Watch The Monster Club For Free

Boring

Absolutely Fantastic

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The acting in this movie is really good.

In a misjudged attempt to move with the times, British studio Amicus punctuated the three short stories of their final film, The Monster Club, with musical numbers from a variety of new-wave/rock acts, including B.A. Robertson and The Pretty Things. These daft interludes, which see the bands singing their songs in their entirety (and which come complete with a ridiculous rubber-masked monster audience) spoil what is otherwise a very effective horror anthology.The film starts with a wraparound story in which popular horror author R.Chetwynd-Hayes (John Carradine) is fed upon by thirsty vampire Eramus (Vincent Price), who thanks his victim by taking him to The Monster Club, a members-only establishment where monsters go to drink and be entertained. There, the writer hears three tales guaranteed to chill the blood...Tale one: A pair of con-artists plan to steal a valuable collection of antiquities from a lonely weirdo who turns out to be a Shadmock, a strange creature with a deadly whistle. A touching tale with a tragic ending, helped by a strong performance from James Laurenson as the lovelorn Shadmock.Tale two: The B-squad are a special branch of the police dedicated to hunting vampires. Unaware that his own father is one of the undead, awkward loner Lintom Busotsky (Warren Saire) unwittingly leads the chief of the B-squad (Donald Pleasence) to his home. A wonderfully tongue-in-cheek story with great performances from both Saire and Pleasence, this proves to be a lot of fun, a jaunty Transylvanian folk violin score adding tremendously to the enjoyment factor.Tale three: horror director Sam (Stuart Whitman) scouts a location for his new movie, unaware that the rural village is home to flesh-eating ghouls. Director Roy Ward Baker definitely saves the best for last, this memorable final segment oozing atmosphere and dripping with tension. Whitman does a cracking job and the final 'twist' is a corker.7/10 for the three stories, minus one point for the terrible scenes that take place within The Monster Club.

The Good bits are the individual tales of horror - some genuinely creepy and well made featurettes, a sort of Tales of the Unexpected but with more oomph.The Bad bits are the ridiculous 'Monster Club' "monsters". I suppose if you're eight, great, but then you shouldn't be watching the Good bits (above). The often seemingly irrelevant live music interludes bridge the two, but generally they look (& sound) even more dated than the rest of the movie!The Ugly; well, the truly awful disco dancing fancy dress (sorry, but it is!) at the end.There are some LONG reviews here on Amazon; I'm keeping it a lot shorter. For a start, I'm not an avid fan of horror, but enjoy the better flicks of the genre.However, it's good that it's got Vincent Price in it. He indelibly stamps authority and authenticity on any horror film, even if it's rubbish.I give four stars to the short portmanteau stories, one for the "Club" and two for the live music - averaging three. I watched it on The Horror Channel.

Throughout the mid 60s and early 70s Amicus Productions churned out a series of wonderful horror anthologies including: DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965), TORTURE GARDEN (1967), THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1970), ASYLUM (1972), THE VAULT OF HORROR (1973, second best of the bunch), FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1973), and TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972, which is my all-time favorite horror anthology!) THE MONSTER CLUB features the legendary actors Vincent Price, John Carradine, Donald Pleasence, and the dazzling Britt Ekland.The film begins as Vincent Price, as vampire Eramus puts the bite on fiction writer R. Chetwynd-Hayes (played by John Carradine). Price is in top-form, as usual. He is, without a doubt the best horror actor of all time. I have all but one of his horror films on DVD.However, MONSTER CLUB is an anthology, comprised of only three stories plus a wraparound (the wraparound is the 'in-between' story that ties the rest together). I love anthologies; both for the hits and the misses… my general feeling is that about half of the stories work; and, the others not so well. This is truly an exception to that rule! The Shadmock Story involves a couple looking for their next big score. It comes in the form of Angela taking a position of cataloging antiqes for an odd-looking man, who rarely leaves his large estate. He seems nice enough, despite his ghoulish appearance; and, he has a tempting amount of valuables ripe for the taking. The man becomes enamored with Angela; and, proposes marriage. Things soon sour during the engagement party, as we learn that the odd-looking fellow possesses an interesting method of dealing with those who anger him.The Vampire Story deals with a shy, young boy and his parents. His father has a job that requires him to stay out all night, and sleep during the day. The boy learns that his father is a count who fled another country under distressed circumstances. Obviously, the story deals with vampires and vampires hunters; but, with a surprise twist! The Humgoo Story tells a tale of a director scouting locations for a horror film. Sporting about the countryside in his Porsche 911 SC Targa. He is looking for a village with lots of atmosphere. It turns out that the village he finds is populated by ghouls. And, they have plans for him. The notes from the long-deceased village pastor offer an amazing means of telling the story of how the town was besieged by ghouls. It's a wonderful tale… The wraparound story takes place in the Monster Club itself. It features entertaining dialogue between Vincent Price and John Carradine, as a lead in for the stories. The new wave 1980s rock music is great. There are terrific special effects during the second or third act, which features a stripper. When you see the stripper's act, you will be flabbergasted.For me, Amicus really defined the horror anthology. Overall the stories in MONSTER CLUB are an absolute hoot. I cannot better describe the movie, except to paraphrase Winston Churchill. It is a comedy, wrapped in a horror anthology, wrapped in the enigma of low-budget cinema.

THE MONSTER CLUB is the final movie from the excellent British movie production company, Amicus.Although the movie is an anthology, opinion is divided as to whether or not it forms part of the Amicus anthology canon.I see THE MONSTER CLUB as a separate movie from the remainder of the Amicus anthologies. However, it is a highly entertaining final movie from Amicus. I'm truly puzzled as to why the movie was not successful financially.The single greatest idea behind THE MONSTER CLUB is the combination of three elements - traditional British horror Amicus is famous for, the darkest of dark humour and a collection of fine examples of 1980s disco music.There are only three stories in this compendium, rather than the usual four or five seen in Amicus movies. However the stories, along with the linking story, are so entertaining that this is easily overlooked.The linking story sees Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes, a character based on a real horror story author of the same name, who is attacked in the street by a sinister character named Eramus. When he wakes up after a vampire bite, the author discovers Eramus is a vampire. Ermaus promises to repay him by inviting him to a disco known as The Monster Club, where he assures him there will be plenty of material for a new book of horror stories. Vincent Price and John Carradine are on top form in their roles as Eramus and Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes respectively.The Monster Club is full of famous horror creations of various types including vampires, werewolves and ghouls. Disco music blends well with the setting, with almost all songs having a horror theme to them. The costumes are unbelievably cheesy but this is easily overlooked by the uplifting feeling of the disco atmosphere. As an added bonus, the movie brings something unique here - a monster genealogical chart.The first story sees Barbara Kellerman and Simon Ward as a pair of opportunists looking to take some rich person for all he or she is worth. Eventually Kellerman's character comes into contact with an eccentric man who lives in a large Gothic house. Without revealing spoilers, I can say that he turns out to be a shadmock, a hybrid of various creatures including vampires, werewolves and ghouls. James Laurenson gives a supreme performance as the shadmock, a kindly and gentle creature, who is simply uncomfortable with being outside his house. Predictably, the tale becomes a tragic love story that is so emotionally moving I was actually in tears when the ending came.The second story takes a different course to the first with more dark humour. Richard Johnson has a great time playing the vampire father of a young boy, Lintom. He goes out at night hunting for blood, whilst telling his son that he is "working". Britt Ekland plays Lintom's mother but she has very little to do here. Lintom finds himself being bullied at school because he is quiet and shy. He is rescued from torment by a priest, played by Donald Pleasance in another of his superb performances. I will give away no further details. But I'll say that this story was highly enjoyable due to its tongue-in-cheek approach not only to vampire clichés but to clichés of another genre as well. Look out for Anthony Valentine and Neil McCarthy having fun as a pair of vampire hunters dressed up as undertakers who carry violin cases! The final story is easily the darkest and best of the three. Stuart Whitman is cast perfectly as an impatient movie director looking for a remote location to make an atmospheric horror movie. His impatience with his crew leads him to seek out the location himself. We get to see some of the beautiful English countryside as he drives down a country lane hoping to find a remote village at the end. What he finds in reality is a very strange foggy place with only an old crumbling inn, a church and a graveyard. There is more to this atmospheric location than meets the eye. I will spoil no more of this story as this is one you'll want to see for yourself without warnings. But I will say a few things about the characters. The innkeeper is a very sinister character, played perfectly by the always great Patrick Magee. Lesley Dunlop deserves credit for her superb performance early in her career as the innkeeper's daughter, a hybrid of a human and a ghoul.Roy Ward Baker directs Amicus's final movie perfectly. He demonstrates a clear understanding of the various subject matters - Gothic horror, dark humour and 1980s disco entertainment, directing each element accordingly. As a result, he guarantees the three blend well enough to produce a highly entertaining piece of entertainment worthy of a final movie for such a great horror production company.Douglas Gamley, an Amicus veteran, produces some excellent background music to the movie including an excellent score. His choice of music in the first story blends perfectly with the Gothic setting and the tragic love story theme.As was the case with previous Amicus movies, this one makes excellent use of classical music. These blend perfectly with the settings.Kudos to the music bands - The Viewers, Night and The Pretty Things - whose catchy tunes make this movie worth watching by virtue of their presence alone. Special kudos as well to 1980s singer, B.A. Robertson, whose song - Sucker For Your Love - performed after the first story is easily the best of his career.Overall, THE MONSTER CLUB is a highly entertaining final movie from Amicus and a must-see for all fans of movies made by this great movie production company. I especially recommend it for fans of Vincent Price and John Carradine who have a superb time in this late stage of their careers.