Tag Archives: late night movies

Halloween Horror Fest, Vampire

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Pull up a chair, settle down, here’s the next batch of scary movie reviews…

Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)

Now this is more like it! Late 60s/early 70s vampire film on a budget, Count Yorga, Vampire is something of a cult classic. Just the sort of nonsense I love! Set in California, we meet Bulgarian aristocrat Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) as he conducts a seance for a bunch of groovy kids.

Afterward, a couple of the groovy kids, Erica and Paul, give the Count a lift home to his foreboding estate. On the way back, their van gets stuck in the mud, and they’re attacked by the Count in full vampire mode. The next day, they remember nothing, though Erica has lost blood and is examined by a doctor friend.

Erica succumbs to vampirism, and is whisked away by Count Yorga. The race is then on to rescue her and destroy the Count and his minions.

It’s a simple film, but effectively breathes new life into the old vampire legend. Quarry is enigmatic and powerful as Yorga, looking part Terence Stamp and part Christopher Lee. Count Yorga, Vampire is low budget, dated, and rambles on a bit, but it’s perfect for anyone who wants to explore the kitsch and uncanny.

8/10

Child’s Play (1988)

On the other hand, whilst retro cheapo vampire movies are always to my taste, Child’s Play was never something that appealed to me. I’ve never really had much interest in the more modern American horror/slasher movie. However, I’m often proved wrong in this regard, and Child’s Play proved me wrong again.

Serial killer Charles Lee Ray is reincarnated by Voodoo spells as Chucky, an innocent looking Good Guy doll. Young Andy is desperate for one of these dolls for his birthday, and his mother manages to scrape together some cash to buy a dodgy one. This of course is Chucky, and he’s out for revenge on his former partner and anyone else who gets in his way.

Murder ensues, and of course none of the adults believe Andy when he claims Chucky is to blame. Yet slowly, his mother (Catherine Hicks) begins to suspect the truth. The lead detective on the case (Chris Sarandon) eventually comes to realise what’s going on, too. They need to keep Andy out of harms way and stop Chucky from becoming human again…

After all this time, I finally watched Child’s Play a few years ago, and wouldn’t you just know it – old Chucky grew on me. It’s actually quite a fun, engaging supernatural horror with lots going on, and some neat observations on the furor caused by toys like Cabbage Patch Dolls. Forget your incredulity and enjoy!

8.5/10

The Evil of Halloween Horror Fest

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It’s time for more mini horror film reviews, as we celebrate spooky month! What have we got tonight?

The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

What we have here is the first Hammer Horror for this years Festival of Fear! This is the third film in the Hammer series, again starring the legendary Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein.

This time around, the Baron and his assistant Hans (Sandor Eles) are on the run following some dastardly grave robbing antics, so they decide to go back to his hometown of Karlstaad, despite being banished. There they hope to use valuables from the old Frankenstein castle to fund more research. Instead, the Baron finds that his old home has been looted – by, it turns out – the local authorities.

On the run again, they’re aided by a local deaf-mute girl, and hide in the mountains. The Baron discovers his old creature, frozen in ice. After rescuing the creature, they’re unable to bring it back to life fully, so decide to seek the help of a carnival hypnotist, Zoltan (Peter Woodthorpe). Zoltan is successful, but jeopardises everything by using the creature to enact his own cruel revenge…

It’s a funny old hodgepodge of a film, this one. The first Hammer movie, Curse of Frankenstein, is recapped but reimagined – it’s re-done and is very different this time round. The whole thing feels like different elements thrown together to see if they stick. Although the creature, this time played by Kiwi Kingston not Christopher Lee, looks more like the classic Karloff version, the makeup looks strange and false. The excellent sets and another great performance from Cushing help save The Evil of Frankenstein from failure.

7/10

Twilight (2008)

Hey, it was my teenage daughter’s choice – so what?! We take turns to pick something to watch, and Daughtertron is very into this Twilight stuff at the moment. So fair’s fair, we gave it a go.

Twilight is about a young woman named Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), who relocates from Arizona to the very different state of Washington, to live with her father. She attends the local school, makes some friends but gradually becomes intrigued by another classmate, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).

After a frosty start, the two are slowly pulled together, and Bella discovers that Edward and his “family” are vampires. All is going well in a teen love story fashion, till a separate, wandering group of vampires happen upon the Cullen clan – and Bella – and there’s a big fall out during a baseball game.

Despite some bizarre ideas such as sparkling vampires and vampires playing baseball, the film wasn’t too bad. Twenty minutes too long and far too soppy, Twilight was still fairly watchable, even though I’m not the target audience. I’ve seen worse. I mean, it was better than Harry bloody Potter.

5/10

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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

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

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

Dr Terror’s House of Halloween Horror Fest

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Good evening, fiends! Welcome yet again to my abode, come inside and warm your bones by the fire. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable. Forget the howling wind and lashing rain outside. My faithful servant, Ygor, will bring you refreshment. And when you are ready, I’ll begin my tale…

Halloween Horror Fest 2023 is upon us – which means watching lots of spooky movies and sharing my mini reviews with you, lucky reader. As always, I intend to view a variety of films that are in the Halloween tradition. Whether old or new, frightful or fun – let’s indulge in a season of entertainment that’s truly fantastic!

Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965)

A British horror classic, this film was made by Amicus Productions – not Hammer, as many would assume – though this rival picture features some familiar faces in it’s starry cast. Amicus are well remembered for their anthology movies, featuring several short stories within a framing narrative, a device that’s well utilised here.

Five strangers on a train journey meet Dr Schreck (Peter Cushing) – his name being German for “terror” – and his deck of tarot cards (his “House of Horrors”). Each passenger in turn has their future told by Schreck’s cards. There are tales of werewolves, vampires, voodoo and malevolent plants, as the passengers fates are revealed.

Some tales work better than others. The voodoo based segment, starring none other than Roy “Record Breakers” Castle and Kenny Lynch, is simple but effective with garish lighting and exotic jazz. You can’t go wrong with the legendary Christopher Lee, in his art critic/revenge from beyond the grave story, nor a young Donald Sutherland as a New England doctor with a vampire bride – even though the stories can seem too short, due to the portmanteau style.

I was less intrigued by the tale featuring Alan Freeman (yes, “Fluff” Freeman!) and his dangerously intelligent plant, so I guess even my ability to suspend disbelief can be pushed too far.

Despite the rushed nature of the stories, I consider Dr Terror’s House of Horrors a must see. The film looks great, boasts a formidable cast, and goes all out to entertain – even if it’s sometimes a bit creaky and dated. Worth watching for Cushing and Lee alone, there’s actually a lot more to enjoy in this Amicus thriller.

9/10

The Devil Commands (1941)

We’re going further back for our next spooky movie, where we’ll meet another horror legend, the one and only Boris Karloff! In this B&W B-movie, dear old Boris is less mad scientist, more frustrated professor led astray by the machinations of others.

Dr Blair (Karloff) is researching brain waves, when following the shock death of his beloved wife, he decides to use his research to speak to the dead. Under the conniving influence of a fraudulent medium, the doctor’s research becomes more dangerous and deadly…

I prefer my horror supernatural rather than sciencefictiony, but this is a neat, stylish little film. Despite a simple, perhaps obvious plot, the performance of the wonderful Karloff the Uncanny entices the viewer to keep watching, The Devil Commands is a great watch for those, like me. who like a bit of old school scary.

7/10

House of Halloween Horror Fest 2022

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It’s now November, and while Halloween is a distant memory for some, here it still lingers. Halloween Horror Fest was a blast, but it’s not quite dead and buried yet. There are a couple of spooky movies still to review for you lucky people. Gather round, ghouls – it’s time for…

House of Frankenstein (1944)

You just can’t beat the old Universal monster movies – I love ’em! Ideal easy viewing for Halloween – or any time, really!

In this picture, legendary horror master Boris Karloff plays Dr Niemann, a Mad Scientist if ever there was one, who escapes from prison with his hunchback accomplice. Together, they join a travelling horror side show curated by Professor Lampini, before eventually knocking him off. The remains of Count Dracula (John Carradine) are part of the show, and Niemann revives the vampire to help him wreak revenge on those responsible for his incarceration.

Revenge complete, the nefarious doctor abandons Dracula and makes his way to locate the records of Frankenstein. There, Niemann stumbles across both the Frankenstein Monster (Glenn Strange) and the Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr), frozen in ice from their previous encounter in Frankenstein meets the Wolfman. With the Wolfman revived and his human counterpart, Larry Talbot, eager to receive aid from Dr Niemann, a rivalry between Talbot and the hunchback for the affection of a gypsy girl threatens to thwart all their plans.

It wouldn’t be Halloween without the monochrome delights of Universal monster movies, and this one is great fun. The only way to improve a monster movie is to cram in as many more monsters as possible, and House of Frankenstein does exactly that. Karloff and Chaney are wonderful, and though Carradine is no Lugosi, he has a charm of his own. It’s just a shame Drac isn’t utilised more fully here. That’s really my only complaint, other than the short running time.

The shared universe of the Marvel superheroes is a huge accomplishment nowadays; though it could be argued that Universal did it first: combining a bunch of their main horror characters into one movie. House of Frankenstein was certainly entertaining, a film I’ll revisit many times.

9/10

1408 (2007)

Based on a Stephen King short story I’ve never read, 1408 stars John Cusack as Mike Enslin, a professional paranormal investigator and writer. Enslin is somewhat jaded and definitely sceptical concerning his investigations of allegedly haunted houses.

When Enslin decides to investigate the infamous Room 1408 in a New York City hotel, he expects the usual non event – despite the manager (Samuel L Jackson) attempting to dissuade him from entering the room altogether. No one, the writer is warned, lasts longer than an hour in Room 1408.

Enslin enters the room, and slowly things start to happen. From witnessing ghosts of the room’s previous occupants to facing his own guilt and loss, Mike is increasingly trapped and tormented inside the hotel room.

It’s largely a one man show for Cusack, who does a solid job in his role as cynical writer turned haunted prisoner. The film has plenty of creepy, jumpy moments and unexpected twists. I’ve said enough, I don’t want to give anymore away – but I will say I was more impressed by 1408 than I expected to be.

7/10

There we go folks, Halloween Horror Fest is all over for another year. See you next time. Unpleasant dreams!

Scars of Halloween Horror Fest

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Scars of Dracula (1970)

At last, some Hammer! My favourite horror film studio, Hammer Films are at their best telling a gothic tale, which is exactly what we get with Scars of Dracula. Some may find them dated, old fashioned, campy – I love these movies and the wonderful fantasy atmospheres they create.

In Scars of Dracula, we meet Paul (Christopher Matthews). Paul is a bit of a lad – he ends up bailing out of a young ladies boudoir and through a series of misadventures, finds his way to Dracula’s castle. The Count (Christopher Lee, of course) has been resurrected yet again, and together with his faithful assistant Klove (Patrick Trouighton) and vampire bride (Anouska Hempel), Paul’s over night stay becomes permanent.

But have no fear, Pauls brother Simon (the legendary Dennis Waterman) and his fiancée Sarah (lovely Jenny Hanley) decide to find Paul. It’s not long before they encounter the same spooky castle, with it’s creepy servant and menacing Count…

This chapter of Hammer’s Dracula series feels a little disjointed from the previous movies. It was obviously intended as a reboot, though despite some nods to the original source material it feels like a re-tread of all the old clichés. That said, the performances are good (Lee actually gets some dialogue here) and there’s plenty of Hammer atmosphere.

I haven’t watched Scars of Dracula for quite a few years, but I enjoyed more than I thought. There’s more to enjoy than I remembered.

8.5/10

The Werewolf (1956)

A great 50’s creature feature, The Werewolf follows the story of an American community threatened by a savage beast. We meet a lone man with no memory, who transforms into a monster when he’s attacked. The local law enforcement lock down the town and hunt for the creature, whilst those responsible – two scientists who are conducting wild experiments – want to erase the evidence.

This old B&W movie was lots of fun and despite a low budget, it’s well made. My only criticism is that the werewolf in question is a scientific creation, rather than supernatural – but that plays into the script well enough. The Werewolf was surprisingly good and an ideal Halloween watch for a lazy afternoon!

7.5/10