I DON'T WANT TO BE BORN aka THE DEVIL WITHIN HER 1975

 

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"Conceived by the Devil, only she knows what her baby really is!"

"Pray for the Devil Within Her...before it preys on you!"

"You will have a baby - a monster, an evil monster conceived

 in your womb as big as I am small and possessed by the devil himself"

Part of the wave of possessed baby pictures spawned by ROSEMARY'S BABY that even 7 years after that film's 1968 premiere was a genre that was still going strong and would gain even more momentum with the release of THE OMEN in 1976. With also a bit of homage to IT'S ALIVE, this was released in the UK under I DON'T WANT TO BE BORN in 1975, it was retitled by A.I.P for its 1976 American release as THE DEVIL WITHIN HER (where it was often time double-billed with SQUIRM or SHIVERS). It subsequently would surface on home video under a myriad of titles including THE MONSTER, IT LIVES WITHIN HER, and most bizarrely SHARON'S BABY (even though there is nary a character named Sharon to be found here). 

Although trashy and lurid, it is not quite as exploitative as you might initially think (or hope for) and never reaches the insane giddiness of a BEYOND THE DOOR 1974 and one thinks that the producers might have been hoping to reach for something a bit more serious. Sadly, by this time, the British film industry (in particular the horror genre) had begun to have troubles with American co-producers fleeing for the more economic thriftiness of Italy & Europe which along with the decline of Gothic horror made for some grasping at straws type productions (such as this) which tried to latch on the new trends in horror. With a game cast giving it their all with for the most part serious performances (despite the sometimes unintentionally funny dialogue) along with some gloriously insane moments help make this maybe not a great film (or perhaps even "good") but there is something to be said for Joan Collins with a possessed baby, Donald Pleasence as a pediatrician, some iffy attempts at Italian accents and of course Caroline Munro.

The film starts off with a hysterical & screaming Lucy Carlesi (Joan Collins) going through a difficult birth which results in a 12 lb. boy (with a full head of black hair) who promptly attacks Lucy. Dr. Finch (a remarkably restrained performance by Donald Pleasence) remarks "This one doesn't want to be born" and after the newborn's aggressive behavior intones "Even at this age, babies have an extraordinary instinct for survival” (!!). She brings the baby home to her husband Gino (Ralph Bates TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA 1970 and here bizarrely cast as an Italian businessman) and their immediately suspicious housekeeper Mrs. Hyde (Hilary Mason DON'T LOOK NOW 1973).

In a flashback, Lucy recounts her previous profession as a "nightclub showgirl" (i.e., stripper) who worked in a club run by a creepy and lecherous John Steiner (CALIGULA 1979 and bunches of Italian productions) and the MC was pudgy small person Hercules (George Claydon TWINS OF EVIL 1971 and here looking like he's auditioning for the lead role in Edgar Allan Poe's Hop-Frog). At one point Hercules had started making sexual advances on Lucy and upon rebuffing him he put a curse upon her future baby. Now concerned by this (along with the fact that Steiner's sleazy club owner may be the father of her baby) she reaches out to her friend and fellow stripper Mandy (Caroline Munro DRACULA A.D. 1972). Some reviews have Munro's character referred to as Collin's sister, but I did not pick up on that and for some strange reason Munro is dubbed here with a cockney accent. 

Also showing up to help is Sister Albana (BBC & Shakespearean actor Eileen Atkins) who is also a research scientist with small animals (I am not sure why this is brought up as a character point in the film) and the actual sister of Gino. It is strange that the scriptwriters choose to have Gino of Italian descent and to make a point of his sister being a nun based in Italy. Bates struggles sometimes with a fading in and out Italian accent while Atkins (a wonderful actress) pronounces devil as "dee-vul" and often time looks like she is wondering what she's doing in this film. A nun from England could not handle an evil baby that needs an exorcism?

The Carlesi's new baby shows increasingly disturbing behavior as he screams and throws a fit during his baptism and shrieks when Gino and Sister Albana attempt to pray in the house one night. Along with tearing his room apart at various times and the appearance of a dead mouse in a cup of tea all of which lead the ever-dwindling cast to the fact that something is satanically up with the child. When the baby starts its murderous rampage things really get crazy as we see a little hand reach out and push the destined-to-be-killed young nanny into a river. The problem with evil baby movies is that you either go with a full-on monster baby (IT'S ALIVE) or you go with suggestion and the unseen (ROSEMARY'S BABY), however when you just show a baby in a crib (as in this film) you simply have a baby making baby-faces in a crib. 

Collin's 70's pre-DYNASTY acting career has passed over at times (sometimes by Joan herself) but there are some real sometimes sleazy/sometimes WTF crazy (but always entertaining) gems in here including the late-night cable favorites THE STUD 1978 and THE BITCH 1979 along with REVENGE 1971 and EMPIRE OF THE ANTS 1977. She also appeared in the Italian poliziotteschi MAGNUM COP 1978, the Hammer thriller FEAR IN THE NIGHT 1972, and was the unfortunate recipient of a Christmas-gone-bad in the TALES FROM THE CRYPT segment "All Through The House" in 1978. 

Always giving her all (Collin's was RADA trained) she throws herself fully into her role even giving a flash of nudity during a roll in the bed with Bates although she keeps dressed during "dance routines". There is some full-frontal nudity supplied by others (which I suspect are played by "Suzie Lightning" and "Lopez" going by the end credits) which help nudge the film into "R" rated territory. Bates who a bit earlier in the decade had been groomed as a new younger-type leading man for Hammer (appearing in THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN 1970, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE 1971 and DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE 1971) but with the studios declining fortunes his roles there dried up and he would tragically die at the young age of 51 in 1991. 

 Pleasence who by this time was a staple in these types of films gets lines that bring the most unintentional laugh-out-loud lines ("I thought today would be a bit of a bore, but here I am talking about mysticism with an Italian nun"), and although he could go over the top in some roles his dead serious reading of these lines here all add to the lunacy of the plot. One of my favorite actresses of the period, Caroline Munro has what is basically a glorified cameo here but brings her undeniable presence to her scenes and gets to appear in some pretty groovy outfits. 

Directed by Peter Sasdy (who did some great work for Hammer including TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA 1970, HANDS OF THE RIPPER 1971, COUNTESS DRACULA 1971, and the interesting Tigon produced eco-thriller DOOMWATCH 1972) brings a few interesting flourishes to the proceedings including a nifty decapitation. The score by Ron Grainer is a mish-mash of world music, 70's Italian scores, and prog rock all of which mix together in a crazy stew that screams "1970's!!" In addition, there are some great views of mid 70's London. 

DRACULA A.D. 1972

   

    Hammer's rather uneven attempt to drag Dracula and the studios patented Gothic trappings kicking and screaming into a 1970's setting has never been held in very high regard even by the most ardent of the studio's fans. Warner after noticing the healthy box office returns for the Count Yorga films approached Hammer regarding a two picture deal that would bring the iconic vampire into a contemporary setting - with the second picture being the even more problematic THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA in 1973 and the series would finish up with the Shaw Brothers collaboration THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES IN 1974 (which I've always liked). Hammer which by this time had begun to see the writing on the wall in regards to a shrinking market for its Gothic horrors probably jumped at the chance to hopefully expand their audience.
    In 1970 after Peter Sasdy's wonderful TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (which for the first time in the series placed Dracula in his literary origins of Victorian England) Hammer followed up with the shoddy SCARS OF DRACULA. Looking to amp up the blood & gore content (unfortunately on what would seem to be laughably small budget), SCARS was a huge letdown after the  atmospheric TASTE THE BLOOD (which is my favorite in the series after the original) and its relative failure at the box office was probably another inducement for Hammer to try something different.

     DRACULA A.D. 1972, while far from the studio's best effort, does have some things to recommend it including the presence of Peter Cushing, heaving bosoms courtesy of Stephanie Beacham and Caroline Monro and of course Christopher Lee. The film was shot by Dick Bush (who also was the cinematographer for TWINS OF EVIL & BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW) and for whatever faults it does have, DRACULA A.D. 1972 is a very handsome looking production. Director Alan Gibson (GOODBYE GEMINI & CRESCENDO) stages some atmospheric sequences and most of the movies problems can most likely be attributed to the script (as with most of Hammer's later day Dracula's, Lee is sorely underused), Hammer's ever shrinking budgets and to Warner's meddling.
     Opening with a marvelous sequence that has Lee and Cushing as Dracula and Van Helsing battling aboard a runaway coach in 1872 England (which oddly places the action 13 years before the 1958 DRACULA's 1885 time frame) whereupon the coach crashes and Dracula is impaled by one of splintered wheels. Before he himself dies Van Helsing jams one of the spokes into Dracula's heart causing him to dissolve away, but not before a minion of Dracula (Christopher Neame from GHOSTBUSTERS II) scoops up the ashes and buries them in a lonely corner of a cemetery. Flash forward 100 years (which is accomplished by a pretty nifty panning shot of the graveyard to a passing jet airliner) to 1972 London and we're introduced to "Johnny Alucard" (a relative of Dracula's minion again played by Neame) and his group of hedonistic young swingers. His friends include Gaynor (future Mick Jagger girlfriend Marsha Hunt), Laura (Caroline Munro THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD & AT THE EARTHS CORE) along with the "good girl" of the gang Jessica Van Helsing (Stephanie Beachum SUPER BITCH & THE NIGHTCOMERS) who happens to be the granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing (again Cushing - who is the great great grandson of the original Prof. Van Helsing from the film's 1872 prologue).

    The film gets off to a rather rocky start straight off, as whereupon after that terrific opening sequence we flash forward to 1972 and are introduced to Johnny and his friends in the midst of crashing an upper class party, which by chance happens to have the rock group Stoneground (!?) playing there. An early 70's American blues rock band, Stoneground at the time was signed to Warners and there inclusion here in a heavy handed promotional sequence (we're treated to two songs by them) unfortunately kills whatever momentum the period opening prologue had generated. There's also some attempts at humor, all of which tend to cloud the rest of the movie and it never quite recovers.
     Looking for some bigger thrills Johnny talks the group at a deserted church (which happens to be the one where Dracula was buried in the prologue) and by bringing along the ashes his ancestor procured seems to intent on resurrecting the vampire. In one of the films better sequences Laura is chosen as the centerpiece of the ritual and with ominous music being played in the background, she is laid out on an altar table and drenched with blood across her chest (which being Caroline Munro's chest makes it one of the highlights of the film). During the course of the ceremony Laura is killed by Dracula and when her body is later found it brings in the police. Upon his resurrection Dracula enlists the help of Johnny to locate the Van Helsings to exact revenge upon them. For some strange reason the movie has all the female victims of Lee and the by now vampire Johnny Alucard killed outright without turning into vampires, while the male victim does. It's seems a bit odd to have a Hammer vampire movie devoid of female vampires ??

     After realizing Alucard spelled backwards is Dracula (which was by now a pretty tired plot ploy - going all the way back to 1943's SON OF DRACULA) Peter Cushing springs into action, realizing its his grand daughter that's the focus of Dracula's wrath. It's strange to see Cushing as Van Helsing dashing about modern day London, but he's amazing to watch as Cushing seemingly takes it upon himself to carry the movie and brings his usual great bravado and scene stealing mannerisms to his role (this was his first portrayal of Van Helsing since Lee-less sequel BRIDES OF DRACULA from 1960). As usual with the later day Hammer Lee doesn't much screen time as he usually just glowers and intones instructions and/or curses upon people, but he still has a magnificent presence (even when he's not on screen) and although their time here together is brief it's great to see him and Cushing sharing the screen. Except for Dracula's climatic demise DRACULA A.D. 1972 is relatively bloodless and with just the barest hint of nudity as Hammer via Warners was obviously going for GP rating (SCARS was R, while TASTE THE BLOOD was snipped of some nudity for  American play dates to earn a PG).

     Stephanie Beachum had previously appeared in THE NIGHTCOMERS in 1971, a prequel to Jack Clayton's adaption of Henry James Turn of the Screw THE INNOCENTS and the same year was in THE DEVIL"S WIDOW (AKA TAM LIN). Later she was in SUPER BITCH 1973 (AKA MAFIA JUNCTION), INSEMINOID 1981 (AKA HORROR PLANET), two films for Pete Walker - THE CONFESSIONAL (1973) & SCHIZO (1976) and in 1973 was in the underrated Amicus Gothic chiller AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS !  To non-genre fans, she's probably most famous for her recurring role in T.V.'s THE COLBYS and DYNASTY in the 1980's.
     Caroline Munro was a model/cover girl and was the only actress ever signed to a contract by Hammer Studios. She turned down offers from Playboy and always refused to do nudity in any of her roles (which although disappointing, I always admired her for) which caused her to lose out roles in Hammer's DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE (1971) and their unrealized VAMPERILLA project. Also for Hammer she appeared in the criminally underrated CAPTAIN KRONOS - VAMPIRE HUNTER from 1974.