Before watching The Mad Room (1969), I knew it was based on a play called, Ladies in Retirement; however, I didn’t realize until later that it is also a remake of the film, Ladies in Retirement (1941.) Director Bernard Girard was supposedly unhappy with alterations of this film during post-production, and I may be able…

There’s something about mid-century British films that make them distinctively British. While it’s hard to describe, you can recognize them in nearly every aspect of filmmaking: the angles, lighting, camera movements, close-ups, transitions, edits, and so on. It’s more than just the actors speaking with a funny accent and driving on the wrong side of…

If nothing else, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967) is beautiful to watch. It’s the only color, full-length feature film included in Severin’s fantastic box set, The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee. The colors are crisp, sometimes bright, and the sets are wonderfully detailed. Luckily for us, these elements are not the only good things…

When I first watched Crypt of the Vampire (1964), it was to include it in an article about film adaptations of Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel, Carmilla. That was (gulp) nine years ago. Returning to it now, it’s like I watched a different movie! It’s a perfect example of the difference the quality of transfer makes……

There are a number of very interesting things about The Castle of the Living Dead (1964), but they don’t add up to a pleasurable experience for me. I sat watching, occasionally smiling or checking IMDb because of something familiar, but I was otherwise uninterested and, quite frankly, a little bored with the overall film. Compared…

Secret of the Red Orchid (1962) is one of the least twisted adaptations of an Edgar Wallace novel that I’ve seen. It’s a straight-forward gangster drama with a light, often humorous, touch. It’s nice to see Christopher Lee smile for once. He plays FBI agent Captain Allerman, who opens the film by apprehending mob boss…

As “racy” as it is for 1965, I can’t help but think Bloody Pit of Horror would have been more effective had it been made a few years later. For example, when two scantily clad women are strapped to a “spinner rack of death,” the blades that the villain are pounding closer and closer to…

With Picture Mommy Dead, Mr. B.I.G. (Bert I. Gordon) takes on a different kind of giant: William Castle. In fact, were in not filmed in color, and were Castle not on the decline with I Saw What You Did (1965) and Let’s Kill Uncle (1996), you might think Picture Mommy Dead was a thriller made…

I survived Hillbillys in a Haunted House and it wasn’t as difficult as I expected it to be. That’s not saying it’s good, but the few minutes of actual story floating among 1960s country music performances are no worse than any other B-movie of the era featuring a man in a gorilla costume. And edit…

Director William Castle emerges from the fog at the beginning of Mr. Sardonicus (1961) to warn us we’re about to see a story of “gallantry, graciousness, and ghouls.” He returns near the end of the film to ask us to vote whether the villain deserves “mercy or no mercy.” This Castle film is not a…