THE RESURRECTION OF MICHAEL MYERS PART 2 (1989)

 THANKS TO CHRIS WINGER (HIS VIDEO IS BELOW) FOR BRINGING THIS MOVIE TO MY ATTENTION!

A shot-on-video gem from 1989 that is WAY better than it has any right to be.  It's also genuinely hilarious; and I could only watch it without subtitles in it's original Swedish.  THE RESURRECTION OF MICHAEL MYERS PART 2 (yes, there is a part 1) was apparently only ever released in a super-rare videotape in the 80's and never had a DVD release. . . which is a real shame because it's incredibly fun.  At 25 minutes, it's also quite digestible (especially for the zombie that's in the movie but we'll get to that a little later).  A guy is in a movie theater watching John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN when he starts foaming at the mouth.  The ambulance comes and takes him to the hospital where the staff is having a wild Halloween party.  One partygoers throws his Michael Myers mask on the floor and it spontaneously skitters across the floor and morphs into the real Michael Myers. 

The Shatner-masked maniac ends up in the hospital room of the "foaming at the mouth"guy and sticks some gardening shears into the doctor's head. The dead doctor is found lying on the floor by some other staff members and his skin has turned blue.  "I wonder if he's blue down there too" asks the nurse as she unzips the dead doc's fly and roots around in his crotchal area.  The dead doc comes back to life as a zombie and offs the pair.  Meanwhile, in another hospital room, a doctor and nurse are getting frisky.  They accidentally knock a beaker of green goop onto a Fangoria magazine on the floor and this causes Leatherface and Jason to appear.  More killings ensue . . most of them hilarious.  There are 2 security guards who are silly as hell.  They separate and one goes into the men's room and has an argument with a condom machine when he hears explosive diarrhea coming from a stall.  It's Michael Myers, who stuffs the guard down the toilet and flushes.  A nurse encounters Michael Myers in the hallway and gives him a swig from her champagne bottle.  After taking a swig, Michael bashes her over the head with the bottle and shoves the broken bottle into her mouth.  In another hallway, Leatherface and Jason have a super-violent slow-motion kung fu fight with the Zombie Doc.  A guy selling bootleg videotapes of THE RESURRECTION OF MICHAEL MYERS PART 1 encounters Michael Myers in the hall and gets a videotape shoved into his mouth! 

 

The blood & gore effects here are actually top notch for a small SOV movie and I was quite impresseed by the work done by Goran Lundstrom, Kaj Steveman and Jocke Lindman.  There's a super duper synthesizer score by Christer "Simply Blue" Planborg & Mats "Max Rodes" Nilsson which I'd actually love to have on a soundtrack album.  This includes a theme song called "The Resurrection of Michael Myers" which rocks.  And yes, the Superviolent Slowmotion Kung Fu looks really well done too; it's credited to Mikael Beckman and is called exactly that:  Superviolent Slowmotion Kung Fu Choreographer.  Nicely done!  This is quite probably the new 'best movie ever made', gang.  It's such a shame it's not on a really nice release by STS or Vinegar Syndrome or somebody like that who appreciate and celebrate low-budget horror that's such a lot of fun.  Ah well, maybe someday.

 

When Autumn Leaves Start to Fall

CIRCUS OF HORRORS (1960)

 LOOK FOR A STAR!

It was many a-many a-years ago that I first saw Anglo Amalgamated's stab at a Hammer Horror CIRCUS OF HORRORS.  I think it was probably at least 25 years ago.  I liked it but didn't love it.  I haven't seen it since then but I thought I'd revisit it (mainly because Terry Frost mentioned it in a recent video).  A wacky plastic surgeon named Rossiter gets himself in trouble with some unsanctioned operatin', crashes through a police road block and tumbles off a cliff in a burning car.  With the help of his two sidekicks Angela (who is sweet on him) and her brother Martin, they fix up Rossiter's scarred face and he assumes the new identity of Dr. Schuler:  a plastic surgeon. 

Local circus owner Vanet has a young daughter Nicole whose face is scarred from World War 2.  Schuler fixes her face and Vanet gratefully signs his failing circus over to Schuler; with the proviso that Vanet will still actually run it.  In a drunken, celebratory stupor Vanet dancing with a dancing bear, drops a bottle of booze which smashes and the bear steps on the broken glass.  Not happy with that, the bear mauls Vanet to death and Schuler takes possession of the circus.  Ten years later, the circus is thriving.  Unfortunately, beautiful women working in the circus have a tendency to die under bizarre and mysterious circumstances. Nicole, now grown up, is training to take the place of the circus' star bareback horse rider who is adamant about leaving the circus to marry a rich guy.  Schuler isn't happy with losing his star performer and, with the help of Martin, 'arranges' for her to meet a gruesome death while strapped to a spinning wheel as a knife thrower hurls blades at her.  Schuler is a dog and beds most of the pretty women in the circus and then, when he tires of them or they threaten to leave, he 'arranges' for the ladies to end up dead as well.   Meanwhile, all through the film we get . . . . that song.  THAT song!  The most persistant earworm in the history of horror movies:  "Look For A Star" by Garry Mills.  Holy crow, it will NEVER leave your brain.

This little Anglo Amalgamated film is doing it's level best to duplicate Hammer Horror; down to the casting of Hammer actors Anton Diffring (THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH), Yvonne Monlaur (BRIDES OF DRACULA) and Yvonne Romain (CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF).  As it goes, the film as directed by Sidney Hayers is rather a slow burn but never drags; it's much more entertaining than my first viewing years ago.  The gorgeous colour cnematography by maestro Douglas Slocombe is really show off in the new blu ray I got of the film.  And, as also mentioned,

there are so many beautiful women in the film as to please anyone interested in that, too.  Donald Pleasence is marvelous in this early, brief role as the failed circus owner.  The appearance of oddball actor Kenneth Griffith is always welcome too!  Yvonne Monlaur is adequate as the grown up Nicole; I don't think she was ever a magnificent actress, though her role here isn't very excitingly written.  I had the pleasure to meet her, however, at the first Monster Mania convention back in 2002.  The 'other' Yvonne -- Romain -- is better in her role as Melina later in the film; it's a much meatier, flinty role as compared to Monlaur's rather bland, goody-two-shoes role. I put this movie on and my father came into the living room and said "I SAW THAT MOVIE!".  Back in 1960 when he was 10 years old, he caught this movie at the Arlo, he said, and it 'bothered' him.  Probably all the nice, pretty women getting gruesomely offed was what he didn't like.  So, while CIRCUS OF HORRORS is fully entertaining with several gruesome murders, it isn't a thrill a minute.  Those of you with no attention spans (I'm lookin' at YOU, Cheeks) might find it rather a hard slog.  But all in all, a pretty good cod-Hammer horror film.  

SHOCKTAIL HOUR: WEREWOLVES! ZOMBIES! . . . AND BLOBS! (2022)

 A COMPANION PIECE TO YESTERDAY'S MOVIE.  

Directed by and starring Melissa LaMartina as horror host Aurora Gorealis, SHOCKTAIL HOUR is a movie consisting of three "episodes" of a horror TV show which doesn't show horror movies.  Instead, it's something like a horror-hosted morning show (but, I'm sure, taking place in the dead of night) crossed with THE HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN in

which our Elvira-like host Aurora Gorealis engages with her silly cast of regulars while presenting segments such as "Curse of the Day", a musical performance and horror-themed cocktail making recipes.  Melissa LaMartina as Aurora is surprisingly entertaining and not like the standard Elvira imitator; she has a wide-eyed, goofy presence which makes her an enjoyable companion to spend these three half-hours with. 

Melissa LaMartina is, I'm assuming, probably the wife of Chris LaMartina (who directed yesterday's movie TRICK OR TREAT WITH REED RICHMOND and THE WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL amongst others) and she obviously shares his love for nostalgic horror.  SHOCKTAIL HOUR, however, does not purport to be an old 80's or 90's videotape but is a current-day 'show'.  And I wish it really existed because I'd watch it every week.    Each 'episode' focuses on a particular monster; the three here focus on werewolves, zombies and blobs respectively.  The third Blob 'episode' seems to be filmed around the time of Blobfest in Pennsylvania.  Aurora sports different giant wigs which have various 'things' stuck into them. 

For example, the werewolves 'episode' features Aurora with a giant moon stuck into the side of her wig but there are always various Halloween/horror knick knacks and decorations attached to her wig at all time and I love it. 

Among her supporting cast is a great character called Party Werewolf (played by Chris LaMartina) and he's hilarious.  A kinda himbo version of a werewolf and I love 'im!  Now, I said I wish there was a 'real' SHOCKTAIL HOUR show because I'd watch it; however there is a SHOCKTAIL HOUR channel on youtuberz (although there hasn't been a new post there for a year) and it looks like Aurora Gorealis does host horror movies someplace called the Golden West Cafe.  And it looks like she has a faciabook page too.  I haven't had a chance to research into the whys and whereabouts of Aurora Gorealis and her SHOCKTAIL HOUR but it's definitely worth 'DIGGIN UP'!

 

TRICK OR TREAT WITH REED RICHMOND (2025)

 ANOTHER PERFECT WATCH FOR HALLOWEEN EVERY YEAR .  

Cult icon Reed Richmond hosts this early 90's TV Halloween special which presents the history and lore of Halloween from it's earliest beginnings as Samhain until the present day (90's) trick or treating. 

Cult icon Reed Richmond also provides individual segments on classic Halloween monsters like witches, werewolves, vampires, mummies and Frankensteins!  This is an hour long TV special from October 1995 taped offa the long-gone cable channel "Monster Planet"

and cult icon Reed Richmond is our cuddly host in his Halloween orange sweater shoving and knife into a pumpkin to carve it into a Jack O'Lantern while taking us on a spooky journey through the history of Halloween. 

And this VHS tape also includes the original commercials which aired during the special.  Cult Icon Reed Richmond is the one to shepherd us through the scary folklore since he was the star of such classics as " BEVERLY HILLS GRAVEROBBER" and "HELL NINJA 4".   

Cult icon Reed Richmond dresses up in various costumes to get into the trick-or-treat mood: he wears a witch's costume (complete while riding on a broomstick), a mad doctor or an archeologist to introduce his segments on witches, Frankensteins and mummies respectively.  There are also tons of clips from old horror movies and cartoons.  Cult icon Reed Richmond is just the fella I want to host this Halloween special which I plan on rewatching every Halloween from now on.

So, if you don't already know, cult icon Reed Richmond is played by the lovable George Stover (star of such classics as NIGHT BEAST, CALL GIRL OF CTHULHU, EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS, Susan Svehla's TERROR IN THE TROPICS, THE ALIEN FACTOR, John Waters' POLYESTER and HAIRSPRAY, PRESIDENT'S DAY and, more to the point THE WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL).  That's more to the point because this film is directed by Chris LaMartina -- who brought us THE WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL and the OUT THERE HALLOWEEN MEGA TAPE.  TRICK OR TREAT WITH REED RICHMOND is definitely a semi-sequel to those films and it's such a nostalgic blast from the past.  More so possibly than the two earlier flicks, TRICK OR TREAT WITH REED RICHMOND (cult icon) hit the Halloween nostalgia spot for me like gangbusters.  The made up 90's commercials look SO real and FEEL real as do the fake movies and cartoons that are made up for this special's film clips. 

These fake films are made from clips of real old horror movies and cartoons, of course, but they really work as films that never were.  I just adored this movie and TRICK OR TREAT WITH REED RICHMOND (cult icon, you know) is definitely entering my yearly rotation for a rewatch each Halloween.  

I Was A 1960s Monster Kid!

Creepy Vintage Cartoons Compilation | 1 Hour

PHANTASMATAPES (2025)

 THOSE FINE FOLKS AT AGFA HAVE STRUCK AGAIN!!!

Is there anything better than those recent AGFA mixtape blu rays.  The answer is no.  And here's another one with a twist. 

AGFA's Annie Choi and Joseph A. Ziemba (who previously this year brought us THE AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE VAULT as well as HEY FOLKS! IT'S THE INTERMISSION TIME VIDEO PARTY! and THE CULT OF AGFA TRAILER SHOW have just released yet another jewel in their mixtape blu ray series:  PHANTASMATAPES.  This time, however, they're doing more of a "WNUF"-style release.  PHANTASMATAPES purports to be a VHS tapes from a TV horror movie show from the 1980's.  The blu ray starts off with a damn Window Wizards commercial from Anderson windows we all saw back in the 1980's (unless you're a know-nothing-tot who wasn't around back then and, in that case, the angels will weep for you).  We even see the old WOR-TV Channel 9 New York station ID as we segue into the never-existed "Fright Night" horror movie programme which is featuring a double feature of

THE REVENGE OF DR. X and THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE

interspersed with actual vintage 80's TV cable commercials.  And that's not all . . . .
at one point, the infamous Max Headroom signal hijack happens for a few minutes.  Talk about awesome!   THE REVENGE OF DR. X is, of course, the ridiculous Edward D. Wood Jr.-written epic about a mad doctor who goes to Japan with a Carolina Venus Fly Trap plant and turns it into a half human/half plant carnivorous monster.  Then there's the classic THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE about another mad scientist who decaps his girlfriend in a car accident , keeps her head alive in a turkey basting pan full of blood and goes on a bimbo-body hunt to find a bod to attach her noggin to.  

These aren't the entire films but instead are artfully-edited-down versions of the two movies also with added video effects and a cool synth soundtrack from TAKEN BY SAVAGES (JUNGLE TRAP) which really works.  Also included are the full versions of both movies (in VHS Preservaation mode) as well as some shorts:  A GHOST which is all the scared reactions of people screaming "A GHOST!" from the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons which gets more and more disturbing as it goes on

plus  I WANT MYD&D which edits together Dungeons & Dragons game commercials and cartoons with "Satanic Panic"-style videos which warned that all kids playing D&D will become murderers and sell their souls to Satan.  Pure bliss!!!  We've all seen these movies a dozen times so the CLIFF NOTES' versions, filled with new synthesizer mood music and video FX is a nice addition and I loved it.  This newest AGFA "mixtape" blu ray is so well done and feels exactly like it was during the early 80's when you would videotape these late-night horror movie broadcasts (with the commercials left in) and watch and watch them.  Now that I have reached the age of 497, I find these nostalgia bombs really fun and I loved this one too.  Keep making them, AGFA, it's a public service!!! 

Horror Movies That Terrified Me As A Kid!

Dracula’s Paprika Hendl from Bram Stoker’s 1897 Novel

R.L. STINE'S PUMPKINHEAD (2025)

 A VERY GOOSEBUMPSY FOLK HORROR (NATCH). 

There was, of course, an episode of R.L. Stine's THE HAUNTING HOUR called "PUMPKINHEAD" but I don't think I ever saw it.  Is this possibly a remake?  Someone surely will know that down in the comment section.  I'll have to dig our my THE HAUNTING HOUR dvds one of these daze.  Regardless, this here Tubi movie (good on ya, Tubi!!!) finds Sam and his older brother Finn moving to a farming community from the big city with their Mom.  They get there smack in the middle of the town's harvest festival and things are a little "Children of the Corn-y"; we've got a trio of people on their knees in the field praying and genuflecting in thanksgiving (whoops. wrong holiday -- there is no Countdown to Thanksgiving . . . yet).  This is because, apparently, the town of Redhaven ("where the harvest never ends") was dying until an old guy somehow made the crops grow again. 

However, no matter how much the town is 'grateful' to him, kids are told never EVER to go out to the old man's farm.  Of course, that's the first thing that Sam does.  Sam sneaks into the barn and sees a mound of earth (and probably lots of manure) with a strange, nobbily pumpkin perched on top.  Sam, of course, steals the thing (being the whiny, emo 13 year old he is) and takes it home with him (saying it was given to him).  That night, the sheriff drops by (he lives next door) and asks if Sam stole the pumpkin.  The sheriff says it would be best if Sam himself returned it.  Finn goes up to Sam's room and tells him he's got to take it back.  Sam (the snotty, emo 13 year old that he is) refuses so Finn grabs the pumpkins (which is now getting kinda goopy and gross) and takes it back to the farm.  And Finn never comes home.

Despite having read and enjoyed my fair share of R.L. Stine, this movie was way more than I expected.  It's written and directed (by Jem Garrard) beautifully without a wrong note in the whole script.  It's shot beautifully by Robert Zawistowski focusing heavily on the autumnal farmland giving serious HARVEST HOME vibes.  The acting is flawless with Bean Reid doing a great job as Sam; his performance starts off as an unlikeable brat but they, after Finn's disappearance, changes into a likeable, caring boy who has obviously been hurt by the absense of his father -- whether Dad died or just left isn't ever made crystal clear and it doesn't matter; the absense hurts either way. 

Also Adeline Lo as the sheriff's daughter and Sam's new best friend Becka is also superb and steals every scene she's in.  They make a great dynamic duo investigating what happened to Finn and what's going on at that farm.  Now, I haven't described much of the movie because you really must watch it and I don't wanna spoil any of it except to say that, after Finn's disappearance, Finn & Sam's Mom doesn't remember Finn existed at ALL!  Nor anyone else in town can remember Finn.  Only the kids remember Finn existed.  Whoa!  A lot more is going on here.  Another great performance is Matty Finochio as Rusty; an eccentric 'nutjob' who lives in an RV just outside of town who supplies Sam & Becka with the backstory of what happened in the town.  Finochio gives a performance which is 'slightly teched' but never over the top and that's actually quite difficult to do.  He's twitchy and a little unhinged but not a caricature. 

I haven't even mentioned the genuinely creepy scarecrow/pumpkinhead creature that's featured prominently on the poster.  Sometimes a guy in a costume and sometimes CGI'd, this creature is pretty frightening!  Oh, and then there's the ending of the film.  Wow, didn't see THAT coming at all!  Really, if you have access to Tubi, you really need to catch this movie.  Perfect Halloween viewing.

Underrated 70s Halloween Specials You Never Saw

SCTV Monster Chiller Horror Theatre: The House of Cats

Terrifyingly Funny QI! Monsters, Myths & Morbid Facts.

5 Forgotten Halloween Traditions

5 Halloween Creatures You've Never Heard Of

From Harvest to Haunting: How Samhain Became Halloween

Classic TV Horror Movies That Are Still Incredible Today

Brit Horror before Hammer: The Murderous World of Tod Slaughter

SKELETON KEY (2006)

 "I GOT THE CLOTHES THAT ARE...LIKE...TORN.  BUT I LIKE THEM TORN BECAUSE, YOU SEE, IT'S ME!  THIS?  THAT'S ME.  THAT'S MY SMELL.  IT'S NOBODY ELSE'S SMELL!"

SKELETON KEY is John Johnson's movie.  It's nobody else's movie.  It starts with Conrad Brooks (of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE) semi-warning us that we're about to watch a John Johnson movie.  Next we see a wacko flopped over the side of a bathtub (ully clothed, don't be scared) who raves how much he loves John Johnson movies.  He puts a VHS tape into a combo TV/VCR he has sitting on a toilet and the movie starts.  Did I mention this is SOV???  Yes, it is.  Well, John Johnson himself plays Howard ; a reporter who is late to meet his photographer.  Before leaving the house, though, he shows us how to make the ultimate breakfast:  Johnny O's.  You get a pretty big mug or cup and it's made with layers

-- first a layer of Spaghetti O's then a layer of cheese and (cooked) bacon, then a layer of Spaghetti O's then a layer of cheese and bacon and so on.  A little cheese and bacon on top "shines it up" and you microwave that mess.  There's your breakfast  Now, this is the start of a horror-comedy and, frankly, it really couldn't start in a better way.  Also, unbelieveably there are a couple SEQUELS to this!  So you go, John Johnson.  Johnson is actually a pretty good actor (relatively) and very likeable from the start.  I enjoy going along with him in this movie.  And what's the movie about? I'll quote the back of the used DVD I found:  "John Johnson's SKELETON KEY is a horror comedy about a tabloid reporter, Howard, who in the process of covering a story on a five-legged two-headed goat comes across the town of Nilbog.  The town is a nexus of supernatural activity, which serves as the backdrop for hordes of monsters, musical numbers and one man's discoery of the meaning of love."  OK, so there can be no better possible premise for a movie and you can now see why I bought the thing.  I can really see why the guy in the bathtub loves this movie so much.  His name is Neil, by the way, (played by Liam Smith) and he has a voice like Mr. Hankey.  He is also something of the 'greek chorus' for this film as he pops in from time to time to speak to the audience.  When we meet Cornelius, Neil goes on about how much he loves Cornelius too and laughs "Look at his hat" -- Cornelius, of course, is wearing a turban.  Karthik Srinivasan plays Cornelius and the character doesn't speak English; however, he and Howard seems to communicate very well.  Sort of.  Their boss (at the pizza parlor they're based outta) Mr. Harvey (Mark Wagner) has no problem communicating about how much he thinks the two men suck at their jobs.  Harvey then gives them the task of going to find a two-headed five-legged goat and then threatens to 'cut them' with a pizza cutter. When the pair arrive in Nilbog, VA, Cornelius enters a log cabin and has a lengthy conversation (in Indian dialect) with a corpse whose faces has been eaten away.  Howard, meanwhile, encounters a shipping box out of which jumps a zombie guy who attacks him.  Howard punches his fist through the zombie's head.  "It's head . . . is all over my hand . . . and . . . going down my shirt!" 

The guys go to a motel to clean up and Howard hears a disembodied voiee whispering "Skeleton Key".  He enters his motel room and is confronted by a 'red devil'.  This is Evil (played by Paul Stark.) and is here to f*** with Howard i.e. he causes him to dance uncontrollably like an SOV version of THE RED SHOES.  While laughing maniacally, Evil plunges Howard's head in a toilet bowl and says "THAT IS MINE!" as he points to what can only be a Baby Ruth candy bar floating in it.  Doody! Next a Haitian cab driver named Nicopernicus (David Simmons) picks up Cornelius and Howard in his car.  Steel drum music plays constantly as Nicopernicus talks incessantly with verbal diarrhea.  When Cornelius says something to him, Nicopernicus then yells at him "We're in America!  We speak AmeriCAN!  Not bi-dud-bi-dub-bi-dub-dub!"  Simmons is hilarious and it seems every new character that appears in this movie becomes my new favourite character!  "White man!", Nicopernicus yells to Howard, "Do you understand what the HELL he is saying because I do NOT understand WHAT in the HELL . . .".  I'm only 25 minutes in and this might be my new favourite movie of all time!!!  Somewhere in Cornelius' speech, Nicodemus did hear the words "Nilbog" and "Route 66" and he states (still talking non-stop almost without taking a breath) that "...You guys better have a LOT of American money because it will take a long time to get to Route 66 . . . and it is in the boonies and I do NOT like the boonies because they have rednecks there and they smell like beef!"  After our trio cross a rickety bridge into the village of Nilbog, a horde of zombies attack them.  "You guys all right?" Howard queries as they close in.  You know what?  The zombie are in the street at night and it's dark but they look pretty damn good makeup wise.  Besides Conrad Brooks, Johnson also managed to get a couple more horror names in this one.  Johnson goes into the basement of a house and it's covered in spider webs; he is then attacked by Spiderella who bites him on the peen.  Spiderella is kinda like a denizen of HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND and she's played by Brinke Stevens!  Debbie Rochon also appears as the Bloufer Lady.  If you remember the Bloofer Lady in DRACULA then you know what SHE is.  I'm only a half hour in and this post is already a mile long so there's no chance I can write any more about it.  All I know is, SKELETON KEY is a rare thing -- a horror comedy that's actually very funny -- and this is very probably my new 'best movie ever made'.  And yes, John Johnson DOES look like Rik Mayall and Ian Ogilvy had a baby.  Just remember, it's OK.  Squeeze the hippo. Squeeze the hippo..

THE CORPSE VANISHES (1942)

 "IT'S SENSATIONAL!  ANOTHER KIDNAPPING OF A DEAD BRIDE!  WHAT A STORY!"

How many times have I seen this movie?  Zillions.  I think I first saw clips from it in that Good Times VHS tape of Zacherley's HORRIBLE HORROR back in the mid-1980's.  I found that video at K-Mart.  I'm also pretty sure I found the actual full movie videotape at K-Mart as well -- in one of those bargain VHS dump bins.  So I've been watching this movie ever since the mid-80's and I'm just now watching it again.  This time it's in the purdy metallic green steelbook from Pop Flix called HEROES OF HORROR COLLECTION. 

My doddy Cheeks got this dinged-up for 3 bucks.  I had all the movies in it (as well as THE VEIL TV show) many times over but, as I said, the metallic green steelbook is purdy so I had to have it.  And mine's NOT damaged, thank you very much.  Yes, I paid full price for it and do I regret it for a single second????  No sir!  But enough about the purdy green steelbook.  Among the 4 DVDs of Bela and Boris poverty row movies (and Boris' aforementioned TV show THE VEIL) can be found THE CORPSE VANISHES.  Directed by Wallace Fox (the auteur that brought us the blah BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT and the better INNER SANCTUM movie PILLOW OF DEATH with Lon Chaney Jr., THE CORPSE VANISHES is probably my favourite Wallace Fox film - - if there IS such a thing.  The wonderful premise is that brides standing at the altar drop dead at the moment they get married.  Then someone masquarading as the ambulance service steals the bodies.  I wonder who could be behind this all?!?!?  Yep, it's our old friend Bela as Dr. Lorenz.  But he's a sympathetic nutcase in this one.  His poor wife  Countess Lorenz (the magnificent Elizabeth Russell) can only be kept alive by the juice from dead brides' glands.  Sounds like a typical Saturday night for Bela.   Our intrepid Lois Land reporter discovers that each dead bride had an orchid corsage delivered right before they died.  Dr. Lorenz is knocking out the brides so he can spirit them away back to his secluded house of horrors and extract all the bride gland juice he needs to make a smoothie for his wife.  Elizabeth Russell really sells the intense pain she is in before Bela administers his antidote.  

Endlessly entertaining, this just-over-60-minutes poverty row quickie has always been a fun watch as far as I'm concerned.  There's also a string of awesome character actors who have long been favourites of mine due to their constant appearances in poverty row quickies like this.  There's Bela, of course, and Elizabeth Russell who was so memorable in every movie in which she appeared such as CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE, THE SEVENTH VICTIM, CAT PEOPLE, BEDLAM, the INNER SANCTUM film WEIRD WOMAN and HITLER'S MADMAN.  Luana Walters (from the terrific serial DRUMS OF FU MANCHU as well as co-starring with Bela in the serial SHADOW OF CHINATOWN) plays go-get'um reporter Patricia Hunter; whose quote at the top of this post shows her being thrilled each time a bride croaks because it's worth a story.  Tristram Coffin is another fave -- not only for his very name but also for his many appearances in faves like the Frankie Darro/Mantan Moreland team-ups IRISH LUCK, UP IN THE AIR,  CHASING TROUBLE and ON THE SPOT, THE BARON OF ARIZONA with Vinnie, Boris Karloff's Mr. Wong movies THE FATAL HOUR and DOOMED TO DIE, Mantan Moreland's COSMO JONES, CRIME SMASHER, the SPY SMASHER serial and THE BRUTE MAN with Rondo Hatton. 

 The odd Minerva Urecal appeared in the wonderful MURDER BY INVITATION, GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE and THE APE MAN with Bela, THE APE with Boris, THE LIVING GHOST and a few Charlie Chan and The Whistler flicks.  Good ole Angelo Rossitto was, of course, a munchkin in THE WIZARD OF OZ but more importantly appeared with Bela in SCARED TO DEATH and SPOOKS RUN WILD, with Boris in MR. WONG IN CHINATOWN and DOOMED TO DIE, with Vinnie in THE BARON OF ARIZONA, FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM and CONFESSIONS OF AN OPIUM EATER, Tod Browning's FREAKS, Al Adamson's BRAIN OF BLOOD and DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN with Lon Chaney Jr.,, MESA OF LOST WOMEN as Jackie Coogan's lab assistant, and Ray Bradbury's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.  Pug-nosed pugilist Frank Moran was also in THE LIVING GHOST as well as GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE and RETURN OF THE APE MAN with Bela and the Jack Benny & Fred Allen vehicle LOVE THY NEIGHBOR.  Then there's Joan Barclay who appeared with Bela in BLACK DRAGONS and SHADOW OF CHINATOWN, the Val Lewton produced THE SEVENTH VICTIM, and as the leading lady in one of my favourite serials BLAKE OF SCOTLAND YARD with Ralph Byrd.   I go into such Cv detail because I love these character actors and their movies and they should be shouted out more than they are. 

But back to Bela and his bride-corpse business.  This movie has so many unintentionally (I think) funny moments that you have to love it.  I mean, there's that iconic shot of Bela nearly swallowed up by the cloth lining inside a coffin with his eyes bugging out.   The cops are stopping all suspicious cars and, when they stop Bela's car THIS is how he chooses to look inconspicuous!!!  

There's the mother who tells her soon-to-be married daughter moments before the wedding:  "Do you feel all right, dear?" followed by her daughter's line:  "You should forget all that silly nonsense about those brides dropping dead!".  At one point, Luana Walters' reporter sees a corpse in Dr. Lorenz's sub-basement and faints.  The almighty crash you hear on the soundtrack as she hits the floor is hilarious; makes her sound like she weighs 200 pounds.  I think you can even hear the set shake.  Later the next morning, Tristram Coffin's Dr. Foster knocks on Ms. Hunter's guest room door and she answers in her dressing gown.  "Oh, I'm sorry," says Dr. Foster, "I thought you were up." "Up?!?!?" she says ,  "I've been up all night with dead people!".  This is the movie that first springs to mind whenever I think of Bela Lugosi's poverty row horror movies and it's one of the most fun.

THE REPTILE (1966)

 IN A RECENT VIDEO, TERRY FROST COMPARED HAMMER HORRORS "THE GORGON" AND "THE REPTILE".  

His points were very well-made and interesting to this guy who has seen both movies more times than he can remember.  THE GORGON is one of my all-time favourite Hammer Horrors while THE REPTILE was thought by me to be good but unremarkable.

Part of Hammer's quartet of horrors shot back to back reusing sets and casts for economy's sake:  DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS and RASPUTIN, THE MAD MONK plus the "Cornish" duo of PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES and THE REPTILE.   In double features, DRAC was paired with PLAGUE and RASPUTIN teamed with REPTILE; obviously so people wouldn't see the same cast and sets back-to-back.  THE REPTILE, I believe, was shot last and had to make due with whatever budget was left after the first 3.  Despite this, THE REPTILE was always a really great Hammer Horror anyway; it was only in comparison with other Hammers that it came a little farther down the pecking order as far as my affections were concerned.  However, I always really liked it.  Terry Frost, however, makes the case in his recent yootuberz video that, not only are THE GORGON and THE REPTILE basically the same plot but also THE REPTILE is the superior film.  I'm not sure I buy that conclusion -- I adore THE GORGON and have rewatched that at least twice as many times as I have THE REPTILE -- but I thought a new rewatch was in order to see if THE REPTILE went up in my estimation.  Charles Spalding (David Baron) enters the manor house of Dr. Franklyn (Noel Willman) and is attacked and killed by a reptilian creature.  Brother Harry (Ray Barrett) and his wife Valerie (Jennifer Daniel) come to the Cornish village to take over Charles' bequest.  Harry enters the village pub and his very appearance clears out every single punter in the place!  Publican Tom Bailey (the glorious Michael Ripper) comes out from the back and is stunned that his entire pub has been cleared out of customers. 

He explains that Harry is a stranger and the locals don't like strangers in these parts.  "You're not thinking of living there permanently, are ya?" asked Tom, who advises him to take his advice and sell his brothers cottage 'Larkrise' and leave.  You've seen enough Hammer films (and Universal ones, for that matter) that you can write this dialogue all by yourself.  But the absolute integrity and conviction with which Barrett & Ripper play the seen sells it!  Superb acting.  The stern and tyrannical Dr. Franklyn has a daughter Anna (Jacqueline Pearce) whom he rules with an iron fist.  The Spaldings take a liking to the young lady and befriend her.  Unfortunately, the village is plagues by more murders.  The victims have two puncture marks widely-spaced on their necks and their faces turn black while they froth at the mouth.  Nasty. 

Of course, everyone watching knows exactly who the culprit is; as they do in THE GORGON as well.  Perhaps not so coincidentally, John Gilling (who directed THE REPTILE) wrote the screenplay for THE GORGON.  I never realized that until Terry Frost pointed it out so there is little wonder why the two movies do appear to be two sides of the same coin. Australian Ray Barrett does a fine job as Harry but the main joy of this (and many other Hammer Horrors) is the superb supporting cast.  Noel Willman you will remember from KISS OF THE VAMPIRE; here he gives a suitably burdened and cursed portrayal of Dr. Franklyn while Jacqueline Pearce (most famous for her time on BLAKE'S 7) is sympathetic and likeable as Anna.  Frost is quite right also in pointing out that THE REPTILE features perhaps the biggest role Michael Ripper ever had in a Hammer Horror and he takes full advantage.  Always the consummate actor, Ripper usually stole every scene he was in (no matter how small).  Christopher Lee once noted during an interview that he and Peter Cushing used to joke about being supporting players in a Michael Ripper film. 

The magnificent John Laurie appears and a doom and gloom Chicken Little character proclaiming that the village is evil and cursed.  Indian-born Marne Maitland as 'The Malay' (British imperialism apparently doesn't require his character to have a name) fulfills the same 'mysterious/sinister Asian' role as George Pastell's Mehemet Bey in Hammer's 1959 THE MUMMY.  Maitland, who isn't given practically any dialogue to work with, offers a gravitas and authority in the role which is both threatening and commanding.  George Woodbridge is also here once again (as he is in many Hammer Horrors) as Old Garnsey; he usually played innkeepers and publicans.  Jennifer Daniel (who was also in KISS OF THE VAMPIRE) is also quite good and likeable as Valeric Spalding; her other memorable horror credit is in the excellent THRILLER witchy episode "SPELL OF EVIL" -- an old favourite.  The Roy Ashton makeup for the Reptile often gets trashed but I find it really good and quite effectively shot; the makeup for The Gorgon wasn't quite so effective (but I'm still fond of it).   Of course, there's the reptilian elephant in the room; that is, how much of an influence (conscious or not) on Ken Russell's LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM.  I mean, that and THE REPTILE make a perfect double feature, don't they?  Alike but not at all alike.  All in all, Hammer's THE REPTILE is a excellent movie. . . . but is it better than THE GORGON after all?  Sorry, Terry, but I can't go along with that.  Despite all it's embarrassment of riches, THE GORGON is still I think a better watch.  The atmosphere of dread and spookiness is non-stop in THE GORGON but it only comes and goes in THE REPTILE.  John Gilling is a fine director but he's no Terence Fisher (who helmed THE GORGON).  Gilling's direction is more workmanlike while Fisher's is drenched in gothic atmosphere.  The swirling wind and blowing autumn leaves in the moonlight is pure chef's kiss!  Then there's the powerhouse case of Peter Cushing, Barbara Shelley, Christopher Lee and Shakespearean actor Richard Pasco (as well as character actors Michael Goodliffe and Patrick Troughton) which tip the scales towards THE GORGON.  Be that as it may, THE REPTILE is still a fine mid-period Hammer Horror and should not be missed. 

TOY STORY OF TERROR (2013)

 A HALLOWEEN SPECIAL FROM THE TOY STORY FRANCHISE.

Continuing with my (unplanned) tour into things I've never ever seen before, we have the TOY STORY franchise.  And yes, I've never seen a single TOY STORY movie.  I own them all.  In a box set, I think.  But no, I haven't watched them yet.  So, never having seen any TOY STORY movie, what could be smarter than to watch a TOY STORY Halloween special!  Well, I don't think I really need to have seen the movies since this was quite 'stand alone' and I quite enjoyed it.  The toys are confined to the trunk of the car in which their little girl owner and her family are on a road trip vacation.  They stop at a Sleep Well Motel for the night.  Mr. Pricklepants (a hedgehog toy voiced by Timothy Dalton) warns the toys that a roadside motel is a frequent scene of horror movies. 

After warning that the next thing that usually happens in a motel horror movie is that someone goes missing; almost immediately Mr. Potato Head (voiced by the late great Don Rickles) goes missing.  The toys go on a search for their missing friend and encounter the G.I. Joe-like Combat Carl (voiced by the late great Carl Weathers) who laments he was spirited away from his owner which happens a lot in this motel. 

Turns out, the motel manager is swiping the toys of kids who stay at the Sleep Well if they are valuable and is selling them to collectors online!  What a twat!  The toys must all work together to defeat this evil motel manager and gain their freedom before they end up boxed and mailed. 

The voice cast is wonderful.  Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are here as Woody & Buzz Lightyear, of course.  Besides Timothy Dalton, Don Rickles and Carl Weathers, we also have Joan Cusack, Kristen Schaal, Wallace Shawn, Stephen Tobolowsky, Kate McKinnon and Laraine Newman.  There's quite a nice job at evoking spooky atmosphere in this one as well as some geuuinely funny gags.  My favourite is probably the Cat Pez dispenser who throws up by ejecting a pez candy. 

TOY STORY OF TERROR is genuinely funny and makes me want to dig out the TOY STORY movies and watch them -- although apparently they specialize in making you cry so . . .  Also of note, the blu ray comes with an optional feature to watch the show with "vintage" fake commercials and they were awesome too.  .