Safe Return Doubtful

What to do with Friday evenings in the rugby offseason, a question that bothered me until I stumbled back across some of the old Hammer House of Horror movies from the late 1960s and early 70s. 

I watched most of these in the 1970s in my teen years. These days I appreciate them in a completely different way, which makes me wonder whether, in those days, I actually found them scary.. I doubt it, I just think they were the thing we were all doing in those days. 

Now, I find them hugely entertaining. Certainly Peter Cushing and Vincent Price are exceptional, as is the young Christopher Lee, but there are many other great performances as well. 

The fun that the cast must have had making them is something that stands out to me. 

Specifically for praise, I single out

The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula AD 1972 (with all three of Cushing, Price and Lee), The Vault of Horror, Horror Express, and The Devil Rides Out.

Others will have to wait until next June and the rugby takes a break again..

That continued with Friday the 13th and a Nightmare on Elm Street series, which I don’t feel the need to go back and watch just yet.. 

So it was a very pleasant surprise to hear about the new release of Teenage Sex and Death, and watching it was tremendous fun. It is very cleverly done, and a real surprise in the approach it took. 

It’s a wonderful love letter to the slasher. The film grain, little artefacts, VHS tapes, fictional covers, the camp setting and carefully constructed franchise lore were highlights. 

The film loves slashers enough to take them to task; the sexism, the racial stereotyping, the sexual exploitation and very many attractive white girls that are attacked. Modern Hollywood doesn’t get away either, representation can be genuine progress while also becoming something studios cynically package and sell.

I saw the title a few weeks ago and expected another slasher. How wrong I was. Instead, this is more to do with why we watch them, how they’ve changed, and how sometimes the movies of our past become little pieces of who we are.

IMDb score 6.9 / 10 – My score 8 / 10