Twisted Nightmare(1987) Movie Review

Twisted Nightmare is a 1987 horror movie directed by Paul Hunt and starring Rhonda Gray, Cleve Hall and Natalie Main.

A girl called Laura(Gray) wins a weekend away  to Camp Paradise. She went there as a child and she wants to bring her boyfriend, Shawn(Brad Bartram) and some old friends-Jennifer(Main), Tak, Nicole,Jerome,Gus, Sylvia,Ken, Julie, Dean and Cheri. There is a caretaker called Kane(Robert Padilla) working there. He lets them in and locks the gate after them. We discover that Laura had a disabled brother called Matthew(Hall) who had an accident at the camp years before and died. It isn't long before people start to get killed. Sylvia and Gus are the first.

Some of the group go hiking.Dean and Cheri are leaving because they think something is weird at the camp and they are suspicious of the free weekend.Ken and Julie don't go hiking and Ken goes looking for Kane. Julie finds Sylvia and Gus dead in the barn and goes to ring the Sheriff but she gets cut off before she can explain. She runs to the truck but gets pulled out and killed. Dean tells the others someone put sugar in his gas tank so he can't leave. Tak and Shawn are hunting . Shawn asks Tak about Matthew.Tak says people were teasing him and somehow Matthew was on fire. His body was never found.

Kane warns them to leave before it's too late. Others get killed. The Sheriff comes up to talk to them. He finds Laura but she knows nothing. Kane tells Shawn that the land belonged to his tribe. He tells him his people were killed by the white man. There is a curse on the land. He warns them to leave or die. Nicole and Jerome die. Shawn and Tak see the killer. They make it back to the cabin and find Laura. The Sheriff meets Dean and Cheri. He gives them a lift to the cabin. He tells all of them to stick together. He goes for a look around.Most of the gang meet their deaths. The Sheriff also gets attacked. Laura gets attacked by Kane but Shawn saves her. He shoots Kane. Laura tells him that they are all dead. Shawn shoots at the killer. Matthew kills him. Jennifer spots them and sees Laura sending Matthew to kill her. Kane isn't dead and he decides to burn down the barn with Laura, Matthew and himself inside. It goes up in flames and Jennifer survives.

This was a decent slasher movie with some fun scenes. The acting wasn't very good but I suppose that's normal with these lower budget movies. It is entertaining though and I recommend it to fans of 80's slashers. I give it a 5/10.

Tarot(2024)Movie Review

Trailer here.

Tarot is a 2024 horror movie directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg and starring Harriet Slater, Jacob Batalon, Avantika, Humberly Gonzalez, Wolfgang Novogratz.

A group of friends are on holiday together. It is Elise's(Larsen Thompson) birthday. Along for the celebration is Haley(Slater), Lucas(Novogratz), Grant, Paige(Avantika), Madeline (Gonzalez) and Paxton(Batalon). They find a basement and there is strange stuff in there. Paxton finds tarot cards. Haley knows how to read them. The cards are not ordinary tarot cards.Haley reads their fortunes. Paxton thinks that he sees something outside. The cards seem to come alive.

The group leave and their fortunes start to come true.Elise hears a bang at her door. She hears someone is playing tricks on her. It is no trick when the figure from her tarot card is waiting for her and kills her.Each of the group start to find their tarot figures coming to life. The cops talk to them about what's going on. They think they are accidents. Haley thinks the readings influenced the deaths. Grant doesn't believe it. Haley finds an expert, Alma(Olwen Fouere) and tells her what is going on. She doesn't want to know. When she hears about the deaths, she tells them about the haunted tarot cards.

She knows of others who died from using the cards but she survived it. She has been searching for the cards to destroy them. The cards are cursed. They need to destroy them. More of the gang die as they try to get the cards and destroy them. They burn them and call Alma. Alma calls an astrologer who reads Alma's fortune. She kills her. Haley and Grant are left. Haley meets the astrologer and does a reading. Haley faces off with her.There's some silly story about grief and the astrologer ends up disappearing along with the cards. Grant, Haley and Paxton survive.

I liked the premise of this one. It sounded good but the execution was not so good. There wasn't anything in this that was great. It felt long and dull in parts. It's one of those ok films but not great. I will give it a 4/10.

The Bloody Judge(1970)Movie Review

Trailer here.

The Bloody Judge is a 1970 horror movie directed by Jesus Franco and starring Christopher Lee, Maria Schell, Leo Genn and Maria Rohm.

The movie begins in England in the seventeenth century. Judge Jeffries(Lee) is a tough judge. He is called the Bloody Judge. Awful things are happening at this time. He has his men kill people and torture women. A woman is being arrested for being a witch.Her name is Alicia(Margaret Lee). She is accused of witchcraft. She is brought before Jeffries.He states that she will be examined thoroughly. She is tortured. Her sister is called Mary(Rohm) and she visits the judge seeking leniency. It is a waste as her sister is burned at the stake.

Mary is angry and she goes to see a local woman,Mother Rosa(Schell), who seems to be a witch of some sort. Jeffries is suspicious of a man called Barnaby(Peter Martell), who he thinks is plotting against the King. A man called Harry is friends with Barnaby. He is also with Mary. He wants to marry her.He wants Barnaby to help him. His father warns him about Jeffries. Harry doesn't listen. He discovers that Mary has been taken to Jeffries. Mary is taken prisoner by a creepy guy called Satchel, who works for Jeffries. He tries to rape her. She tries to escape but he catches her. She manages to push his face into the fire. Harry arrives to save her.

Harry and his pal Barnaby end up fighting the judges men. Barnaby gets hurt. Harry brings him to his hideout while he goes for help. He leaves Mary with Barnaby. Satchel demands money from Harry's father in exchange for his silence. He also wants Mary. Harry arrives back to the hideout and finds Barnaby hanged and Mary gone. Satchel brings a group of women to Jeffries. Mother Rosa gets a visit from Harry. He tells her about Satchel and the women he has taken. She warns him about Jeffries. Harry and some guys are going to rescue them.

The rebels break into Jeffries castle and try to save the girls. Jeffries finds out and declares Harry an outlaw. He hauls in Mother Rosa and interrogates her. Harry and Mary get caught. There are executions aplenty. Harry's father visits Jeffries and seeks a pardon for his son. The King has written a letter to Jeffries seeking clemency but Jeffries ignores it. Mary finds herself allowed out of prison. A maid gives her a dagger to take with her as she is going to see Jeffries. He offers to save Harry's life in exchange for herself. He is going to exile Harry. Mary tries to kill him but it fails and she is taken away. Harry and his pals break out of their prison and free all the prisoners too. They tie Satchel up and he gets killed. Harry's father meets him outside and says that he is free. The King has been defeated. Jeffries won't leave his castle. Harry's father has a warrant for him. Jeffries is arrested for his crimes. Mary is rescued and Jeffries is thrown into prison where he dies.

This film was entertaining. The cast were good of course. It kind of reminded me of Witchfinder General in some ways. It was a little slow in parts but it is certainly worth watching.  Christopher Lee is always great so I am giving it a 6/10.

The Shadow of the Cat(1961)Movie Review

Trailer here.

The Shadow of the Cat is a 1961 horror movie directed by John Gilling and starring Andre Morell, Barbara Shelley, William Lucas, Freda Jackson and Conrad Phillips.

An old woman called Ella Venable is killed in her house. Her cat, Tabitha sees it and knows who the killer is. There are two men and a woman involved in it. The cat witnesses them burying the body. Police come to the house. Ella's husband is called Walter(Morell) and he is in on the murder along with Andrew(Andrew Crawford), the butler and Clara(Jackson), the maid. Walter tells the police that Ella has been missing for a few days. He tells them that he hasn't seen her at all. Andrew tries to catch the cat but it won't come to him. Clara tries too. The cat is lurking, watching everything. Andrew tries to kill it. It runs into the basement. Walter tries to get it too. Tabitha attacks him. Andrew tells Inspector Rowles(Alan Wheatley) that the cat is being vicious.

Ella has a niece called Beth(Shelley) and she is coming to the house. A reporter called Latimer(Phillips) is on the case of the missing lady too. He comes to the house and he meets Beth. Andrew tells them that the cat attacked him. Tabitha goes to see Beth and she pets it and it likes her. When Clara appears, the cat gets angry and vicious. Walter sends for his brother, Edgar(Richard Warner) and his son Jacob(Lucas).Jacob brings his wife, Louise(Vanda Godsell) with him. Clara is worried about the cat. Beth asks her what is going on. Walter informs his family about the cat and he orders them to kill it. Tabitha and Beth have no problems at all. She calls Latimer and tells him that she is frightened of what is happening in the house. Michael Latimer thinks that the cat knows what happened to Ella.

Tabitha is making the culprits feel guilty. Michael tells her that he thinks that Walter is behind it all. Edgar and Jacob find the cat and trap it in a bag. Andrew runs off with it and goes into the woods but it escapes. The cat leads him to a swamp. Andrew falls in and dies. Tabitha returns to the house. Beth asks everyone why they are frightened of a little cat. Clara realises that something has happened to Andrew and she tells Walter. She wants to go but Walter won't let her. She dies when the cat jumps on her and tumbles down the stairs. Michael shows up at the house and Louise blames the cat for Clara's death. The Inspector comes and informs them about Andrew. 

Beth and Michael explore the house and they see that there is a broken wall. Edgar, Jacob and Louise disscuss Walter. They want to get rid of him. Beth hears noises at night. The cat sits on Walter's bed. He has a heart attack and dies. The Inspector and Michael arrive. Edgar has a will that leaves everything to him. Louise thinks that Jacob had something to do with  Walter's death. Michael thinks that there might be another will. The police look for the cat. Ella had put her papers in a safe deposit box. Michael thinks that Ella was killed and the cat witnessed it. The Inspector asks about the will and he wants to search the house for it. The cat comes in and runs upstairs. Jacob chases it. He goes onto the roof and falls off. Edgar is searching for another will. Michael and Beth are searching too. Edgar finds Ella's box and the cat comes in. He chases it and he gets hit by a beam. The box is found. Beth is the one who was supposed to inherit Ella's estate. Tabitha leads the police to Ella's body. The house is sold and the new occupants are moving in. Puss is there, looking for a new family.

This was a really good movie. I liked the idea of the cat witnessing the murder and making sure that the guilty are punished. The cast were great and there were some really great moments in this one. Interesting note- this is actually a Hammer movie. I recommend this and I am giving a 7/10.

Out of the Dark(1988) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Out of the Dark is a 1988 horror movie directed by Michael Schroeder and starring Karen Black and Bud Cort.

The movie begins with a man calling a sex phone line. A woman called Camille(Black) is starting work at the sex line. A creepy clown talks to a woman in the park. He hits her with a baseball bat and kills her. The cops are on the case. She was working at the sex line. Kevin (Cameron Dye) is a photographer who also knows some of the girls at the line.  The cops pay him a visit. The cops are led by Lieutenant Myers(Tracey Walter) and McDonald. They question Kevin about the dead girl. A man called Dave (Cort) is working in the same building as the sex line. He is an accountant and he likes a woman called Barbara. She is giving one of the sex line workers, Camille, a ride home. The clown is following them.  Barbara drops her home and the clown follows her. He forces her to crash her car and then he kills her.

Kevin gets another visit from the cops. His girlfriend is Kristi and she works at the sex line. She is upset about Kevin being accused of being the killer. The boss, Ruth(Black) is not happy about all of this. A witness saw the killer and she says that he wore a clown mask. The cops decide to set up a phoneline to draw the killer out. The clown calls Camille and he gets angry with her. Later on, he finds her and he kills her. The cops realise that the clown outsmarted them. They find Camille's body. Ruth is very upset at the cops for causing the killer to strike.

Kevin and Kristi suspect Dave. They discover sex items in his office. Kevin and Kristi go to a seedy motel to hide. The killer just happens to be at the same motel. He murders a prostitute. The motel owner discovers the body. Along come the cops and Kevin and Kristi see them. They make a run for it but get caught. Kevin is taken to jail and he calls Kristi and tells her to go back to Dave's office and find something to incriminate him. She finds stuff but gets caught by Dave. He chases her and tries to kill her but he gets hit by a car and dies. The cops think that he was the killer. Kevin is cleared and released.

Kevin and Kristi go to his place in the desert. Kristi finds a clown mask in his trunk. She realises that Kevin was the real killer. He has a gun and he tells her that he used to be a professional clown. He tries to kill her and she ends up shooting him. He isn't dead though and he comes back to finish her off when he is shot dead by Meyers who found them just in time. This is a decent thriller/horror. It has some good stuff in it even though it is a little cheesy in parts. I think that it is worth a look and I will give it a 5/10.

The Sorcerers(1967) Movie Review

Trailer here.

The Sorcerers is a 1967 horror movie directed by Michael Reeves and starring Ian Ogilvy, Boris Karloff, Catherine Lacey and Susan George.

Professor Monserrat(Karloff) is advertising his services as a hypnotist. He has a plan. A man called Michael(Ogilvy) is at a club with his girlfriend, Nicole(Elizabeth Ercy). The professor and his wife, Estelle(Lacey) have a machine and they need a person to test it out. Michael is walking alone when he meets the Professor. They get chatting and Monserrat offers him an experience he will never forget. Michael follows him back to his house. The Professor has a laboratory and he tells Michael that he is a hypnotist and he has a special machine which he uses for his hypnosis. Michael doesn't seem too worried about it. He gets hypnotised and the experiement is a success. The Professor and his wife can control Michael and his thoughts.  The Professor tells him that he will remember nothing about it when he leaves their house.

Michael goes back to the club and is unaware of what has happened. Estelle wants Michael to bring her a fur coat. They concentrate on him and he leaves his girlfriend to bring them the coat. Estelle enjoys controlling him. Michael tells his girlfriend that he thinks he did something bad but he can't remember it. Michael and Nicole go into the country on a motorbike. Estelle makes him speed on the bike. His friend Alan(Victor Henry) is upset because it was his bike. Michael fights with him. He attacks Alan's boss too. He is acting crazy. Nicole is horrifed by his behaviour. Monserrat is not happy with his wife. She is getting carried away. He tells her that he will stop her. She tells him that he can't.

The Professor tells her that he will go to the police and she trips him up and breaks the machine. She hits him. She makes Michael kill a woman. Nicole and Alan read about it in the paper and they become suspicious of Michael. They look for him. The police are closing in on him too. Michael has no memory of doing anything. They talk to him and tell him what happened. Estelle controls him and makes him pull a knife on them. Alan and Michael fight and the police are on the way. He runs off. He drives off. Estelle is losing her grip on him. The Professor tries to get into his mind. He makes Michael crash the car. It explodes and he dies. In the end, the Professor and Estelle are also burned because of their link to Michael.

This was a fun film and I enjoyed it. The cast were good and there was enough to keep me entertained. I would recommend this, I will give it a 5/10.

The Blood Spattered Bride(1972) Movie Review

Trailer here.

The Blood Spattered Bride is a 1972 horror movie directed by Vicente Aranda and starring Simon Andreu and Maribel Martin.

A woman called Susan(Martin) is newly married and she has an awful vision of someone trying to hurt her at a hotel. When they arrive home, Susan meets her husbands(Andreu) staff and a woman called Carol who is the daughter of one of the servants. Susan spots a woman in the woods near the house. She talks to Carol and Carol tells her that there are portraits of women in the cellar. Susan sees a portrait of a woman called Mircala(Alexandra Bastedo). Her husband tells her about Mircala. She killed her husband on the wedding night. They go to her tomb and Susan sees her. She gives Susan a dagger and she bites her neck. Susan screams. Her husband doesn't see anything. Carol tells them she put a dagger under Susan's pillow. She tells them that she got it from a lady in the woods.  Susan wants to leave.

Mircala comes to Susan at night. She shows her where her husband hid the dagger. She wants Susan to murder her husband. Susan has a vision where she kills her husband with Mircala. It seems to be a dream. The doctor comes to see her. He gives her injection to help her. He tells her husband that she is thinking about myths and legends and she shouldn't be. The dagger is hidden in a clock. The husband thinks Carol hid it. She denies it. The husband buries the dagger on the beach. He sees a woman buried in the sand. She is naked. He brings her home.

The woman meets Susan. She says that her name is Carmila. Susan and Carmila have a connection. Susan begins to act strangely. The husband wants to know what is going on. Susan digs up the dagger and she cuts herself. The doctor is called again and the husband hides the dagger and locks it up. He takes the key with him. The doctor recommends that Susan should see a psychiatrist. The husband tells him about Mircala. The groundskeeper tells the doctor that he saw Susan in the woods with Mircala. Susan slips away at night. The doctor follows. He sees the two women. Mircala drinks Susan's blood. She is turning Susan against her husband. The doctor informs the husband. He sees it for himself.  He sees that Carmila is a vampire. She is using Carol to get her things she needs.

Susan tries to get the dagger without the key. She breaks open the drawer where it is and she grabs it. She kills the doctor. Her husband spots her and Mircala dragging the body away. Mircala orders Susan to kill her husband. He runs away and gets to his car and speeds off. Mircala becomes caught in a trap in the woods. Susan kills the gardener. The husband gets a gun and goes after them. He finds them in a coffin and he shoots holes in it. Carol arrives. She is also a vampire. She tells him that the two women will return. He shoots her too. The film ends with a newpaper headline about a a man who cut out the hearts of three women so it seems to hint that he was found guilty of murdering them. 

This was an ususual film with some good scenes. I enjoyed it overall and I would recommend it for fans of vampire movies. I will give it a 5/10.

Fangs of the Living Dead(1969)Movie Review

Trailer here.

Fangs of the Living Dead a.k.a.Malenka is a 1969 horror film directed by Amando de Ossorio and starring Anita Ekberg.

The films begins with a man called Dr. Luciani who received a call from his fiance, Sylvia(Ekberg). She tells him that she has inherited a castle and a title of Countess. She has to go to the place to sign papers. She goes to the local inn and the locals in there are startled when she tells them that she is going to be staying at the castle. A local person tells her that Count Walbrooke is expecting her. He is her uncle. She meets him and she looks around the castle. Sylvia is visited by a servant, Blinka(Adriana Ambesi) who seems to be about to bite her when the count appears and he is really angry. He takes her away and whips her.

Sylvia realises that Blinka is a vampire. She wants to leave but the Count doesn't want her to. A relative of Sylvia's was called Malenka and she was burned at the stake for being a witch. Walbrooke tells her that she must never marry. He tells her that Malenka created vampires. He informs her that he is Malenka's husband and he is undead. He tells her of some family curse which means she has to stay at the castle and can't marry. Sylvia breaks off her engagement to Dr. Luciani. Luciani and his firend Max go to the castle to see her. She won't see them. The locals are superstitious. They know that something dodgy is going on. The Count is snacking on some of the local ladies. He wants to dine on Sylvia next.

The Count tells her to drink his blood. Syvlia rescues Blinka from the dungeon. Blinka tells her that there is a tunnel . She enters it but gets caught by a girl vampire called Berta.She runs but the vamp lady is on her heels. Sylvia goes to the inn where Luciani and Max are. She tells them about Berta.They talk to the local doctor about it and he tells them to get a sharp wooden stake and stake the vamps with it.The doctor, Luciani, Max go to Bertha's grave. The Count sends one of his henchmen to get Sylvia. Berta rises from her grave. The doctor tries to get her but she runs off. Sylvia is kidnapped and brought back to the castle.

Luciani talks to the Count. He gets knocked out by one of his sidekicks. The doctor and Max see Blinka. The Count tells Luciani that he has a plan. He is going to get Sylvia declared insane because he wants the castle for himself. Blinka warns Sylvia that the vampire thing is all a lie. Luciani kills the Count and he burns. A portrait of Malenka burns too. 

This is a film that is very light on plot. It is not bad in parts and I did like the ending. This is made by the same guy who directed Tombs of the Blind Dead, which is why I watched it. It is a fun Spanish movie and worth a look if you enjoy Euro horror. I will give it a 5/10.

Alligator(1980) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Alligator is a 1980 horror movie directed by Lewis Teague and starring Robert Forster, Robin Riker and Michael V. Gazzo.

The movie begins with a girl buying a baby alligator. Her father throws it down the toilet and it ends up in the sewer. Twelve years later, A cop called Madison(Forster)  is working on a case where the remains of a body have been found. A man who has a pet shop has been dumping dead dogs in the sewer. The alligator has been living on them and has ingested the chemicals which were used, resulting in it becoming huge and hungry. The pet shop owner has been bringing them to a pharma company who are using them in experiments. Madison is investigating them. He goes into the sewers to see what is going on. He brings an officer with him. They look around and spot the alligator and they run. The officer gets taken by the alligator.

Madison wakes up in the hospital. He wants to find his officer. He visits an alligator specialist, Dr. Kendall(Riker). She just happens to be the same girl who bought the alligator all those years ago. She is interested in finding it too. A journalist is poking his nose around and he is interested in Madison. He wants to know what happened to the officer and he goes into the sewers and meets the alligator who eats him for dinner. He had taken pictures, though, and the alligator is in them. The police and swat teams decide to go into the sewers and get the monster. Kendall shows up. The cops don't find the giant alligator. It breaks out of the sewer and roams the streets.

The cops look for it as it wanders around. Madison gets suspended because of a rich man called Slade(Dean Jagger). He is the one who has been bankrolling the experiments and he doesn't want the cops to discover what has been going on. The alligator ends up eating some more people and it heads for Slade's house where it wreaks havoc. It attacks his guests and Slade, killing them. Madison and Kendall realise it is going back into the sewers. Madison goes in after it. It comes at him. He sets a bomb and it attacks him. He tries to get out and is saved by Kendall. They escape and the bomb goes off , killing the alligator. Of course, this isn't the end of the story as there are baby alligators down there...

This is a fun monster movie. There is a huge alligator and lots of action. I think that you get exactly what you expect and that's okay here. It's entertaining and I liked the cast. I will give it a 5/10.

Don't Open the Door!(1974)Movie Review

Trailer here.

Don't Open the Door is a 1974 horror movie directed by S.F.Brownrigg and starring Susan Bracken and Larry O'Dwyer.

The movie begins with a woman called Amanda(Bracken) who gets a call to come and visit her grandmother, Harriet, who is not very well. A friend of hers called Nick(Hugh Feagin) comes to visit her and she tells him that she is going to her hometown of Allerton. She hasn't been there for thirteen years after her mother was murdered. Amanda witnessed it but the killer did not kill her too. Amanda goes to visit the grandmother and she meets Doctor Crawther(Jim Harrell). He tells her that Harriet is very ill. Amanda meets Judge Stemple(Gene Ross) and he tells her about a local  man called Claude Kearn(O'Dwyer). The judge tells her that Kearn wants her grandmother's house once she passes away.

Amanda is not happy about her grandmother's state of health. She calls Nick. She receives a weird phone call from someone who is watching her. Grandma mumbles something about a museum. Amanda goes to visit the local museum and she meets Claude. He shows her a mannequin that looks exactly like her mother. She finds this odd.  Afterwards, Kearn visits the judge and they talk about what the judge and Crawther did to Harriet. The Judge goes to visit Amanda and he tells he that he also wants the house. She refuses to sell it. He is not happy with her. Crawther is called to the musuem at night and he is supposed to meet the judge, He gets killed by Kearn.

Kearn is sick. He calls Amanda and he tells her that her mother was evil and that she deserved to die. Amanda is scared. A woman called Annie turns up at the house. She asks about Harriet. Amanda gets another phone call. Kearn threatens her. He wants her to do strange things for him while he plays with his doll. She calls Nick but he is busy and he tells her to get some sleep. Kearn spikes her drink and the Judge shows up . He gets hit on the head by Kearn. Amanda wakes up and she looks for Nick. Kearn calls her again. She tells him that he is sick. The Judge shows up and confronts her. She thinks that he is the one who called her. She tells him about the sick calls. The judge goes to talk to Kearn and meets his end.

Amanda is upset. Nick follows her and she kills him in a moment of madness. She has lost the plot and is crazy. The phone rings and it is Kearn. He won't stop calling her. Amanda just laughs now. She is mad. This was a fun film. It had an interesting story and some weirdness. I recommend it as it is enjoyable. I will give it a 5/10.

Happy Christmas!

Hello everyone from Amanda at Jigsaw's Lair Blog. I want to wish all my readers a Happy Christmas and New Year! I am taking a break over the festive period but I will be back in the New Year for more reviews. I have been making my way through some seasonal horror movies and of course, some non horror Christmas movies. Christmas Vacation is always on my list for this time of year along with classics like Gremlins, It's A Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn, Home Alone. Of course, Black Christmas from 1974 is always my favourite go to festive horror movie. It has everything that I want in a spooky Christmas movie. It wouldn't be Christmas without it.

Some others I like to watch are Silent Night, Deadly Night from 1984, Christmas Bloody Christmas, All Through the House, Christmas Evil, Don't Open Till Christmas, To All a Goodnight and more. So, I have a list ready and lots to watch. I hope that you all have a great Christmas and that you get to watch lots of movies. Don't forget that Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are actually Christmas movies!!! So include them in your Christmas list. Enjoy it, however you celebrate it and I will be back in 2026 for another year of movies!!

Grave of the Vampire(1972) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Grave of the Vampire is a 1972 horror movie directed by John Hayes and starring William Smith and Lyn Peters.

The film opens with a grave opening. It is the grave of a man called Caleb Croft (Michael Pataki). He has come back to life. A couple called Paul and Leslie are in the graveyard and they hear the coffin opening. The corpse attacks them. It bites Paul's neck and it drags Leslie into the grave and rapes her. It then runs off to hide. An old guy goes to the cops and tells them what happened. Lieutenant Panzer(Eric Mason) is on the case. He visits Leslie in hospital and he shows her mugshots. She sees Croft in one of them and she gets upset. It turns out that in life he was a rapist.

Croft kills a woman. Leslie discovers that she is pregnant. The doctor tells her that the baby is not alive and it is not human. He wants her to have an abortion. Leslie will not. Panzer goes to the grave of Croft and he looks around. It is empty. Croft returns and kills Panzer. Leslie gives birth to her baby. It is a boy. The baby enjoys the taste of blood. Leslie cuts herself and draws blood for her son. The boy, James(Smith) grows up and his mother dies. He knows about Caleb Croft, who seems to be his father. He wants to destroy him. He enrols in school and he meets a classmate called Anita. Caleb is still killing people. A man called Professor Lockwood(Pataki) is teaching the class which is about the occult and stuff like that. Anita begins to talk about Caleb Croft.

A woman valled Anne(Peters) is a friend of Anita's. She is in the class also. James likes her more than Anita, They kiss. Anita wants to be a vampire and Professor Lockwood comes to see her. He is actually Caleb Croft. He promises her that he will make her a vampire. He ends up killing her. Anne finds her friend dead. Croft shows up and he confronts her. She screams. James hears her and he comes to help her. Professor Lockwood is having a seance. He chooses Anne as the medium. He calls his wife from the grave. Anita comes through. She wants to possess Anne. She tells everyone that Lockwood is a vampire. James takes Anne away. Lockwood faces the others. He admits to being Caleb Croft. He starts killing people. James and Croft fight. James tells him who he is. He kills his father. Anne comes and he tells her to run as he has become a vampire too. 

This film wasn't great. It was fun to watch, but I found it a little dull in parts. Maybe it just wasn't for me. I will give it a 4/10.

Blade of the Ripper(1971) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Blade of the Ripper a.k.a. The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is a 1971 Italian giallo directed by Sergio Martino and starring George Hilton and Edwige Fenech.

Julie Wardh(Fenech) is a married woman who is on her way home when she gets stopped by a police man who tells her that there is a killer on the loose. She arrives home and she is met by a present from her ex lover, Jean(Ivan Rassimov). This makes her uncomfortable as they had an abusive releationship. She married another man to get away from him. Her husband is Neil(Alberto de Mendoza) and he is not the most attentive husband. Julie is having dreams of Jean. The killer is at large and he claims another victim. Julie meets her friend, Carol at a party and is introduced to a man called George(Hilton). They like each other immediately. They meet once again and then he turns up at her place. They kiss and get it on. 

Julie gets a call from someone who saw them together. The person demands money to keep quiet. Julie thinks that it is probably Jean. Carol tells her that she will go to meet the blackmailer in her place. This is a huge mistake as the killer is there and he kills Carol. The police investigate. They ask Jean to come to the station. Julie is convinced that he is the murderer. Julie informs them that she was being blackmailed. Jean has an alibi, so they can't hold him. George wants to take her away. The killer taunts Julie. He tries to kill her, but she escapes. She tells Neil what happened. They go over to confront Jean, but find him dead.

Julie is upset by the whole thing. The murderer gets killed by one of his victims so this makes her feel better.

She ends up being kidnapped by Jean, who has faked his death. He turns on the gas and runs off. She is rescued by George and a doctor. They arrive just in time. The doctor tries to save her. Julie is taken to hospital. The doctor later tells George and Neil that Julie has died. Jean is revealed to be working for George. He was hired to kill Julie and make it look like suicide so that her husband could get her life insurance money. Carol was killed so that George could get an inheritance. Jean gets shot by George so that there are no witnesses. Neil and George are working together. They think that they have covered all bases by giving each other an alibi for the killings. They are going to escape when they see Julie. She is not dead after all. She leads the police to them and they end up dying as the police chase them. The doctor figured out that there was something fishy and realised that the murderer was not the original killer but someone else, trying to make Carol's murder look like she was just another victim. Julie survives.

This is a good film with a lot happening. There are a few suspects and two killers and I didn't figure out what was going on until the end. I did enjoy it, though and it was entertaining overall. I always enjoy a mystery and this is an above average one. I will give it a 6/10.

Bloody Pit of Horror(1965) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Bloody Pit of Horror is a 1965 horror movie directed by Massimo Pupillo and starring Mickey Hargitay, Walter Brandi and Luisa Baratto.

The film begins with a man called the Crimson Executioner. He is going to be executed and he swears revenge. He is put into a box with spikes and he dies. There is a seal placed on the box. His castle is where his evil deeds were performed. Years pass and the castle is abandoned. Some people come to see it. They look around. They are there because they are going to take photographs there. The owner is Travis Anderson(Hargitay) and he agrees to their taking pictures in his castle. The group are a writer called Rick(Brandi), the publisher, Mr. Parks, Edith(Baratto), who is his assistant, the photographer, Dermott and some models.

One of them gets killed in an accident. Others start to die when they see a man with a red hood. Travis talks to the group and he tells them about the Crimson Executioner and what happened. He tells them that he came to the castle for solitude. He sees Edith and he is drawn to her. The group find an iron maiden and they open it, only to find one of the models in it. She is dead. They realise the first death was no accident. Rick sends Dermott to get help. It turns out that Travis and Edith were engaged in the past. He was an actor. He disappeared from the public eye. Rick and Edith find one of the models caught in a web and a spider is coming for her. They can't save her. Rick tells Edith to escape. She and one of the others try to get out. Rick gets knocked out by a henchman.

Travis and Edith talk and he informs her that he is the Crimson Executioner reborn. He is evil. Dermott is dead. Rick is being tortured but he escapes. He fights the henchman. Edith tells Rick that Travis has the remaining group in the dungeon. More of them die. Travis takes Edith and ties her up. He is going to burn her. Rick appears and there is a scuffle. Travis gets impaled on his own poisoned trap. Rick frees Edith and they leave.

This is a fun film. There isn't too much in the way of scares of course. It has a decent cast and the story is okay. This is a cheaply made film but that doesn't really matter if you don't expect too much. I will give this a 4/10.