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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The finale of American Horror Story Delicate aired last night. And if you were watching along with us on Threads, then you already know that it didn’t live up to any of my expectations.
Let’s discuss.
The story
We begin with Anna being ushered off stage and into an ambulance. Dex is there because Siobhan called him.
Once in the ambulance, though, the blood starts to spill. And it’s not just Anna’s. She soon finds herself in the clutches of the coven, giving birth in the most anxiety-inducing place possible. And when the baby is born, he’s taken away at once.
Because that’s the agreement that Anna made, without fully realizing what she was agreeing to.
If Anna’s going to get her baby back, she’s going to have to make another sacrifice. She is going to have to join the coven herself. Is she strong enough to do it? Is she strong enough to raise a monster?
What worked
This episode did have some fun elements. As a practicing witch myself, I appreciate the addition of Hestia in a positive light. Especially when this season was so focused on motherhood, womanhood, and sisterhood, Hestia was a lovely goddess to include.
For those who don’t know, Hestia is a goddess of the home and hearth, but not a maternal goddess. She was, in fact, a virgin goddess. So Adeline’s devotion to her made sense in a real-world witchcraft way. Adeline was supposed to be a symbol of female love and support. Including Hestia in this made that crystal clear.
This was made most clear with the behavior of Siobhan. She was a perfect example of a toxic person who uses sisterhood to use and manipulate others. This can be seen clearly in the flashback that begins this episode. We see Siobhan show kindness to Anna, who she wants to use while being cruel to the woman who shared her story at the start of the meeting. For Siobhan, kindness is a currency she spends to get something. And that is clear.
What didn’t work
Sadly, those two elements weren’t enough to save this episode. My first concern is that this ending had more holes in it than Swiss cheese.
This wasn’t just a matter of having questions left after the ending. These were elements that we should have seen and just didn’t. Why were the witches diluting and working with blood near the end of the episode? Why didn’t Dex Senior get what was coming to him? What the hell was with those pointed green heels? My largest question, however, is this.
Did Anna imagine all of this? Did any of it happen? We don’t know. Consider the ending. I don’t want to spoil too much of this, so I’ll only point out Anna’s gown. It’s bloody in one scene and newly clean the next. This is only the example I can share without spoiling the ending. But we have no proof that any of these things happened to her.
While it’s fine to leave some questions up to the viewer, there were too many here. Rather than feeling mysterious, it just felt incomplete. And seeing as how this episode was much shorter than a standard one, this could have easily been corrected.
I would also like to hold some space for how this season ruined the good message of the book Delicate Condition. This novel was bloody, gory, and disturbing. But it also had a beautiful message about sisterhood, and women supporting women through motherhood, career choices, and life in general. There is so much pure, sisterly love in that book.
This is entirely missing from this season. It’s often turned on its head, with women betraying each other for their own selfish desires. And honestly, I hated that.
Finally, this season finale is another example of an ending ruining a good season. AHS Delicate wasn’t without its charm. Some episodes were great fun. There were elements that I truly enjoyed as a horror fan, a witch and a woman. But this ending just soured everything good about the season. It spoiled all of the enjoyment I had. Much like Sabrina, Dexter, and the podcast Dolores Roach, the ending ruined everything that came before it.
In the end, this finale was disappointing. It didn’t deliver on its promises, it did a disservice to the source material, and it was poorly executed. This series is more than capable of better. Delicate Condition, the novel, deserved a better interpretation.
However, as a long-time fan, I can honestly say that in twelve years of content, I have genuinely disliked a season and a half of American Horror Story. This one, and the second half of Double Feature. So while AHS Delicate was a disappointment, I am looking forward to season thirteen. In the meantime, I’m going to rewatch Coven and look forward to better stories to come.
(2 / 5)
Episode three of Amazon Prime’s Fallout continued the themes we’ve seen so far, with an added twist. With comedy and gore already blending, the story has added an air of tragic history for one of its least cuddly characters.
Let’s discuss.
The story
Our story starts with a flashback to before the bombs dropped. We see Coop, filming a movie. His wife is on set as well, and their adorable daughter. Coop has a comfortable life with a family he loves.
Isn’t that just a knife in the heart?
Back in the present, Lucy is traveling through the wastelands with the head of Wilzig. And she’s doing so with the same fear and joy that we’ve seen from her so far. Until that is, she runs into a Gulper. And after eating a defenseless deer, it swallowed up the head.
Eventually, The Ghoul catches up with Lucy and decides to capture her. After using her as bait, he decides to drag her along with him.
Meanwhile, Maximus gets a message from the Brotherhood of Steel. Rather than coming clean, he claims to be Knight Titus and is accidentally sent a new Squire. That squire is Thaddeus, one of Maximus’s bullies from the base. And Maximus wastes no time in taking some sweet, sweet revenge.
Finally, we return to Vault 33. The vault is healing from the Raider attack and the loss of Lucy. Norm and Chet are being punished for letting Lucy leave, by being fired from their jobs. This throws Chet because he had a cool job.
Norm, on the other hand, didn’t like his job. He didn’t like any job. So, since this is the only way anyone gets punishments in the vault, he’s given the task of feeding the Raiders.
And talking to the Raiders was maybe not a healthy thing for Norm to be doing. He might learn something he didn’t want to know.
What worked
The first thing I have to talk about is the massive creature called The Gulper.
This thing was fascinating. It was voracious, fast, and horrifying to look like. It was like a giant axolotl from Hell, with human fingers lining its whole mouth and throat. Why did it need fingers lining its mouth and throat? The better to drag someone down its throat and into its stomach. And the better to drag itself into my nightmares. This creature was well done.
On the flip side of this, I love the fact that the people of Vault 33 are so kind. They’re so willing to forgive, willing to care for their fellow man even when their fellow man is trying to kill them.
I don’t trust it, to be clear. But the perceived kindness from these people is uplifting. And I’m sure it will make whatever is going to eventually happen to them all the worse.
Of course, I can’t talk about the goodness of the vault dwellers without talking about the absolute horribleness of The Ghoul. The Ghoul is not a good person. He is cruel, and selfish, and clearly dislikes Lucy for some reason we do not yet know, and is probably not her fault.
But we kind of understand how he got that way, don’t we? During the flashbacks, we see that he’s lost his wife and daughter. We also see that he was used as a mascot for the very company that created the vaults. And, while we don’t have any concrete proof yet, we can probably guess that these are not the good guys. Even if we haven’t played the games, anyone who’s even slightly genre-savvy can already guess that.
Which is the last thing I want to bring up here.
We know something stinks with the vaults. Something beyond the obvious issues of wealth disparities and the people left outside to die while those who could afford a Vault spot were saved. Something is rotten with the vaults, we all know this. What we don’t know is what form this rot will take.
Not yet.
What didn’t work
Now, I wish I could say this was a perfect episode. But sadly, it wasn’t. And my biggest issue with the episode is with the character Maximus.
Now, I love Maximus. He wants to do good things in the world. He’s the underdog, and who doesn’t love that? He’s honorable and believes in the organization he belongs to.
I don’t love that he cannot do anything right. It feels like he wins fights by falling over and tripping into succeeding. And this character deserves so much more than that. Can we please, just once, see him be good at something or make a sound decision?
All that being said, this was still a fun episode. It was funny and bright, with an ominous feel and a horrific finger-ridden monster. I had a great time with it.
(4 / 5)
Last night’s episode of American Horror Story Delicate was wild. From its star-studded start to its powerfully quiet finish, I was enthralled through every moment.
Let’s discuss.
The story
We begin this episode at the funeral of Dex’s mom. While he’s giving a eulogy, which was very nice, Ms. Preecher walks in. She shouts to the room that Virginia didn’t commit suicide, she was murdered. She also tells Dex to listen to his wife.
What a concept!
Touched by this, or maybe just curious, Anna goes to the hospital to check on Preecher. She falls asleep at the hospital. When she wakes up, Preecher is gone. A nurse says that she was discharged to a group of women.
While at the hospital, Anna also discovers that she’s been nominated for best actress.
At a publicity event for the awards, Anna runs into Cora. And she sees the coat she remembers from her late-night visit near the start of her pregnancy.
With the slightest amount of pressure, Cora spills it all. She and Dex have been having an affair, and Cora was trying to sabotage Anna’s pregnancy. So Anna, channeling her inner Madison Montgomery, kicks him out and heads to the awards ceremony with Siobhan.
There, Siobhan asks her if she wants an Oscar more than anything. If she’d be willing to give up anything for it.
And Anna says yes.
The bargain is then sealed with a kiss.
What worked
I’d like to begin, paradoxically, at the end of the episode. We’ve seen Anna have some terrible, loud, frightening hallucinations in this season. At least, we assume they’re hallucinations. But this one wasn’t loud. It was, in fact, very quiet. Anna is led off stage, without a word, leaving nothing but a puddle of blood behind.
In horror, like in all art, the notes you don’t play are as important as the ones you do. And the notes that weren’t played her rang like a bell.
I also appreciated that this episode describes why being a celebrity would be a huge pain in the ass. Imagine going to an event where the whole purpose is for people to take pictures of you while holding their product. Imagine if they invaded your personal space, sprayed things on you, put things over your eyes, and you were expected to smile and pose.
I don’t know what it is about being a celebrity that makes others feel entitled to a person. To talk with them, take their time, and share in their moments. To touch them without consent. Yes, there are way worse things happening to people. But this isn’t a great way to live. It’s no wonder so many of them go nuts. This is most clearly shown in the scene when Anna is sitting next to Preecher’s bed. She wakes up to find the older woman gone. But all anyone wants to talk about is how she was just nominated for an Oscar. At that moment, she doesn’t give a damn. She cares about this kind woman, and where she’s gone. Just like any other person.
Finally, I appreciated that this season didn’t do what so many AHS seasons do. Which is to say that this episode didn’t feel like the last episode. It felt like the penultimate episode. It felt like there was still more story to tell, not just loose ends to be wrapped up. I appreciate that the writers have finally learned that lesson.
For this season, at least.
What didn’t work
The first thing that bothered me in this episode was Cora’s confession. I said something about this during our live-watch event on Threads. (Join us next week for the finale. Bring popcorn and wine.)
I don’t believe Cora’s confession. I further don’t believe that she just dumped all of this incriminating info on Anna with no more prompting than a wide-eyed look. There was just no reason for it. So, Anna saw her coat? Lots of people have similar coats. This feels fake, and she brought no receipts.
I also found Siobhan’s behavior confusing. At times she seems genuinely concerned for Anna’s wellbeing. At other times, she is more than willing to let her suffer and risk her pregnancy.
While this has been going on all season, it was happening every few minutes in this one. Either Siobhan cares about the welfare of that fetus, or she doesn’t. But she needs to pick a lane.
All in all, I don’t know what to expect from next week’s season finale. Anna has her Oscar, but now she might lose her baby. She might also get sucked into some horrible cult and experience a bad death. We won’t know until next week.
See you then.
(4 / 5)
