15TH ANNUAL SCARE-A-THON – PART 2
DARK AND STORMY NIGHT – 2009
Keeping with the theme of funny and scary films, our next feature segued neatly from the horror happenings of The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters. Dark and Stormy Night is a modern movie (made in 2009, but just released on DVD this year) that looks like a film made in the 1940’s. The man behind this tribute and subtle satire of the classic B-movies of the 40’s is Larry Blamire. I first became aware of Larry’s films at a local science fiction convention, where Larry and many of his cast and crew, had a panel to talk about his then new film The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. As soon as the film was released to DVD I bought it and have been a fan of Larry Blamire’s films ever since!
Dark And Stormy Night begins just after the death of the wealthy Sinas Cavinder. Coming in out of a torrential storm, family members, friends, reporters, and even a cabbie arrive at the Cavinder estate to hear the reading of Sinas' last will and testament. At the conclusion of the reading of the will, Cavinder's attorney reveals an additional sealed envelope, containing a provisional to the will. Sudddenly the lights go out and on top of the envelope going missing, the attorney is found dead with a knife sticking out of his back. Naturally, because of the storm, the phones are out and the only bridge leading to the mansion is washed out, so it is up to the guests to figure out who is responsible for the murder.
Every hoary gag and character stereotype is satirized to great effect in this film. There is the mysterious hooded figure lurking in the shadows, the deadpan butler, the wisecracking reporters and even a man-in-ape-suit. If you are a fan of old fashioned murder mysteries and scary old house movies, this is the perfect film for you. Even if you are not familiar with the tropes that Blamire so faithfully mimicks in this film, you’ll still enjoy the fast paced and cleverly written banter of the many divergent characters in Dark and Stormy Night.
The next film in the Scare-a-thon was also a Larry Blamire film: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, which I'll be reviewing in my post on the 15th Annual Scare-a-thon - Part 3!
Think your review is spot on. Dark and Stormy night is certainly fast paced, and I did enjoy several characters.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kinds word, Dempsey! It seems you enjoyed Dark and Stormy Night as much as I did. The many oddball characters is what makes Dark and Stormy Night so much fun. Also, it doesn’t hurt to be familiar with the genre that Mr. Blamire is satirizing and that probably hurts its chances of connecting with younger viewers who don’t watch those “boring old black and white movies.” I’ll be posting on two more of Larry Blamire’s films very soon: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and The Lost Skeleton Returns Again.
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