Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I caught a couple of episodes of this short Gothic horror TV series on the BBC when it was first broadcast in 1977. Now it's available as a box set, I decided to take the opportunity to have a look at them all. Having watched all 8 episodes, it turns out the 2 I'd seen back then were among the better ones - those being "Night of the marionettes" and "Dorabella". The premise -At a club in the late nineteenth century, a group of Victorian gentlemen are told "true" tales of terror by people involved in the events recounted. The tale teller's object is to become members of this exclusive club. If the members listening are impressed, the teller can join, if not, he will die - for this is "The club of the damned"...(da! daaaaaa!)Episodes -1. Ghosts of Venice - The series gets off to a shaky start. Robert Hardy as an unbalanced retired actor, returns after many years, to Venice, where he meets a ghost from his past... and becomes one himself! With obvious studio sets substituting for Venetian locations, obscurely plotted and hammy, I really didn't understand this one - I think it might have been trying to say something about impotence.2/3. Countess Ilona/Werewolf reunion - Things pick up with this 2 parter. A countess invites her 4 despicable former lovers to her isolated Hungarian castle where they are killed one by one by a mysterious creature. Being a 2 parter, there's more time here to develop the characters of the guests and the enigmatic Countess herself. The episodes are strongly cast and acted, though the werewolf is hardly seen (probably for the best!). Featuring the splendid Ian Hendry (he makes his cynical and callous arms dealer seem rather likable) - also with Charles Kay, John Fraser, Edward Hardwicke (later Dr Watson to Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes) and Billie Whitelaw as the countess.4. Mr Nightingale - Jeremy Brett, years before he became Sherlock Holmes, as a shy bachelor taken over by his lustful, crude, rude, vicious, doppelganger. A Jekyll and Hyde story which differs from Stevenson in that the transformation of Mr Nightingale is supernatural rather than scientifically based - though it might just be his disturbed mind at work. Notable for the then thirty something Mr Brett's cackling performance as the old, ugly, and crazy Nightingale, and as a showcase for Lesley-Anne Down's extraordinary beauty.5. Lady Sybil - A clunky psychological study of insanity rather than a horror yarn. The actual supernatural bit seems more or less an irrelevant add on here ("We need something ghostly in this guys..."). Is a man's ghost returning, intent on killing his elderly wife? Are her middle aged sons the real culprits? Interesting to see "Look back in anger" playwright John Osborne in a rare TV acting role, and Denholm Elliott is always worth watching.6. Viktoria - The familiar "murderous doll " trope, as a little girl seeks revenge on the wastrel dad who has killed her mother. Only of some interest for its gay subplot.7. Night of the marionettes - Gordon Jackson as an author writing a book on Shelley discovers the origins of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" in a strange Swiss hotel. Okay, but not great. I enjoyed the always creepy Vladek Sheybal as the hotel owner.8. Dorabella - Best of the lot; the series bows out on a high note with this genuinely chilly vampire entry. Starring former pop singer Jeremy Clyde (of sixties duo "Chad and Jeremy") as a rich young man obsessed with a mysterious, aristocratic young woman, who seems to be a supernatural being. With a companion he travels across the countryside, staying in lonely inns, lured on by the beckoning Dorabella - until they arrive at an isolated castle. The episode includes a memorable turn by movie veteran John Justin as Dorabella's father. Like a more low key Hammer horror movie. The premise of the series, that guests who fail to impress the listeners by their tale will be killed, seems inconsistent with the conventional, urbane, very normal seeming club members presented here. I can't recall actually seeing who gets accepted into the club and who doesn't in any of the episodes; none of them are seen physically being "knocked off" having failed. And it seems a pretty silly chance to take - risking being murdered just to get into a club! One of the other problems with the series is that, apart from some of the exteriors, it's shot on tape, not film, and tape is simply not the right medium for this sort of material. If it had been all done on film, for example, "Dorabella" would have been a great episode rather than just a good one - all of them would have been significantly improved by using film instead of tape.

This one was extra hard to get but eventually I did get my hands on clear complete set of this show....But it was well worth it...Too bad it got cancelled early and was ahead of its time.I highly recommend the following eps: 2. & 3. Werewolf Reunion and Countess Ilona: an excellent ep. with excellent acting especially from Billie Whitelaw. Interesting that the werewolf is not really shown fully but this adds to the flavour.7. Night of the Marionettes: Gordon Jackson is just excellent in this ep.(he is just an excellent actor). An interesting twist on the Frankenstein story.8. Dorabella: Dare I say probably the best ep. of the bunch. Excellent acting, story, atmosphere make this an original vampire tale and a very excellent twist ending.

I just got a set of these on DVD. I have to say I like them as good examples of well-made drama. They're well-acted, well-scripted, very atmospheric, great characterisations and all that, but they do seem a bit slow at times. While I realise this is the essence of this style of Gothic horror, there were times when I felt I was sitting waiting for something to happen, and often when the final credits start to roll, I found myself thinking, "was that it?", so I can understand the idea of them being thought a bit boringThat said, the horror bits when they arrive are chilling and unsettling rather than in-your-face, and all the better for it. The casts give great performances throughout; even without the horror element they're superb pieces of drama. And they simply look gorgeous throughout.Here are my appraisals of the episodes. May contain spoilers: GHOST OF VENICE An actor returns to Venice to right a wrong from long ago - but what is real and what is imagined? Not a great opener. Scare factor pretty low, lots of long slow bits where little happens, a little disappointing. The storyline tends to wander a bit, leaving you wondering where it's all going. Nicely wrapped up at the end though, and a superb performance from Robert Hardy. COUNTESS ILONA The Countess invites her ex-lovers to join her at her castle - but with what motive? And what of the rumours concerning her ex-husband? A great piece of drama with a fine performance from Ian Hendry. There is little horror subject matter throughout most of this, so you can almost forget you're watching a horror. It is subtly implied by mutterings and frantic POV-shots, and the ending is similarly more implied than revealed, to great effect. The series starts to find its feet. THE WEREWOLF REUNION Following from the previous episode, the tension builds to a powerful climax, with wonderful performances from all concerned. The series is now in full stride. MR NIGHTINGALE A quiet, shy man is slowly possessed by his rather vile alter-ego, with devastating consequences for his host family. One of the better episodes. A stunning performance from Jeremy Brett at his cackling, insane best. LADY SYBIL An imagined stalking phantom (or is it? What are those wet footprints leading from the river?) is haunting Lady Sybil, but what do her sons have to do with all this? This one's a bit nutty. At times slow and meandering, hard to follow where it's going, and the ending is a real "huh?" moment. Still the performances are sublime, especially Denholm Elliott' finale as the demented, clown-faced son. VIKTORIA A neglected daughter uses the spirit of her down-trodden (and murdered) mother to take revenge on her debauched father and scheming governess. A series highlight for me. Well-paced and atmospheric, with nice acting and good scene setting. The scene where the ghosts appear to the father as he drinks by the fireside is one that has stayed with me since I first saw this nearly 30 years ago! If you are at all creeped out by dolls - don't watch this! NIGHT OF THE MARIONETTES A student of Mary Shelley brings his family to a Bavarian hotel, where the owners stage bizarre, Frankenstein-like marionette shows. Another high-point. The horror is less subtle and much more in your face, but it loses none of its character and atmosphere. Some good chilling moments that genuinely shock. Fine performances, especially Gordon Jackson and Vladek Sheybal DORABELLA A friend watches helpless as he sees his friend become more and more obsessed with a sinister but alluring vampire. Can he escape the same fate himself? Not one of the best episodes to end the series, IMHO, but by no means a weak one. Fine performances and characterisation and plenty of suspense, tension and atmosphere.

When I first found this website about four years ago I remember trying to get information on THE SUPERNATURAL but there was none and it's only very recently someone has gone to the time and trouble of registering it . Hopefully someone can contribute more info at a later date .As for myself I can remember bits of it . The title credits start with a blast of organ music with the camera panning across Gothic images of gargoyles . I remember it seemed very effective at the time when I was aged ten or eleven years old . Each episode was self contained with someone being invited to an English Victorian club where they had to relate a true supernatural event in their life to be allowed membership and as with all these type of anthology stories they'd be a twist at the end . One of the stories was spread over two episodes and featured several gentlemen staying at a remote mansion in central Europe where a werewolf stalks them , another featured a doll that comes to life while another episode stars Gordon Jackson in a tale that reworks Frankenstien . It's interesting to note that this episode is unique in that the club members think this tale has no basis in fact , it's a made up storyThe production values were typical of the BBC of the time , ie it was made rather cheaply with very obvious studio exteriors . I also recall letters to the Radio Times were very mixed with some viewers thinking THE SUPERNATURAL was a load of rubbish while some thought it was a fairly good drama . I personally liked watching it on a Saturday night but there again I was still only a child and it should also be pointed out that the BBC dropped the series after one season while the IMDb hasn't exactly been deludged with either info or reviews for this show which unfortunately may say something about its qualityUpdate Nov 2014 . After seeing the BBC 4 repeats it's as I suspected . Painfully slow , stagey acting and static directing and twists you can probably see a coming a mile away