Category: Horror

“The Raven” (1935) starring Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi / Z-View

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The Raven (1935)

Director:  Lew Landers aka Louis Friedlander

Screenplay: David Boehm based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe

Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews, Irene Ware, Samuel S. Hinds, Spencer Charters and Ian Wolfe

Tagline: While this mad surgical genius chanted “The Raven,” horrible screams rose up from his torture chamber below!

The Plot…

Dr. Richard Vollin (Lugosi), who is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe, is called out of retirement to perform a life-saving operation on Jean Thatcher (Ware).  The operation is a success.  Jean and Dr. Vollin become friends.  As the friendship grows, Vollin becomes obsessed with Jean.

When escaped killer Edmond Bateman (Karloff) shows up at Dr. Vollin’s mansion asking for a facelift, Vollin comes up with a sick plan.  He performs the operation, but turns Bateman into a hideous looking monster.  Vollin says he will fix Bateman’s face if Bateman will help him kill Jean’s fiance and father.  Vollin plans to murder them using methods based on Edgar Allan Poe stories.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Although Bela Lugosi had the leading role in The Raven, Boris Karloff got top billing.  In addition Karloff earned $10,000 to Lugosi’s $5,000.  Lugosi was reportedly unhappy to learn this news.

The idea of disfiguring an escaped murderer to make him do your bidding is an interesting take.  Credit to the writers to wrap that idea around an obsession with Edgar Allan Poe.   I wish the end result was as good as the ideas.

The Raven earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Interview with the Vampire” Season 1 (2022) starring Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, and Bailey Bass / Z-View

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Interview with the Vampire Season 1 (2022)

Directors:  Alan Taylor (episodes 1-2); Keith Powell (episodes 3-4); Levan Akin (episodes 5-6); Alexis Ostrander (episode 7)

Teleplay: Rolin Jones (episode 1); Jonathan Ceniceroz & Dave Harris (episode 2); Rolin Jones & Hannah Moscovitch (episode 3); Eleanor Burgess (episode 4); Hannah Moscovitch (episode 5); Coline Abert (episode 6); Rolin Jones & Ben Philippe (episode 7)

Stars: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, Bailey Bass, Rae Dawn Chong and Dana Gourrier

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Interview with a Vampire is an adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel, Interview with a Vampire.

In 1910, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) is a successful black business man.  He owns several brothels and rubs shoulders with many of the city’s civic leaders.  Louis meets and befriends  Lestat de Lioncourt (Reid).  Lestat is handsome, charismatic and somewhat mysterious.  He’s also a vampire! As Louis and Lestat spend time together, their friendship grows.  Ultimately, Lestat turns Louis into a vampire.

Louis is shocked and sickened by what he’s become.  He vows to never see Lestat again… but that doesn’t last.  Lestat teaches Louis how to hunt, the things that will kill a vampire, and how to blend in among humans.  Louis makes Lestat agree to some concessions.  They will prey only on the worst humans.  Lestat agrees, but he’s a remorseless killer.  The promise is a sham. There is more that Lestat keeps secret.

When a fire breaks out in a poor part of town, Louis pulls Claudia (Bass), a young girl, from a burning building.  Claudia is on the verge of death.  Louis saves Claudia by turning her.  Louis and Lestat become her “uncles” and the three vampires live together.

Over time Claudia sees the differences between Louis and Lestat. Louis is compassionate and caring.  Lestat is self-centered and heartless.  A rift forms.  Louis and Lestat are already having issues with their toxic relationship.  Problems increase with Claudia’s need for independence. Plus rumors are growing about strange goings on in Louis and Lestat’s mansion…

All of this is relayed in flashbacks as Louis is interviewed by Daniel Malloy (Bogosian), a cynical writer planning a book on Louis’ life.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Interview with the Vampire Season 1 is a tour de force.  Well written with extremely well cast actors joined by top notch direction results in a wonderful viewing experience.

Jacob Anderson (Louis) and Sam Reid (Lestat) have chemistry.  I knew Anderson from his impressive role on Game of Thrones.  I had seen Reid a decade ago in the mini-series Hatfields & McCoys, but didn’t remember him until looking up his credits.  Reid makes an impact here! Baily Bass as Claudia is an actress to watch.  I’d never seen her before, but imagine she’ll be a household name soon.  She’s that talented.  Eric Bogosian is great as the cynical writer.  I’ve never been a big fan of Bogosian’s but he’s perfect here.

Interview with a Vampire isn’t your typical vampire tale.  These vampires have more desires than just drinking blood. It’s interesting how different aspects of a vampire’s life are explored.  First there’s the loneliness. A vampire is a rare creature that if discovered by humans would be killed.  All of a vampire’s relationships change.  Family and friends know something is different.  Vampires never age.  They are rarely seen during the day.  How  to get rid of the bodies they feed on?  How long before missing people are linked to the vampire?

Interview with a Vampire Season 1, like Anne Rice’s novel, doesn’t shy away from the homosexual aspects of Louis and Lestat’s relationship.  Nothing graphic is shown.  Louis was a closeted homosexual in 1910.  Lestat was uninhibited and took whatever he desired whether it was a woman or a man.  Who’d think that a toxic vampire relationship would make great television.

I loved every episode of Interview with a Vampire Season 1.  There’s a lot of ground to cover between 1910 and 2022.  While many questions were an answered even more were not.  I look forward to Season 2.

Interview with the Vampire Season 1 earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Troll” (2022) / Z-View

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Troll (2022)

Director:  Roar Uthaug

Screenplay: Espen Aukan from a story by Roar Uthaug

Stars: Ine Marie Wilmann, Kim Falck, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen and Billy Campbell

Tagline: Mountains Will Move

The Plot…

A drilling operation accidentally sets of a large explosion in the Norwegian Dovre mountains.  Something huge is unleashed. Whatever was set free is destroying everything in it’s path.  Surprisingly there is little evidence left behind the destruction.

The government brings in a diverse group of military leaders and scientists to brainstorm next steps.  Nora Tidemann (Wilmann), after studying blurring camera images and evidence comes to believe the monster could be a giant troll.  She’s nearly laughed out of the room.

By the time it’s understood that Nora is right, the giant mythological beast is heading for the nation’s capital destroying all that gets in it’s way.  While the city evacuates, Nora and Captain Kristoffer Holm (Pettersen) put together a plan that may stop the creature. If it doesn’t kill them first.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Troll is so much fun!  If someone came to me with the idea of a giant troll movie, I would have passed.  It’s a great thing I wasn’t in charge of greenlighting this movie.  Everyone plays it straight which sets up both comedic and scary scenes.  The troll design is awesome.  If you’re a fan of King Kong and Godzilla, you should love Troll.  Keep an eye out for Billy Campbell of Rocketeer fame in a small role!

Troll earns 4 of 5 stars.

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022) / Z-View

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All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Director:  Edward Berger

Screenplay: Ian Stokell, Lesley Paterson, Edward Berger based on the novel  All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Stars: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Paul Bäumer (Krammerer) is about to graduate high school when he and his classmates hear a rousing patriotic speech about joining the service.  Paul and his friends enlist thinking that the war will be over soon and they’ll come back heroes.  They will learn how wrong they are… if they survive.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

All Quiet on the Western Front is based on Erich Maria Remarque’s anti-war novel of the same name.  Written in 1929, it was banned when the Nazis took over Germany.  All Quiet on the Western Front has been adapted three times.  Twice for feature films and once for television.  It’s a timeless story about the harsh realities of war.

This 2022 adaptation is excellent.  It won National Review awards as one of the Top Five Foreign Language Films and for Best Adapted Screenplay.  It won for Best Makeup and Hairstyling as well as Best Visual Effects in the European Film Awards.

All Quiet on the Western Front contains powerful, tense scenes of war that are heightened by quiet moments before and after the carnage.  There are scenes that will stay with you.  For me, one of the most telling is when the new recruits are unknowingly given uniforms taken off dead soldiers.  The bullet holes having been sewn together by scores of women at sewing machines.

It’s also a sad comment when young soldiers on both sides are in the elements with little to eat, fighting the weather as well as each other. Meanwhile diplomats and high ranking soldiers are getting the best food and amenities as they argue the terms of surrender.  Then when an agreement to end the war at 11:00 is reached, one power-hungry commander orders his soldiers to make a last minute attack that will cost many, many lives but have no positive outcome to the war.

If I was to nitpick, I might say that All Quiet on the Western Front was a bit long, but not long enough to kill my enjoyment of it.

All Quiet on the Western Front earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The Price We Pay” starring Emile Hirsh & Stephen Dorff – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The Price We Pay trailer looked like a typical crime movie until, well, check it out and see for yourself.  I like crime and I like horror.  Deal me in.

From the director of Midnight Meat Train comes this gripping thriller starring Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) and Stephen Dorff (Blade). After an intense holdup at a pawnshop, Grace is taken hostage by the thieves. Forced to take refuge at a remote farmhouse late at night, they discover a secret dungeon with evidence of sadistic violence—and when “Grandfather” comes home, all hell breaks loose. Can Grace muster the courage to escape the gut-wrenching fates that befall her criminal companions?

The Price We Pay – in select theaters, on digital and on demand 1/13/23! Starring Stephen Dorff (Cody), Emile Hirsch (Alex), Gigi Zumbado (Grace), Tyler Sanders (Danny), Erika Ervin (Jodi), Jesse Kinser (John), Sabina Mach (Carly), and Vernon Wells (The Doctor).

EERIE ARCHIVES VOLUME 2 is Coming!

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Eerie Archives Volume 2 is available for pre-order now.  Here’s the lowdown…

A gruesome gold mine of horror, suspense, and the supernatural, Eerie magazine (and its partner in crime, Creepy), set the bar for gripping tales of terror in the comics medium.

Collecting the groundbreaking series, Eerie Archives is now available in a value-priced paperback edition. Under a jaw-dropping cover painting by Frank Frazetta lies a collection of chilling tales written by comics legend Archie Goodwin and illustrated by a murderer’s row of top talents including Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Neal Adams, Gray Morrow, Johnny Craig, Dan Adkins, and more.

Collects Eerie magazine #6–#10.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Eerie Archives Volume 2

EERIE ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 is Coming!

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Hey!  If you were excited to learn that Dark Horse is republishing Creepy magazine in a trade paperback format, you’re going to love to know that Eerie is also getting the same treatment!

Now available in an affordable paperback format, Eerie Archives Volume 1 features some of the most acclaimed works of horror, murder, and the macabre in the history of graphic fiction.

Eerie, like its killer kin Creepy, features work from many of the grandmasters of comics storytelling, including Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth, Steve Ditko, and others and stories by the legendary Archie Goodwin.

Features the ultra-rare Eerie #1, for which only 200 “ashcan” copies were originally printed!

Collects Eerie magazine #1–#5.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Eerie Archives Volume 1

CREEPY ARCHIVES VOLUME 2 is Coming!

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Yesterday I posted about Creepy Archives Volume One.  That got me to thinking that maybe Volume Two has been announced.  Guess what…

The second bone-chilling volume of Creepy Archives is now available in a value-priced paperback edition, showcasing some of most harrowing stories of horror, murder, and supernatural mayhem in comics history!

Created by a who’s-who of comics legends, including Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Gray Morrow, Reed Crandall, John Severin, and more. Of special interest are Goodwin and Crandall’s superb adaptations of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Body Snatcher” by gothic horror master Edgar Allan Poe.

Collects Creepy magazine issues #6–#10 and includes original letters pages, text features, and ads.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Creepy Archives Volume 2

CREEPY ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 is Coming!

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When I was a kid I’d sometimes get to read a Creepy magazine.  Creepy contained, well, let’s just go to the synopsis…

Gather your wooden stakes, silver bullets, and the skeletons in your closet, and prepare for a descent into horror and science-fiction history with Creepy Archives Volume 1!

Reanimated in all its gruesome glory in a value-priced paperback format, and in its original magazine size, this terrifying tome presents some of the finest work by comics legends Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Reed Crandall, Alex Toth, Joe Orlando, Gray Morrow, and more. Collects Creepy magazine issues #1–#5 and includes original letters pages, text features, and ads.

I love that the reprint will contain the original ads, letters pages, etc.  It goes without saying when you have artists like Frazetta, Toth and Williamson that they are worth the price of admission.  I think I’m gonna have to get this.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Creepy Archives Volume 1

“Spooks” (1953) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Spooks (1953)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Norma Randall, Philip Van Zandt and Tom Kennedy

Tagline: Hollywood’s First Comedy Featurette in 3-D

The Plot…

The boys (Moe, Larry and Shemp) are private detectives hired to find a kidnapped woman.  The trail leads to a spooky house where the woman is being held hostage by a mad scientist, his hulking assistant, and a gorilla…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If Spooks reminds you of Dopey Dicks it should. Both contain the same elements: a spooky old mansion full of hidden passages, a mad scientist, his hulking assistant, a woman in distress and the Three Stooges. Spooks kicks it up a notch by adding a gorilla and a release in 3D!

Spooks earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Dopey Dicks” (1950) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Dopey Dicks (1950)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Screenplay: Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre, Philip Van Zandt and Stanley Price

Tagline: Don’t lose YOUR head howling at the Stooges!

The Plot…

A woman rushes into a detective’s office where janitors (Moe, Larry and Shemp) are cleaning.  She mistakes the boys for detectives. She says she’s being followed.  Moe, Larry and Shemp head into the hall checking in all directions.  When they return to the office, the woman is gone but  a note has been left behind.

The trail leads to a spooky house where the woman is being held hostage by a mad scientist, his hulking assistant, and a headless robot…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Dopey Dicks contains all of the elements needed for a classic Stooges short.  We get a spooky old mansion full of hidden passages, a mad scientist, his hulking assistant, a woman in distress and the Three Stooges.  Dopey Dicks is one of the best!

Dopey Dicks earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) / Z-View

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Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Director: Charles Barton  (Walter Lantz directed the animation sequences)

Screenplay: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo, John Grant

Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Jane Randolph, Frank Ferguson and Bobby Barber

Tagline: Jeepers! The creepers are after Bud and Lou!

The Plot…

Chick Young (Abbott) and Wilbur Gray (Costello) work at a shipping company.  They receive a call from Larry Talbot (Chaney). Crates scheduled for delivery to McDougal’s House of Horrors contain the real Dracula and Frankenstein monsters!  Unfortunately before Talbot gets them the message, he transforms into a werewolf.  Chick and Wilbur deliver the crates.

When Talbot shows up, he convinces Chick and Wilbur that Dracula and the Frankenstein monster are real! Meanwhile, Dracula plans to place Wilbur’s brain in the monster.  Soon we have Abbott & Costello, Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman in a battle royal with the winners being the audience.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a perfect example of how horror and comedy can work together seamlessly.  We get Abbott and Costello’s verbal comedy and sight gags.  Costello dealing with a lady who wants her bag from a cart full of luggage is classic.  The Boys’ interactions with the monsters at the castle is priceless.  Having Lugosi recreate his signature role is a plus (and only the second time that Bela Lugosi played Dracula in movies).  Watch, I mean listen for a Vincent Price cameo at the end!  Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is my all-time favorite Abbott and Costello movie and one that I can re-watch anytime.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein earns 5 of 5 stars.

“The Pale Blue Eye” starring Christian Bale – The Full Trailer is Here!

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The teaser for The Pale Blue Eye had me in.  Today we get the trailer.  I’m still in.

West Point, 1830. A world-weary detective is hired to discreetly investigate the gruesome murder of a cadet. Stymied by the cadets’ code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case — a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe.

The Pale Blue Eye on Netflix, January 6.