*** Official 12th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2011 *** (1 Viewer)

[Radioman970]

Radioman, Awesome. "You've earned your pay for the week."

One thing I'm always reminded of in Catspaw was that I once read an old Star Trek book that incorrectly stated that the bald gentlemen in the film was the same actor who played Uncle Fester in the 60s Addams Family TV series. I think I have that book around the house somewhere. 4. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. (1995) He's still a friend to all children, if only the adults in the movie would see that. Really fun...terrific effects. Maybe more action scenes needed, and a few more goofy moments (a little TOO good? Maybe...) The blu ray had a nice Japanese HD sound track and a lesser english dubbed. The 3 90s films are packaged together for dirt cheap (check DD). This first film is worth what I paid for all three. Nice job Mill Creek! Although the subs aren't complete. Labels aren't translated (like place names, etc), only dialogue. And they squeezed Gamera 2 from the 1990s on the same bluray as the first film. boo hiss. At least the 3rd film gets it's own blu ray. Really, the first film looks pretty good in spite of... 5. Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers (6th film). I thought I hadn't seen this...but probably did years ago. I like it better than 4 and 5. Visually nice...almost like a F13th film at times. "the shape" concept comes off very well here. the vacant eyes look is also cool...like the black eyes of a shark. ----------------------------- Movies: 1. Sixth Sense. 2. The Nanny. Bette Davis. (1965) 3. Malevolence. (2004) TVs: 1. Sigmund & the seamonsters. "Is there a doctor in the cave?" 2. Tales from the Cryptkeeper/animated. "Pleasant Screams". (first time seeing) Watched and not including: MST3K: The Alien from LA. Flightplan Stephen King's Golden Years miniseries. (first time seeing)

 

[Jason Roer]

Movies 3. The Shiver of the Vampire - Another Jean Rollin. Gotta say I love this guy's style and vibe. Cheesy effects on a shoe string budget, but there is an excellent use of location. Lots of fine looking gals. Fun, funny side characters. Definitely worth a view, and on Netflix Instant. 4. The Exorcist (director's cut) - First time watching the bluray and the transfer is beautiful. Also, this marks the first time I've seen the director's cut and I have to say, after the first CGI enhancement, I got used to it. The first one was jarring, but then - man - some of them packed a punch. Highly recommended if you haven't seen this version. 5. Ghostbusters (commentary track) - I listen to this track every single year and every year it gets funnier. I love all the stories behind the scenes of the creation of the script through production. Ramis leads the way with some big laughs. A must listen for all fans of the movie. 6. Ghostbusters - again - this is almost like religion for me. Ghostbusters and Young Frankenstein. Every year. End of story. 7. The Evil Dead - this is my second viewing on bluray. So I watched the "enhanced" version this time. Um - yeah - don't do what I did. Stick with the original. The flick is 1.33:1 for a reason. Don't defy Sam. He'll likely have you killed. TV Twilight Zone Season 2, Ep2 Cheers, J

 

[Jim_K]

Haunted Palace is one of too few good Lovecraft adaptations.

I enjoy all the I Am Legend inspired films but I think they are all severely flawed for different reasons. I only wonder if one of the aborted IAL projects may have been the perfect version such as Hammer's attempt in the late 50's and the Ridley Scott project in the late 80's early 90's.


Watched.........


Human Lanterns, a cult Martial Arts/Horror hybrid from the Shaw Brothers. If you haven’t seen it the general synopsis is disgraced kung-fu master goes mental, kidnaps women and well……. makes lanterns out of their skin. From the subject matter you’d thing this falls in the torture porn arena but no. This is actually one of the classier fu-horror’s lacking the cheese factor associated with the more outrageous horror entries (Chinese Ghost Story, ). Elegant Direction by one of the better Shaw directors Sun Chung and an excellent performace by Lo Lieh who was often relegated to portraying heavies (Dirty Ho, Mad Monkey Kung Fu, Chinese Boxer, etc). Lieh is probably most famous for his heroic turn in Five Fingers of Death and for playing the evil priest Pan Mei “White Brows” in 2 Shaw Brothers classics, Executioners From Shaolin & Clan of the White Lotus.

,

Worth seeking out if you’re even midly interested in old school Kung-Fu ala the Shaw Brothers. If you aren’t, well then piss off.





Next up F13 Part Duex, hopefully it holds up for me better than the first entry as I remember it being my favorite of the bunch.


Halloweenish movie count = 5

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

4. Dead of Night (first-time viewing) Nothing like a good old-fashioned horror anthology from the 1970's! This trio of terror isn't bad, but a low budget and a "made for TV" feel keep it from being great. Richard Matheson penned all three installments, so the stories are excellent, although some work better than others. No one is going to be scared by the nostalgia/time-travel piece starring Ed Begley Jr., or the second story involving "vampires", but they are more intended to have a Twilight Zone feel than horror. The third piece, a sort of "monkey's paw" story called "Bobby" aims for scares and mostly succeeds despite some suspect acting. Worth seeing for fans of Matheson and anthology movies. Bob's A-Z 2011 Horror Movie Marathon 1. Antichrist 2. Burning Bright 3. The Crimson Cult 4. Dead of Night

 

[PatW]

The Lost City (1935):star::star::star::star: Ah, those serials from the 1930's. This is camp at its finest. Electrical storms are wrecking havoc with the world. Electrical engineer Bruce Gordon is about to track the source of these storms which is located in Central Africa. An expedition is mounted to track down this location which is in a region known as the Magnetic Mountains. In these mountains is a hidden city where a mad scientist, the last of his people is conducting experiments in his quest to become master of the world. He has created a race of giant zombie slaves among other things to help him reach his goals. When the expedition arrives and is captured Bruce Gordon discovered an imprisoned scientist the real genius behind these experiments and his beautiful daughter. The action is madcap and frantic. Various characters are captured, escape and are recaptured again by an assortment of villians including an Arab sultan and an evil female slave trader. It's silly entertainment, politically incorrect and in the category of it's so bad, it's good. Though it all got a bit too much towards the end I still had a great time watching. Totals 01 The Hitcher (2007) 2.5/5 * 02 Curse of the Living Corpse (1964) 2.5/5 * 03 House of the Living Dead (1976) 2/5 * 04 The Omen (2006) 3/5 * 05 The Last Exorcism (2010) 3.5/5 * 06 The Mothman Prophecies (2002) 4/5 07 The Haunted Palace (1963) 4/5 * 08 Sorority Row (2009) 2/5 * 09 The Lost City (1935) 4/5 * TV 01 Supernatural S2: Houses of the Holy 4.5/5 * 02 Supernatural S2: Born Under a Bad Sign 4/5 * 03 Supernatural S2: Tall Tales 3/5 * 04 Supernatural S2: Roadkill 4/5 * 05 Supernatural S2: Heart 4/5 * 06 Supernatural S2: Hollywood Babylon 2/5 *

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4



012) 10/04/2011 Nosferatu (1921)

Classic and still powerful version of Dracula, with Max Schreck's Count Orlok providing a non-romantic vampire counterpoint to Lugosi's playing of the role ten years later. Plenty of memorable images (Orlok's rising from the coffin, Director F.W. Murnau's use of shadows) and a rather downbeat ending make this one of the best-ever vampire movies.


013) 10/04/2011 Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)

Very entertaining docu-drama of the practice of and belief in witchcraft from the time of Egypt through present day (1922 anyway). Act 1 provides a brief written history supplemented by photographs and drawings, while the rest of the film dramatizes sabbats, the Inquisition, witches flying on brooms, demonic visitations, a woman giving birth to demons, etc. Consistentlly interesting, and a real visual treat that would make a great background video for your Halloween party.


014) 10/04/2011 One Exciting Night (1922)

Rather standard old dark house mystery that has at least one subplot too many. Henry (WereWolf of London) Hull is the romantic lead, trying to win the heart of young lass forcibly engaged to her guardian's blackmailer. Murder, secret hiding places, racial stereotypes, and family secrets are all here. The villain's identity is pretty obvious too. Billed as part comedy, there is no real humor here. The finale, which involves a raging thunderstorm, is memorable but over the top. Definitely lesser D.W. Griffith.

 

[Ockeghem]

October 5 Films: Return Of the Fly (1959) The Wasp Woman (1959) I'm hoping to get one more film in tonight, or perhaps a television episode or two. Television episodes: 7th Heaven ("Halloween") (1996) Charmed ("The Three Faces of Phoebe") (2002) R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Nightmare Inn") (2011) R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Walls") (2011) Total: Films: 01. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) 02. Halloweentown (1998) 03. Atomic Rulers Of the World (1964) 04. The Alpha Incident (1977) 05. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (2007) 06. The Fly (1958) 07. The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) 08. Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out? (2008) 09. Return Of the Fly (1959) 10. The Wasp Woman (1959) Television episodes: 01. Dark Shadows (Original series) (episodes nos. 476-478) (1967) 02. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("The Dead Body") (2010) 03. Charmed ("Trial By Magic") (2002) 04. Charmed ("Lost and Bound") (2002) 05. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("The Perfect Brother") (2011) 06. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Wrong Number") (2011) 07. House of Anubis ("House of Secrets"; "House of Attitude"; "House of the Black Bird"; "House of Dares"; "House of Lies") (2010) 08. Wizards Of Waverly Place ("My Two Harpers") (2011) 09. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Lights Out") (2011) 10. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Best Friend Forever") (2011) 11. Star Trek ("Catspaw") (1967) 12. Charmed ("Charmed and Dangerous") (2002) 13. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Ghostly Stare") (2011) 14. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Catching Cold") (2011) 15. 7th Heaven ("Halloween") (1996) 16. Charmed ("The Three Faces of Phoebe") (2002) 17. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Nightmare Inn") (2011) 18. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Walls") (2011)

 

[Bryan^H]

7) Tokyo Gore Police-2008*First time viewing*I don't know what to say. After countless nothing Japanese horror films, I think I am done with Japanese horror altogether. Lots of gore, little to no real substance(although it tries hard to have some). A privatized girl police special officer dispatches "engineers" ot mutated psychotic humans. The girl has issues, and so does this film. BLAH! What a waste of 2 hours.D-

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by Radioman970



4. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. (1995) He's still a friend to all children, if only the adults in the movie would see that. Really fun...terrific effects. Maybe more action scenes needed, and a few more goofy moments (a little TOO good? Maybe...) The blu ray had a nice Japanese HD sound track and a lesser english dubbed. The 3 90s films are packaged together for dirt cheap (check DD). This first film is worth what I paid for all three. Nice job Mill Creek! Although the subs aren't complete. Labels aren't translated (like place names, etc), only dialogue. And they squeezed Gamera 2 from the 1990s on the same bluray as the first film. boo hiss. At least the 3rd film gets it's own blu ray. Really, the first film looks pretty good in spite of...

[SIZE= 14px]Was the english dub the hilarious one found on the DVD with the rootin' tootin' rednecks and banjo music? I think it was on the 94 Gamera disc. It's one of my favourite dubs, so bad it's good.[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 14px]I got in a couple more Video Nasties last night. Not so good I'm afraid. I'm not giving up though, I want to watch as many of these as I can this month![/SIZE]


[SIZE= 14px]007 (10-04) Absurd (Rosso Sangue/Anthropophagus 2) (1981) 2.5/5
After Anthopophagus I was pretty excited for this one. Of course it was a bit of a let down. It plays like a Halloween/Halloween II clone, a murderer attacking a suburban house. I did like how they tried to explain the crazed killer’s seeming invincibility in typical mad science/horror film fashion. It just never worked as a whole. It just kind of plodded along with no suspense build up or anything to keep you interested. The gore factor wasn’t there either, with what was there looking much cheaper and small scale compared to the over the top Anthopophagus. It’s a sequel in name only. Not so great.

008 (10-04)[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]Lisa, Lisa (Axe) [/SIZE](1977) 1.5/5
This one was simply piss poor. It follows three hitmen type guys on a bit of a spree and laming it out at a farmhouse. It wants to be a “Last House On The Left” type affair, but it just never works. Everything about it is amateurish. The worst though is that it looks like with better editing you could trim most of the takes and bring down the running time. Seeing as it barely breaks 60 minutes, that’s not a good thing. There’s barely any gore and what’s there is very cheap and unconvincing, no real nudity, how this wound up on the Video Nastie list just shows how stupid that panic was in the first place. Avoid.

 

[Mario Gauci]

10/02/11: UNIVERSAL HORROR (TV) (Kevin Brownlow, 1998) *** I acquired this via an imperfect VHS copy culled from a U.K. TV screening (which was followed, as per the closing announcement, by one of the very films it dealt with i.e. James Whale’s sublime THE OLD DARK HOUSE {1932}), rather than any of the “Anniversary Edition” DVDs on which it has been featured (since I never got around to upgrading them)! Given his reputation as a film restorer, Brownlow is well-known for his love of Silent cinema, so it is somewhat surprising to find him involved in this valediction to the Golden Age of Horror (which it is, since he does not exclusively treat the Universal Studios product) though, not that a considerable amount of time is devoted to the genre efforts which emanated from that pre-Talkie era. Therein, however, lies the documentary’s chief problem: while I loved the fact that such masterpieces as Paul Leni’s Silent THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928) and Michael Curtiz’s Warners-produced MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) were discussed in some detail (more predictably, we also get Paramount’s magnificent 1931 version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and RKO’s no-less-startling KING KONG {1933}), this resulted in a number of Universal films being either not given their due or omitted entirely! The appraisal of the second phase of their heyday proves especially skimpy: considering that we would get various SE DVDs over the next few years of DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN (both 1931), THE MUMMY (1932), et al, where their histories are exhaustively illustrated, one would have liked this to delve deeper behind the scenes of some lesser but still classic stuff such as the atypical ‘prestige’ production TOWER OF LONDON (1939), seen briefly in the opening credits and then never again, THE MUMMY’S HAND (1940), which is completely neglected, and the troubled FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943), again, mentioned only in passing! Indeed, of the myriad sequels to the original Universal monster movies, unsurprisingly, the only two to receive the requisite attention (since they are among the very best the studio turned out) are the second and third Frankenstein outings (with some on-set clowning relating to the latter being intriguingly shown in color!), with the maligned-but-irresistible ‘monster mashes’ or their subsequent spoofing at the hands of comic duo Abbott & Costello hardly being addressed at all! That said, we do get to learn some new anecdotes (at least, speaking for myself) including the now-lost MGM effort LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927), directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, having apparently inspired a vicious murder and that, similarly, the Bela Lugosi/Boris Karloff vehicle THE RAVEN (1935) was singled out as being representative of the “degenerate” level to which Horror had sunk. Also, I had always wondered why Edgar G. Ulmer never worked again for the studio during this time after the first Karloff/Lugosi teaming in THE BLACK CAT (1934), which we are also told was among their most commercially successful ventures, and this was because the director fell in love with a woman who was married to the Laemmles, the family that ran Universal! Needless to say, the documentary is fascinating and makes for a thrilling catalog of some of the most memorable moments not only in horror but movie history, with interjections from several historians, buffs (who watched these pictures in their childhood when they first emerged), relatives of the people who made them and, in a handful of cases, among the very few remaining survivors from that era – actresses Lupita Tovar (Mina in the renowned alternate Spanish-language version of DRACULA), Fay Wray, Gloria Stuart and screenwriter Curt Siodmak. However, as I said, I missed hearing about a good many titles (like, say, Universal’s first stab at the “Wolf Man” myth in WEREWOLF OF LONDON {1935}, the just-as-seminal ‘mad doctor’ flick THE INVISIBLE RAY {1936} – once more starring Karloff and Lugosi – but also strictly ‘B’ stuff such as the “Inner Sanctum” series or the unlikely “Jungle Woman” and “Creeper” franchises) that, in the long run, I feel one is better off reading a book on the subject if he is to get ‘the full story’! 10/02/11: THE MONSTER MAKER (Sam Newfield, 1944) **1/2 I have amassed a number of vintage if low-grade horror efforts and, while I originally had not intended including them during the current “Halloween Challenge”, I felt that, since this is the era within the genre that I am most fond of, I would be depriving myself of some inherently entertaining stuff. Following my good impression of both MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET (1942) and THE DRUMS OF JEOPARDY (1931), I opted to check this one out which, clocking at a mere 62 minutes, I could afford to leave for a late hour. The result, again, proved very enjoyable but, thematically, it was highly derivative of Universal’s THE RAVEN (1935), so close, in fact, that I am surprised that studio did not sue the Powerty Row company, PRC, who made THE MONSTER MAKER! Here, we also get an eminent doctor (J. Carroll Naish) who falls for a woman – because she is a dead ringer for his dead spouse – who does not correspond his love but, in spite of his respectable position, is not one to take no for an answer. Having made a study of the deforming disease acromegaly (which has often found its way into the genre), he goes so far as to ‘infect’ the heroine’s musician father with it – when he turns up with an ultimatum to stop bothering his daughter – so that, in exchange for a cure (which, as it happens, he has just arrived at), the latter will have no choice but to ask the girl to set aside her romantic illusions (with the young promoter for his successful concert engagements) and accept Naish’s advances (and, by extension, marriage proposal)! In this respect, and like THE RAVEN itself, this is quite a nasty little item: actually, the make-up effects (showing Ralph Morgan’s degenerating condition and which obviously jeopardize his career) are rather convincing, transcending the limited resources at the film-makers’ disposal; this and Naish’s committed performance are easily THE MONSTER MAKER’s main assets. However, adding to the fun, are the presence of Naish’s loving but long-suffering female aide (since he harbors no affections for her and has no qualms about telling her), a sinister male nurse (played by genre stalwart Glenn Strange) and even that old guinea-pig standard, a caged gorilla (which, for some reason, hates the assistant’s guts and, consequently, Naish conveniently dispatches it in order to eliminate her when she threatens to expose the mad doctor’s nefarious activities…but the woman is saved in the nick-of-time by her courageous and devoted German Shepherd dog). The finale obviously has Naish getting his just desserts at the hands of Morgan himself, followed by the desperation expressed by the latter’s offspring at the fact that the old man will have to carry the effects of the ‘illness’ with him…but now it is Naish’s assistant who comes to the rescue as she is obviously adept enough to be able to reverse the acromegaly process(!?) all by herself – complete with a coda wherein Morgan has reprised his tour, with the assistant joining his daughter and fiancé in their balcony (she had earlier shared the adjacent one with Naish himself but, of course, he had eyes only for the heroine). 10/03/11: JUNGLE WOMAN (Reginald LeBorg, 1944) ** A sequel can sometimes be either a virtual remake of the original film, it can devote some of the running-time to re-telling the first film’s plot in compressed form (via scenes lifted directly from that one) and, other times, the second entry could cheat by borrowing action scenes from the preceding effort and pass them off as its own. However, this is the only case I know of where a film is all three at once (though, technically, the animal footage here is part of the flashback framework, they were still ripped off from an earlier non-related picture)! Universal’s three-movie “Ape Woman” franchise is surely among the most maligned to emerge during the vintage horror era (even by hardened buffs) but, maybe because I was in a receptive frame-of-mind, I recall enjoying CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943; directed by, of all people, Edward Dmytryk!) back when I had watched it and certainly did not mind catching up with the two sequels now i.e. the film under review and THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE (1945), which followed on the very next day! To get to the matter at hand: this, then, follows the pattern of THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1942), Universal’s third movie in the Egyptology stakes but actually the second ‘episode’ in their “Kharis” saga. Anyway, the film has a complex structure in that we begin with the titular figure’s demise, of whose murder the ‘mad doctor’ (who is not really) of this one, J. Carroll Naish, is accused, then we go into a flashback to learn how we got there but, corroborating his evidence, as it were, are the hero and heroine of the first film who relate their own experiences by recounting the events of CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN! Amusingly, Universal ‘scream queen’ Evelyn Ankers receives top billing here but she only appears during these basically expository scenes and, of course, the ‘stock footage’ though not in JUNGLE WOMAN’s narrative proper (that is to say, Naish’s recollections)! Incidentally, I wonder what John Carradine, star of CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943), made of the fact that, unofficially, he also had this on his resume`! When I said that this was more a remake than a sequel was due to its having the ‘monster’ (once again played by Acquanetta but, unwisely taking a leaf from BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN {1935}, she is made to speak – except that we are never told in this instance just who taught her – and, boy, is she wooden!) once more instantly fall for the doctor’s daughter’s fiancé and grows insanely jealous of the girl. By the way, in a reversal of “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”, here the monster turns human without the use of drugs, so that the girl is found prowling the grounds of Naish’s sanatorium by a simple-minded patient (who, subsequently doting excessively on Acquanetta, unsurprisingly becomes one of her victims). At one point, the Ape Woman swims underwater and capsizes the lovers’ canoe, an act which is actually blamed on the oafish orderly who is currently missing – even if the former makes no secret of her impulsive affections for the impossibly bland leading man (unfortunately, a constant thorn in the side of the Golden Age of Horror!). Curiously, the film naively (since the original film had already established the transformation as a fact!) attempts to follow the psychological Val Lewton route by never showing the monster (except once amidst the flashback footage and again in the very last shot – even her death is played out in the shadows, though the images of a female figure leaping on the doctor only to be injected with an overdose belies the animal noises on the soundtrack!) but, for all that, the film remains mildly enjoyable – certainly eminently watchable – along its trim 60-minute duration, largely owing to Naish’s grey-haired presence (though he is not quite running on full cylinders here, as in the same year’s THE MONSTER MAKER) and the unmistakable Universal Studios atmosphere. 10/04/11: THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE (Harold Young, 1945) ** Third and last entry in the series, deemed the worst (rated BOMB in the “Leonard Maltin Film Guide”) but actually slightly superior to its predecessor due, for one thing, to its having a proper plotline (rather than a rehashed one) and the fact that the mad scientist (even if he is stubbornly referred to as “Mr.” Stendhal throughout!) this time around is just that. Indeed, here too, the mainstay (apart, that is, from the standard ‘house style’ for this type of fare) is Otto Kruger’s central performance (the Ape Woman herself, now played by Vicki Lane instead of Acquanetta and reverting once more to being a mute, is certainly not the protagonist in this case!). Kruger is involved in the revivification of small animals but is keen to progress on to larger ones – with his ultimate goal, of course, being Man himself; since the title creature (a convenient and somewhat lazy amalgam of the earlier ‘episodes’ in the franchise) is a hybrid, he knows he will be almost there if he manages to resuscitate her. The problem is that, once she has assumed human form yet again (having made imposing henchman Rondo Hatton steal the necessary files from the home of the doctor played by J. Carroll Naish in JUNGLE WOMAN {1944}, the process having actually been laid down by John Carradine in CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN {1943} – neither of these actors, however, put in ‘unofficial’ appearance and, thankfully, we are also spared the circus stock footage that made-up a sizable amount of the earlier films’ running-time), it is discovered that she has suffered brain damage and he plans to replace it with that of his own female aide. Why the doctor, certainly among the coldest of his ilk, does not simply abduct another girl, when he would invariably have benefitted from the heroine’s presence by his side rather than as a laboratory subject, is anybody’s guess…but, then, the latter is vehemently against her superior’s intention to play God so, in this way, he would be removing the threat to his Great Experiment, were it not for the fact that, through Hatton’s sloppiness, the Police – in the guise of a bemused Jerome Cowan – are already on his trail, and so is the girl’s fiance, yet another assistant! The busy finale has hero and heroine taking advantage of the Ape Woman’s disappearance to escape Kruger and Hatton’s clutches, only for the three to be recaptured after a short while in one fell swoop. Needless to say, however, the villain is not allowed to go through with the operation as Hatton, enamored of the leading lady (which Kruger puts down by referring to his “hardly Casanova” looks, the actor having been stricken with the deforming affliction acromegaly, and to add salt to the wound suggests that the Jungle Captive is “more in your line”!), turns on Stendhal at the instigation of the girl’s boyfriend. The doctor shoots his thug dead, Lane metamorphoses into monster and cuts free of her straps and, just as she is about to incongruously attack her ‘donor’, Cowan appears on the premises to intervene. For the record, director Young, who had the classic swashbuckler THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (1934), an Alexander Korda production, on his resume` was now reduced, for whatever reason, to helming the lowliest of Universal Horrors – though, to be fair, he sure made an entertaining job of it!

 

[Radioman970]

@ Russell G "Was the english dub the hilarious one found on the DVD with the rootin' tootin' rednecks and banjo music? I think it was on the 94 Gamera disc. It's one of my favourite dubs, so bad it's good." I could be wrong, but it appeared to have the same scoring on the eng dub as the Japanese, which was fairly well done for a giant turtle flick! LOL It may be the older Gameras? They first started doing those shortly after gozilla, early 60s (I think). This 1990s film is actually good...well, a little cheese and some silliness. But for what it is, not bad at all! In fact, I'd heartily recommend that film to giant monster movie fans. They used the older films on Mystery Science Theater, and those are completely silly and really fun too. But this was above those substantially, if you ask me. Made me crave Godzilla 2000, which I hope I get to since I'm a few Godzillas behind that one. I think that period was a sweet spot for Japanese big monster movies, before CGI started to ruin everything.

 

[John Stell]

Originally Posted by Mario Gauci

10/02/11: UNIVERSAL HORROR (TV) (Kevin Brownlow, 1998) ***
Therein, however, lies the documentary’s chief problem: while I loved the fact that such masterpieces as Paul Leni’s Silent THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928) and Michael Curtiz’s Warners-produced MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) were discussed in some detail (more predictably, we also get Paramount’s magnificent 1931 version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and RKO’s no-less-startling KING KONG {1933}), this resulted in a number of Universal films being either not given their due or omitted entirely! The appraisal of the second phase of their heyday proves especially skimpy: considering that we would get various SE DVDs over the next few years of DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN (both 1931), THE MUMMY (1932), et al, where their histories are exhaustively illustrated, one would have liked this to delve deeper behind the scenes of some lesser but still classic stuff such as the atypical ‘prestige’ production TOWER OF LONDON (1939), seen briefly in the opening credits and then never again, THE MUMMY’S HAND (1940), which is completely neglected, and the troubled FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943), again, mentioned only in passing!

This is the problem that I had with the documentary, which I would rate 2.5 out of 4. (I may end up watching myself this month after I'm done with the pre-Dracula films.) If you are going to entitle a documentary Universal Horror then that should be the main focus, and should be inclusive, not dismissive, of the "silver" age, if you will, of the classic monsters. I was also annoyed by the inclusion of certain interview subjects, some of whom had no real connection to Universal Horror. For instance they interview Nina Foch, who not only did not star in any Universals but also goes on to insult the horror genre. Sure she was in the Columbia horrors Return of the Vampire and Cry of the Werewolf, but this was not called Columbia Horrors.

 

[TravisR]

I've seen alot of hockey masks today... 14. Friday The 13th (1980) (uncut) The movie that really kicked off the slasher craze (most slasher movies wanted to emulate F13's gore rather than Halloween's suspense) and one of the best slasher movies. Legitimately creepy atmosphere and suspense which makes up for the fact that it's a murder mystery that is impossible to solve. 15. Friday The 13th Part 2 While it lacks the grittier aspects of the first movie, I enjoy the sequel more than the original. The cast is likable and there's a nice east coast look to the movie that the rest of the sequels lack. 16. Friday The 13th Part 3 The weakest of the 'classic four' (as they're known amongst F13 fans anyway). I guess after problems with the MPAA on Part 2, they pulled back from trying to put alot of graphic violence onscreen. 17. Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter The best F13 movie. Jason is violent and creepy and Savini's gore effects are great. Plus, Corey Feldman's in it. 18. Friday The 13th: A New Beginning It's the worst of the Paramount F13s and one of the most rewatchable simply due to the fact that it is so over the top compared to the other movies in the series. Tons of characters are introduced just to be killed, characters say "fuck" all the time and nudity runs rampant. It's like someone's idea of what a F13 movie is but then actually made into a real movie. Totals: 1. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) 2. A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2- Freddy's Revenge 3. A Nightmare On Elm Street 3- Dream Warriors 4. A Nightmare On Elm Street 4- The Dream Master 5. A Nightmare On Elm Street- The Dream Child 6. Freddy's Dead- The Final Nightmare 7. Wes Craven's New Nightmare 8. A Nightmare On Elm Steet (2010) 9. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) 10. Scream 11. Scream 2 12. Scream 3 13. Scream 4 14. Friday The 13th (1980) (uncut) 15. Friday The 13th Part 2 16. Friday The 13th Part 3 17. Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter 18. Friday The 13th: A New Beginning

 

[Michael Elliott]

 

 

I hope this plays on the East Coast at some point 'cause I really want to see it.  Leonard Maltin, of all people, wrote a "go see this movie" piece on his blog.

If you decide that you can't wait then most On Demand places have it for rent now. It's also available through Amazon Prime. I recorded it off HDNet a week or so ago. Not a bad movie and I'm sure it would be fun at a packed midnight showing. Brain from Planet Arous, The (1957) :star::star: Silly sci-fi tale of a scientist (John Agar) who goes into a new cave to see what made it and discovers that it was a large brain (with glowing eyes) from outer space. The brain takes control of his body in hopes of learning the various secrets of Earth but fear not because space also sends a good brain to help. Just reading a plot like that lets you know that you're watching a "B" movie from the 1950s that probably thrilled and scared thousands of kids who were taken to the drive-in by their parents. When seen today these movies certainly don't have the ability to scare and more likely than not they're laughed at due to how melodramatic their story lines are. THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS isn't a very good film but there are a few good things that make it worth viewing. Needless to say, with such a low budget the special effects really leave a lot to desire and this includes our friend, the deadly brain. The effect of the brain is quite simple but my one real question is why on Earth they decided to give the thing eyes. The site of a flying brain is silly enough but to then give it eyes wasn't really a smart move but it does provide a few laughs. Another silly aspect in the story is that Agar's character becomes possessed by this thing and is given the ability to blow things up with his eyes. There are scenes towards the end when he's showing the government his "power" and you have to wonder why they all just sit around and let him do this stuff without even attempting to stop him. Speaking of Agar, he's certainly the main reason to check this film out. Fans of the genre are certainly going to know him from his countless entries into the genre but this here is a rather unique way to see him. For the most part he was always playing the good guy trying to stop the evil monsters but here he gets to play a real jerk and he does a wonderful job with it. There are several scenes where he's abusing his girlfriend (Joyce Meadows) and they're actually quite effective. I thought the actor did a very good job playing bad and it's a shame he wasn't given more opportunities to do this. Meadows is decent in her role of the love interest but you have to admit that she's one of the dumbest girlfriends from this era of films. Robert Fuller, Henry Travis and Thomas B. Henry co-star. Fans of the genre will probably want to check this out simply for the silly nature of it but I'm sure most others will want to skip it and check out something better. Gremlins (1984) :star::star::half: Cute Steven Spielberg-produced horror-comedy about a teen (Zach Galligan) whose given a "creature" for Christmas but there are three rules that you must follow. He breaks one of the rule by putting water on it, which makes more of the creatures pop up. He breaks the most important rule by feeding them after midnight and soon some ugly, green and slimy gremlins come to cause trouble. As with many of Joe Dante's early pictures, this one here is not only an homage to earlier monster movies but it's also quite clever in how it shows this affection towards older movies while at the same time trying to take the material to the next level. With a screenplay by Chris Columbus, direction by Dante and someone like Spielberg as a producer I must admit that I was expecting a lot more out of this blockbuster. There's no question that there are many good things going in this film but I thought that way too much detail was paid to the human characters and this meant that whenever the monsters weren't on the screen then things just slowed down to the point where the entire film crashes. There's no doubt that the main attraction are going to be the cute hairy creatures and the ugly monsters. You can tell that the screenplay really wanted to build up these creatures and especially when you consider how much screen time the furry guys get in the first half of the movie. The best moments of the movie happen early on as we're introduced to small town America and get to witness a part of their lives, which I'm sure most viewers can relate to. This includes the always suspicious neighbor (played by Dick Miller) and the rich old woman who hates everyone but herself. Some of the best moments happen early on when we see a few of the directions these two characters take. The problem is that our main guy, his girl (Phoebe Cates) and everyone are rather underwritten and don't come off nearly as charming as the creatures. The screenplay is also rather basic in terms of any type of story as we meet the creatures, they grow, they attack and then its over. The story mainly goes for silly jokes that really weren't that well-written and this includes a rather silly sequence where the gremlins take over a bar and go crazy. I'm still curious where the gremlins got their clothes and weapons but that's another story. I thought Galligan was pretty good in his role and there's no question that Cates can bring some energy to the screen. Seeing Miller is always fun and we also get other familiar faces like Corey Feldman, Harry Carey, Jr. and Keye Luke. GREMLINS is certainly cute enough for what it is but I'd stop a little short of calling it an actual good movie. Gremlins 2 (1990) :star::star::star: Billy and Kate (Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates) are now living in New York when they learn that a scientist (Christopher Lee) has Gizmo. Soon they're able to reclaim their friend but not before some of his furry friends are fed after midnight and the green gremlins take over a high-tech building. GREMLINS 2 is a rare example of where the sequel is much better than the original film. The original movie was cute in its own right but I just didn't feel there was enough backbone to the human characters to really make it work. With that said, it might sound hypocritical for me to say that I enjoyed this film so much because the humans for the most part are just an after thought and the gremlins are given full control of the story. Using the word "story" might not be the wises thing to do because the only thing we really get are a bunch of green guys causing trouble in this building before getting out in the streets of New York. I think the greatest thing going for the film is the way director Joe Dante knows how to make satire and spoof things all around him. In one of the film's highlights, the original movie wasn't overly loved by film critics and in a hilarious cameo the gremlins attack Leonard Maltin who is bashing the first film. Another hilarious bit as the gremlins overtaking a TV cooking show where the attack the host and then go about making their own food. I thought the majority of the gremlin characters were perfectly done and given quite a bit of personality and room to grow. There are many great creatures including one who becomes a genius after drinking some brain fluid and there's another hilarious joke on Lon Chaney's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. The jokes are flying about ten a minute and the film is so wild, frantic and fast-paced that you can't help but feel as if you're head is spinning. That's certainly not a negative thing because the majority of the jokes work very well. The human parts aren't given as much screen time but we do get some funny bits with them. Dick Miller nearly steals the film reprising his role from the first film and we even get nice bits from Jackie Joseph, Robert Prosky and even Keye Luke returns. Lee is perfect as the wacky scientist and both Cates and Galligan are good even if their roles are fairly small. GREMLINS 2 is about as fun as a spoof can get and it's certainly a much better film than the first. Love Me Deadly (1973) :star::star: After the death of her father, Lindsay (Mary Wilcox) begins to visit the funerals of strangers because she finds herself sexually attracted to the dead. Soon she meets an embalmer who runs a cult of people who prefer snuggling up with cold dead flesh but soon Lindsay finds herself falling in love with a man that's able to breathe so will she be able to walk away from the dead? LOVE ME DEADLY sounds like a sick exploitation movie but I think most people will find it to be an example where the actual storyline is a lot worse than anything we actually see. Horror movies have proved that they can tackle any subject but necrophilia is the one that hasn't had too many films based around it. There was a Canadian movie called KISSED that looked at the subject matter in a very serious way. Then you have the German NEKROMANTIK, which is out there to make one repulsed. This film here was probably one of the first to deal with the subject and while it does feature some very memorable moments, on the whole it's a pretty disappointing affair. Things start off incredibly strong as the embalmer gets his rocks off by picking up a male prostitute and taking him back to his office where he straps the guy down and embalms him while he's still alive. This first death sequence is shot pretty well and it's rather effective but all of the death scenes that follow are extremely tame and weak. The film starts off with our female victim taking a trip up to a coffin where she plants a wet one on the corpse but the graphic nature really doesn't get worse than this. I was really shocked to see how serious the film took its subject matter but the problem is that not much happens throughout the rather long 95-minute running time. The love triangle thing just really kills the film as its boring and I doubt too many are actually going to care if she wants to be with the living or the dead. The strange thing is that in the middle of the movie we get this long sequence with a love song showing clips of Lindsay becoming "hopeful" that she's manage to be turned on by a living man. THe performances really aren't too bad with Wilcox doing a fairly good job in the lead. There are a few moments where she goes way too over-the-top but for the most part she's fine. Christopher Stone of THE HOWLING fame appears as one of her boyfriends here. LOVE ME DEADLY takes itself way too serious but there are some really bad moments that are so campy that you can't help but laugh. The before mentioned male prostitute gets some of the worse dialogue in film history when he's being killed. When it finally dawns on him that this guy means him hard he begins to scream: "Oh, you're serious! You're serious! You're a maniac!" This is followed by him eventually getting cut open to which he starts to scream "On, my blood! My blood!"

 

[Brook K]

[COLOR=FF00AA]Antichrist[/COLOR] (2009) :star::star::star::star: Director Lars Von Trier delivers stunning visuals and an often inscrutable story in this tale of a mother grieving over the loss of her child. Her therapist husband (Willem Dafoe) who attempts to treat her by exposing her to the things she most fears. Grief, despair, pain, suffering, horror, all are on display as nature is a sad witness to man's inhumanity throughout time. (at least that could be what's going on, it's not an easy movie to sort out, but worth the effort to try) [COLOR=FF00AA]Insidious[/COLOR] (2011) :star::star::star::half: As someone who found Paranormal Activity legitimately scary and the lesser sequel still had me not wanting to look to closely at the dark corners of the house, Insidious had enough similar imagery to work on me despite its shortcomings. The spirits were well done and I liked how they were given individual personalities and enough screen time to define the personalities. It's other top attribute is an effective horror music score. I could have done without the cheeseball comic relief "ghostbusters" duo and the climax didn't really deliver on the buildup of the film, but overall I thought it was a satisfying 21st century horror flick. [COLOR=FF00AA]Portrait of Hell[/COLOR] (1969) :star::star::star: This is old school Japanese horror (ghosts/spirits, lots of fire and Hell imagery) set in the pre-samurai period (over 900 years ago, the narrator tells us). Tatsuya Nakadai stars as a Korean painter (apparently the most talented painter of the time, his paintings are so powerful they can cause spirits to manifest before the viewer) serving in the court of the lord of the land, a cruel ruler who ignores the suffering of the people. The ruler wants the painter to paint pictures glorifying himself and the nation, but the painter will only paint what he sees from his personal experience. He wants to paint the hell on Earth that he sees around him. Complication comes when the lord falls in love with the painter's virginal daughter and forcibly takes her as his concubine. A battle of wills ensues, along with lots of fire, ghosts, and heavy makeup. Portrait's best attributes are Nakadai's performance, it's use of color, and the wide Scope photography. The actors are able to deliver the charged emotions the piece requires without going too far over the top. It suffers from some poorly done effects and a slight overall sense of cheapness in comparison to the wider seen samurai epics of earlier years (this being the time when Japan's studio system was falling apart it probably lacked the budget of many of its predecessors). It also seems like whole scenes may have been chopped out of the script, there are some things that don't make a lot of sense, seemingly important characters only appear for a brief scene. Nakadai's personality varies so wildly he could be schizophrenic. Overall, not a bad movie, but one I doubt I'll feel the need to revisit. [COLOR=FF00AA]Severance[/COLOR] (2006) :star::star::half: A group of white collar defense workers on a corporate retreat in a remote area of Hungary find themselves the target of a band of commandos who have filled the woods around their lodge with all sorts of traps. The people have to try and escape as they are hunted down one-by-one yadda yadda. Severance is pretty standard fare. It does have some good britcomedy lines here and there that supply some laughs and liven up the proceedings, but there aren't enough of them and none of the characters are really interesting enough, nor the actors good enough to carry the movie by themselves. The action isn't really anything special either. I also didn't like that the hunters are never really supplied with a motive, as if they set up these elaborate traps and hung out in the woods day after day just hoping someone would happen by they could go after. [COLOR=FF00AA]Day of the Dead[/COLOR] (2008) :star::star: This "remake" bears no resemblance to the original George Romero film of the same name other than it includes a zombie named Bud. Nor is it a sequel to the Dawn of the Dead remake (though Ving Rhames plays a small, entirely different role). I'm not really sure why it was even given this title, since the original Day isn't exactly a renowned horror classic. But I guess the title did it's job since it got me to watch this wholly generic zombie pic. While also featuring Mena Suvari and Nick Cannon, it really does nothing that countless other zombie films haven't already done. The only slightly different thing they did is that they went with the Usain Bolt-style zombies and took it one step further by having the zombies retain some of their living intelligence, including the ability to use tools and even guns! As I'm a zombie traditionalist (the zombies of The Walking Dead are about as far as I like to go speed-wise), this wasn't a good thing. SKIP [COLOR=FF00AA]A Nightmare on Elm Street[/COLOR] (2010) :star::half: Craptacular remake that I liked virtually nothing about. Jackie Earle Haley tries, but he simply doesn't measure up to Robert Englund in any way. Even the Freddy makeup sucks since they gave Freddy bug eyes that make me want to laugh rather than have any sort of fear response. Haley just doesn't sell any of his lines. The script and sound don't do him any favors either as this has none of the fantastic and imaginative imagery of the original, all the dream sequences are just dark and mired in realism. Even the sound effects lack the edge to create any form of tension. Even worse, the movie is utterly devoid of sex. The psychosexual aspects of Freddy's character were always one of the main things that separated him from the killing machines that were Jason and Myers. Here this aspect of Freddy is reduced to some lame one-liners. These are some of the most asexual teens in the history of horror movies. There aren't even any cheesecake camera angles or lowcut outfits. It's nice that they kept some of the kills similar, but this is simply just bland, bland, bland. This is just something made to try and cash in on the name value and the current horror remake craze rather than something made by and for horror fans. AVOID LIKE A ZOMBIE PLAGUE Challenge Total: 9

 

[Radioman970]

6. John Carpenters Vampires. Nothing makes this special. Boring story and Woods being uncharismatic are my biggest beefs with it. From Dusk Til Dawn, it aint! 7. Invasion. (first viewing) Nicely made. Looks good, acted good... Kidmen is delicious to watch... woo wee! But that ending, blah! If I wanted to... (and contains a Vampire spoiler as well...careful)

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

feel good I'd rent a chick flick! This is supposed to be a horror movie! Heh heh... really, nothing wrong with a goody goody ending, but this material is much more powerful with the familiar ending that shows a successful invasion. I MUCH prefer that. To be honest, I would have liked Vampires better had the 2 lead actors killed each other at the end. All this goody good! haha!

Still, among my favorite stories. Paranoid, and scary. And the one to outdo might be the late 70s version. Note: I'd meant to watch the old B&W version but forgot I had it. I guess I'll save it for months from now. ---------------- Movies: 1. Sixth Sense. 2. The Nanny. Bette Davis. (1965) 3. Malevolence. (2004) 4. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. (1995) 5. Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers (6th film). TVs: 1. Sigmund & the seamonsters. "Is there a doctor in the cave?" 2. Tales from the Cryptkeeper/animated. "Pleasant Screams". (first time seeing) Watched and not including: MST3K: The Alien from LA. Flightplan Stephen King's Golden Years miniseries. (first time seeing)

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

5. Evil Dead 2 Director Sam Raimi takes splatter and combines it with slapstick, giving birth the the "splatstick" genre which later gave us such fine films from "Brain Dead" (aka "Dead Alive") to "Shaun of the Dead". This is also the first movie where we get to see Bruce Campbell really ham it up, creating his own cult of fans who love all things Bruce. This movie still has a very punk ethic: low-budget, lean, snotty and doesn't take itself too seriously. Today's dreary torture porn filmmakers could learn something from this one. Best exchange: Witch:"I'll swallow your soul!" Ash:"Swallow this!" Bob's A-Z 2011 Horror Movie Marathon 1. Antichrist 2. Burning Bright 3. The Crimson Cult 4. Dead of Night 5. Evil Dead 2

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

I also watched "The Horrors of Stephen King" on TCM, it was pretty good!

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4



015) 10/05/2011 The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

It has always bothered me that the Hunchback is considered a "monster." The equating of physical deformity to a person's character is just cruel. Furthermore the Hunchback is a hero in this film, selflessly defending a woman he cares for, or even loves, even though he knows she will never return his feelings. Having said that this is a fine film with incredible production values and, of course, Chaney's best performance to date. The plot, set in Paris during the 15th century, has Quasimodo, bell-ringer for the Cathedral of Notre Dame, come to the defense of a falsely-accused gypsy gal, Esmeralda, who has been framed for her lover's attempted murder. Even through the heavy facial make-up Chaney easily makes Quasimodo's feelings known. Overlong, perhaps, but still quite enjoyable.

 

[PatW]

John, I'm not sure I ever saw the 1923 version. I'll have to check it out. I love the later version with Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara.