In case you ever wondered (and as a true film buff, of course you did) what that strange movie called DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS showing at the cinema being attacked by the blob in THE BLOB is well, this is it! It used to be called DEMENTIA and was made by a guy named John Parker at approximately the same time as Ed Wood made GLEN OR GLENDA they even employed the same cinematographer.
In fact the two films have a lot in common, being both very personal cinematic statements, and also sharing the kind of ineptitude that some critics favor. Of course, Ed Wood is basically just a sweet transvestite from Transylvania.
The idea of casting Lugosi as the genetic puppet-master is really a stroke of genius. It is also absolutely hilarious.
The sight of this once great (or at least adequate) actor, having no idea what he's saying with his usual thick accent is nothing less than a revelation what a wonderfully absurd way of expressing your doubts and fears, and what a catharsis it must have been for the director, leading up to the supreme moment, when, as a token of love and understanding, his partner hands him the comparatively innocent article of clothing symbolizing the more discreet pleasures of the Lumberjack Song! So what if the audience has no idea what's going on? DEMENTIA is altogether less endearing. The director's heart may or may not bleed for his psychopathic lesbian ("gamine" another euphemism) but the film basically comes across as a homophobic treatise.
Or is the director a homosexual himself, torn between his sympathy for the plight of the protagonist and his disgust with her whole sex? We shall never know, but it's fun to guess.
Which I might add does not mean condemnation, since any sexual deviation is a testimony to the wonderful diversity of human nature unless you're a Fascist. In fact, condemnation seems to be what's wrong with this young woman rather than her occupation (she's a prostitute) or sexual orientation, as we are invited to share her disgust, in a series of cuts between "the rich man", who although inexcusably fat and perspiring looks as if he's enjoying his dinner, and the face of our heroine, which is a mask of hate.
Also, the fact that her pimp is being characterized in the credits as "the evil one" may lead you to suspect that the filmmaker is not a complete stranger to the idea that the problems of modern society is best solved by Charles Bronson. Many critics will undoubtedly prefer Parker to Wood, the former exhibiting a style as familiar as it is primitive.
Criminals being followed by floodlights (instead of being arrested) or surrounded by maniacally laughing crowds (instead of being lynched) may not make a lot of sense, but I'm sure you'll find it in the curriculum of every motion picture academy in the world, and of course the inclusion of a jam session does not in any way justify a comparison to a beach monster movie. The young woman isn't pretty, nor is she very happy about herself (or anybody else for that matter) so I suppose it has to be a serious work of art in spite of the crawling severed hands personally, I much prefer to enjoy it on the level of hilariously bad film-making.
In fact the two films have a lot in common, being both very personal cinematic statements, and also sharing the kind of ineptitude that some critics favor. Of course, Ed Wood is basically just a sweet transvestite from Transylvania.
The idea of casting Lugosi as the genetic puppet-master is really a stroke of genius. It is also absolutely hilarious.
The sight of this once great (or at least adequate) actor, having no idea what he's saying with his usual thick accent is nothing less than a revelation what a wonderfully absurd way of expressing your doubts and fears, and what a catharsis it must have been for the director, leading up to the supreme moment, when, as a token of love and understanding, his partner hands him the comparatively innocent article of clothing symbolizing the more discreet pleasures of the Lumberjack Song! So what if the audience has no idea what's going on? DEMENTIA is altogether less endearing. The director's heart may or may not bleed for his psychopathic lesbian ("gamine" another euphemism) but the film basically comes across as a homophobic treatise.
Or is the director a homosexual himself, torn between his sympathy for the plight of the protagonist and his disgust with her whole sex? We shall never know, but it's fun to guess.
Which I might add does not mean condemnation, since any sexual deviation is a testimony to the wonderful diversity of human nature unless you're a Fascist. In fact, condemnation seems to be what's wrong with this young woman rather than her occupation (she's a prostitute) or sexual orientation, as we are invited to share her disgust, in a series of cuts between "the rich man", who although inexcusably fat and perspiring looks as if he's enjoying his dinner, and the face of our heroine, which is a mask of hate.
Also, the fact that her pimp is being characterized in the credits as "the evil one" may lead you to suspect that the filmmaker is not a complete stranger to the idea that the problems of modern society is best solved by Charles Bronson. Many critics will undoubtedly prefer Parker to Wood, the former exhibiting a style as familiar as it is primitive.
Criminals being followed by floodlights (instead of being arrested) or surrounded by maniacally laughing crowds (instead of being lynched) may not make a lot of sense, but I'm sure you'll find it in the curriculum of every motion picture academy in the world, and of course the inclusion of a jam session does not in any way justify a comparison to a beach monster movie. The young woman isn't pretty, nor is she very happy about herself (or anybody else for that matter) so I suppose it has to be a serious work of art in spite of the crawling severed hands personally, I much prefer to enjoy it on the level of hilariously bad film-making.