Tag Archives: Spooky film

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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Vault of Halloween Horror Fest

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Welcome back, horror fiends! Let’s take a look at a couple more spooky movies for Halloween Horror Fest…

Vault of Horror (1973)

For our first film tonight, we’ll venture into the Vault of Horror, a portmanteau film from Amicus. Like its predecessor Tales from the Crypt, the five short stories that compose Vault of Horror are inspired by the classic, notorious EC Comics of the same title.

In this movie, we journey to a vampire café, witness an obsessively neat bully get his comeuppance, and see a nasty stage magician mess with forces he should’ve left well alone. Then there’s the tale of an insurance scam gone wrong with the protagonist buried alive, and an impoverished artist resorting to voodoo to enact his revenge.

The stories vary in their effectiveness, but all have a charm and entertainment value. My favourite segment is probably the first, the bistro of the undead – but the last two have the more chilling narrative. Great performances from a cast including Terry-Thomas, Glynis Johns and Tom Baker keep everything on track.

Obviously I’m a huge fan of both the old EC Comics and Amicus films in general, so I enjoyed every second of Vault of Horror. It may be dated, but class like this never goes out of style.

8/10

Rec (2007)

Rec is a Spanish horror movie in the found footage genre. It follows a TV reporter and her cameraman filming a local crew of firefighters, who end up trapped in a residential block. They’re effectively quarantined inside the building with several residents, while an outbreak of some unknown disease starts to spread and the infected attack and kill survivors.

As the situation intensifies, Rec does a fine job of keeping the viewer on the edge, ramping up the scares as we go. The found footage approach works excellently to give a sense of realism and immerses the viewer in the confined surroundings.

Rec was remade in the US (as they do) as Quarantine, though I’ve never seen it. Don’t let the subtitles in this version put you off – if anything, it’s another effective way to make the viewer feel isolated. Like Blair Witch does 28 Days Later, Rec is a harrowing, unnerving film. Rec-ommended! Hahaha!

8/10

Halloween Horror Fest 2026

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Glowing strings of moonlight break softly through the canopy of trees above. The forest is otherwise almost completely dark. The call of an owl rings out through the night as you tread carefully in the shadows, eyes working hard to glimpse something, anything, that seems familiar. You try not to stumble, shuffling slowly to avoid perils littering the forest floor.

And then, from behind you, you hear something. A low, menacing growl…

Don’t worry kids, it’s just another Halloween Horror Fest at Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot tub! You know we dig the spooky movies round here, and every October we dial that appreciation right up with out our own festival of frightful films.

So let’s dive right in with our first film of the year…

Sinners (2025)

Our first film of 2026 is right up to date, with this highly regarded modern take on the vampire legend. Set in the Southern USA in 1932, the film focuses on two twin brothers, ex-gangsters who have retuned to their hometown to set up their own juke joint in the midst of the local black community.

Smoke and Stack (both played brilliantly by Michael B Jordan) gather their friends and family members around them as they work to create their dream. Recruiting staff and noted blues musicians, the venue appears to be on its way to a glorious first night. But they – and the bar patrons – are unaware of a supernatural evil that threatens everything.

Much has been made of the success of Sinners, and it’s not hard to see why. It won four Oscars at the Academy Awards including a well deserved Best Actor for Jordan – it took me a while to realise that the same actor was playing a dual role. And of course it’s highly unusual for a horror film to be recognised in this way, at all.

Sinners is a fantastic movie, that starts slowly and recreates an authentic time and place, before it races off in a very different direction. It is indeed a scary film, but not at the cost of character and world building. Beyond the visceral horror element, other themes of race and culture are explored by writer/director Ryan Coogler, providing the viewer with a pretty unique combination of thrills and food for thought. Oh, and the music – by Ludwig Goransson – is great.

Vampire films never die, they just keep coming back – and Sinners is a modern classic of the genre.

9/10

Comic Con Midlands 2026

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Comic Con Midlands

Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July 2026

NEC, Birmingham

Much time has passed since I last attended a Comic Con at Birmingham NEC. However my good buddy, Adam, and I decided to venture back to the cavernous halls of this huge venue, to visit Comic Con Midlands, organised by the Monopoly group. These same guys run the huge Liverpool convention that I’ve been to several times recently.

The reason for our trip was because Adam had convinced me to go halves with him on a photo with a celebrity. This is not usually my kinda thing. I’ve queued up for signed autographs from actors etc in the past, and often (though not always) been very underwhelmed by the experience. For a big cash outlay I’ve been left with a colour pic and heaps of embarrassment. It would take something major to drag me out of my celeb-meeting retirement.

Something big would be the cast of cult 90’s comedy Mallrats, including Jason Lee, Renee Humphrey and Ethan Suplee. The cultured amongst you will know that Lee and Suplee also starred in legendary comedy series My Name is Earl, of which I am also a huge fan. Of course, the really hip cats out there will also know that Jason Lee is also an ex-professional skateboarder – one of the greatest to ever do it and a living legend.

So it didn’t take too much persuasion to sign me up for the My Name is Earl duo photo with Jason and Ethan.

Doors opened at 9am, and we were there bang on time. That meant a very early start for me on a Saturday morning, which is NOT a good thing. Waking up at 6.30am at the weekend? That’s pure criminality. Never mind, there would be plenty to keep us occupied till our photo op at 3.15pm.

Well, you would assume so. Usually these events (and certainly based on previous experience at the NEC) have hours worth of merch stalls to wander round. Merch stalls there were, but not enough – we’d completed a circuit by 10.30am. What??! Absolutely crazy. I mean, OK – I picked up a few comic books for my collection. Action figures were a scarcity, however (this would’ve been unbelievable in the past) – so it was relatively slim pickings on the merch front.

With hours to kill, we did some more circuits of the merch and explored outside the events hall to find refreshment. It was like a ghost town out there – even the Wetherspoons was shut.

Eventually it was time for the Mallrats Q&A session, featuring all three of the guests. The panel was very entertaining and informative, each of the cast members came across very well. They all seemed relaxed, happy to be there and divulged some interesting and funny stories. I later decided to quickly say hello to Jason Lee at his signing station. We had a really quick chat about skateboarding and I got a fist bump from the master. A very cool and memorable experience.

Later (much later) it was time for the photo op. Adam and I waited in line on our best behaviour, and soon enough were ushered in to have our photos taken with Lee and Suplee. Both stars were friendly, greeting us warmly with handshakes. The assistants barked orders at us and the photo was taken, then milliseconds later the same assistants barked at us to get out.

I was left feeling embarrassed and as if I’d been rude to two of my heroes. But the assistants were just doing their job, Jason and Ethan were lovely and I got a cool photo of us all together.

After that, it was time for the journey home. It had been a successful day – my experience of the Mallrats/My Name is Earl stars was very positive and I got a bunch of Marvel comic books. In future though, a later start wouldn’t hurt. I learned to my cost that no one needs to be in Birmingham at 9am.

Halloween Horror Fest of Frankenstein

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Groovy title, eh?  I know “Son of Halloween Horror Fest” would’ve made more sense, but I’ve used that title already.  I could’ve gone with “Son of Halloween Horror Fest 2025”, but that’s boring.  So we are where we are.  Here are the reviews…

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Classic Universal horror, and what a cast!  Following on from Bride of Frankenstein, in this story the studio attempt to spin the franchise out with another sequel.

Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone), son of the legendary baron and obsessed scientist, returns with his family to their ancestral home after years in exile.  The locals give them a somewhat frosty reception, as the memory of the carnage wrought by the elder Frankenstein’s creature (Boris Karloff) still haunts them.

Wolf is concerned with saving the family reputation, but when he stumbles across Ygor (Bela Lugosi), a revenge crazed outcast, things can only go downhill.  Old Ygor knows where the creature is, and despite clashing objectives, he and Wolf will attempt to revive the creature again…

Although the narrative is becoming very obvious by this point in the series, this sequel is watchable for many reasons.  It looks fantastic in black and white, the shadowy sets full of secrets and menace.  And the cast are superb, though Karloff’s creature is outshone by Lugosi in a very memorable roll.

Not a patch on it’s predecessor, Son of Frankenstein is still a thoroughly enjoyable old school horror yarn.

8.5/10

Casper (1995)

More family friendly fun now, but this film really is a stinker.  Based on the old comic strip about a friendly ghost and his three horrible uncles, it starts off as well intentioned before going off the tracks.

An obnoxious, rich brat has been left a rundown, haunted mansion in her father’s will.  It’s the haunted mansion occupied by Casper and chums, obvs.  A “paranormal therapist” played by Bill Pullman is eventually tasked with sorting out the spooks, so that the vile new owner can claim some lost treasure that’s apparently hidden away there.

Bill brings along his daughter Kat, played by Christina Ricci.  Both of them have unaddressed issues following the death of Kat’s mother.  Casper has a crush on Kat (of course) and hilarity ensues (not) as they try to tame the spooks, and other stuff.

The CGI animated Casper looks really cute, and there are some amusing moments occasionally (Eric Idle, in a supporting role, is great).  But the tone is ruined by some truly ghastly additions like a machine that brings spirits back to life, and a completely unnecessary back story for Casper.

The attitude to death in this film is just plain weird, and distasteful.  Don’t worry kids, people die and become ghosts, then become people again!  This mash up of cutesy characters and flippant attitude is both odd and disrespectful.

3/10

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

Liverpool Comic Con May 2025 – Part 1

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Liverpool Comic Con

Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May 2025

Exhibition Centre, King’s Docks, Liverpool

Now, I need to start this blog post with an apology. The last time I went to Liverpool Comic Con in November 2024, I took my trusty Canon camera and took loads of photos of Cosplayers and props etc. But, when I got home, the memory card died on me. Meaning that all of those photos were lost forever before I could back them up. So no November 2024 blog or photos.

This time around, I just used my brand spanking new Samsung phone for the photos, and they turned out pretty good. I’m going to keep the words to the minimum this time around though, and let the pictures fo the talking.

I will mention that there were some big guests again at this event. Star Wars was well represented by Hayden Christensen and the very lovely Rosario Dawson. I may well have a huge crush on Rosario Dawson, but decided not to meet her as autographs cost an absolute fortune. And she would’ve immediately fallen for me and wanted to elope, which would be kind of unfair on our families. So it was for the best.

But yeah, lots of interesting guests including a load of Starship Troopers people (Denise Richards!), Michael Ironside, Dirk Benedict and so on.

As these photos hopefully show, there was a respectable number of amazing Cosplayers frequenting the event. Daugthertron went dressed a Monster High character this time, but again I’m forbidden from sharing the pics. Well done to all the other costumed visitors, you were fantastic. Thanks for letting me take your photo.

Other than that, there were some great props and famous vehicles, plus dozens of stalls selling all manner of wonders. But we’ll cover those in Part 2 – stay tuned!

What an excellent way to spend Star Wars Day. May the Force Be With You!

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