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Here they are…only a few days to go.

Curse of the Werewolf: A damn good take on the Werewolf genre from Hammer. This stars a young Oliver Reed as the Werewolf, and like the best (The Wolfman) he provides plenty of pathos because he in indeed an unfortunate fellow.  Hammer always tried to keep their takes on old genres fresh and this is not exception. Oliver Reed is basically born into being a beast because his deaf/mute mother had been abused, jailed and raped by an old forgotten beggar, then dies in childbirth. He was born a cursed boy, and turns into a beast when the moon is full, AND he has lost a love. The makeup is on the best, and most famous werewolf makeups in movies, and he is a fierce looking beast indeed. This is definitely one of Hammer’s best efforts, and pretty much a must for any Halloween movie viewing.

The Raven: One of my very favorite Lugosi/Karloff pairings! This time Lugosi is the bad guy, and he is over the TOP! In fact it is because of bela that I enjoy this one so much. Lugosi plays a world renowned surgeon, who has a love for Edgar Allen Poe. So much so, that he has even built replica’s of the torture devices from Poe’s work. (I don’t remember many torture devices in Poe, but there IS a cool pendulum in this!). Anyway, Karloff is a killer/thief on the loose, and he goes to Lugosi to make him change his face. Instead Lugosi recognizes him and changes karloff to an ugly, hideous brute. Lugosi (Dr. Vollin) wants revenge and enlists Karloff (Edmond Bateman) to help him. He tells him that if he does he will then change Bateman’s face back. What a house Vollin has! An entire bedroom that is also an elevator down to the torture room. A room where the walls close together, and crush anyone inside. A Pendulum, which he uses to torture a man. As the evening wears on Lugosi becomes more and more insane. It’s a real pleasure to watch! You really need to see this. It is a fast paced , enjoyable mid 1930′s Universal classic.

There was also another version of The Raven, (1963) that was totally different. This one was directed by Roger Corman and starred Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff. It also featured a young Jack Nicholson! This film is much more comedic, and there are some funny bits in it. Well worth watching too.

Wicker Man (1973): This is not really a horror movie, but it does have its shocks. Starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee it is about a policeman who goes to a remote British isle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. he finds a backwards type society that practices an ancient ritual to bad ends! Christopher Lee plays Lord Summerisle the “lord” of the island. I won’t reveal much here because you really need to see it for yourselves, but it’s very much worth watching this film. Oh yes…there was a recent remake starring Nicholas Cage….that’s all I will say about that. Please see the original!

Dr. Mabuse: Fritz Lang directed some of the most revered classics in cinema. Metropolis, M and to a lesser degree the Dr. Mabuse films. There are three Mabuse films, and they are not horror films but kind of twisted “crime” films. In fact, Mabuse (Rudolf Klien- Rogge) is a master criminal who cares little for the lives of others from consequences of his horrific actions. A bit more from Wiki:

”

As befits his pulp influences, Dr. Mabuse is a master of disguise like Fantômas and a master of telepathic hypnosis, not unlike the hypnotist Dr. Caligari. Like Fu Manchu, Mabuse commits very few of his crimes in person, instead operating primarily through a network of agents acting out schemes he has laid down for them. Mabuse’s agents range from career criminals following him for money, to innocents blackmailed or hypnotized into cooperation, to dupes so successfully manipulated they do not realize that they are doing exactly what Mabuse planned for them to do.

Mabuse’s identity often changes; one “Dr. Mabuse” may be defeated and sent to an asylum, jail, or grave, only for a new “Dr. Mabuse” to later appear. The replacement invariably has the same methods, the same powers of hypnosis, and the same criminal genius. There are even suggestions in some installments of the series that the “real” Mabuse is some sort of spirit that possesses host after host.

Another trait that separates Mabuse from similar characters is the self-destructive bent to his personality and his plans. (Some have even suggested that Jacques took the name Mabuse not, as he claimed, from the painter Jan “Mabuse” Gossaert who used it as his pseudonym, but from a pun: M’abuse is French for “(I) abuse myself”). Several times, Mabuse’s plans are foiled only because he himself interferes with them, as if he is trying to bring about his own downfall. This dovetails with another important distinction about Mabuse: whereas Fu Manchu aims to conquer the world, then rule it, Mabuse makes clear more than once that his intent is to destroy the world — and then rule the ashes. This may explain why the character is regarded in Germany almost more as a horror icon, akin to Dracula or Frankenstein, than as a criminal mastermind of adventure tales akin to Fu Manchu.”

Out of the three Mabuse films my favorite is The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. Mabuse is barely in the film, but his presence is SO strong (supposedly Lang used this as an allegory for the powerful real life mastermind at the time….Adolf Hitler, and the film was banned in Germany. Check out the first film Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler.(a long silent film), the second film, and the third film. The 1,000 eyes of Dr. Mabuse (Lang’s last film produced in the 1960′s and once again Mabuse himself is not in it).

Jurassic Park: You have seen it. You know how cool the dinos are. What more needs to be said? Ok….the book was better. The story was better told, and the kids weren’t so unbearable so if you haven’t read the book you should. It’s a great page turner. Back to the film….watching the T rex do it’s stuff is most awesome, and terrifying. Although I have to wonder why it can’t break a piece of car glass??? The T Rex scenes are the money scenes for this movie, so if you want………just watch those for a Halloween Movie Countdown AND imagine yourself being confronted like that. Now THAT’S terrifying!!!

Twilight Zone: What more can I say about this show as well? Some of the episodes are classics. My Favorites? (these are not always the correct episode names,but you get the idea)

Talky Tina

Billy Mumy as the young boy who makes people go away

The Devil in the Monastery

Dead Grandma calling the boy on the toy phone

Kick the Can

Terror at 20,000 feet

and several more.

.Now…go out and do so!

The Changeling (1980): An excellent haunted house/ghost story starring George C. Scott. It’s a murder mystery, a ghost story and an undiscovered sort of gem. If you have never seen this film you really need to give it a try for your next Halloween movie viewing experience.

The Innocents (1961): Another highly regarded haunted house film adapted from The Turn of the Screw, and starring Deborah Kerr. I have to agree. It is well done. Here is the plot from Wikipedia:

“Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) applies for a job as a governess. It is to be her first position, but the wealthy bachelor interviewing her (Michael Redgrave) is unconcerned with her lack of experience. He values his freedom to travel and socialize and unabashedly confesses that he has “no room, mentally or emotionally” for his niece and nephew, who were orphaned and left in his care as infants, and whom he keeps at Bly, his country estate. The previous governess, Miss Jessel, died suddenly less than a year ago. All he cares about is that Miss Giddens accept full responsibility for the children, never troubling him with whatever problems may arise.

At Bly, Miss Giddens is instantly taken with Flora. She also forges a friendship with Mrs. Grose (Megs Jenkins), the kindly housekeeper. The boy, Miles, is away at boarding school, though Flora delightedly insists that her brother is coming home. Sure enough, Miss Giddens receives a letter saying that Miles has been expelled from school because of his bad influence on the other boys. Mrs. Grose says she can’t imagine Miles being a bad influence, and when Miss Giddens meets the boy herself, she too thinks his teachers must have exaggerated. He seems charming and mature – though perhaps too mature, with his flirtatious flattery of his governess.

The children are friendly and polite, but Miss Giddens is disturbed by their occasional odd behaviors. They seem to be sharing secrets. She is upset also by unexplained voices, and by several visions of a woman and man, whom Mrs. Grose identifies, from their descriptions, as Miss Jessel and Peter Quint – the uncle’s valet until his death. Eventually, Mrs. Grose reveals that Quint was abusive to Miss Jessel, and that they were indiscreet, performing sexual acts in plain sight of the other servants and even, perhaps, the children. After Quint’s death, Miss Jessel went into a deep depression and drowned herself.

When Miles recites a poem invoking a “lost lord” to rise from the grave, Miss Giddens concludes that the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel inhabit the bodies of the children so they can continue their relationship. She is determined to rescue them from this possession.

One night Miss Giddens finds Flora at a window, watching Miles, who is walking in the garden. When Miss Giddens escorts him to bed, he kisses her goodnight, in a disturbingly adult manner.

The next day Miss Giddens finds Flora dancing alone by the lake – and again sees the figure of Miss Jessel staring at them from across the water. Convinced that the children will be freed from the possession if they will confess what is happening, Miss Giddens begs Flora to admit that Miss Jessel is there. Flora begins to scream and cry, calling Miss Giddens wicked and insane. Hours later, Flora is still hysterical, and when Mrs. Grose finally leaves her bedside, she says she can’t imagine where Flora learned such obscenities. Miss Giddens orders her to take Flora away from Bly. She is certain that Miles is on the brink of confessing his ordeal to her and that she must be left alone with him.

That night, alone with Miles, Miss Giddens presses him to talk about the ghosts, and then about why he was expelled from school. Initially, and as usual, Miles is glib and evasive, but he eventually admits that he frightened the other boys with violence and vulgar language. Miss Giddens enjoins him to say who taught him this language and behavior. Miles suddenly begins yelling obscene insults and laughing maniacally, and Peter Quint’s face appears in the window behind him, joining in the boy’s laughter. Miles then runs outside; Miss Giddens follows, calling that all he has to do is “say his name” and it will all be over. Quint appears on the hedge nearby, but Miles does not seem to see him and screams that she is insane. He finally shouts Quint’s name, and the figure disappears. Miles grows still and falls to the ground. Miss Giddens cradles him and assures him that he is free. She then realizes that Miles is dead. Sobbing in horror, she leans over him and kisses him passionately on the lips.”

If you like haunted house films this one needs to be on your list. It is not an in your face type film, instead there is an atmosphere of something frightening about. Other good haunted house films to check out. The Uninvited, The Haunting, The Changeling, and Castle of Blood.

7th voyage of Sinbad:(1958) Ray Harryhausen. 2 Cyclops, a huge Dragon, a Genie (a boy really), a mammoth bird (A Roc) and it’s babies, Sinbad fighting a skeleton, magic……what a treat this film must have been when it first came out. It is still a treat to watch, by this time Harryhausen was well into pure fantasy as only he could do it. If you haven’t seen this then what’s stopping you?

When World’s Collide (1951): Another terrific film from George Pal and friends. 2 planetoids are heading for Earth. The first (named Zyra) will miss, and cause massive destruction via, tidal waves, earthquakes and….in the end it doesn’t matter because the second one (Named Bellus arriving 10 days later) will hit the Earth dead on,  and crush it to bits.  There is a plan though. Construct space arks, and launch them to nearby Zyra, where it may be or may not be, possible to survive.  Trouble is most don’t believe until it is too late, and there is only time and money to build the one rocket in the USA (Although it is said that there are a few others being built in other countries of the world. The solution to save fule is to use a huge ramp to launch the rocket into space! I love this movie, and yes the world does end, but there are those few survivors from the space ark, and the air on Zyra is breathable. The only unfortunate bit is the matte painting of Zyra. The people open the rocket door to get their first glimpse of the new world and it is a disappointing and VERY obvious matte painting. Pal said it was the studio who put that there, and that is too bad. The studios often tampered with his films and that is just too bad.  AS it is though this is a great (and some cynics may view it as naive) film. Highly recomended.

Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971): Vincent Price was the ONLY horror star who never really had a monster character to call his own. Karloff had the monster, Chaney the Wolfman, Cushing Dr. Frankenstein but not so much Price. Dr. Phibes was the closes he ever got and what a job he does with it! This is a tongue in cheek sort of film, but at the same time it isn’t because Phibes is so methodical and precise, imaginative and ruthless. I saw this at the drive in when it first came out and I loved it! Phibes is killing all the doctors who operated on his wife the night she died. Phibes is seriously injured and deformed (thought dead) on is way to the hospital, and years later kills each doctor based on one of the curses from the bible. Locusts, boils, bats, rats, etc. Although………the way Phibes uses these instruments of death is quite different indeed! He also has no vocal cords so he invents a device that he plugs into the side of his neck which connects to an old fashioned loudspeaker. Prices lips never move in this film, but his strangely phrased voice is still heard coming out of that speaker. Great stuff for a very enjoyable movie and one of Vincent Price’s great characters. Highly recommended to any fan of Price or for anyone who wants a cool movie to add to their Halloween viewing.

Then there was the even crazier (but not as good) sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972). Phibes is back to his old tricks, but this time in ancient Egypt. I won’t spoil it for you suffice to say that watching Robert Quarry quickly age before our eyes as Phibes slowly pushes his boat down the river of life into darkness singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” at the end of the film is breathtaking!

Bad and guilty!

Starman: (known as Super Giant in Japan) Oh man these film cracked me up back in the early 70′s! There were 4 Super Giant films made in Japan back in the 1950′s, and they were later re cut into 2 films then released in the US, AND the hero’s name was changed to Starman. Salamander men, cheap budgets, fake looking fights…it’s all here. There are 2 well done DVD’s available. Get them and have a great time with them!

The Creeper series: Rondo Hatton was a guy who had become deformed through a terrible disease in adulthood. So….Hollywood beckoned, and eventually featured him in films as The Creeper. The most famous of the films may be  The Brute Man (1946), where he avenges himself on people that had done him wrong by snapping their spines! Rondo’s face is unforgettable, and has appeared in many various incarnations throughout the years.  The films are not great by a longshot, but then it’s just cool because it’s Rondo Hatton.

Tomorrow again…..

Robert

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