We never learn how or why the spirit of a Japanese samurai is haunting a rural home in Wisconsin of all places, but if you can accept the fact that it simply is happening, the rest of Blood Beat (1983) somehow seems a little less wacky. Writer/director/editor/co-composer Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos came to Chicago from his native France in the late…

The combination was inevitable. By the time Christine (1983) was released, directors such as Brian DePalma, Tobe Hooper, Stanley Kubrick, and David Cronenberg had made adaptations of Stephen King novels. Although he considered it “a job” and not a personal project like his previous films, John Carpenter took his turn with King. (Interestingly, he was…

Before I’m accused of false advertising, I’m a completist and will include Mystery on Monster Island (1981) in Naschy November, no matter how small his part. However, I didn’t realize how small his part was going to be. It’s a cameo in the true sense of the word, appearing in the first scene of the…

Unseen since Night of the Howling Beast (1975), aka The Werewolf & the Yeti, and following at least 20 non-Waldemar Daninsky movies, Paul Naschy, his character and his curse, return in Night of the Werewolf, aka El retorno del hombre lobo, aka The Craving. This was the first Daninky film Naschy directed himself, so it’s…

It’s April Fool’s day at Slaughter High (1986) and Carol (the 35-year-old, but still lovely, student, Caroline Munro) leads poor Marty (Simon Scuddamore) into the locker room for a cruel prank that turns bad. Later that day in the science lab, Chekov’s beaker full of nitric acid wobbles on a shelf and Marty uses a…

Only vaguely aware of Night School (1981), I don’t remember ever watching it during the Slasher Age or video store days. However, if you’d asked me, I could have told you it was Rachel Ward’s first movie. Her star shined brightly for almost a decade, then, although she kept working since then, I don’t notice…

We’ve made horror film smoothies before; let’s do it again… Throw Halloween (1978) into a blender with Carrie (1976.) Sprinkle a little Saturday Night Fever (1977) on top and press “Chop” for one minute. Wait! I said, “Chop,” not “Puree.” Now we have pure liquid with no real substance. Such is Prom Night (1980), the…