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

[Michael Elliott]

The Crooked Circle (1932) * 1/2

Zasu Pitts plays a woman trying to bring down some sort of weird cult who wears hoods and worship a skull. This is yet another low-budget film where they go for laughs as a couple dummies try to catch bad guys and they end up in a haunted house. I was surprised that I had never heard of this film even with it containing quite a few horror elements. The comedy is just awful and the cast is boring.

Geheimnis des blauen Zimmers (1932) **

A Lord warns about the "Blue Room" of his home. Three men decide to stay there to impress the Lord's daughter. This German film has to be the most popular movie of the 1930s considering it was remade four times in the next 12 years including three times by Universal starting with SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM. This version was okay but there is way too much talk for a 63-minute movie and the secrets of the room take way too long to come out. Plus, you're missing Lionel Atwill.

A Name for Evil (1973) **

Robert Culp and Samantha Eggar move into his great grandfathers home to fix it up but soon something there doesn't want them there. This is a really bizarre film that was shelves for three years and then Penthouse Pictures bought the rights and apparently re-edited it and turned it into a horror movie. The problem is that none of it makes any sense and you're constantly trying to figure out what's happening and why. The craziest thing is an orgy sequence that breaks out in the middle of the picture, which has Culp going full frontal in several scenes. I'm not talking brief shots. I mean really going full frontal. Rene Bond plays one of the ladies there but she has no lines.

Gorgon Video Magazine Vol. 2 (1990) ***

Michael Berryman hosts this second and final film in the series. The Stuart Gordon interview is good but Penn and Teller? Certainly not on the same league as Wes Craven, GWAR and Linnea Quigley (who does have a cameo here). Good but not nearly as interesting as the first.

Killer Fish (1979) ** 1/2

Jewel thieves dumb some jewels in a lake to avoid the police. The only problem is that it is full of piranhas. This is one of those international pictures that got a lot of famous faces from around the world and put them together so that the movie could be sold all around. This is a very stupid picture that mixes crime, horror and romance before then turning into a disaster film. It's stupid but at the same time entertaining.

 

[Pete Battista]

Title: The Gorgon

Year: 1964
Director: Terence Fisher
Writer: John Gilling (Screenwriter), J. Llewellyn Devine (Story By)
Rating: NR
Length: 83 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: Mono
Subtitles:

Stars:
Christopher Lee (1922) as Dr. Namaroff
Peter Cushing as Prof. Karl Meister
Richard Pasco as Paul Heitz
Barbara Shelley as Carla Hoffman
Michael Goodliffe as Prof. Jules Heitz
Patrick Troughton as Inspector Kanof

Plot:
In a rural village, a series of murders have been committed where each victim was turned into stone. A local professor investigates and finds an evil Gorgon haunting a nearby castle and in search of more victims.

Extras:


My Thoughts:
One one hand a decent film It did keep my attention ok. Plus it does have Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing which is always a good thing. But it was a very mild horror I would almost say it was more tragic, some romance and a touch of horror. But then this is the 60s we are talking about. I would say it is above average. Definitely worth the time put in to watch it. Just don't expect a scary horror movie from it.

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 -
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula - S - 1/2
Tales from the Hood - D -
Tales from the Hood 2 - B - 1/2
Midsommar - B -
Hubie Halloween - S -
The Thing ('82) - B -
Thirteen Ghosts - D -
Suspiria - D -
The Toolbox Murders - D - 1/2
Van Helsing - U - 1/2
Final Destination 2 - B - 1/2
Silver Bullet - B -
Event Horizon - B - 1/2
The Rage: Carrie 2 - B - 1/2
The Gorgon - B -

Total Watched: 38

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4

134) 10/27/2020 The Flying Serpent (1946)

1/2

Re-working of The Devil Bat plot just never really comes together. This time George Zucco sends out prehistoric bird to kill those who may discover hidden treasure. Instead of shaving lotion it's a feather that spells doom. Cheap and silly.

135) 10/27/2020 The Mask of Diijon (1946)

Erich von Stroheim is retired magician who discovers the secret of hypnotism. But his goof during an act combined with his mistaken belief his wife is cheating on him send him down a dark path. Stroheim is OK but the ending is so ridiculous (why does he even run away to begin with when there's no actual proof of anything?) that is hurts entire film.

136) 10/27/2020 The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946)

1/2

Young woman goes to work as companion for saintly and blind Gale Sondergaard. Of course she's neither saintly nor blind but instead feeds blood to her hungry plant. Boy, these 1946 Universal movies pretty much stink.

 

[Pete Battista]

Title: Hatchet: Unrated Director's Cut
IMDb |Trailer |Wikipedia |
Year: 2006
Director: Adam Green
Writer: Adam Green (Writer)
Rating: Unrated
Length: 84 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Joel David Moore as Ben
Tamara Feldman as Marybeth
Deon Richmond as Marcus
Kane Hodder as Victor Crowley
Mercedes McNab as Misty
Parry Shen as Shawn

Plot:
It's the movie that single-handedly brought back old-school American horror...then drove a hatchet straight into its shocked and screaming face. Now the blood-sprayed saga of a group of tourists, their bayou tour, and the legend of deformed swamp psycho Victor Crowley returns wetter, redder and better than ever before! Joel David Moore (Avatar), Deon Richmond (Scream 3), Tamara Feldman ("Gossip Girl") and Mercedes McNab ("Angel") star – along with horror icons Kane "Jason" Hodder, Robert "Freddy Kruger" Englund, and Tony "Candyman" Todd – in this limb-tearing, skull-splitting, and gut-ripping Director's Cut featuring a new HD transfer. The HATCHET Army marches on: Victor Crowley is totally uncensored, completely unrated and forever unstoppable on Blu-ray™!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Outtakes/Bloopers

My Thoughts:
This one is a decent movie... but not the best horror I ever seen. You can't take it too seriously. Unfortunately the horror icons only had single scene parts (besides Kane Hodder who played Victor Crowely). But it was cool to see Mercedes McNab (Harmony on Buffy) through-out the movie. She played a dumb blonde in this one as well. Over-all.... an enjoyable film but don't expect to much... this one is heavy on gore but light on scares. Worth the time it takes to watch it. But I would recommend making sure you get this one as cheap as possible.

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 -
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula - S - 1/2
Tales from the Hood - D -
Tales from the Hood 2 - B - 1/2
Midsommar - B -
Hubie Halloween - S -
The Thing ('82) - B -
Thirteen Ghosts - D -
Suspiria - D -
The Toolbox Murders - D - 1/2
Van Helsing - U - 1/2
Final Destination 2 - B - 1/2
Silver Bullet - B -
Event Horizon - B - 1/2
The Rage: Carrie 2 - B - 1/2
The Gorgon - B -
Hatchet - B -

Total Watched: 39

 

[dana martin]

First Time Viewing

40. A Bucket of Blood

Dick Miller steps out of the shadows of extra and into the spotlight as the lead in probably the only movie of its kind from the sometimes demented mind of Rodger Corman. A Beatnik Black Comedy, with some impressive results. Miller really turns on the charm as the guy who wants to fit in with the beat crowd, but seems a little dense as to what is going on around him. And though a series unfortunate events one night while working on a sculpture, the error turns into an asset.

After the Artist, shows his new sculpture and gets raves from the group, he must find more inspiration and bodies to make his art work. If you liked Corman's Little Shop of Horrors then you know the kind of Dark Comedy that is going to happen. Really enjoyed seeing a young Burt Convey before the bad 70 Afro and polyester suit, some really good chuckles.

next....

 

[whacky blacky]

October 27

62. The Goocher (2020). FTV. Streamed. 1.5/5. This one starts off as Battle Royale then it turns into a zombie flick. Just awful. Avoid this one.

 

[dpippel]

OCTOBER 27:

31) The Blob (1958) (Criterion Channel HD Streaming) 3/5 stars - Haven't seen this one in a while, and I'd forgotten how Roger Corman-ish it is. I find the film to be very uneven, but when it works it works pretty well, and it's still funny seeing Steve McQueen as a teenager here - he was 28 when the film was made, and looks every year of it. The Criterion stream looked great.

 

[Pete Battista]

Title: Hatchet II: Unrated Director's Cut
Wikipedia |IMDb |Trailer |
Year: 2010
Director: Adam Green
Writer: Adam Green (Writer)
Rating: Unrated
Length: 85 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, English: PCM: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Danielle Harris as Marybeth
Tony Todd (1954) as Reverend Zombie
Kane Hodder as Victor Crowley
Parry Shen as Justin
Tom Holland (1996) as Bob
R. A. Mihailoff [R.A. Mihailoff] as Trent

Plot:
HATCHET II picks up right where the original Hatchet ends, as the quiet but resilient Marybeth (Danielle Harris, the Halloween franchise) barely escapes from the clutches of bayou maniac Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder, the Friday the 13th franchise), who has already slaughtered Marybeth's family and entire swamp boat full of New Orleans tourists. Upon learning her own family's ties to Victor Crowley from local Louisiana charlatan Reverend Zombie (Tony Todd, the Candyman franchise), Marybeth returns to the swamp with a team of hired guns to exact her revenge, but quickly discovers that not even an army of hunters can stand up to the fury and bloodlust of the legendary Victor Crowley.

The unrated HATCHET II serves up a ferocious and exceptionally gory dose of splatterific entertainment with groundbreaking practical make-up effects, a wildly twisted sense of humor, and an even darker and bloodier ride than the first film. Hold on to your pieces!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Radio Spot

My Thoughts:
I actually enjoyed this one a little better then the first. I was pleased to see Tony Todd had a much bigger part in this one. There is still a nice bit of gore here.... and I felt the story was better then the first.Well worth the time put in to watch it.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5
1/2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 -
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula - S - 1/2
Tales from the Hood - D -
Tales from the Hood 2 - B - 1/2
Midsommar - B -
Hubie Halloween - S -
The Thing ('82) - B -
Thirteen Ghosts - D -
Suspiria - D -
The Toolbox Murders - D - 1/2
Van Helsing - U - 1/2
Final Destination 2 - B - 1/2
Silver Bullet - B -
Event Horizon - B - 1/2
The Rage: Carrie 2 - B - 1/2
The Gorgon - B -
Hatchet - B -
Hatchet 2 - B - 1/2

Total Watched: 40

 

[whacky blacky]

63. Gretel And Hansel (2020). FTV. Streamed. 2.5/5. A pretty cool twist to the story.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 27: Ready or Not (2019) – 4 out of 5 – First Time Viewing

Grace is about to marry into an extremely wealthy family who made their money in the games industry. She’s nervous and the family don’t seem to like her very much. She has no idea. After the wedding, when the newlywed couple retreat to their room, they are summoned downstairs to the hidden games room to take part in a special tradition. On the night of a wedding into the family, the bride must pull a card from a small box and the family will then play whatever game the card reveals. Tonight, it’s a game of hide and seek. What grace doesn’t realize is that this is no ordinary game, and this rich family is no ordinary family. Things get weird.

Ready or Not is a hoot. A horror film with black comedy that offers up a healthy dose of smiles, smirks and chuckles amongst the tension and brutality. The sharp-witted Grace is played exceedingly well by Samara Weaving, and among the unexpectedly terrible family she was marrying into is Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, and Andie McDowell. The cast is terrific and while the comedy isn’t always sly, it’s always funny when it goes for it.

Movies like Ready or Not have fun twisting the ideas of horror movies, and there’s a good deal of fun to be had leading up to the finale that delights in baiting us with doubt. This is a fun find and if you like your horror with a slice of comedy, it’s absolutely for you. Such fun!

 

[Malcolm R]

The Evil 1/2

A husband and wife, one a psychiatrist the other a medical doctor, are seeking a location to open a drug rehab center. They find a large mansion in a remote location that oddly has been unoccupied for nearly a century but is exactly what they're looking for. Rumors swirl about odd happenings at the house, but the scientists chalk it up to vivid imaginations and the geology of the area that is said to include sulfur pits and frequent lightning storms. Soon after their team arrives to begin to clean up the place, a series of unexplained violent events occur. The wife senses an evil in the house, as well as the ghost of the former owner who is trying to warn them, but can she get anyone else to believe her?

Not a bad entry in the haunted house/poltergeist type of genre, though the short running time means there are shortcuts and dropped continuity here and there. There's no real plot other than a group of people in a creepy old house. And it does suffer from the usual people-doing-stupid-things in this type of film. You find a trap door buried in the creepy basement sealed with a crucifix, what's the first thing you do? Why, you remove the crucifix and unlock the door, of course. Then never mention this find to anyone else in the house. You tell everyone that until you figure things out, everyone should stick together, so what do you do? Why of course everyone goes off alone, away from the group, at every possible opportunity.

This was the Scream! blu-ray, which wasn't stellar but was probably the best source materials they had to work with. I doubt this film is high on any list for preservation. It's a shame it was in mono only, as the sound design probably would have been great in some kind of stereo surround.

Oh, and if you watch this, don't view any of the trailers first. The main theatrical trailer included here as a bonus feature shows almost every death scene in the film.

63. Gretel And Hansel (2020). FTV. Streamed. 2.5/5. A pretty cool twist to the story.

October 27: Ready or Not (2019) – 4 out of 5 – First Time Viewing

Two more I'd like to watch, but am running out of days.

 

[Ruz-El]

Two more I'd like to watch, but am running out of days.

There's always next year!

 

[Ruz-El]

I somehow had a random watching day and realized I haven't started watching any of the Conjuring universe movies I planned to! I don't know, man, the wheels always fall off at the end of the challenge for me!

076 10/27 Matango (1963) 3/5 A pleasure cruise hits the skids when after a storm it lands on an island full of strange mushrooms that you turn into once you start eating them. Sadly this one drags a bit, but once it finally gets going it gets pretty good and the mushroom people are kind of irresistible as far as crappy monsters go. I’m torn between the 2.5 or a 3 on this one.

077 10/27 Darlin’ (2019) 2.5/5 The third film in THE WOMAN series is written and directed by the Woman herself, Pollyanna McIntosh and it’s okay. This one finds the little girl from film two now a teenager, caught and put into a church home and The Woman wants her back. McIntosh has some ideas and whatnot, and it’s well made with good performances. I found it a bit slow and it never really seemed to get going. To the point that if you cut The Woman character out completely it wouldn’t change the film. Which is sort of how the other two films play, but here we are. Maybe it needed more of The Woman in it instead of the other one?

078 10/27 Night Tide (1961) 3.5/5 Dennis Hopper is a sailor spending his weekend leave at the boardwalk when he falls in love with the mermaid attraction. This one gets talked up a lot and it is a low budget gem. Director Harrinton does a great job of giving this one a dreamy feel and pacing and it does play like a noir. Hopper goes all in with the method acting and feels out of place which I’m torn between thinking if it helps or hurts the picture. Overall though, I liked this one even though I don’t think it fully delivers. Waffling between a 3 and a 3.5.

079 10/27 House IV (1992) 2/5 The HOUSE franchise gets another kick of the can with this one that brings back William Katt only to kill him off in the opening minutes so his wife has deal with the house and his dumb brother who wants it for the mob. Which ends up being a good career choice for William Katt. This series is another case of being a one trick pony where the first film did it best and the third film if I remember it right doesn’t connect at all story-wise to the point that I don't remember there being gags or the house. This one tries to be both comedic and horrific and simply doesn’t work. My advice: watch HAUSU.

 

[Bryan^H]

Lifeforce
still holds up as a completely atmospheric, and creepy sci-horror film I'm glad to own on BD.
Matilda May never looked better.
Grade-B

Olivia
Finally completed my Suzanna Love (Dupont heiress, and charming actor from such horror greats 'The Devonsville terror', The Boogey Man etc.) film library on disc, and this transfer is stunning.
The movie is fine. Just a bookish gal with a dual personality that could be murderous!!
Grade B-

 

[dana martin]

First Time Viewing

41. Wolfen

OK so decided to delve back into the unwatched collection and pulled another Wolf movie from 1981; after a little investigation I realized that An American Werewolf in London also came out in 1981. And I also decided it was probably better to skip the Howling sequels so as not to take away from the charm of the first one . So 5 minutes later I'm pulling up a list of everything that was released in 1981 to see why I had missed these at the local drive-in in between my senior year of high school freshman year of college drinking crappy 3.2 beer when an 18 year old in certain states could, and of a lot of fishing.

Dang if 1981 wasn't really a great year for lot of really good releases. That's probably the reason why I missed out on these because I went and saw an awful lot of other things. Between the drive in all summer long and the one or two movie houses when the cold of winter showed up.

So Next up was Wolfen, not so much a werewolf movie as more a social commentary, and a story about shape shifters. Albert Finney running around the South Bronx circa 1980, who's dilapidated broken down desolate areas work better as a backdrop then any studio could ever provide for a story like this. With a full-on schlock of hair, that will get covered up within the next year by a bald cap wig he's trying to solve mysterious homicides by what could only be some kind of an animal.

Edward James Olmos, is the lead Native American protagonist who's trying to explain that it's not man or animal it's something entirely else an older form of life that has been here and survived and we'll find a way. Somewhere in between his breaks during filming I wonder if he was working on his origami skills that would be put to use within the next year or so.

Last major featured actor to talk about, is Gregory Hines in the role of the medical examiner who is helping Finney solve the mystery of the murders. And probably feeling a little different then when he was riding around in a chariot with Mel Brooks.

A lot of the filming is done POV from the Animals perspective, with an in-camera trick with sort of a chroma or heat signature that works very effectively. No metamorphosis is shown along the way as it is more of a spiritual change for them to shapeshift but once fully shifted it's not your standard Wolf man or werewolf but actually a full on Wolf which works more effectively for the story.
The movie does leave you with one really good question, to build your society , whose society are you building it on top of , who gets displaced in the name of progress

next...

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4

137) 10/27/2020 House of Horrors (1946)

1/2

Humiliated artist (Martin Kosleck) teams with notorious, spine-breaking Creeper (Rondo Hatton) to take out Kosleck's detractors. Kosleck makes a great villain and carries the film. But there's no nuance in Hatton's performance and leading lady Virginia Grey is obnoxious.

138) 10/27/2020 The Catman of Paris (1946)

In 1896 Paris a legendary creature is murdering the enemies of controversial author. Not bad Jekyll/Hyde type thriller has some good moments but ultimately doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

139) 10/28/2020 Bedlam (1946)

Producer Val Lewton's final horror flick features Boris Karloff as head of St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum. He runs afoul of Anna Lee who wants to reform the poor conditions, so he has her committed. Good production values, witty script, and fine, menacing Karloff performance.

140) 10/28/2020 The Cat Creeps (1946)

1/2

Poor horror mystery has group of people at isolated house looking for $200K in hidden cash. A cat lurks about while a murderer strikes. Bland and familiar.

141) 10/28/2020 She-Wolf of London (1946)

Universal's last horror release of the classic period's second wave (1939-1946) concerns young lady who thinks she's inherited family curse of becoming werewolf. Beautifully shot and atmospheric, this is pretty much ruined by obvious plotting. Universal actually made one more horror film (The Brute Man) but sold it to PRC.

 

[BobO'Link]

Yesterday:

Frankenstein meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... At least it feels that way. Dr. Sovak (Karloff) transplants part of a criminals brain into his professor friend to save his life. However, the criminal's brain starts to make itself known turning the professor into a Mr. Hyde. As the criminal, he spills to Sovak about a fortune he's hidden so Sovak makes sure to get all the info and claim the fortune before returning his friend to normalcy. Lugosi is barely in the film. Karloff is, again, superb.

OK... it's a werewolf film - kind of. It's so bad it's funny but was it intentionally funny? Well... IMDB says Horror only so... Just one more nail in King's coffin, further proving to me he's a total hack. Horrible dialog, creature effects, and staging, with pedestrian directing. It plays like a lesser made-for-TV film yet has an "R" rating (and I don't see how... it's not scary and the visuals are quite subdued). I've seen it... move on... It's part of a 4 film Stephen King set I borrowed from a friend (mainly to watch just this film - for the first time). I can't decide if I want to watch the others...

After Silver Bullet I had to take a dip in the favorite pool for a truly *good* werewolf film from the 80s. Truly terrifying at times with very good creature effects. I still get chills from this one and I've seen it over a dozen times since its release. It also benefits from a pair of great late 60s/early 70s songs, CCR's "Bad Moon Rising" and Van Morrison's "Moondance" plus the 30s classic, "Blue Moon" by Rodgers and Hart.

I've liked this one since seeing it shortly after it appeared in theaters. Donald Sutherland is good but mostly wasted and the rest is a Valley Kid scream of a horror story. Yeah, Wheadon didn't like it and feels it wasn't done properly, as do most reviewers and normal people. I like it anyway and think it's a real hoot.

The matriarch of a family is close to death so all the relatives gather for her impending demise and the anticipated reading of her will. Another "old dark house" type horror comedy played more for laughs than horror. Features the comic Hugh Herbert, Brod(erick) Crawford, and Basil Rathbone. Crawford is quite svelt compared to his much later TV appearances. Best laugh is when Herbert's character has everyone gathered describing what's happened when Rathbone's character injects his premise. Herbert's responds "Who do you think you are? Sherlock Holmes?"

Slight but fun.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Wolfman's Got Nards (2018) *** 1/2

Documentary covering the making of THE MONSTER SQUAD, it's failure at the box office and it becoming a cult favorite. I'm glad this thing finally got an official release. A couple years back it was playing at a con that I was at but it was at the same time I was to meet Alice Cooper. Meeting Alice Cooper won. For the most part this was a very good look at the making of the movie but the most fascinating thing out of all the cast and crew interviews is the director himself who is still pissed that this movie basically ended his career. His reaction to the cult status is quite fascinating.

The Fall of the House of Usher (1979) ***

Made-for-TV version of the Poe story has Martin Landau playing Usher, a man who fears that he will die as soon as his castle crumbles. I thought there were a lot of really good ideas scattered throughout this film. The production design was wonderful and there was a good atmosphere hanging over the film. Landau was excellent in his role as was Ray Walston in the role of the servant. The only bad thing was the wife character here. There's one thing to have a female screaming and waiting for a man to save her. Hey, this was pre-ALIEN but at the same time this character is such a coward and is so annoying that it really hurt the film.

Burned at the Stake (1982) **

Bert I. Gordon directed this tale about a couple people killed during the 1692 Salem witch trials. In the current time a young woman gets possessed by a spirit. I thought there were some interesting ideas scattered throughout this film but the movie really does look like something from a decade earlier. It's weird that the film has an old-fashioned look yet the blood and gore from a film of this era. Some weak performances hurt as well. Aka THE COMING.

The Golem (1920) *** 1/2

I've seen this film several times over the years but this recent Kino Blu-ray was a revelation. I was amazed at how great the film looked and even better is that they had a comparison extra showing the differences between this version as well as another release at there. You've even got the shorter American version of the film here. As far as the film goes, it's certainly a classic with a very good story, some great sets and of course a terrific monster.

 

[BobO'Link]

(Silver Bullet is) part of a 4 film Stephen King set I borrowed from a friend (mainly to watch just this film - for the first time). I can't decide if I want to watch the others...

After reading reviews and descriptions I decided to... NOT watch the others in that set.

For the curious, the other films in the set are:
The Dead Zone - This one has the best reviews but the premise sounds kind of "meh" and is a type I generally don't like.
Pet Sematary - From the reviews I've read this is bottom-of-the-barrel King. Since I consider his "top shelf" material to be quite low aspiring it's a pass.
Graveyard Shift - Also rather negative reviews but not nearly as bad as for Pet Sematary. Still, it sounds rather lame and I just don't like "rat" movies at all finding most rather laughable. Another pass.

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4

142) 10/28/2020 The Devil's Mask (1946)

Second I Love a Mystery entry concerns a unclaimed shrunken head, two feisty lovers, and a missing hunter. Not too many surprises in this one although a busy plot keeps this watchable. More charismatic leads may have helped.

143) 10/28/2020 Valley of the Zombies (1946)

Ian Keith's enjoyable turn as Ormand Murks, a vampire-like murderer who needs blood to survive, makes for a somewhat endurable poverty row thriller. Title is misleading as this really has nothing to do with zombies, or valleys for that matter.

144) 10/28/2020 The Unknown (1946)

Final entry in short-lived I Love a Mystery series starts in unusual manner as past events are recounted/narrated by supposedly deceased woman. Now, a long lost relative and long buried secrets come into play. Weakest of the series with an obvious villain.

145) 10/28/2020 The Brute Man (1946)

1/2

Although released by PRC, this is really a Universal horror film (just listen for some of those familiar music cues) that tells the back story of the Creeper, the killer from House of Horrors. Rips off a lot from The Face Behind the Mask but Rondo Hatton and Jane Adams are no Peter Lorre and Evelyn Keyes. Pretty bad with lazy performances and poor finale.