Wonderful Performance by Karloff, 5 February 2005
Corridors of Blood is the story of a doctor trying to discover the secret of painless surgery. While less a horror film and more a study of the decline in an individual caused by drug addiction, it does have several creepy and frightening moments. Some of the surgery sequences are gruesome. And, any film with both Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee has got to have its share of horror moments.
The basic story - Karloff plays the doctor. He experiments on himself with the gas he is developing to be used in surgery. He becomes addicted to the narcotics he is using. Soon, he is unable to function and is released from his position as a surgeon. He meets up with a couple of baddies played by Lee and Francis De Wolff who agree to help him get the drugs he needs. All Karloff has to do is sign some blank death certificates. Revealing anymore of the story would be too much.
Karloff is terrific as the doctor. You can feel his anguish and pain as he realizes what the drugs have done to him. But, you can also see the underlying need he has for the gas. Lee is so incredibly ruthless. His character (Resurrection Joe) kills with no remorse or qualms. This is one character I would have liked to see more of in other films. Also present is an excellent supporting cast lead by De Wolff and Nigel Green.
Corridors of Blood excels at atmosphere. Even with the small budget, the director (Robert Day) is able to portray the seediness and depravity of the Seven Dials area. Perfect! Not a great film, Corridors of Blood is, however, good and very watchable. Karloff's performance alone is reason enough to see this film.
7/10
- Danza macabra
Barbara Steele - What more could you ask for?, 5 February 2005
Castle of Blood is a good example of the quality work in the horror genre being turned out in Italy in the 60s. The film has all of the right elements - old dark house, atmosphere, a decent story, and Barbara Steele. Steele makes most any film worth seeing.
The story concerns a haunted castle. People have visited, but none have returned. Our hero makes a wager that he can spend the night in the castle and return to collect his winnings. But, the night he visits is a special night. It's the night each year when the dead return to relive their deaths.
The only flaw I see in the movie is the running time. It almost feels padded. There is a large portion of the first act where literally nothing happens. Our hero stumbles around in the dark finding nothing of interest. But once he does find something, the movie picks up and become quite enjoyable.
Castle of Blood is a definite must for Steele fans and fans of Italian Gothic horror in general.
7/10
A fine performance from Lugosi, 5 February 2005
If you haven't seen Invisible Ghost, I won't bother going into much of the plot. Most of it is silly and doesn't make much sense. Basically, the story involves a man who is driven to commit murder by seeing his supposedly dead wife. That's really all you need to know. And, it's not much of a spoiler as you discover most of this within the first ten minutes or so.
Lugosi is great as the mad killer. A really first-rate acting job that is by far one of his best from the Poverty Row movies he made (that I've seen). He does an excellent job of alternating between the kindly Charles Kessler and the mad killer. Clarence Muse is also a standout as the butler, Evans. Muse played Evans as smart, calm, strong, and nothing like the typical black character you find in a 40s horror/mystery movie. I call him the anti-Mantan.
Over the past few years, I've learned to enjoy the movies from the 40s that Monogram and others were putting out. Invisible Ghost is not the best of the bunch, but it's certainly not the worst. It's fun to watch if just to see Lugosi hamming it up. Just don't take these movies too seriously.
6/10
Brilliant performance by Laughton, 5 February 2005
For those unfamiliar, Island of Lost Souls (1933) is the earliest and easily the superior version of H.G. Wells' Dr. Moreau. This is a beautifully filmed movie that still supplies the creepy moments almost 70 years after being made.
The basic story: A man rescued at sea is dropped off at an uncharted island owned by Dr. Moreau. The island is filled with strange "natives". The man soon learns that the natives are actually the creations of Dr. Moreau. Dr. Moreau is a god to his creations. But, once the "natives" learn that Dr. Moreau is not a god, they turn on him with horrifying consequences.
Charles Laughton delivers one of the best performances in the history of horror as the mad Dr. Moreau. Dressed head-to-toe in white, he is as sinister as you get. A brilliant acting job. The rest of the cast is fine. Bela Lugosi, in a very small supporting role, is quite good. Kathleen Burke (Lota the Panther Woman) is also a stand out. But, this is Laughton's film and he makes the most of it.
The very simple creature makeup is effective. The cinematography, etc. are also quite good. For example, there are several scenes with Moreau standing in the shadows that are especially effective.
This is a film not to be missed. While it may not appeal to the hack and slash crowd, Island of Lost Souls is a wonderful horror movie. For what it's worth, I'll give this one 10/10. (It's a shame Paramount didn't make more horror films in the 30s.) One final thought, the ending of the film is very reminiscent of the ending of Freaks (1932) with the same savagery on display.
10/10
Excellent Hammer Vampire Story, 5 February 2005
This was my second opportunity to see Kiss of the Vampire. Watching and enjoying a Hammer film is what I call a very comfortable experience. And, Kiss of the Vampire does not disappoint – it is very comfortable.
The basic story (with possible minor SPOILERS): A couple honeymooning in Bavaria becomes stranded. They soon meet the local "big man", Ravna, and are invited to visit with him and his family at their château. They are later asked to attend a party at the château. During the party, the husband and wife are separated. While the husband is being drugged, the wife is being bitten by Ravna and made a member of his vampire cult. The husband wakes and must do whatever he can to save his wife. Anymore of the story would be too much.
Most of the acting was at least adequate. The exception to this was Ravna's son as played by Barry Warren. A tree limb could show more emotion.
Being a Hammer film, you expect it to have that Hammer look. There was no disappointment here. The colors are as rich as you would expect. The ball gown worn by the wife has to be one of the most vivid shades of red ever filmed. In addition, there's plenty of the bright red blood so famous in Hammer films. Overall, this is a very visually pleasing film.
My biggest complaint with Kiss of the Vampire was that Lee and/or Cushing are missing from the proceedings. Either's presence could have easily made this one of Hammer's best vampire films.
8/10
Not as good as I remembered, 5 February 2005
My wife got me this for Christmas and as I was babysitting three year old, I put it in. I doubt I had seen Mad Monster Party? since 1970. I remember it being a favorite of mine at the time. And it was a hit with the three year old I was babysitting. But, it's lost some of the magic it once held for me.
I found most of it disjointed, and as a result, dull. The movie skips from one unrelated scene to the next. The plot, as it is, provides very little cohesion. The lack of a decent plot made much of the movie downright dull.
That's not to say there weren't some good moments, they were just few and far between. Boris Karloff adds some dignity to the movie, but this is almost entirely offset by Phyllis Diller. How annoying! Some of the creatures are quite good. I was particularly struck by the Hunchback. Gale Garnett is also good as the voice of Francesca. Francesca reminded me a bit of Jessica Rabbit - she's not bad, she's just drawn that way. There's also some swinging 60s music that is particularly good. Some of the music had a James Bond type feel to it.
Some of you may say, "It's a kid's movie. Give it a break." I know that and I really hope my son will one day enjoy it like I once did. For a young child, it's a good first glimpse at the classic horror characters.
This may be a little harsh, but for what it's worth, I'll give it a 5/10. (The three year old I was watching it with would probably give it a 10/10.)
5/10
Lee and Cushing - One Last Time, 5 February 2005
Hammer's Dracula series started with a bang. THE HORROR OF Dracula is one of the best Dracula movies ever made. Hammer followed it with a number of sequels, including Dracula: PRINCE OF DARKNESS which some feel even exceeds the original.
Hammer's Dracula run with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing ended with THE SATANIC RITES OF Dracula (SROD). It should have been fun to see Lee and Cushing reprising their roles one last time. But, it's not.
What went wrong? Several factors make SROD the worst of the series:
1. The modern setting. With very few exceptions, Dracula is better played as a Gothic/historical drama.
2. Age. By the time SROD was made, neither Lee nor Cushing was a young man. There are scenes where the aging Cushing is roughed-up and I actually worried about Cushing the man, not Van Helsing the character.
3. Script. Dracula with a death wish? Sure!
4. The ending. Without giving it away, I'll just say the new means of dispatching Dracula in SROD is, well, goofy. Dracula basically walks right into it.
This is not to say there aren't good moments (the vampire brides in the cellar, the office meeting between Dracula and Van Helsing), but they are too few and too far between.
It's too bad that a series that started out with such a bang went out with a whimper.
4/10
"Pardon me, Professor, but didn't I just see you outside baying at the moon?", 5 February 2005
Most of the reviews on IMDb for Scared to Death give it a good trashing. And, while I understand it has many flaws, I didn't find it to be as bad as some of the reviews would lead one to believe. Maybe I was just in the right frame of mind or something.
The basic story: A women is slowing being driven mad. So mad in fact, that by the end of the movie she is literally scared to death (I'm not giving anything away as the fact she is dead is presented in the first minute of the movie). She is presented with numerous images and circumstances that become too much for her to bear. There are several suspects - her husband, her father-in-law, the maid, her husband's mysterious uncle, the uncle's dwarf companion, or could it be someone else? But which one of the suspects is behind it? You'll have to watch to find out.
Scared to Death stars Bela Lugosi and George Zucco. Lugosi is obviously having fun. He seems to understand just how silly some of the situations are, yet he handles each as if it were life and death. Zucco, on the other hand, acts most of the film as if he would rather be someplace else. Very aloof. The rest of the cast does a decent job with the material they are given.
This is the only time I've ever seen Lugosi in color. The film is marketed as being his only color picture, although I'm not sure that's true. The color is very nicely used throughout the movie. Very vivid.
Some of the flaws in the movie: a little stagey at times, goofy dialogue, and it may prove slow to some. The biggest annoyance, however, is the way the story is told. It's presented in a series of flashbacks from the dead woman at the morgue. It gets old real quick. But for the most part, I was able to look past these weaknesses and have a good time.
One final note. I picked up the DVD for $5 from Alpha. This is one of the better Alpha DVDs I've seen. While there are a few spots and other picture flaws here and there, overall the picture quality is good. The sound (so often bad on older films) is above average. All in all, for $5, Scared to Death is a wonderful addition to my DVD library.
6/10
"That bloody chicken wasn't killed, it died of old age.", 5 February 2005
What a bizarre movie! Scream and Scream Again is all over the place. It's a combination horror/sci-fi/mystery/espionage/thriller with sort of a James Bond twist. And it's a lot of fun.
To be honest, at the beginning of the film, I was lost. There are about four different plot lines that don't seem to have anything to do with each other. (1) There is a runner who collapses. Every time we see him after the collapse, he's in a hospital losing his limbs one at a time. (2) There is a vampire killer on the prowl in London. He attacks young women and drains them of their blood. (3) There are scenes of some fascist regime in some unknown country. The leaders of the regime are being killed one at a time. Also, people are being tortured for no apparent reason. (4) There are discussions going on in the uppermost levels of the British government that appear to have nothing to do with anything else. But, by the end of the film, most everything fits together quite nicely as a story about creating a master race.
Scream and Scream Again 'stars' Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. I say 'stars' because Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are barely in the movie. In fact, Cushing has all of about 5 minutes of screen time. Alfred Marks as Supt.Bellaver is actually the star. He's a no nonsense policeman investigating the string of murders in London. In the end though, Price takes over and is wonderful. His mad doctor routine is terrific to watch.
There are some excellent moments in the film worth mentioning. The chase scene is one of the longest I've ever seen, ending with the killer losing a hand after being handcuffed to the front of a car. Another is the fight scene at the end between Vincent Price and leader of the fascists. There are also moments of tension as when the young doctor is snooping around Vincent Price's house.
This is a movie that you have to be patient with. Trust me, it all makes sense in the end.
7/10
"This has gone well beyond the boundaries of prudence and good taste.", 5 February 2005
Spider Baby is an almost perfect blend of black comedy and horror. The movie is just so bizarre that it must be seen to be believed.
The basic story: Lon Chaney Jr. plays Bruno, the chauffeur and "caretaker" for the Merrye family. The Merrye's suffer from a rare disease that causes each member of the family to slowly degenerate mentally to the point of cannibalism. Chaney is in charge of the last three members of the inbred Merrye family and he understands what fate awaits them should the outside world discover their secret. When some distant relatives show up to take over the estate, madness ensues.
Chaney is fantastic in the role of Bruno. IMO, this may be his best performance outside of his better known Wolf Man character. His comic timing is almost perfect, but he's equally adept a the dramatic moments. There is one very emotional scene when Chaney realizes what he must do that is so well played that I almost cried along with him. It's nice to see Chaney having so much fun with one of his final roles. It's also nice to see another of my favorites, Mantan Moreland, in one of final performances. Although it's a small part, his character is necessary to set up the madness to come. But the real 'stars' of Spider Baby are the children. Beverly Washburn, Jill Banner, and Sid Haig are so incredibly bizarre and demented that I really can't say enough about how good and perfectly suited for their roles each is. Terrific performances by three young unknown actors.
There are so many wonderful and freaky scenes that going through all of them would take pages of writing. One of my favorite scenes is the dinner scene. Some really great comedic moments mixed with repulsion over what's going on. I love Chaney's line during the dinner about the full moon. Who said that Scream was so original for being a self-referential horror movie? There are only two negative things I can say about the movie. One is the performance of Karl Schanzer as Schlocker the lawyer. He just doesn't seem 'real'. My second complaint is the amount of time given to the relatives living in the basement. I would have really enjoyed seeing more of them.
9/10
Some Hits - Some Misses, 5 February 2005
Torture Garden (1967) is a series of four short horror stories made by Amicus (the company made several of these anthologies). The stories are held together by Dr. Diabolo (Burgess Meredith) - the owner of a circus sideshow. For an extra charge, he'll show you something really frightening. Each patron is presented with a vision of what may or may not happen in the future.
The first vision deals with a man who has "inherited" a cat that turns out to be a witch's familiar. The cat can make the man rich and asks only to be fed in return. The problem is that the cat has developed a taste for humans. Very effective story with several thrills along the way. 7/10
The second story concerns a woman who will do anything to succeed in Hollywood. Well, almost anything. When she discovers that many of Hollywood's elite are androids, she balks at the thought of voluntarily becoming one of them. Not overly effective with little or no moments of horror. The saving grace of this story is the beautiful Beverly Adams - who will always be Lovey Kravezit in Dean Martin's Matt Helm movies. 4/10
The third vision is the worst. A girl is killed by a piano for coming between it and its owner. I think this is the only killer piano movie I've ever seen. Very silly premise. 2/10
The fourth vision is by far the most entertaining. Peter Cushing and Jack Palance star as Poe fanatics. In fact, Cushing is such a fanatic that he has Poe himself as part of his collection. The acting in this story is (as expected) excellent. Palance holds his own with the horror legend Cushing. The sets are extremely well done for a film of this type. This story could have been fleshed out to make a good full length film. 9/10
Overall, some hits and some misses.
6/10
- I tre volti della paura
Another wonderful Bava film, 5 February 2005
Black Sabbath is an anthology from the Italian horror master, Mario Bava. Throughout the film, his trademark use of lighting and unique camera work are evident. Truly impressive.
The first story, "The Telephone", is a basic thriller and, IMO, the weakest of the three stories. Most everything that happens is fairly predictable. But, Bava's direction makes an ordinary story very entertaining. Also, Michèle Mercier is a knockout and makes this segment worth watching. I'll give the first segment an 8/10.
Most people seem to think that the second story, "The Wurdalak", is the best. I'm in agreement. This segment could have easily been fleshed-out into a feature length movie of its own. Boris Karloff, Mark Damon, Susy Andersen, and the rest of the cast do a wonderful job. Karloff is as creepy as ever in this tale. And Bava is at his best. Many of the scenes are bathed in a wonderful blue/green light that adds so much to the overall atmosphere. Wonderful set locations are also a highlight of this story. I'm also a sucker for the more Gothic settings in "The Wurdalak". I'll give the second segment a 9/10.
The third segment, "The Drop of Water", actually had more elements to freak me out than the other two. There is just something about this segment that creeps me out every time I see it. Again, Bava's fingerprints are on every detail of this story. The flashing blue/green light becomes more and more frightening as the movie progresses. I'll give the third segment a 9/10.
Bava really does a masterful job with all three segments of this anthology. For anyone not familiar with Bava, IMO, this would be a good place to start.
9/10
At least it has Bela in it, 4 February 2005
Bela Lugosi plays a doctor who will do anything to keep his wife looking young and beautiful. To this end, he drugs brides during their wedding ceremonies to make it look as if they are dead so he can steal their bodies. I'm not exactly sure what he does with the bodies. I don't remember it ever being fully explained. All I know is that he extracts something from them and injects it in his wife. (I'll just guess that it's spinal fluid. Spinal fluid was all the rage of mad scientists in the 40s.) You can pretty much guess the rest from here.
There are a couple (well, really more than a couple, but I'll only write about two) of problems that I have with this movie. One is the way Bela is used. Sure, he does a decent enough job in his own overacting sort of way (BTW, the rest of the cast is simply abysmal). But, to have him hiding in the back of a hearse or having him creep into the female reporter's bedroom to do nothing is just silly. Also, why have him beat and/or kill every henchman he has? Is it to make him look evil? Well, someone who is kidnapping comatose brides doesn't really need to be made to look more evil.
The second problem I have is the idea of drugging brides. Why brides? Wouldn't any female under the age of 20 do? Watching Bela go through these gyrations to get his victims, I was reminded of the idiotic Fisherman in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. In each case, there would appear to be an easier way of reaching your objective than employing a seemingly impossible plan that depends way to much on circumstances out of your control. (BTW, an alternate title for this movie is The Case of the Missing Brides. I guess that partially explains the need for 'brides'.)
3/10
Creepy Mummy Make-Up, 4 February 2005
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) is Hammer's second venture into the world of ancient Egypt. Without giving too much away, the story is similar to all mummy films - an ancient tomb is opened and those who opened it must pay. To many, the film may seem slow to start, but once the mummy is released, things pick up. Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, and Jeanne Roland are all adequate, but somewhat uninspired. Fred Clark is the brightest spot in the movie as the wealthy Alexander King. Clark's character, obviously inspired by PT Barnum, is a breath of fresh air to this otherwise predictable mummy story. He is looking to cash in on the mummy by presenting it as some sort of sideshow spectacle. The mummy make-up is good - the most obvious comparison would be to that of Kharis in the Universal mummy sequels. Also, like Kharis and unlike Christopher Lee in Hammer's first mummy film, this mummy walks and moves in a more "normal" pace. He is not the athletic mummy played by Lee.
After reading this it may sound as if I didn't like The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb. While not the best mummy movie or the best Hammer film, it's still fun - especially the final third of the movie.
6/10
