October Horror Movie Challenge: Eyes of the Beholder

Tonight is a little bit of a stretch, but whatever, I can make it fit. And while I am doing it, lets make it a Drive-In Double Feature! It is a Saturday after all. 

The Trollenberg Terror / The Crawling Eye (1958)

Another older one, and one I have seen in the past, but as the MST3k version.

This one takes place on a Swiss mountain, Trollenberg, and, well, let's be honest, it's not good. It's slow and the monster is not very good.

It starts out with a mountain climber getting killed by something. We switch over to two sisters, Anne (Janet Munro) and Sarah (Jennifer Jayne) Pilgrim. Anne is psychic, which is convenient. They meet Alan Brooks (F-Troop's Forrest Tucker). Anne knows about the accident and who was killed. 

Two more climbers go up and go missing. Our psychic girl sees them in the cabin, and our heroes look for them. 

Soon they discover a group of horrid "crawling" eye creatures living in the radioactive mists.  They have psychic abilities and can detect humans with ESP.

While it is never explicitly stated they are aliens, I think there is implication that they are.

It Came from Outer Space (1953)

It has been years since I have seen this one. Decades really. But what does it have? Yes, you know it, giant eye monsters. 

The monsters here are a little benevolent, but still alien.  They look more like giant jellyfish with one central eye; so not totally dissimilar to beholders.

They are able to assume human shape, or at least the appearance of a human, and can act like someone they have encountered. 

This is more sci-fi with some horror elements, as were many of the sci-fi movies from the 1950s. 

The movie proceeds to deal with the aliens, who are more benign than most, with them leaving Earth saying that they will be back one day.

Featured Monster: Beholder

Ok. We know that the Beholder began as a bit of joke; as in "Eye of the Beholder" and was the creation of Terry Kuntz. The Eye monsters here make for a passible, if weak, Beholders. Or as the kids say, "When you order your Beholders off of Wish.com" 

But what can we get from these movies to help our games?

A bit, to be honest. There was an obvious need or at least a want for eye monsters and alien ones at that. In both movies, the eye monsters have some advanced psychic abilities and are clearly "alien."

Game Ideas

Beholders are woefully under utalized in D&D in my mind. They are a "boss monster" but rarely are they given much more to do. Beholders should be at the center of a vast network of lackeys, spies, assassins and other disposable mooks for their own, often alien, ends.

Xanathar is a good example of this, but even Xanathar is relatable. I mean REALLY alien. 

I also think beholders should have psionic powers as opposed to magic. I have always liked the idea that beholders and mind flayers are two great alien species who have been at war with each for millennia. 

These movies might not be great, but they are full of ideas. 

October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
Viewed: 6
First Time Views: 3

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Gorgon (1964)

 This movie might be one of the best convergence of movies from my youth, Greek Myth, and monsters from the Monster Manual. Tonight's feature is 1964's The Gorgon from Hammer Films.

The Gorgon (1964)

Ok what does this movie have? Well, Christopher Lee (as a good guy!), Peter Cushing (as a bad guy! sort of), the "Hammer Hamlet"" pre-Doctor Who Patrick Troughton, Barbara Shelley, an angry mob, a monster, basically it hits all the notes. But does it is hit them right?

The plot features a bunch of seemingly random murders. The odd thing is that the murder victims are all turned to stone. Peter Cushing is out local doctor covering up for the murders, but we don't see why till the very end. 

Lee is the friend of a family where one brother is blamed for the murders, his father is later turned to stone while investigating, and the last brother comes to investigate and falls in love with Barbara Shelley's Carla.

We learn through various sources that the spirit of "Megeara" one of the last Gorgon sisters haunts this small village in Germany. The three Gorgons were named Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Megeara must have sounded better to them.

Turns out Megeara's spirit is living on in Carla and every full moon she is released again on the world. 

Believe it or not, I have never seen this movie till tonight. 

There are a TON of liberties taken with the ancient Greek myth, but honestly that is fine. I am more annoyed they went with Megeara instead of Stheno or Euryale.

Featured Monster: Medusa

I think it is a bit obvious that the art in the Monster Manual was very inspired by this movie.

There is even some evidence that the Medusa of D&D is also based on this movie to a degree. Not the spirit or the coming out at the full moon, but the general behavior.

The great thing about this movie? It takes a classical mythology monster and gives it a solid horror feel to it in the special Hammer way. If you want a good working template on how to add horror to your games, this is a good place to start.

Of course, and this is an old gripe of mine, why is the monster called a Medusa and not a Gorgon? More to the point why is there also a bull-like creature called a Gorgon in the MM?

There is a "Gorgon" in a 1607 Bestiary by Edward Topsell titled "The Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes." Note, the link here is to the revised and combined Beasts, Insects, and Serpents and is over 1000 pages. 

That looks like our bull-Gorgon sure enough. I am sure that this is creature Gygax had in mind. And he said as much [1][2][3].

Two monsters for the price of one? No. I'll keep this one for the Medusa. 

October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
Viewed: 3
First Time Views: 3

Blood, Boobs, and Carnage! Blogfest: The Films of Hammer

Today I am participating in the "Blood, Boobs and Carnage" Blogfest hosted by Heather Gardner and Alex J. Cavanaugh.

http://hmgardner.blogspot.com/2015/04/q-atozchallenge-re-opening-of-x-files.html
http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-to-z-challenge-q-cult-classics.html

A lot of gamers talk about their "Appendix N", a list of fantasy or pulp-era books (sometimes movies and TV shows) that influenced their games.

Not me.
My Appendix N is full of Hammer Films.

My earliest memories are of horror movies.  Specifically Hammer Horror and the old Universal Monsters. I could not have been much older than 4 and my first memories are of Dracula.  I used (and still do) love old Dracula movies.  At one point in time I could claim I had owned every movie that featured Dracula. It should be no big surprise then that my games all had a horror bent to them.

Every October I participate in the Horror Film  Marathon.  I have taken it upon myself to watch (and rewatch in many cases) all Hammer Dracula films.  They all fit today's theme of Blood, Boobs and Carnage.

I have not seen all of the Hammer films and a few I have not seen in maybe 20+ years but they have always had a profound effect on the games I write.   Ghosts of Albion in particular is overflowing with my love for Hammer, as are most of my adventures.   My vampires are not modern mopey emos.  They are blood thirsty killers in the suave exterior of Christopher Lee.

Even in Eldritch Witchery I have tried t tap into that same vibe of Hammer Horror.  Even though most of their moveis were made in the late 50s and 60's, there is something very 70's about them to me.  Maybe that is when I watched most of them (then and the early 80's).

Sex and horror were the bread and butter of Hammer films.   In fact one of the books that sits proudly with my game book collection is Hammer Glamour; a glossy coffee table book of all the women that appeared in the Hammer films.

Here are some of reviews of Hammer Films I have posted here.  IF I had had the time I would posted a body count.

Dracula (1958)
Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966)
Dracula has Risen From His Grave (1968)
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
Countess Dracula (1970/1971)
Lust for a Vampire (1971)
Twins of Evil (1971) and on Blu-Ray
Dracula AD 1972 (1972)
Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974)
To the Devil a Daughter (1976)

That was the end of the "Classic" Hammer.
It "rose from the grave" more recently to give us some newer movies.  Less "Blood, Boobs, and Carnage" than before, but still solid horror.

Let Me In (2010)
The Woman in Black (2012) (Daniel Radcliffe blew me away in this!)

Even ones I have seen but not got around to reviewing, like the various Frankenstein movies or the Quatermass ones.

Check out the feature, Hammer for Dummies to learn more.