Horror Movie Maven

Lover of all things that slash, gash, bleed, and otherwise terrify.

Category: Reviews (page 2 of 6)

The House That Screamed (1969)

My take: It’s got a storyline I was not able to predict. As a result, it’s a solid Spanish horror film.

Rating: 2 out of 4 stars

Called La Residencia in Spain, The House That Screamed is a suspense-driven horror film that I was unable to predict. I’ve noticed this with many foreign horror films. The typical tropes and expectations go out the window. Without the same cultural norms and history, you don’t know where the story will go next. This is how I felt while watching this movie.

The basic plot involves a boarding school for girls. There is a stern headmistress and her lurking son. There’s a sadistic girl who oversees (and punishes) other girls. We follow the new student, Thérèse as she orients herself to these new surroundings. And girls keep running away for some reason…

house that screamed

The lobby card for The House That Screamed.

To tell you more could ruin the fun. While it has a unique plot, I don’t know if I would recommend this film to just anyone. Not only is it difficult to get ahold of, it is also not a stand-out horror film that needs to be watched. As a result, I would recommend this movie to only die-hard fans of horror, including Spanish horror and period pieces.

I got a copy of the movie by ordering a DVD from Amazon. Here is the trailer in Spanish from YouTube:

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

My take: This continuation of Hammer Film’s Frankenstein is well worth watching. It elevates Frankenstein into the ultimate villain.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

This was the fifth Frankenstein film from Hammer Films, but you wouldn’t know it by watching. I was surprised to learn that I had missed three films in between. I say this to note the fact that you don’t need to have seen the previous films to feel right at home watching Frankenstein Must be Destroyed.

Frankenstein Must be Destroyed.

Frankenstein and his blackmailed assistant getting to work in Frankenstein Must be Destroyed.

The film jumps right in with Baron Frankenstein, played still by Peter Cushing, up to his old antics. He is determined to reanimate his hodgepodge creations and now needs the help of a fellow scientist to learn the tricks for transplanting a brain.

The problem? That scientist happens to be locked up in an asylum and is no longer able to speak. Frankenstein is determined to get at the information in this poor man’s addled mind, and he will do anything to learn his secrets.

I found this film to be a fun and interesting story from beginning to end. You can’t help but get wrapped up in the story, and you may even find yourself yelling the title of the film at the screen by the end. It’s a fitting title.

I would recommend this movie to fans of Hammer Horror, Frankenstein stories and class horror. I got the movie through Netflix’s DVD service. Here is the trailer on YouTube to whet your whistle:

Witchfinder General (1968)

My take: This movie is a product of it’s time and is not very frightening today.

Rating: 1 out of 4 stars

Witchfinder General was released at the same time as Night of the Living Dead and Rosemary’s Baby. But it lacks the timeless qualities of those films.

It is a period piece set in the 1600s. One thing I have come to learn about historical fiction: they often say more about the time they were created than the time they are set. This film is no different.

witchfinder general

Vincent Price as the Witchfinder General

Witchfinder General tells the story of the victims of witch hunting in England at the time of Cromwell. But the film focuses heavily on the senseless violence, terrifying raping of women, and the sadism of the witch hunter, played in this film by Vincent Price. These themes are prevalent in horror throughout the early 1960s and70s.

Straw Dogs is one example from 1971, where a couple is brutally terrorized by a group of locals. Last House on the Left from 1972 is another exploitation horror film that covers similar ground.

As a result, I imagine that this story of witch hunting and torture would have terrified me in 1968. But today, it simply falls flat and fails to scare me any more than an episode of Law & Order SVU.

If you like period horror films, you might like this one. Otherwise, you can probably just skip it.

I got the movie from Netflix. Here is the trailer:

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

My take: Roman Polanski’s talent as a director shines through in this tale of a married pregnant woman who fears that her baby will be stolen by witches..

Rating: 4 out of 4 stars

Every time I watch Rosemary’s Baby, I notice something new. On this last viewing, I noticed that the real estate agent blocks Guy Woodhouse at the entrance to every room while showing the apartment at the start of the film. It forces Guy to squeeze past the agent while his wife, Rosemary Woodhouse, breezes into rooms unencumbered. Is this because Guy’s opinion is unimportant? Was this a sign of the times or did the agent want to sell her on the property for a reason?

This type of subtle detail sets Rosemary’s Baby apart from other films from the era, and it showcases the keen eye of the director Roman Polanski.

rosemary's baby

Rosemary fleeing in fear. Of what? Watch it to find out.

When watching this movie, you have to concentrate and pay attention to the details. I made the mistake once of showing this movie at a horror movie marathon/party with some friends. It does not lend itself well to the side conversations and giggling of a group of marathon movie watchers. Instead, I recommend dimming the lights, grabbing a drink and some popcorn, and settling in alone to watch this movie from beginning to end.

This movie fits right in with the satan-worshipping horror films of the era. But I would also recommend this movie to anyone who likes supernatural horror films and scary movies without a lot of gore.

There was a recent rerelease of the movie on bluray and a mini-series remake of the film for television. Here is the trailer on YouTube:

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

My take: This movie is essential to the horror cannon and was the genesis of countless zombie films.

Rating: 4 out of 4 stars

Produced for a mere $114,000 in 1967, Night of the Living Dead continues to be one of the greatest zombie films ever created. It was George A. Romero’s first feature-length film, and it still influences zombie stories and films today.

night of the living dead poster

Poster for Night of the Living Dead

What makes it so terrific?

  • There are no weird rituals: Unlike the zombie films that came before it like White Zombie or the Plague of the Zombies, Night of the Living Dead cut out all the Haitian mythology and rituals. It cuts right to the core of what makes a good horror film: the stories of the individuals who are facing the horror.
  • It’s in black and white: Back when I lived in New York, I used to buy cheap DVD copies of new theatrical releases on the street. One odd thing I discovered: horror movies are scarier when the picture is shoddy and you can’t quite see everything. Likewise, the use of black and white in Night of the Living Dead stands out in its time, when color was taking over the motion picture industry. It gives it an eerie quality that color may have ruined.
  • There is no pointless romance: So many horror movies, especially during this era, focus on some romantic interest. This film does away with all of that so you are forced to focus solely on the terror of a zombie attack.
  • It’s got the first African-American lead actor in a horror film: George Romero did not plan to hire a black lead actor. According to his preface to The Complete Night of the Living Dead Filmbook, Romero says, “We cast a black man not because he was black, but because we liked Duane’s audition better than others we had seen.” when you watch Duane Jones’ performance, you can see why.

As a result of these elements (and others that would spoil the film for those who haven’t seen it), I would make this required watching for anyone who professes a love of horror films or zombie stories.

It’s available on DVD, through Hulu or on Amazon’s Instant Watch. Here’s the trailer on YouTube:

 

Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

My take: Horror meets science fiction in this Hammer horror classic.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

When science fiction and horror combine, terrifying things can happen. You never know what might happen next when the rules are being broken and boundaries pushed.

For this reason, science fiction horror has always been one of my favorite subgenres. Aliens, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Fly are just a few of the frightening tales that come from this combination. The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass and the Pit also stand out as an excellent examples of this.

Quatermass and the Pit takes place in London’s present day, present day being 1967. While digging to expand an Underground station, workers discover skulls and bones. The archeologists step in and find something even more interesting, an artifact that the first assume is a bomb. But it turns out to be so much more.

quatermass and the pit

Poster for Quatermass and the Pit.

It’s got aliens, it’s got ancient skulls, and it’s got a theory for the creation of man that is downright scary.

If you like science fiction horror, watch this movie. I would also recommend it to fans of classic science fiction and fans of Hammer horror films.

I watched it online on YouTube. Here’s the trailer:

Watch the Book: 60 Movies Watched

I’m almost halfway through watching all of the movies in the book Studies in Terror. I’ve watched nearly 60 movies. I say nearly because there are still some movies I’ve been unable to find. I’ve still got about 70 movies to go.

So far, I’m really happy I’ve been doing this. I’ve seen some great movies, some mediocre movies and some downright terrible films. But each one I watch makes me feel that much more smug and knowledgeable in the realm of horror. I highly recommend it.

I decided to continue and edit the list I created after I watched 30 films. It’s split into three sections: movies you should see, movies only die-hard fans of the genre need to see, and movies you can skip. Movies I was unable to find are listed at the end. It is in descending order; my favorites are higher on the list.

Here goes:

Movies You Should See

  1. Psycho: If you haven’t seen this movie, go see it. Right now. I’m not kidding.

    psycho house

    The house from Psycho is utterly iconic.

  2. The Curse of Frankenstein: This is the film that skyrocketed Hammer Films to the top of popularity, with good reason.
  3. Island of Lost Souls: Charles Laughton is phenomenal in this movie, and it is a really fascinating take on the H.G. Wells story.
  4. Diabolique: A sinister tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat with suspense.
  5. The Old Dark House: I’ve already rewatched this movie for fun since I first posted about it. It’s a hokey but good creepy house movie.
  6. The Hands of Orlac: Conrad Veidt can somehow act out whole emotions with his hands. It’s excellent to watch a master actor at work. Plus, the story is nice and scary too.
  7. Quatermass Xperiment: This is an early Hammer Horror film, rich with science fiction scares.
  8. La Main du diable: Bargains with the devil make for good stories and this one is a whole lot of fun.
  9. Frankenstein: This is a true classic of the monster movie genre that every fan of horror absolutely must see.
  10. Nosferatu: If you like vampire movies, you have to see this original spin on Stoker’s masterpiece.
  11. Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Solid science fiction story that isn’t ruined even if you have seen later versions.
  12. Dracula (1957 version): Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. Need I say more?
  13. Devil Doll: I will never own a ventriloquist’s doll. Ever. All due to movies like this one.
  14. Eyes Without a Face: An interesting story about the lengths a father will go to for his daughter and for science.

    eyes without a face

    That mask creeps me out.

  15. The Return of Doctor X: It’s got Humphrey Bogart in it, so I’m pretty much going to include it here due to that fact alone. It’s also a good mad scientist story.
  16. Daughter of Darkness: The leading lady in this film is eerily enticing.
  17. The Unknown: Lon Chaney is an actor who put up with a lot of pain for his art. This movie does a great job showcasing it.
  18. The Wolf Man: Lon Chaney, Jr., is not as great as his father, but he does a good job in this movie all dolled up in full werewolf makeup. It’s also a core Universal monster picture that must be seen.
  19. The Body Snatcher: It’s got Karloff. It’s got Lugosi. And it’s basically about Burke and Hare. How can you go wrong?
  20. The Monster Maker: It’s a ripoff of other films but is still a lot of fun to watch.
  21. White Zombie: This is only low on the list because I did not like it the first time I watched it. However, now that I’ve seen lots of Bela Lugosi, this is definitely one of his better roles.
  22. Werewolf of London: I really liked the werewolf lore in this movie, even though it doesn’t have the great makeup that The Wolf Man has.
  23. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: I’m going to admit that I didn’t like this movie much when I first watched it. Having watched 29 subsequent films, however, it is easy to see what a huge influence it was. Plus, it has Conrad Veidt, who was in The Hands of Orlac and Casablanca.
  24. The Brides of Dracula: This sequel to Hammer Films’ Dracula continues the story with more vampires and more Peter Cushing.

    Peter Cushing in Brides of Dracula

    Peter Cushing is a badass vampire hunter.

  25. Onibaba: Scary Japanese story about two women doing anything to survive set in the days of the samarai.
  26. Tales of Terror: It’s got Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone in three Poe-inspired tales.
  27. The Horrible Dr. Hichcock: I don’t know how this story about a necrophiliac slipped past the censors.
  28. Haxan: This movie is slow to start but has some utterly creepy scenes in a documentary style.
  29. The Cat and the Canary: A really good, Clue-style mystery.
  30. The Plague of the Zombies: Classic zombie film from the days when they were still steeped in Caribbean lore.

Deep Cuts for Hardcore Horror Fans

  1. Cat People: This movie is a very subtle film with psychological scares.
  2. Castle of the Living Dead: Taxidermy, Christopher Lee and some murders make up this hodge-podge movie.
  3. Castle of Blood: This is a classic Barbara Steele vehicle.

    Castle of Blood

    Barbara Steele in Castle of Blood.

  4. The Whip and the Body: Italian horror film with Christopher Lee as a whip-brandishing rapscallion.
  5. Curse of the Demon: An interesting early satanic cult film.
  6. The Dark Eyes of London: If you like Bela Lugosi, this is a good one. Otherwise, it is just a pretty basic thriller.
  7. Mad Love: If you liked The Hands of Orlac, check out this remake.
  8. The Mad Ghoul: It’s a good ghoul/zombie film that is fun to compare to other films in that subgenre.
  9. Mystery of the Wax Museum: Classic wax horror movie with a fast-talking 1930s reporter to boot.
  10. The Black Cat: This was Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff’s first film together.
  11. The Wind: This is not strictly a horror film, which is why I do not include it above. I loved it, but I don’t know if all horror fans would enjoy this strange silent film.
  12. The Most Dangerous Game: This is here as a deep cut only because my husband liked it. I was not much of a fan.
  13. The Skull: What happens when you dig up the skull of the Marquis de Sade? Bad things for Peter Cushing.
  14. The Masque of the Red Death: Watch this one if you like Poe stories and Vincent Price. You’ll get plenty of both here.

Movies You Can Skip

  1. The Brain That Wouldn’t Die: It only makes it to the top of the bad list because it is so terrible, it becomes funny.
  2. Blood and Black Lace: An Italian movie with a bit of gore (but not enough to hold my interest).
  3. Nightmare Castle: If you have seen other Barbara Steele movies, you’ve seen this one.
  4. Macabre: It has an interesting premise, but the gimmicks don’t make it worthwhile.

    macabre

    Macabre: it looks scary, but it really isn’t.

  5. Waxworks: This movie is a bit too hokey for my liking and not particularly scary.
  6. Kill, Baby…Kill!: Only slightly redeeming factor is that the child ghost is creepy. Other than that, not worth it.
  7. Mill of the Stone Women: If you like hot Italian women, then that might be the only redeeming thing about this film for you.
  8. Vampyr: This one is too avant-garde without enough discernible plot.
  9. The Ghoul: I got very bored watching this.
  10. The Awful Dr. Orlof: The title is basically my review. It’s awful.
  11. The Maze: It’s just got a stupid plot and a worse ending.
  12. The Lodger: This Jack the Ripper story has far too much singing in it and not enough killing.

Movies I Was Unable to Find

  1. The Night Has Eyes: I only watched the first half; the rest of the online video was corrupted. It’s unfortunate, because it was a pretty good first half.
  2. El fantasma del convento: I was only able to watch this in the original Spanish, and I know no Spanish.
  3. The Silent HouseI couldn’t find this movie at all. Let me know if you know where to find it by leaving a comment.
  4. Ladron de cadaveres: Don’t let Amazon fool you; the copy they sell does not actually have English subtitles.

 

Kill, Baby…Kill! (1966)

My take: If you keep in mind that this was one of the the first movies with a creepy child ghost, it makes it a whole lot better.

Rating: 2.5 out of 4 stars

Kill, Baby…Kill!, originally called Operazione paura, is an Italian horror film directed by the same man who created Blood and Black Lace. That man is Mario Bava. After having seen Blood and Black Lace, I expected a whole slew of gory deaths and hot Italian women. But this film was more in line with a Hammer film than his previous work.

It’s a period piece that follows Dr. Paul Eswai, a doctor in town to investigate a series of strange deaths. The individuals all appear to have committed suicide, but each of them seemed young, healthy and completely sane prior to death.

Along with the inspector and a hot young woman named Monica, the doctor discovers that the town is living under a curse. Ever since the death of a young seven-year-old girl named Melissa, townsfolk have been tormented by her ghost. If you see the face of Melissa, you are doomed to die.

kill, baby...kill!

The ghost of Melissa amongst her creepy dolls.

The film itself has a pretty straightforward story, but what keeps you interested is how innovative this film was at the time. As Jonathan Rigby points out in Studies in Terror that David Lynch wholesale lifted a scene from this movie for his film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.  Additionally, “The image of Melissa herself would be recycles by Frederico Fellini in the “Toby Dammit” episode of Histoires extraordinaires (1967) and by Martin Scorsese in The Last Temptation of Christ (1987). And the whole paraphernalia surrounding her — the bouncing ball, the girlish giggling on the soundtrack — would sink deep into the fabric of the ghost-child subgenre.”

For these reasons, Kill, Baby…Kill! is worth watching. I would recommend this to people who enjoy a good ghost story or classic Italian horror.

I watched it on Netflix’s instant watch. Here’s the trailer on YouTube:

The Plague of the Zombies (1966)

My take: Classic zombie tale from the time when zombies were the result of evil voodoo sorcerers (and before zombies ate brains).

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

This is yet another example of how Hammer Films stands out from their contemporaries. The sets are lush, the colors bright and the characters fully formed. It’s period horror at its finest, and you can see how Hammer became famous for this type of horror.

The Plague of the Zombies is set in Cornwall, where a small village has been beset be a series of mysterious deaths. The local doctor requests the help of his former professor, whose daughter comes along for the trip. They discover that a dozen people have died with strange symptoms: sluggishness, pasty appearance, slow reflexes. There is no known cause as the superstitious townsfolk have been keeping the doctor from performing autopsies.

The professor suggests that they simply go dig a body up. They discover, however, that the graves are empty. Where are the bodies? And what is going on a the old, abandoned tin mine? Spoiler: it’s zombies.

plague of zombies

It’s a zombie!

This is a solid zombie film, that is likely overlooked in its timing. Just a few years from when this film was released, Night of the Living Dead came out. That film would change the face of zombie films, and films like The Plague of the Zombies have been forgotten in the aftermath.

This is a film rich with voodoo myth and legends. It also has the trademark atmosphere of lust and violence that make Hammer films so compelling.

I would recommend this to fans of Hammer horror, classic zombie films, and classic horror in general.

I found the movie on Daily Motion. Here’s the trailer:

The Skull (1965)

My take: It’s a slow movie without much action, but it has an interesting premise, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee.

Rating: 2.5 out of 4 stars

What happens when you dig up the skull of the Marquis de Sade and take it home? Very bad things. That is the basic premise of this film.

Peter Cushing stars in The Skull as Christopher Maitland, a collector and scholar in the area of demonology. A shady dealer in books and antiquities offers to sell Maitland a skull. But it isn’t just any skull. It’s the skull of the Marquis de Sade, and the skull itself is already tied to tales of violent death and murder.

Maitland initially balks at the dealer’s price. His interest is piqued once he learns that the skull was stolen from his fellow collector Sir Matthew Phillips, played by Christopher Lee. Phillips warns his against the skull. He claims that the Marquis de Sade was not actually a mad man. Instead, he was possessed by a demon, and that same demon now possesses the skull.

the skull

Christopher Lee (right) tells Peter Cushing’s character (left) about the evil, possessed skull.

Of course Maitland now wants the skull, and you can imagine how well that goes.

As a result of the cerebral subject matter, the movie is slow-moving and lacking in much action. Additionally, the characters were ill-fitting or too undefined for the likes of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. I wanted more to see and learn more about them and less about the other side characters.

Finally, the film breaks the fourth wall if you happen to know anything about the Marquis de Sade. I won’t say more in case you don’t know about him; it may be that you actually enjoy the movie without knowledge of his life.

With the scholarly nature of the film, I would recommend this to fans of the Ninth Gate. I would also recommend it to fans of Peter Cushing. Otherwise, I think it is a film you can skip.

I watched it online on Daily Motion. Here is the trailer on YouTube:

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