Category Archives: Reviews: Movies

Movie Review: Dead & Buried (1981)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Dead & Buried 3

Dead & Buried (1981)
Directed by Gary Sherman
Starring James Farentino, Melody Anderson, Jack Albertson, Lisa Blount, Robert Englund, Bill Quinn, Barry Corbin, Michael Pataki, Macon McCalman

I recently re-watched this film for the umpteenth time and realized that not I didn’t have a review up, but it is one that I think is highly underrated. A really good and original story, an incredible cast, and some simply amazing special effects work by Stan Winston, a few years before he would change the future with Terminator (1984). Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Black Scorpion (1957)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

blkscorpbanner

The Black Scorpion (1957)
Directed by Edward Ludwig
Starring Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro

1957 really was one of the best year’s when it came to fun sci-fi/horror pictures, with plenty of giant monsters running around causing havoc. And this film is a prime example of that. What would make this giant monster flick even better? How about when it includes stop-animation work from the one and only Willis O’Brien, the one responsible for bringing the original King Kong to life in 1933 (and never even got a screen credit for it!?!?!). So the creature effects in here are everything to make a monster fan out a young kid, or bring back the kid in an old monster fan. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Alligator People (1959)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

alligatorbanner

The Alligator People (1959)
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Starring Beverly Garland, Bruce Bennett, Lon Chaney Jr., George Macready, Frieda Inescort, Richard Crane, Douglas Kennedy.

As a young movie fan, we would get used to the fact that sometimes, just sometimes, the movie title didn’t exactly live up to what actually took place in the film. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but it did happen every now and then. Still does today, to be completely honest. But not with The Alligator People! So for that fact alone, you have to give the makers of this one credit! An alligator head on a human body now may get a snicker or laugh, but as a kid, it was just awesome. Even excluding that, there are many things about this film that still make it enjoyable today. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Reptile (1966)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

reptilebanner

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)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

quatermassxbanner

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)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

psychicbanner

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)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

prowlerbanner

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)

by in Misc. Ramblings, Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

projectedbanner

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)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

LoHH Banner

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

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

nowscreamingbanner

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 →