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Author: Horror Movie Maven (page 6 of 11)

The Maze (1953)

December 24, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

My take: Don’t bother watching this movie. It’s corny and the ending is not worth it.

Rating: 1 out of 4 stars

The Maze is a mystery-style movie from 1953. It’s got all the elements (read: cliches) of a mystery thriller from the era:

An old castle in the middle of nowhere
A young, blonde and naive lady who is going to get to the bottom of the mystery because she’s in love
An old, wise aunt in the style of an Agatha Christie novel or Murder She Wrote
Strange noises and lights in the night
The blonde and her aunt wandering about in The Maze.

While I usually go all-in for these tropes of the era, in this movie it simply did not work, and it is entirely due to the ending. I don’t want to ruin it for you, but I can tell you that it is not worth your time unless you are drinking heavily with friends who like to heckle bad films. Then it might be good. I’m honestly surprised I haven’t seen this one while watching Mystery Science Theater 3000.

You can find the movie easily online, if you happen to like bad movies from the 1950s. Even the trailer for the movie is unbelievably cheesy:

“We think The Maze will amaze you!” It did not.

Daughter of Darkness (1947)

December 22, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

My take: Female serial killer from the 1940s? Yes, please.

My rating: 2 out of 4 stars

The title Daughter of Darkness gives no indication of what the film is about. I really didn’t know what to expect when I hit play. As a result, I was pleasantly surprised by the slow-building tension in this thriller.

There’s Emmy, being pursued by another man. It will not end well for him.

The story is about a young Irish girl named Emmy, who is sent away from her home town because the women all think there is something evil about her. They can’t seem to describe exactly what evil lurks behind that pretty face, but they hint at the men being tempted by her.

Emmy is sent off to a farm in England. It does not take long for the men to start pursuing her there as well. But Emmy is not a girl to be trifled with. She may flirt, but behind that coy smile is a killer, ready to take out any man who tries to go too far.

This movie reminded me a lot of Cat People. Just like with that movie, the violence is all innuendo and hidden in the shadows. The terror is psychological and it relies on fear and tension to draw you in, as opposed to special effects and jump scares.

I would recommend Daughter of Darkness to people who like psychological thrillers and serial killer movies.

I got the movie through Netflix’s DVD service. There isn’t a trailer on YouTube, but I did find this clip, which shows the eerie way men are drawn to Emmy and her aloof flirtations:

The Best Christmas Horror Movies

December 21, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

Every year, there are certain Christmas movies that must be watched. But as a horror fan, these don’t include the typical Christmas Story and Home Alone. My Christmas horror marathon includes:

Gremlins (1984)

This is an utter classic that I have watched countless times since I was a kid. I still judge the cuteness of animals by how closely they resemble a Mogwai. But no matter how much I adore Gizmo, the Gremlins themselves are the stars of the show. Their mix of evil tricks and dark humor amuses me to no end. And some of the scenes used to scare the crap out of me as a child, which has helped it to remain a holiday favorite.

Gremlins singing some carols and making some mischief.

Jack Frost (1997)

I still remember the first time I saw this B-horror movie. It was college and we found it on the shelves of the local video store in the VHS section. My roommates and I rented it on a total whim and were instantly obsessed.

This movie is an over-the-top dark comedy about a possessed snowman (à la Child’s Play). Who knew that an carrot-nose rape scene could be so funny? I didn’t, until I saw this movie.

The cheesy costuming and effects only add to the hilarity.

Black Christmas (1974)

No list of Christmas horror films would be complete without the 1974 version of Black Christmas. This was one of the original slasher films. It’s the story of a sorority house that is terrorized by a serial killer on Christmas. It really gets you in the holiday mood.

Death by plastic in Black Christmas (1974).

Honorary Mentions:

Child’s Play: Technically, the Chucky doll is a Christmas gift. So if you are willing to make the stretch, this could qualify as a Christmas horror.
Die Hard: It isn’t a horror movie, but it’s got a whole lot of fun action. I feel the need to include it because it is one of my favorite movies to watch during the holidays.

What are your favorite Christmas horror movies? Anything I’m missing that I need to add to my holiday lineup?

The Body Snatcher (1944)

December 18, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

My take: Boris Karloff sure is good at playing despicable characters, including his character in this movie, a body snatcher.

Rating: 2 out of 4 stars

Doctors seemed to use a whole lot of dead bodies back in the day. So many in fact, that people were able to make a bit of a living selling dead bodies. This film involves a cabman, played by Boris Karloff, who makes his money just that way. But he doesn’t get his bodies through donation. He takes them from graves and from the living.

Poster for The Body Snatcher

This movie is a retelling of the tale of Burke and Hare, the famous grave robbers/murderers from Edinburgh who sold corpses to medical science. They even reference Burke and Hare more than once during the movie.

If you remember, I disliked The Lodger because it was too close to a real murder story. In this movie, however, Boris Karloff sets it apart from the original story and keeps your eyes riveted to the screen. Plus, it has the bonus of Bela Lugosi. He’s a side character but he plays a pivotal part of the horror.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes a Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi film as well as those who like classic horror movies.

I got the movie from Netflix’s DVD service. Here is the trailer on YouTube:

Watch the Book: 30 Movies Watched

December 16, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

I’ve been watching movies in the book Studies in Terror for weeks now. As you may recall, I’m trying to watch every movie listed in that book so I can learn more about horror. I’m calling it “watch the book,” just like those recipe blogs that try to “cook the book” by cooking every recipe in a cookbook.

I just finished the 30th movie in the book, and I can’t believe I’ve only watched 30 movies. I still have 100 movies to go. This is more work than I thought.

So far, I’ve seen some good movies and I’ve seen some bad movies. So, I thought I would break it down for you. I’ve split up the list into three sections: movies you should see, movies only die-hard fans of the genre need to see, and movies you can skip. Movies I was unable to find are listed at the end. I also ranked the movies; my favorites are closer to the top.

Here goes:

Movies You Should See

Island of Lost Souls: Charles Laughton is phenomenal in this movie, and it is a really fascinating take on the H.G. Wells story.
That’s Charles Laughton on the left, as the creepiest mad scientist I have seen so far.
The Old Dark House: I’ve already rewatched this movie for fun since I first posted about it. It’s a hokey but good creepy house movie.
The Hands of Orlac: Conrad Veidt can somehow act out whole emotions with his hands. It’s excellent to watch a master actor at work. Plus, the story is nice and scary too.
La Main du diable: Bargains with the devil make for good stories and this one is a whole lot of fun.
Frankenstein: This is a true classic of the monster movie genre that every fan of horror absolutely must see.
Nosferatu: If you like vampire movies, you have to see this original spin on Stoker’s masterpiece.
The Return of Doctor X: It’s got Humphrey Bogart in it, so I’m pretty much going to include it here due to that fact alone. It’s also a good mad scientist story.
The Unknown: Lon Chaney is an actor who put up with a lot of pain for his art. This movie does a great job showcasing it.
The Wolf Man: Lon Chaney, Jr., is not as great as his father, but he does a good job in this movie all dolled up in full werewolf makeup. It’s also a core Universal monster picture that must be seen.
The Monster Maker: It’s a ripoff of other films but is still a lot of fun to watch.
White Zombie: This is only low on the list because I did not like it the first time I watched it. However, now that I’ve seen lots of Bela Lugosi, this is definitely one of his better roles.
Werewolf of London: I really liked the werewolf lore in this movie, even though it doesn’t have the great makeup that The Wolf Man has.
The Cat and the Canary: A really good, Clue-style mystery.
Haxan: This movie is slow to start but has some utterly creepy scenes in a documentary style.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: I’m going to admit that I didn’t like this movie much when I first watched it. Having watched 29 subsequent films, however, it is easy to see what a huge influence it was. Plus, it has Conrad Veidt, who was in The Hands of Orlac andCasablanca.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari has very strange set design and Conrad Veidt fits right in.

Deep Cuts for Hardcore Horror Fans

Cat People: This movie is a very subtle film with psychological scares.
The Dark Eyes of London: If you like Bela Lugosi, this is a good one. Otherwise, it is just a pretty basic thriller.
Mad Love: If you liked The Hands of Orlac, check out this remake.
The Mad Ghoul: It’s a good ghoul/zombie film that is fun to compare to other films in that subgenre.
Mystery of the Wax Museum: Classic wax horror movie with a fast-talking 1930s reporter to boot.
The Black Cat: This was Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff’s first film together.
The Wind: This is not strictly a horror film, which is why I do not include it above. I loved it, but I don’t know if all horror fans would enjoy this strange silent film.
The Most Dangerous Game: This is here as a deep cut only because my husband liked it. I was not much of a fan.

Movies You Can Skip

Waxworks: This movie is a bit too hokey for my liking and not particularly scary.
Vampyr: This one is too avant-garde without enough discernible plot.
The Ghoul: I got very bored watching this.
The Lodger: This Jack the Ripper story has far too much singing in it and not enough killing.

Movies I Was Unable to Find

The Night Has Eyes: I only watched the first half; the rest of the online video was corrupted. It’s unfortunate, because it was a pretty good first half.
El fantasma del convento: I was only able to watch this in the original Spanish, and I know no Spanish.
The Silent House: I couldn’t find this movie at all. Let me know if you know where to find it by leaving a comment.

The Monster Maker (1944)

December 14, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

My take: It’s a blatant copycat film but it somehow still works.
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

The Monster Maker is the 30th movie in Studies in Terror, and it is a total copycat. It blatantly copies its plot from previous successful films.

A pianist loses his ability to use his hands (Hands of Orlac and Mad Love)
A mad doctor causes injury to others for his own ends (The Return of Doctor X)
The doctor is obsessively in love with a woman, and is willing to kill to get her (Mad Love and The Mad Ghoul)
There is a caged, violent ape (Island of Lost Souls)

But somehow, the whole thing works. Even though it stole ideas from previous films, I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Poster for The Monster Maker

In this movie, Doctor Igor Markoff spots a woman at a piano recital who is the spitting image of his dead wife. He is instantly obsessed and believes he must marry this woman. The woman in question is the daughter of the pianist, and she has no intentions of marrying this strange man. But Dr. Markoff will go to great lengths to win her favor, including inflicting her father with a terrible disease of which only he knows the cure.

While the characters are extreme, and the tropes and cliches abound, this film somehow comes together to make a fun story that is easy to follow. It would make an excellent candidate for a horror marathon with friends. This is because the movie puts the viewer in the position of knowing everything, including things the characters do not know. This easily lends itself to exclamations of “Do not go in there!” and “Oh no, he’s going to get you!” For that reason, it is utterly fun.

I’d recommend this to people who like classic monster-style movies (though I wouldn’t call this a monster movie) or creepy crime stories.

I found The Monster Maker on YouTube:

The Lodger (1943)

December 12, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

My take: A simple Jack the Ripper story with a bit too much singing for my taste.

Rating: 1 out of 4 stars

The Lodger was based on a book by the same name. Apparently, the book never directly referenced Jack the Ripper. This film calls out Jack the Ripper in the first scene and hangs its hat on that fear and history to drive the plot.I can’t say that I particularly liked that approach.

Poster for the 1944 version of The Lodger

The 1944 version of The Lodger is about a family who rents a room to a strange man named Slade. This lodger stays out at odd hours of the night, gets spooked easily by coppers, and always seems to be disposing of things. All of this happens directly in parallel to a series of murders committed in nearby Whitechapel by the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.

The direct reference to the Whitechapel murders resulted in my continually comparing and contrasting this story with the real facts behind the Jack the Ripper case. It was an utter distraction to what would have been a pretty decent story. It is likely also the reason why the original novel and other adaptations (including one by Hitchcock in 1932) avoided tying this story to that of the infamous London killer.

The biggest flaw is that Jack the Ripper in this film kills actresses. The real Jack the Ripper killed prostitutes. I’m not sure if it was a way for the movie studio to avoid directly addressing the sexual undertones in the killings or if it was an excuse to add in pointless, annoying song and dance numbers (the lead lady in this story is a musical comedy star and actress).

Regardless, I would recommend this movie to people who like classic crime movies. Other than that, you can feel free to skip it.

I got the movie from Netflix’s DVD service. Here is the trailer on YouTube:

The Mad Ghoul (1943)

December 8, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

My take: A basic zombie/ghoul movie with all of the clichés of the era on full display.

Rating: 2 out of 4 stars

The Mad Ghoul is the 28th movie listed in Studies in Terror. So far, I’ve seen a remake and a nonsensical sequel. Now, I am starting to spot a host of old clichés. The Mad Ghoul is a prime example of this.

Poster for The Mad Ghoul

In this story, a scientist uses an ancient formula to kill and control a man so that he can win the heart of a woman. He uses this zombie/ghoul to kill, and there’s a fast talking reporter on the trail of the crimes this duo commits.

I have seen all of these elements before…

There was a mad scientist in The Return of Doctor X
An ancient formula for resurrection was used in The Ghoul
Men were killed and controlled in White Zombie
There was a fast talking reporter in The Return of Doctor X and in The Mystery of the Wax Museum

When watching new horror movies, I often ask myself, “Can’t they think of anything new?!” Turns out, they haven’t thought of anything new in a very, very long time.

I’m giving this movie a lot of flak, but it isn’t entirely terrible. It has a lecherous old scientist, whose creepy innuendos at the young singer he is in love with had me cringing. It also has some good action scenes with the ghoul on the attack, which were fun to watch (though my husband had a real talent for interrupting the movie right in the middle of those scenes; I sometimes think that he waits just outside the room and then charges in right when he hears it getting good).

I would recommend this to people who like classic horror movies from the 30s and 40s. I would also recommend it to those who want to see early zombie films.

I watched the movie online on a strange (and not wholly reliable) site with old movies. Also, there appears to be no decent trailer for the movie on YouTube. You’ll just have to watch the movie yourself.

Horror Block for November 2014

December 6, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

I got another Horror Block in the mail this past week, and It had a lot of fun stuff in it. First, it was quickly clear that Hannibal was the theme this month:

A squishy heart for relieving my stress. This is going straight to the office cubicle.

Now I need to figure out where I am going to stick these stickers.

I will look so stylish.

I also got some fun things to watch and play with:

Some cartoons for me to watch.

A good warning for my wheels.

He’s hanging precariously from my blinds, ready to scare my cats next time they come to the window.

There was a copy of this month’s Fangoria:

Lots of good horror knowledge to be had here.

But my favorite thing was this film cell from Freddy’s Dead:

Hard to see it but the upper right corner is a film cell.

I can’t really take a good picture of the film cell itself. You will just have to trust me that it looks something like this:

This is when Freddy Krueger kills Spence in a video game in Freddy’s Dead.

All in all, this was a good mix of stuff. It was my second Horror Block box via the subscription service, and I still felt that it was worth to $20 + shipping. The magazine and film cell alone made it worth it for me and everything else was just a bonus.

La Main du diable (1942)

December 4, 2014 / Horror Movie Maven / 0 Comments

My take: A deal with the devil is never a good idea, but it does make for a good movie.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

La Main du diable is a French film, which was released as Carnival of Sinners in the U.S. It’s the 27th movie listed in Studies in Terror, and it was an excellent, Faust-style story.

The chef and Monsieur Brissot as he learns of the talisman that will change his life and cost his soul.

It’s about a poor painter named Roland Brissot. He’s in love with a shop girl who is only interested in fame and money. When she dumps him in a restaurant and he is left a heart-broken wreck, the chef comes to Brissot’s table with a curious offer. He has a talisman that can bring him fame, talent and fortune. The cost? His immortal soul.

Of course he buys it. Brissot claims to believe in neither god nor the devil, so what is the harm? As soon as he seals the deal with a handshake, however, he sees the power of what he has done. The chef’s hand vanishes before his eyes and he is left wondering what kind of bargain he just struck.

Brissot does indeed find fame with his new talisman, which is a living left hand curiously poised in a wooden box. His painting improves and his girlfriend returns to him with open arms. But he soon finds himself stalked and pestered by the devil himself who wants to claim Brissot’s soul.

While parts of the film were a bit hokey, the overall story was compelling. I did not know how the story would progress or how Brissot would get out from under the terrible bargain he made. As a result, I was interested from start to finish.

I would recommend this movie to fans of movies involving the devil, supernatural mysteries and French films.

I was only able to find the movie on Hulu plus, which has it as part of the Criterion collection. There is no trailer for the film online. So, I am stuck leaving you with a poster for the film in lieu of a video:

The poster for La Main du diable.