13 Ghosts (1960)

A family inherits what proves to be a haunted house, but a special pair of goggles allows them to see their ghostly tormentors.

13 Ghosts is a 1960 American horror film written by Robb White and directed by William Castle. The film stars 11-year-old child actor Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Rosemary DeCamp, Martin Milner, Donald Woods, and co-features experienced character actress Margaret Hamilton. Throughout the film, Buck (Herbert) refers to Elaine (Hamilton) as a witch. Though this is never confirmed, the film hints at the possibility. These inside references were an acknowledgement of Hamilton's best known role as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Gimmick-loving producer William Castle strikes again with this fun haunted-house thriller which invited audiences to find the hidden ghosts roaming about a haunted house through a special process called "Illusion-O" by which patrons could employ a special pair of red-and-blue-colored glasses to detect ghosts on the screen during the film's color-tinted sequences. The story is set in the mansion of the deceased occult scientist Dr. Zorba, whose nephew Cyrus and his family occupy the creepy estate and discover that they are not the only tenants. It seems the Doctor has been harboring 12 elusive specters on the premises, the appearance of which can only be detected through his final invention: a special pair of ghost-viewing goggles. To further complicate matters, it is learned that Zorba has stashed a small fortune somewhere in the house, and someone -- or something -- is determined to stop Cyrus and family from finding it. This film's original release featured an introduction from Castle, describing the "Illusion-O" process and demonstrating the proper use of the tinted glasses; he also appears in an epilogue stating that the glasses can be used to detect ghosts outside the theater!

Buck will get you safe,  He's good at keeping secrets too. 

Don't confuse this movie with the awful remake. As a kid this was one of my favorite movies.  This is a great movie for kids (and adults) who love ghosts and spooky stuff, but are not at all ready (or desirous) of watching a movie full of gore, putrescent language or non-stop violence. It's just a fun mother fucking movie.  13 Ghosts has stood the test of time well, as have most of Castle's films. While much is made of the gimmick of seeing the ghosts with 3d glasses, the movie itself is well made and not just a vehicle to carry the gimmick.

All of the actors do a fine job. There are no Oscar winners here, but you have a Ward and June Cleaver set of doting parents, a pretty teenage daughter and the main star is a young boy who gets all the "good lines". There's even a cameo by the Wicked Witch of the West playing....a witch? 

13 Times the Thrills! 13 Times the Chills! 13 Times the Fun!

It's mostly a gimmicky film, but that doesn't mean it isn't a fun one either, which it is. This one is mostly there for those who enjoy these kind of cheesy films or who are in the mood for something fun.  You, a bowl of popcorn and 13 ghosts in a dark room and you too will see the brilliance of William Castle. Even without the special glasses, this movie is cool.  You don't like it.....Buck doesn't give a fuck. 

On one last note.....I really wanted to whip that Ben's ass from age 10 to the present day.  How could he try to murder a fine young christian boy like Buck?  

Lisa's favorite.....BUCK

Trivia:

Several people call Elaine Zacharides (played by Margaret Hamilton) a witch. Margaret is even carrying a broom when we first see here, which Charles points out. Margaret Hamilton played the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz.

The last feature film of Charles Herbert.

The exterior of the Cyrus Zorba House that the family inherits is in reality the Winchester Mystery House located in San Jose California. This is not the main entrance "street view", but is from one of the other many entrances of the house. Notice the handrail running up the middle of the steps so that it's easier (and safer) for public use.

William Castle was able to get popular child actor Charles Herbert to play Buck by offering to give him top billing. Charles Herbert would appear in this and two other features in this year before roles in features completely dried up. He would complete his career in television roles.

William Castle: [gimmick] The movie was filmed in "Illusion-O" and a special viewer was needed to see the ghosts. This resulted in a number of sources incorrectly stating that the film was originally shown in 3D. The "ghost viewers" contained a red filter and a blue filter, but unlike 3D viewers/glasses, both eyes would look through the same color filter. The red filter would cause the ghostly images to intensify while the blue filter caused the images to fade.

I'm Buck and I don't give a fuck. 

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies

You'll believe in ghosts too when you see them thru the GHOST VIEWER. Turns 'em on, turns 'em off when they turn on you.

Zombie (1979)

Strangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately searches for the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.

Zombie is a 1979 zombie film directed by Lucio Fulci. The film was adapted from an original screenplay by Dardano Sacchetti to serve as a sequel to George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, released in Italy as Zombi. It stars Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch and Richard Johnson, and featured a score by frequent Fulci collaborator Fabio Frizzi.

A sail boat arrives in New York without a living soul but a zombie that attacks two guards from the Coast Guard. The daughter of the owner of the ship, Anne Bowles (Tisa Farrow), requests information about her missing father that was in the Antilles to the detectives that are investigating the crime without success. She meets the journalist Peter West (Ian McCulloch) and they decide to investigate what might have happened to her father. They travel to Matul Island with Brian Hull (Al Cliver) and Susan Barrett (Auretta Gay) in their boat. Once in the tropical island, they meet Dr. David Menard (Richard Johnson), who is trying to find a cure to a disease that brings dead back to life, turning them into zombies that eat human flesh.

When the earth spits out the dead, they will rise to suck the blood of the living!

Not many people know about this gem by Lucio Fulci. It's known by many titles: Zombie, Zombi 2, Zombi Flesh Eaters, and so on.  Zombie is without a doubt one of the all time classics of the zombie sub genre, kick starting a cycle in director Lucio Fulci's career of no holds barred horror movies that combined in your face gruesome violence and tons of overwhelming doom and gloom atmosphere. It contains a few set pieces that are extremely iconic to horror fans; who can see the slow eyeball piercing, the underwater battle between a zombie and a shark, the sight of the zombies rising from the earth, and the fiery climax and forget them?  

Critics and viewers alike seem hell-bent on comparing George A.Romero and Lucio Fulci in an attempt to decide the ultimate zombie movie-maker. It's a shame this happens so often, as they were coming from very different places. Romero's films were about social commentary and black humour; Fulci's existed solely to entertain those who enjoyed being shocked and appalled. Another well-worn argument is that Fulci's films are "boring". Yes, if you've never watched anything other than MTV-influenced contemporary horror films where everything is shot in sludgy tones of green and blue.  

The dead are among us.

Overall, this film has pretty good atmosphere. The zombie effects are absolutely incredible—some of the best I've ever seen and appear to have been the influence for Capcom's Resident Evil video games. There are, however, from time to time some pretty stale looking zombies made for the purpose of having the head explode or something similarly gory happen, so not much movement happens in the faces. But that's a pretty minor complaint; overall the zombies still look awesome. The gore really flies and looks outstanding through and through. The acting is… well, passable. Not great, not terrible—you can never expect too much from dubs anyway. Every now and then it's pretty entertaining, whether intentional or not. If you can, go for the unrated version, in fact, if you can, go for the unrated version of every movie.  

The underwater zombie/shark fight has to be seen to be believed - bizarre, surreal, unexpected and fascinating, it is a scene the likes of which you will NEVER see anywhere else. The first zombie attack at the cabin, resulting in the shocking and rightfully infamous eye piercing, is a knockout of suspense and intelligent framing and editing. Even the twist ending came as a genuine surprise, and seemed a natural conclusion to the story rather than a forced climactic gimmick.  

Like most early horror films, Zombie isn't without its flaws. There's still quite a bit of overacting and the technique of zooming in closer and closer on someone's face whenever something gross or shocking is discovered gets a bit tiresome. But Zombie offers exactly what every horror fan loves; plenty of gore, excellent practical effects, a fairly decent story, and quite a bit of nudity. Zombie can definitely be considered a triumph for its time and is a bloody terrific zombie masterpiece from beginning to end.

Zombie vs Jaws

Trivia:

While shooting on location in New York City, Captain Haggerty, who plays the large bald zombie who attacks the harbor patrol at the beginning of the film, walked into CBGB's (a tiny Bowery bar which was a flourishing punk rock venue at the time) in full zombie makeup complete with splattered fake blood and mud caked all over his face and body. Due to the outrageous punk styles in those days of the other bar patrons, he was barely noticed. Even the bartender never looked twice at him.

Despite being called "Zombi 2", the film is not a sequel to anything. When Dawn of the Dead (1978) was released under the title "Zombi" in Italy, this film was retitled "Zombi 2" to cash in on the success of the American film. This was done by the studio without Director Lucio Fulci's permission or knowledge, and he often told fans this wasn't a sequel, and that it is it's own film. He was relieved to find out the film's actual title "Zombie" was kept in the American release.

Hordes of the living dead stumble across the Brooklyn Bridge at the end of the film. Although a national state of emergency had been declared and the local radio station had been overrun by zombies, the traffic below still flows freely. This was due to budgetary constraints - there was not enough money to stop traffic on the bridge.

The newspaper office scene was filmed in a busy office building, and at one point the cast and crew inadvertently interrupted a meeting held by Rupert Murdoch, who angrily kicked them out.

The infamous "Eyeball" scene

When the final scene of the zombies walking across the Brooklyn Bridge was filmed, it was cold drizzling rain that day and the extras playing the zombies had to keep themselves from shivering. Also, the fake blood had some ammonia in it to stop it from changing color. When it dripped into the actors mouths, they would spit it out when the cameras stopped rolling. All of the extras playing zombies in the New York scenes were paid $40 per day in two $20 banknotes which had a single staple through them so as not to overpay anyone. The director Lucio Fulci, spoke very little English, his only direction for the zombie extras had was "like... ah... this!"

The film was written before Dawn of the Dead (1978) was released in Italy, as an action/adventure thriller with no link to George A. Romero's films. The opening and closing scenes (which take place in New York) were added to the script later when the producers wanted to cash-in on the success of Dawn.

The make-up effects were done by renowned Italian Giannetto De Rossi. The make-up for the zombies was "caked" on in several stages and Lucio Fulci, the director, constantly referred to the extras as "walking flower pots".

Like many Italian horror films of the time, half the cast spoke only English and the other half only Italian. Many Italian films produced for international distribution filmed without sound and recorded several dialog tracks in different languages in the studio for later overdubbing. Because the actors are speaking a number of different languages (or some are speaking a non-native language phonetically), the dubbing in all versions of the film is not 100% synchronized. Ian McCulloch, Tisa Farrow, Olga Karlatos, and Stefania D'Amario were of the main English speaking cast, while Al Cliver, Auretta Gay, and Dakar were of the main Italian-speaking cast.

Several of the actors playing the zombies were actually brothers. They look so similar that some people have speculated that all the zombies were played by one man.

As shown in trailers before the film was released, airline "barf bags" were handed out to theater moviegoers due to the unusually high amount of violence and gore for a horror film of that time.

When first submitted to the BBFC in 1980, the movie was passed with an X rating with 1 minute, 46 seconds cut. Then, with the Video Recordings Act, it was banned in 1984 as a "video nasty". It was removed from the DPP list, and the original cinema release was re-rated in 1992 with an 18 rating. In 1999, it was once again re-rated, with only 23 seconds of cuts for an 18 rating. Finally, it was passed uncut with an 18 rating in 2005, with a 91 minute run time.

According to Ian McCulloch on the DVD commentary, the harbor patrol cops were actually off-duty policemen. The advantage was that no costumes were required as they brought their own uniforms.

Although 'Zombi 2' was made to cash-in on 'Zombi''s (Dawn of the Dead) success, script writer Dardano Sacchetti based his script to 'Zombi' on 'I Walked with a Zombie', 'Voodoo Island' and 'The Walking Dead', stating that he wanted to bring the zombie genre back to its Caribbean and Voodoo roots.

Scriptwriter Dardano Sacchetti chose to take his name off the credits due to his father's death during preproduction. As a result of his loss, Sacchetti felt uncomfortable about being connected with a movie about the dead returning to a semblance of life and then being destroyed.

We Are Going To Eat You!

According to the production crew interviewed for the Shriek Show DVD, scenes were shot of the zombies coming out of the water in New York. They never made it into the final edit though.

René Cardona Jr. was originally cast to play the Underwater Zombie, however he got sick at the last minute and had to be replaced by Ramón Bravo, the shark's trainer.

Enzo G. Castellari was asked to direct this film early in its development, but turned it down on the basis that he was not a fan of horror and primarily made action films. However, he suggested his friend Lucio Fulci as a possible replacement.

The zombies in this film were modeled to resemble the original voodoo legends of the walking dead from Hatian and Caribbean legends of people after being supposedly reanimated from being dead. In contrast to the zombies in George A. Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead' and other zombie films, nearly all of these zombies walk with their heads down, their eyes closed, and with their arms always at their sides. Only three zombies featured have their eyes open.

Dr. Menard's wounded elderly friend Fritz's last name is Briggs. However, it is never ever mentioned in the movie at all.

Entertainment Weekly ranked this Number 10 on their "Guilty Pleasures: Testosterone Edition" list in their March 30, 2007 issue.

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

A ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, New York City.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 American black-and-white science fiction monster film from Warner Bros., produced by Jack Dietz and Hal E. Chester, directed by Eugène Lourié, that stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, and Kenneth Tobey. The film's stop-motion animation special effects are by Ray Harryhausen. Its screenplay is based on Ray Bradbury's short story "The Fog Horn", specifically the scene where a lighthouse is destroyed by the title character.

As a result of an arctic nuclear test, a carnivorous dinosaur thaws out and starts making its way down the east coast of North America. Professor Tom Nesbitt, only witness to the beast's existence, is not believed, even when he identifies it as a "rhedosaurus" to paleontologist Thurgood Elson. All doubts disappear, however, when Elson is swallowed whole during an oceanic bathysphere excursion to search for the creature. Soon thereafter the rhedosaurus emerges from the sea and lays waste to Manhattan Island until Nesbitt comes up with a plan to try to stop the seemingly indestructible beast.

You'll see it tear a city apart!

There are several reasons why Beast stands out as a cut above normal. Though the script contains the usual inane dialog one expects, the fact that Tom and Lee come up with a decent intelligent plan to prove its existence helps a great deal. There is also the fact that they actually give us a reason as to why the Rhedosaurus is moving down the Atlantic coast instead of making it all seem like random attacks. Foremost, and most importantly, the film works because of the animation of Harryhausen.

"The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" is, quite simply, the best dinosaur-on-the-loose movie ever made.The look of the creature is very realistic; one of Ray Harryhausen's greatest creations. There are so many terrific set pieces in this film that one doesn't know where to begin, but the attack on the lighthouse, beautifully done in silhouette; the initial sighting of the Beast from the bathysphere; the Beast's attack on lower Manhattan; and the grand finale at the Coney Island roller coaster are certainly all standouts.

They couldn't believe their eyes! They couldn't escape the terror! And neither will you!

The cast of characters is exactly what you'd expect. So is the plot. There is a scientist wanting to prove the existence of the monster, a love interest who serves no purpose other than to be a love interest, a few military guys, a paleontologist, and the criticized witnesses to the monster's horrifying destructive nature. The characters get a lot of screen time, even more than the monster, and even though not powerfully developed, serve their purpose on the screen well and we don't feel like they're wasting our time.

Overall, "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" is a very fine monster-on-the-loose movie. It's not what I'd call an epic, or a masterpiece, but it is a milestone in monster movie history, for it really began a huge chain that lead to the popular movie monster icons of today. And in its own way, it's a classic.

The Beast doesn't wait in line for the fucking roller coaster. 

Trivia:

This was said to have been one of the inspirations for Tomoyuki Tanaka to go ahead and film Godzilla (1954).

This film (which was inspired by the successful 1952 re-release of King Kong (1933)) was the first film to feature a giant creature awakened or mutated by a Nuclear Bomb.

While visiting his friend Ray Harryhausen on the set, Ray Bradbury was given a copy of the script (which was going under the working title "Monster From the Sea") and was asked if he could possibly do some rewriting on it. After reading the script, Bradbury remarked about a scene in the story (which featured the monster destroying a lighthouse) that seemed very similar to a short story that he had published in "The Saturday Evening Post" several years earlier called "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". Bradbury's story was about a dinosaur that destroys a lighthouse. The next day Bradbury received a telegram offering to buy the film rights to the story. After the sale, the film's title was changed to "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". When Bradbury's story was reprinted years later, he changed its title to "The Fog Horn".

The dinosaur skeleton in the museum sequence is artificial. It was obtained from storage at RKO where it had been constructed for Bringing Up Baby (1938).

Deleted Scene: The 2003 DVD release reveals one shot of the Rhedasaurus that was omitted from the final film. That shot can be found in the trailer for The Black Scorpion (1957) (in special features) about 1/2 through the preview. (Spoiler: The Beast is walking, breast high, toward screen right. The background shows 2 buildings; one of them with fire escapes. Superimposed title card states, "You've thrilled to the terror of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms."

Some film aficionados might recognize Alvin Greenman, the first character to speak after the narrator, and the first to notice the beast on on the radar. Six years earlier he played Alfred, the Macys Janitor in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). TV aficionados though might recognize the second character to speak. Playing the part of Charlie is actor James Best, best remembered for his role as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane from The Dukes of Hazzard (1979).

The Rhedosaurus in this film makes a cameo appearance in Planet of the Dinosaurs (1977). It is subsequently killed by the movie's star, the T-Rex.

Warner Brothers bought the film from producers Hal E. Chester and 'Jack Deitz' for $450,000.

Vera Miles and Paul Picerni appear in the trailer for this film, but not in the film itself.

The "Coney Island Amusement Park" in the film is actually The Long Beach Amusement Park in Long Beach, California. The production was able to film at the park from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Before the film was sold to Warner Brothers, it contained an original music score composed by Michel Michelet. Execs at Warners felt Michelet's score wasn't powerful enough so they replaced it with an original score by David Buttolph.

Dude get the fuck up!!!  There's a monster up there. 

The film is based on a short story by Ray Bradbury.

During the octopus/shark sequence, some of the footage was obviously shot in an aquarium, because some of the octopus' suckers are gripping the glass.

When the radio announcer is reading the news about the monster's rampage through New York, various shots of the city are shown, mostly with panicked citizens in the street. When the announcer mentions the situation at Times Square, the accompanying footage shows the Palace Theater, whose marquee reads "Judy Garland - Live and in Person."

When the streets are being cleared once the beast comes ashore in NYC, films appearing on various theater marquees are "Detective Story", "Come Fill The Cup" and "Across The Wide Missouri".

The seas master beast of the ages- raging up from the bottom of time

Some of the Arctic footage showing an avalanche triggered by movements of the Beast was "lifted" from the 1935 production of She (1935).

(at around 38 mins) Prof. Elson (Cecil Kellaway) reads an article about a 1797 professor who was fired for claiming that he had seen leprechauns remove a tree. He continues "Today it's monsters instead of leprechauns". Tom Nesbitt (Paul Christian) then enters and asks "How certain are you there were no leprechauns?" Cecil Kellaway played a leprechaun in the 1948 film "The Luck of the Irish".

A Thrill-Story Beyond All Imagining

Night Of Dark Shadows (1971)

A painter and his wife move into a home and find themselves plagued by ghosts and spirits of his ancestors that used to be witches.

Night of Dark Shadows is a 1971 horror film by Dan Curtis. It is the sequel to House of Dark Shadows. It centers on the story of Quentin Collins and his bride Tracy at the Collinwood Mansion in Collinsport, Maine. David Selby, Lara Parker, John Karlen, Kate Jackson, Grayson Hall, and Nancy Barrett star.

Artist Quentin Collins (David Selby) brings his new bride to live in the family mansion, which he has just inherited. The gentle and sensitive young Collins, the last of his clan, has troubled sleep. He dreams of the past, of his family, and of the house. Perhaps his dreams are not just dreams? Increasingly deranged by these visions, it begins to look like he will re-enact the atrocities committed by his family in the past.

When the sun goes down, the terror begins!

If ever a film needed restoration, this is it. Apparently the studio forced director Dan Curtis to cut his 2 hour movie down to 90 minutes so it could be sold as a double feature with House of Dark Shadows or other horror flicks--and it shows. It often doesn't make any sense and you wind up frustrated, as if you just had a good dream but can't remember it all. Word is that a complete uncut print has been recently discovered.  Hopefully it sees the light of day as the current release is full of confusion.  

'Night of Dark Shadows' is not an awful film, but it is a let down compared to 'Dark Shadows' and 'House of Dark Shadows'. There is a good deal to like. The production and costume design have a colorful and hauntingly Gothic look and it's mostly beautifully photographed. Bob Cobert once again provides an eerily spooky music score that is mostly used well.  

Acting is decent considering, with Grayson Hall, David Selby, John Karlen and Nancy Barrett being the standouts. Kate Jackson is also at her most appealing, and is really very good in her role.  Most of the cast however have very little to do and struggle to do much with their limited material, which does see relatively unexplored characterisation, characters coming and going and some corny dialogue.

Hung as a witch 200 years ago, Angelique comes back to Collinwood. Her return from the grave is just the beginning of their lust.

Many outdoor scenes are shot in crude day-for-night fashion, sometimes under bright blue skies which cause actors' faces to disappear amid the glare. A maintenance worker in the house is cast with an actor who resembles Selby so closely that you keep mixing them up. Is this intentional? Again – editing room chicanery or dumb casting? Will we ever know? Director's cut, please.

There was to be a third Dark Shadows movie, but after dealing with the frustration of this one, and probably a growing boredom with the world of Dark Shadows in general, Dan Curtis decided to move on to non- Dark Shadowsy projects. Anyway, for true fans of the show, check it out in spite of its flaws,

Death kept their love alive.

Trivia:

It is reported that MGM forced Dan Curtis to cut over 35 minutes from the completed film, and gave him only 24 hours to do the job. So the film, which was meant to be approximately 129 minutes, was shortened about 94 minutes, which according to some caused the film to lose its coherence. Much of the excised footage was recovered in 1999, but unfortunately, without sound.

This was originally intended to to be a sequel to House of Dark Shadows (1970), and was to star Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid). Frid however turned down the role as he feared being typecast as Barnabas, so "Dark Shadows" creators Dan Curtis and Sam Hall made a new story which starred Quentin Collins and was based on the "Parallel Time" saga of the show (an alternate version of the story).

Shot in 6 weeks on a budget of $900,000.

Feature film debut of David Selby and Kate Jackson. 

Filmed on the grounds of the gothic estate Lyndhurst on the Hudson River in New York State..

Just another night of... terror!

In order to provide authenticity, spiritualist Hans Holzer was employed as an adviser to the production, though his actual contribution to the finished product proved minimal.

Jerry Lacy was going to to reprise his role as the witch hunter Reverend Trask from Dark Shadows (1966), but was unable to appear in the movie.

Virginia Vestoff was originally going to reprise her role of Samantha Collins but was unavailable so the script was rewritten to include Diana Millay and her character Laura Collins.

A prologue was scripted but never filmed that involved a hippie that sneaks into Collinwood on a rainy night only to be killed by Angelique and Gerard. The role of the hippie was intended to be played by either Keith Prentice or Michael Stroka.

The piano solo "Joanna" from Dark Shadows (1966) was adapted into the love theme for the film.

The film's original title was "Curse of the Dark Shadows"

Grayson Hall was married to the film's writer Sam Hall at the time.

2nd motion picture to be based on a soap opera & 2nd motion picture to be based on ABC's gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966-1971)

The cast

House Of Dark Shadows (1970)

Vampire Barnabas Collins is released from his prison and searches for a cure to his affliction, so he can marry the incarnation of his lost love.

House of Dark Shadows is a 1970 feature-length horror film directed by Dan Curtis, based on his Dark Shadows television series. Filming took place at Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York, with additional footage at nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  

House Of Dark Shadows, based on the very popular TV Gothic soap opera, follows the life of Barnabas Collins. Recently unleashed from his coffin by local drunk, Willie Loomis, the vampire (Barnabas) goes on a killing spree, while at the same time charming his present day family members. In the process he meets local girl Maggie Evans and notices that she looks exactly like his deceased fiance Josette. Barnabas assumes that she is the reincarnation of Josette, and plans to make her his unholy bride for eternity.

Barnabas Collins, vampire, takes a bride in a bizarre act of ultimate lust.

Director Dan Curtis (on a very low budget) took what on television was an extremely lengthy introduction and history of the Barnabas Collins character and crammed all he could of it into a 96 minute film.  For those that don't know..."Dark Shadows" was a struggling 60s daytime soap opera concerning the dulling exploits of a boorish super rich New England family....the Collin's. After a season of well worn plots about family infighting and powerstruggles the show was on verge of being canceled. That's when series creator....Curtis....came up with a radical idea. Introduce supernatural elements into the show.  

The ensemble cast works very well, given that all of these people had been working together for three or four years at this point. Outstanding are Jonathan Frid's enigmatically menacing vampire Barnabas Collins--the pain and vulnerability Frid emotes with his eyes at certain sequences is really quite striking; Grayson Hall's superb portrayal of medico-on-the-verge Dr. Julia Hoffman (Barbara Steele, who reprised the role in a 1990 remake, complained that Grayson was "excruciatingly good" in the part), and excellent character actor Thayer David's surprisingly complex portrayal of Professor T. Eliot Stokes. Nancy Barrett as doomed heiress Carolyn Stoddard is a beautiful, fragile, gothic presence. Emmy winner John Karlen makes Willie Loomis one of the best roles of his career. Joan Bennett is patrician and unforgettable in what amounts to a cameo appearance as the family matriarch.

A story of blood relations.

Fans of the series will probably find more to like than most but I think there's a lot here to enjoy, even for those unfamiliar with Dark Shadows.  This film introduces the cult favorite vampire and his brooding family to new generations regularly, by existing outside the original daytime drama.  All in all, by far the best of the 'Dark Shadows' films and the only one to be as good as the show.

Come see how the vampires do it.

Trivia:

Professor T.E. (Theodore Eliot) Stokes is named after two famous writers: T.S. Eliot and vampire novelist Bram Stoker.

For the old age make-up for Barnabas Collins, special make up artist Dick Smith used the bald head appliance that he had created for Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man (1970) to save time and money.

The Collinwood scenes were filmed at the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York.

During the costume party, the Quentin Collins musical theme from Dark Shadows (1966) can be heard.

This film was shot concurrently with the original Dark Shadows (1966) series. During the time of filming, the television program was in the middle of its 1970 parallel time story-arc. Major characters appearing in the film were written out of the TV series so that they would be available to shoot the movie.

Old Man Barnabas

"Dark Shadows" producer Dan Curtis originally intended to edit together footage from the original TV series into a feature-length film, but this concept was quickly abandoned in favor of a new story.

Scenes that were scripted but never filmed involved a Collinsport resident named Nancy Hodiak meeting Jeff and Maggie at Jeff's cottage to pick up a painting that Jeff had painted of her. As Nancy leaves the house, she is stalked and killed by Barnabas. Many elements of Nancy's attack scene were used in the final cut in the scene of Barnabas attacking Daphne. Had these scenes been included in the film, Marie Wallace would have played Nancy.

"House of Dark Shadows" was filmed concurrently with the original Dark Shadows television series. During the time of filming, actors were written out of the TV series so that they would be available to shoot the movie. Kathryn Leigh Scott was absent from 30 episodes (986 to 1015); Jonathan Frid was absent from 28 episodes (983 to 1010); Grayson Hall was absent from 21 episodes (986 to 1006); John Karlen was absent from 21 episodes (990 to 1010); Nancy Barrett was absent from 20 episodes (991 to 1010): Louis Edmonds was absent from 17 episodes (991 to 1008); Don Briscoe was absent from 15 episodes (986 to 1000); Joan Bennett was absent from 15 episodes (991 to 1006); and David Henesy was absent from 9 episodes (993 to 1001).

First motion picture based on a daytime soap opera, in this case ABC's gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966-1971)

This movie is an adaptation and re-imagining of the major storylines that ran throughout the 1967 season of Dark Shadows (1966): Barnabas is released by Willie, he attempts to woo Maggie, Dr Hoffman arrives and develops an obsession with Barnabas.

I Walked With A Zombie (1943)

A Canadian nurse is hired to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner, who has been acting strangely, on a Caribbean island.

I Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. It was the second horror film from producer Val Lewton for RKO Pictures.

A young Canadian nurse (Betsy) comes to the West Indies to care for Jessica, the wife of a plantation manager (Paul Holland). Jessica seems to be suffering from a kind of mental paralysis as a result of fever. When she falls in love with Paul, Betsy determines to cure Jessica even if she needs to use a voodoo ceremony, to give Paul what she thinks he wants.

I walked with a Zombie is another brilliant result of the collaborations between producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur. Released one year after the simply astonishing movie 'Cat People', this is yet another intelligently elaborated and genuinely original genre-masterpiece.  Tourneur manages to bring suspense in a subtle way. Without bloody images but with a unique photography and efficient set pieces! I walked with a Zombie contains great dialogs, intriguing characters and mind bending plot-twists.

Who said the dead don't walk?

Lewton's ideals are more focused on suggestion in a psychological way, the scares more cloaked in a shadowy unease, director Jacques Tourneur perfectly in tune with his producer to unhinge the audience by way of an approaching dread we can't see. Some of Tourneur's work here is wonderful, hauntingly elegiac sequences linger long in the memory, rustling wind blows as characters are appearing to float thru sugar cane fields, the distant rumble of ceremonial drums luring them forward with mystical powers. A voodoo zombie shuffling on a mission to fetch poor Jessica from the plantation home is not horrifying, its damn near gorgeous, soft and near silent in its execution, the whole film is simply full of memorable moments.

Written by Curt Siodmak, the concept for the piece came about by way of a number of newspaper articles that were telling of voodoo and witchcraft in Haiti, the scope for a screamathon horror movie was obviously there, but thankfully in this viewers humble opinion, we get a classy and chilling film that is dripping with ethereal beauty from first reel to last.

See it happen--right before your startled eyes...in the screen sensation that rips the mask from the darkest secrets of forbidden voodoo!

The characters are interesting and the performances are top-notch. Particularly notable is the lovely Frances Dee who plays Betsy Connell and Tom Conway who plays Paul Holland.  During their journey to the island Paul says to Betsy, "It's easy enough to read the thoughts of a newcomer. Everything seems beautiful because you don't understand. Those flying fish, they're not leaping for joy, they're jumping in terror. Bigger fish want to eat them. That luminous water, it takes its gleam from millions of tiny dead bodies. The glitter of putrescence. There is no beauty here, only death and decay. Everything good dies here, even the stars."  Okay, he might be stating fact, but chill the fuck out dude. She's not going to give you any pussy talking like that.

Fans of Fulci zombies may be disappointed by the lack of gut-munching gore here. These zombies are not cadavers returned from the grave, half-rotted horrors shambling about looking for flesh to feast upon. These are traditional, mind-erased zombies, unfeeling, unthinking and unresponsive to anything. The atmosphere is wonderful, filled with great music, strong women and natives who look like the real thing. The love triangle quickly becomes a love square and the haunting conclusion is both shocking and grimly satisfying. Fans of the brilliant Tourneur won't be disappointed - his mark is all over this beautiful film, from beginning to end. It is one of his very best.

Blonde Beauty - Doomed to be one of the walking dead!

Trivia:

Val Lewton did not like the article "I Walked With A Zombie" by Inez Wallace that had been optioned, so he adapted the story to fit the novel "Jane Eyre" because he felt the article's plot was too clichéd.

Hanging on the wall in Jessica's room is a copy of Arnold Böcklin's mysterious painting "Isle of the Dead," which would serve as the basis for another Lewton production with that title two years later.

In the script, the fictitious island is very explicitly identified as being owned by the United States. None of these items (such as a prominent American flag flying at the harbor) made it into the film, and items like the island's association with Ontario (where Betsy is from) suggest that it might instead be a current or former British colony.

Sir Lancelot wrote the song "Shame and Scandal in the Family" for this movie. In the early 1960s Lord Melody used the melody and the chorus and an old humorous story to create a new song, initially called "Wau Wau", though it became more familiarly known under its original title. The song was recorded by a variety of international artists (e.g.. The Kingston Trio, Odetta, Peter Tosh and The Wailers), even becoming a #1 hit in Australia. In the course of its life, the original writers have been ignored at times, with the authorship being attributed to a duo of Donaldson and Brown, instead of Sir Lancelot and Ardel Wray (the film's co-writer).

Sorry I sang that song about your fucked up family.

The legal disclaimer at the end of the credits, which roll at the start of the film, makes light of the film's subject. The disclaimer states: "The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictional. Any similarity to actual persons, living, dead, or possessed, is purely coincidental."

Edith Barrett, who played the mother, was only 3 years older than James Ellison, who played her younger son, Wesley. She actually was 2 years younger than Tom Conway, who played her older son, Paul.

Although the screenplay is credited to "Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray", the two did not work together on the film and in fact never even met each other. Wray was brought in after Siodmak left.

The role played by Frances Dee was originally filled by Anna Lee.

The two figures seen walking along the beach during the opening credits are Frances Dee and Darby Jones.

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

The Boomslang snake's venom causes you to bleed from all holes of your body.

See this strange, strange story of a woman whose lure set brother against brother; whose love caused hate - and whose beauty bowed to the will of an evil spell in whose power we must refuse to believe - EVEN IF IT'S TRUE!

The Green Dragon Inn (1977)

When an evil land baron's son murders an innocent family, a Marshall is called in to escort him to be executed in the court of law far to the north. With the aid of an army of soldiers, the Marshall must fight off the Land Baron's assassins, who want to try and free his murderous son at every given chance.

About 99% of the martial arts movies with the words "Bruce", "Shaolin", and "Dragon" in the title have nothing to do with those things and this one is perhaps the most blatant example with the alternate title "Bruce is Loose".  There is no Bruce Lee in this movie.  However it is a kick ass Kung-Fu flick and it's a shame there is no widescreen DVD currently on the market. All you can find is a shitty Pan and Scan VHS copy of the film.

Produced by (Polly) Shaun Kuan, who also co-stars. ; Directed by legendary Shaw Bros. veteran King Hu.  It also has Lo Leih from "Five Fingers Of a Death" in a limited role but he kicks ass when he's on screen.   Yueh Hwa does a fine job as well as the determined hero.

There is an indirectly presented political message in the film - a stable society must be grounded in law, not the whim of the rich and powerful - which remains true today.  It's really tough to give a complete review since the print of the film I saw was so poor. However the film moves along at a nice pace, has a good story and what I think are some great fights from what I could see.

Not a bad film to kill some time if you were a fan of Kung Fu Theater back in the 80's. 

Hatchet II (2010)

Marybeth escapes the clutches of the bayou-butcher Victor Crowley and returns to the swamp with an army of hunters and gunmen, determined to end Crowley's reign of horror once and for all.

Hatchet II is a 2010 American slasher film written and directed by Adam Green. It is the sequel to Green's film, Hatchet. Picking up right where the first film ended,

First, let me start off by saying that I liked the original Hatchet very much. It was a fun, if cheesy, return to the glory days of American slashers in the early 80s with surprising good special effects and a relative cast of unknowns acting their hearts out. The sequel *probably* could have been something awesome.  But it is far from fucking awesome.  

Seeking vengeance for her family's murders, Marybeth strikes up a deal with Zombie: He'll have his assistant Justin (Parry Shen; playing the brother of the character he played in the original) organize a posse of hunters if she gets her uncle to come along on the expedition. Marybeth comes through on her end of the deal by convincing her Uncle Bob to come, as does the Reverend, who's able to convince a handful of people to accompany them by promising 500 dollars just for coming and an additional 5000 for anyone who's able to "kill" Crowley. Kill a ghost? Yeah, I know. R.A. Mihailoff and AJ Bowen are among those along for the ride. The gang take their boats deep into the swamp where they're slaughtered in various ridiculous ways by the hulking, monstrous Crowley.

Victor Crowley Lives Again

Director and creator Adam Green was really trying to shock with this one. I think he's missing the point of the gory, gruesome and creative kills in classic slashers like Halloween and Friday the 13th. They were subtle and disturbing and this just a gorefest. The kills are ridiculous and the constant and very cheesy bucket of blood splattering on whatever surface happens to be available is not effective and just poorly done. It was okay in the first one when it happened once but to see it happen a few times is too many. The kill in the first film where the guy is strangled with his own intestines was ridiculous, well time that by 50 in this one. Every kill is shocking certainly but it makes you lose focus on the film. The killing really doesn't start until well into the film but that's not so bad because they really do work at establishing the history of Crowley and the other characters. Overall, its an adequate slasher flick but definitely down in quality from the original film.

Horror icon Kane Hodder is one of the few people that reprises his role. He plays Victor Crowley, and does it with loads of makeup and energy. Hodder has most always been the highlight of every film he was in, and is probably the best person who ever sunk his feet in Jason Voorhees' shoes.

Hold on to all of your pieces.

The acting in Hatchet 2 was okay. Not amazing, but not horrible. On the whole, despite (VERY) inventive kills and suspense, isn't good enough to be memorable. its not that it is bad it is just uninteresting. 

Trvia:

The unrated version of the movie was shown in 60 theaters on its debut weekend across the United States & Canada. Most of the theaters were unaware of the extent of the violence and vile content in the film, and nearly all of the theaters had stopped playing the movie by Monday morning.

It was reported on the horror websites that a crew member quit on day 2 due to "moral reasons" with what was taking place within the scene

The crew is almost entirely the same crew who made Hatchet 1, one of Green's stipulations for whether or not he would return at the helm for Hatchet 2.

According to the horror website Bloody-Disgusting.com, Hatchet 2's final tally of fake blood used in the making of the film is 136 gallons. That's 81 gallons more and more than double the amount used in the making of Hatchet 1, which reportedly used 55 gallons of fake blood.

The first horror movie to be theatrically released unrated in mainstream cinemas across the United States since George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978) over 32 years earlier. When the MPAA kept giving Hatchet II an NC-17 rating with each submission, the filmmakers decided to circumvent them and go straight to a major cinema chain and show them the film. When AMC theaters saw the uncut movie they loved it. Then, after hearing just how much of the violence would have to be cut out to get an R rating by the ratings board, AMC agreed to release Hatchet II in their theaters unrated. However, they later pulled the film from their theaters when it was released for only a few days.

Adam Green, Kane Hodder, R.A. Mihailoff and Rick McCallum are all members of the paranormal investigation group Hollywood Ghost Hunters.

To keep details under wraps, even the crew did not receive copies of the script and the majority of cast only received select pages. Fake scripts, fake endings, and fake story lines were circulated around the industry and no visitors or guests were allowed near the set.

Our fearless group of idiots go back into the swamp

While most every store, rental and streaming carrier will carry Hatchet 2 in the director's theatrical unrated cut, Red Box insisted on the distributor creating an R-rated version that has most every death scene taken out of the film. Adam Green's comment to press was that he looks at it no differently than when a film has to be edited for television or airplane rentals and does not blame Dark Sky for censoring the film for Red Box. Hatchet 2 only had ratings problems in the United States of America, further supporting the filmmaker's claims that the ratings board here was being unfair.

Cameo: The character Parker O'Neil from Adam Green's movie Frozen is seen briefly on the TV in Reverend Zombie's voodoo shop speaking to news cameras about her lawsuit and settlement against the ski mountain from the film.

In each of the 3 Hatchet films someone says the line, "You've got to be fucking kidding me." In this film it's Tony Todd's character.

During one scene a guy mentions "Jason Vorhees" when they discuss "who is Victor Crowley". Jason Vorhees is an another killer and mysterious bogeyman with supernatural powers performed by Kane Hodder, who plays Victor Crowley and Victor Crowley's father in this movie.

During the meeting when Tony Todd is offering the bounty one character mentions Jason Vorhees. He then also mentions he comes from the town of Echo Falls and that town's urban legend is known as Lesley Vernon - a reference to the film 'Behind the Mask - The Rise of Lesley Vernon'.

To accommodate his promotional duties for the film Frozen (2010), Adam Green needed to split the shooting schedule into two parts.

In Canada, the film was scheduled to play in Toronto and Montreal theaters on October 1, 2010. However, because the film was not rated by the cities' provincial rating agencies, the theaters were threatened with fines if it still played and, thus, it was pulled from release. On Twitter, Adam Green referred to the occurrence as "sad".

The R-rated version of the film that Dark Sky Films created for Red Box rentals is missing close to 2 full minutes of gore/violence that the MPAA insisted they pull out. Director Adam Green is not happy about that version but has stated that he supports Dark Sky's decision and understands why they had to do it for that one outlet. Green has publicly stated that those who feel the film's stance on staying unrated for theaters was a "publicity stunt" should compare this R-rated version to understand just how severely the MPAA was trying to castrate the film and change the tone of it. All other retail outlets supported Green's claims when they agreed to carry the film Unrated in their stores. They felt there was nothing that offensive about the film in the first place and that it never should have been given an NC-17 like the MPAA tried to give it to keep it out of mainstream theaters.

"Hatchet II" marked the first of Adam Green's films where his name was credited above the title ("Adam Green's Hatchet II") and the film was written, directed, and executive produced by Green.

If you watch all three "Hatchet" movies in a row without opening and end credits, it would be one uninterupted storyline, revolving around a few days.

The final draft of the script is dated December 7, 2009. The cast gathered for a table reading on December 15, 2009.

Adam Green: Appears vomiting on the sidewalk at the end of the opening credits, reprising his role as one of Ben and Marcus' friends from the first film.