Review for The Monster Club

‘The Monster Club’ remains a wildly entertaining British horror comedy romp in the tradition of the Amicus, Tigon and Vipco anthologies (‘Tales from Crypt’; ‘Vault of Horror’; ‘From Beyond the Grave’). Produced in 1980 it preceded the US comedy-horror anthology ‘Creepshow’ by at least a year, and TV shows like ‘Tales from the Darkside’ by more than three or four years. There was clearly something in the air at the time, maybe a fresh generation of EC comic fans now all grown up who wanted to put their nostalgic love of horror anthologies like ‘Eerie’ and ‘Creepy on to the silver screen. It also preceded Michael Jackson’s 13-minute ‘Thriller’ video by a couple of years, which also featured Vincent price and adding more fire to the theory that there was definitely something diabolical in the air at this time, and ‘Monster Club’ was either first off the block as part of the new breed, or part of the dying embers of the old. The truth probably lies somewhere in-between.

You would be forgiven for thinking ‘The Monster Club’ was a US financed film – most its principal cast are American – but its an all British affair, shot and financed in the UK.

Its pedigree is first-class. Directed by Hammer stalwart Roy Ward Baker, and featuring Vincent Price, John Carradine and Donald Pleasence as just three of its many stars. It won an award early into its release (Audience Award at Rome's Fantafestival in 1981) and had added youth appeal with its positively 80’s, almost John Hughes’ vibe, featuring music by The Pretty Things, UB40 and B.A. Robertson. Despite the accolades, it was not a great success on its release. Home video was yet to become widespread and cinemas were going through a particularly tough patch at the time. So it fell through the gaps a bit at the time.

Luckily, this splendid release from Network means that it has now been given the release it deserves. In common with ‘Beyond the Grave’, produced some six years earlier, it adapted three stories by horror writer R Chetwynd-Hayes and wrapped them with a linking theme based in and around ‘The Monster Club’ – hence the title. In fact, the original ‘The Monster Club’ book contains references to a film-maker called Vinke Rocnnor, an anagram of Kevin Connor, the director of From Beyond the Grave. So a symbiotic and happy relationship meaning that this book was destined for a film adaptation.


So, hopefully without spoiling anything, here’s a précis of the movie wrap as well as the three individual tales.

Pausing to admire a window display of his own books, distinguished horror writer Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes is attacked by a desperate vampire, Eramus, faint from lack of sustenance. Assuring the startled victim that the neck bite was not deep, the grateful vampire takes him to the Monster Club – wherein Eramus explains to Ronald the hierarchy and basic rules of Monsterdom, and illustrates his theme with three tales of toe-curling terror.

The club is filled with dancing werewolves, vampires and monsters, looking more like spare parts from H.R. Pufnstuf than anything remotely scary, and there are several songs played out in full by artistes including B.A. Robertson (filmed in disconcerting high-definition close-up throughout his number), The Pretty Things (were they ever cool?) and another band that I’d never heard of. During dialogue sequences, an instrumental UB40 track plays and seems, oddly, to work. So this is the scene between three tales, each of which are far more spooky than the light relief in the club itself. Well, two out of the three perhaps.

The best of the three tales for me was that of a ‘Shadmock’ – a kind of cross between a werewolf and a vampire who lives a lonely, melancholic existence who falls for a female con-artist with grave results. That whistle thing he does with the fish-eye lens effect is mighty scary!


The second segment is altogether more comedic and features Donald Pleasance as a bowler-hat wearing vampire hunter who is chasing a vampire who is pretty much a regular joe, leading a happily married life (to Britt Ekland – well, who wouldn’t be?) and who has small son who wonders why he never sees his dad during the day. With typical British surrealism, the chase is on but the end is not quite as you might predict. Fun – but very, very stupid.

The final episode is perhaps the scariest. A film director is looking for a good location for his upcoming horror film and finds a perfect one deep in the countryside, all covered in swirling mist and looking positively spooky. But it soon transpires that its populated by zombie ghouls who see him as nothing more than food.

The linking sections are fun too, if a bit camp and over the top – two old horror hams thoroughly enjoying themselves along the way. Of course, the format may seem dated now – the music certainly does with all its new wave vigour but that just adds to the movie’s charm for me.

Picture quality looks great, the HD definition really bringing out detail that was lost on previous renditions.

Extras are perhaps a bit slight and obsessive fans (are there any?) may prefer to import the US version replete with commentaries although I imagine that will be region-locked.

You get an isolated score which is a very nice-to-have feature; a trailer and some promo material and an image gallery.

This isn't a film that is likely to find itself on anybody’s top ten movies list. It’s light, frivolous and ultimately just damned good fun. It’s also highly re-watchable.

So if early eighties comedy-horror is your bag and you like anthologies as much as I do, you’ll want to grab yourself a copy of this pronto.