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Post by gspdude on Jun 26, 2023 14:02:51 GMT
Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974) The freaks are a dwarf(Michael Dunn, aka Miguelito Loveless), a hunchback, and a Neanderthal man. The Neanderthal man is killed by a mob of angry villagers and Frankenstein brings him back to life. That, of course, will not end well. Some brief nudity here and there in an attempt to spice things up, which the dwarf appreciated. 3½/10.
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Post by Prime etc. on Jun 27, 2023 6:46:15 GMT
Ha I like that movie. Michael Dunn the peeping tom. And Boris Lugosi! What a star.
STRAIGHT ON TIL MORNING 1972- Rewatched after a few years. Was not fond of it the first time and I can't say my assessment has changed. One of those experimental self-indulgent exercises that you can admire for craftsmanship on some level but somehow leaves you wondering what the hell were they thinking. Hammer had done a number of psychological thrillers involving emotionally disturbed women but this is something so far out in idea and so negative--it feels like a relative to PEEPING TOM. A lonely and delusional woman Brenda (Rita Tushingham) leaves home to find a man in the big city so she can have a baby and fulfill her storybook fantasy dream. She meets a nymphomaniac (Katya Wyeth, in her biggest Hammer role--probably best known in film as the 'Ascot Fantasy Girl' in A Clockwork Orange) and then a man (Shane Briant) who is a serial killer. She takes his dog (or rather the dog of one of his victims) to trick her way into his life but he is on to her scheme and manipulates her emotions for his own sick fantasy delusions. A demented horror story on Peter Pan I suppose but I really wonder--what was the point? On some level it is consistent with Hammer's general thematic approach because the idea of a homely girl who leaves her village to face the decadence of the city but is doomed to misfortune is consistent with their catalogue--in particular the Reptile or Frankenstein Created Woman ends with the idea that someone is better off avoiding travel ambition or one can't be transformed from natural sickly state to good health. The Ugly Duckling this isn't. But did we really need the idea told? It feels like a waste of resources.
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Post by theravenking on Jun 27, 2023 12:46:16 GMT
Death Walks On High Heels (1971; Luciano Ercoli) - Fun, stylish, self-ironical giallo with plenty of twists and a plot which for the most part makes a surprising amount of sense. It's not very gory, there's only one explicit murder, so it falls more into the mystery/whodunnit category. There's a curious thing regarding the audio track: While one online reviewer claims, that you should absolutely watch this with the English dubbing, since there are two British detectives in the second half, whose banter is much more convincing in English. Giallo expert Tim Lucas gives the exact opposite advice in his audio commentary, claiming that the English audio track is terrible. (I wouldn't know, cause I watched the movie with the Italian audio like I usually do, so I can pretend, that I'm doing something useful, brushing up on my Italian.) Great score by Stelvio Cipriani with vocals by Nora Orlandi who has the kind of voice I could listen to all day. 7.5/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jun 27, 2023 20:39:58 GMT
GODZILLA VS MEGALON 1973 - Been decades since I saw this (maybe even at a drive-in) and I still remember the floating fish toy at the start and Jet Jaguar. This is not one of the better Godzilla entries. Has one of the most laid back attitudes on AI--the inventor's robot develops a mind of its own and the creator is acting pretty calm about it. Then again, when atomic bombs can create giant lizard superfriends, there's not much to worry about I guess. This moment has never left my mind. Gotta love those tag teams.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jun 27, 2023 20:54:02 GMT
Cherry Crush 2007 Taboo 2002 "Cherry Crush" was okay as a Film Noir for younger people. I don't think I would've liked it as much if not for the two leads. Nikki Reed was good in "Minnie's first time" as well. "Taboo" I remember reading January Jones loathing the movie and saying she laughed throughout it at a screening. And requested to be taken home to get Drunk. I remember thinking it was okay at the time. Tho I haven't watched it since I rented it a long time ago. I liked her performance in "Swedish Auto". Another Indie movie. True, Tucker and Reed elevate ‘Cherry Crush’. I thought Julie Gonzalo in a Small role was good too. The story was kinda ho-hum though, and didn’t really surprise or excite. I can see why Jones laughed her way through it. The premise had promise, and there was real nasty undertone to it. But the execution was sloppy, and the dialogue followed suit.
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Post by gspdude on Jun 28, 2023 13:12:38 GMT
Horrors of the Black Museum (1959) A serial killer is terrorizing London. The kills aren't particularly graphic, but they are imaginative. 6/10.
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Post by gspdude on Jun 29, 2023 1:10:28 GMT
Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) Robert Quarry does an adequate job as a Dracula clone, there's some pretty victims, and some not too bright vampire hunters(they wait until after dark to invade the Count's mansion). All in all, it's not great, but watchable.
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Post by gspdude on Jun 29, 2023 13:51:45 GMT
Will to Die(1971) aka Blood Legacy, aka Legacy of Blood. The only reason I re-watched this movie was because it was on an episode of Elvira's Movie Macabre. Other than John Russell, the acting is uniformly terrible, and the writing and direction aren't any better. As Elvira said, This movie has so many sub-plots I can't figure out what the plot is. 2½/10.
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Post by gspdude on Jun 30, 2023 14:07:16 GMT
The Return of Count Yorga(1971) the last time we saw Count Yorga, he was a pile of dust, but Vampires have amazing powers of rejuvenation and he is back, along with his equally resilient flunky Brudda. The plot is much the same, this time the object of the Count's evil amorous intent is Mariette Hartley. The main Vampire hunter is again a psychiatrist(played by the same actor) who again leads his incompetent group into the Vampire's lair after dark. No wonder Vampires live so long. 5/10.
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,062
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Post by mgmarshall on Jul 1, 2023 0:55:10 GMT
The Return of Count Yorga(1971) the last time we saw Count Yorga, he was a pile of dust, but Vampires have amazing powers of rejuvenation and he is back, along with his equally resilient flunky Brudda. The plot is much the same, this time the object of the Count's evil amorous intent is Mariette Hartley. The main Vampire hunter is again a psychiatrist(played by the same actor) who again leads his incompetent group into the Vampire's lair after dark. No wonder Vampires live so long. 5/10. Yes, but unlike the first one, this movie has the amazing star power of Craig T. Nelson...!
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Post by gspdude on Jul 1, 2023 12:30:27 GMT
Island of the Doomed (1967) aka Maneater of Hydra. 6 tourists visit an island where Baron Cameron Mitchell is breeding carniverous plants. Might have been half way decent if they had put any effort at all into the kills or the killer plant. 3/10.
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Post by gspdude on Jul 2, 2023 2:07:36 GMT
Candy Land(2022). Business is doing well for the hookers working a truck stop, until a serial killer starts knocking off the customers. Well acted albeit a bit illogical at times, but then it is a slasher. 6½/10.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jul 2, 2023 22:27:30 GMT
Cathy's Curse (1977)A young girl becomes possessed by the spirit of her aunt, causing death and all sorts of mayhem. This Canadian-French co-production is not scary or chilling in the least. It's completely laughable. Confusing script, cheesy effects, and terrible acting. A very poor man's Exorcist. 2/10
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Post by Prime etc. on Jul 2, 2023 23:01:29 GMT
SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM 1973 --In June of 73 AIP had Pam Grier starring in one movie (Coffy--which gets mentioned in the trailer for this) and Barbara Rhoades appearing in another (Little Cigars) --both are in this movie which came out at the end of the month (the latter is hardly in it and did a cameo in a McMillan & Wife episode while making it).
William Marshall has some good dialogue moments but it feels disjointed and moves slower than the first film. It reminds me of the second Yorga film and Craig Nelson also appears in it as a cop. The ending is really abrupt too. One innovative scene is when Willis shows his fangs to his girlfriend and she starts laughing. She also doesn't seem to change much after being bitten and tries to boss Mamuwalde around.
They should have done a Blacula vs Yorga movie.
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Post by gspdude on Jul 3, 2023 13:36:53 GMT
The Devil's Wedding Night (1973) Rosalba Neri as a Bi-sexual Vampire who likes to bathe in the blood of virgins. What more need be said? 6/10.
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Post by gspdude on Jul 5, 2023 0:24:48 GMT
The House That Screamed(1969) A new girl is sent to a finishing school for girls with a troubled past. Unfortunately for the girls there is a killer lurking about. Unfortunately for me, when the girls take their group shower they keep their clothes on (Rated PG). Actually it's not a bad movie and threw me a couple of surprises. The editing is a bit choppy, which is probably due to the cuts made for it US release. Hope I can track down the Spanish release some day. 6/10.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jul 5, 2023 7:47:14 GMT
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Post by theravenking on Jul 5, 2023 10:49:13 GMT
The House That Screamed(1969) A new girl is sent to a finishing school for girls with a troubled past. Unfortunately for the girls there is a killer lurking about. Unfortunately for me, when the girls take their group shower they keep their clothes on (Rated PG). Actually it's not a bad movie and threw me a couple of surprises. The editing is a bit choppy, which is probably due to the cuts made for it US release. Hope I can track down the Spanish release some day. 6/10. That shower scene is fairly ridiculous.
I watched this expecting a giallo, and what I got was some mild, mostly psychological horror.
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Post by theravenking on Jul 5, 2023 11:40:16 GMT
American Nightmare (2002; Jon Keeyes) If there's one thing I learned in recent years, it's that one should avoid obscure slasher flicks from the early 2000s. Ripper (2001); The Pool (2001); Horror 101 (2001) were all lousy. American Nightmare, not to be confused with the 1983 movie of the same name, is an incredibly lame horror thriller, cheaply made, featuring mostly weak performances and very few scares. The plot summary might sound promising, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Visually it's unappealing, with the picture being all blurry and out-of-focus, the acting is acceptable at best, with the exception of cult actress Debbie Rochon as the female maniac who clearly gives it some effort, but is betrayed by the unimaginative direction and the utter triviality of the entire thing. The low budget didn't even seem to stretch to buying some fake blood, since you get to see next to nothing in the murder scenes. If it weren't for some nudity, this could've easily been PG-13. I like the idea of a radio host teasing people to reveal their deepest fears. It might've made for an interesting stage production or in better hands even a good contained thriller. But in this case the good concept ends up being entirely wasted. Director Jon Keeyes would go on to co-produce the home invasion thriller Becky with Kevin James and direct what seems to be the lowest-rated Antonio Banderas film ever, the action movie Code Name Banshee. After watching Nightmare I'm not sure why bankable stars would be willing to work with this hack, but I guess we all make mistakes. 2.5/10
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Post by gspdude on Jul 6, 2023 0:04:13 GMT
Last Shift(2014) On a Police Woman's first night on the job, she is assigned to be the lone officer at a closing police station's last night. The station is haunted by several ghosts who died there in custody and pick that night( the 1 year anniversary of their deaths) to cause mayhem. The rookie doesn't handle it very well. 4½/10.
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