150 Movies You Should Die Before You See - Miller Steve [42]
Why It Sucks
Cry of the Banshee is so badly written and the characters so badly drawn that we're rooting for the banshee from the start. Vincent Price is a bloodthirsty upper-class twit in Elizabethan England who gets off on killing buxom peasant wenches suspected of performing pagan rituals in the woods. As his nemesis, Oona (Really? Oona? Where do they get these names?), Bergner confuses chewing scenery with acting.
Thumbs Down Rating:
The Crappies
The Special Award for Exceptionalism in the Area of Ignorance goes to … Everyone involved with the writing, producing, and marketing of this film. If someone had bothered finding out what a banshee is, the film would have been significantly less dumb. (Spoiler: There is no banshee, in the general definition of the word, in this movie.)
And the Worst Director Award goes to … Gordon Hessler for not noticing that his movie has no likeable characters in it. Or banshees.
They Really Said It!
Lady Patricia: Don't you know this house is cursed? You are cursed, and Edward's cursed, and everybody's cursed.
Betcha Didn't Know
The opening title sequence was created by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python's Flying Circus and Time Bandits fame. It's better than Cry of the Banshee deserves.
It wasn't until the 1950s that Vincent Price became firmly associated with horror films. Although he had starred in The Invisible Man Returns in 1940, he was still thought of primarily as a serious dramatic actor.
Trivia Quiz
In what other movie did Vincent Price play a bloodthirsty witch hunter?
A: The Conqueror Worm (1968)
B: Masque of the Red Death (1964)
C: War-Gods of the Deep (1965)
D: The Bat (1959)
Answer: A. The Conqueror Worm. In this 1968 horror movie (also known as Witch finder General), Price plays Matthew Hopkins, a real-world witch hunter who brutally killed as many as 400 “witches.”
DIE HARD DRACULA
Peter Horak Productions, 1998
PRODUCER Peter Horak
WRITER Peter Horak
DIRECTOR Peter Horak
STARS Denny Sachen (Steven Hillman), Bruce Glover (Dr. Van Helsing), Kerry Dustin (Carla/Julia), and Ernest M. Garcia and Tom McGowan (Dracula)
After his fiancée (Dustin) drowns, Steven (Sachen) goes on a European vacation to get over his loss. Naturally, being in mourning, he heads for Transylvania, where he encounters a woman who is the exact double of his dead love (also played by Dustin) — who actually is his dead love, having been brought magically back to life by a shooting star. Steven also ends up fighting Dracula.
Why It Sucks
If you're thinking John McClane going up against vampires, you're not that far off. In fact, if they'd stuck with that, the filmmakers would have been better off. Unfortunately, they had a minuscule budget, not to mention writer/director Peter Horak, and a rancid collection of actors and crew. That said, the script is the best thing here. Maybe someone should think about a remake.
The Crappies
The Worst Autuer Award goes to … Peter Horak for taking a fun idea and turning it into a film that displays just about every kind of bad filmmaking there is.
And the Worst Acting Award goes to … Denny Sachen for playing an Everyday Joe who is as boring as a real-life Everyday Joe.
They Really Said It!
Steven: I'm an American. We're tough.
Betcha Didn't Know
Peter Horak worked as stuntman in a number of movies and television shows throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including such high-profile productions as the 1988 Steven Seagal film Above the Law and 1998's superhero comedy Mystery Men.
Bruce Glover is a prolific character who has played villains in A-list movies such as Diamonds Are Forever, China Town, and countless television series. Somewhere along the way, he slipped into Z-grade horror movies, including this one and Warlock: The Armagedon.
Trivia Quiz
Which of the following actors has not played Dracula onscreen?
A: Gary Oldman
B: Jack Palance
C: George Hamilton
D: George Clooney
Answer: