Movie Review: The Frozen Dead

(1966)
Directed by Herbert J. Leder
Starring Dana Andrews, Anna Palk, Philip Gilbert, Kathleen Breck, Karel Stepanek,
Basil Henson, Alan Tilvern, Ann Tirard

There are those films we first see in our youth that sent a sense of awe through our brain, as well as chills down your spine. A time way before we’re smart enough to know whether something could really happen or not, or how far science could really go, when most concepts or ideas where completely new and therefore fascinating to our young minds, sparking that imagination. That is when I first experienced The Frozen Dead. I can remember telling the kids on the playground the next day at school, about a wall of arms that were still alive, or Nazi soldiers that could only comb their hair or bounce an imaginary ball, or even more exciting, a decapitated head that was STILL ALIVE!!! Years or maybe even decades later when we see these films again, we’re a little ashamed to think that it was it was that amazing at the time. But others, like this particular film, even though it might be a little silly or even outrageous, it still impresses me.

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Movie Review: It!

(1967)
Directed by Herbert J. Leder
Starring Roddy McDowall, Jill Haworth, Paul Maxwell, Aubrey Richards, Ernest Clark, Oliver Johnston, Noel Trevarthen, Ian McCulloch.

Another title from my childhood that I first saw on TV one afternoon. I already knew who Roddy McDowall was because of The Planet of the Apes movies and TV series, as well as a few other films and TV shows he was known for. This was a viewing that came early in my years of a horror film fan, but way before I was remembering titles and such. But when I started getting some film books and saw the title creature, I knew I had seen that before, and then set out finding a copy. Funny thing was that this one seemed to take forever before it came out on DVD! I don’t believe it ever got a VHS release, or if it did, I could never find a copy. Instead, I had to do with a TV print that someone had recorded from late night TV. But at that point, I was just thrilled to be able to revisit it. Of course, now it had been put out on DVD, on a double feature disc with The Shuttered Room (1967), another title that took forever to get a release.

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