Night of Terror

Dracula:

Most of the compliments here should go to Bela Lugosi. He does have a charismatic presence that immediatley fills the screen with his intimidating look and his iconic voice. Making him into the Dracula that is still known and imitated to this date, often by people not even knowing Lugosi or his work.

Granted, for the more ADD prone among us, the close-ups on Lugosi's face may linger on a bit long. By today's standards, some of the descriptions look a bit silly (Oh my God, there is a big dog running by - surely they could have shown THAT back in 1931) and the end is a bit abrupt. But when you open yourself up and let yourself be immersed in the story, the 75 minutes fly by.

The creeper

Well said!

Yep, the Dracula 1931 script is directly from the stage play, and it shows. It's both its weakness and its strength. There's some really good stage scenes!

And the castle sets are great! And then Dwight Frye just brings the house down with a totally bizarre and unique performance.

There's a lot a quiet, and so you can fall asleep to it. It's almost a bit of a slow burn. The young people are a total bore, so that's too bad. Should have cast those characters better and rewrote those scenes. And the end is very abrupt. Not perfect, but very immersive.

There's been a lot of other good Drac films: Nosferatu (1922), Vampyr (1932), Horror of Dracula (1958). Dracula (1992) has some inspiring cinematography especially early in the castle. I wasn't crazy about anything in London, but I guess it's a matter of taste.

THE NAKED PREY (1965).>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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Very suspenseful film of an African Hunting party (Hoping footage of animals being shot was staged, but not holding my breath) that pays a heavy toll for rudeness to a local tribe who take them prisoner. The guide (Cornell Wilde, who also directed), who suggested to his party to play nice, is given a chance to survive...by being stripped and running out to the landing spot of a thrown spear before being pursued. Extremely brutal in spots with amazing camera work. Also, the fact that Wilde is in incredible shape is impressive, along with his survival skills. ****

The mummy’s hand

Island of doomed men

Doomed to die

The boogie man will get you

THE ASTOUNDING SHE MONSTER (1957). Very low budget flick of two gangsters and a drunken moll ("I prefer to be referred to as an Alcoholic!") who kidnap an heiress, see the titular creature (with a glow and wiggling camera) and take refuge in a cabin occupied by Robert Clarke (THE BODY SNATCHER, BEDLAM, THE HIDEOUS SUN DEMON). Lots of leaving and returning to the cabin and trying to avoid the ASM whose touch means death.
Quite bad as You can imagine, but a certain inept charm to it and at least it's short. Shirley Kilpatrick (The Alien-rumors abound that She was Shirly Stoler, who appeared in 1970's THE HONEYMOON KILLERS, but IMDB has Kilpatrick dying before THK came out) is literally poured into her costume and found out that all the backing up the ASM does happened because She was so zaftig that the back ripped out and no money left to replace. In fact, in one of the few shots You see of her back, the fraying is already well under way. **