Category Archives: Uncategorized

I like to revisit material (books, movies, recordings) that I initially enjoyed as I find that I always get something more out of the repeated exposure. I remember seeing THE BLACK SLEEP as a child on TV and being totally intrigued by it. Although young, I already knew that Basil Rathbone was Sherlock Holmes soContinue reading “THE BLACK SLEEP Is Worth A Second Look And Maybe A Third”

Bel-Air (not the Chevy automobile or the menthol cigarette) was a 1950s low budget production company headed up by Aubrey Schenck and Howard W. Koch. They made over 25 films in a variety of genres including three horror films (THE BLACK SLEEP – 1956, PHARAOH’S CURSE – 1957, VOODOO ISLAND – also 1957). PHARAOH’S CURSEContinue reading “PHAROAH’S CURSE: This Grade B Mummy Movie Is A Minor Gem”

Back in my formative years, one of my local TV stations (out of 3) had a penchant for British horror movies and ran them all the time. In addition to Hammer & Amicus, the two largest companies, there were a number of others who tried their hand at making horror pictures. There was Anglo-Amalgamated (CIRCUSContinue reading “DR BLOOD’S COFFIN: Another Childhood Favorite”

Along with QUEEN OF BLOOD, BLOOD BATH is a remarkable achievement in hybrid cinema. The fact that they were intended to be seen together as a double bill makes for a fascinating study of contrasts as QUEEN is in vivid color and BLOOD BATH is in stark black & white. Never has a movie hadContinue reading “BLOOD BATH: A Patchwork Quilt Cinema Classic – Part 1”

Released in March of 1966 by American International Pictures as the second half of a unique double bill that included BLOOD BATH (see my earlier review of that), QUEEN OF BLOOD aka PLANET OF BLOOD retains its power to amuse and astonish as it manages to create its own unique atmosphere. It remains an excellentContinue reading “QUEEN OF BLOOD: A Patchwork Quilt Cinema Classic – Part 2”

The post-EXORCIST 70s produced a variety of quirky, old-fashioned horror films with big name stars whose careers were winding down but who were happy to still be working and who added a touch of class to the proceedings. PSYCHIC KILLER with Jim Hutton, TOURIST TRAP with Chuck Connors and SHOCK WAVES with John Carradine andContinue reading “THE MANITOU Is Trash…But Really Great Trash.”

I first saw THE MUTATIONS in the early 1970s. Imagine an updated color version of Tod Browning’s FREAKS that borrows its principal plot device from H. G. Wells’ THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. Add more than a touch of David Cronenberg style body horror (three years before Cronenberg’s first movie) then combine it with theContinue reading “THE MUTATIONS: This Update of Tod Browning’s FREAKS Is Visually Stunning”

As an aficionado of silent films, it’s amazing the impact that a restored print can have on the viewing experience. The same is true of regular movies as well, including a low budget drive-in special like this one. Throw in the fact that this was the debut feature of the tragically short lived British filmmakerContinue reading “THE SHE BEAST Was Michael Reeves First Film Effort”

If anyone ought to be able to turn out a decent, relatively faithful cinematic adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story, then it should be an outfit that calls itself the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society and that is precisely what they have done. In fact this is their second film effort following on the heels ofContinue reading “THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS: Sincere & Effective Low Budget H.P. Lovecraft Adaptation”

There were so many horror films that I first saw at drive-ins in the 1970s, that one needed to be rather special in order for me to remember it. THE ASPHYX certainly qualifies for it contains one of the most original screenplays that I’ve ever encountered in a horror movie. The idea sounds like somethingContinue reading “THE ASPHYX: A Horror Movie For The DOWNTON ABBEY Set”