Blog


  • Woman in the Moon (1929)

    Parts of Woman in the Moon are familiar; we’ve seen them in countless science-fiction movies over the years. However, because it was made in 1929, we can hardly accuse it of borrowing from other films. I never realized how often other films borrowed from it and it’s never been on my radar like Fritz Lang’s

    Read more

  • The Ghost of Flight 401 (1978)

    With all the evil that ghosts do, it’s easy to forget that sometimes they’re benevolent, remaining on this earthly plane to warn others about impending doom. Their appearances can still be frightening, but if we remain calm, we may be able to understand why they’re here. The Ghost of Flight 401 (1978) effectively uses the

    Read more

  • Murder Story (1989)

    Murder Story (1989)

    In retrospect, there were parts of Murder Story (1989) that I enjoyed. However, when I consider the experience of watching it, it’s nothing more than a slightly better than straight-to-VHS movie. No surprise, Christopher Lee is terrific in it, but it’s Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Angel) in his first movie role that kept me

    Read more

  • Possession (1981)

    Possession (1981)

    Spoiler Alert! It’s going to take a while to fully understand how I feel about Possession… (1981) and I may never understand the movie itself. On the surface, a woman leaves her husband, harboring a tentacled creature in her new apartment that forces her to murder anyone who comes to visit. Meanwhile, her husband has

    Read more

  • Dracula & Son (1976)

    Dracula & Son (1976)

    The first thing I noticed when watching Dracula & Son (1976) was how gorgeous it looks. Next, I noticed the lush score. Like the rest of the film, though, there were diminishing returns. By the time it ended, I could barely remember its most positive elements. It’s not that it’s bad; it’s just so… I

    Read more

  • The Initiation of Sarah (1978)

    The Initiation of Sarah (1978) is such a blatant rip-off of Carrie (1976) that the few original ideas it threatens to offer are forgotten or overshadowed by familiar characters and plot points. Even if you haven’t seen Brian DePalma’s masterpiece from two years earlier, or read Stephen King’s novel, chances are you know the beats

    Read more

  • Dark Places (1974)

    Dark Places (1974)

    Dark Places (1974) feels right at home with an Amicus Production, which it is not. It was the only film produced by a man named James Hannah Jr. from Chicago. Supposedly the cast didn’t know why he was making it, although they speculated that it was probably a tax write-off. With director Don Sharp (The

    Read more

  • The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967)

    If nothing else, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967) is beautiful to watch. It’s the only color, full-length feature film included in Severin’s fantastic box set, The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee. The colors are crisp, sometimes bright, and the sets are wonderfully detailed. Luckily for us, these elements are not the only good things

    Read more

  • Cruise Into Terror (1978)

    Cruise Into Terror (1978)

    Backed by a relentless soundtrack that ensures you know how to react while simultaneously beating you into submission, Cruise into Terror (1978) is a wacky mishmash of subject matter and genre tropes. You’ve got to applaud the effort, but also laugh at (with?) the result. It’s part disaster film, part horror movie… a little bit

    Read more

  • Crypt of the Vampire (1964)

    When I first watched Crypt of the Vampire (1964), it was to include it in an article about film adaptations of Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel, Carmilla. That was (gulp) nine years ago. Returning to it now, it’s like I watched a different movie! It’s a perfect example of the difference the quality of transfer makes…

    Read more