Haeckel's Tale (2006)

Simply Perfect

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Bad acting--bad "special effects" boring, gratuitous nudity --2 stars for the naked girl.

"Haeckel's Tale" takes place in the XIX century, which contributes to the dark and gloomy atmosphere, but the story itself is very slow and without tension, and twist is unsatisfying. It left me with the impression of a dark fairy tale more than horror. Film culminates in one of the most bizarre sex scene I've ever seen and, if for nothing else, it's worth watching this episode. Trust me, you won't forget it any time soon.6/10

When I found out this was a Clive Barker story I expected a lot of sex and gore, so I was prepared. What I wasn't prepared for was a good story.It takes place in the late 1700s or early 1800s in a non-specific place in early America. A grieving gentleman speaking old English very well comes to a house to see a woman who is rumored to be a necromancer. He begs her to bring back his wife from the dead, but she tells him to be sure that's what he really wants. After he says yes, she agrees if he would sit down and listen to her story about Ernst Haeckel.Ernst is a physician who believes in science above all else. Not only does he want to save lives, he wants to bring people back from the dead. (There is a great Frankenstien reference here!). After hearing that his father is dying, he begins a journey to be by his side. He spends the night at an older gentleman's cottage only to find that he has a beautiful younger wife.I'm skipping some broad strokes here because this because I feel this a very warm story about true love with a horror element.As a movie it is very well acted, the costumes and sets give it that old world feel. And yes! There is sex in it but I myself don't feel it's trashy and done only for shock value. It has a point.In the end, for me it's an old fashioned campfire story that that I enjoy. And coming from the mind of Clive Barker, I'm very surprised! There is a good story here.

Masters of Horror: John McNaughton: Haeckel's Tale: 7 out of 10: Can one justify seeing a rather pedestrian one hour episode simply because a gorgeous woman has one of the most bizarre and erotic sex scenes near the films "climax"? I'm certainly going to try.First the pedestrian stuff. This is an historical horror movie, all horse drawn carriages and talk of electricity. It's nice for a change of pace and is well done here.The films main character is that old chestnut "a man of science". He is trying to replicate Victor Frankenstein's experiments and is instead setting corpses on fire. The movie takes a very unexpected turn as he is summoned to his dying father and precedes on a leisurely peregrination kind of like that the gay character takes in As Good As It Gets.On his jaunt he runs into a Necromancer that raise people from the dead for a fee who is very well played by Coen favorite Jon Polito (A cheap talented Danny DeVito). Man of science is curious but disparages the hocus pocus mystical explanation of the necromancers skills.The movie continues to meander much like the main character until he ends up at the house of a weird old man and his too young and beautiful wife. This is where my patience with the film paid off.Leela Savasta made such an impression on me I immediately want to see the rest of her films… both of them. Heck I want to buy an office block in Vancouver. (She sells Canadian real estate as well as acting and modeling). Yes I turned from bemused viewer to gushing fan boy almost immediately.So in conclusion movie is decent albeit slow and Savasta will make a man leave his wife and travel a continent and buy a small affordable Canadian strip mall. Or at the very least see that new Black Christmas remake.