Die, Monster, Die — Die, Monster, Die ( Blu Ray)
Die, Monster, Die is a mid-1960s blend of gothic horror, mystery, and sci-fi. The American British production is roughly based on the H.P Lovecraft short story The Colour Out of Space- it features Boris Karloff as the wheelchair-bound father of the Witley family, who have been forsaken by the nearby town- due to all manner of strangeness going on in the family’s fog-bound & eerier green light lite mansion. The film is a good mix of creepy chills, hamming it-up thrills, and sci-fi unease. Here from the BFI is a Blu-Ray taking in a new scan and a hearty selection of extras.
Die, Monster, Die (aka Monster of Terror) is from the year 1965. It was an AIP( American Independent Pictures) film- with the US company coming over to the UK to film it. It was directed by Glendale, California Daniel Haller. He had a total of fifty-three credits to his- eight of these are future lengths and the rest of TV credits. His features include art house-edged car action drama The Wild Racers (1968), another Lovecraft horror The Dunwich Horror (1970), and the campy sci-fi action film Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979). Die, Monster, Die! was his first credit, as a debut goes it’s pretty good.
The film opens with twenty-something-suited & booted American Nick Adams( Stephen Reinhart) getting off the train at the English village of Arkham. He wants to get to the Witley mansion- the local taxi driver won’t help, neither will locals coming out of a shop, nor three drinking outside a pub, or hiring bicycles. So, he decides to walk- seemingly covering some miles to get to the house- across different types of landscapes, including an ash-bound/ crumbling tree forest.
He gets to the now mist-engulfed mansion gates- using his suitcase to deactivate a man trap. He goes into the open-door gothic mansion- to be met by the very unwelcoming Nahum Witley(Karloff) who is wheelchair-bound. He quickly pushes for Nick to leave, but he pulls out a letter from his daughter Susan saying he’s been invited to the house- just then the blond bobbed/well-spoken English Susan( Suzan Farmer) comes down the staircase- greeting Nick who she’s clearly in a relationship with.
She takes him to see her mother Letitia(Freda Jackson) who is bedbound, lulling behind her net-covered four-poster bed. As Nahum and his doddery/ thin/milk bottle glassed servant Merwyn(Terence de Marney) go first into the house's basement, then onto the house's large greenhouse that is eerie lit by a green light.
As the one-hour and eighteen-minute film unfolds we get a rewarding blend of gothic creepiness, with darts of eeriness/terror and unfolding mystery of what exactly is going on in the house & to its occupants. We have a creepy black veil figure hovering around the grounds, strange moans ‘n’ groans from within the house, a strange silver face entity, and people grabbing foliage.
Die, Monster, Die blend/ mix of gothic horror, mystery, and eerier sci-fi is very well realized- with the whole thing remaining engaging, creepily edged, and rewardingly terror-fed.
This new Blu-Ray features a classy HD print of the film- which gives great clarity and depth of picture, as well as bold colourings & layers of shadow & shade. We get a good selection of extras- with most of these been new/ exclusive to this release.
The first is a commentary by film historians/authors Vic Pratt and William Fowler. The track starts off with the pair talking about how effective the psychedelic open credits are. They comment on how the film is a pivotal point between older non-ironic horror and more violent sometimes played-for-laughs horror. We find out male lead Reinhart liked to do James Cagney impressions on set, and point out that his tight trenchcoat is rather Humphrey Bogard-like. They comment on the fantastic performance from Karloff in the film- with the tiny movements of his eyes & hands, as well as moments of sinister power. We find out the reason for the wheelchair was down to the actor having bad arthritis in his legs- he was unable to stand & act for a period of time, and the chair was purchased in a market in London. They talk about the film's early locations and point out great lines. They discuss the supporting actors- we find out our female lead Ms Farmer had a few Hammer credits. Later on, they discuss how Lovecraft’s mix of gothic & sci-fi was most original. We get a brief bio of the film's cinematographer Paul Beeson - who had three hundred credits to his name- including The Sound Of Music, and the Indiana Jones trilogy. And talk about how the film differs from the original story. It’s an excellent track that mixes great research, worthy observation, and a fair bit of banter, which is often rather amusing
Otherwise, we have A Karloff Konversation (19.23) which finds Vic Pratt interviewing Stephen Jacobs-Boris Karloff’s biographer. We find out Karloff was in his 70s by the time of filming the film to hand- he was grateful & loved acting, and wanted to ‘die with his boots on’. We get a breakdown of what he was doing in the 1960s- some dramas, working on the US TV show Thriller, spoken word work including working with Readers Digest & reading Rudyard Kipling stories. They comment on great scenes in Die, Monster, Die with Karloff, and we find out the actor couldn’t be insured on the film due to his health issues including bronchitis. And they discuss his last few films. An excellent interview. We have Sell, Monster, Sell! ( 12.13) interview with film unit publicist Tony Tweedale who worked on Die, Monster, Die!. This is ok, though he does repeat himself rather, and goes off subject- but clearly, he’s an elderly man now.
We have a few connected extras- Scenes From ‘Let Me Die a Monster’ (14.07): sequences from Ken Hollings and David McGillivray’s as-yet-unmade film-fantasy built around Die, Monster, Die! star Nick Adams, performed in a read-through staged and shot exclusively for this release. Nick Adams and Die, Monster, Die! ( 7.23): Hollings and McGillivray recall the career of Nick Adams and how they became fascinated with his film work. The Peaches( 16.13) a short film from 1964- regarding a young woman obsessed with peaches- this is plays like a quirky/ groovy 60’s fairy tale, voiced over by Peter Ustinov.
There’s an Image gallery: an extensive array of promotional stills from Die, Monster, Die!, and a theatrical trailer with optional audio commentary. The finished release is with an Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Stephen Jacobs, an essay on HP Lovecraft by Xavier Aldana Reyes and writing about ‘Let Me Die a Monster’ by Ken Hollings and David McGillivray; notes on the special features and film credits.
Die, Monster, Die is an entertaining blend of gothic horror, mystery, and sci-fi. With a great Karloff performance at its centre. The BFI features a wonderful new scan, and some excellent extras.