all a little too silly to be considered a horror film, and Barrymore, playing a vampire expert, doesn't seem to be taking it too seriously, either, as it's the first time I've seen him phone it in. Just a tad, Lionel, just a tad! As a sort of folk tale with vampires it kinda works (at least until the twist towards the end), the special effects have a DYI feel to them that give it an unexpected charm, and the vampire girl was super creepy, with her floating walk and the long hair and that weird stare. I liked that she could put people to sleep just by staring at them.

Some of the most cursed images of the horror canon can be found in this film. Browning was a genius of mood.

The plot mechanics of this flick mirror Scooby Doo Where Are You? But without a stoned dog and his dumb master bumbling their way through the story and inadvertently solving the mystery, it doesn't quite live up to the lofty expectations of a solid episode of Scooby Doo.

Browning returned to Lugosi’s count apparently without enthusiasm after the controversial Freaks (1932), and the result is highly uneven. At its best MOTV is Dracula 2, but when it gets “meta” (there’s apparently some speculation that it’s supposed to be satire) it’s a train-wreck. After an initial viewing it’ll probably be best to skip the last fifth of the film and just enjoy the atmosphere of what should have been a Dracula sequel, secure in the knowledge that we never find out why the count has a bullet-hole in his head anyway. Worth a look for Lugosi alone; perhaps no co-star has ever had less to do than Carol Borland. But was it Browning or MGM trying to stick it to Universal here?

That poster artwork is pimp. The ending: "What a twist!"

This is an enigma of a film. I can't tell if the film is brilliant or absolutely idiotic. The effects for it time are pretty good. It does a good job at setting the atmosphere of the film. But the twist is utterly stupid or misplaced satire. Something must have been cut out in writing or editing. The ending makes this film utterly not rewatchable. This film starts out as a promising vampire but ends in a shredded bow and horribly wrapped gift to say "Look,it's satire!" . But alas it is not. Lon Chaney rolled in his grave for this one.

Breve y extraña pirueta posmoderna y meta antes de que esos conceptos existieran, Mark of the Vampire mezcla géneros, tonos e ideas de una manera solo posible en la filmografía de Browning. No es una gran película, pero tiene escenas inolvidables.
(Vista en programa doble con The Devil-Doll en Phenomena, ambas en glorioso 35mm)

Real spooky imagery with a twist that I sure didn’t see coming, which makes it more than just another remake of Dracula.  Really cool scene where Luna, the female vampire, is summoned by evil organ music and flies into the haunted castle on demon wings!

a rare example of the "reverse scooby-doo"

Maybe it's because I'm still stressed out about my bachelor thesis, but this just failed to keep my attention. Even with Lugosi, even with Barrymore, there just wasn't a single character I felt the least bit emotionally engaged with.