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damalc 
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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 Posted - 01/05/2011 : 19:32:13
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Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection
i plan to have some fun with this and hope you do too. thanks Joe Blevins for the encouragement and inspiration. i hope my version measures up.
just going by the first two films, the video and sound transfers are not great but i didn't expect much that way. many of these movies are 50 years old and recorded on long-obsolete equipment. some look like they were recorded by camcorder from a television showing, but Shakespeare's stories are way older than that and nobody talks like that. the bottom line is, it's pretty hard for a good story to be ruined by time and technology.
one of the amateur reviewers on amazon wrote, "itz completly disgusting.itz wate of money.not worthy.i feel,i am duped.who's gonaa watch the 1930's,1960's era b/w movie"
i do, and i don't know what that person was expecting when the collection's cover shows Lon Chaney in his Phantom makeup. anyway, here we go.
pasted from Joe's original thread:
OK, i said i wasn't going to comment on every film in my 50 collection but i watched the first one today and this set is promising.
the first film was "Carnival of Souls (1962)." proof that a good story and good acting don't need $100M worth of special effects or even color. genuinely creepy and clearly the ancestor of films like "Repulsion," "The Sixth Sense," "Black Swan," and, though i've never seen it, i think "Final Destination."
perhaps i'll have to start a thread for this one after all. |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 01/05/2011 : 19:52:12
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"Atom Age Vampire" original title "Seddok, l'erede di Satana"
the second film in this series was a disappointment. first, the English title has little to do with the story. it only refers to a line used once in the film. i did a translation of the Italian title at freetranslation.com and it came out "Seddok, the heir of Satan," which doesn't really apply to the story either, so whatever language you're speaking, the title is just bad.
Jeanette, a performer of some kind -- she's called a stripper in a synopsis, but she never strips or sings or dances -- is disfigured in a car accident after her sailor boyfriend leaves her. after being approached in a hospital, she agrees to try an unusual treatment to restore her beauty. the doctor takes a liking to her and takes extreme steps to help her.
he induces a Jekyll-&-Hyde type transformation on himself, which doesn't seem to do anything but change his appearance, without giving him any extra abilities or changing his behavior. it does make him unrecognizable, though.
it's really more like a werewolf story than a vampire story, especially the photo montage transformations. i reckon the title was just to take advantage of the popularity of vampires and the feelings about nuclear power at the time. "Atom Age Vampire" has some interesting philosophical takes but just isn't scary or original. |
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Joe Blevins
"Don't I look handsome?"
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Posted - 01/08/2011 : 05:32:12
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| This thread is beyond awesome! I'm not familiar with Atom Age Vampire, but I enjoyed your write-up just the same. |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 01/08/2011 : 07:00:23
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quote:
Originally posted by damalc
Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection
Holy crapola, 50 movies for $13?!?!?  This is a no-brainer. I will grab this and use it to fill in those got-nothing-from-netflix-today-and-don't-wanna-see-any-of-those-movies-on-my-shelf-that-I've-already-seen days. 
In fact, I think I might grab Joe's Chilling Classics 50 Movie Pack (1984) while I'm at it for an extra $15, that's 100 movies for $28... nothing could possibly go wrong... 
Edit: Just bought them both. And with that, my ownership of movies has gone from about 30 to 130.  |
Edited by - Sean on 01/08/2011 07:12:00 |
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Joe Blevins
"Don't I look handsome?"
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Posted - 01/08/2011 : 19:20:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
In fact, I think I might grab Joe's Chilling Classics 50 Movie Pack (1984) while I'm at it for an extra $15, that's 100 movies for $28... nothing could possibly go wrong...
Edit: Just bought them both. And with that, my ownership of movies has gone from about 30 to 130.
Aw, no fair! They changed the cover on 50 Chilling Classics, and the new cover (creepy little girl) is way better than the "generic skull" one I had on mine. |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 01/09/2011 : 21:29:35
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"Creature from the Haunted Sea"
Director Roger Corman and Mill Creek Entertainment pulled a fast one on me with this one.
I said before that after watching for about six minutes was looking like the worst movie I'd ever seen. After about 20 minutes, I realized that it was a parody of horror films, as well as a couple of other genres.
A bad guy comes up with a plan to smuggle gold out of Cuba by sea after the rise of Castro, and decides to rub out his Cuban accomplices and blame it on the titular creature. Turns out there really is a creature, though.
The film includes a spy who uses a horrid mustache disguise, a crew member who communicates mainly by making animal sounds, a bad impression throughout that varies between Dean Martin and Humphrey Bogart, a singing number at sea -- complete with piano music where there is no piano -- and a horribly costumed monster.
"CftHS" is what we would have gotten if the "Scary Movie" movies had started in 1961. Remade today, it would have been a perfect vehicle for Leslie Nielsen, I mean, besides him being dead.
Expecting a horror, it was awful, but did have funny moments. It may be worth watching again, expecting comedy, but after the first cold viewing, it's not funny enough. And it's certainly not scary enough to be part of a horror collection.
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Edited by - damalc on 01/10/2011 19:44:00 |
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lemmycaution 
"Long mired in film"
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Posted - 01/10/2011 : 20:54:30
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quote:
Originally posted by damalc
"Creature from the Haunted Sea"
Director Roger Corman and Mill Creek Entertainment pulled a fast one on me with this one.
I said before that after watching for about six minutes was looking like the worst movie I'd ever seen. After about 20 minutes, I realized that it was a parody of horror films, as well as a couple of other genres.
A bad guy comes up with a plan to smuggle gold out of Cuba by sea after the rise of Castro, and decides to rub out his Cuban accomplices and blame it on the titular creature. Turns out there really is a creature, though.
The film includes a spy who uses a horrid mustache disguise, a crew member who communicates mainly by making animal sounds, a bad impression throughout that varies between Dean Martin and Humphrey Bogart, a singing number at sea -- complete with piano music where there is no piano -- and a horribly costumed monster.
"CftHS" is what we would have gotten if the "Scary Movie" movies had started in 1961. Remade today, it would have been a perfect vehicle for Leslie Nielsen, I mean, besides him being dead.
Expecting a horror, it was awful, but did have funny moments. It may be worth watching again, expecting comedy, but after the first cold viewing, it's not funny enough. And it's certainly not scary enough to be part of a horror collection.
The actor credited as Edward Wain is actually Robert Towne who went on to do some better work. |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 01/19/2011 : 20:20:56
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"Amanti d'oltretomba" (1965) or "Nightmare Castle"
This one has my hopes back up for the Horror Classics collection. Though I probably shouldn't get too excited. I'm only four in.
"Nightmare Castle," set in a creepy castle, delivers on a bunch of scary movie elements -- a creepy painting that looks alive, tight shots of eyes and half-lit faces, loud organ music, creepy science experiments, oh yeah, and a castle.
Dr. Arrowsmith (Walk This Way?) discovers his wife and her lover, umm, loving, tortures and kills them, then marries the wife's stepsister to keep her money. And that's where the scary starts.
I'm thinking there was a bad translation as the "stepsisters" are identical, except for having blond or black hair. There's also a housekeeper who depends on the doctor's experiments.
If you're interested in seeing this one, avoid the IMBD page. I didn't visit it until after I watched and will make that a rule for the rest of this series. The photo there spoils a ghoulish treat of a reveal.
It was kinda sexy too. Not the ghoulish reveal, but lead actress Barbara Steele is nice in her double role.
I can't help but wonder, as I watch these movies, how modern remakes would turn out and who would do them. Made over in the 21st Century, this would likely become a torture porn. But I think Dario Argento could keep this faithful to the original and knock it out of the park.
This one rates a 5.6 on IMDB, but I give it a 7.
Next up: "The Black Dragons" |
Edited by - damalc on 01/21/2011 02:01:22 |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 02/14/2011 : 19:18:52
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"Black Dragons" (1942)
At this rate, I'll see 25 good movies and 25 bad by the end of this series. It should say a lot that I took so long -- if anyone noticed -- to get back on this one. "Black Dragons" doesn't know what kind of film it wants to be. It starts out as an effective supernatural thriller, but ends up being something else. "Dragons" stars Bela Lugosi in all his sinister glory, playing refreshingly understated for him. A bunch of politicians get together, Bela shows up, they start dying and then there's one of those endings that has to tell a whole new story to wrap it up. It starts OK, but the introduction of the Lugosi character never pays off.
IMDB users give this one a 4.1. Yeah, that's about right.
Up next "Invisible Ghost" |
Edited by - damalc on 02/15/2011 05:19:03 |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 02/22/2011 : 19:05:59
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"Invisible Ghost" (1941)
Again, the Horror Classics collection sticks to its good-bad pattern. I liked "Invisible Ghost," another Bela Lugosi vehicle. IG delivers on the creepy from the very beginning, opening with Dr. Kessler having dinner for two alone, telling his wife how beautiful she looks and instructing his butler, Evans, to serve Mrs. Kessler first. There are stories of murders in the area and then murders start happening in Kessler's home.
Now, three things struck me about this film. First, when three people in the house turn up dead, there doesn't seem to be much alarm among the others there. THREE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED IN THE HOUSE WHERE YOU'RE STAYING. Nobody leaves, hires security, buys a gun, changes the locks or seems to have trouble sleeping. Kessler's grand old mansion is creepy enough that I would have probably rather stayed in a hotel in the first place. That is, if there was one in the area that accepted black guests in 1942.
That leads to the second striking point, I found it a bit unbelievable that Evans, the black butler, was not questioned until the movie was almost over. The cops said they would give him a sanity test. "It should be simple enough," one says.
Third, Bela Lugosi had some long-ass fingers.
"Invisible Ghost," which featured no invisible ghosts, was well acted, though dated, but fun, and better than the 4.8 it gets from IMDB voters.
Next up: "One body too many" |
Edited by - damalc on 02/24/2011 20:46:04 |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 05/16/2011 : 02:51:34
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One Body Too Many (1944)
It's been a while, I know. Apologies to anyone who cares. I finally got back to the series and I'm conflicted about this one. "One Body Too Many" was entertaining but I don't think it belonged in the Horror Classics collection.
After the death of the rich Cyrus J. Rutherford, family members show up for the reading of his will. Inheritances among them will range from the millions to cab fare, but who gets the good end won't be revealed until the star-gazing Cyrus' glass-domed crypt -- so the stars can shine on him -- is finished. The inheritors are stuck with each other in a creepy house -- I'm pretty sure the same one from the previously reviewed "Invisible Ghost" -- for at least a few days. An insurance salesman shows up and then it turns into a creepy comedy, almost like a live action Scooby Doo. "One Body" was a good one, but doesn't belong in the horror section.
This is also the third film in a row of this collection that stars Bela Lugosi. His fingers really were that long.
IMDB voters give "One Body Too Many" a 5/10, which probably right if the viewer is expecting a horror film, as I was, but without expectations of being horrified, I bump it up to a 7.
Next: "White Zombie" |
Edited by - damalc on 05/16/2011 22:13:44 |
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Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection
