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After a teenager is released from an asylum, the student bodies start piling up at the local high school.
This otherwise undistinguished late-80’s slasher is notable for an early role by Brad Pitt (apparently before his voice had completely changed). It also stars the son of 60’s musician Donovan, whose idea of acting is to just stare with wide eyes and generally be creepy. Actually, all the males in this movie are pretty creepy, with teachers and principals openly lecherous towards the teenage girl students. Of course in an 80’s horror movie this isn’t exactly unusual and it’s apparently played for laughs that never come. The film hovers somewhere between horror and comedy and isn’t particularly good at either.
Look for Roddy MacDowell as the priggish principal, Martin Mull as a hapless duck hunter who just can’t catch a break, and Brooklyn 99’s Dirk Blocker as a heartless gym coach. The usual 80’s trend of finding inventive kills applies here, with a pottery kiln, a trampoline and sharp tipped flag pole, and various shop class tools being utilized. There’s a “whodunnit” aspect to the movie that didn’t really intrigue me much, and the characters do things that don’t make any sense. Like, if someone put your head in a vise grip and walked away, wouldn’t you just reach up and loosen the handle instead of thrashing around? Heads may be rolling, but more often our eyes are.
Fans of crappy 80’s slashers could do worse, but this often felt like being stuck in detention.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
bob, i don’t think you’ve ever given a 1 star, have you? This must have been painfully horrible.
3. Christine
7. The Fog
9. Secret Window
10. Storm of the Century
13. What You Wish For*
20. Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
22. Someone’s Watching Me*
College student goes to small town to research witchcraft but gets more than she bargained for.
The City of the Dead is a 1960 black and white atmospheric chiller reminiscent of a Val Lewton film, with a few coincidental plot points between this film and Psycho, which was released the same year. Christopher Lee has a prominent but non-starring role, and plays a professor with an apparent obsession with witchcraft, encouraging the young female student against her scientist brother’s wishes to visit the town.
This is one of those movies I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about, it’s hardly obscure but I think it should be included in “best of” lists when it comes to horror. The beautiful black and white images are full of shadows and fog, and an uncanny sense of unreality pervades the titular “city” (more of a village). There are a few big shocks, and the ending is pretty spectacular too. This one is free to watch on Tubi and Amazon Prime Video so do yourself a favor and check it out.
My favorite discovery of the month so far.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
30. The City of the Dead 4.5/5 (FTV)
Novice nun goes to an Italian convent and learns of its dark secrets.
Immaculate is a new movie that deliberately references giallo in its style and plot structure. It even used background music I knew I’d heard before in an old Italian horror movie, I had to look it up (it’s from The Red Queen Kills Seven Times). Actress Sydney Sweeney gives a capable performance as the lead, and does some of the best unhinged screaming I’ve heard in a horror movie towards the end.
And yes, the movie is a bit unhinged, like a lot of giallo, it has that point of no return where you can either say “what the heck?” or just roll with it. It’s hard to talk about the movie without major spoilers and you’re best off not knowing much about this one. If you like creepy Catholic imagery and the notion of the new girl making her way in a strange environment, you’ll find much to enjoy in Immaculate, although maybe “enjoy” isn’t the right word.
Maybe not a “confirmed” classic, but holy heck it’s a ride.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
30. The City of the Dead 4/5 (FTV)
31. Immaculate 3.5/5 (FTV)
28. Carved* — hulu
3. Christine
7. The Fog
9. Secret Window
10. Storm of the Century
13. What You Wish For*
20. Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
22. Someone’s Watching Me*
27. History of Horror wit Mark Gatiss, 3 episodes
28. Carved*
I kept praying they would crash their Griswold family truckster into an orange tree and burst into flames.
This movie is the first time ever I was able to have any empathy for the Okies running from the dirt. This was a claustrophobic story. It made me anxious and thinking about how I take breathing for granted.
I recommend it. The movie. The book? Hmmm. That’s a poser. Even though I had a minor breakthrough of care for The Joads, the starving idiots still left coins on dead grandpa’s eyes to pay the ferryman. Dog paddle old man, I need gruel and it ain’t free.
3. Christine
7. The Fog
9. Secret Window
10. Storm of the Century
13. What You Wish For*
20. Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
22. Someone’s Watching Me*
27. History of Horror wit Mark Gatiss, 3 episodes
28. Carved*
Third film in the X/Pearl/Maxine Minx franchise has a serial killer loose in mid-80’s Los Angeles while Maxine prepares for a big movie role.
After the rural horror of X and Pearl where Maxine’s character is birthed and explored, MaXXXine goes in a different direction, more of a dark crime thriller with Michael Mann-esque (and giallo) overtones. The easygoing and stoned-out 70’s featured in X has morphed into mid-80’s conservative handwringing and satanic panic, along with Maxine’s strong ambitions to make it as a mainstream star. The film is stylish and appropriately brutal, but it rarely feels like a horror movie.
That said, as a standalone film it’s not completely bad. It’s sort of Ti West’s take on “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”, so if you’re not a fan of motion pictures about motion pictures, you might feel a bit left out, but I found it to be mostly watchable. Mia Goth once again gives an Oscar-worthy performance, and Kevin Bacon plays an excellent slimy private eye who knows exactly what she’s all about. The ending lost me a bit, and tonally is the most different from the entire series so far. But I’m hearing there might be a 4th installment, and I’m not unhappy about that--feels like this just isn't the deserving finale that the first two films set up.
Like the 80’s it’s shiny and a bit phony, but it could be fun at times.
3 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
30. The City of the Dead 4/5 (FTV)
31. Immaculate 3.5/5 (FTV)
32. MaXXXine 3/5 (FTV)
Generation Z, a chemical spill in a small English town turns the elderly residents into cannibalistic savages.
Outside, a Filipino zombie movie, a man and his family flee to his childhood home to escape a zombie plague, but his home harbours its own secrets....
01. The Amityville Horror (1979)
11. Snowbeast (1977)
12. Blood Tide (1982)
13. Nosferatu (1922)
14. Generation Z (TV mini series 2024)
15. Outside (2024)
3. Christine
7. The Fog
9. Secret Window
10. Storm of the Century
13. What You Wish For*
20. Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
22. Someone’s Watching Me*
27. History of Horror wit Mark Gatiss, 3 episodes
28. Carved*
30. Woman of the Hour*
3. Christine
7. The Fog
9. Secret Window
10. Storm of the Century
13. What You Wish For*
20. Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
22. Someone’s Watching Me*
27. History of Horror wit Mark Gatiss, 3 episodes
28. Carved*
30. Woman of the Hour*
31. The Task*
It’s a Wonderful Life is a bloated snooze fest. I loved Clarence. And I do love the heartwarming ending with Jimmy. But this movie would have been better served shaving off a good hour.
It’s a Wonderful Knife? Okay, not Oscar worthy. But way more fun. Great goofy idea.
3. Christine
7. The Fog
9. Secret Window
10. Storm of the Century
13. What You Wish For*
20. Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
22. Someone’s Watching Me*
27. History of Horror wit Mark Gatiss, 3 episodes
28. Carved*
30. Woman of the Hour*
31. The Task*
32. It’s a Wonderful Knife*
Pop star thinks she might be going insane after witnessing a violent suicide.
Smile 2 doesn’t build on any of the characters of the first film and is a standalone sequel. This one is a lot more focused inward and we are pretty much tied to the subjective experiences of the main character. If you don’t like her, you’re out of luck, her face is front and center for 99% of the movie. There’s some interesting territory mined here with regards to fame and privacy and struggling with mental health while in the public eye, and the film pulls no punches when it comes to gore.
However, I found the film a bit too grueling to be truly enjoyable, and the sheer number of cheap (and LOUD) jump scares were irritating. I don’t mind one or two jump scares in a horror movie but this movie was overly reliant on them. It also was repetitive and felt like the runtime was overlong, this could have been achieved in 102 minutes rather than 132. Also, while an unreliable narrator POV can be used effectively in a horror film, here it became sort of a crutch—the stakes didn’t feel real because after a certain point, nothing could be relied upon to be real. Artistically, they swung for the fences, but narratively it was lacking.
Repulsion meets Evil Dead.
3 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
30. The City of the Dead 4/5 (FTV)
31. Immaculate 3.5/5 (FTV)
32. MaXXXine 3/5 (FTV)
33. Smile 2 3/5(FTV)
35. The Vampire’s Coffin (FTV)
1958 Mexican vampire film (and sequel) has Count Lavud pursuing a young woman.
Recently released in an excellent Blu-Ray box set from Indicator, these films are not only a significant part of the Mexican horror genre, they’re fun to watch. El Vampiro is stylish, with dramatic camera movement and an atmospheric setting achieved on a low budget. There are similarities between this and the original Universal Dracula, but it’s given a distinctly Mexican flavor. Instead of a castle in Romania we get a Mexican hacienda in a seemingly permanent night, filled with cobwebs and dark shadows.
Christopher Lee himself has stated that German Robles’ portrayal of the Count (who appears in both films) was an influence on his own. Rather than emphasizing “otherness”, these vampires are visually attractive. There is a more overt sensuality to the vampire(s) and victim relationship than the American version. When it comes to feeding, the vampire doesn’t hold back.
El Vampiro marked the first time the vampire has separated fangs; prior to this there were either no fangs (Lugosi) or centered rodent-like fangs (Nosferatu). Both films make frequent use of the transformation from vampire to bat, by use of simple cuts during motion. The Vampire’s Coffin was a highly demanded sequel, and there’s a certain kitchen sink approach: we get a sterile hospital (later used in Halloween 2), a wax museum, and an opulent theater (and requisite catwalk scene), but the movie overall is less effective than the original. Still, the visual appeal of the sets, lighting and shadows are far better than expected.
A great little double feature for fans of stylish 50’s horror.
El Vampiro: 3.5 out of 5 stars
The Vampire’s Coffin: 3 out of 5 stars
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
30. The City of the Dead 4/5 (FTV)
31. Immaculate 3.5/5 (FTV)
32. MaXXXine 3/5 (FTV)
33. Smile 2 3/5 (FTV)
34. El Vampiro 3.5/5 (FTV)
35. The Vampire’s Coffin 3/5 (FTV)
Best damn thing I watched all season! Short story, 30 ish minutes. Brilliant writing.
3. Christine
7. The Fog
9. Secret Window
10. Storm of the Century
13. What You Wish For*
20. Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
22. Someone’s Watching Me*
27. History of Horror wit Mark Gatiss, 3 episodes
28. Carved*
30. Woman of the Hour*
31. The Task*
32. It’s a Wonderful Knife*
thanks Bob for hosting another year. Don’t be a stranger.
After moving into an old house, a young girl becomes possessed by the ghost of the girl who used to live there.
This 1977 Canadian horror film seems to have been a response to The Exorcist, the Omen and Carrie, but it also touches upon other familiar horror tropes such as the haunted house, the creepy doll, and the woman losing her grip on reality. The result is an odd mess with a few cool supernatural visuals but not much else going for it. Most glaring is the performance of the mother, who is beyond grating. Not a single thing she says or does seems natural or believable; I’ve seen better acting by professional athletes guest starring in SNL skits.
The other problem is that nothing seems to have a consequence, none of the setups pay off or are ever referred to again. Literally people are stabbed, injured or even die and it’s never spoken of again. There’s a setup with a ceramic statuette that seems like it’s going to be really important, and it gets shattered, but we never hear about it again. There’s even a scene where the girl literally disappears into thin air before her mother’s eyes and reappears elsewhere, but the mother’s reaction to this is to “stop misbehaving”. Huh?
Oddly watchable in a crappy 70’s horror movie kind of way, though.
Cathy’s Curse 2.5 out of 5 stars
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
30. The City of the Dead 4/5 (FTV)
31. Immaculate 3.5/5 (FTV)
32. MaXXXine 3/5 (FTV)
33. Smile 2 3/5 (FTV)
34. El Vampiro 3.5/5 (FTV)
35. The Vampire’s Coffin 3/5 (FTV)
36. Cathy’s Curse 2.5/5 (FTV)
I still have to watch a movie late tonight so I'll be reviewing that tomorrow. Thanks for participating!
Homicidal children wreak havoc on a group of unlikable adults snowbound in a remote chalet.
This 1974 film is yet another evil kids movie, but possibly the first one done as a slasher. Dx5 is also known as People Toys, also known as The Horrible House on the Hill, also known as Tantrums—sheesh, when a movie has that many title changes you know it can’t be very good, and it mostly isn’t. The biggest problem is the adults: you’ll never meet a more reprehensible, snobbish group of people. We’re expected to laugh when a nymphomaniac woman attempts to seduce a mentally challenged man, then ends up catfighting on the bedroom floor with the wife of a previous conquest.
The kids actually turn in half-decent (if a little kooky) performances, given the material they have to deal with. Look for a young Leif Garrett as one of the killer kids, who also does a little cross-dressing on the side (sure, why not, it worked in Psycho so why not here?) The kills are contrived but occasionally inventive—I especially liked the part where they dumped hungry piranhas into the bathtub while a woman was bathing, then the little girl yells at her to “stop kicking the babies”! Such highlights can’t quite compensate for the odd slow-mo and freeze frame edits and the overall dumbed-down feeling of the film.
Skip to the last 30 minutes for optimal viewing.
2 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
30. The City of the Dead 4/5 (FTV)
31. Immaculate 3.5/5 (FTV)
32. MaXXXine 3/5 (FTV)
33. Smile 2 3/5 (FTV)
34. El Vampiro 3.5/5 (FTV)
35. The Vampire’s Coffin 3/5 (FTV)
36. Cathy’s Curse 2.5/5 (FTV)
37. Devil Times Five 2/5 (FTV)
Horror anthology has fortunes being read to five travelers on a train.
This 1965 film is significant for being the first horror anthology from Amicus, the production company that ended up giving us many more in the coming years. All the usual suspects are here: Peter Cushing (wearing false eyebrows and a beard), Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, and even a young Donald Sutherland. A jazzy soundtrack is provided by the Tubby Hayes band, and actor Roy Castle really does play the trumpet quite well. The wraparound story is actually pretty good, seeing these actors trade lines in the tight confines of a train car is a blast.
As for the horror aspects, it’s a bit of a slow start but gets progressively better as the film goes on. The first tale is a rather dusty werewolf story, then things get more fun with a killer vine growing around a house. Next there’s a voodoo curse highlighting the dangers of cultural appropriation. Then my favorite, Christopher Lee as a snobby art critic who is pursued by a severed hand! Things wrap up nicely with Donald Sutherland finding out his new bride is a vampire—surely there were warning signs.
Overall a fun treat to end the Halloween marathon.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2024 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. The Last Voyage of the Demeter 3/5 (FTV)
2. Kwaidan 4.5 (FTV)
3. The Sect 3.5 (FTV)
4. Longlegs 4/5 (FTV)
5. Asylum Blackout 3.5/5 (FTV)
6. The Creeping Flesh 3/5 (FTV)
7. Creature with the Blue Hand 3.5/5 (FTV)
8. November 4/5 (FTV)
9. Eight Eyes 3/5 (FTV)
10. I Walked With A Zombie 4/5
11. The Seventh Victim 4/5
12. Black Death 3.5/5 (FTV)
13. Maniac (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
14. House of Mystery (1934) 2/5 (FTV)
15. My World Dies Screaming 2.5/5 (FTV)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas 4DX 4/5
17. The She Beast 2.5/5 (FTV)
18. Silent Hill 4/5 (FTV)
19. Demon Pond 2.5/5 (FTV)
20. Terrifier 3 4/5 (FTV)
21. Who Can Kill A Child? 2/5 (FTV)
22. Creepshow 5/5
23. A Quiet Place: Day One 3/5 (FTV)
24. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 3.5/5 (FTV)
25. The Watchers 3/5 (FTV)
26. The Menu 4/5 (FTV)
27. Ganja and Hess 3/5 (FTV)
28. The Dead One 1/5 (FTV)
29. Cutting Class 2.5/5 (FTV)
30. The City of the Dead 4/5 (FTV)
31. Immaculate 3.5/5 (FTV)
32. MaXXXine 3/5 (FTV)
33. Smile 2 3/5 (FTV)
34. El Vampiro 3.5/5 (FTV)
35. The Vampire’s Coffin 3/5 (FTV)
36. Cathy’s Curse 2.5/5 (FTV)
37. Devil Times Five 2/5 (FTV)
38. Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors 3.5/5 (FTV)