Category: Occult Age
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The Classic Horrors Club Podcast EP 96: Go Ape at the Drive-In
Surprise! We’re hitting the road early with the first of four summer trips to the drive-in. It’s the weekend of June 15, 1973, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes has just opened, giving the Hillcrest Drive-In in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the opportunity to host an unofficial “Go Ape” marathon. We both started our…
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The Classic Horrors Club Podcast EP 95: Musical Monsters
For a bit of a change of pace, Jeff and Richard discuss two films where there are as many songs as there are monsters: Phantom of the Paradise (1974) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975.) Both did their time on the Midnight Movie circuit before the advent of home video boosted one’s reputation and…
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Tender Dracula (1974)
The poster for Tender Dracula (1974) aka The Big Scare, gives us a good idea about how conflicted the movie is going to be. Drawn with dripping red blood in the background is a gorgeous image of Peter Cushing baring fangs as a vampire (perhaps the titular Dracula,) yet in the foreground are green caricatures…
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Blood Suckers (1971)
After watching only 30 minutes of Blood Suckers (1971), I stopped the Blu-ray and turned off the television. I wan’t enjoying it at all and I simply could not continue. The next day I awoke knowing that I had to finish it. I figured there would be either another 50 minutes to grin and bear…
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The Swarm (1978)
Disaster Film Checklist All-Star Cast (Oscar Winners): All-Star Cast (Oscar Nominees): All-Star Cast (Others): Multiple Lives in Danger: Threat Beyond Control: Warning Disbelieved: Difference in Opinion About How to Proceed: Dramatic Confrontations: Characters & Relationships: Mental Handicaps and Phobias: Themes: Bonuses: Thoughts Irwin Allen lost so much money on The Swarm that he forbade his…
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The Frenchman’s Garden (1978)
From his long list of films, Paul Naschy once said that The Frenchman’s Garden (1978) was his favorite. It’s not mine, but I can tell you from the way it quietly sneaked up on me, slowly dropped clues about what was happening, and built to a powerful conclusion, it’s one of his best. There’s a…
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The Deathhead Virgin (1974)
October 25, 1974 Some film directors begin successful careers with low-budget horror movies. There’s something a little sad about those that end successful careers with low-budget horror movies. In the case of Norman Foster, though, you’d have to first concede that many Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto films equate to success. He made at least…
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Got Told Me To (1976)
October 22, 1976 Based on what I’d heard about Gold Told Me To (1976), I’ve never had much desire to watch it. Then again, I hadn’t heard much. Nevertheless, I expected a typical Larry Cohen movie that might have some interesting ideas, but presented unevenly, sometimes annoyingly. Surprise! I love Cohen’s It’s Alive (1974), but…
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Let Sleeping Corpses (1974) aka The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
October 20, 1974 This discussion is updated from one first published on Aug. 1, 2022… For all intents and purposes, this was the first time I watched The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1977), the name of the movie on the Synapse Films Blu-ray. (It’s been known by many others, including Let Sleeping Corpses Lie,…
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The Beast of the Yellow Night (1971)
October 12, 1971 Joseph Langdon (John Ashley) is the Barnabas Collins of the Philippines. He’s reluctant as The Beast of the Yellow Night (1971), regretting the deal he made with the devil many years ago. In “small town in Southeast Asia” in 1946, the murderer, rapist, and thief who’s on the run in the hills…