[6] Poor Janet. When she was just a little girl, she watched her mommy stab her daddy to death, and she’s been haunted by nightmares ever since. She’s also terrified of inheriting her mother’s mental disorder. To make matters worse, someone is taking advantage of this fact for their own nefarious purpose. Nightmare is one of a handful of black & white psychological thrillers released …
[8] Philip Kaufman enhances the creepiness and desperation in this superior retelling of the classic tale of alien menace and paranoia. The terrific cast includes Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Brooke Adams, and Leonard Nimoy. Ben Burtt provides the spooky sound effects, including that hideous, otherworldly sound the pod people make when they spot a human in their midst. This particular film version (there …
[7] This Hammer production is, in the best way possible, like a live-action episode of Scooby-Doo, complete with pirates, marsh phantoms, scarecrows, and secret identities. The charismatic cast is headlined by Peter Cushing as the dubious town vicar and Patrick Allen as a British captain sent to investigate an alleged smuggling ring. The mystery is as transparent as anything the Scooby gang ever encountered, but …
[5] As a boy, Harry saw Mommy screwing Santa Claus, which really messed with his brain. As an adult, Harry is obsessed with Christmas. He works at a toy factory, keeps disturbingly close tabs on all the neighborhood children, and has a tendency to go homicidal when people doubt that he’s the real St. Nick. Christmas Evil isn’t violent enough to be a slasher movie …
[4] Aliens in flying saucers contact a scientist about their plan to enslave all the humans of Earth! This atomic age flick is slow going until the last ten minutes, when effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen gets to destroy Washington D.C. Aside from the big finish, this movie suffers from the usual pitfalls of the era, including bad acting, over reliance on stock footage, and silly …
[7] If ever there was something ripe for a remake, I think Stephen King’s It would be near the top of my list. The original 1990 TV mini-series is good, but it begins to fall apart in its second half, partly for budgetary reasons. The feature-film is being remade in two parts, so we’ll have to wait a year to see if ‘Chapter Two’ improves …
[5] Vincent Price headlines as a millionairre who offers $10,000 to five people if they’ll spend the night with him and his wife in their haunted hilltop mansion. The house is the site of countless murders and is supposed to be haunted by ghosts. But is it the paranormal the guests should be afriad of? Or is it Price and his wife, who seem to …
[6] Christopher Lee dons the fangs again for this sequel to Hammer’s original Horror of Dracula, but he hated his dialogue so much that he refused to say any lines. Even though he’s mute and his screen time is limited, a little Lee goes a long way. His performance is interesting and unusual, a more feral depiction than any of his other Dracula outings. Unfortunately, …
[6] Meteorites strike a small Australian fishing village and begin turning the citizens into zombies. It may not sound all that fresh or original, but Undead is a bit more than it seems. Twin Australian brothers Michael and Peter Spierig (Daybreakers) continue the low-budget horror legacies of Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson in their first feature film, Undead. Their humor and inventiveness are very much …
[8] Stranded in the desert on their way to California, a family is attacked by savage cannibals in Wes Craven’s brutal, low-budget horror flick, The Hills Have Eyes. I love the setting and tone of the film. The isolation of the desert location and the darkness that surrounds the family’s wrecked camper create a palpable atmosphere of dread and terror that’s hard to shake, especially …
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