Movie Title (Country) Year
D. Director S. Star(s)
Alternate title(s) Synopsis. Notable Scene(s).
Movie Rating/10DVD Producer
*=indicates DVD Special Features
#=indicates as part of DVD collection
A&C Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (USA) 1953
D. Charles Lamont S. Boris Karloff
Bumbling bobbies Bud Abbott and Lou Costello run afoul of Boris Karloff's Dr. Jekyll and a mute Mr. Hyde. A dose of bad medicine makes Lou even mousier than usual.
6/10
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (USA) 1948
D. Charles T. Barton S. Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney
Vaudeville comics Bud and Lou hit the big-time in this famous Universal quickie. The veteran bogeymen (Glenn Strange played Frankenstein in this slapstick romp, as Karloff played the monster for the last time in 1939's Son of Frankenstein) all took their roles quite seriously, of course. Vincent Price makes a very brief cameo as the Invisible Man's voice. The interesting Universal documentary reveals the awkward feelings the two Hollywood greats Lugosi and Cheney had about being involved in the lampooning of their own famous roles. Thinking the Wolf Man is Bud in Halloween-disguise, Lou vainly tries to pull the monster's mask off.
7/10
Abbott & Costello Go to Mars (USA) 1953
D. Charles Lamont S. Anita Ekberg
A series of unlikely hijinks finds the clueless duo on an interplanetary rocket to New Orleans during the Mardi Gras, which they take for Mars, and get mixed up with a couple of look-alike bank-robbers. The four clowns end up on the planet Venus, where they find the gorgeous Venusian women long ago did away with the male Venusians for being so unfaithful. It's all a bit sappy and predictable, but it's a fun take on the early sci-fi cinema and one of their classic romps. Due to the queen's curse a hot young Venusian gal transforms into a withered crone after she is kissed by Lou.
6.5/10
Alucarda (Mexico) 1975
D. Juan Lopez Moctezuma S. Claudio Brook, David Silva
Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas From the amazing late Mexican director Juan Lopez Moctezuma comes a highly unconventional coming-of-age story where two young girls living in a convent form a bond of friendship to last a lifetime. Oh, and then there's Satan, a coffin filled with blood, a remarkable quantity of high-pitched screaming, nudity, lesbianism, nuns bursting into flames, violence, surrealism, a creepy cult and an even creepier hunchback. Mondo Macabro's DVD boasts the best ever transfer of the obscure classic, a documentary on Moctezuma and more. A naked undead witch rises from a blood-filled coffin.
7/10
An American Werewolf in London (USA) 1981
D. John Landis S. David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter
John Landis went with a four-legged werewolf rather than a Lon Chaney clone for his homage to werewolf movies, and Rick Baker's daring creature FX work nearly makes it work. But it is perhaps the wildly successful fusion of horror and offbeat comedy that keeps it's cult-status growing. The seemingly unrelated sequel, An American Werewolf In Paris is a shameless, Hollywood hack-job, but not without it's adolescent charm. The Dr. Pepper guy is confronted by his ghostly victims in a porn theater.
8/10
The Amityville Horror (USA) 1979
D. Stuart Rosenberg S. James Brolin, Margot Kidder
Based on the discredited "True Story" best-seller about a family driven from their idyllic new home by violent demonic forces, this hit AIP movie is flatly conventional and painfully hokey in turns, with literally only a few fleeting moments of cheesy weirdness to hold it intact. James Brolin and Margot Kidder play a newlywed couple who buys a home with a bloody history and Rod Steiger is a priest who is plagued by flies and apparently given a serious case of constipation by the houses evil. The fairly successful shocker spawned too many sequels to count, as well as a 2005 remake. Margot Kidder's Breasts!
4/10
Amityville 3D (USA) 1983
D. Richard Fleischer S. Tony Roberts, Candy Clark
Amityville: The Demon During a brief 3D renaissance the undistinguished Amityville franchise turned in this entry for 3D sequel. Contrary to expectation, the movie underlying the gimmick (which can't be viewed on region 1) is actually rather enjoyable from a traditional standpoint. The effects shots that were intended to "pop out" at the audience in 3D make an interesting impression in a 2D format, making the movie E.C. comic-book like, and thus permissible to enjoy without taking too seriously. It's fun to try to guess what wasn't intended as camp, because the delivery is, for the most part, credulous. A3D also features some decent make-up effects and the first appearance of Meg Ryan, as a slutty teen with a fetish for Ouija. The friends and family of a pathologically skeptical debunker of spiritualist con-artists fall prey to the Amityville house when he ends up with the infamous address. The fly swarms show up for the festivities, along with the "passageway to Hell" and probably the highest body-count for a film of the series. Watch out for that swordfish! Some dude's face is crisped by a fire-breathing demon.
6.5/10
The Amityville Horror (USA) 2005
D. Andrew Douglas S. Ryan Reynolds
I am convinced that in the right hands, remakes can work. Certainly, the remake of a film that wasn't any good in the first place doesn't quite face the same critical gulag as, say, a remake of Dawn of the Dead. On the other hand, if it's a remake of a movie that was promoted as being based on a true story, a "true story" that has long since been roundly debunked, incompetently filmed and dully scripted, peppered with moments of eye-rolling ineptitude and spawning a long series of sequels that were roughly as painful to watch, well... Let's just say that the end result doesn't deserve any more credit than the original. Though the remake, another by Hollywood hackmeister Michael Bay, is far more vigorous visually than the rather staid, low-budget original, it's ultimately just as tedious and routine, skewing the source mythology yet further and substituting digital wizardry and frenzied jump-cutting for anything resembling originality. It even has one of those brief after-the-credits shock sequences that we have evidently come to expect.
4/10
Angel Heart (USA) 1987
D. Alan Parker S. Mickey Rourke, Robert DiNiro
A gritty, noir supernatural thriller set in '50's NYC and New Orleans. Rourke exhibits the acting chops that would serve him so well in Sin City, and DeNiro's portrayal of the Prince of Darkness (here dubbed "Louis Cyphre") is one of my favorites. Lisa Bonet's kinky, blood-drenched love-scene with Rourke changed the course of her career. Death by gumbo!
8/10
The Angry Red Planet (USA) 1960
D. Ib Melchior S. Gerald Mohr, Les Tremayne
Invasion of Mars Smarmy terrestrials land on the Martian surface and find it inhabited mostly by hokey spider puppets, carnivorous Jell-O, and (unseen) high-rise-dwelling yuppies who smartly send the inferior Earthlings packing. A futuristic Martian city is represented by an obvious line-drawing.
4/10
Army of Darkness (USA) 1992
D. Sam Raimi S. Bruce Campbell
Sam Raimi used up the rest of the Evil Dead premise in this spoofy horror tribute to the Ray Harryhausen fantasy classics. There is a short featurette, an alternate ending, and no commentary. The hero is literally beside himself after a weird demonic possession in a brief homage to The Manster.
7/10
Arsenic and Old Lace (USA) 1944
D. Frank Capra S. Cary Grant, Peter Lorre
Uproarious movie adaptation of the Broadway play with Cary Grant as a jittery groom-to-be who finds out his elderly aunts have a dozen men buried in their cellar. Raymond Massey is good as a vicious killer with a bad plastic surgeon (played by Peter Lorre in his prime). The heroes long-lost fugitive brother is not happy to hear that he looks exactly like Boris Karloff.
7.5/10
Asylum (UK) 1972
D. Roy Ward Baker S. Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee
Diverting horror anthology by Hammer spin-off Amicus Pictures with a wraparound story that's more clever than most. In order to secure a job as the director of an asylum for the incurably insane, a young psychiatrist must interview four of it's inmates to determine which of them is the former director, Dr. Starr, who suffers from multiple personalities. Each inmate has a macabre story to tell him. The first story involves an unfaithful husband who hopes to put the axe to his marriage so he can spend his wealthy wife's fortune with his scheming mistress, but a voodoo charm makes the task more difficult than he anticipated. The second story tells of an impoverished tailor facing eviction who's luck turns around when a customer (Peter Cushing) shows up with a very unusual request. The third story has a troubled woman who's best friend is a bad influence, in the worst way. The Dark Sky DVD features a commentary with Director Roy Ward Baker and his cameraman Neil Binney, as well as a nice short documentary about the short but interesting history of Amicus Pictures. A man is felled by a small assassin robot that has a human soul inside.
5.5/10
Asylum of Satan (USA) 1971
D. William Girdler S. Charles Kissinger
A woman confined to a Satanic asylum must be saved from being sacrificed by her Satanic psychiatrist by her plaid-wearing shlub boyfriend. William Girdler's directorial debut. The DVD includes an hilarious alternate-track commentary by Girdler historian Patty Breen and the usual host of nifty Something Weird extras. Aquatic venomous rubber snake attack.
3.5/10
Atom Age Vampire (Italy) 1960
D. Anton Giulio Majano
Seddok, l'erede di Satana A plastic surgeon is so determined to provide fresh skin for a lovely but scarred female patient, that he transforms into a sort of ghoul, murdering local girls for the raw material. Bleh...
3/10
The Beast Must Die (UK) 1974
D. Paul Annett S. Peter Cushing, Anton Diffring
Black Werewolf An eccentric sleuth (Calvin Lockhart) invites a suspicious bunch of elites for a weekend at his woodland estate in a ploy to sniff out a werewolf, only to have his guests fall victim to the beast one by one. Unfortunately, the appearance of a cuddly canine in place of a werewolf puts a kibosh on the proceedings long before the eye-rolling "twist" ending. The audience is treated to a "Werewolf Break" in order to guess which of the suspects is a werewolf.
4/10
Beast of the Yellow Night (Phillipines) 1971
D. Eddie Romero S. John Ashley
A bargain with the devil spares ne'er-do-well John Ashley from a bad end but, condemned to transform into the titular monster from time to time to wreak havoc, he decides the price of the pact may be too rich for his blood. Another bargain-basement monster adorns a dramatically clunky Blood Island snoozer.
3.5/10
Big Trouble in Little China (USA) 1986
D. John Carpenter S. Kurt Russel, Kim Cattral
John Carpenter's comic homage to martial-arts adventures is worth it's weight in hot, buttered popcorn.. Commentary on the DVD by John Carpenter and Kurt Russel, and a second disc mostly filled with crap. An enraged samurai literally explodes with anger.
6/10
The Black Cat (USA) 1934
D. Edgar G. Ulmer S. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff
A broken war veteran squares off against his great foe, a Satanic cultist, in a really weird house built over the ruins of a battlefield. Don't look for any real connection to the Edgar Allen Poe story upon which it's supposedly based.
6/10
The Black Cat
Genre thespian Jeffrey Combs, best known in the role of Re-Animator Herbert West, plays American literary pioneer Edgar Allen Poe to a T in this intriguing speculative horror entry in the popular Masters of Horror series.
This Masters of Horror second season episode by Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon (his second entry) will be sure to appeal to Poe fans, though straight horror fans may find it to be on the slow side. Combs resemblance to Poe isn't exactly uncanny, but his strong performance as the tormented horror writer, haunted by his pet black cat and a writing deadline, sells the portrayal so well it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. An ideal project for the actor/director pair, the end product is atmospheric and poignant (and bloodier that you might expect for a semi-biopic), and may leave you yearning for more of this unique tribute to Edgar Allen Poe.
The Black Room (USA) 1935
D. Roy William Neill S. Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff plays a pair of twins who hang under a family curse whereupon one brother is destined to slay the other within the eponymous Black Room. More costume drama than horror, The Black Room is still suitably gothic, and gives Karloff a chance to exhibit a good range of character as the wealthy noble brothers, one good and one evil. Dog bites man.
7.5/10
Black Sunday (Italy) 1960
D. Mario Bava S. Barbara Steele
La Maschera Del Demonio Barbara Steele plays a dual role in this classic Italian cheapie that launched her career as the queen of the genre. Black Sunday, directing legend Mario Bava's first feature film, was the foundation for European horror cinema that followed it, and rivals the best of the Universal horror flicks in shivers and atmospherics. A woman has a spiked iron mask hammered onto her face.
7.5/10
Blacula (USA) 1972
D. William Crain S. William Marshall
Late thespian William Marshall adds a little refinement to this AIP horror movie with a blaxploitation beat. Marshall plays a cursed 19th Century African Prince who is freed from his coffin in 1970's Los Angeles, and leaves a trail of bloodless corpses in pursuit of a woman apparently reincarnated from his long dead bride. Genre regular Elisha Cooke Jr. cameos as a mortician who falls prey to one of Blacula's risen female victims. The distinguished Marshall reprised the role in Scream, Blacula, Scream, where he put the moves on young voodoo priestess Pam Grier. A morgue-attendant is attacked by a defrosted vampire.
6/10
The Blair Witch Project (USA) 1999
D. Danial Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez
The low-budget marketing monster that stars no one and has no special effects will always be an archeological curiosity of sorts, though it's merit as entertainment is debatable. It's actually surpassed by the SciFi mockumentary that accompanies it on the DVD, Curse of the Blair Witch. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Bupkis.
3.5/10
The Blob (USA) 1988
D. Chuck Russell S. Kevin Dillon
The Glob that Girdled the Earth The cheesy , big-budget (relatively speaking) remake of the Steve McQueen sci-fi/horror vehicle boasts some occasionally interesting effects for the purple, carnivorous titular creature and it's gastronomic misadventures, and is an endearing genre farce overall, but Dillon makes a rather unappealing hero and the eye-candy sugar-crash has usually set in for the viewer by the last reel. A man is sucked down a kitchen drain by the blob.
7/10
Blood of Dracula's Castle (USA) 1969
D. Al Adamson and Jean Hewitt S. John Carradine
Castle of Dracula Enjoyably crappy Al Adamson flick presenting Count Dracula (D'Arcy) and his wife living comfortably in rural 1960's America with a studly psycho-killer henchman to keep their dungeon stocked with victims. Genre veteran John Carradine plays the butler, though he was probably unhappy about not being cast as Dracula, considering he played the role a number of times. But Adamson cast Alexander D'Arcy (the beefy actor from Horrors of Spider Island) in a tux instead, and the results don't put one in mind of the traditional portrayals by a long-shot. It all seemed perfectly reasonable when I saw it on Shock Theater as a kid, though. Vicky Volante becomes a burnt sacrifice.
4.5/10
Blood of the Vampire (UK) 1958
D. Henry Cass S. Donald Wolfit
A mad-doctor vampire runs an asylum, using inmates for his blood experiments. Atmospheric and reasonably well plotted. A mad scientist shows off his gruesome experiments, including a living man in a block of ice.
6.5/10
Blood of the Vampires (Phillipines) 1971
D. Gerardo de Leon S. Eddie Garcia
Curse of the Vampires, Ibulong mo sa hangin Gothic horror Phillipino-style with a dash of Tennessee Williams. If you can get past all of the unintentional camp (bad, dated hairstyles, actors in black-face, typical Blood Island acting) the story is actually kind of poignant, with evocative use of gel-lighting and moments of dream-like atmosphere.
6/10
Bloody Pit of Horror (Italy) 1965
D. Massimo Pupillo S. Mickey Hargitay, Walter Brandi
Il Boia Scarlatto Odd little exploitation flick lensed in the same castle in Italy that Bava's Black Sunday was filmed. A group of Models make the error of checking into the castle of a demented ex-actor (Jane Mansfield beau, strongman Mickey Hargitay), who dons red tights and a mask and becomes "The Crimson Executioner!" Sadism and silliness ensue. A woman falls victim to a hokey mechanical spider.
4/10
The Boogeyman (USA) 1980
D. Ulli Lommel
The Bogey Man This early slasher flick by the infamous director Ulli Lommel follows a woman and her mute sibling as they are stalked by a phantom figure from a traumatic chapter of their lives, through the broken shards of a haunted mirror. Though characteristically campy, it's just perplexing enough to be creepy. An amorous couple's lip-locking leads to a shish-k-bob.
5.5/10
Boogeyman (USA) 2005
D. Stephen D. Kay
Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures launched with this dramatically-empty, jump-cut, camera-trick-laden exercise in amateur film-making involving a young professional who finds his life thrown into chaos by the return of his childhood bogeyman following the death of his estranged mother (Lucy Lawless in a very brief appearance). Clichéd, when it makes any sense at all, the product is a tiresome back-and-forth between weird frenetic camera shots of what amounts to nothing and shots of the tormented protagonist's sweaty mug imparting mortal fear, capped with a CGI-coated climax that the viewer shouldn't bother trying to comprehend. Good for moments of atmosphere and for riffing on mercilessly and that's about it.
3.5/10
The Brain from Planet Arous (USA) 1958
D. Nathan Juran S. John Agar
A godless degenerate of a floating alien brain takes over John Agar's body and moves in on his woman on the way to world domination. An alien-brain possessed John Agar makes a phony airplane explode in mid-air.
3/10
The Brainiac (Mexico) 1961
D. Chano Urueta S. Abel Salazar
El Baron del Terror Another zany Churubusco-Azteca excursion into horror film-making concerning a condemned Warlock coming back to the present (in this case, 1961) as a rubber-headed monster to slaughter the distant descendants of of the Inquisitors who sentenced him to burn, and frequently sating his appetite for human brains along the way. This is just one long jaw-dropper of a movie.
3.5/10
Brain that Wouldn't Die, The (USA) 1960
D. Joseph Green
The Head that Wouldn't Die A talented but demented surgeon keeps a house of horrors in the woods that includes his wife's living, talking head in a pan. Famous for it's sheer awfulness and utter absurdity. A disabled guy has his good arm detached by a hideous, hulking experimental mutant.
3.5/10
Bride of Frankenstein (USA) 1935
D. James Whale S. Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester
A decidedly diabolical scientist coerces Dr. Frankenstein into breaking his New Years resolution not to create any new monsters out of human body parts. James Whale's inspired sequel gets the "Universal Studios Classic Monsters Collection" treatment, complete with the requisite documentary. A blind man plays host to the fugitive monster.
8/10
Bride of Re-Animator (USA) 1989
D. Stuart Gordon S. Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott
Brian Yuzna's delirious follow-up to the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired ghoul-fest Re-Animator serves up a great bag of tricks, even following the groundbreaking original, as Dr. Herbert West drags his hapless cohort Dr. Cain into another re-animating caper, this time to fashion the perfect women out body parts ala Frankenstein. A skittering reanimated eyeball threatens to blow Dr. West's cover.
6.5/10
Brides of Blood (Phillipines) 1968
D. Eddie Romero S. Kent Taylor, John Ashley, Beverly Hills
Grave Desires, Island of the Living Horror American mega-star John Ashley finds himself on an Indonesian island where the plants are alive and the people sacrifice young virgins to a creature that looks like Grimace from McDonaldland. In my opinion, one of the best of the Independent International "Blood Island" series of movies. Decent acting, dialogue and production values combined with an unusual plot and lurid (for it's time) horror scenes are hampered by the rubbery appearance of the feature creature. Also boasts a laughable attack butterfly straight out of grade school art class. Beverly Hills is ripped limb-from-limb by the Michelin Man of Blood Island...And likes it!
5.5/10
Brides Of Dracula (UK) 1960
D. Terrence Fisher S. Peter Cushing, David Peel
This Hammer Dracula movie without Dracula still features Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, who must rescue Yvonne Manlaur from a fair-haired, vampire lothario and his bloodsucking brides. Peter Cushing stumbles on a novel method for disposing of vampires.
6.5/10
