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Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
Even if you haven’t seen the film, you probably know the title Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964). It’s one of the all-time great titles, even though it sounds like a temporary one that the studio forgot...
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War-Gods of the Deep (1965)
The drive for American International Pictures to continue exploiting the box office hit combo of Vincent Price and Edgar Allan Poe produced some strange results, such as the unexpectedly delightful...
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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Imagine that there were no sequels to A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), no endless stream of Freddy Krueger merchandise, no Freddy vs. Jason, no parodies even after the series itself had become...
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Better Off Dead (1985)
“Merci buckets.” Better Off Dead (1985) occupies an isolated spot in the pantheon of 80’s teen comedies. On the one hand, it contains all the expected elements: a mixtape soundtrack of synth-laden pop...
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And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)
The first (and sometimes forgotten) Monty Python film was a bit like the albums and books they were putting out concurrent with the TV series Monty Python’s Flying Circus: old material presented in a...
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Mothra (1961)
Mothra (1961) was based on a Japanese novel (The Luminous Fairies and Mothra) but regardless takes its biggest cues from the earlier Godzilla films (Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again) and Mothra, in...
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The Giant Claw (1957)
“Honest to Pete, I’ll never call my mother-in-law an old crow again!” says the fighter pilot as he engages with The Giant Claw (1957), the winged beast also known by its French-Canadian moniker “La...
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The Mummy (1959)
The Mummy (1959) was the third in Hammer’s classic trilogy of Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee match-ups, revisiting and revitalizing classic monsters of horror. The first, The Curse of Frankenstein...
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Deep Red (1975)
Dario Argento’s Deep Red (Profondo Rosso, 1975) is a suffocating film, as if you can slowly feel a noose tightening around your neck. Although it was not to be his last giallo, it’s perhaps his...
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A Halloween Marathon, Midnight Only-Style
In years past I’ve proposed 24 hour horror marathons on this site, as a method to just recommend a bunch of great horror films – but this year I’m not going to be quite as rigorous. Having just put...
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Double Feature: Dracula (1931)/Dracula (Spanish Version-1931)
This week Turner Classic Movies presented an in-theater event, a double feature of Dracula (1931) and the Spanish language alternate version (with a Spanish-speaking cast, filmed using the same sets)....
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Burn, Witch, Burn (1962)
The most effective stretch of Burn, Witch, Burn (1962), whose original British release title is Night of the Eagle, is a long, carefully constructed, vital stretch in which Norman Taylor (Peter...
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Belle de Jour (1967)
This post is a proud part of the Criterion Blogathon sponsored by . Also – my thoughts are with Parisians today in solidarity and support (#Parisisaboutlife). Catherine Deneuve is well covered – she’s...
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Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
It’s a well kept secret that Hammer’s Frankenstein series (1957-1974) is a good deal more interesting than its more popular sibling, the Dracula series. The Dracula formula was straightforward,...
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His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914)
During his lifetime, L. Frank Baum was eager to franchise his talents, whether it be his popular series of Oz novels or (since he felt himself chained to the Land of Oz) the many other original fairy...
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The Return of Captain Invincible (1983)
The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) looks fantastic in the blueprints. After celebrity success in the 40’s, a superhero, Captain Invincible, is brought before McCarthy’s Senate Subcommittee and...
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Rouben Mamoulian’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) immediately sets itself apart from other early talkies with a bravura sequence that relies almost solely upon visuals: an extended series of shots...
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The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
The runaway box office success of A different kind of horror: a boy’s careless destruction of a butterfly admired by young Amy. Amy Reed can’t seem to find any friends, out of step with both the boys...
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Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo premiered in May of 1958, and later that year another James Stewart/Kim Novak pairing, the Christmas-themed Bell, Book and Candle, was released just in time for the...
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Brazil (1985)
The most well known poster for Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (1985) – at least, the one that became such a familiar video store staple in the 80’s and 90’s – is of the top of a man’s head exploding while he...
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