A perennial favorite of the "Shock Theatre" TV circuit, House on Haunted Hill stars Vincent Price as sinister gent (you're surprised?) Frederick Loren, who owns a sinister mansion on a sinister hill, where seven murders have occurred. He makes a proposal to several strangers, offtering $10,000 to anyone who can last the entire night. Loren festively gives each of his guests a tiny coffin containing a loaded handgun, designed to protect them from the spooks that emerge in the house over the course of the night. The picture hinges on its surprise ending, which packs in several by-now-familiar twists. When originally released to theaters, House on Haunted Hill was accompanied by one of those gimmicks so beloved of producer/director William Castle: the gimmick was "Emergo," and it involved a prop skeleton that "emerged" from the side of the screen at a crucial moment to frighten the audience. Like most of Castle's best films, House didn't really need the gimmick, but its presence added to the fun -- especially when second- and third-time viewers responded to "Emergo" by bombarding the skeleton with popcorn and empty soda bottles.
Mutant
A muscular pair of Yankee brothers visit a backwater Georgia town and end up involved with rednecked mutant zombies. The campy horror begins when brother Mike suddenly disappears. Puzzled brother Josh, with the help of Sheriff Will Stewart and schoolmarm Holly begin a desperate search. Unfortunately more trouble ensues when they find that toxic waste has transformed their normally peaceable neighbors into scary monsters.
Moon of The Wolf
Filmed for television, this story concerns a series of killings in the Louisiana bayou. The sheriff on the case believes that a werewolf is behind the murders. The film was adapted from a book by Leslie H. Whitten.
Fangs of The Living Dead
This low-budget Spanish-Italian co-production was the handiwork of cult filmmaker Amando De Ossorio, best known for his series of Knights Templar zombie films which began with La Noche del Terror Ciego (1971). Faded '50s bombshell Anita Ekberg stars as Silvia, a young woman who travels to the family castle which she will soon inherit. When she arrives, she meets her uncle (Julian Ugarte), who gives her some rather disheartening news. Many years before, a nun named Malenka was burned as a witch in the town square and swore to return for revenge. Silvia looks just like Malenka, and the villagers are terrified that the witch's spirit has been reincarnated in her. Soon, villagers start dying, and Silvia is so sure that she is possessed that she breaks off her engagement, convinced that she is destined to kill her beloved (Gianni Medici). Naturally, as the title already gives away, the blood-drinking attacks are part of a plot by Ugarte to drive Silvia mad and steal her inheritance.
No comments:
Post a Comment