Mondo Macabro has done it again with another killer pair of Blu-ray releases for films you didn't even know you couldn't live without. This time around the company tackles a duo of sexy horror films from opposite ends of the globe. First up is director Go Yeong-nam's Suddenly in the Dark, a Korean horror film about a nanny who is up to no good. Second is one of Jess Franco's least seen films, 1984's Night Has a Thousand Desires. These two films are well worth your hard-earned money, but take a look below the break to find more details.
Prior to the late '90s boom, South Korea wasn't exactly a hot spot for international cinema exports. The odd picture might leak out, almost by accident, but there was no kind of recognizable steady stream of cinema coming out of the war torn country like we saw from its neighbors in Japan and China. As a result, many people's knowledge of Korean cinema – including my own – is limited to the post-boom era of filmmakers like Park Chan-wook, Kim Ji-woon, and Kim Ki-duk. However, leave it to cult taste-makers Mondo Macabro to pry open the mystery box of pre-'90s Korean cinema and fish out a gem like 1981's Suddenly in the Dark .
A college professor and his wife and child live an quiet life on their own when one day the professor brings home a stranger to live in as a nanny for his daughter. The girl, Mi-ok, is a country bumpkin with no family who has no real possessions apart from a wooden shaman doll that always seems to pop up at the most inopportune times. While the professor is away gathering butterflies or lecturing his classes, Mi-ok and the professor's wife, Seon-hee begin a mysteriously adversarial relationship that ultimately leads to the wife suspecting her husband of having an affair with his nubile young employee. What follows is a psychedelic nightmare of sexual depravity and jealousy as Seon-hee and Mi-ok have it out, all while supernatural forces torment Seon-hee and her family.
Mondo Macabro is one of my go to labels when it comes to curation and uncovering forgotten gems. They have an almost perfect record of releasing films that I've never heard that then quickly become personal favorites and Suddenly in the Dark might be one of their finest discoveries yet. The film is completely insane, over the top in a way that might be best described as east asian giallo, but borrows just as much from a film like Fulci's A Lizard in a Woman's Skin as it does from Argento's Inferno. It takes the madness and mental anguish from Lizard and pumps it through the supernatural filter of Inferno and delivers an exceptional experience that is very difficult to forget.
These days we've grown accustomed to Korean films and filmmakers pushing the envelope in terms of the amounts of sex and violence we can see on the big screen, but Suddenly in the Dark shows that they were pushing boundaries back in 1981. While in the US we were busy wading through a glut of mediocre to poor slasher films, all with very similar cookie cutter plots, Suddenly in the Dark shows that Korea had other things on its mind, even if the film was largely accepted to be a mere potboiler horror film at the time. The political climate and easing of social mores in the early '80s made Suddenly in the Dark a hit, even as it dug deep into the Korean psyche to expose its uglier, more fearful and violent side.
One of the most fascinating elements in the film is the exploration of the divide between rural and urban Korea and the kind of attitude toward country folks, like Mi-ok, of the wealthier upper classes, represented here by the professor and his wife. Mi-ok comes from rural Korea where her mother participated in witchcraft and shamanistic rituals, the kind of thing that a modern Korean would find superstitious and silly. As the story unfolds, we discover that it is those rituals that ultimately led to Mi-ok's placement in the house, and even though Seon-hee dismisses it as hokum, it comes back to bite her in a big way.
Suddenly in the Dark is an exceptional horror film. Smart, sexy, violent, and prescient, the movie is never boring, and through all of the madness and terror still manages to enlighten the viewer about a society that spent a very long time in the dark.
The Disc:
As we've come to expect from Mondo Macabro, Suddenly in the Dark is a beautiful disc. The HD transfer from the original negative shines on the disc, with fine detail, contrast, and especially the explosive color palette all impressing greatly. The mono audio track is also quite good, with the film's dialogue sharing the single track with FX and other ambient sound very nicely. Altogether a very solid disc.
While the film itself is more than enough to impress, Mondo Macabro did not skimp on the bonus materials for this release and they have included a pair of fascinating interviews on the disc that are not to be missed. First up is a discussion of Suddenly in the Dark and its director Go Yeong-nam by Korean critic and scholar Kim Bong-seok. Kim talks about the film's place not only in Korean cinema as one of the biggest hits of its time, but also its place in the long career of the director, who made over one hundred other films. It's a very interesting look at a part of Korean film history that still hasn't been talked about much outside of the region. The other interview is with producer David Suh who describes the production, the director, and the climate in which the film was released, eventually giving up the tidbit that he has a remake of the film in the works, an idea that I don't entirely hate. Last up on the disc is a gallery of '80s Korean horror VHS tape artwork that is as brutal and frequently tacky as anything out of Japan or the US. Not much context to add to it, but solid fun to watch.
Lastly, I was able to take a look at the now out of print limited edition version of the Blu-ray which had an identical disc, but added a red case – for those who like that kind of thing – and a booklet with essays from Christopher William Koenig and our friend Grady Hendrix. Normally I wouldn't spend a lot of time on content that is no longer available, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention these wonderful and engaging essays. Hendrix talks about the psycho sexual anxiety of the Korean nation during the time frame that the film was made and the ways in which the director was able to pick at that open wound. Koenig, on the other hand, talks more about Go as a director and the history of Korean horror leading up to the late '90s watershed moment of Whispering Corridors. Both are wonderful, and well worth reading.
If you missed the limited edition, you aren't alone, they sold out very quickly. I wouldn't worry too much, the Blu-ray for Suddenly in the Dark has a ton of great content to check out and you will not be disappointed. However, next time around, definitely get in early, because every single limited edition I've seen has been worth the couple of extra bucks.
Suddenly in the Dark is now available on Blu-ray through most major retailers.
Jess Franco is a filmmaker with whom I'm very public about my hot-and-cold relationship. Sometimes I love him, as with films like She Killed in Ecstasy and Vampyros Lesbos . There are other times where I tolerate him well enough because I know he's an important filmmaker, even if his style and my taste don't match. Fortunately for me, this 1984 hidden gem, Night Has a Thousand Desires is much more the former than the latter. A little bit mystery, a little bit sexy noir, a little bit pseudo supernatural horror, Night Has a Thousand Desires ticks all of the boxes that the best Franco films do, without overstaying its welcome.
Franco's muse, the great Lina Romay plays Irina, assistant to a clairvoyant in a traveling psychic act. Irina suddenly begins to suffer from terrifying nightmares which all play out the same way, a victim of the stage act becomes a target for her sexual desire, which then turns homicidal when she kills them to end her fantasy. The problem is that when she wakes up, it turns out that her dreams may be all too real. What is really going on in the mind of Irina?
The great majority of Franco's work that I've so far seen has been from what is generally regarded as his most fruitful period, both artistically and in terms of quantity, the early to mid-'70s. Night Has a Thousand Desires was made long after that period, and the difference in Franco as a director is noticeable, but not a sea change. During those earlier years Franco was forced to go outside of his native Spain, most frequently to Germany, to make the kind of films he wanted and needed to make to sate his creative thirst. This was largely due to the draconian censorship rules in Spain under Generalissimo Francisco Franco, the fascist dictator who ruled until his death in 1975.
As Spain started to recenter itself in the larger world, the burdens of local censorship eased and Jess Franco was able to return to his home country to make the kind of films he wanted to make. He found a production team who was willing to allow him complete artistic freedom as long as he met a few relatively minor conditions to ensure that his work was salable overseas – read “T & A”. The result of this relationship was a second coming of Franco the prolific, though a decent of these films remain unseen outside of Spain to this day. Night Has a Thousand Desires is one of these forgotten film, and Mondo Macabro has done the world a service by reviving it from obscurity on this new Blu-ray release.
Whereas I often find Franco's work to be turgid and lacking in forward movement or logic, Night Has a Thousand Desires is a great film made with a concise and easy to understand story. While the film is peopled with Franco regulars who spent time working on both his mainstream and adult films of the time, it is 100% the Lina Romay show, and she acquits herself beautifully. No longer the fragile waif she was in the early '70s, her more voluptuous figure speaks to a more confident performer who is willing to commit to whatever atrocities Franco is willing to put her through. She doesn't look lost or scared anymore, even when she is, she is now determined, committed, and up to the task of leading the film and she does a fine job.
I can't speak about the Franco of the '80s too terribly much outside of a couple of random examples and things like Oasis of the Zombies, but of the few films from this era that I have seen, this is easily my favorite. Yes, even more than Oasis of the Zombies. Night Has a Thousand Desires is a sexy, violent, intelligent thriller that utilizes its leading cast well and creates an air of mystery out of a very small budget with little more than Franco's impressive force of will to guide it. I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it, even to the Franco averse.
The Disc:
Night Has a Thousand Desires comes to Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro with a brand new HD transfer from the original negative and it looks great. I've stopped being surprised by the quality of Mondo Macabro discs ever since they did magic with the DVD for Countess Perverse (also set for a Blu-ray upgrade from MM in the next year), but just because I'm not surprised doesn't mean I'm not impressed. This is a very impressive A/V presentation of a great film.
Mondo Macabro also brings some exclusive bonus content to the table here, thanks to a couple of cult film heroes. First up is an interview with Stephen Thrower, horror film expert and author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jess Franco. Thrower is no slouch when it comes to horror in general, but his book on Franco is widely regarded as one of the finest English language treatments on the director and he does not disappoint in an interview that discusses everything from Franco's financing, to his recurring themes, to each and every returning performer in the film and of the era. This interview is an impressive piece of work that is bound to enlighten even the biggest Franco geeks out there.
Next up is a short documentary on Jess Franco produced by Mondo Macabro head honcho, Pete Tombs' old Eurotika! TV series. This archival documentary from 1999 not only speaks with a lot of Franco's co-conspirators, but features plenty of segments with the man speaking about his own career, which is always great since we lost Uncle Jess a few years back. Between this and the trove of interview footage that has been spilling out a bit at a time from Severin Films on their Franco releases, I am really glad that there are documents for posterity on a filmmaker whose legend grows as time passes.
This is a fantastic disc for a surprisingly good film. Night Has a Thousand Desires should be on your wish list!