In a misjudged attempt to move with the times, British studio Amicus punctuated the three short stories of their final film, The Monster Club, with musical numbers from a variety of new-wave/rock acts, including B.A. Robertson and The Pretty Things. These daft interludes, which see the bands singing their songs in their entirety (and which come complete with a ridiculous rubber-masked monster audience) spoil what is otherwise a very effective horror anthology.
The film starts with a wraparound story in which popular horror author R.Chetwynd-Hayes (John Carradine) is fed upon by thirsty vampire Eramus (Vincent Price), who thanks his victim by taking him to The Monster Club, a members-only establishment where monsters go to drink and be entertained. There, the writer hears three tales guaranteed to chill the blood...
Tale one: A pair of con-artists plan to steal a valuable collection of antiquities from a lonely weirdo who turns out to be a Shadmock, a strange creature with a deadly whistle. A touching tale with a tragic ending, helped by a strong performance from James Laurenson as the lovelorn Shadmock.
Tale two: The B-squad are a special branch of the police dedicated to hunting vampires. Unaware that his own father is one of the undead, awkward loner Lintom Busotsky (Warren Saire) unwittingly leads the chief of the B-squad (Donald Pleasence) to his home. A wonderfully tongue-in-cheek story with great performances from both Saire and Pleasence, this proves to be a lot of fun, a jaunty Transylvanian folk violin score adding tremendously to the enjoyment factor.
Tale three: horror director Sam (Stuart Whitman) scouts a location for his new movie, unaware that the rural village is home to flesh-eating ghouls. Director Roy Ward Baker definitely saves the best for last, this memorable final segment oozing atmosphere and dripping with tension. Whitman does a cracking job and the final 'twist' is a corker.
7/10 for the three stories, minus one point for the terrible scenes that take place within The Monster Club.
