Movie Review: The Reptile (1966)

May 17, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Anthony Hinds, Hammer Films, Jacqueline Pearce, Jennifer Daniel, John Gilling, Michael Ripper, Noel Willman, Plague of the Zombies, Roy Ashton, The Reptile | Leave a comment

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The Reptile (1966)
Directed by John Gilling
Starring Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel, Jacqueline Pearce, Ray Barrett, Michael Ripper

As a young horror fan, when you page through enough of the classic horror reference books, you’re bound to come across a shot of the title terror from this movie. I know I had seen it many, many times before I got to see the actual film. Each time I saw the image, my mind raced to imagine what kind of movie this could be with a monster like this, with large fangs and even larger bulging eyes! It is also one of the movies that would never live up to those high expectations that your mind had set, waiting to see this snake creature slithering about throughout the whole movie. Sadly, it doesn’t, only get to see it a few times, in short quick shots. None the less though, once you get over that and really watch the film for what it is, you’ll find a very strange story. And like most Hammer pictures, a highly enjoyable one as well as memorable. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

May 14, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Brian Donlevy, Hammer Films, Hammer Studios, Nigel Kneale, Quatermass Xperiment, Val Guest | Leave a comment

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The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
Directed by Val Guest
Starring Brian Donlevy, Jack Warner, Richard Wordsworth, Margia Dean, Thora Hird, Lionel Jeffries

“There’s no room for personal feelings in science.”
– Professor Bernard Quatermass –

That quote is one of the reason why I enjoy the Quatermass movies so much. What attracted me the most was the blind dedication that Quatermass has, much like one of his fore-fathers… Victor Frankenstein. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt when you have an alien monster on loose either. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Psychic (1977)

May 9, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Gianni Garko, Jennifer O'Neil, Lucio Fulci, Sette Note in Nero, Seven Notes in Black, The Psychic | 2 Comments

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Sette Note in Nero (aka The Psychic, 1977)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Starring Jennifer O’Neil, Gabriele Ferzetti, Marc Porel, Gianni Garko, Ida Galli, Jenny Tamburi, Fabrizio Jovine, Riccardo Parisio

This film is a perfect example of how one’s own opinion can change over the years, and you as a film fan develops a more of a… shall we say… refined taste? As saying goes that you can’t watch a movie with the same eyes twice, and this title is a perfect example of that. The first time I watched this was when I had just started to get into Lucio Fulci, mainly watching his gore flicks, such as Zombie (1979) and The Beyond (1981), just to name a couple. So when there was very little gore to this one, other than the opening (which I have to say now is one of the worst parts of the film), I found the rest to be a little boring and never gave it a second thought. When an updated release of the film came out on DVD, it had been well over a decade, so I thought it was about time I give it a second viewing to see if anything had changed. And it did. Or should I say, I did. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Prowler (1981)

May 6, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Christopher Goutman, Farley Granger, Joe Zito, Lawrence Tierney, Slasher Films, Slasher Movies, The Prowler, Tom Savini, Vicky Dawson | Leave a comment

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The Prowler (1981)
Directed by Joseph Zito
Starring Farley Granger, Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Cindy Weintraub, Lawrence Tierney

While overseas during World War II, a soldier receives a “Dear John” letter from his girlfriend. Once he returns home, he gets revenge during the local graduation dance by stabbing a pitchfork through her and her new boyfriend. We now move ahead to present day (or 1980, for that matter), where the town is planning on its first graduation dance since those unsolved murders back at the end of the war. The sheriff is on his way out for his yearly fishing trip, and leaves the town in the hands of his young deputy. When the news of a fugitive on the loose in a nearby town, the deputy and his girlfriend start to get nervous. More importantly, who is this guy sneaking around in the army gear, armed with a bayonet and pitchfork? Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Projected Man (1966)

April 28, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings, Reviews: Movies and tagged Bryant Haliday, Ian Curteis, John Croydon, Mary Peach, The Projected Man | Leave a comment

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The Projected Man (1966)
Directed by Ian Curteis
Starring Bryant Haliday, Mary Peach, Norman Woodlan, Ronald Allen, Derek Farr, Tracey Crips, Derrick De Marney

This was a title that was pretty tough to come across, mainly because it took forever for it to get a release over here in the states. But we all knew the title because it was the second half of a double bill with Island of Terror, which came out the same year. While it is now available on Blu-ray, my first experience with is was from an import DVD release. It was one of those titles that I really wanted to see because I was a fan of the star Bryant Haliday from his roles in Tower of Evil (1972) and Devil Doll (1964), plus the fact that it was one of those (at the time) rare titles I wanted to check off my list. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Legend of Hell House (1973)

March 31, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Clive Revill, Gale Hunnicutt, James H. Nicholson, John Hough, Legend of Hell House, Michael Gough, Pamela Franklin, Richard Matheson, Roddy McDowell, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, The Haunting, The Haunting of Hill House | 5 Comments

Directed by John Hough
Starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowell, Clive Revill, and Gale Hunnicutt, and Michael Gough

Strange that I have never reviewed this on here since it is one of my favorite haunted house movies of all time. This has been a constant battle with me, between this one and Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963) for the top spot, but Hell House usually comes in second. This was also the very first VHS tapes I rented after buying my first VCR. I don’t remember when exactly was the first time I saw this, probably around the same time I saw The Haunting for the first time, thanks to my future wife, Dawn, and her mother. But I know I immediately fell in love with it. Continue reading →

Movie Review: And Now the Screaming Starts

March 15, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Amicus, And Now the Screaming Starts, Guy Rolfe, Herbert Lom, Ian Oglivy, Patrick Magee, Peter Cushing, Roy Ward Baker, Stephanie Beacham | Leave a comment

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Directed by Roy Ward Baker
Starring Ian Oglivy, Stephanie Beacham, Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Guy Rolfe

This was kind of a different film for Amicus, first off, not being an anthology film. But it was a period piece as well. Amicus’ films usually were set in modern day, except maybe I, Monster (1971). So this was something new for them. But once again, when you have a great story, a first-rate director, and an exceptional all-star cast, it’s really hard to go wrong. Continue reading →

Movie Review: Night Watch (2004)

March 7, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Day Watch, Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina, Night Watch, Nochnoy dozor, Timur Bekmambetov, Valeri Zolotukhin, Vladimir Menshov | 1 Comment

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Directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Starring Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Valeri Zolotukhin, Mariya Poroshina, Galina Tyunina, Yuri Ketsenko, Aleksei Chadov, Zhanna Friske, Ilya Lagutenko, Viktor Verzhbitsky, Dmitry Martynov

First off, let’s not get this confused with another foreign title with the same name, though that is usually called Nightwatch. That is a Danish film from 1994, that I would still highly recommend (just don’t watch the American remake). But the film we’re reviewing today is a Russian film from 2004, titled Nochnoy dozor, or Night Watch. Continue reading →

Movie Review: Lugosi – The Forgotten King

February 21, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Alex Gordon, Bela G. Lugosi, Bela Lugosi, Bob Burns, Carla Laemmle, Carroll Borland, Dave Stuckey, Donnie Dunagan, Dracula, Ed Wood Jr., Famous Monsters of Filmland, Forrest J. Ackerman, John Carradine, Mark Gilman Jr., Operator 13 Productions, Sara Karloff, Son of Frankenstein, White Zombie | 1 Comment

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Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1985, 2018)
Directed by Mark Gilman Jr. & Dave Stuckey

In 1985, with the early days of VHS tapes and video stores, there weren’t too many documentary titles out there, especially on horror movies or their stars, unless you count a few trailers collections. But I can remember coming across one title in particular that was on the shelves, Lugosi: The Forgotten King. Being an young and eager fan to learn as much as I can about the horror genre, especially one of its icons, I immediately rented it. Even though the running time was short, showed the audience a little bit more behind the man and really how much of a talent he was. Now, 35 years later, it is out on DVD in an updated version, through Operator 13 Productions. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Vengeance of Lady Morgan

February 15, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Barbara Nelli, Bloody Pit of Horror, Erika Blanc, Gordon Mitchell, Massimo Pupillo, Michel Forain, Paul Muller, Terror Creatures from the Grave, Vengeance of Lady Morgan | Leave a comment

The Vengeance of Lady Morgan (1965)
Director Massimo Pupillo
Starring Barbara Nelli, Michel Forain, Gordon Mitchell, Paul Muller, Erika Blanc

There is something special about discovering a film that you had never heard of, especially when it came out over 50 years ago! Even better when it is an Italian gothic ghost story! At first, The Vengeance of Lady Morgan seems like your typical story about a ghost coming back from the dead for revenge, but it is quite different than what you’d expect from this genre, which for me, made it even more special. Continue reading →