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  • The Leech Woman (1960)

    The Leech Woman (1960)

    It’s impossible for me not to compare The Leech Woman (1960) with The Wasp Woman (1959.) Both are, in essence, about women seeking eternal youth. I prefer the latter over the former because it knows what it is: silly nonsense. The Leech Woman doesn’t know it’s supposed to be silly nonsense; it’s deadly serious. Both

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  • He Who Gets Slapped (1924)

    The 1924 silent classic, He Who Gets Slapped, did not air on TCM as part of its Lon Chaney marathon that I recorded on October 14, 2020. Instead, it aired as part of its circus movie marathon exactly a month later. Wherever you’re able to see it, I highly encourage that you do. For my

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  • Them! (1954)

    Them! (1954)

    It’s a good thing horror fans are such an accepting group, rarely participating in social media vitriol. Otherwise, I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing my honest opinion about a classic film that’s beloved by most: Them! (1954.) This wasn’t my first time watching it and I’ve really tried over the years, but it’s never been anything

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  • Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers (1956)

    This one is a real curiosity. It’s a documentary about UFOs made during the 1950s UFO craze that was sweeping the nation. I can’t say I learned anything from it, but it gave me a real sense of how the craze began at that time rather than looking back on it years later. For nostalgia’s

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  • The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

    I’m arriving late to this (slumber) party. As big a fan as I am of the “original” slasher films, there are several of their follow-ups that I’ve never seen. I’m way past the point of discussing how The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) was written (Rita Mae Brown) and directed (Amy Holden Jones) by women and

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  • The Pack (1977)

    The Pack (1977)

    Subgenres within subgenres… Within the “nature gone wild/when animals attack” horror subgenre resides one that belongs exclusively to dogs. Preceded by Dogs (1976) comes The Pack (1977), with nearly identical descriptions (on IMDb, at least.) They’re both in the company of Dracula’s Dog (1977), Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978), and, into the 1980s,

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  • Guru, the Mad Monk (1970)

    Not only was Guru, the Mad Monk (1970) a first-time watch for me, but it was also the first Andy Milligan film I’ve seen. The writer-director-producer-costume designer-and so on has at least some fans, I assume, due to the existence of a deluxe box set of his movies from Severin Films. One of those fans

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  • The Thirteenth Chair (1929)

    If Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931) is criticized for being too much like a play, then The Thirteenth Chair (1929) doesn’t have a chance! On the other hand, this film is better suited for the stage; restricted locations don’t slow its pace. The plot unfolds primarily in two rooms, so we’re not longing for action anywhere

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  • The Unknown (1927)

    The Unknown (1927)

    Joan Crawford once said that she learned more about acting from watching Lon Chaney work than from anyone else in her career. “It was then I became aware for the first time of the difference between standing in front of a camera and acting.” She appeared with Chaney in The Unknown (1927) during the first

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  • The Blackbird (1926)

    The Blackbird (1926)

    If you’ve ever wanted to see Lon Chaney, “the Man of a Thousand Faces,” transform into one of his misshapen characters, there are a couple scenes in The Blackbird (1926) that at least give you a glimpse. He quickly pulls his ankle into the air, twisting his leg at the knee, then jerks his shoulder

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