Retro Movie Review - "Queen of Blood" (1966)

[jordan179]

IntroductionI turned on this movie expecting it to be MST-able Grade B nonsense. I was very pleasantly surprised with what I found. Though the special effects are lame and its concept of space travel primitive by modern standards, it was actually an intelligent and well-thought-out movie -- one which deserved better treatment than it could get at

Comments

[polaris93]

Excellent review, Jordan. :-) Was there a novel that went with it? The novel might explain some things that were missing from the movie. "The movie is not the book." I could go for both the movie and the book. I think a lot of movie-goers who complain about special-effect and similar problems in older movies like this forget that the special-effects departments were limited as to what they could do by a) then-current technology and b) limits on what was known, scientifically and otherwise, about things presented in their movies. When you take that and limited budgets into account, quite a few of those older movies are superb -- for example, think of Forbidden Planet and George Pal's War of the Worlds, two of the greatest movies ever made. Both are somewhat outdated, technically speaking, but so what? Compare them to such zillion-dollar flops as Poseidon, a recent remake of The Poseidon Adventure (which was another great movie), and you can see that they're gold. Analogously, the best horror movie I've ever seen was Carnival of Souls (1962; see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055830/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Souls for full descriptions of it). It was extremely low-budget, so they had to make plot, chacterization, acting, and story do double-duty for technical effects -- which made it a far better movie than many of those zillion-dollar, stellar-cast movies that have been coming out since they first began making movies. So, apparently, with Queen of Blood.

[jordan179]

Was there a novel that went with it? The novel might explain some things that were missing from the movie.

I don't know. The concept of sapient aliens who live like eusocial insects dates all the way back to H. G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon (1901), and the concept was done several other times before 1966, most notably in Heinlein's Starship Troopers (1959). Oddly, given what I think were the alien motives and the nature of the implied mutual misunderstanding, Queen of Blood actually reminded me of the backstory of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (1985), which makes me wonder if Card was inspired by this movie.

The vampiric aliens concept also goes back to H. G. Wells, this time War of the Worlds (1898). It's also been done over and over again, including by Jack Williamson ("Prince of Space"), C. L. Moore ("Shambleau") and Robert Bloch ("Shambler from the Stars"). The movie Lifeforce (1985) was in part obviously inspired by Queen of Blood, though it also has literary origins in Colin Wilson's The Space Vampires (1976), which may also have been inspired by Queen of Blood.

I think a lot of movie-goers who complain about special-effect and similar problems in older movies like this forget that the special-effects departments were limited as to what they could do by a) then-current technology and b) limits on what was known, scientifically and otherwise, about things presented in their movies. When you take that and limited budgets into account, quite a few of those older movies are superb ...

Yes, I agree. Queen of Blood was tightly-written and well-acted, to the point that it transcended its budget and technological limitations.

for example, think of Forbidden Planet and George Pal's War of the Worlds, two of the greatest movies ever made. Both are somewhat outdated, technically speaking, but so what?

Forbidden Planet, incidentally, wasn't based on a book (other than, very loosely, Shakespeare's "The Tempest"), but had a nice novelization by W. J. Stuart (aka Philip MacDonald).

Compare them to such zillion-dollar flops as Poseidon, a recent remake of The Poseidon Adventure (which was another great movie), and you can see that they're gold.

I agree. Incidentally, the 1972 movie is based on a 1969 book by Paul Gallico, which manages to make the survivors' ordeal even nastier with a whole host of minor details omitted from the film (in particular, both what happens to Susan and some of the details regarding the death of Reverend Scott). The movie was slightly bowdlerized.

Analogously, the best horror movie I've ever seen was Carnival of Souls (1962; see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055830/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Souls for full descriptions of it). It was extremely low-budget, so they had to make plot, chacterization, acting, and story do double-duty for technical effects -- which made it a far better movie than many of those zillion-dollar, stellar-cast movies that have been coming out since they first began making movies.

Oh yes! Mary's weird flat affect (which makes perfect sense once you realize what's really going on), the creepy people she sees everywhere (acting and camera angles substituting for elaborate creature work here), the utter horror and hopelessness of it all (especially because of what's really going on) -- and done on practically no budget. Gave me nightmares.

[polaris93]

After getting The Poseidon Adventures from the library and watching it, I was so intrigued by it that I got the original book by Gallico from the library and read it. I couldn't put it down, it was that good -- and that in spite of the fact that it was so full of grammatical problems, typos, and other editorial horror-stories that I winced my way through nearly every paragraph (from an early age I've been tragically afflicted with savage editoritis ;-)). - I'll have to look for the novelization of Forbidden Planet, just to see how it compares with the film. - Carnival of Souls, a.k.a. "the movie that refused to die," was overpowering. Try watching Bordello of Blood (no, that's not fair, that movie was clearly a lampoon) or the Grindhouse double feature, Planet Terror and Death Proof, (http://www.moviefone.com/movie/grindhouse/24583/synopsis?flv=1, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grindhouse_(film)) that came out recently -- they're both excellent, but again, they are parodies, and well done as they are, they didn't give me the creeps. Ditto Nightmare on Elm Street, Dusk Until Dawn, and Saw. Carnival of Souls did give me the creeps. I think the reason is that Carnival of Souls preserves an aura of mystery that the other films don't bother with, not to mention its staggeringly high quality of acting. It was done just right, whereas the others were going for the gross-out and, possibly, laughter.

[kishiriadgr]

Here's a third fan of "Carnival of Souls". I own it. I love the organ-only soundtrack and the scenes of Mary blankly playing as the dead whirl around dancing in the abandoned amusement park. Chilling and so under-rated.

[polaris93]

It's good to know there are others out there who really appreciate Carnival of Souls. I know it didn't completely disappear because enough people liked it to guarantee it would remain available, but it's still a rare and cherished experience to run across someone else who likes or loves it. I've seen a lot of horror movies in my time, and none of them grabbed me -- the only word for it -- the way this one did. While many of the others are very good, this one has something that elevates it right out of the genre and into a rarified stratum of superlative and splendid works of art. It lingers in your mind like Edvard Munch's painting, The Scream, or Hieronymus Bosch's stunning work. It has an aura of mystery missing from other horror movies, hinting at a drama of the soul in which are the Great Secrets of the meaning of life, death, and everything between.

[kishiriadgr]

Part of it is that it's black and white, and I don't think it would be so creepy if it were in colour. It adds a level of unreality to it; after all, the "real world" is not black and white, or at least not unless something is wrong. It also takes place largely during bright daylight, a time which in horror movies is usually "safe space" and here it's not.

...And darn it, I didn't bring it with me. I'll have to have it sent because now I want to watch it again!

[polaris93]

The Seattle Public Library system has it, and I checked it out from there and watched it for the first time last year. Are you in an area served by a large public library system? They just might have it, so you can watch it in the meantime, before your own copy arrives.

[kishiriadgr]

I'm sort of on deployment right now....

[polaris93]

Oh. Well, let's hope your copy of it shows up soon. :-) (Otherwise there's always amazon.com.)

[kishiriadgr]

I just have to ask americanstd to pop it into the next box he sends me.

[polaris93]

Good luck on that. :-)

[kishiriadgr]

I'm on gmail chat with him, just asked.

[polaris93]

Hope he comes through. :-)