The Movies Goes To Washington…And It Ain’t Good
In a move which I think typifies the disdain that media conglomerates have for the cinematic tradition, Disney decided to remove the word, Fox, from that noble moniker Twentieth Century Fox. William Fox, the founder, who was forced from the…
Nightmare Sisters (1988)
“Nightmare Sisters” is a harmless, enjoyable b-movie which is more sex comedy than horror. I don’t think it’s even intended to be scary, and there is very little violence, but a lot of nudity and humour. The movie gets off…
The Devil’s Rain (1975)
In mainstream American 1970s horror land ‘The Devil’s Rain’ lies half way between the silly but still pretty good chills of ‘The Car’ or ‘The Sentinel’ and the so bad it’s hilarious fun of ‘The Eyes Of Lara Mars’. The…
Haunts (1976)
Ingrid (May Britt, a long way from Sweden) lives on a small farm with her Uncle (Cameron Mitchell) in a small coastal California town. The town gets turned upside down when a small child is murdered and then a series…
Witchboard 2 (1993)
Writer/Director Kevin S. Tenney returns in this sequel to his 1987 original. Introducing new characters, this story centers around a young woman named Paige (Dolenz) who has left her boyfriend Mitch (Gibbs) to see if she is the artist she…
Videodrome (1983)
David Cronenberg has turned out a lot of films that range from the bizarre to the slightly less bizarre to the stupefying. I used to think that his update of The Fly was his masterwork, as it certainly is an…
20,000 Eyes (1961)
Jack Leewood was a B producer in the 50’s, with no classics. But in 1961, he became director with that dreadful “20000 eyes”, slow-paced and terribly low-budget. In just an hour, many scenes are totally useless trying to reach this…
Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
William Castle usually marketed his movies with gimmicks, and for MR. SARDONICUS the gimmick was “the punishment poll.” When the film played in theatrical release, audience members were issued a voting card, and near the movie’s conclusion Castle himself appeared…
13 Ghosts (1960)
Schlockmeister William Castle’s “13 Ghosts” is one of his classic horror films of the late 1950s/early 1960s. Castle was known, at least during this time, for gimmicks – the gimmick for this movie was special glasses to see the ghosts….
Five Fingers of Death (1972)
This is truly a kung fu classic. This film appears to have influenced martial arts films for decades. The Spanish guitar background music, the competing schools, the impossibly high leaps onto the edges of rooftops, catching thrown spears, cheating in…
The Neanderthal Man (1953)
Cranky scientist experimenting on transforming animals and people into their prehistoric selves (sorta), tries it out on himself and becomes a Mr. Hyde-type Neanderthal. Robert Shayne (Inspector Henderson from The Adventures of Superman) plays the would-be Jekyll and he’s great…
280 The Real Bruce Lee (1977)
After Bruce Lee died in 1973 and as a way of exploiting his international fame, there seems to have been several south-east Asian films released with his name emblazoned in their titles. The Spirit of Bruce Lee (1973) and The…
Flash Gordon (1980)
After a plane crash in extreme weather, Flash Gordon and his travelling companion Dale Arden after abducted by Dr Zarkov to help pilot his spaceship to confront what he believes is an attack from space. Once in space Flash comes…
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
One of Terrence Fisher’s greatest directorial efforts certainly is this stylish, witty, thrilling adaptation of a Dennis Wheatley novel. Richard Matheson did the screenwriting honors, ad like most of what he touches, it turns to gold. This film has a…
The Glory of Downtown Movie Theaters
I love visiting the smaller city centers across America. Every town is different and diverse. The downtown core usually spins a tale of a spectacular vibrant rise, then a sad decline. I am always on the lookout for a movie…
The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)
A generally underrated monster flick from 1959, The Monster of Piedras Blancas is often compared to the undeniably similar Creature From the Black Lagoon, with this film invariably coming out second best. Certainly, Creature From the Black Lagoon is a…
When Nature Calls (1985)
When Nature Calls (1985) was a film made by Lloyd Kaufman’s brother. He made several films for Team Troma during the late seventies and early eighties. This was one of his last films. According to him, he wanted to make…
Spy in the Sky! (1958)
1958’s “Spy in the Sky!” was clearly inspired by the launching of Sputnik, but was beaten to the screen by Roger Corman’s “War of the Satellites.” A little seen and rather ordinary spy thriller with no sci fi elements, starring…
The Devil’s Man (1967)
If you are like me you can appreciate the special merits of a bad movie on their own terms. I suppose many of the films that fall into our beloved sub-genre of European spy movies would be tagged as `bad’…
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
In his last film in the USA before returning to Germany where he had left to escape the Nazis in the Thirties, Fritz Lang takes up the case of capital punishment and its application, especially when the case is a…