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Although produced by Columbia Pictures, the graveyard sets in The Black Room (1935) are as gorgeous as any number of Universal Pictures genre films of the same era. They’re obviously built on a soundstage; nevertheless, they are works of art. From the painted backdrops to the simulated ground covering and tombstones, the art direction by…
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Another low budget movie that I’ve neglected to watch is now another low budget movie that I adore! Oh, The Hideous Sun Demon (1958), where have you been all my life? I tell you, with The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955), The Killer Shrews (1959), The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962), and now this one,…
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Not the first, and certainly not the last, The Frozen Dead (1966) belongs in the subgenre of “disembodied head” movies. What seems like a ridiculous subject on the surface can, in fact, be treated with genuine thrills and chills, although it’s usually treated with humor (whether intentional or not.) The Frozen Dead does a pretty…
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The set-up for The Vampire Bat (1933) couldn’t be any simpler and it’s established in the film’s opening moments. Bats fill the sky on a dark night as the tower clock chimes, a mysterious figure leaps across the rooftops, and a woman screams. Cut to Burgermeister Gustave Schoen (Lionel Belmore) and his cronies struggling to…
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When I recently re-watched The Raven (1935), I didn’t remember liking it as much the first time I saw it. In fact, if comparing it to my memories of The Black Cat (1934), I might like The Raven even more. It’s a nasty little thriller, letting Bela Lugosi shine as an evil madman, while letting…
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Day the World Ended (1955), the fourth film directed by Roger Corman and his first genre film, has some clever ideas and, for the low budgets and resourcefulness we know he’d continue utilizing throughout his career, is not bad. Neither is it necessarily good, though. I’d call it “average,” certainly not the best he’d later…
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Henry Smedhurst (James Mason) and his wife (Barbara Mullen) have always wanted a place of their own and, at retirement age, they are finally able to buy one… for a steal. While they’re aware that Bellingham House has sat vacant for 40 years, if they knew its reputation, I’m not sure they wouldn’t have bought…
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Woman Who Came Back (1945) has a great gothic opening, generating a creepy atmosphere that’s sustained throughout the movie. In Eben Rock, Massachusetts, a “crypt” beneath the church holds documents that detail the history of witchcraft in the area. Nearby stands the palatial home of the judge responsible for killing 18 women 300 years ago……
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In a dark cave with the sound of drums beating in the background, a young woman moans that she can’t stand it anymore. “If you love me, kill me.” The man attending to her steps away with another man to discuss the infestation of vampire bats. While one describes how they “attach” themselves to a…
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You’d think I would learn by now. With its reputation (and a 3.5 IMDb rating), The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955) has always been at the bottom of my watch list. When Cathy Downs was nominated for a 2019 Monster Rally Retro Award (http://tinyurl.com/rallies2019) on Monster Kid Radio, I decided I needed to watch it…
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Classic Horrors Club 