Friday, October 31, 2014

Dracula (1974)


EMI Distribution (UK)
Directed by Dan Curtis
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, MPI)

An English real estate agent in Transylvania finds himself the victim of a vampire. Count Dracula recognizes a girl in one of his photos as his long lost love from the medieval ages, so travels to England to find her. After being bitten, Dr. Van Helsing is called in to cure her, but to everyone's horror declares she is a vampire and sets out with friend Simon Ward to find and destroy him. A very faithful adaptation of the Bram Stoker story, beautifully shot on English and Transylvanian locations. Jack Palance is a surprisingly effective Dracula.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

The Devil's Daughter (1973)


ABC
Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Belinda Montgomery is befriended by Shelley Winters at her mother's funeral. Accepting her offer to move in with the complete stranger, she soon finds out that Winters is the leader of a coven of Satanists who believe Montgomery is the daughter of Satan himself. When she tries to leave, they murder her new roommate. She falls in love with a next door neighbor and after a brief romance they get married. You will see the "twist ending" coming a mile away. Joseph Cotten is the devil and Robert Foxworth a demon. It's a variation of Rosemary's Baby, even ripping off the point-of-view camera angles.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973)


CBS
Directed by David Lowell Rich
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, CBS/Paramount)

Chuck Connors pilots a plane across the Atlantic, with a handful of passengers and the stones of an ancient Druid ruin in the cargo hold. The Druids are reawakened mid flight, emitting a green ooze through the floor of the passenger cabin. Crew and passengers are picked off one by one. William Shatner is a booze guzzling ex-priest who tries to save them. It's an all-star, formulaic, made-for-TV disaster movie with a touch of horror.

Scream of the Demon Lover (1970)


New World Pictures
Directed by Jose Luis Merino
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, RetroMedia)

A pretty young biochemist is hired by a reclusive doctor to help in his experiments to revive the dead remains of his brother. Little does she know the brother is actually kept alive and kept locked in a separate part of the sprawling castle. The burned, grotesque brother takes revenge on his brother by drugging, torturing or killing his young assistants. An overwrought melodrama with touches of Gothic horror, mainly due to the castle setting. Double-billed with The Velvet Vampire on its original release.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Savage Water (1979)


Western International Pictures
Directed by Paul Kener
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(DVD, Vinegar Syndrome)

A group of rafters take a guided trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The first hour or so is an awful account of their boring preparations, camping, attempts at romance, etc. Eventually, one dies by falling off a cliff after snorting cocaine. Other deaths follow, but they are all written off as accidents until a girl has her throat slashed. They make a rushed attempt to get back to civilization until the killer is finally revealed. Dreadful attempt at a Deliverance-style backwoods adventure gone awry instead resembles a badly shot home movie.

Death by Invitation (1971)


Paragon Films
Directed by Ken Friedman
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Vinegar Syndrome)

In flashbacks, a witch is condemned to death by a mob of Dutch villagers. In modern day America, she takes revenge on their descendants by slowly murdering the family of a wealthy man. Shelby Leverington as "the witch" goes on long soliloquies about a lost tribe of women who preyed on animals and then came back to feed their men. In one shocking scene, she holds the decapitated head of a little girl in front of her sister. On the other hand, there are also long, inexplicable scenes, such as the conversation between her boyfriend and a wealthy man that takes place in an office with very loud muzak playing. It's an amateur production to be sure, but Friedman did go on to have a modest Hollywood career as a director and writer as such films as White Line Fever.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)


United Artists
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM Limited Edition Collection)

A promising biology student is kicked out of school for experimenting on dead corpses after classes. Back at home in rural England, he kidnaps local residents and brings them to an abandoned mine. It turns out he has developed a technique for reviving the dead by a combination of drugs and heart transplants. He falls in love with a nurse, but she rejects him after discovering his grisly secret. He tries to prove he is not evil after all by reviving her dead husband. Basically a rehash of Frankenstein, with the familiar argument of the dangers of the scientist playing God. Like many British films, it takes its time developing plot and characters, but picks up quite a bit with the appearance of the monster at the end.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971)


Directed by Aldo Lado
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Anchor Bay)

An American journalist is found dead in a park and brought to the morgue. However, he is actually under the influence of a drug that only makes him appear dead. While doctors try to figure out his predicament, he narrates the story of what brought him there. After his girlfriend disappears, the trail leads to a Satanic cult consisting of people in power in Prague. Atmospheric at times, with a great ending, but also talky with an unsatisfying mystery.

Friday, October 24, 2014

The Devil's Lover (1972)


Directed by Paolo Lombardo
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(DVD, Mya Communication)

Three girls spend the night at a castle rumored to be the home of the devil. One of them has a long dream that takes up the rest of the movie. The three girls live in medieval times. One of them is engaged to be married, but he is more interested in another girl. She is tempted by the devil to commit murder and satisfy her desires in a desecrated church. Absolutely dreadful melodrama, poorly shot and acted, not even the occasional sex and nudity manage to make it interesting.

Massage Parlor Murders! (1973)


Cinamio
Directed by Chester Fox and Alex Stevens
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Vinegar Syndrome)

Massage parlor girls are being murdered in NYC. Two cops investigate, but one of the victims turns out to be the "regular" girl of one of them, and the other falls in love with her roommate. Their romance takes up much of the running time: they walk around Times Square and 42nd Street, providing a glimpse of all the old marquees and sleazy adult book stores. They eventually figure out that the murders are following the pattern of the Seven Deadly Sins, just like in the more famous 1995 movie. This one, however, rarely rises above its amateur production status, thought there is a good car chase and some attempts at acting.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Who Saw Her Die? (1972)


Directed by Aldo Lado
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Anchor Bay)

The murder of his young daughter sends an Italian artist in search of her killer. He follows a labyrinthine path of clues which leads him to the ruthless art world of Venice. His wife gets involved, but she could be a suspect or the next victim. Music by Ennio Morricone fades in and out during suspenseful scenes, but comes repetitive. The mystery is uninvolving and the climax unsatisfying, but it is stylishly shot around Venice.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Nightmare (1981)


21st Century Distribution
Directed by Romano Scavolini
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Code Red)

Homicidal schizoid Baird Stafford is thought to be cured by a combination of drugs and therapy and is released from psychiatric care. However, he soon stops going to work and goes on a road trip to find his past in Florida. Along the way, the stalks and murders a few pretty girls, reenacting the childhood event that caused his illness. The bleak portrait of a mentally unstable killer is unrelenting, with some of the most explicit murders you will likely see on screen due to makeup and special effects by Tom Savini.

The Godsend (1980)


Cannon
Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Shout! Factory)

A strange woman appears in a meadow to a family out for a walk. They take her home where she has a baby then promptly disappears. They raise the child as their own, however a series of tragedies results in the deaths of two of their other children. The father eventually figures out that their adopted daughter is responsible and tries to stop her. Derivative of "The Omen" but without the religious or supernatural overtones, it is a sometimes painful melodrama of a family being torn apart from the inside. Well-acted, especially for this genre, except for the kid, whose scowling and squinting become annoying after awhile. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Norman Warwick on English locations.

She Devil (1957)


Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Kurt Neumann
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Olive Films)

A well-meaning scientist invents a serum which results in the cure of almost every injury or illness in his lab animals. The first human recipient is a woman dying of tuberculosis. She recovers, but the side effects of the serum make her not only impervious to disease or injury, but give her an insatiable desire for wealth and power. She also gains the ability to changer her hair color at will, which she uses to avoid arrest after committing murder. Meanwhile, the scientist falls in love with her and is reluctant to develop the antidote which would change her back to her old self. Far-fetched premise plays on female stereotypes with only so-so results.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)


Warner Bros.
Directed by Tom Graeff
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Image Entertainment)

Aliens land in southern California to see if the planet is suitable for raising herds of large animals which will feed their world but destroy ours. One of them takes pity on us poor humans and tries to save us. He takes a room in town and falls in love with local teenager Dawn Anderson. They are chased by angry aliens with a trigger finger on a ray gun which instantly turns people into skeletons. Meanwhile, one of their animals is growing in a cave and threatens to overrun the city. The monster is not shown directly, but from its shadow appears to be a giant lobster. The alien makes a last minute sacrifice to save our planet. Despite the title, this is played completely straight. However, it is unintentionally hilarious with great entertainment value if you are in the mood for something "so bad it's good".

Crypt of Dark Secrets (1976)


Directed by Jack Weis
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(DVD, Something Weird Video)

A Vietnam vet "retires" to live by himself on an island in a swamp near New Orleans. Locals rob and kill him for his hidden cash, but he comes back to life with the help of a voodoo woman named Damballa. She likes to dance naked and can turn into a snake. Damballa and the man get revenge on the rednecks who killed him. Low budget silliness with amateur actors who stumble over their lines while reciting them with almost no emotions.

The Ghost Goes West (1935)


United Artists
Directed by René Clair
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Scottish gentleman Robert Donat sells his castle to visiting Americans pretty Jean Parker and her businessman father Eugene Pallette. A ghost walks the halls at the stroke of midnight, a relative of Donat who died a coward's death in battle over a century ago. The ghost is tasked with getting an apology from the descendant of another family who disgraced the family name. Parker's father decides to move the castle to Florida as a publicity stunt, and the ghost comes along. Jean falls in love with the Scotsman, and his lookalike ghost, leading to some situational comedy. It all gets worked out in the end of course, in this lighthearted fantasy romance.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Ghost Chasers (1951)


Monogram Pictures
Directed by William Beaudine
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Although the actors were approaching middle age, the Bowery Boys carried on like they are still teenagers. Leo Gorcey still intentionally mispronounces words in the name of "comedy". Huntz Hall makes faces and pretends to be an idiot. They help Louie, played by Leo's real-life father, get his money back from a phoney medium. No laughs and little if any scares.

The Naked Witch (1961)


Alexander Enterprises
Directed by Larry Buchanan
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(DVD, Something Weird Video)

A college student travels to rural Texas to research the history of witchcraft. He accidentally reawakens a witch who fulfills her curse made a hundred years ago by killing the descendants of those responsible for her death. This amateur production cannot even deliver on the promise of the title: the naked witch is censored by a moving black bar.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Blue Velvet (1986)


DEG
Directed by David Lynch
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

David Lynch contrasts idyllic, white picket fence, small town America with a dark underside lurking just down the street in the local bar. Kyle MacLachlan walks on both sides: he gets involved with lounge singer Isabella Rossellini, who is being victimized by crazed lunatic Dennis Hopper, as well as local high school sweetheart Laura Dern. He watches Rossellini having rough sex with Hopper while hidden in her closet, but is uncomfortable when she later asks him to emulate it. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Dern, their innocence contrasting sharply with his relationship with Rossellini. It all gets resolved in the violent ending. Most interesting today as a precursor to Twin Peaks, it's similar in theme and tone, but underdeveloped, melodramatic and contains some cringe-inducing dialogue.

Friday, October 17, 2014

There Was a Little Girl (1981)


Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Dark Sky Films)

A teacher at a school for the deaf finds out that her twin sister is in a hospital with a disease that deforms her face. She escapes the hospital with the help of their "uncle", a priest, and go on an unexplained killing spree. They use a dog for most of their dirty work with several gruesome death scenes. They save up the bodies for the final "birthday party". Lacking in atmosphere, plot and characterizations, with a particularly over-the-top scene in which the dog is killed with a drill to the head. It was not a very good film anyway, but that unnecessary scene drops it down to just plain bad.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1982)


International Film Marketing
Directed by William Asher
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Code Red)

High school basketball star Jimmy McNichol lives at home with his overprotective "aunt". One day she tries to seduce a TV repairman, but when he refuses her advances she kills him with a knife. Police detective Bo Svenson, whose homophobia gets in the way of his police work, thinks Jimmy is the murderer because his basketball coach is gay. Meanwhile, his aunt starts drugging his milk and keeps him locked up in an attic room. More killings occur when his girlfriend and neighbor try to save him. Susan Tyrell's performance as "Aunt Cheryl" is over the top. Bo Svenson gets his just due in the end but his character is nonetheless repellent. The killings are bloody but there is little to no suspense or atmosphere in this boring slasher that borders on a melodrama.

Corpse Eaters (1974)


Howard Mahler Films
Directed by Donald R. Passmore
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(YouTube)

Amateur Canadian production about "teenagers" (who look like they are in their 40s) who decide to get their kicks one night in a graveyard. One of them just happens to know Satanic prayers in Latin, which brings out some dead zombies who feast on one of the hapless teens. The survivors manage to get to a hospital where one of them has dreams about the zombies. One of the dead teenagers ends up in a funeral home where, you guessed it, more zombies and gut munching ensues. No plot, characterizations or atmosphere to speak of, just random shots with a few gory inserts, preceded by a ridiculous "warning buzzer" gimmick. "Ghoul makeup" by writer Lawrence Zazelenchuk saves it from being a complete waste of time.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Terror (1978)


Crown International Pictures
Directed by Norman J. Warren
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Scorpion Releasing)

The opening scene of a witch burning turns out to be the latest movie from a director screening it for his friends at his English manor. A party game of hypnotism turns into a near-killing, but then the real thing starts happening to various people involved in making the film. A killer stalks then brutally stabs nubile young actresses. Most take place in near darkness during a perpetual thunderstorm set to a dirge-like synthesizer score. However, proceedings become ludicrous when inanimate objects become involved, such as the unlucky crew member chased by a dolly and strangled by rolls of film. Somehow, though, I managed to like this underachieving little film, with its unrelenting gloomy atmosphere, stops in sleazy bars and even the floating car.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

The Devil's Men (1976)


Crown International Pictures
Directed by Kostas Karagiannis
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Scorpion Releasing)

Devil worshipers in Greece kidnap tourists for their sacrifices. Peter Cushing is their leader. Donald Pleasance is a priest who tries to stop them. The director gives himself a long nude scene with a pretty blonde. A statue of a minotaur speaks in a deep and menacing voice. Men in robes chase people. Brian Eno's atmospheric soundtrack is little more than background noise. Paul Williams sings the title song which runs several minutes after the credits are finished. I have the feeling the actors took this job for the free trip to Greece.

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)


Directed by Jaromil Jires
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

13-year-old Jaroslava Schallerova wanders through a nightmarish world of vampires, sexual predators and dead relatives. Everyone seems to be after her innocence: the vampires want her blood for immortal youth, a priest wants to satisfy his sexual perversion and her relatives manipulate her love for them. Luckily she has a pair of earrings which get her out of the most dire situations. More dream than fairy tale, its non-narrative structure is filled with imagery both beautiful and revolting. The most obvious interpretation, and there will be many, is that of a dysfunctional family and its effect on the young girl. The final scene strongly implies it is all just a dream, her way of coping with what must be a terrifying home life.

Witchfinder General (1968)


Tigon Pictures (UK)
Directed by Michael Reeves
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Shout! Factory)

In medieval England, professional witch hunter Vincent Price and his assistant travel from town to town holding mock trials of people accused of witchcraft. They use their position of power for money or to get sexual favors of young women. The unwisely choose the wife of a soldier, who relentlessly pursues them and vows to kill Price. Good period atmosphere, but leans more towards the exploitative elements of sex and violence rather than any kind of historical account of the real Matthew Hopkins.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)


American International Pictures
Directed by Robert Fuest
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Shout! Factory)

Vincent Price, believed killed in a car wreck years earlier, is actually living in a London mansion where he is systematically murdering the surgical team he believes responsible for the death of his wife. The deaths mimic the curse of the Pharaohs from the old testament: plagues such as bats, locusts, frogs and hail are incorporated. Price is good in a mostly silent performance, enhanced by exaggerated gestures and heavy makeup. While the killings are imaginative, there is almost no suspense. Scotland Yard inspectors are not very smart and provide mainly comic relief. In the final scene, they know exactly where Price is living and rush over to save the final victim, but for some reason never acted on that information earlier.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Deep Red (1975)


Rizzoli Films
Directed by Dario Argento
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Blue Underground)

David Hemmings, an American pianist in Italy, witnesses the murder of his neighbor while walking home one night. The victim is a psychic medium, who earlier in the evening had visions of a murder committed by a member of the audience at a performance. Fearing exposure, the murderer seeks out all people connected with the psychic, including Hemmings. He follows an increasingly far-fetched trail of clues to uncover the murderer and save himself from possible arrest. He gets help from reporter and new girlfriend Daria Nicolodi. As with most Argento films, there are several explicit and stylish murders, but much of the screen time is just boring chatter between Hemmings and Nicolodi, including some strained attempts at humor. The identity of the killer is impossible to guess and not very interesting. The soundtrack by Goblin, though good by itself, frequently distracts from, rather than adds to, the mood on screen. Real animals appear to be harmed in the longer Italian cut.

The Fall of the House of Usher (1960)


American International Pictures
Directed by Roger Corman
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Shout! Factory)

A young man arrives at a remote, crumbling castle in search of his fiance. It turns out her brother, Vincent Price, is keeping her there, possibly against her will, and thwarts his attempts to take her away. Price is convinced the family is cursed with a variety of ills, both physical and mental, and the death of both him and his sister is imminent. The castle itself is also a character, with falling chandeliers, rickety staircases and endless hidden passages also trying to do in the visitor. It unfolds slowly, like a good novel, and it is not until the final act that it takes on a feverish pace. Very influential Gothic horror, the first of many adaptations of Poe by director Corman and Price.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Deadly Blessing (1981)


United Artists
Directed by Wes Craven
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Shout! Factory)

One day a farmer is killed by his own tractor under mysterious circumstances. His pretty young wife suspects the nearby religious cult run by his father is responsible. She has some girlfriends stay over to help her get over it, but they are tormented by nightmares or worse. One of them falls for a local boy and convinces him to leave the strict cult, then seduces him in her sports car. His fiance goes into a religious frenzy and takes revenge. A long, boring mess from Craven, with silly jump scares, gratuitous nudity, incoherent plot and an ending that belongs in a different movie altogether.

Teenage Monster (1958)


Howco International
Directed by Jacques R. Marquette
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Image Entertainment)

Tragedy strikes a family of gold miners in the old west when a meteor crashes near their mine, killing the father and injuring their young child. Years later, the boy has become a hairy, man-killing monster, with his overprotective mother shielding him from the law. She saves a local girl from his clutches, but has to buy off her silence. However, the girl takes advantage of the situation by blackmailing the mother for more money as well as using the boy-monster to carry out revenge on people she doesn't like. Horribly acted on a shoestring budget, but this strange western-horror hybrid easily falls into the "so bad it's good" category.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

The Snake Woman (1961)


United Artists
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Timeless Media Group)

A scientist in a rural English village keeps his wife alive by injecting her with venom from snakes. She gives birth to their daughter, who has "cold blood" and no eyelids. The locals form a lynch mob and kill the scientist, but the town doctor finds a home for the baby girl-reptile. Twenty years later, people are mysteriously dying from snake bites. Scotland Yard sends a man to investigate. Smart and atmospheric thriller that rises above its low budget and outrageous plot.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

The Haunted Palace (1963)



American International Pictures
Directed by Roger Corman
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Shout! Factory)

Vincent Price is a warlock burned at the stake for corrupting the local women. He curses those responsible and shows up over a hundred years later to make good on it by possessing a descendant who shows up with his wife to claim his abandoned mansion. When the man's wife, Debra Paget, resists his advances, he turns to the Necronomicon to help him revive his centuries old wife. Meanwhile the townsfolk are growing uneasy and want revenge. More Lovecraft than Poe, with an underdeveloped subplot involving mutants, it is nonetheless atmospheric, set in a Gothic-tinged castle with perpetual fog and thunderstorms.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

The Masque of the Red Death (1964)


American International Pictures
Directed by Roger Corman
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Shout! Factory)

Satanist Vincent Price kidnaps pretty village girl Jane Asher when a plague ravages the countryside. Inside his cavernous castle, he hosts lavish dinner parties, masked balls and the occasional Satanic mass. He tries to convert Asher, a devout Christian, by way of argument and the harsh realities of man's condition. Death makes a visit, actually several of them, wearing robes of different colors. A subplot involving a dwarf and a child ballerina is from a different Poe story. Beautifully photographed in striking colors by Nicolas Roeg, it resembles a comic book from the early 1960s, both in plot and set design.

Friday, October 3, 2014

The Demons (1973)


Hemisphere Pictures
Directed by Jess Franco
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Redemption)

A woman burned at the stake for being a witch curses those responsible. A countess and her witch hunting boyfriend find the woman's daughters in a convent and accuse them of being witches as well. The are taken away by the Inquisition, then tortured and raped in a dungeon. They manage to escape, one of them taking up with a nearby painter and the other, who turns out to be a real witch, seeking revenge on her tormentors. It's all just an excuse for the typical Jess Franco sleazefest, playing up the nun angle for all its worth, with endless scenes of soft porn and nudity, set to a horrible generic soundtrack of progressive rock which dates it badly.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

The Face of Marble (1946)


Monogram Pictures
Directed by William Beaudine
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Timeless Media Group)

Mad doctor John Carradine experiments with bringing corpses back to life in his remote laboratory. Meanwhile, his housekeeper puts a voodoo curse on his wife, making her fall in love with his assistant. This causes problems when his girlfriend shows up. Their experiments mostly fail, except for the notable exception of his pet dog, who becomes a silly ghostly apparition impervious to gun shots. More horror and less melodrama would have helped this Monogram cheapie.

Pit and the Pendulum (1961)


American International Pictures
Directed by Roger Corman
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Shout! Factory)

The brother of a recently deceased woman travels to a remote Spanish castle to find out the details of her death. A nervous Vincent Price is the head of the household. It turns out his sister isn't really dead, but tormenting Price in order to drive him insane and run away with her lover. The plan backfires, as Price reverts to the personality of his father, a brutal member of the inquisition who keeps a torture dungeon in the castle. The final scene, with a giant swinging pendulum, is justifiably famous, but it takes awhile to get there.

Scared to Death (1947)


Screen Guild Productions
Directed by Christy Cabanne
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A dead woman tells the story of her past life, kept against her will in an institution. She is slowly being driven mad, seeing a mysterious figure in a blue mask who shows himself at the same window over and over again. Bela Lugosi, a magician, and his dwarf assistant show up for no real reason other than to include Bela Lugosi and a dwarf. The scene with Lugosi "baying at the moon" is hilarious. A bumbling cop, a sexist newspaper reporter and George Zucco as a mad doctor complete the cast. Stagy, boring and filmed in "Natural Color", consisting of a sickly brown and green hue.