The Monster Club is a 1981 film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Vincent Price and John
Carradine. Based on the works of the British horror author R. Chetwynd-Haye,
the film provides a platform for a series of vignettes of horror stories and
horror-inspired 1980s rock. It was intended for a general theatrical release,
but its low budget sent it right into television syndication where it became an
underappreciated cult classic. Clips from the film are posted below from the Aeolus 13 Umbra YouTube channel.
The Shadmock: A lonely and sensitive man (played by James
Laurenson) living in self-imposed exile on his wealthy estate invites a
beautiful young woman to work as his secretary. Each has a secret — she is a
thief, and he is a monster who does not suffer a broken heart in silence.
The Shadmock, Part 1.
The Shadmock, Part 2.
The Vampires: Donald Pleasance is a vampire hunter intent on
destroying his prey, even if he has to use the monster’s child against his own
father. Blood is indeed thicker than water in this slightly demented take on
middle-class suburban family life.
The Ghouls: In this truly terrifying tale of terror, a movie
director (Stuart Whitman) scouting a location for his new horror film finds
exactly what he is looking for — a village of flesh-eating ghouls. His only
hope for survival is a young girl who is a humegoo, a cross between a human and
a ghoul, but can they both escape the village before dinner time?
Guess what's
on the menu . . .
The horror-themed soundtrack features
classic 80s rock/new wave/punk, some of which are performed on-screen between
the dramatic segments:
- “Monsters Rule O.K. ”: Performed on-screen by The Viewers.
- “Sucker for Your Love”: Performed on-screen by B.A. Robertson.
- “The Stripper”: Performed on-screen by Night; Sung by Stevie Lange (credited as Stevie Lang).
- “25 Per Cent”: Performed by UB40.
- “Valentino's Had Enough”: Performed by The Expressos.
- “Monster Club”: Performed on-screen by The Pretty Things.
- “Pavane (Op. 50, Pavane)”: Composed by Gabriel Fauré; Arranged by Douglas Gamley; Performed by The Douglas Gamley Orchestra; Guitar played by John Williams.
- “Transylvanian Terrors”: Performed by John Georgiadis.
- “Vienna Blood”: Composed by Johann Strauss; Arranged by John Georgiadis; Performed by The John Georgiadis Ensemble.
- “Ghouls Galore”: Performed by Alan Hawkshaw (credited as John Hackshaw).
The Monster Club is alternatively campy and terrifying. Vincent
Price’s soliloquy nominating humans into The Monster Club is a classic exercise
in comic social commentary:
Vampire [Vincent Price]:
Can we really
call this a monster club if we do not boast amongst our membership a single
member of the human race?
What can he do?
In the past sixty years humes [humans] have exterminated over 150 million of
their own kind! No effort has been spared to reach this astronomical figure and
the methods they have used must demand our unstinted admiration.
You know, humes
began with certain very serious disadvantages, but these they overcame with
wonderful ingenuity — not having even a fang or claw or even a whistle worth
talking about! They invented guns and tanks and bombs and aeroplanes and
extermination camps and poison gas and daggers and swords and bayonets and booby
traps and atomic bombs and flying missiles. Submarines, warships, aircraft
carriers, and motor cars. They have even perfected a process whereby they can
spread a lethal disease on any part of this planet — not to say anything about
nuclear power.
During their
short history, you know humes have subjected other humes to death by burning,
hanging, decapitation, strangulation, electrocution, shooting, drowning,
crushing, racking, disemboweling and other methods far, far too revolting for the
delicate stomachs of this august assembly.
Monster Club Secretary [werewolf]:
I never realized
he was so talented!
Human [John Carradine]:
We don’t like to boast.
The soundtrack, particularly
the rock video productions of “Monsters Rule O.K.,” “Sucker for Your Love,” “The
Stripper,” and “Monster Club” provides the film energy and pacing between the
campy bits with Price and Carradine and the horror stories. By any standard, the segments "The Shadmock" and "The Ghouls" are outstanding on their own merits and worth viewing. The Monster Club hides some real treasures and is a must-see film
for the die-hard horror fan.
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