Wednesday 22 October 2008

Listen to the Wind Before Dark



The above video is an excerpt from the movie "The Return of Count Yorga" released in 1971, starring Robert Quarry, Roger Perry and Mariette Hartley. In the same year I had seen the movie and found it to be entertaining despite an ability to guess where most of the danger zones were. The creepy music adds to the magic. Enjoy while you see who lives in the shadows.

Charles Gramlich began posting about Halloween last week in writing flash fiction stories. His link can be found under "Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Writer Connection" on the sidebar.

14 comments:

David Cranmer said...

Barbara, your posts always get me digging around on the net. I found on Wikipedia that this film was originally to have been a soft core porn film and they turned it around into a feature film. I wonder how often that has happened in film history?!.. I think Charles Gramlich should start his own magazine ala Ellery Queen because he has accumulated some of the finest flash fiction anywhere on the web this year.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

the creepy music ALWAYS works....

Barbara Martin said...

David, I found your comment to be a tad shocking because the movie I watched in Alberta had no sex, and it was rated Adult. But for years there was a censorship board in Alberta that reviewed all books and movies coming into the province. Nothing 'off colour' or 'risque' was ever shown. When controversial or horror movies were allowed in, they had parts sliced out. I noticed this when watching the original movie "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock. The same happened to television programmes originating in the US. Often due to commercial breaks parts of the show were omitted, and when the second half of the show resumed, there were times when the dialogue didn't make sense, i.e. an explanation made prior had been cut.

However, the version of 'Count Yorga' I saw was fun, albeit corny in spots.

As to the flash fiction, I am putting in a couple of shorts this weekend after I get them tweaked.

Gary, creepy music is a must.

Charles Gramlich said...

Definitely creepy. this is one advantage movies have over books.

David, thanks for the kind words. Glad you're enjoying the flash pieces.

BernardL said...

I remember the scene. It immediately struck me as funny how shallow the graves were, what good shape the clothing was (for being buried in dirt with all the weather elements), and how the kid ran like the wind until vampires were chasing him. :)

Tess Kincaid said...

This does look creepy! Mariette's hair is just like I wore mine in 1971~!

laughingwolf said...

ooooooooooo spooooooooooky ;) lol

A said...

I like this vidéo for its slow pace in suspense and climb... Also the route of the ball and the little boy.
But as I wrote already commented on another blog, I prefer the more intimate ghosts... Especialy one that effleures me quietly shoulder when he feels that I'm sad and, or, when I fall asleep in front my computer. He visited me several times, usually late at night, and twice in the day including one outside my home. It is extremely disturbing but also reassuring, I FEEL a hand lightly land on my shoulder and pushed a bit like to help me recapture.
I love him.
I meet others ghosts but I like a lot less...
I will perhaps another time.

For the previous video, voices are very beautiful.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Never even heard of this one.

Webradio said...

Nice post...
Good movie !

Rick said...

He just couldn't leave that ball behind, could he?

Barbara Martin said...

Charles, this opening was well paced with enough of an introduction with the wind coming up, the gothic house out in the country, a priest, and an old graveyard with approaching night.

Bernard, my mother said similar things about the western movies: the dresses were too clean and fancy for what they were doing, the neckline was too low.

Willow, then you and I are close in age.

Tony, I like creepy movies to start out slow while building the tension.

Barbara Martin said...

Marie, the description you make of your visitor may not be of a ghost, but of one of your guardian angels (every human has two).

With ghosts the air temperature usually drops, often cold enough to see your breath vapour. From my experience ghosts do not touch except to drain the power from batteries.

Webradio, glad you liked it.

Rick, the child loves his ball, and when in a state of shock people tend to behave in unusual ways.

A said...

Of course you're right, I make confusion between guardian angel and ghost... The ghosts I also know and annouce the cold.