Every year I post an annual wish list of sorts in hopes of spreading my holiday cheer to anyone that loves horror movies and wants to pick up something for themselves via our links. This year, I’ve made it a point to select a few items that will reflect the nature of this site as well as the 5 readers still commenting and trying to win the prize of the month.
If you purchase any of these from the links I provide, I get a few cents back. It helps me keep writing instead of flipping burgers.
Here is the Scary Film Review’s 2012 Holiday Wishlist
The Walking Dead Board Game – If you’re a fan of the comics, the television show, and just a fan of zombies in general, you have to pick up this game. Hours of fun and excitement can be had with this extreme board game that pits survivors against zombies! Can you survive? Click here to pick up this game and get it delivered in time for the new season.
Stephen King’s Dark Tower Omnibus Hardcover – The comics that were based on Stephen King’s Dark Tower novels is now available in a hardcover edition that delivers nearly 1,000 pages of the original comic series in a hardbound amazing edition. If you are a fan, click here, and pick this up. It’s simply stunning on the inside.
Movies
Aside from the above quick picks, you’ll probably want to pick up some movies right? If you’re still buying Blu Ray and not just streaming, consider my list of the best things to get horror movie fans this year. (Click through the links to purchase them)
The Twilight Zone Complete Blu Ray Set – This is the mother of science fiction television and is wonderfully presented in a 24 disc Blu Ray set with more special features than you can throw a stick at.
That’s it. Let me know what you are getting this holiday season, and if you’re going to shop online please visit amazon.com here, and help me keep this site going instead of having to work a normal 9 to 5. Thank you.
Here I am sitting around at the end of my work day listening to a band named Flanders and am posting this end of the month recap. For those of you that love Halloween, hooray for you! For those of you like me, you'll probably watch something on tv and go to bed early or something.
If you missed anything this month, here are the links, if you caught it all, thanks.
If you can donate, do so at the link to the right, and if you can buy anything do so with the amazon links we have on our site.
Did you really think I’d make it this far in the world of horror movie blogging? I didn’t think that at this point I’d be blogging to an audience of around 20 or 30, but look, there are people that actually like to read the site, even if I’m the worst movie reviewer since Jon Lovitz. This month’s winner of the Total Recall Blu Ray has been contacted and it will be sent via mail soon. Thank you for those that participated in our first major contest in a long time.
There are a few things I wanted to talk about before I give you the links from this past month’s writings, especially for those that are looking forward to see what else I’ll be doing for September.
Contest for September
For the month of September, if you leave a comment, email me, or like me on Facebook you will be entered in a drawing to win 1 Kindle Fire 2 ! That’s right, you will receive a Kindle Fire for your comments, likes, and whatever. This is no joke, you will be receiving a brand new Kindle Fire 2 to enjoy all the movie streaming, book reading, porn watching and web surfing that you can handle.
If you are out there and reading this, I need you. I need guest bloggers to network horror movie sites with and to present writings from. If you want me to be a guest I can do that too, but this is a call to my fellow horror movie fans. If you want to rant about anything, I will give you the forum to do so! Come on down and write for me!
Patronize the Sponsors
I put up links to where you can purchase a lot of different things, and I could really use your help. If you are going to buy something already, go check out the deals and what not that I have listed, I will receive a cut, you will receive your goods at no extra cost and I can finally save up for that dot com and podcast for Scary Film Review. If not, that’s ok. I know times are tough.
The past Month
The past month I’ve upped the number of posts that I’ve made, and I’ve tried hard to keep this thing going. For September you can expect more of the same, and then some. I’m toying with double posts, but it probably won’t happen. I will however be posting more “articles” in regards to horror and what not, because I need the traffic and right now the readership is low, and would love to have more readers and eventually rent out a theater in Los Angeles for a special screening of “Silent Night Deadly Night”. Now that’s a dream….sadly.
The Hammer Horror studio is best known for putting Christopher Lee in the role of Dracula time and time again, and while some people absolutely loathe the movies that came out of the studio, others find the films to be awesome, especially those that mixed exploitation and horror quite nicely. Admittedly, some of the movies are horrible, and boring, but there are some shining gems amidst a lot of the movies that were continually being pushed to the public. Here is my list of the top 5 Hammer Horror movies.
The Brides of Dracula – The Brides of Dracula put together sex and vampires together long before HBO decided to throw it all together. This film from the 1960s has that classic old school feel and while the pacing can use some work, the blood and artistic viewpoint of the Dracula myth is all presented quite nicely. The brides come out of their graves to become the antagonists of this gothic horror picture, and while we get another shot at Peter Cushing in his infamous rolls with Hammer, it’s Baron Meinster that really gets the credit here. I love it, and you might enjoy it too.
Dracula Has Risen From The Grave – The year was 1968 when this movie came out and Christopher Lee played Dracula, in one of the better interpretations of the original tale. When you see this movie you will feel as though you are on set, or watching a stage play, the way the camera moves, the way the costumes are meticulously made, the way the acting draws you in. The whole time you are not sure whether to cheer for the vampire or to cheer for the hero, because Christopher Lee makes the old bastard look so cool.
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed – A year after the aforementioned film, Peter Cushing reprised his role of an evil Baron, only this time he isn’t a protagonist, he is all bad. This guy is pure evil and he is out to somehow get his way and create a monster that will do his bidding. While some people will be mad at me for including this film in this list due to the strong rape scene, I will say that it’s just a movie and a Hammer movie at that. Grow up, it’s not making it “cool”, ok. Peter Cushing and his monster get the #3 spot, even though Frankenstein must be destroyed!
The Curse of the Werewolf – This wasn’t exactly a great one, but after repeated viewings this movie is actually not half bad. The movie has a lot of slow points, then really picks up in the third and fourth act, with the wolf going nuts and getting beaten and shot. The cool thing here was the mutation scene, which was far better than the Universal Monster movies. Although, my favorite wolf transition happens in The Howling, this one is kind of cool, even though it was from the early 1960s.
Now, at this point you probably are wondering what I would pick for the number one spot, and when you see it, you’ll understand, especially because the poster is so rad.
Dracula 1972 – One of my favorite movie posters is also my favorite Hammer Horror movie. This film updates the story of Dracula and places him in the present (well at the time it was the present), and with an all-new updated cast of cronies to help him. We also are introduced to the descendent of Van Helsing with Jessica Van Helsing, and Johnny Alucard. (Alucard is not a descendent, but teams up with the girl) The movie is a bit dry, but it has some awesome moments with Christopher Lee once again playing the role of Dracula and making it hard not to cheer for him.
There you have it, 5 of my favorites from Hammer Horror, what are your favorites? Drop me a line.
Remember to leave a comment, to be entered to win Total Recall on Blu Ray. Winners will be announced at the end of the month.
It's late in the game and Christmas is nearly non existent at my house due to the financial situation that I am. However, that doesn't stop me from reviewing, writing, and adding items to my amazon wish list. Looking over some of the things that I've added throughout the years, I realize that I forgot to write a post for this years horror movie fans to enjoy. So here we go, my first ever Scary Film Review Holiday Wish List, Guide, and overall piece of crap post detailing what to buy the horror fan in your life.
I am going to be picking up a few things from this list, if my mother sends me a gift card like she did last year, and if not, they'll just go back into the amazon wish list that I have going.
Horror Movie Box Sets
Friday the 13th: The Series Complete Series DVD Set - I absolutely love the Friday the 13th television series, and would stay up late night to watch it followed by a block of Tales from the Crypt and whatever Elvira was showcasing. They finally put the whole thing on dvd and it's now available in a box set of dvd's. I for one have been wanting this set for a while, but haven't got around to getting it. If you like the film series, you might like the television show, which rocks, it's just not as gorey nor as "jason" filled.
Friday The 13th: From Crystal Lake To Manhattan Ultimate DVD Collection Box Set - Another dvd box set featuring Friday the 13th? Yes. Absolutely yes, this is a great box set of the first series of films all the way through one of my personal favorites, Jason Takes Manhattan. Sure, this isn't the complete series of films, but it is enough to get you started on one of the best slasher franchises.
Hammer House of Horror Complete Set VHS - This is going to draw some criticism because I'm recommending that you buy a box set of VHS tapes. This is an amazing collection and one of my favorite gifts ever. This six set of Hammer Horror films are presented in VHS! I love this set, and if you haven't checked out the great House of Hammer, then pick up this vhs set today.
The Ultimate Hammer Collection 21 Disc Box Set Region 2 - For those that have a region free dvd player, you're going to absolutely go nuts for this ultimate box set. 21 discs, Region 2, complete Hammer history box set with booklet, 21 dvd's of horror and so much more. I absolutely love this set and if it ever comes to the states like this, I'd buy it in a heart beat. If you love Hammer Horror and must own all of them, here it is, the ultimate hammer collection set is for you.
Obviously these are just some of the horror box sets that I would want this year, but you might want something different. Whatever it is, make sure you check out amazon online for more ideas in terms of horror movie box sets.
Blu Ray Horror Recommendations
An American Werewolf in London Blu Ray - I reviewed this movie recently and think that there are some great images that should be explored in high definition. It's actually 50% off at the time of this writing so if you're going to buy blu ray get this disc for sure. I would love to hear some of the sounds and the soundtrack of this film in full surround.
John Carpenter's The Thing Blu Ray - The Thing is one of my favorite creepy isolated science fiction horror films. If you haven't seen it recently, go back and watch it again, it's worth while and holds up very well. It has nearly everything you'd want in a scary movie, and well, you get the picture.
High Tension Blu Ray - I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely love this movie. It has one of my favorite cars in a nice chase sequence, it is gorey as hell, and has one of the most intriguing self pleasure scenes that I've seen in horror movies in a long time. I hate the ending, and the premise is a joke after the reveal, but there are some sick scenes and great gore.
Maniac 30th Anniversary Blu Ray - Maniac is back in full high definition. Sure, not a lot of people will remember this one, but I think it is quite good. It's another shining example that slashers were best done 30 years ago, because most recent slashers aren't up to par.
Horror Books
Under The Dome by Stephen King - This thousand some odd page book took me a few weeks to read. It's one of the biggest books that I've read in a long time, and it has some seriously twisted and scary moments. Sure, it gets compared to the Simpsons movie, but it's far better, at least in my view. This book was recently released in paperback but I invested in the preorder hardcover, then sold it...cause I'm an idiot.
Hell House by Richard Matheson - The mother of all Haunted House books, at least in my view. I would recommend this book above most other haunting books and it's surprising that there hasn't been a good adaptation of this book done for film, this one is a great scary read, and I loved every chapter. Although the ending is a bit weak, the build up is awesome and the "know it alls" get theirs in the end or the beginning...whatever. I saw the vhs tape a while back to the adaptation, and it's not nearly as good as the book, and that's just standard when you think of films adapted from books.
Action Figure
Elvira Coffin Action Figure - Oh my goodness, Elvira is one of my favorite horror icons. She was the woman that I wanted to be with when I was a kid and a teenager, and when I started to ask chicks out, I had to ask any girl out that looked anything like Elvira...leading me to get rejected by a lot of women. Well, now here is an amazing action figure, anatomically correct in a night gown, fish nets and a coffin. I love it, you might love it too.
NES 8 Bit Games
Total Recall NES - Many people will remember the classic science fiction film, but do you remember playing the video game? Do you even own a Nintendo system still? Well if you do, you're going to want to pick this one up too, this is Total Recall, the ultimate NES adaptation and well it's a hard game to master, but it's one of my favorite sci-fi 8 bit classics. I'm in the minority on that one.
A Nightmare on Elm Street NES - LJN might be one of the most hated game companies, but I loved playing A Nightmare on Elm Street, because it is just weird and fun. I like it, and it is not easy to master.
One Last Thing
A Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Kruger "Freddy's Glove" Prop - This is one thing that I absolutely love. I would pick this up in a heart beat and scare the crap out of kids in the neighborhood. This replica Freddy Kruger glove is just amazing, and while it's not going to kill anyone, it's something to give a true horror fan. Forget the dvd's, get this thing, it's rad.
So there you have it folks. There goes my 2010 holiday gift list, guide, or whatever. I guess I should have posted this a while ago, but instead I posted it today...cause I'm an idiot. If you have a few extra pennies click the links provided to shop on amazon and help support this site. I'll have a review of a recent indie horror film coming Friday, and then a nice Christmas post for you guys that celebrate.
We're about the midpoint of the month of July this 2010 and I didn't get nearly as many comments as I think this site should have, but hey, I don't exactly force you guys to reply.
Just a few things before we get to the comments.
Why do horror lists, tea drinkers, and horror blog society website hate me?
I've tried emailing member sites, talking trash, emailing owners and all sorts of things and yet none of them seem to want Scary Film Review to be a part of their websites. Some of the sites they sponsor are completely crappy and full of ads, yet my humble site isn't good enough?
I am thinking of starting my own league of tea drinkers, horror society and random crap and we'll join together to feud with the other idiot websites.
I want to bugger Dolly Parton (as she was when she was 18, not as she is now obviously). By the way, any of the "Puppet Master" movies chosen completely at random would be better by itself than everything that the British film industry has produced in the last 121 years put together, just another of my occasional reminders to keep you far away from British garbage. OH...DOLLY, OH DOLLY what a babe (the 18 year-old version that is).
Dolly Parton eh? I'm not sure she'd enjoy the buggering, but yes, when she was 18 maybe she'd like some lovin. As for British film, you got to admit Hammer had a few good films, at least 1? I haven't run across a lot of British horror, and no one is really sending me anything from there, except for this Vampire movie I was sent, but the dvd wouldn't play on any of my devices, so it's their loss.
I have a weird fear of marrionettes or basically little dolls that move around on their own like in the Puppet Master film. They give me the heebee-geebee's every time, but I agree, while enjoyable, the Puppet Master films aren't all that scary.
Have you ever seen the movie "Dolls"? Similar type of story, not exact, but similar. Creepy old people with a house full of dolls that are actually alive and don't quite like most visitors.
Great article, thanks for reminding me of the Puppet Master franchise. Hmmm..."Puppet Master vs. Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood"...I think Lady Elaine would scare the pants off the Puppet Master puppets...all that "Boomerang, toomerang, zoomerang" jazz, then she'd trap them in her "museum-go-round"...I think Lady Elaine is one of the creepiest puppets ever...right up there with "Kookla, Fran, and Olly" *shivers* Great, now I feel like I have to check under my bed for some tiny minion with a knife, like that Zuni doll from Trilogy of Terror 1 & 2.
Dreaded Dreams Petunia Scareum
I want one of the puppets, it'd be cool. Mr. Roger's Neighborhood vs Puppet Master? I'm buying, and I'm sure the producers might want a crack at that too. We'll see how it all turns out with that, since word on the street is that they're making a new one.
Zuni doll from Trilogy of Terror? What about "Black Devil Doll" now that's a creepy doll.
I have seen the movie Dolls, and I reviewed the movie Dolls for this blog HERE. I liked it, although it wasn't nearly as good as Puppet Master 2, which I'll have to review sooner than later.
Thank you for your insightful comments, and keep em coming!
That's about it for the comments this week, and hopefully there'll be more to come. I'll keep the reviews coming, that's for sure. If you have an extra dime or two, consider patronizing our sponsors, I really need some extra dough, since I have no job and no hope and am battling depression these days.
Here we go again, another film from the Hammer Production studio. This film from way back when, 1961, features a clever take on the Werewolf myths, based on a French Novel "The Werewolf of Paris" by Guy Endore. In the annals of werewolf movies, this thing is not memorable, and it really isn't too shocking in terms of gore, but it's a Hammer Horror film none the less, and it is worth noting and viewing, for this great movie blog...well it's an ok movie review blog...at best. So come with me as we go back to the 18th century Spanish world and read the styling of Curse of the Werewolf.
Right off the bat this film sets you up for character development. This movie is deeply moving in terms of acting and character development, with lavish sets setting a great back drop to a somewhat scary idea of werewolves in the age of pre-American traditional lore. For being a 1961 movie, the sets are well put together and the film looks like it had some serious money and artistic ability behind the production, and it really is a great testament to how much Hammer Film Studios paid attention to details.
The stars of this film were Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Catherine Feller, Anthony Dawson, and Michael Ripper, and they do a really good job in this. These people are not fly by night actors, they really try to do the best they could with the material given to them. It really does make you wonder what happened to horror films. Today, you don't really get good acting in standard horror films.
The story starts out with a beggar arriving into a Spanish village and ends up in the courts of royalty. There they treat him like a pet, until they eventually send him to the dungeons. He befriends a mute girl while he is there, and eventually she grows up to be beautiful. Then, the beggar strikes when you begin to think that this film is a love story, and we get to the good stuff, werewolf transformation!
Now, you usually get transformation sequences that range from stupid to good. Recall the transformation in the movie "Wolf" and you know that things aren't always good in the realms of turning men into wolves. This film goes with a more realistic approach and do not elongate the face like you see in "Howling" which was definitely exaggerated in a lot of different ways. There is no crazy transfer and the u can distinguish between the beggar and the wolf.
At this point we start getting serious character development and story, and the majority of viewers will just go to sleep, because the film is treated as a serious thing, instead of a scary and obscure horror film. With movies like "The Howling" we saw some serious dark tones involved with the exploration of the werewolf idea. This film doesn't have that, you don't see a lot of smoke and mirrors, and you aren't mysteriously led into transformation sequences, sexual scenes, or anything that you might want to think of in terms of recent werewolf films. It's just tone down in a lot of ways, and you might not enjoy that.
The best part of this film for me, is the ending, when the werewolf gets tore up, he acts like an animal! Seriously, he gets shot and he jumps around like a real life animal, which made a touch of realism to an otherwise non existent romp through horror.
Is The Curse of the Werewolf Scary? No. This movie isn't really that scary. Sure there are horror elements, but for today's horror aficionado's this film doesn't create enough mood to scare. In 1961, this film was censored in a few frames upon release, and was recently restored when released for dvd recently. So maybe it was scary at one time, but overall this isn't as scary as the other Hammer Horror films. This is not a vampire film, and this is toned down a lot in comparison to any modern day horror film.
I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I really think that this film would be an ok introduction for children and horror film. The movie has such a slim line, stream of horror that a child would find somewhat scary. If you watch this with your child, you might have to explain that werewolves are not real, but you won't have to explain a ton of other things. There's not a ton of innuendo, sex, and gore. So this movie in 2009 seems a lot like a "Goosebumps" book rather than a real horror film. You really have to put your 1960's hat on and consider the time that this film was in and enjoy it. Don't approach this film thinking that this is a horror, gore, and sexual fest. While there are arguments that can be made in regards to that, they are tame and done with a sense of taste and class, so you might not even see them coming.
This 1961 Hammer Horror film is really cool. It's a cool film. Hammer Horror's The Curse of the Werewolf is a tame horror entry, but it was scary at one point. 40 years ago this thing would have scared a lot of people and rightfully so, but I think I nailed it on the head in saying that this is really tame in today's standards. It is even probably something that I'm going to show my kids as they develop their tastes into horror movies. Check this one out, but don't expect a thrill ride, it's really slow to develop and the action doesn't make the film, the acting makes the film. I know, that's a strange thing.
Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.
Here we go, an all new feature for today's review. Instead of my normal review format I'm going to write a little differently. These movies are not worthy of analysis at all. These movies are proven to be terrible and aren't very good. However, they are horror and they are relevant to this site in so many ways. So we're going to dive into something rad! Here are three mini-reviews from the out of print world of vhs tapes...at least that's how I'm watching them! Oh and yes, I still buy vhs tapes.
First up a 1975 forgotten film, Old Dracula. Old Dracula is an interesting piece of classic horror, with some great visual direction and creepy sets. The sets in this film are really cool and gothic looking. There are some great modern features and paleo-future involved with the set up of the coffins inside castle Dracula. I really liked that about this film, and really enjoyed checking out the cool little nuances that made the set design better than most.
The plot is not going to win many fans over. The movie is about an older Dracula who wants to restore his wife's body so that she can rise from the dead. So on a weekend when some Playboy bunnies are set to show up at his castle for some fun, he decides to extract the blood from them to bring back his wife! The catch is that he ends up sucking the neck of an African American woman and his wife changes color when brought back! Yep. This is not a fake film.
The acting is not that great, but it's right up there with Hammer Horror's productions of Dracula movies. While the guy playing Dracula is definitely no Christopher Lee he does in fact try to put something into this role, although laughable by any stretch of the imagination. This movie has some major plot holes as it doesn't even stay consistent with any other film about Dracula.
A highlight of the film is definitely the conversation that he has with a visitor about the origin of the name of Dracula, talking about Vlad The Impaler. If you're a Dracula buff you're going to like that reference, if you don't know what I'm talking about, maybe it's time to read a few books.
Old Dracula's tag line was definitely more of a comedic level, than a horror movie, it states "If you liked Young Frankenstein" you'll love "Old Dracula" with a great sexploitation poster to go along with it. This 1975 piece of horror comedy is a gem on vhs, and really doesn't need a better transfer, as it is only going to be loved by me and a few other horror fanatics out there. I'm sure Rob Zombie has this thing in his collection, and if you haven't seen it, check it out before you grow old...old like OLD DRACULA!
If Old Dracula really wasn't doing it for you, then here is a 1977 movie for you to enjoy; The Pack. Oh yeah, this movie took "Cujo" and turned it into a wolf movie with very low quality features and terrible, terrible music. The movie features some cool dog effects, no gore, and really not a lot more than rabid dogs attacking people.
The movie is really about a "pack" of dogs that terrorize residents of a vacation spot in some island. The dogs are driven by pets that have been abandoned and return to attack! The dogs aren't really that big as they are relentless at attacking the visitors. The movie resolves itself with little to no action and really is a tired formula.
The film grain on this film looks terrible even for a 1977 film. It doesn't hold up well, but it did have a few moments where you might jump back and get shocked. The star of the film is hilarious, as he was in the movie "Goldeneye" if you catch that. This movie is not going to win any awards and is not too cerebral in the way it is presented. Good luck watching this one, it's not very exciting, but the poster was very cool, so I saw it. This one is right above made for television quality, and not today's made for television quality 1977 made for television quality! The Pack is terrible.
This one looked promising. Considering the car's supernatural glowing head lights, this movie poster had some cool terror moments. However, the film didn't quite match up to the cool rendering on the cover. This film looks like it was produced in the 1970's but by all information that I could find it was made in 1990. This kind of looks like a made for television movie, but even a made for television movie would have better production values than this film.
The movie surrounds a lady who drives a school bus and a menacing character that drives a beat up racer. The plot thickens when the Dodge Charger in this film starts kidnapping young girls in the area. Things start to get out of control when the madman targets our bus driver's daughter! He kidnaps her in broad daylight, in front of the woman and the chase is on!
This movie is your basic chase movie, with a little bit of horror element involved. The movie doesn't show any gore, or real graphic terror. There is no sex involved and not a whole lot of foul language. The box cover is the scariest part of this film, and that's really disheartening.
The movie has some cool chase elements, but they are laughable. There is a section of this film that involves a small jump, as all car chases seem to have. However, that part completely shatters your perception with the amount of air that these cars get. The Charger gets about 2 inches of air while the bus barely gets one wheel in the air! This is one of the most hilarious moments ever in a horror movie ever!
The movie also takes a laughable turn at the end. The Charger falls into an a small shack labeled Explosives and blows up. Then as you're watching this explosion from multiple angles you can clearly see a missile hit the building exploding it even further! This piece is also a hilarious take on film, and is the most careless piece to the puzzle.
There are some great shots in this film, despite the overall laughable sequences. There are some great shots of the Dodge Charger that remind me a lot of "Death Proof". I kept thinking that Quentin Tarantino saw this film somehow and was stealing frames from it, but that couldn't be, he would NEVER steal ideas from an old obscure movie. (note sarcasm)
The worst part of this film is that the majority of the plot revolves around that final chase scene, in broad daylight, in Arizona. It's a terrible film, but has such a cool box that I couldn't resist.
So there you have it, three reviews on this Friday in April. These movies are somewhat out of print and in the public domain. If you're clever you can find these films for download somewhere, and if you're really clever you already have the vhs versions of these films. I like this sort of bad attempt at horror film because it shows that even with little to no resources film making can occur. It's not the greatest, but it has a few shining spots, proving once again that horror fans are one of the most creative people in the world. I mean you have to be creative to write a review of these films, and I guess that's me patting myself on the back.
*Just a quick heads up to finish this post, Monday I might not have a review due to family being in town and myself not having free time to write a lengthy horror movie review. Things change, so if you don't see one up, don't fret, I'll get one up sooner than later.
Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.
I've never been a fan of movies involving twins. I guess it really got bad for me when my sister, while she was really young, watched the Disney channel way too much. I saw "The Parent Trap" involving some twins, way too many times. If that wasn't enough, it seemed like the whole "Twins" thing was just played out, with the exception of the comedic movie "Twins" which wasn't half bad, in its absurdity. When it was time to sit down and watch the 1972 Hammer Horror classic, I was a bit hesitant, especially since I had just reviewed two other Hammer movies to lackluster fan fare. However, the show must go on, the blog must be updated, and I need to keep my eyes open, so here is the review of the 1972 movie Twins of Evil.
The plot of this movie definitely looked a lot like "The Crucible" at times, and was done way better than even the Award Nominated version that we saw in theaters with Daniel Day Lewis. The movie revolves around a couple of twins, one good, one evil. They are thrust into a new world when their parents die and they move in with their Puritanical Aunt and Uncle in Karnstein (Central Europe). Things get interesting when we it is revealed that their uncle is the leader of "The Brotherhood" a religious group that stamps out witchcraft and satanism, burning people at the stake at even the hint of being involved with the occult.
The most astonishing thing about this film, at least to me, was the set design and the costumes. The costumes are somewhat elaborate for Hammer Horror, but the sets were really done well. It seemed that at this point Hammer was setting up PBS style made for tv theater, because it is amazing. Alongside the sets, which really make you believe you're in central Europe, the lighting is perfect for a 1972 film. The lighting in this film is spectacular, and rivals even some of the newer films that we have seen come out recently. Granted, you are thinking that this film looks good because it has been remastered, but not so friends. I saw this film via a VHS transfer, not a dvd! that's right, the vhs of this film looked great, and really made me consider how cool vhs, even to this day.
Another interesting thing in this film is the clever camera angles that really made use of the cleavage of the twins. No, not the boobs, but the actual twins, always bending over in camera view, always nearly showing you nipples, and really teasing you at the idea of jail bait! This was very weird, but it was the 1970's so I understand if the intent of the director really was to entice viewers. Whatever the case is, it is truly interesting to see the sexuality pushed in this movie, decades before we got gratuitous nudity and sexual situations, just for the R rating! Did it diminish the film in some way? Not really, because I don't believe that a woman would notice this. At least not the average woman. My wife didn't really notice this, but me, being a male, really thought the director was going for my senses with creative camera angles at times.
Peter Cushing is once again in the starring role, and the dude looks generally serious and sometimes scary. He fits into this role like a glove, and he brings some brilliant acting to an otherwise terrible premise at times. He isn't as good as Daniel Day Lewis, but is close in the way they are different.
The film feels like a Witch film, but it really tries to tie Witches, Warlocks and Vampires. Seriously, vampirism and the occult meet head to head in this film, that is seriously trying to be a stage play instead of movie. With that in mind, here we have to consider the ideas pushed out, even if they are accidental at times.
Is Twins of Evil Scary: No. The problem with the last couple of Hammer Horror films I've reviewed, really has to do with the amount of time and attention that is given to the atmosphere. You don't really feel that you're watching horror film, you feel like you're watching a PBS production or a historical film of some kind. You never really feel that tingling in the back of your spine, you don't feel goosebumps, and the plot twists are really done with "film making" in mind! For whatever reasons, the timing involved with the scare tactics really finds good company with dramatic film, rather than horror film. This could be seen as a flaw for people that are really looking to get scared, and a big disappointment for new comers to the Hammer Horror genre of films.
The scary thing about this film is missed if you're not a history buff, or if you just don't remember your American History or World History for that matter. If you're interested in the next topic that I will cover, please refer to Blacklisted by Stanton Evans and The Salem Witch Trials if you seriously want to get the following references I'm about to pull out of this film.
The witch hunts in this film are great. It really takes you back to the Spanish Inquisition and more recently (just in large part to calendar) the Salem Witch Trials (and McCarthyism), and you see how strong the Puritanical uncle really is. He, like many Abortion dissenters, are really diehard about snuffing out all evil and all ties with vampires, witches, occult and evil. However, when he realizes that it's in his own house, his tune begins to change a slight bit. Unwavering, he does the unthinkable with this crew, which is a huge message for those that are so diehard about their religion, faith, thoughts, and leanings. In the same vein, consider the Pro-Life family that is so gung-ho about Pro-Life until their daughter is raped and they have to come to terms with the notion that it has happened to them and the Pro-Choice ideology seems like a viable option. That sort of emotional connection can be pulled from this film with the emotional situation that comes about through the discovery that one of the Twins is evil!
There is some odd sexual tension in this film as well. Peter Cushing's threat to his nieces involving spanking is now weird. At least in 2009 and understanding everything I understand, the constant threat of spankings is just weird. Considering the girls age, it seems uncommon. However, in the 18th century, maybe this is not too uncommon and obviously is not seen as a sexual idea, so I'll refrain from making more reference to that in this film.
Twins of Evil is available on dvd, and it is ok. It's not going to be a must see for many different people. I for one, would not recommend this film over many others. However, the good acting makes this film a little better than most, and if you're trying to convince someone that horror movies can be viable films to showcase acting and film technology, this movie might get you somewhere. Sure, it's not a contender for awards of any kind, but it is interesting to note how far the Hammer Horror studios went to display such a story with elaborate sets, and such a clever eye for costume detail, it really should be seen by true fans. Twins of Evil is definitely one of my personal favorites of the Hammer series, however, it is not going to win casual fans. This dvd is out of print at the time of this review, so if you find it on vhs, snag it up, it's worthwhile.
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In college I took a literature class called "Genre Fiction" and the whole class was about horror related fiction and non fiction. One of the books we read was the classic "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. Alongside the introduction of the book and our discussion on vampirism, we watched several vampire movies, and the most intriguing of them was a movie from the Hammer Movie Collection entitled, The Vampire Lovers. I recently watched it again, and I now present for your reading displeasure, a review of the movie The Vampire Lovers.
The Vampire Lovers is a movie that revolves around a 19th century mansion where a beautiful young woman comes to stay with a local wealthy man and his family. Her extended stay causes a woman to become sick, and as her condition worsens, a clear vampiristic scenario emerges into being.
The team of vampire slayers create an awesome team to root for. They eventually start figuring things out and they find the coffins of the undead and they start slaying each vampire one by one with wooden spikes and the blood effects are awesome! The blood is so bright and pours slowly, and creates another awesome effect in this film.
The nudity is not traditional either. I mean, the nudity shows woman who are not enhanced at all. Their breasts and bodies are all natural, and that's a shock to my system. I'm not that old, so this woman that they are depicting as beautiful has curves, and has non enhanced breasts! What is wrong with them! I kid. I found these women beautiful, and interesting to note that women's bodies have changed over the years. Also, I noted that the age of these women were not young at all. I could tell, don't ask how, that these were experienced actresses and were not just out of college or trained from birth to look pretty, they actually tried to act! WOW!
The first thing I noticed about this movie was the fact that it had a lot of lavish sets. These sets are not traditional movie sets, they look like stage play sets and are meticulously designed and crafted. The cameras take full advantage of this, and have long sweeping intros and outros, creating an amazing mood and ambiance that you do not usually see in horror films. The production quality matches the sets, and you begin to feel as though that the film really was just a play recorded for PBS or something like that. I can not stress enough the quality of the sets depicting the forest, they can cause you to believe that this film is amateur or that you're watching a stage play unfold, or you will love the way it stands out from other vampire films which use real life out door scenes rather than creating them in a studio.
The movie showcases something that was not too common from films from 1970, even though the decade is definitely one of the most sexually free decades of all times, it just wasn't something you saw a lot of. That "something" is lesbianism. That's right, we are shown depictions of lesbian sex and nudity that is definitely leaning towards lesbianism and that definitely was a bit of a shocker for those that aren't too keen on seeing depictions of this kind. Obviously, if you're a horror movie fan in general, you're not going to care about this, however some more conservative types are going to hate this fact. I think it adds a good dynamic to the film.
This movie seems boring. I will not kid you, you have to go through a lot of storytelling before you get any sort of action and that action is not very gorey or good. You actually might be bored with the pacing, because while there are some shock scenes, they are tame in comparison with many American counterparts. (Hammer Studios is out of the UK, even though this film was distributed by a US company)
Why The Vampire Lovers is scary: This film is not overtly scary on the surface. However, rewind the clock and think about the year of 1970. Lesbianism and horror movies did not go hand in hand. So not only were you already dealing with one taboo, you threw in the fact that the villain was lesbian! This would scare women of course because you no longer had to look out for the creepy looking dude with the cape, or the bat that transforms into the likeness of a man, you now have to deal with a woman that bloodlets you until you are one of them! The undead!
The Dracula story (as written by Bram Stoker) did have vampire women, but they weren't lesbians. Being a lesbian isn't scary, but a lesbian vampire? Now that's a little scary, right? Right? Ok, if you're not buying that this film is scary at all, consider the fact the vampire slayers in this film aren't very competent. In fact, the underlying story is the fact that our main narrator was ready to strike down the head vampire but couldn't because the woman (vampire) was so pretty that he couldn't go through with it, as he was stricken with such a fear and at the same time had adoration for the villain. Men, we can get in trouble so easily, and that is scary. Your heart can deceive you so quickly, and if you're not convinced, then consider the amount of people that cheat on their spouses or significant others. The tendency to cheat and passion can blur your inhibitions and that is the crux of our vampire story in this film. Even though the women that become the victims are not initially lesbian, the lure of our vampire woman eventually does them in, and as seen in the Butler, this vampire can tame even a male heart with her beauty!
It's also scary to think that there was a time when medicine was not heavily available. The nobles in this film have to wait for a doctor to arrive on horseback as he is not near by. Also, the doctor is skeptical to the ailments involved by our victim, and he relies on superstition for the diagnoses and prescriptions. I find this scary, and you know what? It happens today a lot of the times, as doctors don't always have the answers to ailments and fringe science and medicine comes into play for many people. I know from personal experience that I visited a doctor that didn't know what was wrong with me, and had to bounce around until a Neurologist told me that I had suffered a mild concussion and that there was something wrong. Modern medicine isn't as bad as the medicine depicted in this film, and getting a doctor to see you is not a matter of having them travel on foot or horseback, but if it were, it'd be a seriously scary notion. One that actually stirs a little skepticism in me today, and probably forever.
I like Hammer's Horror collection and I like Peter Cushing in this film. This film is part of a trilogy of lesbian vampire tales, and this one is interesting in a lot of different ways. I highly recommend checking out The Vampire Lovers because of its different approach to the vampire movie genre. Seriously, this one is really different. I would definitely recommend it if you like stage plays and production, because the acting and camera motions really feel as though this was meant for the stage, and not a movie. There are so many scenes that just remind me of Shakespeare or something similar, that it's hard to get into this film. If you're looking for a straight forward, no nonsense horror film, you're not going to find it here, because it's a bit more serious than that. There is much more dialogue and reliance on speech than modern horror films, and you know what? I kind of like that. Hammer Horror puts together an ok film, and I liked it, probably because I enjoy the sets a lot and the costumes are kind of cool too. The Vampire Lovers isn't going to make a lot of top ten lists, and my writing is not going to probably convince many people that it's a worthwhile film to view, but consider that in 1970 lesbian vampires weren't exactly mainstream. In fact, in the year of 1970 not a whole lot of homoesexual behavior was talked about or discussed, which surprises me that this film was greenlit at the time. I don't know, maybe I'm just not used to seeing this style of vampire story come out of the early 70's, at least not yet. I'm going to explore the whole vampire lesbian angle from the 70's a little more. So expect more along those lines, later on. I have some other horror movies on tap. Mmm....TAP...I wish I had Rolling Rock on tap, for now, I'll have to settle for 12 oz bottles. Oh well.
Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.
