As a lifelong classic film fan who has seen more movies than she cares to remember, it’s easy to become a little jaded. But every year I manage to come across an old film that becomes a new favorite. In 2016 that film is the amazing, Amazing Mr. X (1948), a low-budget supernatural thriller also known as The … Continue reading Spiritualism & Spooks: The Amazing Mr. X (1948)
“It’s my blood. I gave it to you.”
A horror film renaissance is unfolding that’s largely being ignored or has gone unappreciated. While Hollywood continues to pummel us all with over-hyped, self-conscious and all too predictable and derivative movies like CABIN IN THE WOODS, Tim Burton’s recent DARK SHADOWS remake or the ongoing SAW and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY series, independent or smaller budgeted films made in Europe, Britain, Asia and Australia … Continue reading “It’s my blood. I gave it to you.”
“The Voices of Terror – Twisting Two Minds!”
On its fog-shrouded surface, Kevin Billington’s VOICES (1973) is an unusual supernatural thriller involving ghosts and a haunted house but if you take the time to look beyond its spooky exterior you might be surprised by what you find there. This fascinating horror film has a rich and winding history that first took shape in 1953 and … Continue reading “The Voices of Terror – Twisting Two Minds!”
Authority Is the Child of Obedience
Are human beings inherently cruel or do we learn cruelty by example? Does our genetic makeup dictate our personalities at birth or are we shaped by numerous circumstances including our environments and upbringing? To borrow the title of a current popular song, are we “born this way” or are we more complex creatures than our … Continue reading Authority Is the Child of Obedience
Telefilm Time Machine: Daughter of the Mind (1969)
Ray Milland sees dead people. Or to be more precise, Ray Milland begins seeing the ghost of his dead daughter in the made-for-TV movie DAUGHTER OF THE MIND (1969) based on a novel by author Paul Gallico (THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES; 1942, BITTER VICTORY; 1957, THE SNOW GOOSE; 1971, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE; 1972) and directed by Walter Grauman. This is … Continue reading Telefilm Time Machine: Daughter of the Mind (1969)
Telefilm Time Machine: SATAN’S TRIANGLE (1975)
One of my favorite actresses is the beautiful and enigmatic Kim Novak and one of the first made-for-TV movies she appeared in was SATAN’S TRIANGLE (1975). This surprisingly effective supernatural thriller combines elements of classic horror films such as PHANTOM SHIP (1935) and GHOST SHIP (1955) as well as THE EXORCIST (1973) into a spine-tingling original tale set on the stormy seas … Continue reading Telefilm Time Machine: SATAN’S TRIANGLE (1975)
Something Is Always Left Behind: A PLACE OF ONE’S OWN (1945)
"Though I wait for thee a thousand years, through waiting will I love thee yet the more. And though I fill an ocean with my tears, my joy will thus be greater than before. And this my prayer for evermore will be, that in the end thou will come back to me."- from A PLACE OF … Continue reading Something Is Always Left Behind: A PLACE OF ONE’S OWN (1945)
Ancient Evil is Now a Modern Industry: THIRST (1979)
In Rod Hardy’s THIRST (1979) we are introduced to Kate (Chantal Contouri), an attractive waif-like young fashion designer with a pet cat and a serious problem. Kate’s the last descendent of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, often cited as history’s first and most prolific female serial killer, and she’s been kidnapped by a group of power-hungry aristocratic vampires … Continue reading Ancient Evil is Now a Modern Industry: THIRST (1979)
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
The Spiral Staircase (1946) is a longtime favorite of mine and it has been hailed as a prototype for many of the best giallo films. With thoughts of murder and black-gloved killers running through my mind it seemed like a good time to revisit this classic thriller that features an Academy Award-nominated performance by Ethel Barrymore as … Continue reading The Spiral Staircase (1946)
On Vampyres and Other Symptoms (2011)
ON VAMPYRES AND OTHER SYMPTOMS (2011) is the clever title of a new documentary directed by Celia Novis focusing on the reclusive Spanish filmmaker, writer, and artist José Ramón Larraz. If Larraz’s name doesn’t ring any bells don’t be alarmed. Despite the fact that the 83-year-old director is well regarded by his peers which include Quentin … Continue reading On Vampyres and Other Symptoms (2011)
MATRIMONY, MADNESS AND MURDER: HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON (1970)
Modern weddings often bring out the worst in people. The attempt to meet family and social expectations while exchanging vows that occasionally read like a prison sentence can be a dangerous cocktail made worse by a deep focus on money matters. Instead of enjoying their “special day” couples and their accommodating families often end up … Continue reading MATRIMONY, MADNESS AND MURDER: HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON (1970)
DANCING THE MEPHISTO WALTZ
The legend of Faust is one of the oldest occult tales in the Western world. This German fable has been the basis of countless plays, poems, novels, musical compositions, works of art and films. Faust's story has been reinterpreted many times in various ways but most renderings portray him as an aging unsatisfied scholar who … Continue reading DANCING THE MEPHISTO WALTZ
MUMMY DEAREST: BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971)
Hammer Films produced four Mummy movies between 1959 and 1971 and one of my favorites is Seth Holt’s BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971). This unabashedly sexy horror extravaganza was the last Mummy movie made by the Studio that Dripped Blood and thanks to a great cast and some creative directing choices it turned out to be one of … Continue reading MUMMY DEAREST: BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971)
AAAHOO! – SHE-WOLF OF LONDON (1946)
The setting is London in the early 1900s where a young Scottish woman named Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart) is preparing to wed her beau (Don Porter). The happy couple’s plans are interrupted when someone or something begins killing locals at a nearby park. Terrified Phyllis is certain an old Scottish curse that has plagued her … Continue reading AAAHOO! – SHE-WOLF OF LONDON (1946)
VENOMOUS SNAKES & POISON ANTS: PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975)
“What we see and what we seem are but a dream, a dream within a dream.” - Miranda in Picnic at Hanging Rock (a variation of A Dream Within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe) In Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), viewers are reminded again and again of the "venomous snakes and poison ants" that populate the Australian outback. … Continue reading VENOMOUS SNAKES & POISON ANTS: PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975)
