Notes from the Last Drive-In: S4E2 – ‘Black Sunday’ and ‘Def By Temptation’
Welcome to ‘Notes from the Last Drive-In’ where we cover season 4, episode 2 of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder. This week we are talking about the horror classics Black Sunday (1960) and Def By Temptation (1980) and how they related to… Walpurgisnacht? Okay then!
We are back after last week’s season four premiere and the 100th and 101st films shown at the drive-in. You know you’re in for a treat when Joe Bob has a cause and the maps come out. So how successfully do the night’s films mesh with the theme of European witch lore festivals? Let’s find out together, shall we?
Black Sunday (1960)
Black Sunday, or La Maschera del Demonio, is the landmark 1960 Italian horror film directed by icon Mario Bava, which also happened to be his directorial debut. The stars of the film include Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi, Ivo Garrani, and Arturo Dominici. Of the cast, Steele would become the most familiar to Americans, though Richardson, Checchi, and Garrani would be very familiar to Italian audiences and Italian film enthusiasts.
The film, very loosely adapted from the story “Viy” by Nicholai Gogol, is a lush, gothic fairy tale set in 1800s Moldavia about a land and a family cursed by a witch upon her death that would play out two centuries later. The film plays with multiple fairy tale themes and images and is unique in that it represents the foundations of post-war Italian horror, as Drive-In fans would come to learn throughout the night.
The story itself is very loose as a “Viy” adaptation goes, more or less borrowing tone above anything else. The narrative is simple with many scenes of melodrama, castle wanderings, and supernatural encounters that do not follow conventional logic. However, that is not necessarily a slight against the film. The events on the screen are like that of a dream. The film more or less meanders through the story to get to real meaty moments of witchy horror.
Barbara Steele owns the film in a dual role of the witch Asa Vajda and her descendent Katia Vajda. She is magnetic as Asa, a woman of erotic evil, and as her foil, the virginal and sweet Katia. The film would launch the English actress’ career as an Italian horror superstar, something she apparently had mixed feelings on. Regardless, she is the strongest performer in the cast, and that is saying something considering the work of other Italian cinema legends of the film, who are suitably game for what Bava throws at them.
As for Mario Bava, the film would serve as his debut as a director, having spent years as a cinematographer. His directorial work is a marvel here, and surprisingly modern given the influences of fairy tales and the gothic trappings of Hammer Horror that inspired the approach to the material. Between Bava and his camera, there is a sort of magic that unfolds on screen, and even today, over 60 years out, the film looks and feels astoundingly modern. Bava’s cinematographic eye does as much of the lifting of the film as Steele’s performance.
Joe Bob-servations on Black Sunday
Among some of Joe Bob Briggs’ observations on the film was a fascinating discussion on the nature of Black Sunday as a film for export. Specifically, the production company Galatea and their emphasis on genre films led to an explosion of sword-and-sandal flicks that proved moderately successful overseas, such as Hercules (1958) and Hercules Unchained (1959).
The issue, though, was that Italy did not really have a contemporary horror scene from which to draw. The history is of course tied into the years of fascism associated with Mussolini, which Joe Bob lays out. What we discover over the course of the film is how Black Sunday becomes the foundation of Italian horror and ends up leading to the staple of the Italian Giallo film.
This is, of course, between gags of a progressively hammered Joe Bob trying to bring back Walpurgisnacht. It was a fun night.
Final Thoughts on Black Sunday
While loose in structure and perhaps a bit too deep into the dream logic of fairy tales, Black Sunday is an iconic witch film and a foundational text in Italian horror. Between the direction and photographic eye of Mario Bava in his directorial debut, and the on-screen magnetism of actress Barabara Steele, there is something about Black Sunday that sticks with viewers. Joe Bob Briggs gave the film four stars. My hangups with the lack of focus and some pacing issues in the film leave me to give it four out of five Cthulhus.
(4 / 5)
Best Line: “In life? What is my life? Sadness and grief. Something that destroys itself day by day, and no one can rebuild it. Here is the very image of my life. Look at it. It’s being consumed hour by hour like this garden, abandoned to a purposeless existence.” – Asa (a bit on the nose but she makes it work)
Def by Temptation (1990)
Def by Temptation is a fascinating 1990 black horror film starring and directed by James Bond III. The film also stars Kadeem Hardison, Bill Nunn, and Cynthia Bond with appearances by Samuel L. Jackson, Minnie Gentry, Melba Moore, and Freddie Jackson. Most of the cast would be associated with Spike Lee’s School Daze (1988) or the music management label Hush. The film would ultimately be distributed by Troma and even have Lloyd Kaufman help film the movie’s chaotic conclusion.
The film follows a group of men, a wannabe minister, an actor, and a cop, who find themselves involved with a succubus who is preying on black men on the streets of New York City. The late 1980s urban aesthetics and hip-hop and R&B score create a wonderful play on the vampire film.
Def by Temptation has a lot going for it. The story is well-paced and does a good job blending contemporary themes of masculinity with predation anxiety all wrapped up in a supernatural shell. The film does have inconsistencies with internal logic, but that doesn’t matter much when a succubus vampire is involved and a character gets Cronenberged into a television set. The film is fast and loose in borrowing from different themes and concepts and while that does result in a somewhat messy and scattershot story, the experience as a whole is quite memorable. A lot of that comes from Bond’s direction for what is clearly a passion project.
Part of the film’s appeal comes from the performances in which there is not a phoned-in performance in the cast. Each actor does their thing very, very well and can be praised for their timing, delivery, and presence. Some of these performances are so strong, however, that viewers may be shocked to discover that this film is one of the last films of two of the performers. James Bond III would quit acting and directing. He only recently resurfaced as a producer after 2009. Cynthia Bond, who is fantastic as the Temptress, would fill in a few television roles until about 1994, and would only resurface in the mid-2010s as the author of the best-selling book Ruby.
The film is gorgeous and among some of the best visuals in any film Troma has ever distributed. It helps that Spike Lee collaborator Ernest Dickerson served as cinematographer. His career would be substantial, with Def by Temptation being only one of many horror films in his filmography. As much as a cliche as this can sound, Dickerson’s framing and camera work turn the locations into characters themselves, be it a bar, apartment, street, or dream-like bedroom and jazz performance space.
Joe Bob-servations on Def by Temptation
If the theme of the night was witches, I would argue that Def By Temptation was a bit of a stretch. The Temptress of the film is more of a vampire or succubus than a witch, though she does bewitch men. It is a reflection of the loose rules established in the world. Regardless, it is a fun film and there was a lot to learn about it. Case in point, Joe Bob had a few things to say on the Troma-side of the film’s history, namely the fact that Lloyd Kaufman believes it to be the best film Troma ever distributed.
Another fun and surprisingly Troma-angle? Lloyd Kaufman himself picked up the camera to help film the chaotic ending as Dickerson had already moved on to another project.
Plenty of factoids were on hand as well, such as the strange case of Cynthia Bond who was a mystery to most of the cast. There were also other examples of the independent spirit running throughout the movie, such as the fact the apartment scenes were shot in the apartment of Laurence Fishburn, or that most of the funding of the film came from the cast and crew.
Final Thoughts on Def by Temptation
Def by Temptation is a fascinating movie that rides that line right between the 1980s and 1990s and should be considered a key text in black horror. The film may be inconsistent in its own rules and might be a patchwork of influences and excuses for gore, at times, but the film has some interesting things to say on the treatment of black bodies. The performances are well worth a mention as well, with every actor nailing their part. Joe Bob Briggs gave the film three-and-a-half stars. I found the film to be incredibly fun, so I’d give it four-out-of-five Cthulhus.
(4 / 5)
Best Line: “Hey, baby, we had a good time – you can get an abortion now.” – Bartender
Haunted MTL Drive-In Totals
As always, here are the official Drive-In Totals.
As for our own totals, we have…
- 2 “Thee-Ate-Ers”
- 3 Types of Alcohol
- 3 Gilligan Cuts
- 8 Halloweens a Year
- 18 Beers
- Bat Shredding
- Orgy Proposing
- Cow Milking
- Tactical Sam Jackson Deployment
- Gratuitous European History Lessons
- Gratuitous Piano
- Gratuitous House Clattering
- Cane Fu
- Fainting Fu
- Binge Drinking Fu
- Banana Fu
- Darcy Cosplay: Asa
Episode Score for Notes from the Last Drive-In: S4E2 – Black Sunday and Def by Temptation
The theme of the night was, ostensibly about witchcraft, though there is a larger connection to demons given the origins of witchcraft which sort of explains how Def by Temptation fits in. What is important is that the wrapper for the show this week was one of the funnier and stranger ones the show has done, with Joe Bob sliding into a darker and darker drunken stupor as he tries to “bring back” Walpurgisnacht. The interplay between Joe Bob and Darcy was a great deal of fun, and with any “cause” our host takes one there was plenty of history involved.
With that being said, I do think the pairing was a bit stretched given the theme suggested by our host, here. I think the movies pair well, but in that regard, I think a stronger thematic hook would have been “dangerous women” rather than the return of Walpurgisnacht. There is an association between women and the festival, of course, but I just feel the execution here, as fun as it was, ended up a bit muddled.
Anyway, hopefully, they got Joe Bob’s stomach pumped after the combination of alcohol. You couldn’t pay me to drink mead.
(4 / 5)
Please join us on Twitter next Friday as we live-tweet with the rest of the Mutant Fam during The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. As always, thanks for reading, and please share your thoughts on the movies, the show, or even these reviews/recaps. We would love to know what you have to say.
Enjoyed Def by Temptation?
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So, this is a convoluted post, not going to lie. Because it’s Thriller Nite. And we have to kick it off with a link to Michael Jackson in homage, because he’s the bomb and Vincent Price is the master… (If the following video doesn’t load properly, you can get there from this link.)
The movie monsters always approach so slowly.
Their stiff joints arcing in jerky, erratic movements
While the camera pans to a wide-eyed scream.
It takes forever for them to catch their victims.
Their stiff joints arcing in jerky, erratic movements
As they awkwardly shamble towards their quarry –
It takes forever for them to catch their victims.
And yet no one ever seems to get away.
As they awkwardly shamble towards their quarry –
Scenes shift, plot thickens, minutes tick by endlessly…
And yet no one ever seems to get away.
Seriously, how long does it take to make a break for it?
Scenes shift, plot thickens, minutes tick by endlessly…
While the camera pans to a wide-eyed scream.
Seriously, how long does it take to make a break for it?
The movie monsters always approach so slowly.
So my father used to enjoy telling the story of Thriller Nite and how he’d scare his little sister, my aunt. One time they were watching the old Universal Studios Monsters version of The Mummy, and he pursued her at a snail’s pace down the hallway in Boris Karloff fashion. Both of them had drastically different versions of this tale, but essentially it was a true Thriller Nite moment. And the inspiration for this poem.
For more fun music video mayhem, check out She Wolf here on Haunted MTL. And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website.
Episode six of Dexter Original Sin brings us Dex’s third kill, making him officially a serial killer.
Yay!
The story
This episode dealt with many things. The first, and clearly most interesting, is the kidnapping of Nicky Spencer, the police captain’s son, whom we met a few episodes ago.
This loss has sent the entire police force into an uproar. They need to find the killer fast before Nicky’s found hanging from a bridge.
Unfortunately, Harry’s still on the sidelines for this one, after horribly messing up the case against Levi Reed. He’s instead working with LaGuerta in a case regarding a dead homeless man. Despite the different victims, types of death, and the fact that they don’t appear to be related at all. Except that Dexter believes they are. They are, in fact, the first murderers of a blossoming serial killer. Just like him.
Before Dex can lean into this investigation, though, he’s drug along on a double date with Deb, Sophia and Gio. And here, we see the first shadows of danger from Gio. Shadows that will almost certainly turn into a monster.
What worked
I would first like to acknowledge that, despite my irritations, Gellar did well in this episode. She didn’t have Whedon’like one-liners. She didn’t exist to give snappy comebacks with a side of girl boss.
She looked as though she’d aged. She was serious. She behaved like a real person who felt terrible about what was happening.
And, just to shout out the costume department, she looked washed out. Yes, that is a good thing. Let me explain.
White is not a good color on her. At least not that shade. It made her look bad. This is not something that Sarah Michelle Gellar would choose to wear.
But it is something that Tanya Martin would choose to wear. And I love that. I love when shows and movies let people look bad because they’re more interested in being true to the character and not focusing on everyone looking as hot as possible at all times.
I also want to discuss Gio, Deb’s boyfriend.
Gio scares me. And I think that most women watching this will feel the same way.
Not girls. Not teenagers or even some young women. But adult women, I’m willing to bet, do not like Gio after this episode.
It was the scene at the bar. The part where he got in the face of the guy who spilled Deb’s drink. There was danger in that scene. Gio didn’t want an apology. He didn’t want to make sure Deb was okay. He didn’t even want the drink replaced. He wanted a reason to hurt that stranger. Because at that moment he was furious. And the only way to handle that fury for him was pain.
Gio is a very dangerous man. I’ll be very surprised if this season doesn’t end with Dexter having to take him out.
What didn’t work
At this point, we have a lot going on. We have Nicky’s kidnapping. We have Dexter finding himself as a serial killer. We have the flashback storyline with Laura and Harry. We have the dangerous Gio and the likely in-danger Sophia. And we have these murders of drifters and homeless people that the team is now investigating.
That’s a lot. It’s more than what can be followed comfortably. And that doesn’t even consider the one or two-episode arches like Levi, Nurse Mary or Tony Ferrer. A lot is going on, and a lot to keep track of. And it’s hard to believe, seeing what we’ve seen from this franchise and knowing what we know about how they handle endings, that these are all going to have satisfying endings. Especially since I haven’t heard anything about a season two.
We have four episodes left in this season, and I am expecting the storylines to start heating up. As of right now, we have way too many that don’t have enough to do with each other. But as we get closer to episode ten, I would expect these loose threads to knot together and form a noose around the neck of our dashing Dexter.
(3.5 / 5)
Disclaimer: This film was given as a screener for the review use of HauntedMTL. You can find more information about PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT HERE or buy it on Amazon HERE.
A few years ago, I was talking with a friend and we got on the subject of meditation. I was just getting into it and was looking for some insight.
She’s a smart and well-rounded person, so when she recommended a meditation retreat, I was curious. She described a scenic, rural meditation center within Michigan that hosted weekend-long retreats. Especially silence retreats, where no one speaks at all and meditates for most of the day.
Being a podcast co-host/egoist who loves the sound of their own voice, I was fascinated by the challenge. Perhaps, I, too, could be one of those people who could go without talking for a weekend and become a smart and well-rounded person like her. Perhaps, I, too, could find enlightenment and all that shit.
So, I poked around the website of the retreat and I found something interesting…Music. There on the website were songs created by the meditation teachers. You could even buy their CDs.
“But Brannyk,” you must be thinking, “What does weird meditation music have to do with PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT?”
Well, everything.
THE PLOT OF PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT
Max (Adara Starr) is a happy-go-lucky and go-with-the flow hipster who works at Hear Kitty Records with boss Sam (Morgan Shaley Renew) and co-worker Gretchen (Shelby Lois Guinn). As she says, “I go where the music takes me.” This proves especially true as a regular comes in with one of the rarest records from Pater Noster and the Mission of Light.
Created by a commune in the 1970’s, this illusive group created multiple albums, most which were lost to time when the group mysteriously disappeared. Now their records are worth thousands, including the very last album they created, said to be cursed. With only four copies made, those who got their hands on the final album supposedly went insane or died.
When Max is miraculously able to get her hands on all copies – all except that last elusive album – she and her friends (including the lovely Sanethia Dresch and the hilarious Joshua R. Outzen) will go to all lengths to find that missing record. Soon they’re tangled in a web of mysticism, music and murder. Will they be able to find out the secrets of the mysterious Pater Noster (Mike Amason) and the Mission of Light in time or will this adventure be their swansong?
THOUGHTS ON PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT
Pater Noster is a strange little gem of a film by writer/director/producer/cinematographer/editor, Christopher Bickel. It’s a love letter to music, records and the weirdos who love underground music. It’s also a strange love letter to the cults who made music in that weird and wonderful time of the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Much like Mandy, there’s a surrealist atmosphere of the cult. Unlike Mandy, the film is gritty and filthy. You rub it between your fingers and there’s sweat and dead skin. It’s manic, raw energy. It’s a bad trip you can’t come down from. A nightmare which you cannot wake. It smells like vomit and fungus-ridden bowling shoes. It’s the worst hangover you’ve ever had.
And I mean all this in the best of ways.
The cinematography is an homage to indie films of the 70’s, looking like it was made on super 8 film and sold at an estate sale after being forgotten for years. The effects and makeup are beautifully practical, veering from subtle to ball-to-the-walls, literally puking up your guts. The shit that the crew was able to get away with in terms of action and effects is incredibly inspiring. It easily feels like this is a bigger budget film.
The acting is fantastic for the most part. Joshua R. Outzen as Jay Sin is so funny and honest with his performance. Sanethia Dresch is endearing as Sam’s friend/roommate, and film enthusiast. Morgan Shaley Renew as Sam’s boss is very charming as being like a mother hen for the group. Mike Amason as the eponymous Pater Noster is perfect casting, being able to make the switch from kindly old man to fearsome cult leader .
However, I had a hard time getting a read on Max (Adara Starr). She’s just always so happy and go-with-the-flow. Perhaps a bit naive. And maybe that’s the point. She “goes where the music takes her” and there’s little else that motivates her.
The story is clean-cut and follows a simple, but concise narrative. That’s not a bad thing, either. In fact, I prefer the simplicity. It has a clear progression and rising tension. There’s very little to detract from the story or distract the viewer. It’s smartly edited and the pacing is perfect, never meandering off and never throwing everything at you all at once.
The ending is gruesome, chaotic and incredibly satisfying. The finale is beautifully and grotesquely shot. There’s a special balance of avoiding showing too much or not enough, especially with gore and body horror. There’s an art to cutting action just right to make sure the audience is aware of what’s happening, but adding to the tension of the scene. Thankfully, Bickel nailed it with PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT.
BRAINROLL JUICE:
I have a longer Brainroll Juice for this one (RIP SEO readability), so I’ve set it into two parts – History of Music and Religion and the Cults in the US during the 1960’s-1970’s. Of course, these are just super brief overviews of each and I’m no expert. But I thought it would help with some of the context of my review and also PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT.
History of Music and Religion
Religion and spirituality have been intertwined with music since perhaps the dawn of time.
The great goddess Kubile/Cybele was a huge proponent of using music and dance for healing, mental health and spirituality. Dionysus often had raves that lead to prophesies, healings and sexy times.
Meanwhile, the Assyrians used music as a war cry under Ishtar, looking for victory to the beat of cymbals, drums and war-pipes. The Egyptian goddess Isis is said to have created the sistrum (which looks like a wicked torture device). And worshipers of the child-sacrifice-friendly god, Baal-Moloch had priests singing hymns of praise during rituals and sacrifices.
In India, the role of music was relegated to temples, using drums, conches and flutes as instruments to honor the gods. Music was integral in worship and tapping into the realm of the divine. Guy L. Beck explains in Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religion, “As Brahman pervaded the entire universe, including the human soul at its core, the notion of sacred sound as manifested through chant and music provided a veritable thread binding the human realm to the divine.”
Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, taught through shabads. These were devotional hymns and mantras of the religion, of which many still survive to this day.
And of course, from my boy Rumi, there are the Mawlawīyah, the whirling dervishes, who dance in a religious mystic fervor to prayers and music.
Not to be beat, in the Abrahamic religions’ history, God and music are nearly inseparable. Joshua’s trumpets brought down the walls of Jericho; King David’s wrote and performed numerous psalms; Miriam (Moses’ sister) led a victory song and dance party to celebrate their freedom from the pharaoh.
Obviously, this is a very, very brief overview, but it shows the cultural significance of music of spirituality. Music is an incredibly human and old form of expression, dating back around 40,000 years ago. Songs carry power, our history, spirituality, good omens, and warnings. It’s part of our culture and social learning. We weld our songs reverently, dangerously, softly and loudly.
It’s amazing to think that music today holds just as much joy, expression and spirituality as it did when we as humans didn’t have a written language yet.
Cults in the US during the 1960’s-1970’s
Well, here’s the other half of Bickel’s love letter.
During the rise of religions/cults of the 1960’s and 1970’s, particularly within the United States, music was also critical in their teachings and appeal. Through civil unrest, the rise of drug culture, search for personal identity and the global access to new religions of the East, the American youth sought answers to larger questions. They sought community. Conviction. A place to belong.
From the Beatles getting hippie-dippy with Hare Krishna, to the Helter Skelter of Charles Manson, music and cults also intertwined within this chaotic period.
Cults frequently used music as a means to communicate, to prophesize, to heal and to convert. It’s easy to feel like you belong when you know all the words of the songs and the steps to the dance. You feel like you’re in the “in-group”. Like you, yourself, are part of something larger.
On the Children of God’s website, it states that, “the Children of God became famous as their original music gained popularity when their bands landed recording contracts and big-stage performances, particularly in France and Brazil. From radical rock-style songs denouncing the hypocrisy of the establishment of the day, to heart-touching folk ballads about God′s love, original music became a prominent feature of the movement′s outreach and culture.” They even have a playlist.
The Unification Church (aka the Moonies) have a YouTube channel full of songs, including karaoke versions (worst karaoke party ever).
Bickel created a film that encapsulates the fervor of music and the (sometimes) dangerous allure of spirituality/cults. The quest to find answers and our meaning in the universe. The love of music and its hold on the human soul. The aching desire to be connected with others, with the self, with some kind of higher plane or answer to our questions.
Sam goes where the music takes her; her religion is music. Her worship is through the collection of these records, regardless of the danger associated with it. Not only does she go willingly into the den of Pater Noster, but follows without any suspicion or hesitation.
Pater Noster and the Mission of Light is enticing, with its cheery psychedelic songs, wrapped up in mysticism and mystery. And Bickel showcases this incredibly human desire for something more, for cosmic connection through harmony (literal and metaphorical), and its consequences.
BOTTOMLINE:
It’s Ghost World meets Mandy but dropped on the bloody floor of a mosh pit.
(5 / 5)
PS – Herb Alpert’s Whipped Cream is a FINE album
References:
Treitler, Leo. “History and Music.” New Literary History, vol. 21, no. 2, 1990, pp. 299–319. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/469254. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
Martens, Frederick H. “The Influence of Music in World History.” The Musical Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 2, 1925, pp. 196–218. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/738578. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
Hansen, Greg (2008) “Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religions. by Guy L. Beck, editor,” BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 47: Iss. 1, Article 16. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol47/iss1/16
McLeod, William Hewat and Nangia, Tamanna. “Guru Nanak”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guru-Nanak. Accessed 5 January 2025.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Mawlawīyah”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 May. 2012, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mawlawiyah. Accessed 5 January 2025.
Killin, A. (2018). The origins of music: Evidence, theory, and prospects. Music & Science, 1. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204317751971
Paglia, Camille. “Cults and Cosmic Consciousness: Religious Vision in the American 1960s.” Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, vol. 10, no. 3, 2003, pp. 57–111. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20163901. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
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