Tag Archives: halloween movies

The Halloween Horror Fest Must Die

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Happy Halloween, folks! Here are a few more spooky movie reviews, hope you enjoy!

The Beast Must Die (1974)

A departure from the more familiar horror anthology tales produced by Amicus, The Beast Must Die is an interesting curiosity. We meet a millionaire big game hunter, keen to bag himself the prize of a lifetime: a werewolf. Hence he invites a group of guests, all of whom could be suspected to be a lycanthrope, to his sprawling mansion with its high security.

Only one of them is a werewolf – can you guess which one in the “Werewolf Break”?

The break is a thirty second countdown, allowing a brief pause for the audience to decide for themselves which of the guests is the werewolf, before all is revealed. And yes, it actually appears in the film. An odd gimmick, but there you go.

The film actually plays more like a detective story, or episode of a 1970s television thriller. As such, there are plenty of opportunities for some real suspense and jumpy horror that are squandered. But with a great cast including Peter Cushing, Charles Gray and Michael Gambon, this is still worth checking out. The Beast Must Die is a definite watch for any fan of 70’s British horror, like me.

8/10

Wolf Creek (2005)

Now if the snakes, spiders, sharks and God knows what else aren’t enough to put you off visiting Australia, then there’s always the deranged Outback serial killers.

In Wolf Creek, some typically annoying young studenty backpackers are travelling across the mundane wasteland when they run into some psycho called Mick Taylor (John Jarratt). Although he promises to help them with a broken down car, turns out Mick isn’t really very nice. What follows is a shocking and disturbing account of what can only be termed torture porn, as the kids try desperately to escape the clutches of the cork hat maniac.

Wolf Creek is actually a well made film, featuring some very good performances. It’s extremely tense and downright nasty. If you can deal with that, this film is definitely worth a watch. The viewer can’t help but empathise with the kids and imagine themselves being in such a horrific situation. But the plot is kinda obvious and unfulfilling in the end, a bit like an episode of Neighbours.

So, what’s the moral of this particular story? Don’t go to Australia.

7.5/10

The Fly (1958)

Not the crappy David Cronenberg remake, this is the original 1958 classic sci-fi horror starring the legendary Vincent Price. The story unfolds of Price’s brother, Andre (David Hedison), a scientific genius, and his sadly disastrous experiment with matter transferral.

After some initial success, Andre eventually goes too far in his explorations, as a rogue house fly enters the matter transmitter with him. The result is a gruesome hybrid of the human being and a fly, and the race is on to try to reverse the process before the scientist loses all trace of humanity.

This brilliantly clever film is also very touching, as the brilliant scientist and his family are subjected to terrible events that they cannot escape. Great performances, of course, and a bizarre twist in the tale make this first version of The Fly the definitive version. Absolutely unmissable.

9.5/10

Halloween Horror Fest 2025

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Welcome, guys and ghouls, to another festival of frightful fun, with our annual Halloween Horror Fest!  I’ll pour you a Bloody Mary and you can put your hairy feet up, you’re just in time!

Now, I may enjoy viewing macabre movies all year round, but every October, we take things up a notch.  I like to watch some Halloween appropriate films, and share a review or two with my fiends. 

Let’s kick off 2025 with these two creations…

White Zombie (1932)

We’ll get things started with a bona fide, cult classic.  White Zombie is set in Haiti, and sees a reunited couple planning to be married, visiting a wealthy plantation owner.  The plantation owner also has designs on the bride-to-be, however – and arranges a local voodoo dude, Legendre (Bela Lugosi), to assist.

Legendre operates a sugar mill that is worked by zombies.  He agrees to use his evil magic to transform our bride-to-be into a zombie, and she soon appears to expire.  Not long after she is reanimated, but will her groom be able to discover what’s happened, and put things right?

White Zombie is possibly the very first full length zombie movie, and though it’s very dated, it’s still a great watch.  This is mostly due to Lugosi, resonating menace with his piercing eyes and forked goatee.  A sinister performance and iconic appearance.

I’ve wanted to see this film for years, and though it’s pretty basic, I really enjoyed White Zombie.  I mean, how can it not be cool if a 90s metal band was named after it?!

7.5/10

White Noise (2005)

A rich architect dude (Michael Keaton) with an annoyingly perfect life and house, is left distraught with the unexpected death of his wife.  Then this other dude shows up and claims he’s been receiving messages from Mike’s dead Mrs via electronic voice phenomena (static, in other words).

Turns out the fuzzy babble and images are on the money, and Mike becomes deeply involved in EVP communication from beyond.  He starts receiving recorded messages and decides to stick his foot into other people’s business.

I think that about sums things up, though there is some nonsense about a serial killer shoe-horned in.  Honestly, when I saw this film twenty years ago, it seemed to have a few creepy elements to it.  Watching again, the only creeply thing in White Noise was the sickly, mawkish forced air of grief and misery.  The story itself was far too obvious and contrived.

The White Noise DVD has gone to haunt the local charity shop.

3/10

Son of Halloween Horror Fest 2024

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Delivering another deadly double dose of Halloween Horror Fest, can you take it??!

Saw (2004)

Saw is a very clever twist on the serial killer tale. Here, two dudes – strangers to each other – wake up in a grotty bathroom, chained up, not knowing how they got there, or why. Clue: they’re not on a stag night. One is Dr Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes), and both men are trapped, taunted by the Jigsaw Killer with a series of clues. Jigsaw is a killer who likes to test his victims tenacity – their very will to survive – in a series of “games”.

It’s very difficult to explain the plot of Saw without giving too much away. Suffice to say that the back story is revealed through glimpses, as slowly the narrative falls into place – like a jigsaw – and the mysteries of circumstances and survival are resolved.

Usually I like my horror supernatural, but I’m not adverse to a good old psycho killer story. Saw is an ingenious film, with twists and turns coming from everywhere, as the viewer pieces everything together. It’s gruesome, it’s harrowing, but over all Saw is absolutely enthralling. If you’ve not seen it, make sure you see Saw.

Everyone does the ‘see saw’ gag, right?

Note: I met Cary Elwes once, and he was one of the nicest, most down to earth people you could meet. A genuine gentleman.

8.5/10

Son of Dracula (1943)

Although the 1930s are often considered the golden days of Universal horror, the studio was still delivering classics in the 40s, as far as I’m concerned. Only the third in Universal’s Dracula series, there’s no Bela Lugosi here, but it’s a well plotted and inventive film.

The vampire of the title is played here by Lon Chaney Jr. He plays Count Alucard, an Eastern European nobleman visiting the United States as a guest of Katherine Caldwell (Louise Allbritton). Katherine, a keen student of the occult, is engaged to Frank Stanley (Robert Paige), though obviously captivated by the Count.

Following the unexpected death of their father, Katherine and her sister Claire (Evelyn Ankers) are his benefactors. Katherine opts to take just their mansion “Dark Oaks”, after which she marries Alucard and rejects Frank. The local doctor, aiding Frank, has become suspicious. Eventually they conclude that Alucard is a vampire, and decide to deal with the situation appropriately…

Chaney’s casting isn’t quite right for this role, but he makes a fair attempt. What makes Son of Dracula an intriguing watch cunning plot twists, and how cleverly the story creates a new spin on an old tale, evading the obvious. I really enjoyed this film and happily recommend it.

8.5/10

Return of the Living Halloween Horror Fest

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Two horror reviews for you this time, friends! Read on, if you dare…

The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)

The second instalment in a series of Frankenstein films produced by Hammer, The Revenge of Frankenstein followed hot on the heels of its predecessor. The Curse of Frankenstein had been released the previous year, and was such a hit that a sequel was demanded. Despite, of course, the fact that the evil Baron had been executed at the finale last time.

No matter, Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing, of course) is saved from death with a fairly sneaky twist, and is soon practicing medicine in a far off town. Going by the name of Doctor Stein (no one’s gonna figure that out, right?), the doc sets up a successful practice for wealthy patients, whilst also looking after the poor at a hospital.

Joined by a younger doctor, Hans Kleve (Francis Matthews) – who learns Dr Stein’s true identity and wants to learn from him – Frankenstein is soon up to his old tricks. This time around, his creation (Michael Gwynn) at least looks normal, if only at first. It isn’t long before the inevitable happens and everything goes downhill, big time.

The production looks quality and performances are great, in particular Cushing who brilliantly darts between menace and a steely charm. Some gory surgery provides the bloody horror required and The Revenge of Frankenstein admirably fulfils its role as gruesome entertainment. We just know that another sequel will be along soon!

8/10

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

So this is the film that establishes the concept of zombies eating brains, yeah? OK. One thing is for sure, this comedy-horror is not a sequel to Romero’s brilliant Night of the Living Dead. The Return of The living Dead is a very different beast, though still in a cult league of its own as a horror punk classic.

At a medical supply warehouse, two employees accidentally release a load of toxic gas which reanimates a cadaver and causes all kinds of health and safety high jinks. The morgue over the road has a crematorium, which seems ideal for permanently destroying the undead evidence. Until the escaping gas contaminates the clouds above, and rainfall on the nearby cemetery causes the dead to rise…

Oh, did I mention the gang of punks in the cemetery, waiting for their friend to finish work at the medical supply place? No? Well they are, and you can guess the rest.

This mid eighties movie is not something I’d usually watch. In fact, the main reason I wanted to watch this film is because of the legendary soundtrack, which features a load of awesome horror related punk bands like The Cramps, The Damned and TSOL. A vinyl copy has been on my shopping list for a long time, but I wanted to see the film first so I didn’t feel like too much of a fraud.

The film is pretty good fun, though. It’s fairly dumb and only occasionally does the black humour raise a smile, but The Return of the Living Dead was certainly worth a watch. It’s over the top – unapologetically so – but that’s part of it’s success. Disengage brain and go for it. The soundtrack is bloody great, by the way. I’ve got it on clear with red blood splattered vinyl. AT LAST!!!

7.5/10

Halloween Horror Fest Express

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Horror Express (1972)

All aboard! Take your seats please, ladies and gentlemen, for a ride of the Horror Express! This early seventies sci-fi horror features a familiar plot and a fine cast, so jump onboard and have your tickets ready…

It’s 1906, and British anthropologist/explorer Professor Saxton (Christopher Lee) is making his way back to Europe via the Trans Siberian Express from Shanghai to Moscow. Saxton has discovered the remains of an ancient missing link, frozen in the snow. A rival, Dr Wells (Peter Cushing) is also on the journey – and he’s curious just what Saxton has locked up in a huge wooden crate.

The humanoid begins to defrost and returns to life, escapes, and starts a murderous campaign aboard the train. The creature is a host for an extra-terrestrial intelligence, frozen for millions of years, but now keen to return to the stars. To accomplish this, the creature kills and absorbs the knowledge of it’s victims, taking on their appearance as well.

Wells, Saxton and other passengers deduce the nature of the creature’s plans, but can they destroy something that can assume the identity of its victims?

Horror Express is based on the novella Who Goes There? by John W Campbell, as was The Thing from Another World and of course, John Carpenter’s The Thing. Though not a patch on the later Carpenter film, Horror Express is a fascinating variation on the story, and manages to raise the tension capably. Telly Savalas is seen only fleetingly as a brutal Cossack, sadly, but the two leads are as dependable as ever.

A great film in it’s own right, and recommended for any fan who can’t get enough of Carpenter’s masterpiece.

8/10

Twins of Halloween Horror Fest

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Twins of Evil (1971)

You can’t go wrong with some good old fashioned Hammer Horror! Here we have Twins of Evil, the third and final part of Hammer’s Karnstein Trilogy, based on Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. We’ve already viewed the preceding movies – The Vampire Lovers and Lust For A Vampire – during previous Halloween Horror Fests, so let’s finish off the series.

Mary and Madeleine Collinson play two identical twin sisters, who are sent to live with their uncle and aunt after they become orphaned. Uncle Gustav – played with menace by the one and only Peter Cushing – is a puritanical zealot, keen on burning local young women at the stake. Gusatv’s stern attitude alienates both sisters, but Frieda in particular is keen to break away. She falls in with local wicked aristocrat Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas), who has become a vampire through his dabbling in black magic.

Soon Frieda follows the Count’s descent into vampirism. Will the witch hunting Brotherhood be able to destroy this evil? Will anyone be able to tell good sister from bad?

Regular readers will know I’m a huge Hammer fan. Whilst Twins of Evil is, for me, the weakest of the Karnstein Trilogy, it’s still great. The witch hunting angle lends a new and particularly horrific edge here (sad to see Judy Matheson exit so quickly) and Cushing is formidable in this role. Vampires, sorcery and some cheeky decolletage tick all the necessary boxes, and despite a rushed (but gruesome) ending, this is another Hammer triumph.

8/10

Halloween Horror Fest: Blood and Honey

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Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

Yes, I couldn’t resist! Lured in by the novelty value of a Winnie the Pooh themed horror movie, I decided to give this bizarre mutation a viewing. The rights for Pooh Bear and his friends form the Hundred Acre Wood entered into the public domain in the USA recently, and these enterprising (or “deranged”) film-making fiends decided to revamp things a bit. Quite a bit, actually.

Having been abandoned by Christopher Robin when he grows up and leaves the wood, the remaining cuddly chums degenerate into psychopathic killers. The now adult Christopher Robin, with his fiancée, returns to the site of his youthful adventures and soon comes a cropper when he encounters the now feral Pooh and Piglet.

Things get worse when a group of female students, whilst renting a holiday cabin in the woods, also meet the murderous Pooh and Piglet – and the inevitable carnage ensues.

And that’s all you need to know, if you needed to know anything at all. One by one the characters are slaughtered as per the expected slasher movie routine – with plenty of gore, screaming and running about. To be fair, there are a few plot twists and some novel killing methods, and the lighting and colours look great on screen.

But the obvious fact that Pooh and Piglet are just blokes in masks makes the film look like a cheap Texas Chainsaw Massacre knock off. Despite an original and crazy concept, we’ve seen it all before. One to watch purely for the novelty value, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey comes to a sticky end.

5/10

The Ghost of Halloween Horror Fest

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A crack of lightning; the roll of thunder; rain lashing at the window. Night has fallen, and the cold air nags at your bones with a morbid persistence. The wind moans, but cannot hide the strange calls off in the mountains. The children of the night, what music they make… Come closer, friend. It is time once again for Halloween Horror Fest…

That’s right, kids – Halloween Horror Fest! Throughout the month of October, I watch as many films that are appropriately fearsome, frightening, or just pure fun! Here at the Virtual Hot Tub is where you can catch up on my mini reviews of each movie, and enjoy spooky season and all it’s macabre delights!

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

We’ll start this year with a gem from good old Universal. You really can’t beat these old black & white movies for sheer atmosphere and nostalgia. I’ve never seen The Ghost of Frankenstein before, so was keen to tick it off my list.

Following on from the previous film in the series, Son of Frankenstein (1939), we again meet Ygor (Bela Lugosi), who discovers and rescues his old friend The Monster. This time, Frankenstein’s creation is played by Lon Chaney Jr, rather than Karloff. The pair travel to a new town to locate the younger son of Frankenstein, Ludwig (Cedric Hardwicke), where Ygor blackmails the doctor into revitalising the creature. A plan is set in motion to replace the monster’s criminal brain with a “good” brain, but some have their own ambitions motivating them…

Plot wise, I could tell exactly where this movie was headed from the off – there are no real surprises. And the lack of Karloff as the monster made me somewhat wary. But Chaney Jr has a good crack at it, and the rest of the cast (including Lionel Atwill) keep proceedings on track. Moody sets, great soundtrack and an enjoyable (though somewhat obvious) storyline helped make this film another triumph for Universal.

8/10

The Fall of the House of Halloween Horror Fest

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Brides of Dracula (1960)

Our first Hammer Films production for Halloween Horror Fest 2023, and it’s a vampire classic. In this sequel to Hammer’s very successful Dracula, the titular Count doesn’t actually appear this time round – rather we’re thrust into the thick of vampire cults that still exist after Drac’s demise.

A young teacher, Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur) is on her way to her new position in a Transylvanian school when she finds herself abandoned in a small village. A local noble woman, Baroness Meinster, offers a place to stay for the night at her castle. There, Marianne meets the son of the Baroness, who is chained up as a prisoner. Marianne agrees to free the Baron, who is of course actually a vampire and takes his revenge on his mother.

Marianne flees, her memory hazy, and is helped by Doctor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) when he finds her at the side of road. Van Helsing has been called to the area to investigate an outbreak of vampirism. Soon he, and Marianne, will encounter the Baron and his undead minions again…

Brides of Dracula is a fun escapade with plenty of chills and atmosphere, even with a substitute head vampire replacing Christopher Lee. The story is original but plays on all the standard folklore you’d expect, with Cushing fantastic in his role as the vampire slayer. It’s a nice effort from Hammer, to try and do something slighlty different with a sequel, and Peter Cushing keeps it all together brilliantly.

9/10

House of Usher (1960)

Purely by chance, another film from the same year. This version of the Edgar Allen Poe story, The Fall of the House of Usher, was the first in a series helmed by famed Director Roger Corman, most of which starred the legendary Vincent Price.

Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) travels top meet his fiancée Madeline Usher (Myrna Fahey) at her home. The House of Usher is a gloomy, decrepit mansion and upon arrival, Madeline’s brother, Roderick (Price) initially refuses Winthrop and attempts to warn him away. The family Usher is cursed, he claims, and the line cannot be allowed to continue. Winthrop must help Madeline escape, he thinks – but is he too late?

It’s a long time since I read Poe’s original story, so I’ll let others decide how accurate an adaptation this is! Rather than worrying about that, simply revel in the wonderful sets and imagery, and allow Vincent Price to shine in this brilliant movie. House of Usher is a fantastically macabre Gothic tale with Corman and Price at their best.

8.5/10

The Halloween Horror Fest Commands

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It’s time for some more mini horror movie reviews, as the spooky month of October demands. Settle down, kids!

Scream 2 (1997)

We’ve covered the first Scream film a while back (2016, hot tub fans!) and eventually I’ve got round to watching the sequel. Unlike Scream, which I had seen before my Halloween Horror Fest review, I’d never bothered to watch Scream 2 till now.

Slasher movies ain’t really my bag, as I know I’ve mentioned before. Nor are “modern” films (OK, this is 25 years old, whatevs) or films about teenage Americans. Never the less, I’d enjoyed Scream and the second instalment has been on my watch list for a while.

Here the survivor from the first movie, Sidney (Neve Campbell) is now attending college when a spate of copy cat killings, inspired by the deeds of Ghostface in the previous film, start to occur. There follows a series of nasty murders and numerous twists and turns as the killer stalks and slays various characters. All the time, the audience is trying to guess the identity of the new Ghostface.

There’s nothing supernatural here, but there are plenty of jumps and surprises. Like the first film, this sequel attempts to play with the audiences expectations with numerous well observed references to other movies. Also like the first film, I found Scream 2 far more entertaining than I expected.

7.5/10

Renfield (2023)

Bang up to date now, with this 2023 movie starring Nicholas Hoult as the titular character, the familiar of Dracula. Yes, THE Dracula, played here with demonic glee by the one and only Nicholas Cage.

Here the trusted and sort-of immortal Renfield, the Count’s trusted servant, becomes dissatisfied with his lot – what with all the seeking victims and removing the gory evidence his life entails. Renfield joins a counselling group for people in abusive relationships, initially to stalk the abusers for Dracula’s prey. Eventually, the familiar decides to remove himself from his toxic existence, but not without resistance from his former master.

I was looking forward to seeing this movie, but sadly missed it in the cinema. The short time it ran in cinemas should have given me a clue as to whether it was any good…

What could have been a fresh look at the horror of the Dracula legend instead morphs into an action comedy, with guns and explosions and over the top fight scenes. It’s still an entertaining movie, but not what I hoped for at all. I hate dumb action movies and Renfield steers far too close to those waters.

Having said that, Cage is brilliant as the Lord of the Undead and I’d love to see more of him in this role.

Watchable but throwaway, which is a shame. Next.

6/10