Horrorfest 2022 Presents: The Raven (1963, Roger Corman)

I finally watched Roger Corman’s 1963 horror comedy classic The Raven, which is a delightful movie with a great cast. When Jack Nicholson is a supporting actor in this movie you know you have some stars, that’s for sure. Vincent Price and Peter Lorre play sorcerers battling Boris Karloff in a battle of wits, powers, and even manners. Hazel Court plays Price’s wife who may still be alive, and Olive Sturgess is Price’s daughter. The movie uses the Edgar Allan Poe legendary poem The Raven as it’s main basis, although of course the rest of the movie has nothing to do with the actual story. Richard Matheson wrote the film, so that’s why it has so much good natured and fun humor combined with fantasy and horror movie elements.

In fact this is probably more of a dark comedy than a horror movie, still I counted it as such anyways because this is my Horrorfest and I do what I want. Price vs Karloff is great and all, yet the movie works the best when Lorre and Price are bickering amongst each other back and forth. While Corman and Price made better Poe movies than this one, I think it’s up there amongst their best works and it’s beyond fun to watch. The castle setting is perfect for this movie, and the chair wizard battle scene is marvelous in every way. I saw this thanks to Tubi, and I’m happy to check off another Price movie. It’s a shame he was never nominated for an Oscar.

November 30, 2022 0

Horrorfest 2022 Presents: Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957, Roger Corman)

I’ve seen better Roger Corman movies, yet I still enjoyed Attack of the Crab Monsters in all it’s cheesy, dated Cold War creatures glory. The actual crab creatures look quite freaky, actually, and I think they possessed psychic powers. Anyways a group of potential victims, I mean, scientists, show up to do research and find out what happened to the previous team that landed on the island. 10 bucks says you can figure out what happened to them, and that the party is in big trouble.

One cool thing about this flick is that the island is slowly sinking into the ocean and decaying around the characters. That makes this movie one of those time sensitive bottle episode type deals, and it seems that many sci-fi and horror films of the era were keen on those. Probably since they saved on budget and location costs, yet also since they are effective story plots. Even though this is an alright movie at best I wasn’t left bored and the creature effects were neat. Viewed thanks to Crackle, which I use from time to time since it’s free with ads.

September 6, 2022 0

Dead People Aren’t Much Fun: Horrorfest 2022

Whew it took me a few months after October but I finished all the reviews. I’m not doing this many movies next year haha or this many months either. Thanks for reading, see you all next year for Horrorfest 2023!

I’ve run out of title ideas. That or I’m just tired these days. Yet I press on to another Horrorfest even though at some point I’ve got to be getting too old for this sort of thing. Anyways on with the show!

July (Monsters Oh My!):

August (Things Aren’t What They Seem):

September (Murder, and Lots of It):

Always bring a flashlight in case you lose your phone

October (Forever Haunted):

Please remain seated until the plane has finished crashing.

Coda (Can’t Stop Won’t Stop):

Top 10:

1. The Cremator (1969)
2. Nope (2022)
3. The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
4. Häxan (1922)
5. Barbarian (2022)
6. Sole Survivor (1984)
7. The Raven (1963)
8. Pearl (2022)
9. Onibaba (1964)
10. Storm of the Century (1999)

HM: The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)

July 2, 2022 1

Movie Log 2022

You know the drill.

January:

Return of the Street Fighter (1974, Ozawa)-82, Tubi
Santa Sangre (1989, Jodorowsky)-91, Tubi
The Guns of Navarone (1961, Thompson)-94, Netflix Instant Viewing
The Witch Who Came From the Sea (1976, Cimber)-94, Shudder/Tubi
Ichi The Killer (2001, Miike)-91, Shudder
Dream No Evil (1970, Hayes)-60, Shudder
Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood (1973, Speeth)-70, Shudder
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979, Wise)-75, Hulu
The Matrix Resurrections (2021, Wachowski)-86, Theater Viewing
Dark August (1976, Goldman)-80, Shudder
Winterbeast (1991, Thies)-83, Shudder
Fatal Exam (1990, Snyder)-71, Shudder
The French Dispatch (2021, Anderson)-100, RedBox
Beyond Dream’s Door (1989, Woelfel)-83, Shudder
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009, Sommers)-54, Netflix Instant Viewing
Carlito’s Way (1993, De Palma)-96, Tubi
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021, Watts)-93, Theater Viewing
Eternals (2021, Zhao)-60, Disney+
Encanto (2021, Howard, Bush)-80, Disney+
Massacre In Dinosaur Valley (1985, Tarantini)-70, Tubi
Luca (2021, Casarosa)-92, Disney+
Coco (2017, Molina, Unkrich)-98, Disney+
Scream (2022, Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett)-85, Theater Viewing

February:

(24) Leptirica (1973, Kadijević)-85, Shudder
(25) The Child (1977, Voskanian)-55, Shudder
(26) Son of Frankenstein (1939, Lee)-88, Shudder
(27) House of Frankenstein (1944, Kenton)-60, Shudder
(28) The Black Cat (1934, Ulmer)-92, Shudder
(29) The Most Dangerous Game (1932, Pichel, Schoedsack)-84, Tubi
(30) And Then There Were None (1945, René Clair)-85, Tubi
(31) Cherry Falls (2000, Wright)-40, Shudder
(32) Licorice Pizza (2021, Anderson)-100, Theater Viewing
(33) Algiers (1938, Cromwell)-80, Tubi
(34) Valentine (2001, Blanks)-70, Shudder
(35) Eyes Of Fire (1983, Crounse)-90, Shudder
(36) Clearcut (1991, Bugajski)-91, Shudder
(37) De dødes tjern (1958, Bergstrøm)-93, Shudder
(38) Il Demonio (1963, Brunello Rondi)-94, Shudder
(39) The King’s Man (2021, Vaughn)-45, Hulu
(40) The Premonition (1976, Allen)-55, Shudder
(41) Alison’s Birthday (1981, Coughlan)-83, Shudder
(42) The Harder They Fall (2021, Samuel)-91, Netflix Instant Viewing
(43) Sonic the Hedgehog (2020, Fowler)-88, Hulu
(44) Free Guy (2021, Levy)-90, Disney+

March:

(45) Black Sunday (1977, Frankenheimer)-71, Hulu
(46) Darkman (1990, Raimi)-90, Shudder
(47) Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995, May)-70, Shudder
(48) Contagion (2011, Soderbergh)-87, Netflix Instant Viewing
(49) Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996, May)-35, Shudder
(50) From Hell It Came (1957, Milner)-63, Tubi
(51) The Eagle Has Landed (1976, Sturges)-90, Tubi
(52) Stalag 17 (1953, Wilder)-100, Tubi
(53) Wilcyca (1983, Piestrak)-85, Shudder
(54) Spencer (2021, Larraín)-90, Hulu
(55) Paddington 2 (2017, King)-95, Tubi
(56) The King of Comedy (1983, Scorsese)-85, Hulu
(57) In a Valley of Violence (2016, West)-83, Netflix Instant Viewing
(58) Nightmare Alley (2021, del Toro)-88, Hulu
(59) X (2021, West)-93, Theater Viewing
(60) Death On The Nile (2022, Branagh)-77, Theater Viewing
(61) Massacre Mafia Style (1974, Mitchell)-81, Tubi
(62) The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974, Sargent)-100, Tubi
(63) Don’t Look Up (2021, McKay)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
(64) Cutter’s Way (1981, Passer)-95, Tubi
(65) The Insider (1999, Mann)-97, Hulu
(66) Hudson Hawk (1991, Lehmann)-55, Netflix Instant Viewing
(67) Trouble Every Day (2001, Denis)-91, Shudder
(68) High Tension (2003, Aja)-87, Shudder
(69) Way Down East (1920, Griffith)-90, Tubi

April:

(70) Rome, Armed to the Teeth/The Tough Ones (1976, Lenzi)-85, Tubi
(71) Man On Fire (1987, Chouraqui)-80, Hulu
(72) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990, Barron)-71, Netflix Instant Viewing
(73) The January Man (1989, O’Connor)-45, Tubi
(74) À l’intérieur (2007, Paradis and Dalle)-92, Shudder
(75) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991, Pressman)-40, Netflix Instant Viewing
(76) Hackers (1995, Softley)-75, Tubi
(77) Double Team (1997, Hark)-75, Netflix Instant Viewing
(78) Geronimo: An American Legend (1993, Hill)-90, Netflix Instant Viewing
(79) Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022, Kwan and Scheinert)-100, Theater Viewing
(80) Roxanne (1987, Schepisi)-90, Hulu
(81) The Addams Family (1991, Sonnenfeld)-88, Netflix Instant Viewing
(82) The Net (1995, Winkler)-65, Netflix Instant Viewing
(83) The General’s Daughter (1999, West)-85, Netflix Instant Viewing
(84) Rush (2013, Howard)-81, Netflix Instant Viewing
(85) The Imitation Game (2014, Tyldum)-86, Netflix Instant Viewing
(86) Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988, De Bello)-83, Tubi
(87) Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990, Kaufman)-75, Tubi
(88) Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016, Flanagan)-92, Netflix Instant Viewing
(89) Army of the Dead (2021, Snyder)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
(90) Frontier(s) (2007, Gens)-75, Shudder
(91) The Northman (2022, Eggers)-94, Theater Viewing
(92) The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022, Gormican)-87, Theater Viewing
(93) Martyrs (2008, Laugier)-91, Shudder
(94) Antropophagus (1980, D’Amato)-35, Shudder

May:

(95) Easy A (2010, Gluck)-90, Hulu
(96) The Devils (1971, Russell)-90, Shudder
(97) Blade: Trinity (2004, Goyer)-45, Netflix Instant Viewing
(98) Blackhat (2015, Mann)-81, Netflix Instant Viewing
(99) Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022, Fowler)-92, Theater Viewing
(100) The Devil’s Own (1997, Pakula)-57, Netflix Instant Viewing
(101) Eaten Alive (1976, Hooper)-73, Shudder
(102) A Beautiful Mind (2001, Howard)-60, Hulu
(103) The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976, Gessner)-90, Shudder
(104) Invasion U.S.A. (1985, Zito)-83, Tubi
(105) Fatal Beauty (1987, Holland)-81, Tubi
(106) Brannigan (1975, Hickox)-70, Tubi
(107) Cat Ballou (1965, Silverstein)-95, Plex
(108) The Good Dinosaur (2015, Sohn)-86, Disney+
(109) Pig (2021, Sarnoski)-93, Hulu
(110) Suburban Gothic (2014, Bates Jr.)-55, Hulu
(111) Logan Lucky (2017, Soderbergh)-81, Hulu
(112) The House That Jack Built (2018, von Trier)-80, Hulu
(113) Splash (1984, Howard)-75, Disney+
(114) The English Patient (1996, Minghella)-95, Pluto TV
(115) Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017, Shizuno and Seshita)-70, Netflix Instant Viewing

June:

(116) Slaughterhouse (1987, Roessler)-67, Shudder
(117) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008, Stoller)-90, Hulu
(118) Top Gun: Maverick (2022, Kosinski)-90, Theater Viewing
(119) Married To The Mob (1988, Demme)-85, RedBox
(120) Iron Monkey (1977, Kuan-tai)-90, Tubi
(121) 7 Grandmasters (1978, Kuo)-93, Tubi
(122) The Freakmaker aka The Mutations (1974, Cardiff)-30, Shudder
(123) Coffy (1973, Hill)-84, Tubi
(124) Foxy Brown (1974, Hill)-85, Tubi
(125) The Gunfighter (1950, King)-100, Tubi
(126) The Unforgiven (1960, Huston)-85, Tubi
(127) Texas Across The River (1966, Gordon)-53, Grit TV
(128) Dick (1999, Fleming)-75, Hulu
(129) Alligator II: The Mutation (1990, Hess)-35, Shudder
(130) The Tall T (1957, Boetticher)-90, Tubi
(131) The Beastmaster (1982, Coscarelli)-80, Public Library DVD
(132) Singin’ in the Rain (1952, Kelly, Donen)-100, Public Library DVD
(133) Hellbender (2021, Adams, Poser, Adams)-87, Shudder
(134) Thirst (2019, Steinþórsson, Úlfarsson)-80, Shudder
(135) Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018, Shizuno and Seshita)-71, Netflix Instant Viewing

July:

(136) Creature with the Atom Brain (1955, Cahn)-71, Arrow Films Video Blu-ray
(137) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022, Raimi)-73, Disney+
(138) The Werewolf (1956, Sears)-85, Arrow Films Video Blu-ray
(139) Zombies of Mora Tau (1957, Cahn)-58, Arrow Films Video Blu-ray
(140) The Giant Claw (1957, Sears)-75, Arrow Films Video Blu-ray
(141) Massacre Time (1966, Fulci)-85, Arrow Films Video Blu-ray
(142) My Name Is Pecos (1966, Lucidi)-80, Arrow Films Video Blu-ray
(143) Swing Time (1936, Stevens)-90, Criterion Blu-ray
(144) The Gray Man (2022, Russo Brothers)-82, Movie Theater Viewing
(145) Shaft’s Big Score! (1972, Parks)-75, Criterion Blu-ray
(146) Bandidos (1967, Dallamano)-90, Arrow Films Video Blu-ray
(147) Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975, Moctezuma)-75, Shudder
(148) Who Saw Her Die? (1972, Lado)-80, Shudder
(149) Jason and the Argonauts (1963, Chaffey)-91, Tubi
(150) Le foto proibite di una signora per bene aka Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1970, Ercoli)-85, Shudder
(151) Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972, de Ossorio)-87, Shudder
(152) Thor: Love and Thunder (2022, Waititi)-90, Theater Viewing
(153) Eat, Brains, Love (2019, Flender)-75, Shudder
(154) The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973, Hessler)-87, Tubi
(155) Mosquito (1994, Jones)-56, Shudder
(156) Without Warning (1980, Clark)-75, Shudder
(157) Invaders From Mars (1986, Hooper)-80, Shudder
(158) I Come In Peace/Dark Angel (1990, Baxley)-77, Shudder
(159) Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge (1989, Friedman)-83, Shudder

August:

(160) And God Said To Cain (1970, Margheriti)-75, Arrow Films Video
(161) Walker (1987, Cox)-95, Criterion Blu-ray
(162) Nope (2022, Peele)-98, Theater Viewing
(163) Stepfather II (1989, Burr)-40, Crackle
(164) Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957, Corman)-65, Crackle
(165) AVP: Alien vs Predator (2004, Anderson)-70, Hulu
(166) Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959, Kowalski)-45, Crackle
(167) Misery (1990, Reiner)-94, Shudder
(168) Needful Things (1993, Heston)-83, Shudder
(169) Bullet Train (2022, Leitch)-87, Theater Viewing
(170) Head of the Family (1996, Band)-60, Shudder
(171) Uncle Sam (1997, Lustig)-75, Shudder
(172) The Wolfman (2010, Johnston)-81, Tubi
(173) The Toolbox Murders (1978, Donnelly)-75, Shudder
(174) Son of Dracula (1943, Siodmak)-73, Tubi
(175) Color Me Blood Red (1965, Lewis)-65, Tubi
(176) The Predator (2018, Black)-75, Public Library Blu-ray
(177) Blood Suckers from Outer Space (1984, Coburn)-69, Tubi
(178) The Cannibal Man (1972, de la Iglesia)-84, Shudder
(179) Mississippi Masala (1991, Nair)-90, Criterion Blu-ray

September:

(180) Nadie oyó gritar aka No One Heard the Scream (1973, de la Iglesia)-85, Shudder
(181) Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022, Miller)-90, Theater Viewing
(182) Watch Me When I Kill (1977, Bido)-86, Shudder
(183) Meatcleaver Massacre (1977, Lee)-35, Shudder
(184) Mansion of the Doomed (1976, Pataki)-77, Shudder
(185) The Wizard of Gore (1970, Lewis)-78, Tubi
(186) The Oracle (1985, Findlay)-50, Shudder
(187) The Fall of the House of Usher (1928, Jean Epstein)-90, YouTube
(188) Storm of the Century (1999, Baxley)-90, Hulu
(189) Barbarian (2022, Cregger)-93, Theater Viewing
(190) Day Shift (2022, Perry)-75, Netflix Instant Viewing
(191) Blood Hook (1986, Mallon)-35, Tubi
(192) Pearl (2022, West)-90, Theater Viewing
(193) Blades (1989, Rondinella)-75, Peacock
(194) Blood Beach (1981, Bloom)-23, YouTube
(195) Cemetery of Terror (1985, Galindo Jr.)-82, Shudder
(196) Abby (1974, Girdler)-85, YouTube
(197) The Batman (2022, Reeves)-94, RedBox
(198) Fright Night Part 2 (1988, Wallace)-81, YouTube
(199) Grave Robbers (1989, Galindo Jr.)-75, Shudder

October:

(200) Sole Survivor (1983, Eberhardt)-91, Shudder
(201) Lady in White (1988, LaLoggia)-86, Shudder
(202) Lust for a Vampire (1971, Sangster)-65, Tubi
(203) The Vampire Bat (1933, Strayer)-72, Tubi
(204) Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986, Gibson)-69, Tubi
(205) Poltergeist III (1988, Sherman)-65, Tubi
(206) Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965, Francis)-70, Tubi
(207) Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990, Burr)-55, Tubi
(208) I Like Bats (1986, Warchol)-75, Shudder
(209) The Ritual (2017, Bruckner)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
(210) The Munsters (2022, Zombie)-70, Netflix Instant Viewing
(211) Werewolf by Night (2022, Giacchino)-91, Disney+
(212) The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here! (1972, Milligan)-65, Shudder
(213) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003, Nispel)-80, Tubi
(214) Prey (2022, Trachtenberg)-90, Hulu
(215) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022, Garcia)-50, Netflix Instant Viewing
(216) The Other Side of the Underneath (1972, Arden)-85, Shudder
(217) Footprints on the Moon (1975, Bazzoni, Fanelli)-85, Shudder
(218) Shaun of the Dead (2004, Wright)-95, Movie Theater Viewing, counted cause first time
(219) Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983, Spielberg, Landis, Dante, Miller)-75, Tubi
(220) A Blade in the Dark (1983, Bava)-66, Shudder
(221) Oculus (2013, Flanagan)-90, Hulu
(222) Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994, Yamashitaa)-70, Hulu
(223) Fangs aka Snakes (1974, Names)-70, Shudder
(224) Watcher (2022, Okuno)-86, Shudder
(225) Road Games (1981, Franklin)-88, Tubi
(226) The House of Seven Corpses (1974, Harrison)-60, Tubi
(227) Elvira’s Haunted Hills (2001, Irvin)-70, Shudder
(228) Manhattan Baby (1982, Fulci)-74, Shudder
(229) Aenigma (1987, Fulci)-73, Shudder
(230) The Raven (1963, Corman)-91, Tubi
(231) The Flesh Eaters (1964, Curtis)-77, Tubi
(232) Deathdream (1974, Clark)-84, Tubi
(233) Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922, Christensen)-95, Criterion Blu-ray
(234) Onibaba (1964, Shindô)-91, Criterion Blu-ray
(235) The Cremator (1969, Herz)-99, Criterion Blu-ray

November:

(236) Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II (1993, Okawara)-75, Hulu
(237) Halloween Ends (2022, Gordon)-88, Theater Viewing
(238) Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022, Appel)-93, Roku Channel
(239) Morbius (2022, Espinosa)-50, Netflix Instant Viewing
(240) Godzilla vs. Destroroyah (1995, Okawara)-73, Hulu
(241) American Ultra (2015, Nourizadeh)-85, Netflix Instant Viewing
(242) The Devil’s Backbone (2001, del Toro)-95, Criterion Blu-ray
(243) Godzilla vs Megagurius (2000, Tezuka)-78, Hulu
(244) The Pink Panther (1963, Edwards)-70, Tubi
(245) A Shot In The Dark (1964, Edwards)-95, Tubi
(246) The Return of the Pink Panther (1975, Edwards)-85, Tubi
(247) Chain Reaction (1996, Davis)-66, Tubi
(248) Siege aka Self-Defense (1983, Donovan, O’ Connell)-88, Shudder
(249) Addams Family Values (1993, Sonnefeld)-90, Netflix Instant Viewing
(250) Vigilante (1983, Lustig)-82, Shudder
(251) The Vast of Night (2020, Patterson)-93, Amazon Prime
(252) The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021, Rianda, Rowe)-96, Netflix Instant Viewing
(253) Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001, Kaneko)-71, Hulu
(254) The Lost City (2022, Nee Brothers)-70, Amazon Prime
(255) The Menu (2022, Mylod)-86, Theater Viewing
(256) Fire and Ice (1983, Bakshi)-77, Tubi

December:

(257) V/H/S/99 (2022, Flying Lotus)-72, Shudder
(258) Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978, Edwards)-78, Tubi
(259) Deliverance (1972, Boorman)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing
(260) Fireworks (1997, Kitano)-96, Tubi
(261) Boiling Point (1990, Kitano)-85, Tubi
(262) Underwater (2020, Eubank)-76, Hulu
(263) Autopsy (1975, Crispino)-73, Shudder
(264) The Night House (2021, Bruckner)-88, Hulu
(265) Violent Night (2022, Wirkola)-92, Theater Viewing
(266) Murder Mansion (1972, Lazaga, Polop)-20, Shudder
(267) Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022, Begos)-84, Shudder
(268) Elves (1989, Mandel)-68, YouTube
(269) Straight to Hell (1987, Cox)-82, Tubi
(270) Dark Water (2005, Salles)-55, Hulu
(271) The Black Phone (2022, Derrickson)-88, Peacock
(272) The Quatermass Xperiment (1955, Guest)-75, YouTube
(273) The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022, Gunn)-70, Disney+
(274) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022, Johnson)-96, Netflix Instant Viewing
(275) Strange World (2022, Hall)-75, Disney+
(276) Desperately Seeking Susan (1985, Seidelman)-90, Tubi
(277) Anna and the Apocalypse (2017, McPhail)-85, Shudder

January 3, 2022 0

Horrorfest 2020 Presents: The Tomb of Ligeia (1965, Roger Corman)

Vincent Price goes goth steampunk in Roger Corman’s final Poe film, The Tomb of Ligeia. Choosing to go out with more of a slower film than the lavish Masque of the Red Death, Ligeia is still a fairly bleak flick, one that slowly builds up its horrors. Price plays a nobleman who remains under his late wife’s spell, as made very clear by the eerie opening. Other, far darker elements are only hinted at and revealed later on.

Verden, Price’s character, is a nobleman who lives in an old, crumbling abbey full of cool artifacts and his loyal manservant. He makes the mistake of falling in love with Rowena, who is then beset by a cat that may be the spirit of his dead wife. This movie takes “Just the cat!” to unhealthy levels, as that cat attacks everyone who comes near it. Eventually Verden has to face the cat, and the haunting spirit of his decreased beloved.

Elizabeth Shepherd is great in a double role, even though they had to use makeup and other tricks to make Price seem younger. I wonder how the film would have worked had they been able to get Richard Chamberlain in the part instead. Regardless, this is a well made movie that I liked a lot, and I wonder if we will ever see anyone adapt so many literary works from one author like Corman did.

October 21, 2020 0

Horrorfest 2020 Presents: The Masque of the Red Death (1964, Roger Corman)

Throughout my years of horror watching, I have marveled at the fact that there are 1960s movies that can disturb and even scare me. You would think that movies way older than me wouldn’t have that effect, yet the decade gave us many a good chiller picture. Well The Masque of the Red Death is easily one that left me uneasy very much, and made my skin crawl. This is a film depicting evil of all kinds, and it almost seems to revel in the cruelty of mankind. I’m glad my dad didn’t let me watch this on AMC when I was a kid-it would have given me nightmares.

It doesn’t help that we are currently in a pandemic that has swept the land. Just like the red death that has taken over the land ruled over by devil worshiper Prince Prospero, played with evil relish by Vincent Price. This might be his best role, or at least his most unforgiving one. Price takes the part and dials it up to 100, resulting a role that is both memorizing and very creepy. Jane Asher is also great as Francesca, the ginger peasant girl he forces to be a part of his court.

This film also has Hazel Court, Nigel Green, and Patrick Magee, all playing different roles of good and evil. The cinematography is marvelous yet it is the film’s gorgeous set design that really caught my eye. The film uses colors like any good or great horror film, and this is easily going into my Top 100 Horror films list when I’m done with October. I don’t know if I have the stomach to view it again though, and I thank Shudder for gathering a nice batch of Vincent Price films to watch in time for Halloween.

October 21, 2020 0

2017 Movie Viewing Log

Top 10 of the Year:

1. The Iron Giant (1999, Bird)
2. The Castle In The Sky (1986, Miyazaki)
3. Delicatessen (1991, Jeunet, Caro)
4. Mother! (2017, Aronofsky)
5. Wind River (2017, Sheridan)
6. Arrival (2016, Villeneuve)
7. Get Out (2017, Peele)
8. Donnie Darko Directors Cut (2001, Kelly)
9. Baby Driver (2017, Wright)
10. Hell or High Water (2016, Mackenzie)

Well it’s that time again.

January:

1. Meek’s Cutoff (2010, Reichardt)-65, Netflix Instant Viewing
2. The Gunman (2015, Morel)-70, Netflix Instant Viewing
3. The Lobster (2015, Lanthimos)-92, Family Video
4. Hail, Caesar! (2016, Coen Brothers)-91, Family Video
5. Night Moves (2014, Reichardt)-88, Public Library
6. Room (2015, Abrahamson)-95, Family Video

Movie of the Month: Room (2015, Abrahamson)-95, Family Video

February:

7. Dirty Grandpa (2016, Mazer)-78, Amazon Prime
8. Hell or High Water (2016, Mackenzie)-96, Family Video
9. Out of Sight (1998, Soderbergh)-90, Crackle
10. Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982, Reiner)-83, Family Video
11. Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010, Cosmatos)-81, Public Library
12. Ex Machina (2015, Alex Garland)-95, Family Video
13. Justice League: War (2014, Oliva)-70, Netflix Instant Viewing
14. Girl Asleep (2015, Myers)-93. Netflix Instant Viewing
15. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013, Oliva)-81, Netflix Instant Viewing
16. Death Race 2050 (2017, Echternkamp)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
17. John Wick Chapter 2 (2017, Stahelski)-95, Theater Viewing
18. Manchester By The Sea [2016, Lonergan)-93, RedBox
19. Arrival (2016, Villeneuve)-97, RedBox
20. The Crippled Avengers (1978, Chang)-77, Netflix Instant Viewing
21. Finding Dory (2016, Stanton)-88, Netflix Instant Viewing
22. Gnomeo and Juliet (2011, Asbury)-60, DVD
23. Zach and Miri Make A Porno (2008, Smith)-87, Netflix Instant Viewing

Movie of the Month: Arrival (2016, Villeneuve)-97, RedBox

March:

24. Man of Steel (2013, Snyder)-90, Family Video
25. Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016, Snyder)-71, Family Video
26. Get Out (2017, Peele)-97, Theater Viewing
27. Superman: The Movie (1978, Donner)-91, Netflix Instant Viewing
28. Night Owls (2015, Hood)-86, Netflix Instant Viewing
29. Kung Fury (2015, Sandberg)-90, Netflix Instant Viewing
30. The Iron Giant (1999, Bird)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing
31. Logan (2017, Mangold)-94, Theater Viewing
32. Kong: Skull Island (2017, Vogt-Roberts)-90, Theater Viewing
33. Superman II (1980, Lester/Donner)-90, Netflix Instant Viewing
34. Ms. 45 (1981, Ferrara)-93, YouTube
35. Superman III (1983, Lester)-34, Netflix Instant Viewing
36. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987, Furie)-65, Netflix Instant Viewing
37. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, Singer)-81, RedBox

Movie of the Month: The Iron Giant (1999, Bird)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing

April:

38. Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003, Dante)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
39. HairBrained (2013, Kent)-76, Netflix Instant Viewing
40. Joe Vs The Volcano (1990, Shanley)-88, Family Video
41. In Like Flint (1967, Douglas)-88, Netflix Instant Viewing
42. Eyewitness (1981, Yates)-75, Netflix Instant Viewing
43. Micheal Bolton’s Big, Sexy Valentine’s Day Special (2017, Aukeman)-90, Netflix Instant Viewing
44. Reptilicus (1961, Pink)-40, Netflix Instant Viewing
45. Free Fire (2016, Wheatley)-93, Theater
46. High Rise (2016, Wheatley)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing
47. The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969, Franco)-7, Comet TV

Movie of the Month: High Rise (2016, Wheatley)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing

May:

48. Carnage Park (2015, Keating)-75, Netflix Instant Viewing
49. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017, Gunn)-93, Theater Viewing
50. Sausage Party (2016, Vernon and Tiernan)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
51. Donnie Darko Directors Cut (2001, Kelly)-97, DVD
52. Eegah (1962, Hall Sr.)-15, Netflix Instant Viewing
53. Alien: Covenant (2017, Scott)-93, Theater Viewing
54. Catalina Caper (1967, Sholem)-5, Netflix Instant Viewing
55. Future War (1997, Doublin)-10, Netflix Instant Viewing
56. Twice-Told Tales (1963, Salkow)-80, Comet TV

Movie of the Month: Donnie Darko Directors Cut (2001, Kelly)-97, DVD

June:

57. Wonder Woman (2017, Jenkins)-91, Theater Viewing
58. It Comes At Night (2017, Shults)-92, Theater Viewing
59. Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964, Gentilomo)-35, Netflix Instant Viewing
60. Horrors of Spider Island (1960, Böttger)-6, Netflix Instant Viewing
61. I Accuse My Parents (1944, Newfield)-40, Netflix Instant Viewing
62. Jack Frost (1964, Rou)-65, Netflix Instant Viewing
63. Fist Fight (2017, Keen)-80, Family Video
64. Laserblast (1978, Rae)-0, Netflix Instant Viewing
65. Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders (1996, Berton)-50, Netflix Instant Viewing
66. Los Nuevos extraterrestres (1983, Simón)-15, Netflix Instant Viewing
67. Spy (2015, Feig)-88, Family Video
68. Ant-Man (2015, Reed)-88, Family Video
69. My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Miyazaki)-95, Theater Viewing
70. The Pocket Man (2016, Chubinidze)-92, Theater Viewing
71. Snack Attack (2012, Cadelago)-75, Theater Viewing

Movie of the Month: My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Miyazaki)-95, Theater Viewing

July:

72. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964, Webster)-0, Netflix Instant Viewing
73. The Sidehackers (1969, Trikonis)-0, Netflix Instant Viewing
74. Baby Driver (2017, Wright)-97, Theater Viewing
75. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017, Watts)-93, Theater Viewing
76. A Single Life (2014, Blaauw, Oprins, Roggeveen)-82, Theater Viewing
77. Game Over (2006, Pes)-85, Theater Viewing
78. Luminaris (2011, Zaramella)-91, Theater Viewing
79. Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989, Miyazaki)-91, Theater Viewing
80. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017, Besson)-55, Theater Viewing
81. Teenagers From Outer Space (1959, Graeff)-51, Netflix Instant Viewing
82. National Lampoon’s Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006, Nathan)-56, Charge TV

Movie of the Month: Baby Driver (2017, Wright)-97, Theater Viewing

August:

83. Dunkirk (2017, Nolan)-93, Theater Viewing
84. Night Monster (1942, Beebe)-56, MeTV
85. Bite (2015, Archibald)-60, Public Library
86. The Black Torment (1964, Hartford-Davis)-81, Public Library
87. Blair Witch (2015, Wingard)-69, Public Library
88. Atomic Blonde (2017, Leitch)-88, Theater Viewing
89. Johnny Express (2014, Woo)-93, Theater Viewing
90. The Castle In The Sky (1986, Miyazaki)-100, Theater Viewing

Repeats Seen On The Big Screen: Temple of Doom (1984, Spielberg)-90 and The Last Crusade (1989, Spielberg)-95.

Movie of the Month: The Castle In The Sky (1986, Miyazaki)-100, Theater Viewing

September:

91. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002, Tezuka)-75, Comet TV
92. Deathstalker III: The Warriors from Hell (1988, Corona)-35, Comet TV
93. The Castle of Cagliostro (1979, Miyazaki)-92, Theater Viewing
94. Cave Dwellers (1984, D’Amato)-0, Comet TV
95. Wind River (2017, Sheridan)-98, Theater Viewing
96. Afternoon Class (2015, Oh)-90, Theater Viewing
97. The Centrifuge Brain Project (2012, Nowak)-90, Theater Viewing
98. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984, Miyazaki)-92, Theater Viewing

Movie of the Month: Wind River (2017, Sheridan)-98, Theater Viewing

October:

99. Mother! (2017, Aronofsky)-98, Theater Viewing
100. Bride of Frankenstein (1935, Whale)-95, Public Library
101. Crawlspace (1986, Schmoeller)-90, Public Library
102. A Cure for Wellness (2017, Verbinski)-65, Public Library
103. Urban Legend (1998, Blanks)-80, Crackle
104. The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974, Gibson)-70, Tubi TV
105. The Manster (1959, Crane, Breakston)-45, Tubi TV
106. Final Destination 2 (2003, Ellis)-82, Public Library
107. 20 Million Miles To Earth (1957, Juran)-80, Public Library
108. Blood For Dracula (1974, Morrissey)-70, Public Library
109. Raw (2017, Ducournau)-92, Netflix Instant Viewing
110. Legion (The Exorcist III DC, 1990, Blatty)-94, Public Library
111. The Curse of the Cat People (1944, Wise, Fritsch)-71, Public Library
112. It (2017, Muschietti)-94, Theater Viewing
113. Pieces (1982, Simon)-77, TubiTV
114. Flesh For Frankenstein (1973, Morrissey)-75, Public Library
115. Fright Night (2011, Gillespie)-84, Public Library
116. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976, Sole)-82, TubiTV
117. Jennifer’s Body (2009, Kusama)-90, Blu Ray
118. Salem’s Lot (1979, Hooper)-90, Blu Ray

Movie of the Month: Mother! (2017, Aronofsky)-98, Theater Viewing

November:

119. Cutthroat Island (1995, Harlin)-45, Charge TV
120. Crossfire Trail (2001, Wincer)-77, Get TV
121. Delicatessen (1991, Jeunet, Caro)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing
122. Thor: Ragnarok (2017, Waititi)-91, Theater Viewing

Movie of the Month: Delicatessen (1991, Jeunet, Caro)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing

December:

123. Paprika (2006, Kon)-95, Public Library Blu Ray
124. Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017, Johnson)-94, Theater Viewing
125. Scary Movie (2000, Wayans)-83, Netflix Instant Viewing
126. Justice League (2017, Snyder)-82, Theater Viewing

Movie of the Month: Paprika (2006, Kon)-95, Public Library Blu Ray

January 18, 2017 0

Horrorfest 2014 Presents: Humanoids From The Deep (1980, Barbara Peeters)

Produced by the legendary Roger Corman Humanoids of the Deep is a wonderfully trashy camp film that was more in tune with the 80s despite being made at the start of the decade. What you basically have is women being attacked by rape monsters from the sea who want to mate. Gross. The special effects are not half bad even though the storyline is rather weak. Also the last act consists solely of gory and entertaining monster attacks at a carnival. Which happens to be a good setting for an orgy of gore and mayhem.

Doug McClure is the well meaning hero of the film while Vic Morrow plays the local big shot racist and Ann Turkel is the scientist who knows what is really going on. Unfortunately Peters, the film’s director, did not approve of the changes that were made to this film by Corman. Still a woman directing any film, much less a horror movie, was an even rarer thing back in those days so even though Humanoids is a cheesy camp fest at best I still kind of like and enjoy it. Those types of films are really not made now a days and the cult film seems almost dead sadly. I would like to get my hands on the Shout! Factory 30th Anniversary copy as I viewed this movie on Netflix.

January 30, 2015 0

Horrorfest 2014 Presents: Body Bags (1993, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Larry Sulkis)

Lately I’ve been viewing more anthologies and enjoying them, particularly horror film ones, simply because the horror genre is often at its best in the short form. Edgar Allen Poe certainly thought so and he gave us some of the best short horror fiction. Stephen King’s Night Shift and other anthologies he’s written over the years have been mined for full length horror films based off of his creepy, much shorter tales. Body Bags is such an anthology, however it was originally meant to be a TV series on Showtime-unfortunately for us all, that never happened and all we are left with is this film, which has a typical wrap around plot and of course three ghoulish tales of murder and mayhem. Overall this is a pretty good, enjoyable feature, and considering that it involved John Carpenter (also playing the sinister narrator) and Tobe Hooper, two horror movie legends, its a shame that we only have the three stories and the one film from the project.

Emerging from hiding in a morgue, the weird looking corner stops and notices us, the viewer. He then proceeds to find body bags, obviously, and uses them to spin tales. The first such one is called “The Gas Station,” and it is the best one of the bunch. Directed by John Carpenter as is the second tale, this one centers on poor Anne (Alex Datcher), a college student who takes a job at a gas station on a lonely stretch of highway in the middle of nowhere. With a killer on the loose, no less, which makes her the typical final girl/not particularly bright heroine found in so many horror movies. What really makes this tale eerie and suspenseful is the killer, who I will not reveal here because it is a delightful twist, one that turns this story into an urban legend of sorts. You have Robert Carradine being his usual cheerful self, Wes Craven acting all odd and frumpy, and Sam Raimi in a cameo that is well, rather shocking. Also Carpenter cannot resist throwing in a reference to his 1978 classic Halloween. See if you can find the reference.

Next up is the also Carpenter directed “Hair,” which I found to be the weakest of the bunch although still decent/solid overall. This one has the best cast, with Stacy Keach as a vain man desperate to grow hair so that he can please his long suffering girlfriend, played by Sheena Easton. David Warner and Deborah Harry show up as people who offer to help, and of course they are not who they seem. The twist ending is actually rather frightening, and as a man going bald I have to wonder if maybe losing my hair instead of becoming a slave to something alive is perhaps the wiser choice. Although I’m not sure how this one fits into what the Corner says before the story…

Finally you have “Eye,” which is a frightening and tragic episode, directed by Tobe Hooper and starring Mark Hamill as a baseball player who descends into madness after receiving an eye transplant. Although some objected to this episode’s religious overtones, I rather enjoyed “Eye,” finding it to be both rather freaky and also sad, especially with how it ends. Besides one can argue that the episode was not condemning religion, although I cannot go into this further without spoiling the conclusion. Oh and look for great cameos from famous icons John Agar and Roger Corman, who play the doctors that operate on Hamill. I guess I should have recognized Twiggy as Hamill’s poor wife, too, and for some reason I didn’t.

As for the wrap around story, I am amused by how it concludes, and what it really entails. Particularly since it stars Tom Arnold and Tobe Hooper and has a really good singular joke. Body Bags may or may not have resulted in a decent TV show, but perhaps it works best as a singular anthology film. Many thanks goes to my local public library and Scream Factory for the DVD release I was able to get my hands on.

October 18, 2014 0

Horrorfest 2013 Presents: Forbidden World (1982, Allen Holzman)

Space is a dangerous and scary place. Full of wonders and dangers lurking around every asteroid and moon. At least that’s the case in Forbidden World which is an Alien ripoff that I actually enjoyed. Even with the low-budget special effects and the hilariously bad opening space battle. We can thank the legendary Roger Corman for producing this entertaining piece of sci-fi horror schlock.

I can’t even recall the space fodder….I mean, characters…names. They aren’t terribly important and neither is the plot which involves genetics and some ugly monstrous creature. This film has it all: tons of nudity gore and horrific death scenes. Not to mention amusingly cheesy moments and a cool android. That’s always a plus. Don’t forget that random shower scene either. The creature itself has great big shiny teeth and appears to be a cross between a spider and god knows what else.

A film like this could only exist in the past when cheesy low-budget films were easy to make. Today this film would fail to straddle the fine line between entertaining goofy camp and outright dumb parody. Someone like Roger Corman was always able to walk that line as a director and as a producer.

October 5, 2013 0