SOMETIMES THEY'RE WORTH THE WAIT, SOMETIMES THEY'RE NOT

This past week I had a chance to finally watch two movies I've been waiting, literally, two decades to see. And while such a long wait usually yields nothing but disappointment and trampled expectations, I have to say that wasn't the case this time.

First up was the 1973 TV adaptation of DRACULA, directed by Dan Curtis and starring Jack Palance. Mr. One-Armed Push-Up used to scare the crap out of me on "Ripley's Believe It or Not," when I was eight years old. Around this time I had seen a picture of him, in cape and fangs, in one of the many monster-movie books I read at that time, and figured that would be just about the scariest movie I could ever see.

Twenty-four years later, I can safely say, no, it's not the scariest thing, then or now.

With the exception of Palance's performance (not one of the greatest, but well done nonethless) the film is lackluster in just about every sense. (A big surprise, considering the teleplay was by Richard Matheson.) For starters, there's no Renfield--although Jonathan Harker sort of assumes that role in a slightly interesting variation, becoming little more than Dracula's minion after returning from Transylvania. The cast is appallingly bland, including the most boring portrayal of Van Helsing I've ever seen. Needless to say, I watched this one on fast-forward, stopping to watch only when Palance was on-screen. The companion feature on the DVD, a 1968 TV adaptation of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE--also starring Palance in the famous dual role--was much more entertaining.

The second half of my long-awaited double bill was Mario Bava's BLACK SABBATH. This was one of the first horror films I can ever recalling hearing about, something my dad always mentioned whenever scary movies were discussed. Anchor Bay has released this film--in its original unaltered Italian-language state--as part of its Mario Bava boxed set collection. (Would you be surprised if I told you go and pick it up?)

If you're looking for fast-paced, visceral thrills, stay far far away from this one. Bava's strength was atmosphere and mood, and he delivers here in spades.

I won't go into too many details here; if you're familiar with the movie I don't have to, and if you're not, then why should I spoil it for you? All I'll say here is that it's a three-story omnibus (a vehicle that I'd really like to see make a comeback) with plenty of creepy imagery on display, particularly in "The Wurdalak" and "A Drop of Water" segments. Even jaded ol' me got the shivers quite a few times. My only disappointment was that Anchor Bay didn't include the original English-language version distributed by American-International in the early '60's (though it was interesting to see Boris Karloff dubbed in Italian).