THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED… “MURDER!”

Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED (1969) is often cited as one of Spain’s most important and influential horror films but its audience is typically restricted to genre fanatics. The highly sexualized content and graphic murders depicted in this gothic thriller limit its appeal. But the commercial success of THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED during the late 1960s …

VINCENT PRICE & GENE TIERNEY: A DOOMED ROMANCE

This post was part of my month-long celebration of Vincent Price–TCM’s October Star of the Month in 2013. Throughout the course of Vincent Price’s long career, he worked with some of my favorite actresses such as Barbara Steele, Diana Rigg, Jennifer Jones and Linda Hayden. But if I had to single out Price’s most important …

TELEFILM TIME MACHINE: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1972)

Eleanor Parker in 1972 The holidays can be a very difficult time for some. I know from firsthand experience that when you don’t have any family to rely on or any kind of financial security to speak of Christmas can feel like a national nightmare inhabited by drunken revelers, crazed shoppers, and merciless merchants. This …

Reassessing the Critical Response to PEEPING TOM (1960)

When you mention PEEPING TOM (’60) to classic film fans the response is typically “That’s the movie that ended Michael Powell’s career!” and a quick Google search will unearth countless critics and film historians repeating a similar refrain. While it is true that PEEPING TOM received a brutal lashing from the British critical establishment that …

Film Writing Nov. 2016 – April 2017

It's been awhile. Work obligations, as well as personal projects and other responsibilities, have taken precedence over updating my blogs. Of course, you can always find me on my Tumblr as well as Twitter & Facebook. Before I let another month get away, I thought I'd finally share an update to the film writing I've …

FATAL CHARM: CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955)

On Monday, October 12th TCM is airing a batch of suspenseful films focusing on “Treacherous Spouses.” Most critics wouldn’t classify any of these films as horror but some of them contain genuinely horrific moments. The impressive line-up includes Experiment Perilous (1944), Suspicion (1941), Strangers on a Train (1951), Dial M for Murder (1954), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) Elevator to the Gallows (1958) and the day’s …

June & July at the Movie Morlocks

I haven't been online much the last few months for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I've been having some medical problems with my left eye and spending lots of time on my computer reading, watching vids and writing can often be problematic. My eyes get easily irritated and I'm prone to headaches, etc. …

Oh dear! What can the matter be?

“Oh dear! What can the matter be? Dear! Dear! What can the matter be? Oh Dear! What can the matter be? Johnny’s so long at the fair.” – Author unknown, 1793 British director Terence Fisher is best known for his work with Hammer Films but before he started making movies for the studio that dripped …

Celebrate Halloween with TCM’s Movie Morlocks

All month long I've been writing about spooky movies and terrifying thrillers at the Movie Morlocks. Here's a brief rundown of the various topics I tackled that should appeal to my fellow goblins & ghouls.

Going Under: Revisiting COMA (1978)

I recently re-watched Michael Crichton‘s COMA (1978) and was pleasantly surprised by how effective the film still was.

The Man of the Hour: Alfred Hitchcock

Back in May when I debuted Klara Tavakoli Goesche's video tour of VERTIGO locations at the Movie Morlocks I made note of the fact that: "Alfred Hitchcock’s name seems to be everywhere these days." It seems that my observation was somewhat premature because I had no idea that Hitchock would became a subject of daily …

Embracing Ambiguity: Figures In A Landscape (1970)

I've had Joseph Losey on my mind a lot lately and this week I decided to revisit one of my favorite Losey films, the extraordinary FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE (1970) starring Robert Shaw and Malcolm McDowell.