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The Tingler (1959). The Tingler was top-shelf B horror fun, no doubt about it. This wonderful flick reminds us just how much fun horror movies should (and could) be today; movie makers take note. I love how director William Castle would have the movie theaters rigged in order to physically scare its audience. No doubt such a gimmick today would find its way into the endless caverns of litigation. The Tingler's set of characters was perfect. Vincent Price dominates as always in his role of delicate moral ambiguity. The rest of the cast sets the stage for the fun that is to follow, a splendid array of good, evil, and equivocation. The story itself, based on the fascination of fear, moves from scene to scene with ease. Vincent Price's bout with lysergic acid was especially remarkable. The special effects were laughable, but in an adorable fashion. In the end, this cheesy schlock-fest will have achieved its nefarious designs through the sheer puissance of unfiltered entertainment.
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One of my all time favorites! I find more to this than a schlock-fest. The set piece of the deaf woman's death is harrowing. Castle could scare!
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Dracula (1931). Dwight Frye's inimitable Remfield initiates this classic in his carriage ride to the depths of Hell, and thus thus begins Dracula, one of the greatest renditions of Bram Stoker's novel. This talkie unfairly shoves Nosferatu aside as Bela Lugosi single-handedly creates a caricature of Dracula that stands unhinged even today. Unlike the vermin-like Nosferatu, Count Dracula carries himself with the compelling air of a foreign aristocrat, even charming at times. But the core of Dracula cannot be sequestered, almost as if the evil within cannot but help to ooze to the surface of this unctuous entity. He is but a nefarious monstrosity of savagery cloaked in aristocratic garb. Only his barely checked temperance keeps his secret, for the moment anyway. Much has been said that Bela carries this whole flick, and while his puissance cannot be denied, his newly created groveler comes close to equaling Bela's performance. Dwight Frye's depiction of Remfield, real-estate agent turned supernatural kowtower, is a chilling a performance of a mooncalf that can nary be replicated. From what evil depths did he pull that laugh might best be left undiscovered. In an industry still finding its purchase, Tod Browning's Dracula stands tall as a dark beacon that helps illuminate the way for horror masterpieces yet to come.
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Castle of Blood (1964)
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/mov/video/i.../88/196788.jpg Damn! I think I could have even liked it more if I haven't seen the 1971 remake before. >>: B+ |
Fiend Without a Face (1958). This 50s B movie sci-fi classic somehow made the grade with Criterion, and at first glance this seems an inexplicable maneuver. The story goofy, the acting fun but not stellar, of what importance could such a little flick find discharge? First and foremost, for the time, the stop-action effects must have been remarkable. But more than that, this is one of the first gore-fests ever produced, at least in its day. Coupled with the terrifying sounds of the monsters, this new imagery could not but terrify any child whose eyes were glued to the set, afterward found to be clogging up their windows with Legos or Lincoln logs. Lastly, Criterion's import can be elicited in the message, this time with man forging blindly forward in imaginative technology without proper consideration of the consequences, a time-honored and important practice of movies since the first director decided to foist his dispatch upon the world. Even without all of the cerebral ruminations, Fiend Without a Face is truly an entertaining piece of work, a classic whose horribly fresh animation might frighten adult and child alike. As such, it is the perfect way to spend a lightening-filled afternoon in the glory of 50 sci-fi fun.
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Those brains STILL scare me!
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Dracula's daughter 1936.
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Island of Lost Souls
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