{"id":36016,"date":"2016-06-13T17:14:47","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T00:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/?p=36016"},"modified":"2016-06-13T17:14:47","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T00:14:47","slug":"challenge-week-23-lemora-a-childs-tale-of-the-supernatural","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/challenge-week-23-lemora-a-childs-tale-of-the-supernatural\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenge Week 23: Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural"},"content":{"rendered":"

The whole time I was watching this, I couldn’t help comparing it in my head to Valerie and Her Week of Wonders<\/em>, another film about a young innocent running into a bunch of alternately alluring and frightening vampires – both films are kind of dreamy and definitely cut from the same cloth.<\/p>\n

Lemora is the vampire here, a beautiful but cold woman who spirits young Lila Lee away from her Baptist church in search of her bank robber father. Lila’s totally pure, a fact the Baptist pastor goes to great lengths to establish, despite her father’s sordid activity (oh yeah, her father also killed her mother). But can purity stand against ancient evil?<\/p>\n

\"tf-lilachurch\"<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There are some noticeably low-budget aspects to the film, in the acting of some of the supporting folks (though I will say two leading ladies are quite solid in their roles, and the less-solid acting actually serves to heighten the tone of the film, which makes it work anyway), the lighting, and the grotesque but shaggy makeup on the vampires (except Lemora, of course) and on the mindless beast-men that are everywhere due to some disease running rampant that only vampires are immune to. But the film is surprisingly effective anyway – rather than let budget limitations show up poor sound, for example, a really in-your-face and creepy sound design takes over, turning unrealistic sounds into heightened, nightmarish ones.<\/p>\n

The last half hour grew a little tedious as Lila Lee’s running away from the beast-men and the vampires and trying to escape Lemora’s clutches, but the first section of the film is a nicely pitched oddity – never quite reaching the heartbreaking beauty of some scenes in Valerie<\/em>, but also remaining at least narratively comprehensible while Valerie<\/em> gets pretty surreal at times. Note that I don’t necessarily think narrative comprehensibility trumps surrealism – in fact, I would rank Valerie<\/em> higher, but Lemora<\/em> is a more accessible and consistent film.<\/p>\n

\"tf-lilaescape\"<\/p>\n

Stats and stuff…<\/h3>\n

1973, USA<\/em>
\ndirected by Richard Blackburn, written by Richard Blackburn and Robert Fern<\/em>
\nstarring Lesley Taplin, Cheryl Smith<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m ranking all my Challenge films on Flickchart (as I do all the films I see), a movie-ranking website that asks you to choose your favorite between two movies until it builds a ranked list of your favorites. Just for fun, I will average out the rankings and keep a running tally of whose recommendations rank the highest. When you add a film to Flickchart, it pits it against films already on your chart to see where it should fall. Here’s how Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural<\/em> entered my chart:<\/p>\n

Lemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural<\/b> > The Talented Mr. Ripley
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural < The Journey of Natty Gann<\/b>
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural<\/b> > Redline
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural < The Girl Who Knew Too Much<\/b>
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural<\/b> > Picnic at Hanging Rock
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural < The Fortune Cookie<\/b>
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural < Young and Innocent<\/b>
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural < The Seventh Seal<\/b>
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural<\/b> > Kawasaki\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Rose
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural < Duck Soup<\/b>
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural < Lady of Burlesque<\/b>
\nLemora: A Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tale of the Supernatural < The Mask of Dimitrios<\/b><\/p>\n

Final ranking #1248 out of 3655 films on my chart (66%) <\/p>\n

It is now my #48 Coming of Age film, my #20 Gothic film, my #39 Monster Film, my #23 Supernatural Horror, my #6 Vampire Film, and my #13 film of 2014.<\/p>\n

Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural<\/em> was recommended by Chad Hoolihan, a friend from the Flickcharters group on Facebook. Averaging together this #1248 ranking with my #1754 ranking of his other film, The Hole<\/em>, gives Chad an average ranking of 1501.<\/p>\n

A few more screenshots…<\/h3>\n

\"tf-lila\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-solange\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-lilamirror\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-children\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-lemoraeyes\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-lilaescape\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-lemorablood\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-lemorasneer\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The whole time I was watching this, I couldn’t help comparing it in my head to Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, another film about a young innocent running into a bunch of alternately alluring and frightening vampires – both films are kind of dreamy and definitely cut from the same cloth. Lemora is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3027],"tags":[3149],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/tf-feat-lemora.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25038,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/50dmc-16-scariest-movie-ive-seen\/","url_meta":{"origin":36016,"position":0},"title":"50DMC #16: Scariest Movie I’ve Seen","author":"Jandy","date":"July 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here for the full list of questions. Today's prompt: What's the scariest movie you've ever seen? Spoilers There aren't too many horror films I've seen, actually, though\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/What-Lies-Beneath.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36498,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/challenge-week-45-triangle\/","url_meta":{"origin":36016,"position":1},"title":"Challenge Week 45: Triangle","author":"Jandy","date":"November 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I can't talk TOO much about this without spoiling it - in this case, it's very much recommended to go in totally blind, which I did, aside from knowing that it was something of a mindbender and had some horror and possibly sci-fi elements. It all hinges on a young\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/tf-feat-triangle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35387,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/the-2016-movie-challenge-a-preview\/","url_meta":{"origin":36016,"position":2},"title":"The 2016 Movie Challenge: A Preview","author":"Jandy","date":"January 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Because I can't leave well enough alone, here's a brief rundown of (some of) what I'll be watching in 2016 for this crazy challenge. I currently have 50 people signed up to recommend me movies, and all but a handful have already chosen their picks, so this thing is scheduled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/fc-keaton.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36551,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/challenge-week-47-the-ghost-and-mrs-muir\/","url_meta":{"origin":36016,"position":3},"title":"Challenge Week 47: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir","author":"Jandy","date":"December 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This film has snuck by me for decades now, as it's one of those classics that a lot of what I call \"classic movie fans\" seem to like though it doesn't tend to be on critical best lists, and as an elitist teen I used to avoid those. I'm coming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/tf-feat-muir.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35722,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/challenge-week-12-army-of-darkness\/","url_meta":{"origin":36016,"position":4},"title":"Challenge Week 12: Army of Darkness","author":"Jandy","date":"March 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"That...was...AWESOME. Near the beginning, a medieval lord throws a prisoner into a deep pit. After a minute, a veritable geyser of blood shoots out of the pit and all over the courtyard. At that moment, I knew I was going to love this movie. It's got an over-the-top audacity that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/tf-feat-boom-stick.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36433,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/challenge-week-41-midnight-mary\/","url_meta":{"origin":36016,"position":5},"title":"Challenge Week 41: Midnight Mary","author":"Jandy","date":"November 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Cheery little Pre-Code drama told mostly in flashback while Mary Martin awaits the jury's decision in her murder trial. Turns out growing up poor, getting locked up for a crime you didn't commit, becoming a \"lady of the night\" (hence the nickname), then falling in with gangsters can lead one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/tf-feat-midnight-mary.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}