The Hound of The Baskervilles(1959).

Well made and very entertaining Hammer version of the Sherlock Holmes classic. With Peter Cushing playing Holmes and Andre Morell as Dr Watson.
Who get hired to protect Sir Henry Baskerville after he has inherited Baskerville Hall and it is feared that his life may be in danger from a family curse involving a supernatural hound.

Hammer brings all their gothic elements into this production with nice cinematography and great direction from Terence Fisher.
Peter Cushing does an impressive performance as the great detective with his quick wittedness and no nonsense approach. Andre Morrell also makes a good Dr Watson and is not the bumbling idiot that the character is normally portrayed as. And Christopher Lee gets to play a good guy for a change, with a romantic part as well.

Very enjoyable, with rich atmosphere, especially on the spooky moors 8.5/10.

I also really rate The Skull. :skull:

Who doesn't??

Christopher Lee.

He was happy Wymark nicked it from him. Didn't want it back either. Should have told Cushing something.

Ice Queen 2005.

While transporting a frozen fossil, the plane crashes and the creature called Ice Queen awakes and goes on a killing spree.

Was this meant to be a horror? It's more of a bad remake of horror express meets The Thing from another world, the plot seemed OK but the acting was laughable, the costume of the creature looked like she was a biker in a previous life. Never seen a monster close a door after they walked through it and walk like Frank N Furter in New heels, you want a laugh check it out.

I once paid money for this. You are kinder in your words than i was.

Enough with the Ice Queen ... we've all been there ... :skull:

Jason X

The thing is not to see what you are watching. Try instead to imagine the blizzard of cocaine that inspired this ....

Sorry

That's the Flashdance review.

A bunch of well meaning but widiculously deluded fools reanimate the frozen tundra that is Jsson Vorhees. Then 'upgrade' him. Camp is not the word :skull:
A hoot. Recommended. Demon says yes :ghostclap:

I haven't

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October 22nd
 

The VVitch (2015)

No plot points or spoilers of any kind of this 17th century set film that takes it's cue from New England folk tales.

I truly cannot rate this film highly enough. Superbly performed with brilliant and authentic use of olde-English language and terrific sound design and an often lingering camera technique all come together to create the most unnerving, bordering on frightening, horror film i can remember seeing.

This was my third viewing of The VVitch and it loses none of it's haunting power. Absolutely outstanding.

Spoiler Warning - Halloween review has loose spoilers.

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[#19] The Old Dark House
James Whale’s The Old Dark House is inhabited with a bizarre parade of kooks, a family tree touched with madness. A bedridden patriarch presides over his sinister brood, the presentable but cowardly Horace, his sister the uninviting Rebecca Femm, with a sly deafness, played tempestuously by Eva Moore, and Saul the pyromaniac locked up on the top floor, whose wily mischievous intent flashes in glimmers when no one is looking. Boris Karloff plays Morgan, a lecherous alcoholic butler in servitude to the family, but feeling more as if he’s keeping them captive, locked away from the outside world. It’s a film that navigates genres deftly, mixing horror with comedy, without sacrifice. The visuals and sound design meld to create a dread-filled atmosphere, malformed reflections haunt the mirrors, a breathtakingly playful shadow dance gives way to terror, a landslide that feels more a malevolent push to trap traveller and viewer alike, in The Old Dark House.

:rip::rip::rip::rip::rip:

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[#20] Scream For Help
Directed by Michael Winner from a script penned by Tom Holland, Scream For Help is surprisingly lacking in notoriety. It’s a film that feels malleable in its structure, starting out as a teen movie quaintly narrated with diary entries by protagonist Christie Cromwell, before changing composition, descending into a darker home invasion framework. The twee teen movie trappings lend a power to Christie’s scandalous discoveries, and in typical fashion no one believes her. There’s a mean spirited streak, one character is dramatically murdered moments after revealing their pregnancy, a sinister swiftness in the succession of events. Scream For Help feels scattershot in terms of inspirations, at times similar in tone to Wes Craven’s The Last House On The Left, just as shocking and taut, without sinking to the same depraved depths, but several elements feel ahead of their time, a precursor to The Stepfather and even Home Alone.

:rip::rip::rip::rip:

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[#21] Someone's Watching Me
The lesser known of John Carpenter’s films released in 1978, Someone’s Watching Me is tame by comparison to his chilling masterwork Halloween. Made for TV audiences there’s an understandable restrain. With shades of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, it literally feels like a reworking in a then modern late ‘70s setting, liberally borrowing mechanics, and even a whole scene. Protagonist Leigh Michaels is imbued with an endearingly kooky sense of humour, personable, skilfully realised by Lauren Hutton. As a viewer it’s hard not to form an attachment to the character, lending further gravity to her situation. The scene where Adrienne Barbeau’s character is keeping watch for Leigh through a telescope, as she snoops around the stalker’s apartment in the opposing apartment complex is suspenseful, and a tense scene where Leigh is hiding under a grate as the suspected stalker walks over is effective, but the sense of menace and dread never quite give way to all out horror.

:rip::rip::rip:

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[#22] Halloween (2018)
David Gordon Green and Danny McBride had the unenviable task of taking the reigns of the Halloween franchise, creating something that would appeal to a modern cinema audience and long time franchise fans alike. The result falls somewhere between John Carpenter’s original, and Rob Zombie’s entries, showing occasional glimpses of the mean spirited visceral violence of the latter. The superbly suspenseful motion sensor scene is the perfect example, the build up in tension is evocative of the original, but the mounting on the spiked gate is more in tone with the viciousness of Zombie’s work. The film eschews the sequels, following on directly from the original, forty years later, yet liberally borrows sequences from several of the sequels, homage that will enamour series fans. Carpenter’s score is a boon, but Laurie Strode’s character arc is most compelling, her Doomsday Prepper transformation is a fresh take. The most unforgivable aspect lies not with any franchise ties, but with the fate of the boy who just wants to dance.

:rip::rip::rip::rip:

Could not recommend Scream For Help more highly! It's such a blast, I hadn't even heard of it previously and it blew me away. I also finished watching The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, and it's insanely good. I wasn't sure for the first couple of episodes, but from episode 3 onwards it hooked me, and from episode 6 it genuinely felt like something incredibly special. Just spotting some of the spectral apparitions in the background, or in mirrors or glass, often out of focus, it feels packed with secrets, very layered. I really rate Mike Flanagan, and look forward to his Doctor Sleep adaptation. He's come a long way from the crowd-funded Absentia, which I loved too.

October 23rd
 

The Devil's Rejects (2005)

The skill of director Rob Zombie is truly at work here has he weaves a kind of magic that makes us in the second half of the film both root and care for the repulsive remnants of the Firefly clan (Captain Spaulding, Baby and Ottis) first seen in his debut feature House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Despite a truly repellent first hour in which the three hold captive four country singers at a remote motel and brutalize them purely for the hell of it (Some of the stuff they do i'm surprised it got past the BBFC unscathed in the UK) what follows is somewhat surprising as they basically get whats coming to them thanks to an equally vile sheriff played by William Forsyth in some unflinching acts of torture and as the three escape across country to the strains of Skynyrd's Free Bird we are practically cheering until that bittersweet final moment.

It's the one film of his I revisit. Though I want to see Lords Of Salem again ....

Carry On Screaming (1966, Gerald Thomas)
A policeman's lot is not a happy one it seems ... not with a vitriolic shrew wife ... an assistant who's about as much use as a cotton wool truncheon ... and a baffling series of disappearing bints in the area!
Vamping (cough) on Hammer, the team run riot through the gothic scenery ... whilst leaving us in stitches. That's enough of that :skull:. Easily my favourite CO. I feel the film would have suffered having James at the helm as Corbett's barely repressed rage is the ideal foil for the usual onslaught of harmless filth imho.
Showed this to a CO 'virgin' as such (phwoaaar ... :doorscare:) and he loved it. Even became quite smitten with Fenella :ghostclap:.

All the colours of the dark.

Jane(Edwige Fenech) is not a happy girl after recently losing a baby and being tormented by bad dreams of a blue eyed maniac with a knife. and her husband(George Hilton) is not very supportive and is always buggering off supposidly due to work. she then gets even more neurotic when she sees the mysterious blue eyed man of her dreams actually following her. and then she meets her new neighbour Mary who suggests a good cure for her nerves is to join a coven of witches. just as you do, right? :lol:

I have to say that i am a big fan of Sergio martino and have loved all his giallos so far. and this supernatural Rosemary Baby type is excellent and full of top notch suspense and dream like atmosphers.
Edwige looks fantastic as usual and we get to see her impressive assets especially at the black mass orgy were shes drinking dogs blood and getting gang banged by a bunch of hippies. :laugh:

cult favorite Ivan rassamov is also good as the spooky blue eyed Satanist chap, and sexy Susan Scott who plays Jane's sister in the film. the ladies were certainly hot in those days. :loveeyes:

very good indeed and with superb groovy music. 90 out of 100.

Demons(1985).

A young girl named Cheryl is taking a train ride and gets given two tickets for a free film screening at the gothic looking Metropol by a mysterious masked man. And her and her friend Kathy get more than they bargained for when the patrons turn into demons after one of them gets scratched by a cursed mask.

Directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by the legendary Dario Argento, this is one hell of an entertaining movie that mixes non stop horror and action with pounding heavy metal and Goblin's Claudio Simonetti.

Most of the cast though are pretty forgettable and badly dubbed, but I did notice a couple of familiar faces like Dario Argento's daughter Fiore from Phenomena and Nicolette Elmi as a sexy usherette. And not to between old favourite Bob from House By The Cemetery who makes a small cameo at the end.

Well recommended, with stand out scenes including a helicopter crashing through the roof of the cinema and a guy decapitating demons with a samurai sword on a motorbike. 8/10.

Puppet Master 4
An ancient demon sends his minions to recover the formula Toulon has used to bring his puppets to life. An employee of a large corporation discovers the puppets and brings them to life.
So OK, this one isn't as good as the previous three but it is still enjoyable, some gammy acting but there is some nice prosthetics and the stop motion is great.

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The Reaping 2007.

A former Christian Missionary is sent to small town in Louisiana to investigate what seems to be the ten biblical plagues.

Hillary Swank and Idris Alba star as the two mean leads one being a believer and the other looking at science as an answer. It's not the best movie but it is entertaining, some of the CGI effects work on this better than other movies, there is a small appearance by Stephen Rea and William Ragsdale. 6 out of 10.

The Church 1989.

Medieval knights massacre a village believed to be devil worshipers, over a mass grave a church is built containing the evil, in the present day the evil is unleashed.

From Director Michele Soavi protégé of Dario Argento brings us this little classic movie of demons in a church, originally conceived as a third installment of the Demons movie this is a stand alone movie.

The film is beautifully shot from with a dark gothic atmosphere, there is decent lightning used so it's not a dark movie, the special effects are good and got creation of Boris Vallejo statue of the Vampire's Kiss.

Hugh Quarshie and Tomas Arana provide good acting aswell as Feodor Chaliapan as The Bishop who seems to be protecting the church and the evil, Italian actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice appears in this and a decent man of the cloth, young Asia Argento appears as the young rebel teen, aside from one or two flaws this is still a decent entertainment. 8 out of 10.

The Church features one of my favourite tracking shots :skull:

The Sect.

A bunch of Satanic bikers brutally murder a commune of hippies. Moving forward to Frankfurt 1991, Miriam( Kelly Curtis, Jamie Lee's sister) accidently knocks down a crusty old chap(Herbert Lom) who is carrying a magic box, and takes him home to her house to recover. not realising that he is the leader of a Satanic sect who plan for her to give birth to the Antichrist. :devilbanana:

Talented director Michele Soavi made this one and its kind of embarrassing that he was directing better films than his teacher Dario Argento at the time, even if Dario did produce some of his films.

The film isn't perfect though as its a bit long and confusing at times, but its still very entertaining with loads of standout scenes and atmospheres, with great sequences with a tree covered in magic charms and a man tied to it, a very creepy morgue with bizarre spooky coffins, and a strange well that is a gateway to Hell.

Actress Kelly Curtis is quite charming too and looks a lot like her sister, and gives a good performance despite having a bug shoved up her nose and getting raped by a giant bird. :lol:
Mariangela Deordano( who got her boob bitten off in Burial Ground) also co stars as a school teacher who gets possessed by a Satanic cloth and gets murdered when she becomes a hooker and picks up a man at a truck stop. :scared:

Definately a essential purchase, and look out for Kelly Curtis white rabbit who is a clever bunny that can change the TV remote. 80 out of 100.

Burnt Offerings(1976).

Ben and Marian Rolf, together with their son and Ben's elderly aunt, rent an old rundown mansion out in the country for the summer from an eccentric brother and sister. They get the house for an unusually low amount and soon discover that there is a catch when strange things start to happen.

One of several films made in the 1970's about spooky houses. This one is a pretty good effort, with a slow burning creepy atmosphere and great performances from the cast, including Oliver Reed, Karen Black, and Bette Davis. Karen Black is especially convincing as the wife becoming obsessed with the house and the mysterious old lady who lives up in the attic.

The scenes featuring a ghost hearse and a creepy smiling undertaker are particularly effective. And the fact that the house can repair itself was also an interesting idea. 7.5/10.

It's a wee treasure CB.

Shock aka Beyond the door 2.1977.

Shortly after moving to new house, the wife's deceased husband begins to torment them and slowly possess their young son.

This was Mario Bava's last film he made and good way to end a era of horror and thriller. Daria Nicoldi takes the main role beside John Steiner (Tenebre and Caligula) as the happy couple starting a new life.

The title does fit the tone of the film, I thought it be a another haunted house film but this was different with a tone of decent into madness or was everything just in the woman's head.

The film is well acted, directed and shot, the film was hurried and released quick but it's filmed at a good pace that helps the tension build up, does go a bit off key parts and goes back on track to the climax of the finale. 7-8 out of 10.

It's a strange film alright.

Baron Blood.

Peter Kleist (Antonio Cantafora) goes to Austria to chill out and find out about his family heritage at a spooky old castle. and he discovers that he is a ancester of the depraved maniac Baron Blood. Then when he's with a archeology student(Elke Sommer) he manages to resurrect the evil baron by reciting a spell from a old parchment. and what do you know, the strange looking fiend comes back from the dead with a face like spagetti and wearing a cape and a big hat, and goes off on a killing rampage. :lol:

Director Mario bava made a very stylish looking film here with his usual gothic atmosphers and nice camera work and colours. the creepy looking castle looks superb and especially the scenes set in the torture chamber.

The cast does an okay job but nothing outstanding. Elke Sommer provides the glamour and looks very nice indeed showing off her sexy pins in some nice mini skirts :happy:, especially when being chased in the foggy streets. Joseph Cotton also appears later in the movie as a cripple who buys the castle and has a dark secret. and child actor Nicolette elmi (the one who sticks pins in lizards in Deep Red) pops up yet again.

Yes, i quite enjoyed this film. could have done with a bit more substance to the plot and ramping up the gore a bit more. but a beautiful looking film nevertheless.
and i give 78 out of 100.

October 24th
 

Plague of the Zombies (1966)

Although not my favourite Hammer horror, Plague of the Zombies is a stylish Gothic affair that touches on the British class hierarchy amid the familiar strains of voodoo drums. John Carson is excellent as the sadistic squire who uses the dead to work in an old tin mine.

Jacqueline Pearce is sadly under used but would shine in the film produced back to back with this - The Reptile - and Diane Clare as the film's heroine is sadly as forgettable as Hammer leading ladies got. By this stage Hammer were firmly in at Bray Studios and the whole production seems quite slick especially the memorable dream sequence where the zombies rise from their graves.

October 25th
 

Mischief Night (2013)

A new to me horror thriller about a blind girl alone in a house the night before Halloween with a masked killer. Despite it being a premise that should be over quite quickly this was actually a well thought out affair.

The house in question is a large dwelling with lots of rooms so we had quite a lot of cat and mouse hi-jinks which were quite suspenseful and we had enough random visitors to make it a reasonably bloody stalk and slash movie all told.

Fairly slick and at times gripping with a nice twist ending which i admit i didn't see coming, this was a decent enough watch. Although not especially original it was far superior to the next 'new to me film i watched.

A film. Am rewatching this Wednesday ... amongst others :ghostclap:

October 26th
 

Varsity Blood (2014)

A mere three days ago and i've forgotten what this train wreck was about. Something about the usual high school guys n' gals getting offed by someone dressed as the team mascot one Halloween night.

This didn't have a bone of originality in it's body, the actors were all either annoying or totally forgettable.

The fact i'm struggling to say anything at all about this film should tell you everything you need to know.

The evening was redeemed by an old favourite.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

As good as ever, Tim Burton's brisk Gothic tale is just as fun to watch now as it was 18 years ago. The headless horseman is a classic supernatural spook and it has never been bettered before or after Burton's film. One i never get bored with.

Witchfinder General(1968).

Set in 1640's England at the time of civil war, Matthew Hopkins and his assistant John Stearne travel from town to town torturing and killing innocent people for supposedly committing witchcraft.

Vincent Price stars as the ruthless witchfinder Hopkins and gives one of his most cold and ruthless performances of his career, without any of his usual camp. Nobody is safe from his brutal persecution, even a priest who he ruthlessly tortures and kills in the so-called name of God.
Ian Ogilvy also stars as a young soldier who vows an oath to kill Hopkins and his vile assistant Stearne after they rape his fiance Sara.

Definitely one of Tigon's best films. And Michael Reeves, the director who died at a young age, did an excellent job with this film and manages to mix brutal violence with surprising beauty as well. The score in particular is quite a contrast to the ugliness of the torture and murder.
But one thing that made me laugh in the film was when the accused witches get lowered into the river and if they drown they were innocent or guilty if they float and then get hanged. Either way, though they were doomed. :lol: 8.5/10.

A slightly more evil looking pumpkin for a second attempt.

Puppet Master 5
A week after the events of the previous movie, the nerd gets arrested fro murder, but after explaining to his new boss the truth is let go. His boss plans to steal the puppets and so does the demon sutekh.
It takes a bit of time to get there, and the first half kinda draws itself out a bit, but the second half picks up, also a nice appearance from Ian Ogilvy.

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This was apparently one of the ways to recognise a witch, i always thought this kind of sums up the witch trials, either way you are screwed, once you we're you singled out you we're pretty much dead.

Ducking stools n' all that.:brainfood:

You wouldn't laugh if you were the accused.:boil:

The Hills Have Eyes
A suburban family going to california take a detour to find a silver mine only to crash, stuck out in the desert, they are ambushed by psychotic hillbillies who kill, rape and then kidnap their baby.
Wes Cravens seminal shocker is still rather brutal a movie, its also for me a relatively downbeat film with a pretty bleak ending.
One I ain't watched in years and still a fave.

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Cat O nine Tails.

Franco Arno(Karl Malden) is a retired reporter chap who is blind and enjoys puzzles and lives with his orphan niece Lori(Cinzia de Carolis, who grew up to be a naughty girl in Cannibal Apocalypse) :lol: and find their lives in danger when they get drawn into a murder investigation at the Terzi institute together with reporter James Franciscus.

The second giallo from Italy's best director Dario argento. and although not his best work and gets bogged down a little at times, it is still a top notch mystery and very entertaining with some great suspenseful scenes like those set in the crypt of the cemetery and the roof of the Terzi institute, and miles better than anything he did after Sleepless.
Probably a little light on violence for some tastes but the murders when they do come are very well done, especially the poor chap who gets pushed under the train. :scared:

and the acting as well is also a lot better than usual too, especially Karl Malden. and Catherine Spaak adding the glamour with her big hair and sexy outfits, who enjoys speeding through the streets of Italy.

And as usual, Argento throws in a bit of comedy with oddballs like the funny safe cracker chap Gigi the loser, who you see taking part in a insult competition. :laugh:

very good indeed, with fantastic score by Ennio Morricone. and my second favorite out of the animal trilogy. 83 out of 100.

House Of Mortal Sin (1975, Pete Walker)

Brutal and bleak in the best British tradition :skull:. Susan Penhaligon and Stephanie Beacham stay in the same flat? It must be the 70s then ....
The instantly recognisible Anthony Sharp is Father Meldrum, a rather strict Catholic priest with an unique take on 'shepherding his flock' .... nice Norman Eshley bobs about in the background. Probably my second favourite Walker film.

Demons 2(1986).

Inferior to the first film, but still fun and watchable. A young girl named Sally is having a birthday party and is watching a documentary about demons on TV, and one of the creatures comes out the TV and turns her into a demon as well. This then leads to the contagion spreading throughout the apartment block.

Lamberto Bava's follow up to the classic Demons lacks the atmosphere and style of the original and has a much inferior soundtrack too. But it moves along at a good pace and is never boring, with hilarious scenes set in a gym with the guy who played the pimp in the first film, and also the demon child and funny looking gremlin one that attack a pregnant woman. Oh, and not forgetting the demon dog. :laugh:

All in all, good cheesy entertainment. And with a small role for Dario Argento's daughter, Asia. 7/10.

Lake Placid 1999.

A sheriff, game warden, a paleontoligist and a croc expert, investigate a suspected killing by a crocodile in a Maine lake.

i forgot how good and funny this movie was, this has good acting from Brendan Gleeson, Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda and Oliver Platt, and the not so sweet old lady Betty white. It does have a mixture of comedy, thriller/suspense, horror and kills. The Film is a bit like Jaws meets Jurassic Park but with more sarcasm ping pong and how a old lady should tell a guy where to suck. 7 out of 10.

Bobby Rhodes :ghostclap:. The bits where they are dancing ... and The Smirhs are on :skull:... priceless

Doesn't The Cult's Rain play during the transformation scene

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Indeed it does :skull:. Rewatch :skull: