Overshadowed

Every now and then movies come out in pairs. Sometimes movies are thought of in pairs, and sometimes a smaller movie will jump on the coattails of a larger one and try to steal some reflected fame. This doesn't tend to work out so much these days - Transformers / Transmorphers; Jurassic Park / Carnasaur ; Snakes On a Plane / Snakes On a Train - but there are some notable examples of movies from the past that became overshadowed, but were just as great. Let's take a look at a few shining examples of movies that fell by the wayside, but deserve a lot more credit.

In 1931 Todd Browning directed a classic to end all classics, Dracula. Bela Lugosi starred as Count Dracula and of course it was a complete success. How do we know it was a success? Have you ever heard of Dracula? Well there you go then. Browning's Dracula is a good version of the story, albeit old and gore-less and sex-less. But there's something to be said for subtlety, even if the subtlety is forced because of the time period in which the movie was made. Apparently this version of Dracula wasn't snubbed by Bram Stoker's estate (because the studio bought the rights to make the film legally), but Nosferatu, the German expressionist version of the Dracula tale, was. Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens was made in 1922 by F. W. Murnau and was found to be in violation of copyright. Bram Stoker's widow tried very hard to have every copy destroyed, and she almost succeeded. A few copies slipped through the cracks and we have Nosferatu available these days for anyone who wants to see it. Nosferatu wasn't the only casualty resulting from poor planning, however.

Carl Theodore Dreyer's Vampyr came out in 1932 and is a much creepier tale of vampirism. The film isn't based on Stoker's "Dracula", but rather a short story called, "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu. Vampyr isn't seen nearly as often as 1931's Dracula, and that's a shame. The photography is very creative and stylized, and the tale a bit darker and more cryptic in its telling. The characters don't bare their fangs, and it is left up to you to decide if the protagonist is making it all up in his head or not. No vampire film from the early days of cinema could ever hold a candle in the fame department to Browning's Dracula, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve to be seen and appreciated.

Jumping a few decades into the future from the 1930's, we come to the 1970's. In 1973 The Exorcist comes out and old Spanish Catholic women start passing out in the aisles because the movie is so graphic and scary. What old Spanish, Catholic women are doing going to see graphic horror films in the first place, I'll never know. (It really is scary if you believe in possession, though. And it's graphic as all hell too.) The Exorcist is a great flick. The special effects are amazing and none other than the gore-meister himself, Tom Savini, said in an interview that he couldn't do what he usually does when he goes to horror movies: de-construct the effects. He was just too scared and caught up to bother. By the way, if you haven't seen The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen, check it out. The "spider-walk" scene makes watching the movie again all worth while.

A few years after The Exorcist scared the shit out of practicing Catholics everywhere, a little movie called The Omen came out. Having just as impressive a score, toned-down yet effective violence and a disarmingly passive child in the lead, The Omen is just as powerful a movie, and is scarier since it doesn't play as directly to religion as The Exorcist did. It's easier for me to get swept up by the terror in The Omen than in The Exorcist because in the latter film I'm being constantly reminded about how religious the whole thing is. (That kind of thing prevents me from allowing myself to be scared. But I still enjoy the movie for what it is.)

Sure The Omen isn't as graphic and in-your-face as The Exorcist...it doesn't have anyone masturbating with a crucifix after all...but it makes up for the differences in spades. If The Omen or Vampyr had been released with further distance from their competition, they might have become just as popular. I'm not saying that Transmorphers deserves a chance, but Rogue was a much better killer-crocodile movie than Primeval was, and Primeval got released into theaters! Talk about injustice...