Weirdhouse Cinema: The Monster Club
Summary
Weird House reviews 1981’s *The Monster Club*, a horror anthology directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Vincent Price and John Carradine. The film blends a goofy framing narrative set in a monster nightclub with three adaptations of R. Chetwynd Hayes’ short stories, including a segment featuring a Shadmock. The hosts discuss the movie’s time-warping aesthetic, featuring 80s musical performances and classic British horror tropes, while analyzing the cast and plot of each segment.
Topics discussed
Intro: Health vs. Hype and AMA wellness trends
Sponsor: Autotrader
Sponsor: Botox safety warnings
Introduction to 1981's The Monster Club
Setting: The London street and the club
Director Roy Ward Baker and studio connections
The film's musical performances and target audience
Critique of the full song performances
Elevator pitch: Horror grandpas dancing to UB40
Rating the film as an airplane movie
Sponsor: Health vs. Hype
Sponsor: Sniffy's Cruising Confessions
Sponsor: Alex Warren and Ordinary People
Framing narrative and director background
Director's Hammer and Amicus credentials
Source material: R. Chetwynd Hayes
Tone of the source material
Comparison to From Beyond the Grave
Cast introduction: Vincent Price as Aramis
Vincent Price's only vampire role
John Carradine's performance
Production design and needle drop tracks
Sponsor: Sniffy's Cruising Confessions
Sponsor: Alex Warren
Opening scene: The bookshop street
The encounter between Price and Carradine
Vampire blood compliment and novel differences
Themes of sympathy for monsters
First musical number: The Monster Song
Band background: Alan Jari and Perfect Zebras
Monster masks and lighting critique
Comparison to Rocky Horror
The club scene and drink orders
Monsters' secrets and the horror author
Monster puns and the Shadmock's whistle
The Shadmock's terrifying power
Actress background: White Queen
Actor background: Pat Roach
Musical score and Douglas Gamley
Sponsor: Health vs. Hype
Sponsor: Sniffy's Cruising Confessions
Sponsor: Experience Before the Moment
Plot summary: The Shadmock segment
The Shadmock's appearance and makeup
The cat and the whistle's effect
George's plan to steal from the Shadmock
The monster masks reveal
Angela's transformation into a melt zombie
Critique of the Shadmock's makeup
George's ungratefulness
Monsters falling in love with humans
Musical number: Sucker for Your Love
Lyrics and humor in the song
The Hollywood producer segment setup
Cast: Richard Johnson and Britt Eklund
Donald Pleasance as Pickering
The Beast Squad and immigrant vampires
Plot: The young boy's sadness
Warning about men with violin cases
Pickering's bite and the staking
Tomato ketchup joke and immigrant commentary
Musical number: Knight and Stevie Lang
The skeleton striptease animation
Sponsor: Health vs. Hype
Sponsor: John Legend
The horror movie filming segment
Stuart Whitman as the director
Actor performances in the anthology
Raiders of the Lost Ark references
Synth music in the segment
Plot: Driving to Luffville
The innkeeper and the mob of locals
Luna's Tarzan speak and caskets
The ghouls taking over the village
Special effects and illustrations
Luna's death and Sam's escape
Vincent Price's speech on Humes
Final song: Welcome to the Monster Club
Conclusion and mixed messages
Sign-off and podcast schedule
Sponsor: Autotrader
Sponsor: Geico
Sponsor: PrEP and HIV prevention
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