Konga (1961)
Michael Gough seems to have cornered the market on portrayals of nasty, homicidal English snobs in the late Fifties. Between his role of the physically and mentally twisted Bancroft in Horrors of the Black Museum, and his fanatical, lecherous scientist…
Willard (1971)
There is no shortage of films about young people who get angry and take revenge via some unethical means – Carrie, Evilspeak, Kiss of the Tarantula…the list goes on. But what makes Willard stand out from the rest of the…
Blood and Lace (1971)
After her whore of a mother is murdered by a hammer-wielding nutjob, teen Ellie Masters is sent to live at the rural Deere Orphanage. She immediately begins plotting her getaway, as she wishes to track down the father she never…
Night Of The Comet Just The Facts
“Since before recorded time, it had swung through the universe in an elliptical orbit so large that its very existence remained a secret of time and space. But now, in the last few years of the twentieth-century, the visitor was…
THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES (1963)
My dear, departed friend, cult movie god RAY DENNIS STECKLER was a frequent guest at my live Thrillville show. One of the highlights of my so-called career, and life, was chasing Ray (in his trademark screen alias “Cash Flagg” hood)…
CINEMATIC GODDESS: AMERICAN SEX SYMBOL, THE FILMS OF RAQUEL WELCH
New York, NY, January 17, 2011-The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced details today for the upcoming film series, Cinematic Goddess: American Sex Symbol, The Films of Raquel Welch (February 10-14). Screening at the Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th…
Five Easy Questions: TURA SATANA
There are Legends, there are Icons, there are Super-women – and then there is TURA SATANA, the immortal star of Russ Meyer’s masterpiece Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill! (1965) as well as many other cult classics, who boldly embodies all three…
Trog (1970)
It is said Bette Davis commented that if she had found herself starring in “Trog,” she’d commit suicide. Alas, poor Joan Crawford, who obviously felt she couldn’t be fussy if she wanted the work, descended to this cut-rate, Herman Cohen-produced…
13 Ghosts (1960)
William Castle’s horror films from the late 50s and into the 60s were generally cheesy fun. They had no illusions about being deep entertainment and the silliness was intensified by Castle’s introductions to the films as well as gimmicks like…
The Spirit Is Willing (1967)
William Castle; famous for his shock gimmicks and bizarre plots, is a director I always liked even if I didn’t revere him, his films were always accessible and fun. As of late however, he’s starting to become a favorite of…
I Saw What You Did (1965)
What do you say when terror calls? Just the average “hello,” or something more terrified? I’m sorry to say Joan does seem a bit stewed. She acts like a marvelous actress on a binge caught unawares. Her part is miniscule,…
Strait-Jacket (1964)
Like all William Castle films, the story of STRAIT-JACKET is slight, full of holes, and often silly to the point of absurdity. Long ago Joan Crawford came home to find her husband in bed with a floozie and snatched up…
The Tingler (1959)
The Tingler marks the second teaming for horror’s greatest actor – Vincent Price, and horror’s greatest showman – William Castle. This film was released later in the same year that their first venture – House on Haunted Hill – was…
I Believe In Movies….. Damnit….But the Movie Business…Not So Much
I believe in the common man. I believe in their dreams, their hopes and the inherent collective goodness of the common man. I reject the notion that the public has to be spoon fed in order to comprehend concepts, ideals…
Twice-Told Tales (1963)
Twice-Told Tales is a trio of horror stories based on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Each story stars horror maestro Vincent Price, and this allows the man to show his range in a series of different roles throughout the film….
Tales of Terror (1962)
This Roger Corman adaptation of three Edgar Allan Poe stories is fun to watch, hard to take too seriously. The first tale, Morella, is the most sombre, featuring Vincent Price mourning the death of his wife, for which he blames…
Terror Trap (2010)
Terror Trap starts late one night as squabbling married couple Don (David James Elliott) & Nancy (Heather Marie Marsden) drive through the isolated back-roads of a small Louisiana town called Santa Parish on their way to a casino in Marksville,…
Barb Wire (1996)
1995’s Naked Souls kept making me look for the “TV Movie” credit that wasn’t there. A cheap and exploitative “erotic thriller” where Pammie exposes her left breast within the first three minutes of the movie. Anderson is an artist, specialising…
Costa Rican Summer (2010)
Comedy would have to be one of the hardest genres to undertake, as it is so subjective and to say this a comedy is a bit of a stretch. The movie seems to be in conflict with itself, in terms…