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
The Raven (USA) 1935
D. Lew Landers S. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff
A sadistic surgeon with an obsession with Edgar Allen Poe, and a dancer who's life he saved, invites the bride-to-be and fiancé to see his chamber of horrors and be dispatched by his disfigured henchman. The influence of Poe's great poetic work is confined to a kitschy, out-of-place dance number, and the only actual Raven in the movie is strangely mute (owing largely to the fact that it's stuffed).
4.5/10
The Raven (USA) 1963
D. Roger Corman S. Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff
Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff work a little screen magic as three rival magicians in this comedic installment of the Corman/Poe series, but the novelty wears thin fairly quick, and none of it is the slightest bit terrifying. Jack Nicholson makes an early appearance as the son of Lorre's wizard character Dr. Bedlo, who begins the slapstick story in the form of the title avian. The three veteran actors would appear together again a year later in the rather more effective Comedy Of Terrors.
6/10
Ravenous (USA) 1999
D. Antonia Bird S. Guy Pierce, Robert Carlyle
A rugged, manly movie about a bunch misfits posted at a remote California fort in the wilderness of the Old West who discover their inner cannibals. It's a bit uneven, but this rustic entry into the cannibal sub-genre boasts awesome locations and terrific performances by Robert Carlyle, Guy Pierce, Jeffrey Jones and others.
6.5/10
Re-Animator (USA) 1985
D. Stuart Gordon S. Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott
Basically a zombie movie infused with a Frankenstein theme, this revolutionary horror romp, very loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's serial "Herbert West: Re-Animator", deigns to make the viewer laugh at the most morbid scenarios even as they cringe; with spectacular success. A young medical student's life is thrown into gory pandemonium when a madman with the secret to reanimating the dead mines the school's morgue for subjects for his gruesome experiments.
8/10
Repo Man (USA) 1984
D. Alex Cox S. Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton
Hip cult classic about an angry young punk-rocker (Estevez) recruited by a strange secret society of car-repossessers, who finds himself embroiled in a government conspiracy to retrieve the unearthly contents of a '64 Chevy Malibu's trunk. Plenty of car-chases, shoot-outs, clever dialogue, and some unexpected philosophy.
8.5/10
The Return of Count Yorga (UK) 1971
D. Bob Kelljan S. Robert Quarry, Mariette Hartley
Curse of Count Yorga Perpetually bored-looking Robert Quarry reprises his stateside vampire, this time focusing his designs on white bread Mariette Hartley. A bit better than the original Count Yorga, Vampire, Return features Yorga's zombie-like vampire brides crawling out of their graves to prey on the young inhabitants of an orphanage.
5/10
Return of the Blind Dead (Spain) 1973
D. Amando de Ossorio
El Ataque de los muertos sin ojos, Mark of the Devil 5: Return of the Blind Dead, Return of the Evil Dead A small town is besieged by the slow, shuffling zombie/vampire Knights Templar during a historical festival celebrating their blinding and execution back in the Middle Ages. After slaughtering most of the town, the undead knights succumb to the rays of the morning sun. This is the second of director Armand de Ossario's five Blind Dead films.
5.5/10
The Return of Dr. X (USA) 2001
D. E. Elias Merhige S. Willem DaFoe, John Malkovich, Udo Kier
Burned to Light William Dafoe fangs it up as Max Schreck in the untold, behind the scenes story of Murnau's Nosferatu.
5/10
Return of the Fly (USA) 1959
D. Edward Bernds S. Vincent Price
In the ultimate irony, the son of the hapless scientist in The Fly reconstructs his father's matter transmitter, and ends up swapping heads with a fly. The special effects make-up is a considerable improvement over the color original, but the more anatomically correct fly guys look all the more preposterous for being so realistic.
4.5/10
Return of the Living Dead (USA) 1985
D. Dan O'Bannon S. Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa
Incomparable comic zombie-romp pitting hapless punk-rockers against hordes of brain-eating zombies produced by a chemical leak. Dated punk-rock score and largely cheesy make-up effects only add to the gruesome charm.
8.5/10
Return of the Vampire (USA) 1943
D. Lew Landers S. Bela Lugosi
Vampire Bela Lugosi preys on an already shell-shocked British town during WWII after a bomb dislodges the blood-sucker from his resting place. You'll believe a werewolf can talk.
4.5/10
Robocop (USA) 1987
D. Paul Verhouvan S. Peter Weller, Miguel Ferrer, Ronny Cox
7.5/10
Robocop 2 (USA) 1990
D. Irvin Kershner S. Peter Weller, Tom Noonan
Largely reviled by fans of the first film, I find Robocop 2 to be a bit more enjoyable for some reason. It might be the lighter tone (though not skimping on violence), Tom Noonan's humorous drug kingpin Cane, Robocop's stop-motion nemesis, or the technical improvements over the previous outing, but the scene where the Robocop 2 candidate rips his own face off is worth the price of the disc all by itself.
7/10
Rosemary's Baby (USA) 1968
D. Roman Polanski S. Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
Shlockmeister William Castle tapped a talented young Polish director named Roman Polanski to adapt the best-selling Ira Levin book about a woman with the dubious honor of being surrogate mother to Satan's son. The result is the crowning achievement of William Castle's career in show-business, and one the most subtle portrayals of Satanism since Val Lewton's The Seventh Victim.
9/10
Salem's Lot (USA) 1979
D. Tobe Hooper S. David Soul, James Mason
This underrated Tobe Hooper directed mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's vampire book made a strong impression on me as a kid, and I still think it's the first frightening characterization of vampires up to that point.
6.5/10
Samson in the Wax Museum (Mexico) 1963
D. Alfonso Corona Blake & Manuel San Fernando S. Claudio Brook
Santo en el museo de cera Heroic, wrestling vanquisher of Mexican monsters Santo (Samson in the dubbed, American version) takes on a nutty mad scientist who likes to turn humans into hideous wax sculptures for his weird wax museum. A good choice for an enjoyably bad movie.
4/10
Samson Vs. the Vampire Women (Mexico) 1963
D. Alfonso Corona Blake S. Lorena Velázquez
Santo contras las mujeres vampiro Mexican wrestler Santo smacks down on a castle of oatmeal-faced vampire wenches in this MST3K classic.
4.5/10
Santo in "The Treasure of Dracula" (Mexico) 1969
D. René Cardona
Santo en el Tesero de Drácula Santo goes back in time to combat Dracula in this Spanish-language feature. The featured time-machine is evidently the inspiration for the same device in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
5/10
Scream, Blacula, Scream (USA) 1973
D. Bob Kelljan S. William Marshall, Pam Grier
The Name is Blacula Raised from his bones in a voodoo ritual, the Black Prince of Blaxploitation fills a house with vampires, but has his heart set on voodoo priestess Pam Grier. Less campy and less enjoyable than the original Blacula.
5.5/10
The Serpent and the Rainbow (USA) 1987
D. Wes Craven S. Bill Pullman, Paul Winfield
Anthropologist Bill Pullman gets a hold of some bad voodoo-dust and goes on a harrowing series of adventures in this interesting Wes Craven production. Filmed in politically unstable Haiti, the filmmakers were forced to flee to an alternate location after being confronted by an angry mob demanding money.
6.5/10
Shadow of the Vampire (USA) 2001
D. E. Elias Merhige S. Willem DaFoe, John Malkovich, Udo Kier
Burned to Light William Dafoe fangs it up as Max Schreck in the untold, behind the scenes story of Murnau's Nosferatu.
5/10
Shaun of the Dead (Universal) C 2004
D. Edgar Wright S. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
6.5/10
Shocker (USA) 1989
D. Wes Craven S. Mitch Pileggi
A poignant story about a cranky television repairman reunited with the son who never knew him steps into a teleportation pod and becomes genetically fused with an A Nightmare on Elm Street sequel. An execution by electric-chair doesn't come off quite as planned.
5/10
Six Days in Roswell (USA) 2000
D. Timothy B. Johnson S. Rich Kronfeld
The makers of Trekkies taking their probing eye to Roswell, New Mexico for the Extraterrestrial Days celebration marking the Roswell incident's 50th birthday, encountering plenty of colorful exhibits and eccentric personalities along the way. The ensuing antics are both hilarious, and a little poignant. Lots of bonus material on the DVD, too.
7/10
The Shining (Warner) 1980
D. Stanley Kubrick S. Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall
I'm displeased to say that I was one of the poor saps that bought the original Warner "Stanley Kubrick Collection" edition of this very cinematic adaptation of the Stephen King book, and only weeks before the remastering was announced. The difference in quality is breathtaking, since the initial collection was hacked out with great haste to cash in on Stanley Kubrick's untimely demise. Kubrick's version is still controversial (undeservedly, in my opinion), owing largely to King's repudiation of it. A mini-series adaptation of The Shining made over twenty years later covers some of the plot and characterization of the King book that Kubrick trimmed out, and got King's seal of approval, but clearly lacks the visual impact and nightmarish tone of the movie. The DVD includes a behind-the-scenes featurette by Kubrick's daughter.
8.5/10
