Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural

![]() |
Cheryl SmithScreen Time: 95%Role: Lila Lee Age: 19 years old |
Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural
Directed: Richard Blackburn
Country: USA
Language: English
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Noir
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070300
Summary
A young girl who returns to her hometown to see her dying father finds herself being drawn into a web of vampirism and witchcraft.
Movie Reviews
Haunting and Sadly Poetic Vampire Classic, 20 May 2005
Author: ChrisSFrench (chris.s.french@att.net) from IMDb
Modern audiences may be a little put off by this movie at first glance
- just on account of its fairly low production values - but it's
definitely superior to most films of its kind, although it's such a
unique oddity it's hard to compare it with anything else. Lemora plays
more like a dark fairy tale than a horror movie and I actually found it
to be thoughtful and moving when I watched it through to the end.
Atmosphere, a great story, and a likable and sympathetic protagonist
are what make this movie work.
Lemora has got a southern Gothic setting, and it takes place in the
1930's, which gives the film something of the feel of the weird fiction
pulp magazines that were prevalent during that time. However, in
contrast to most of those tales, the main character in Lemora is a
thirteen-year old girl, which gives the movie a sexual/lost innocence
subtext in addition to the 'ancient horror' themes that are typical of
that tradition.
Lila Lee is an angelic-looking church singer, who we learn is also the
daughter of a murdering gangster. Upon receiving a letter from her
estranged father (who is now apparently very ill), she sets out on a
journey to reunite with him. Every male character she encounters comes
across as a leering predator, with the exception of her guardian, the
Reverend, who is a good man struggling with his desires to possess the
young girl.
Once she leaves for Asteroth, there is no turning back for Lila, as it
becomes more and more clear that no matter what should befall her on
her journey, she will never be the same singing angel that she once
was. And her future looks pretty grim. Stranded in a horrific
swampland, she is pursued by its gruesome inhabitants - men who have
degenerated into a pack of diseased and squealing brutes - into the
domain of a mysterious vampire and her group of immortal warlocks.
Cheryl Smith was perfect for this as Lila - her looks and expression
throughout conveying Lila's fear and confusion and innocent faith and
her longing for someone she can trust; if you can't believe in her, or
Leslie Glib as the dark title character, the movie fails, but they pull
it off wonderfully. I found the score and songs that were used in
Lemora to be strangely moving and the sound effects were often
genuinely creepy.
From what I've read, this movie got into some trouble with the church
upon it's release and I think it was placed on a list of banned films
or something. But, I think that the theme of Lemora would have to be
badly misconstrued for it to be seen as offensive in the way that its
detractors would probably suggest. There is really nothing polemical or
anti-Christian about it that I could see; and the movie treats its
devout characters with affection and understanding as they struggle
with themselves and the darkness that surrounds them. The ending, while
not upbeat, is consistent and honest and makes you feel something. And
leaves you thinking.
I own the great-looking DVD of Lemora, and the Synapse company did a
terrific job with this movie. It was released in late 2004, with a
dedication to the memory of Cheryl Smith, who passed away in 2002. I
remember seeing her name (appearing as Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith) in
association with a lot of drive-in type horror movies and teen sex
comedies, but for years she was just a semi-familiar name to me. But
within the last couple years I happened to see Caged Heat and
Laserblast again, and came away thinking that there was something
unique about this actress. Her presence was always natural and
uncontrived, with a sad vulnerability in her eyes and a dreaminess
about her that seemed to come from some place beyond this earth.
I was a young child in the 70s when these movies, like Lemora, were
released. The adult content of many of the drive-in films of that era
obviously kept me from seeing them when they first came out, but I
enjoy going back and watching them now, and I've always found the feel
and style of that pre-blockbuster period to be oddly creative and
interesting. But it also may be that I feel a lot of nostalgia for
those naive and carefree times in my own life, when I would have had a
small boy's crush on a blonde-haired starlet like Cheryl Smith. I'm not
sure I remember seeing any of Cheryl's movies when I was young, but in
some way I associate her with a lot of the joy and fascination of those
times. I imagine that many other people do too.
ALSO: Cheryl looks amazingly young in this movie. Certainly not older than 15.
Truly recommended.