The House That Screamed… “Murder!”

Mod Macabre continues over at The Movie Morlocks today where I take a look at Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s horrific thriller The House That Screamed (1969) featuring a great cast that includes Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbo, Mary Maude and mod wonder boy, John-Moulder Brown. Here’s a brief description of The House That Screamed from my post: … Continue reading »

Sean Connery in Woman of Straw (1964)

Sean Connery in a promotional shot from WOMAN OF STRAW (1964) I’m celebrating Sean Connery’s 81st birthday today over at the Movie Morlocks with a look at his performance in WOMAN OF STRAW (1964). A brief excerpt from my post: “What I admire most about Connery’s memorable performance in WOMAN OF STRAW is the way … Continue reading »

Remember My Name (1976) & TCM News

Anthony Perkins & Geraldine Chaplin in Remember My Name (1976) I’ve been really busy lately so please excuse the lack of updates around here. Lately it seems like I only have enough free time to share my Movie Morlock updates and today is no exception. I recently got the opportunity to watch Alan Rudolph’s unusual … Continue reading »

What Ever Happened to Jennifer?

Ida Lupino in Jennifer (1953) In my latest post at the Movie Morlocks I take a look at an unusual and little known thriller called Jennifer (1953), which features a great performance from Ida Lupino and some breathtaking black & white cinematography from James Wong Howe. If you enjoy unconventional noir films or low-key horror … Continue reading »

Unman, Wittering and Zigo (1971)

It’s a rare occurrence when I come across a movie I’ve never heard of before or seen. Such is the case with John Mackenzie’s Unman, Wittering and Zigo (1971). I sought the movie out because the title was intriguing and it caught my attention when I was scanning David Hemmings’ filmography on IMBD. After hunting … Continue reading »

Fulci & Jodorowsky at Severin

Marisa Mell in Perversion Story (1969) The kind folks at Severin recently invited me to participate in a series of month-long guest blog posts at the Severin Blog where we’re asked to share clips from one of our favorite Severin DVD releases. I decided to write a little bit about Luci Fulci’s excellent Italian thriller … Continue reading »

They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)

At the Movie Morlocks this week I wrote about my disappointment with James Goldstone’s 1972 film They Only Kill Their Masters. This dull and unimaginative mystery wasted the talents of all the actors involved including James Garner, Katherine Ross, Peter Lawford and Hal Holbrook but it does showcase a pretty groovy beach house if you’d … Continue reading »

‘Tis the Season

Happy Holidays from Cinebeats & Julie Christie! ‘Tis the season. I’ve been preoccupied with home renovations, work and holiday plans lately so I haven’t had a lot of free time to watch movies or blog and I don’t think I’ll be updating much in December. In an effort to keep things interesting here at Cinebeats … Continue reading »

Modern Mondays: Before the Fall (2008)

Before the Fall (aka Tres días) is a terrific Spanish thriller with an end-of-the-world setting. This thoughtful genre-mixing film takes place in a small Spanish village as the news breaks that a giant meteor has begun rapidly descending towards earth. The meteor is expected to hit the planet in just three days and scientists predict … Continue reading »

20 Favorite DVD Releases of 2008: Part I.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but overall 2008 was somewhat of a lackluster year for new Region 1 DVD releases of ’60s and ’70s era films when compared to the previous two years (See: 2006 and 2007). Some of my favorite DVD companies such as BCI Eclipse and most recently New … Continue reading »

The Third Secret (1964)

After watching countless thrillers over the years I’m not often surprised by a movie anymore, but Charles Critchon’s exceptional film The Third Secret (1964) really caught me off guard and impressed me with its compelling storyline and dramatic cinematography. In some ways it’s a very old fashioned mystery and the film looks like it could … Continue reading »

The Devil with Seven Faces (1971)

Top: Carroll Baker has just seen the final cut of The Devil with Seven Faces (1971) Bottom: Even a cheap gorilla mask couldn’t make the movie any better. Normally I neglect to write anything about movies I dislike. I never have enough time to write about all the films I like so why waste my … Continue reading »

Seth Holt’s The Nanny (1965)

Evil nannies that are determined to harm the innocent children they care for have become a popular recurring menace in many horror films over the years and last week one of the best nasty nanny movies was finally released on DVD for the first time. I originally saw Seth Holt’s chilling British thriller The Nanny … Continue reading »

Brian G. Hutton’s Night Watch (1973)

By 1973 Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s nine year marriage was coming to an end and both actors wanted to focus on their individual careers. Night Watch (1973) features one of Elizabeth Taylor’s few solo performances as an actress while she was married to Burton and it’s one of my favorite Taylor films from the … Continue reading »

Scream… and Die! (1973)

Despite its somewhat misleading title, Scream… and Die! (1973) is a fascinating film directed by José Ramón Larraz that’s well worth a look if you enjoy unusual European thrillers. Larraz is a talented Spanish director who’s mostly known by American film audiences as the man behind the erotic horror film Vampyres (1974) and only a … Continue reading »