Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
The second trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One is here. I love apocalyptic movies that show how things go sideways and no one is sure of the best move.
Deal me in!
Welcome to DAY ONE. Watch the new trailer for #AQuietPlace: Day One – only in theatres June 28.
Gangnam Zombie (2023)
Director: Lee Soo-seong
Screenplay: Choe Seung
Stars: Ji Il-joo, Park Ji-yeon.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Young podcasters and shoppers in an upscale mall in Gangnam fight for their lives during a zombie uprising!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
If I make it through the entire movie, I usually am able to justify a two star rating. Not this one.
Gangnam Zombie (2023) rates 1 of 5 stars.
The Monster Walks (1932)
Director: Frank R. Strayer
Screenplay: Robert Ellis
Stars: Mischa Auer, Rex Lease, Vera Reynolds and Willie Best.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Ruth Earlton (Reynolds) is called back to her childhood home. Her father has died and the will is going to read. Ruth and her fiancé, Ted (Lease) arrive on a dark, stormy night. Ted is introduced to Ruth’s wheelchair-bound Uncle, Mrs. Krug, the strange housekeeper, and her even stranger adult son Hanns. Oh, and let’s not forget the large ape caged in the basement.
Everyone learns that the estate has been left to Ruth… as long as she is alive. If she dies it goes to her uncle. Will Ruth make it through the night?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Although posters for The Monster Walks features a huge ape, the movie uses a chimpanzee.
The Monster Walks has the right ingredients (creepy house with secret passageways, dark and stormy night, strange characters, a will leaving the money to one family member as long as they live, an ape) but the end result isn’t as good as could be expected.
The Monster Walks (1932) rates 2 of 5 stars.
30 Days of Night (2007)
Director: David Slade
Screenplay: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, Brian Nelson based on 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith
Stars: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, Mark Boone Junior, Elizabeth Hawthorne and Nathaniel Lees.
Tagline: They’re Coming!
The Plot…
The remote city of Barrow, Alaska, because of it’s location has a month of darkness once a year. Most of the city’s inhabitants leave. Those that stay have to live with “30 days of night”. This year they will also have to deal with a coven of vampires who have come to Barrow to feast!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Steve Niles conceived 30 Days of Night as a graphic novel. Although he pitched the idea, there was no interest. Niles then reworked the idea and pitched 30 Days of Night as a movie. Again there was no interest. Niles put the idea on the back-burner until a discussion at IDW Publishing brought 30 Days of Night back from the, uh, dead. Niles and artist Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night comic was a hit. This led to several movie studios showing interest in adapting 30 Days of Night.
A picture of Steve Niles can be seen in the attic hideout.
30 Days of Night does a great job of building suspense and ratcheting the tension as the vampires destroy Barlow’s ability to communicate with the outside world. Then we see vampire attacks to those on the outskirts of the city. The full-on attack of the city with the overhead shots of the mayhem is still a favorite scene.
Danny Huston is amazing as Marlow the leader of the vampire coven. Kudos also to Ben Foster.
30 Days of Night (2007) rates 4 of 5 stars.
Mars Attacks (1996)
Director: Tim Burton
Screenplay: Jonathan Gems, Tim Burton (uncredited) based on Topps Mars Attacks! trading cards
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Annette Bening, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Lisa Marie, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Winfield, Pam Grier, Jack Black, Joe Don Baker, Christina Applegate and Tom Jones.
Tagline: Nice planet. We’ll take it!
The Plot…
An armada of Martian ships have come to Earth. At the first meeting between the Martian and US Ambassador and accident makes the Martians think that they are under attack. The aliens then decide to take over the Earth.
Let the fun begin!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Tim Burton directs an all-star cast.
Tim Burton pitched the idea by showing Warner Bros. the Mars Attacks! trading cards released in 1962. The cards featured art by Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. The card set told of a Martian invasion of Earth. Because the cards were aimed at the kiddie market, many parents felt that the violence was too graphic. This led to a limited distribution. The Mars Attacks! cards have become collector’s items. In the 1980s, Topps revisited the Mars Attacks! by re-releasing the card set, new Mars Attacks! cards and comic books.
Mars Attacks! marks Sylvia Sidney’s final film appearance.
Although Tim Burton co-wrote the film with Jonathan Gems, but gave Gems full credit. Jonathan Gems wrote the Mars Attacks! novelization and dedicated the book to Tim Burton.
Mars Attacks (1996) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Bowery at Midnight (1942)
Director: Wallace Fox
Screenplay: Gerald Schnitzer
Stars: Bela Lugosi, John Archer, Wanda McKay, Tom Neal, Vince Barnett, John Berkes, ‘Snub’ Pollard and Bernard Gorcey.
Tagline: BELA LUGOSI CHILLER! WEIRD! THRILLING!
The Plot…
Karl Wagner (Lugosi) runs a soup kitchen that serves as a front for his many criminal enterprises. Wagner recruits ex-cons and those who are down-and-out to perform robberies and worse. Wagner then kills them. He disposes of their bodies in a secret room that leads underground. His accomplice, a doctor who is also an addict, performs experiments on the cadavers.
As the cops close in, Wagner will go to any extreme to escape.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
At the end the undercover cop played by John Archer is shot and presumably killed. He is taken by the doctor who we discover has perfected the ability to bring the dead back to life as zombies. Lugosi’s character is attacked by the zombies when he goes into the basement. Then the final scene of the movie is John Archer’s character with his love interest. He appears to be totally recovered from being dead and isn’t a zombie. Huh?
Bowery at Midnight (1942) rates 2 of 5 stars.
Chamber of Horrors (1966)
Director: Hy Averback
Screenplay: Stephen Kandel, Ray Russell
Stars: Patrick O’Neal, Cesare Danova, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Jeanette Nolan, Marie Windsor, Wayne Rogers, Charles Seel, William Conrad (voice) and Tony Curtis.
Tagline: The motion picture with the Fear Flasher and the Horror Horn
The Plot…
Jason Cravatte (O’Neal) was convicted of killing a young woman and then forcing a Justice of the Peace to perform a marriage ceremony for Cravatte and his victim. While being transported to prison, Cravatte escaped by cutting off his own hand.
Now fully healed, Cravatte has replaced his hand with a covering that can hold a hook, a long blade and more. Cravatte plans to get revenge on everyone responsible for his capture. That includes the judge who sentenced him, the police officer who caught him, Anthony Draco (Danova) and Harold Blount (Hyde-White) who assisted in the capture.
Draco and Blount own a wax museum with a focus on famous gruesome murderers. Wouldn’t that be the perfect place for Cravatte to take his final revenge?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
I first saw Chamber of Horrors as a kid. I was probably 9 years old. I loved the film then and am still a fan.
Chamber of Horrors was originally filmed as a pilot for a tv series. The network thought it was too violent, so it received a theatrical release. Sadly no television series was ever produced. I still think it would make a fun series.
Tony Curtis appears in a cameo that has no bearing on the plot. When it was decided to release the film as a feature, additional time was needed so the scene with Tony Curtis was added. Also added were the gimmicks of The Fear Flasher and The Horror Horn which were seen and heard before the most intense scenes. William Conrad also recorded the warning before the start of the film.
Wayne Rogers plays the young police officer intent on re-capturing Cravatte. This is years before he became famous on M*A*S*H.
Chamber of Horrors (1966) rates 4 of 5 stars.
Homicidal (1961)
Director: William Castle
Screenplay: Robb White
Stars: Glenn Corbett, Patricia Breslin, James Westerfield, Gilbert Green, Joan Marshall, Ralph Moody, ‘Snub’ Pollard, Hope Summers and William Castle.
Tagline: SPECIAL “FRIGHT BREAK” * There will be a special FRIGHT BREAK during the showing of “Homicidal.” Can your heart stand the challenge when the clock starts the COUNTDOWN?
The Plot…
A woman claiming to be Miriam Webster offers a bellman $2,000.00 to marry her. She says that they can annul the marriage right after the ceremony. The bellman agrees. The next night they go to a Justice of the Peace. After he performs the ceremony the woman pulls out a long knife and repeatedly stabs him to death. The woman then runs off into the night.
The police quickly clear the real Miriam Webster (Breslin). They learn that Miriam and her brother, Warren, are about to inherit a fortune due to their father’s death. More murders will occur before the secrets that they are hiding will be discovered.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
William Castle was known for his gimmick films. Three examples include:
For Homicidal, William Castle had a “Fright Break” prior to the ending of the film. Audience members too frightened to stay for the end had 45 seconds (a timer appeared on the movie screen) to leave the theater. They would go to the “Coward’s Corner” in the lobby. There they had to sign a certificate verifying they were indeed a coward. Very few patrons took up the offer, but it was a great selling point. THAT wasn’t the best gimmick of Homicidal. SPOILER ALERT – it will be discussed below.
Homicidal cashed in on the success of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho which was released the year before.
Joan Marshall played both Emily and Warren. Emily was credited as Jean Arless to keep the movie’s gimmick a secret. In order to convince William Castle she could play both roles convincingly, Marshall showed up dressed as a man for an interview. She fooled them and won the part.
Homicidal (1961) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Festival of the Living Dead (2024)
Director: Jen and Sylvia Soska
Screenplay: Miriam Lyapin, Helen Marsh
Stars: Camren Bicondova, Ashley Moore.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
A group of teenage friends attend the Festival of the Living Dead which commemorates the 55th anniversary of the original zombie attack. While at the festivals zombies, you guessed it, attack.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
I enjoy a good zombie movie. I tapped out of this one after 31 minutes.
Festival of the Living Dead (2024) rates 1 of 5 stars.
Night of Terror (1933)
Director: Benjamin Stoloff
Screenplay: Willard Mack, Beatrice Van, Lester Neilson, William Jacobs
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Tully Marshall, George Meeker, Matt McHugh, Dave O’Brien and Oscar Smith.
Tagline: A mad murdering midnight menace!
The Plot…
A serial killer known as The Maniac is on the loose. He was last seen near the estate where a rich man was murdered. When the family comes together they learn they are heirs to the fortune left behind. As family members turn up dead, survivors wonder if the killer is the Maniac or someone in the family attempting to get a bigger share.
How many will have to die before the truth is known?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Although Bela Lugosi gets top billing, he plays a supporting character.
The best part of the film is after the mystery is solved. The killer is caught. The Maniac is lying dead on the floor. The family exits and we’re expecting “THE END” to appear. But instead the Maniac gets up, walks close to the camera and speaks directly to the audience. He warns them that if any tell how the movie ends he will find and haunt them! (Oh, and the Maniac isn’t the killer!)
Night of Terror (1933) rates 2 of 5 stars.
The Crooked Circle (1932)
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
Screenplay: Ralph Spence (original screenplay), Tim Whelan (additional dialogue)
Stars: Zasu Pitts, James Gleason, C. Henry Gordon, Raymond Hatton, Berton Churchill, Spencer Charters, Robert Frazer, Frank Reicher and Christian Rub.
Tagline: WHAT TIME IS IT WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES 13? THRILLS will creep on you-LAUGHS will leap on you! IN ZASU PITTS FIRST FEATURE PICTURE
The Plot…
The Crooked Circle, a secret group of criminals, has vowed to kill Colonel Theodore Walters. Walters is a member of the Sphinx Club, a group of amateur detectives.
When the Sphinx Club meets at a creepy, old mansion, the Crooked Circle plan to make good on their vow.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The Crooked Circle is a variation on “The Old Dark House” movies that were popular in the era. Hidden passageways, ghosts, bad guys and a touch of comedy are staples of this genre.
Zasu Pitts and James Gleason were the top billed stars, but their characters aren’t the main focus of the film.
Zasu is her real name. Her mother made it up taking the last two letters of Eliza and the first two letters of Susan. Her mother’s sisters were named Eliza and Susan.
Zasu Pitts was the inspiration for Popeye’s girlfriend, Olive Oyle!
The Crooked Circle (1932) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Check out Michael Walsh’s connecting covers for Universal Monsters: Dracula and Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! Click on the art to see a monster-sized version.
Source: Michael Walsh.
