***Official 21st Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2020*** (1 Viewer)

[dana martin]

For those who ordered the Friday the 13th set, Shout! Factory has a disc replacement program set up for some errors on the 3 discs.

Shout! Factory Store

Find All Of Your Favorite Film, TV, & Cult Classics On Blu-Ray Here At Shout! Factory. Featuring Thousands Of Titles, Limited Collector's Editions, Box Sets, & More. Shop Now!

www.shoutfactory.com

Thanks John,

my set arrived yesterday from Amazon, and i wasn't even aware that there were issues with this set, the information is greatly welcomed, off to schedule for those replacement disc

 

[Michael Elliott]

Devil's Kiss (1975) ***

This is one of the strangest films I've ever seen from Eurocine as it combines a seance, a revenge plot and a Frankenstein story. This film almost seems like it took three incomplete Jess Franco movies and threw the footage together. It's poorly made at times and the Frankenstein monster looks ridiculously cheap but at the same time the film just has a certain feel and trashy nature that kept me entertained.

Hider in the House (1989) ***

Gary Busey gets released from a mental hospital and starts living in the walls of a house. He soon gets fixated on the family and does what he can to replace daddy. This is pretty much BAD RONALD meets FATAL ATTRACTION but the idea of Busey living in your walls is pretty creepy. I was shocked that I enjoyed this one so much but Busey is a blast and Mimi Rogers is very good as well. It goes on a bit too long but it was fun.

The Rental (2020) *** 1/2

Dave Franco's directorial debut will probably do to AirBNB's what JAWS did to oceans or PSYCHO did to showers. Four friends stay at a rental house for the weekend where personal drama comes up as well as terror. This movie runs 88-minutes and the horror/thriller elements don't happen until maybe 15-20 minutes left in the film. Normally this would kill a horror movie but it works because the acting, the direction and the story are so wonderfully done. I loved the characters, loved their drama and the payoff is nice.

Long Weekend (2008) ** 1/2

Remake of the 1978 film has a couple fighting while nature seeks revenge. I love remakes because I like to see what new filmmakers do with an older film but I've never understood why some don't make any changes and pretty much deliver the same film. This can't hold a candle to the original but on its own it's not too bad.

Cry of the Werewolf (1944) **

Columbia misfire about a gypsy woman who fears she's becoming a werewolf. A rip-off of THE WOLF MAN and CAT PEOPLE, this film is really disappointing as the story is just bad and the characters are bland. How could Columbia deliver such a cool werewolf in THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE but deliver a misfire here?

 

[BobO'Link]

Yesterday:

Baron Frankenstein escapes from the guillotine, runs to Germany, renames himself Dr. Stein, and restarts his experiments by using parts of dead bodies. He runs a "clinic" of sorts "helping" the downtrodden (bums, thiefs, pickpockets, etc.). Many in his care have to lose limbs in the process of being healed. He has a helper who is misfigured so promises him a new body to encourage his loyalty. All seemingly goes well until his Dr. "partner" spills the beans to the helper about just how the good Doctor plans to put the old body on display at science expos while showing off the man in his new body.

Yep, a sequel to the great King Kong of 1933. Lots of the same things happen (you're often wondering if it's a remake) as they prep and travel to Skull Island where they find a smaller version of the giant ape. It shows that Hollywood had sequelitis very early in the history of film and that most of them didn't really work back then either.

The first time I saw this one I thought it might be a movie expansion of the Medusa bit from the Harryhausen classic, Clash of the Titans. Nope - not at all. The only thing they share is Medusa and the Gorgon both turn people who look at their face to stone. The Gorgon only appears during a full moon. The town she "haunts" invents all manner of excuses for the deaths she causes. When a young artist's model/girlfriend is killed by the Gorgon, he hangs himself, apparently thinking her father will blame him for her death and kill him anyway. His father shows up at the "trial" and begins an investigation into what's really going on. Just *why* is the local doctor covering up the manner of the deaths caused by the Gorgon? I like this one but it's quite derivative.

 

[BobO'Link]

I love the original so much that I never could see how it could be improved upon. As a result I shunned this version from the get-go and have never seen it. Maybe I should give it a chance.

I was much the same way but picked up a copy and watched it anyway. I found it's really well done, although I much prefer the original. While they share the same general theme, they're quite different from each other.

 

[BobO'Link]

I'm not a fan of '70s exploitation flicks and had never seen any of them until maybe the last ten years. Since then I've seen a handful, including some of the recent revisits. I tend to prefer the revisits, maybe because the gritty, low budget, shot for a bag of chips look of the originals doesn't appeal to me. I had gotten all of the "Firefly Trilogy" recently with the intention of watching them this month. the only one I'd seen before was The Devil's Rejects. I can't give these movies a number rating because I just have no idea what it would be.

(15) House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) - A somewhat typical homage to the '70s films I remember theaters hyping when I was too young to see them. I recall the big posters in the lobby with warnings that the theater wasn't responsible for the consequences of seeing the movie, that absolutely nobody under 18 would be admitted, so on and so forth. I think the one that stuck in my mind was I Spit On Your Grave. The posted was memorable, plus the title just stuck in my mind.

Clearly Rob Zombie is a fan of these flicks, and he joined the homage crowd with House of 1,000 Corpses. This is a pretty ordinary example of the genre, with sadistic characters doing nasty things to unfortunate people. What makes it stand out is the introduction of the Firefly family, particularly Otis (Bill Moseley), Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig). This first installment of the trilogy is a pretty straight copy of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

(16) The Devil's Rejects (2005) - Here is where Zombie hits his stride. Can a movie be masterfully made, and thoroughly disgusting at the same time? Prior to seeing The Devil's Rejects, I would have said "No", but RZ proved me wrong. The love of the genre comes through in spades, and it's remarkably well done. Otis, Baby and Captain Spaulding are the things of nightmares, and all three actors portray them extremely well.

(17) 3 From Hell (2019) - Inexplicably, our trio returns 14 years later, except in the story only a short time has passed, and it was not a good idea. Sadly, Sid Haig would pass away shortly after the film was made, and he looks it. Watching him at the beginning of the movie was as unsettling as what would follow.

What happened? Maybe it comes back to the fact I'm just not a fan of this genre, but the first half is really a Zombie version of the home invasion story The Desperate Hours, which has been filmed several times, most notably starring Humphrey Bogart in 1955 and Mickey Rourke in 1990. I don't know how far that continues, because half way through the movie I did something I virtually never do. I shut it off. I'd had enough. I didn't see any reason to continue. I didn't see it going anywhere. At least not anywhere I wanted to go.

A horror loving coworker, who you'd never think would like these type movies looking at her, insisted I watch House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects several years ago. I found absolutely nothing to like in either movie. It doesn't help that I've never liked slasher, torture, or home invasion movies, generally avoiding them if possible. Supposedly there's some dark humor and wit in Zombie's movies. It flew right over me due to the visuals and depravity on display.

After watching Zombie's version of Halloween I swore off watching anything else with which he's attached as producer/director/writer. I already know I don't need to see 3 from Hell in spite of it, like his others, featuring Sid Haig, who I do enjoy in many other movies and TV shows in which he's appeared.

 

[Pete Battista]

Title: Walled In

Year: 2008
Director: Gilles Paquet-Brenner
Writer: Serge Brussolo (Original Material By), Gilles Paquet-Brenner (Screenwriter), Rodolphe Tissot (Screenwriter), Sylvain White (Screenwriter), Olivier Volpi (Screenwriter)
Rating: Rated R : Some Violence
Length: 92 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles:

Stars:
Timothy Allen as Police Officer
Mischa Barton as Sam
Darla Biccum as Liz Walzcak
Cameron Bright as Jimmy
Eugene Clark as Burnett
Mark Claxton as Richard

Plot:
In 1993, sixteen bodies were found entombed within the Malestrazza Building, a mysterious apartment complex built by one of the world's most renowned, yet eccentric, architects. The killer was never caught. Fifteen years later, newly graduated structural engineer Sam Walczak (Mischa Barton of THE O.C.) arrives to prepare the site for demolition. But this massive concrete crypt is not entirely empty: Its halls are lined with secrets. Its rooms are filled with fear. And behind its walls, the ultimate horror has lay waiting....until now. Cameron Bright (X-MEN: THE LAST STAND), Deborah Kara Unger (SILENT HILL) and Noam Jenkins (SAW IV) co-star in this saga of terror, torment and shocking twists based on the best-selling horror novel.

Extras:


My Thoughts:
I wasn't all that impressed with this one. Weak story line and didn't care about the characters, It didn't even seem like that cast cared too much as they didn't seem to gived it their all. I will give it credit that I was able to make it all the way through the film. Sometimes that is hard or impossible to do. Nothing here to recommend.

I am starting to feel like the Nostalgia Critic... I watched it so you don't have to!

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U- 4k UHD
B - Blu Ray Viewing
D - DVD Viewing
S - Streaming

Bold/Red = Denotes first ever viewing

Rating - Out of a possible 5

Night of the Demon - D - :
Nightmare Cinema - D -1/2
Invisible Man - U -
Lighthouse - S - 1/2
Vampires vs The Bronx - S - 1/2
The Lost Boys - B -
The Amityville Horror - B -
Fantasy Island - B - 1/2
Jeepers Creepers 2 - B -
Don't Knock Twice - B - 1/2
The Dead Don't Die - B -
Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend - B - 1/2
Damned By Dawn - B - 1/2
Christine - U -
Good Boy - S - 1/2
Resicent Evil: Damnation - B - 1/2
Hocus Pocus - B - 1/2
It - B -
It: Chapter 2 - B -
Pet Sematary (1989) - U -
Pet Sematary (2019) - U - 1/2
Pet Sematary 2 - D - 1/2
Walled In - B -

Total Watched: 23

 

[TravisR]

32. Scream

A killer stalks a group of teens. A great opening, winning characters and funny. A classic and Wes Craven's best movie! I was a horror movie loving high schooler when this movie came out so it will always have a place in my heart.


33. Scream 2

A killer stalks the first movie's survivors at their college. Top notch sequel with some excellent suspense sequences which, like the original, manages to also be funny without wrecking the suspense. From what I see, this movie has gotten some respect that I feel its due over the past few years.


34. Scream 3

A killer stalks a Hollywood production being loosely about the first two movies. The weakest of the series but it still works and has some good sequences.


35. Scream 4

Years later, a killer stalks the survivors of the previous movie and a group of new teenagers. Violent, funny and it comments on social media and the 'kids today'. Wes Craven's last movie and he went out on a high note.


36. The Funhouse

A group of teens try to spend the night in a carnival's funhouse and are stalked by a deformed killer. There's some solid scares in this movie and really good monster makeup. I remember seeing this on TV when I was a kid and I still love this movie. Don't think how it makes no sense that the funhouse is ridiculously big to be part of a traveling carnival.


37. The Prowler (1981)

A killer stalks a college graduation dance 35 years after killing a couple at the same college's graduation dance. Thanks to Tom Savini's frequently brutal special effects, this is one of the best slasher movies.


38. Urban Legend

Young adults at a college are stalked by a killer who uses urban legends in the murders. One of the better Scream knock-offs of the late 90's which has some fun stuff if you're a fan of that era or kind of movie.


39. Hell Night

Linda Blair and her college friends are stalked by a killer in an abandoned mansion. Another movie that I saw on TV as a kid and I still love it today. The low budget nature of the movie works in its favor and it has some nice twists along the way.


40. The Burning (unrated cut)

A killer stalks a camp in New York state. The movie has two things going for it- the amazing number of kids who would grow up to have a career or at least be in other high profile movies (how many other slasher movies can say that?) and the effects of Tom Savini. It is nice to see a brief look at the sleazy days of early 1980's New York City near the beginning of the movie too.


41. Final Exam

A killer stalks a college. Underrated and underseen slasher movie that makes the cool move of not giving a motive to the killer.


42. Valentine

A killer stalks young women on Valentine's Day. I picked this up one time during a sale on Shout Factory's site thinking that it couldn't be as bad as I remember and I was wrong- it's a lot worse.


I had planned on switching over to the Universal horror movies of the 30's and 40's but after how lame Valentine was, I decided to end my 'slasher marathon' with...

43. I Know What You Did Last Summer

A year after a hit and run, a group of friends are stalked by a killer with a hook. By no means is it a great movie but in terms of Scream rip-offs, it's probably the best. The cast is likeable (or as likeable as they can be when their characters toss a guy in the river after they think they killed him with their car) and Kevin WIlliamson is still in Scream mode and the movie is all the better for it.

 

[whacky blacky]

October 16

38. Dead By Dawn (2020). FTV. Streamed. 2/5.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 16: The Dead Center (2018) – 4 out of 5 - First Time Viewing

A body goes missing from the morgue, makes its way to a psychiatric hospital, alive but a complete amnesiac with a terrible, terrifying, and deadly secret. The psychiatrist caring for him wants to help and to understand, but unexplained deaths at the hospital and bizarre experiences threaten to unravel the doctor and put everyone in danger.

The Dead Center is a wonderful find. A film I’d never heard of until iTunes put a bunch of random and independent movies on sale for a ridiculous price ($2.99) earlier this year. I gambled on this film given the intriguing description and, I can’t lie, the interesting poster art. It was a good bet. Starring Shane Carruth, who directed one of the best (and extremely low budgeted) time travel movies, Primer, The Dead Center delivers a heavy sense of dread. It’s patiently told, authentic feeling, even drab at times, but with an undercurrent of mystery and bursts of chills.

Without much of a budget it builds upon its sense of foreboding with atmosphere, and the strong central performance from Carruth carries this film to its bleak and scary, scary ending.

Not currently streaming anywhere, but it’s only $2.99 on Amazon right now.

 

[John Stell]

My bosses closed the office at noon today since the October 15 filing deadline is behind us. I turned into a Halloween couch pumpkin.

Rating - Out of a possible 4

076) 10/16/2020 The Wolf Man (1941)

I think my favorite Universal monster is the Wolf Man. Of all the monsters he knows what he does and cannot stop it, giving him an extra tragic dimension. Lon Chaney, Jr. may not have been a "great" actor but he's great here as Larry Talbot. And for those who are always saying someone as small as Claude Rains couldn't father a tall guy like Chaney, I should show you picture of my 5'4" father-in-law standing next to his 6'+ son.

077) 10/16/2020 The Mad Doctor of Market Street (1942)

Lionel Atwill is the only reason to watch this lukewarm mad scientist tale that plays like a special Halloween episode of The Love Boat. Atwill just killed a man thinking incorrectly he could restore his life, so he flees to New Zealand via boat. But it crashes leaving several passengers, including the doctor, stranded. Luck would have it he tricks the natives into thinking he's brought someone back to life. Now he's a god, at least until someone really dies. A lot of lowbrow comedy here. But Atwill always has that twinkle in his eye and he's fun to watch.

078) 10/16/2020 Black Dragons (1942)

1/2

Bela Lugosi plays his customary mad scientist in this poverty row stinker about Japanese spies made to look American. Some of the dialogue is so bad as to be hilarious.

079) 10/16/2020 The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

It turns out Dr. Henry Frankenstein had a second son, so Ygor takes the monster (Lon Chaney, Jr.) to see him for a tune up. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is a more serious and stately medico, leaving Lionel Atwill, as his assistant, to go a little nuts. Great cast is a third sequel that's better than it has a right to be. Great ending.

080) 10/16/2020 The Strange Case of Dr. RX (1942)

Disappointing mystery horror about popular PI (Patric Knowles) trying to discover the identity of Dr. Rx, who keeps killing recently exonerated defendants. Mantan Moreland gets some laugh as Knowles valet. Lionel Atwill is a suspect. Throws in a mad scientist and ape just for the heck of it.

081) 10/16/2020 The Corpse Vanishes (1942)

Lugosi is poisoning brides on their wedding days, stealing their bodies. and then extracting glands so he can ease his wife's suffering and restore her beauty. Pretty silly stuff as is par for Monogram. For Lugosi fans only.

082) 10/16/2020 The Mad Monster (1942)

1/2

PRC clunker about mad scientist George Zucco turning gardener Glenn Strange into wolf, whom he then sends out to kill fellow scientists who ridiculed him. Zucco is more angry than mad and garners no sympathy whatsoever. Strange's part is a hybrid of Lon Chaney, Jr.'s roles as Lenny from Of Mice and Men and Larry Talbot in wolf form. If some company ever does a restoration of this it might help a little, as the film looks so darn drab.

 

[TravisR]

076) 10/16/2020 The Wolf Man (1941)

I think my favorite Universal monster is the Wolf Man.

The only correct answer.

 

[Malcolm R]

Goosebumps 3D

Zach and his mom move to a new small town after the death of Zach's dad. Hoping to make a new start, Zach attempts to be friendly with the girl next door, Hannah, but is rebuffed and threatened by her father, Mr. Shivers, who is eventually revealed to be famous author, R.L. Stine. It turns out that his imagination is so vivid that the monsters from his stories literally come to life if their manuscripts are opened. Zach unknowingly releases the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, and things go downhill from there as monsters run amok.

Finally got to watch the 3D version after recharging my glasses. Fun film, with a great comic performance by Ryan Lee as Zach's new friend, Champ, and Jack Black is a hoot as Stine. Some of the CGI is a bit sketchy here and there, mostly related to the werewolf (naturally).

 

[Ruz-El]

October 16: The Dead Center (2018) – 4 out of 5 - First Time Viewing

Spun that one last challenge and really liked it. Arrow put out a blu of it. A neat idea that was really well done.

I got in two tonight. Wrapped up a TV series and got in a movie:

029 10/16 Wicked Little Things (2006) 2/5 A widow moves her two daughters to a mining cabin in the hill which is the site of a 100 year old mining accident that killed a bunch of kids, and those kids are still pissed! Once you get over the surprise of seeing Scout from Rob Zombie’s Halloween, Chloe Moretz being so wee and poor Geoffrey Lewis in another thankless role there’s not much else to see with this one. It’s not the worst idea in the world, it just never really feels like it gets going or earns it’s scares. The kids got a real cheap look for being undead and the whole thing is really dark which is either a mistake or a bad way to hide a budget. It all adds up to a not exactly terrible time waster, but not a real compelling one either.

030 10/16 The Haunting of Hill House (2018) 4/5 I quite like this one. It takes the original story and updates it in a novel way I don’t think I’ve seen before. Instead of going the cheap route of escalating jump scares and crazed plotting like a Ryan Murphy show, Flanagan uses the haunted house story to explore a story of a family dealing with a traumatic event. It just so happens ghosts were involved. I’m not a 100% on the tone of the ending, but everything else is well done and while it’s overly complicated in the non-linear way Flanagan tells the story, I don’t think he cheats. Overall, I was impressed.

I've been pants this challenge trying to plan stuff to watch. Tomorrow might be DVR cleaning day. I've got some horror movies from TCM on there I should get to. They showed Titicut Follies, I'm tempted to watch it and count it, it's supposed to be incredibly disturbing for a documentary but I wont, it just seems wrong!

 

[Kaskade1309]

 

[Kaskade1309]

 

[Suzanne.S]

I watched this for the Challenge in 2017. Tommy does excellent work. I've been working through the Thunderbean/Blue Mouse release Grotesqueries this year. Great disc as well. I love animation and have supported all the releases you mentioned. No one is doing as much for classic animation as these guys.

In my almost 20 years on here, animated releases have a special place in my heart. And while i am waiting with baited breath for WAC to get back to more Popeye and Tex Avery, I wanted to bring attention to the smaller boutique labels every possible chance I can get. Arnold Leibovit's restorations of George Pal's Puppetoons, Steve Stanchfield's wonderful Thunderbean Animation and of course Tommy José Stathes' Cartoons on Film. These are labors of love done by Archivist with the best possible materials that they can source, and i hope that they continue to thrive as a David in a world of Corporate Goliaths. Enough soapbox , on to lasts nights viewing.

First Time Viewing
View attachment 80221

20. Cartoon Roots: Halloween Haunts

Stathes' Cartoons on Film, knocks it out of the park with this specially curated collection of animation and early short features for the beginning of celluloid history 1907 - 1936 covers the time frame of these shorts, with early work of Max and Dave Fleisher, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks and Walter Lantz. Lovingly restored to 2K by Steve Stanchfield, Thad Komorowski and David Grauman with new accompanying music by Robert Israel and Charlie Judkins.

Honestly this isn't meant to sound like a sales pitch, but every serious animation collector would want this collection. Even the titles over 113 years old shine, and are just as entertaining as the were over 100 years ago. The Pumpkin race is a wonderfully absurd short that just continued to bring a smile. One note is the these are as they were originally drawn and contain brief characterizations that are stereotypes. Lots of ghost in the toons and some haunted houses, nothing scary only bliss for those that want to see the history of animation in the best possible light.

 

[Suzanne.S]

Finally getting back to the challenge. I spent the whole second week of the month watching the Pordenone Silent Film Festival online. No horror movies in the mix, but a lot of great things that I would not have otherwise been able to see. Then real life intervened and now I'm back. Titles in red are new to me.

10/10

8. Pathé Audio Revue (1930) short - Newsreel footage of a Gingerbread Castle and of a version of Little Red Riding Hood told with creepy wind-up toys. From the Grotesqueries disc.


10/15
Continuing on with Grotesqueries:

First, three surreal cartoons from the Van Beuren Studios. Great stuff even if it's not up to the same standards as Fleischer.

9. Halloween (1931) short - Toby the Pup at a Halloween Party

10. Wot a Night (1931) short - Tom & Jerry as cab drivers trying to get paid at a very strange house

11. Magic Mummy (1933) short - Tom & Jerry as police officers tracking down a stolen mummy

And pinscreen animation by Alexander Alexeieff and Clare Parker. Absolutely amazing - a must see.

12. Une Nuit Sur le Mont Chauve (1933) short


10/16
Tonight I spent the evening with Vincent Price. All three with great performances but three very different types of movies. From the Shout Factory/Scream Factory Vincent Price Collection III Blu-ray set.

13. Tower of London (1962) - Interesting retelling of the story of Richard III. This is a much more psychological approach and the ghost effects are pretty cool.

14. An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (1970) - A one man tour-de-force from Price performing four Poe stories with first person narrators. My favorite was The Tell-Tale Heart.

15. Diary of a Madman (1963) - Garish Technicolor psychological horror about a man possessed by an entity called the Horla. Told in flashback, I was still surprised by the ending. This film had some nice special effects and a really well developed story.

I will probably watch a few more of the Price films tomorrow night.

 

[HawksFord]

11. Murders In the Zoo (1933) – We started on the second Universal Horror Collection with this short (just over an hour) film. The opening scene is a bit of a shock and makes it clear we are in pre-code territory here. Lionell Atwill is appropriately creepy as the jealous collector of wild animals for the zoo, and Kathleen Burke plays his wife. Randolph Scott is the zoo’s toxicology expert, and Gail Patrick is the daughter of the zoo’s director and fiancee of Scott. Patrick’s role is a strong female character who takes an active role in the final confrontation which we both appreciated. Charlie Ruggles provides comic relief as the zoo publicist who is afraid of animals; I liked him but my wife found his presence distracting. The film was short enough for us to immediately watch it again with the commentary by Gregory Mank.

out of five

 

[BobO'Link]

I managed to get in 4 yesterday:

A box office failure for Hammer this is an interesting twist of sorts on the tale. In this one, Jekyll's alter ego, Hyde, becomes handsome and suave, though still somewhat depraved. As Hyde he frequents opium dens, does various misdeeds, and murder while putting the blame squarely on Jekyll (though no one knows he's one and the same). While not as good as the 1931 film with Fredrick March, my favorite of the Jekyll/Hyde films, or the 1941 with Spencer Tracey, in 2nd place, it's still worth a viewing. I also enjoy the 1920 silent with John Barrymore.

A guilty pleasure that's just plain goofy, Hear the bodyless head speak! How is this miracle done with no lungs to drive the vocal chords!?! Who knows. A doctor's beautiful girlfriend is beheaded in an automobile crash. The doctor has been experimenting with transplant techniques so preservers her head in a tray of chemicals and goes off to find a new body. But wait! He keeps one of his failures in a locked room in the basement lab! She convinces it to help her end it all. Will she succeed or will the doctor have his bride!?! Very cheesy and completely illogical. Lots of fun!

John mentioned The Ghost of Frankenstein so I got this one out for a viewing. Another favorite that's even better after Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein which lifts entire scenes, dialog intact. Baron Frankenstein, who created the original monster, is dead. His son, Wolf, and family arrives to stake claim to the title and properties. The young Baron is not made welcome by the locals, who are still terrified of the monster his father created. Inside a sealed briefcase left by his father he finds his father's notes. While exploring the property he runs across Igor (Bela Lugosi) who has a surprise for him: the monster his father created is still alive, though in some sort of coma. Of course, having father's notes, the young Baron must attempt to bring him back to life and salvage his family's honor. It has a very exciting final act in which...

James Whale declined to direct this one feeling he'd told all there was to tell after directing Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. This would be last time Boris Karloff would play the monster although he would return as Doctor Niemann in House of Franenstein and Dr. Frankenstein in the lackluster Frankenstein 1970.

All because of John... and that it's on the same disc as Son of... and that it's a direct sequel to that same film. Igor (Lugosi again) and the monster (now played by Lon Chaney, Jr. - just not the same...) are chased out of town (see the ending of Son of... and beginning of this to find out how) and make their way to another small town where the *younger* son of the old Baron lives. Igor blackmails him to continue his father's experiments by putting a new brain into the monster. This one has more twists than a carnival fun house! I'm not much of a fan of Chaney in the monster roll, but he is far superior to Bela Lugosi who takes up the mantle in Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man, the next film in the franchise and, amazingly, another direct sequel.

 

[Malcolm R]

Scaredy Cat, a horror movie for cats.