NOLA Horror Movies
Greetings, citizens of New Orleans and beyond. It's October once again, and we're going to learn about some deep cut movies to quell your homegrown thirst for horror.
Yes, horror movies, the excitement for which no other film genre comes even remotely close. As our favorite spooky day, Halloween, is fast approaching, it may be time to look past the Candyman's and Skeleton Key's, all the way to the 1980s for three Italian-produced classics, as well as a 1940s anthology gem that will offer frights, delights, and even take place during our other favorite holiday—Mardi Gras. So sit back, relax, and feel free to raid the candy bowl.
Macabre (1980)
When it comes to masters of Italian horror, the legendary Mario Bava's name usually comes up within the top three. That's an awfully good pedigree to pass on to his workhorse son, Lamberto, who helmed this shocker, which gives a whole new outlook to the term "necrophilia."
Blind landlord Robert Duval (no, not that one—Croatian actor Stanko Molnar) takes pity upon his recently divorced tenant Jane (Bernice Stegers), who just can't seem to get over the violent death of her lover. That's okay, though. She kept something to remember him by.
Telling anyone would be a crime, although recent physical media releases have put the film's shock and awe moment right there on the slipcover. You just gotta love them boutique labels, carrying the collective torch for us sickos everywhere.
Featuring a terribly wicked young girl named Lucy, who's Jane's daughter, and whose actions put Patty McCormack's The Bad Seed to shame. As for it being "naturally N'awlins," you shouldn't have any trouble noticing Woldenberg Park at the film's beginning and might even recognize the Elms Mansion on St. Charles as the exterior of the boardinghouse. As usual, Tubi is the easiest place to watch this groundbreaking Italian horror film, free of charge.
The Beyond (1981)
There's horror, and then there's epic horror. This film falls within the latter category. From the Godfather of Gore, maestro Lucio Fulci, The Beyond is the second film in his nightmarish "Gates of Hell" trilogy (falling between City of the Living Dead and House by the Cemetery).
A woman by the name of Liza (Catriona MacColl) inherits an old New Orleans hotel in need of some major renovations. The real problem, however, is that it was the site of a warlock painter's lynch mob crucifixion and subsequently became the entrance to one of the seven—count 'em—gates to Hell.
Kindly Doctor John (not him—British actor David Warbeck) McCabe is called to tend to the property's maimed and killed workmen—again, the renovations are a doozy—before joining Liza to investigate all of the weird occurrences. You know, such as reanimated corpses from the morgue, tarantulas eating a paralyzed man's face, death by acid, et al. In other words, standard happenings where a doorway to Hades would be. It also features a prophetic blind woman named Emily, who for some reason hasn't aged since the film's opening scene in 1927.
Major New Orleans landmarks include an unnamed jazz club on Bourbon Street and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. See why Fulci is so revered among cinephiles everywhere by watching it for free on streaming sites such as Pluto TV.
Zombie 5: Killing Birds (1988)
Students from the zoological department at Loyola University are sent to Thibodeaux to investigate the elusive and nearly-extinct ivory-billed woodpecker. It just so happens it was the site of a gruesome killing years before, which was partially avenged by a falcon ripping the murderer's eyes out.
When the college students arrive at the aviary, they meet blind bird expert Fred Brown (screen icon Robert Vaughn), who tells them what they want to know about the bird but doesn't bother to warn the kids of the property's secrets, namely its penchant for the undead roaming around at night. Can this gang of future scientists survive until morning, and just how does one of them tie back to the original murder scene?
Originally titled Raptors, this horror hodgepodge was retroactively added to the ultra-convoluted Italian Zombi franchise, which was itself based upon George Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead, whereas this film was actually produced before the preceding entry Zombie 4: After Death. Make it make sense, why don't ya?
Co-directed by Claudio Lattanzi and Italian horror legend Joe D'Amato (Antropophagus, Beyond Darkness), you can stream this—and the rest of the Zombi films—absolutely free on Tubi or the like.
Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
This one will hit quite differently as classic screen heavyweights Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Boyer, and Edward G. Robinson lead an all-star cast in this anthology film featuring three tales of the occult.
In the first segment, a bitter, homely woman (Betty Field) visits a curiosity shop and is given a "mask of beauty" that she must return by midnight. Since it's Mardi Gras in New Orleans and it's the 1940s, everyone is wearing masks, so she'll fit right in. Good thing, too, as she meets and falls in love with law student Michael (Robert Cummings) on what becomes the greatest night of her life; however, what will happen when she has to return the mask?
Oscar Wilde penned the second segment, concerning a man's hypnotic and deadly encounter with a palm reader (Thomas Mitchell). Lastly, high-wire artist Paul Gaspar (Boyer) has repeated visions of his death, as well as a woman he's never met (Stanwyck). Spooky stuff, for sure.
Directed by legendary French auteur Julien Duvivier (Tales of Manhattan, Deadlier than the Male), each segment is connected through interstitial scenes starring then-popular humorist Robert Benchley (MGM's How To series). Stream it online or pick up Vinegar Syndrome's gorgeous Blu-ray.
