Written by Samuel Newman & Paul Gangelin Directed by Fred F. Sears Starring Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum, Louis Merrill Released June, 1957 RT 75 min. Home Video Icons of Horror Collection: Sam Katzman (DVD) Classic Horrors rating = 7 (out of 10) Its reputation preceding it, I’ve never been in too big a hurry to see The Giant…

Written by John C. Higgins (story by Gerald Drayson Adams) Directed by Reginald Le Borg Starring Basil Rathbone, Herbert Rudley, Akim Tamiroff, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson Released June, 1956 RT 82 min. Home Video Kino Lorber Classic Horrors rating = 6 (out of 10) When I saw the cast list, I wondered why I’d never heard…

Written by Daniel B. Ullman Based on the novel by Maurice Sandoz Directed by William Cameron Menzies Starring Richard Carlson, Veronica Hurst, Katherine Emery Released July 26, 1953 RT 80 min. Home Video Kino Classics (Blu-ray) Classic Horrors rating = 7 (out of 10) Do you ever read something about a movie, add it to your “watch list,” but then not…

Written by Louis Garfinkle Directed by Albert Band Starring Richard Boone, Theodore Bikel, Peggy Maurer, Herbert Anderson, Robert Osterloh Released July, 1958 RT 77 min. Home Video Netflix (DVD) Classic Horrors rating = 7 (out of 10) Science has learned that man possesses powers which go beyond the boundaries of the natural. This is the story of one confronted by such…

Written by Ramon Rodriguez Directed by Fernando Mendez Starring Abel Salazar, Ariadna Welter, Carmen Montejo, Jose Luis Jimenez, German Robles Released October 4, 1957 (Mexico) RT 95 min. Home Video Casanegra (DVD) Classic Horrors rating = 7 (out of 10) From the very first shot of El Vampiro (1957), I thought, “Wow!  I’m watching a Hammer film!”  A vampire stands…

Written by Erik Blomberg Directed by Erik Blomberg, Mirjami Kuosmanen Starring Mirjami Kuosmanen, Kalervo Nissila Released July 25, 1952 (Finland) RT 67 min. (restored version) Home Video Filigra Nowa (DVD) Classic Horrors rating = 7 (out of 10) If you watch The White Reindeer (1952) like I’m going to encourage you to do, try to find a better copy…

Written by Kare Bergstrom Based on the novel by Andre Bjerke Directed by Kare Bergstrom Starring Andre Bjerke, Bjorg Engh, Henki Kolstad, Per Lillo-Stenberg Released Dec. 17, 1958 (Norway) RT 76 min. (restored version) Home Video Sinister Cinema (DVD) Classic Horrors rating = 6 (out of 10) Lake of the Dead (1958) is soaked in atmosphere, but I found…

Written by Richard H. Landau, George Worthing Yates Directed by Howard W. Koch Starring Boris Karloff, Tom Duggan, Jana Lund, Don “Red” Barry US Release July 20, 1958 RT 83 min. Home Video Warner Brothers Classic Horrors rating = 7 (out of 10) Victor Frankenstein (Boris Karloff), the great-great grandson of the original Frankenstein, rents his castle…

Written by Franklin Coen and George Callahan Directed by Joseph M. Newman Starring Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, Rex Reason US Release June 10, 1955 (New York City premiere) RT 87 min. Home Video Universal Studios Home Entertainment Classic Horrors rating = 7 (out of 10) In recent years, a creature from a space adventure has been…

Written by Jimmy Sangster Directed by Terence Fisher Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux US Release December 16, 1959 RT 88 min. Home Video Warner Brothers Classic Horrors rating = 9 (out of 10) Hammer’s 1959 version of The Mummy is not a remake of Universal’s 1932 classic; instead, it uses some of the best components…