Directed by Eddie Romero & Gerardo DeLeon
Starring John Ashley, Kent Taylor, Beverly Hills (Beverly Powers), Eva Darren, Mario Montenegro
When thinking of a country churning out films, one doesn’t usually think of the Philippines. But they had been making movies there since the beginning of cinema itself. In the ’30s, there were five major studios running there. And of course, making horror films was something they dabbled in, just like here in the states.
Men in Suits (2012)
Directed by Frank H. Woodward
Starring Doug Jones, Brian Steele, Tom Woodruff Jr., Douglas Tait, Haruo Nakajima, Bob Burns, Misty Rosas, Camden Toy, Bobby Clark, Van Snowden, Alec Gillis, Michelan Sisti, Arturo Gil
After years of going to conventions and hearing the stories from the stuntmen that appear there, as well as reading different biographies, I really learned quite a bit of what goes on behind the curtain on filmmaking and what some of these people go through with really no credit. Damn shame, really. But over the last few years, there is another group of very talented and hard working people that have been coming to the forefront, trying to get the credit that they also so richly deserve. That group of people are the men (and women) in suits.
Blood and Black Lace (1962)
Directed by Mario Bava
Starring Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner, Ariana Gorini, Dante DiPaolo, Mary Arden, Franco Ressel, Claude Dantes, Luciano Pigozzi, Lea Landers, Massimo Righi, Francesca Ungaro
(1972)
Directed by Ray Danton
Starring Robert Quarry, John Fiedler, Bob Pickett, William Jordan, Betty Anne Rees, Brenda Dickson-Weinberg LaSesne Hilton, John Lasell, Freda T. Vanterpool, Tari Tabakin
The Fly (1958)
Directed by Kurt Neuman
Starring Al Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, Herbert Marshall, Charles Herbert
In the world of fantastic cinema, the mad scientist theme is one of the oldest sub-genres. Right from the beginning, storytellers have been weaving cautionary tales of men meddling with things best left alone. For those who try to push or break through those boundaries, there is usually a hefty price to pay: their life, or at the very least, their sanity. Most of these stories present a man trying to take over the world through some devious plan or device that he has created, corrupted either by visions of power or the invention in question having scrambled his brain to where he is no longer thinking rationally. Within these films, the dramatic action revolves around stopping this demented genius before it is too late; the end-credits lesson for the audience being that man is better off leaving things as they are, lest this fate befall them as well.
They Came From The Swamp: The Films of William Grefé
Directed by Daniel Griffith
If there is one thing that I’m always on my soapbox about, it is learning about the horror genre, from the very beginnings to modern day. The reason is simply because we need to recognize what came before us and remember what they gave us. It helps us appreciate where we are now. So when I heard about a documentary that was being made about this lesser known Florida based filmmaker, William Grefé, needless to say, I was excited.
Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror (1968)
Directed by Enrique Eguiluz
Starring Paul Naschy, Manuel Manzaneque, Dianik Zurakowska, Julian Ugarte, Rosanna Yanni, Aurora de Alba, Carlos Casaravilla, Julian Ugarte, Jose Nieto
The Being (1983)
Directed by Jackie Kong
Starring Martin Landau, Marianne Gordon, Rexx Coltrane (aka Bill Osco), José Ferrer, Dorothy Malone, Ruth Buzzi
Accion Mutante (1993)
Directed by Álex de la Iglesia
Starring Antonio Resines, Álex Angulo, Frédérique Feder, Juan Viadas, Karra Elejalde, Saturnino García, Fernando Guillén, Alfonso Martinez, Santiago Segura
Doctor Jekyll Versus the Werewolf aka Doctor Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo (1972)
Directed by León Klimovsky
Starring Paul Naschy, Jack Taylor, Shirley Corrigan, Mirta Miller, José Marco, Luis Induni, Barta Barri, Luis Gaspar
If there is one thing you have to give credit to Paul Naschy for, it is the fact that he made so many Waldemar Daninsky werewolf pictures and always tried to throw something new and different in them. And this film is a prime example of it, as well as how creative and inventive Naschy was for even coming up with a plot like this!
Without going into too much detail, Dr. Jekyll, played by Jack Taylor, is going to try and cure Daninsky’s hairy curse by using his grandfather chemical cocktail. His theory is that by transforming him into a Hyde character, he will be strong enough to beat out the urge to turn into a werewolf. Seems legit, right? But no matter how crazy the theory is, what it does do is give us a chance to see Naschy not only bust our his usually entertaining lycanthopic side, but also become one of the best Mr. Hyde performance I’ve seen since Frederic March in 1932.
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