The Monster Maker (1944)

Pretty good mad scientist flick

It was a good movie. J Carroll Naish played the part of Dr. Igor Markoff well. I think he was cast perfectly for the role of mad scientist.

dr mabuse, the gambler

testament of dr mabuse

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

yeah!

White Zombie
Isle of the Dead

Kill, Baby...Kill! (1966)
One of Bava's better films imo.

Brides of Dracula (1960)

Great film. Have seen it several times in the past, but this was the first time on DVD, as part of the Hammer Horror Series set. The film looked the best I have ever seen it (which in the past has only been full-frame television broadcast). The colours are bold and lurid, something that early Hammer horrors really had in their favour.

The film is quite fast paced, and has a freshness and originality about it that holds one's interest.

*** SPOILERS***

There are a couple of flaws in this film, most notably to me was the overacting by Baroness Meinster's servant. Also, I felt Van Helsing's method of evading the vampire's curse by buring the bite marks from his throat with a hot iron, then bathing the wound in holy water was a bit of a cheat.

END SPOILERS

However, these did not detract in any major way from what is an excellent addition to the vampire movie genre.

9/10

Not horror but sci-fi.

This Island Earth.

Someone reminded me of Day of the Trifids a little while ago, so I borrowed it and watched it again. It amazes me that not a lot of people have seen it, it's one of the better sci fi/horror oldies out there....the special effects are still great, and the trifids are still pretty damn scary, even though I'm not a kid anymore. Makes you have second thoughts about strolling through the park....if you like creepy, you have to see this movie.

I think I know who that "someone" is...:D

Neways I agree bout the Triffids being scary. It used to scare me as a kid, thinking about plants grabbing out and catching hold of anything in front of it. geez I m glad they cant do that!

You know, I think what freaked me out so bad is their Trifid feet....they made them so squishy and,well, organic. The whole squishing along thing really bothered me and still does....not to mention the whole poisonous-plant-waiting-for-you-to-die-and-eating-you thing.....
And that noise they make.....ughhhh.....(shudder)

Night Creatures (1962)

Had never seen this before. What a great little film. It's a Hammer film about a pirate named Captain Clegg, liquour smuggling undertaken by a small community, and the legendary marsh phantoms. Not so much a horror film as a period film with horror elements. Well worth a watch.

7.5/10

The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

I am in two minds about this Hammer Frankenstein film. The plot is OK, but nothing groundbreaking.

Spoilers ---->

The Baron, along with his assistant, are caught experimenting with the organs of stolen bodies, and are chased out of town. So they return to the Baron's old chateau in Karlstaad, which he finds has been ransacked. The Baron is angered, and this leads to conflict with the local authorities. So they need to hide out, and are assisted by a local deaf/mute girl (and if there is a better looking deaf/mute girl in any film, I haven't seen it). They soon discover that this girl has the frozen body of the Baron's creation in her cave, and they transport this body back to the laboratory at the Baron's chateau to reanimate. However the monster is largely non-responsive when reanimated, so they enlist the help of a local carnival mesmerist. He is able to control the monster, but uses the monster to do his own bidding, including stealing gold ornaments from the local church. Naturally, the locals don't take too kindly to the monster's return...

<--- Spoilers

The sets themselves are impressive, especially the laboratory. As this film was distributed by Universal, Hammer was able to use Universal concepts re: sets and make-up. The old Universal laboratory hardware in vivid colour looks amazing. The scenery, with snow-covered alpine landscapes, were equally pleasing.

Unfortunately, the monster looks anything but amazing. Even thought the make-up was based on the Universal monster, it just does not hit the mark, and previous hammer monsters were far more impressive.

So, this film is a bit of a mixed bag. The plot is passable, and Peter Cushing is always good. However, it doesn't really "fit" into the Hammer Frankenstein series, and the creature was a poor interpretation of the Karloff original.

6/10

The Blob (1958)

I have seen this film many times and still love it. I think it is one of those films that manages to transcend its obviously low budget and simple plot to create something greater than it had any right to be. It's a fast-paced film that feels like it is full of energy. And it is so 50's rock and roll that it could be Happy Days with monsters.

I first saw this film when I was a young child - before video so I had to wake up in the very early hours of the morning to catch it. I loved it then, and it continues to be a special movie for me.

9.5/10 because nothing is perfect.

You know, not only is "The Blob" a nice-looking movie, but it has outstanding character work. There aren't any real bad guys in it and it sort of promotes a compassion for everyone (except the Blob, which is a horrible oozing monster); it's a real people-lovin' movie, and this gives it a very endearing quality. I think it rises above most films of its type because of that.

I watched the Creature From The Black Lagoon late the other night. I love that movie. I would think that silly heifer would have been grateful that she ended up being chased by a huge fish that had the hots for her instead of a pack of pirhanas.....that's what you get for swimming in scary water on the Amazon.....

I love this movie. One of the great Universal monster movies. In fact.. I think I'll go and watch all 3 of the "Creature" movies right now

Yah, CFTBL is great. Awesome setting.

Haw! I watched Night of the Living Dead yesterday. Funny I came across this thread. However...

I've always wondered, and maybe some of you know... What's the significance of the dead woman at the top of the stairs? If you don't want to answer it in this thread (causing a diversion) feel free to PM me with the response.

She was the oringinal occupant of the house and died(was killed)at some point after the dead began rising.




The Horror Of Frankenstein

That's it? No subtle symbol or anything? No hidden message?

Well... okay... Carry on.

Actually...yeah, uh....that part of NOTLD always interested me. Mostly because of what was suggested and what was unexplained. Clearly the woman was the victim of zombie violence. Or was that rat violence maybe? Well, whatever, but she was still dripping. So whatever happened to her didn't happen too long ago, probably.

Okay. Let's say a zombie got to her and munched on her. Well the zombie isn't around, so it seems to have moved on. One of the zombies you see wandering around outside the house as night falls might have been that zombie, attracted back to the house once again--because of the commotion made by Barbra and the churchyard ghoul.

Kind of creepy to think that the ghoul that killed the woman is lurking around somewhere nearby as Barbra arrives at the house. It's not in the house anywhere, so it's got to be stumbling around in the field somewhere, eating bugs or whatever.

Of course these "maybe" details are surely nothing that Romero and company thought of when they were making the film, but the "reality" the film creates is so convincing that it tends to make me wonder about these little things.

I wonder if Romero and company even gave any thought to the lady at the top of the stairs and were just going for a gross out scene. Something to ask Mr. Romero if I ever see him again at a convention.

the odd couple

Faust (1926)
This really is a good movie. Even if you dont like silent movies you need to see this one. Not only is it impressive in its imagery but it a damn good story too. There are several memorable scenes in this movie. When War, Famine and Plague are decending to Earth on horseback,when Faust meets Mephisto at the crossroads and when Satan watches over the town before releasing the plague were just a few for me.
And like I said... a good story too. It's about God and the Devil wagering the soul of man to see who gets the right to rule earth.
Who can resist that ?

You do that, and let me know, because something was going on there. If she was dead, once the radiation hit, then wouldn't she have risen?

Sorry to take up time on this. It's just been really really bugging me.

@Yourlastmistake- The story of Faust is awesome in itself. Personally, I've never had a problem with silent movies, and would like to see this one.

Incidentally, did you know that Mephisto was not a minion of Hell until the story of Dr. Faustus emerged on the literary scene (I think it was Marlowe's version, but don't hold me to that)? Just thought that you guys might find that a little interesing...food for thought kind of deal.

I did not know that Haunted. I'm not very familiar with Mephisto's origins , hell... I didn't even know about the story "Faust" until I saw the movie at Netflix. I'm sure it's an old tale but I dont know who wrote it.
This one is Murnau's version. Im sure you've heard of it before as long as you've been here. It really is a good movie. It has it all...
romance,deceit,action, humour and tragedy. It even has nudity, which I was surprised to see. The direction was well done, and
the acting wasn't over the top like some silents.
I dont want to say much more about the movie and ruin it for you. Check it out, I dont think you'll be disappointed.

Torture Garden (1967)

I really like the Amicus horror films of the 60's and 70's, especially their anthology films. Torture Garden is not their best work (eg the story about the killer piano doesn't quite gel), but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I remember seeing this on TV when I was quite young and enjoying it a lot, so perhaps it is the nostalgia that makes it so attractive to me.

7/10

Night of the Demon

darn tooting





anyways,
rebecca

notorious

The Wolf Man. I'm a sucker for Larry Talbot. :[

Great movie. Lets see...tonight is a full moon..I think this will be my movie of choice for the evening, along with "Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man"

A great double feature.

to catch a thief

They just don't make them like Grace anymore.







The Evil Of Frankenstein

even dwarfs started small

the most dangerous game

is that the one shot at the same time and on the same set and with some of the same actors as King Kong ?

darn dooting


it's on a dvd5 r0 disc

though quite why that is important i have no idea ;)