Friday, September 20, 2024

Island of Blood Movie Review




Trailer here.

Island of Blood is a 1982 horror movie directed by William T. Naud and starring Marie-Alise Recasner and Rick Dean.

A movie cast are shooting a film on an island. They are Jim(Dean), Donna(Recasner), Betty(Bari Suber), Phil(Steven Tash), Lyn(Jeanine Marie), Taylor(Gary Phillips) and the director, Steve(Terry Goodman).There is a caretaker, Bert(Red McVay) who is the only one with a phone. The film is about a rock and roll band. Bert doesn't want them there. Phil is the first to die when he falls into a pool of boiling water. They hear music playing in the night. Taylor gets killed next. The deaths are following along with the song that is playing. Donna gets burned alive in the shower like the song says. The others wonder what has happened to their pals.


They lock themselves into their rooms. Jim goes looking for some weapons. Lyn finds Donna's body, The killer strikes again and soon Betty and Jim are left. Lyn dies. Jim thinks Betty is the killer and Betty thinks Jim is. Jim gets killed by someone. Betty survives. The cops think that it was Jim. Everything seems to be wrapped up until Betty catches Steve looking at the film of all the deaths. He has been making a death movie. She realises that he killed everyone. She shoots him.


There isn't much to this film. but it is fun. The killer is pretty obvious but it doesn't spoil the movie. 
I enjoyed it, even though it was low budget and I didn't really know any of the cast.  It's a middle of the road film with some okay scenes. Just don't expect too much. I give it a 4/10.

Sunday, September 1, 2024

Night Terror Movie Review



Trailer here.


Night Terror is a 1977 TV movie directed by E.W.Swackhamer and starring Valerie Harper, Richard Romanus, Michael Tolan and Nicholas Pryor.

The movie begins with a woman called Carol(Harper), who is moving house with her husband and children. She and her husband Walter(Tolan) are going on a road trip first. The kids are staying with Aunt Vera. Carol drives to a motel and she waits for Walter as they are going from there together. Walter gets stuck at work so she is alone. Vera calls her and tells her that her son is very sick and has to go to the hospital. Carol tries to book a flight to Denver but there aren't any, so she decides to drive there. She leaves a note at the motel for Walter and she sets off. Carol needs petrol so she looks for a gas station. The nearest one is closed so she drives along looking for another. She sees a police man who has pulled over an odd looking man(Romanus), who just happens to be a killer and a weirdo. She asks the cop where she can get gas but the killer uses the opportunity to shoot the cop dead. He aims the gun at Carol, but she is saved by the gun jamming. She jumps back into the car and takes off. He follows her.


Carol drives along and the killer follows her. She tries to flag down other drivers, but to no avail. She manages to lose the killer and she finds an emergency phone. She talks to someone but gets too worried to tell him her location. She knows that the killer isn't far behind her. She has to push the car to a gas station, which is also closed. This time, she breaks in and she gets the key to the pumps and fills the car. She meets a homeless guy who is sleeping in there at night. She leaves, as the killer is coming. That night, there is heavy rain and she has to stop. She sees a car with a man in it(Nicholas Pryor). He is drinking and he tells her that he can't go anywhere in the rain. She tells him about the killer but he thinks that she has imagined it. The killer has pulled up behind them. The guy goes out to talk to him and gets shot dead for his trouble. Carol takes his car and heads off. The next day, she runs out of petrol and has to knock on someone's door.


She speaks to an old man who tells her that the nearest phone is four miles away. He has a son, but he is working and he has the keys to his truck, so there is nothing he can do to help. Carol walks off. She sees an old truck and it pulls over to give her a lift. She doesn't realise that the driver is the killer. He is driving the old man's truck. She realises that the man doesn't have the keys and she knows who he is. They struggle and she falls out. She manages to grab his gun and she throws it at him and takes the truck. He shoots at her, but she runs him over. She sets the truck on fire, hoping that a helicopter might see her. The truck explodes into flames and she does get spotted by a helicopter in the area. The movie ends with Carol at the hospital with her son and husband.


I liked this film. It reminded me of Duel but it wasn't as good. I liked the premise and I liked the actors. Harper does a good job playing a woman who is relentlessly pursued by a psycho. We get to see the killer early on and we know what will happen to her if he catches up with her. It is a fun thriller with good tension. I recommend it. I will give it a 5/10.

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Theatre of Death Movie Review



Trailer here.

Theatre of Death is a 1967 horror movie directed by Samuel Gallu and starring Christopher Lee and Julian Glover.

The film begins in Paris. There is a theatre there that has horror shows. The theatre director is a man called Phillipe Darvas(Lee). He is having a party.  He tries to hypnotise a couple of the guests and then he gets them to act out a scene from a play. Things get a bit weird. A man called Charles(Glover) is there and he doesn't think that it is appropriate. He intervenes and annoys Darvas. Charles meets a friend of his called George(Ivor Dean), who happens to be an Inspector. He has three bodies on his hands. They were all murdered by the same killer. We find out that Charles was in an accident and his hands were badly damaged. He talks to George about Darvas and the party. George tells him that the bodies had no blood left in them. It is a mystery. A homeless man is murdered.


An actress, Dani(Lelia Goldoni) warns another actress, Nicole about Darvas. Darvas hypnotises Nicole.
Madam Angelique is working in the theatre and she wants to recast Nicole in the performance. Nicole  moves in with Darvas, Charles meets Darvas and asks him some questions about the recent spate of killings. Dani visits Darvas and talks to him about Nicole. He insults her and fires her. Charles sees her and she is very upset. He goes to see Darvas once again. He isn't there. He seems to have disappeared. Everyone thinks that he might have met with a bad end. George goes to the theatre and tells the cast. He asks Charles if he knows anything about Darvas. Charles tells him that he doesn't think that Darvas is dead. Dani is worried about Darvas. She finds Nicole sitting, staring at a picture of Darvas. The doctor thinks that she is in some sort of trance. More bodies turn up.


Dani discovers an underground passage and she finds tapes and Darvas' final sketch. It turns out that Nicole is the killer. There is some story about her being fed blood when she was young and she turned into a killer. She was the one who disposed of Darvas. She wants to frame Dani for it. She gets Dani to sign a suicide note she has written. Charles arrives to save the day. He chases Nicole. She runs to the theatre and she hides. She ends up getting killed as she hides under the stage. It turns out that Darvas was aware of her madness and he knew that she was the one killing people. 

This was a decent film. The cast were good and of course Christopher Lee was good as the smarmy Darvas. The ending is a little ropey but overall it is a good film. The killer was obvious, but it didn't ruin the movie. I would recommend this to fans of Christopher Lee. It isn't his best film, but it will pass the time quite nicely. I will give it a 5/10.

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Mark of the Witch Movie Review


Trailer here.

Mark of the Witch is a 1970 horror movie directed by Tom Moore and starring Robert Elston, Anitra Walsh and Darryl Wells.

The film begins with a witch, who is being hanged. She curses everyone who is there. She says that they sold their souls to the Devil and she says that they are in a coven. Cut to three hundred years later and a college student called Jill(Walsh) is studying witchcraft. She is going to a party hosted by Mac(Elston), her professor. He is also interested in the subject of witchcraft. Jill brings a book to the party. She tells her pals that the book has spells in it. She tells them that there is a spell that they can do. They give it a try and afterwards, Jill is odd. She has been possessed.


Jill talks to Mac and tells him that she has killed his dog. She informs him that she's a witch. She wants his help. He doesn't want to do it. She tells him that he has the mark of the witch. Mac calls Jill's friend, Alan(Wells) over to talk about Jill. He tells him what happened. Alan thinks that it's a joke until Jill proves that she's a witch. Mac and Alan brainstorm and try to come up with an idea on how to get Jill back to herself. Jill arranges to meet a friend and later, he is found dead. Jill goes for another friend next. Mac and Alan are on the trail. Mac finds a spell for banishing evil. Jill kills her friend.


Mac meets Jill and she tells him that she has finished her work. Mac asks her how to get Jill back. She tells him that she needs something from everyone who was at the party. Mac doesn't trust her. The witch has plans to call on her other friends. Mac and Alan set up crosses everywhere and they exorcise the witch. Jill returns. They use a cross to banish the witch but she kisses Mac. He ends up being hanged as well as the witch.

This film is cheap and the story leaves a lot to be desired. It's okay to watch, but there's nothing much to it. It is worth watching if you happen to like 1970s horror movies or witch films. I am going to award it a 4/10.

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Terror At Tenkiller Movie Review



Trailer here.
 
Terror at Tenkiller is a 1986 horror movie directed by Ken Meyer and starring Stacey Logan, Michelle Merchant and Michael Shamus Wiles.

The film opens with a woman being killed and dumped in a lake. Cut to two young women called Janna(Merchant) and Leslie(Logan). They are college students who are on their summer holidays.
Leslie has a boyfriend called Josh(Kevin Meyer)and they are arguing. Leslie wants a break from him so she and Janna go to Janna's family house at Lake Tenkiller. Young women have been found dead in the area. Janna is going to work as a waitress for the summer and she tells Leslie she can get her a job there too. They talk about a local legend where a Native American woman who killed ten men in revenge for her sister's death. She drowned them in lake and she drowned herself. Janna's dad says that her spirit still lives in the bottom of the lake. 


A man called Tor(Wiles) is killing the young women in the area. Janna gets a call from Josh and he wants to talk to Leslie. Janna tells him to get lost. A local man called Preacher comes around to the girls. He is a pervert. He spies on them. He is Tor's boss but Tor doesn't like him spying on the girls so he kills him and dismembers him. The girls get a threatening message on the machine. Tor calls over to see them. He is fixing Janna's boat. She tells him all about Leslie and Josh. Leslie is scared by the nasty voice message. She has a nightmare about Josh. The girls start work at the local diner. Tor comes in and he chats to Leslie. Janna finishes her shift and she is home alone. Tor visits her and he kills her. Leslie is still at work in the diner and she doesn't know what has happened to her friend.


She arrives home to find Janna's dead body. She  meets Tor and she thinks that Josh has done it. Tor takes her into the house. Josh is on his way there as he is worried about Leslie. Leslie realises that Tor is the one who has killed her pal. She hits him and runs away. Josh arrives at the house and gets killed by Tor. Tor manages to catch Leslie and he puts her in his boat and goes out into the middle of the lake to drown her. She tries to escape and she does manage it. Tor gets dragged down into the lake. Is it the Native American spirit? Leslie is safe until Tor pops up out of the lake with a knife.

This film isn't great. There is some bad acting and some silliness. I liked parts of it, but it isn't one of the better slasher movies from the 1980's. The ending was trying to be shocking, I suppose, but it didn't make much sense. The guy who played Tor was not a good actor. He was pretty wooden. If you like 80's slashers, then give this a try. If you are looking for something with substance, then this isn't it. I will give it a 4/10.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Silent Scream Movie Review


Trailer here.

 Silent Scream is a 1979 horror film directed by Denny Harris and starring Rebecca Balding, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Steele and Yvonne DeCarlo.

A college girl called Scotty(Balding) needs a place to stay as she is going to live off campus. She finds a place that she likes. She meets Doris(Juli Andelman) who lives in the house. She also meets Peter(John Widelock) who is moving in too. Mason(Brandon Rearden) is in charge of renting out the rooms. Mason lives there with his mother, Mrs. Engels(De Carlo). There is another roommate called Jack(Steve Doubet). Scotty and Jack like each other. Peter gets drunk and he falls asleep on the beach. He gets killed. The cops are on the case. Lt. McGiver(Mitchell) and Sgt Rusin(Avery Schreiber) ask some questions. Mason talks to his mother about it. She is upset. Jack and Scotty go to the beach and they kiss.


Doris decides that she wants to leave the house. She is in the basement when a woman comes and attacks her. She runs off up a secret stairway. Scotty goes looking for Doris and finds the secret stairs. She finds the woman who killed Doris. She is going to attack Scotty but Mrs. Engels stops her. Jack is looking for Scotty and Doris. Mason and his mother don't know what to do with Scotty. Mason tells his mother that they should have sold the house. Mrs. Engels tells him the truth about the woman, who is called Victoria(Steele). She was pregnant and she tried to kill herself. Then she was put into a psychiatric hospital and her brain was messed up after a lobotomy.  Mason is the child of Victoria. Jack arrives but Mason  hits him and knocks him out. The cops find out about Victoria.. They realise that she has been living at the house. They run over there.


Mason starts to go crazy. He turns on his mother and he shoots her by mistake. He shoots Victoria next and then himself. Victoria isn't dead, though. She tries to kill Scotty. Jack wakes up and he hears the noise. The cops arrive. Scotty ends up pushing Victoria onto her own knife and she dies. This is an entertaining slasher film. I like the cast. It has Barbara Steele and Cameron Mitchell, who are both well known to horror audiences. I like the story and the ending is pretty good. It is definitely worth a look for fans of slashers or 80's horror. I will give it a 5/10.


Saturday, April 20, 2024

The Lamp Movie Review



Trailer here.

The Lamp or The Outing is a 1987 horror film directed by Tom Daley and starring Deborah Winters, Andra St Ivanyi and James Huston.

The film begins in Galveston, Texas in 1893. An Arab girl and her mother arrive there and the mother releases an evil jinn from her bracelet. It kills people. The girl takes a lamp and the bracelet with her and runs away. Cut to years later and three people are going to break into a house. An old lady lives there. She gets attacked by them. The burglars find a chest with a lamp inside it.  The old lady gets killed and the burglar rubs the lamp. He releases the evil jinn who inhabits the old lady. The burglars are all killed. The cops come and they seal up the lamp. The lamp ends up at the Museum of Natural Science in Houston. A man called Dr. Wallace(Huston) and his colleague examine it.


Alex(St Ivanyi) is Dr. Wallace's daughter and she comes to visit him. She sees the lamp and the bracelet. She figures out that the two are connected. The lamp starts to open. She puts on the bracelet and it glows. Alex has an ex boyfriend called Mike, who won't leave her alone. She is with a new boyfriend called Ted. Mike attacks him and gets thrown out of school. He threatens her and her friends. Alex asks her teacher, Eve(Winters), about the magic lamp. Her teacher tells her that it is called a djinn and it is evil. The class are going on a field trip to the museum. Alex wants her friends to visit it after dark and stay there for the night. They decide to do it. Alex visits the magic lamp and the spirit goes into her.  Her ex boyfriend Mike hears about this and he is going to stay there too.


One of the curators in the museum is visited by the jinn. He gets killed. Alex pretends that Ted is bringing her home when she speaks to her father. She then stays behind in the museum so she can let her 
friends in. She tells them that they can stay in the basement. Alex sees her ex Mike and his friend. She leaves the gate open for them. A security guard gets killed by the jinn. The group of friends split up. They start to get killed. Alex and Ted search for her friends. They find them dead. Dr. Wallace is worried about Alex so he calls home but there is no answer. He goes to the museum with Eve, who also happens to be his girlfriend. They look for Alex. Ted gets killed. Alex meets her dad. The jinn turns up in its true form. It wants Alex. They need to destroy it. It gets into Dr. Wallace. He ends up dead. Alex has to destroy it. She throws it into the incinerator. It explodes. The bracelet drops off her wrist. Eve is still alive. They leave the museum together and go off in a police car.

This was a fun film. There were some good moments. I liked the idea of the genie in the lamp and all that. Overall, this is worth a look for fans of 80's films. I will give it a 5/10.

Friday, April 12, 2024

Blood Tracks Movie Review




Trailer here.

Blood Tracks is a 1985 horror movie directed by Mats Helge Olsson and Derek Ford. It stars Jeff Harding and Brad Powell.

A man attacks his wife in front of his sons. She stabs him and he dies. She runs off into the wilderness with all of her children. Cut to 1985 and the family have been hiding for forty years. People are coming to the area. They are a movie crew who are going to shoot a music video. A rock band , Easy Action, arrive in Colorado to shoot their video. The locals warn them that there might be an avalanche. The film crew spot an old, abandoned factory and decide that it is a perfect place to film, even though it has been condemned. A few actresses turn up to star in the video. They are shooting when there is an avalanche.
Their pilot is called John(Harding) and he tells them that there is nothing to worry about.


The weirdo family are watching them. A guy called Nick is shooting footage in the factory when he gets hit on the head. Two others get caught in the avalanche and they have to be dug out.  Nick looks at his camera footage and realises that there are other people in the factory. They see a face. The sound guy, Dave goes to the factory to check the sound and he is killed. One of the girls, Carrie finds his stuff and goes back to tell the others that Dave is missing. Nick and Bob try to get the radio working so they can call for help.  Then they decide to go and look for Dave. They tell the others to stay together. Another one of the group gets killed by one of the psycho family. A girl is next. Nick meets a sticky end also,
Carrie gets captured by the family.


More people die as the family are determined to get rid of them. Carrie wakes up and tries to escape. One of the group contacts John on the radio but there is interference and he can't really hear but he tells her that he is coming. Carrie wanders around the factory but manages to get herself caught again and this time, there is no escape as she is killed. The family get into the cabin. John arrives and he talks to Bob. Bob fills him in about what is happening. John gives him some flares and he tells him to let them off if he hears a helicopter. Suzie is the next to be caught by the family. Bob goes to the factory once again but leaves a girl called Sarah with the flares. The family are killing once again. Sarah gets attacked but she manages to get to the snowmobile and she takes off.  She gets caught. John wanders into the factory and he gets attacked. He fights his attacker and manages to kill one of the weirdos. Bob shoots one of them.


One of the weirdos is called Lee and he witnesses Bob killing his brother. He kills Bob. It turns out that Suzie is still alive. She tries to escape. She finds John, who is badly injured. They use the radio to contact the helicopter. The weirdo mother fights with another of the group and she gets burned. John shoots Lee and blows off his arm. The survivors leave. This is a somewhat entertaining film. There isn't too much to it but there were some good scenes. It's pretty standard stuff. Now, you could make some comparisons to The Hills Have Eyes, but this film is nowhere near as good.  It is really average so take that into consideration before you watch it and lower your expectations. It's good for fans of 80's horror, like me. I will give it a 4/10.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Amityville: Mt. Misery Road Movie Review



Trailer here.

Amityville: Mt. Misery Road is a 2018 horror film directed by Chuck Morrongiello and Karolina Morrongiello. It also stars the same two people.

Charlie(Chuck Morrongiello) and his girlfriend Buzi(Karolina Morrongiello) are ghost hunters.
They find out about a place called Mount Misery Road which is said to be haunted. They decide to go to the area to film it and maybe see something supernatural. They talk to some locals about it.  A man called Kurt tells them about Mount Misery Road. He says that the name came from the original settlers. He says that strange things have been seen. A creature with red eyes has been spotted. He tells them that in the 1840's, there was an asylum near there and a patient called Mary started a fire and killed everyone in the asylum. Ten years later, another asylum was built and that burned down too. There were bodies found there and a hellhound is said to roam the woods. Kurt has researched it. He warns them to stay away. He tells them that people have disappeared up there. It is cursed.


Charlie and Buzi are not deterred by the warning and they meet with a local historian called Mike. They fly to Long Island to meet him. He also warns them about the haunted road . He tells them that they shouldn't go up there. He doesn't want any more deaths. He tells them that it is too dangerous. Charlie wants to go anyway. Of course, they decide to go anyway. They look for the asylum spot. They find a black cross. They find foundations of some old building and they think that it is the asylum. Buzi gets spooked and she wants to leave, but Charlie won't.  They get lost and Charlie disappears. Buzi is hysterical.


It gets dark and she is alone in the middle of the haunted road. Something runs after her and her camera falls. A guy walking in the woods finds her camera. Just then, Buzi jumps out but she is possessed or something. What can I say about this film? It's pretty bad. It is really cheap and there are a handful of actors. It is found footage style and really, not much happens. The acting is awful. This has zero to do with Amityville. The characters are paper thin and there is nothing much to scare you. It could have been a lot better. A haunted road sounds interesting, but tacking the Amityville name on to it and trying to pass it off as one of those films is just ridiculous. It isn't an Amityville movie at all. I was deceived by a cool cover yet again! This is getting a 2/10. Avoid- unless you are like me and you have to watch every movie with Amityville in the title!

Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Blood on Satan's Claw Movie Review



Trailer here.

The Blood on Satan's Claw is a 1971 horror movie directed by Piers Haggard and starring Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden and Michele Dotrice.

The film opens with a dead body in a field. A local man called Ralph goes to see a man called The Judge(Wymark) and tells him about it. The Judge doesn't want to know. A man called Peter(Simon Williams) brings his fiancée Rosalind(Tamara Ustinov) to meet his aunt, Mistress Banham. Rosalind has to sleep in the attic. Peter hears her screaming during the night and when Mistress Banham comes to investigate, Rosalind injures her.  She falls ill. Rosalind is taken away. She has developed a claw instead of her hand.  Peter thinks that there is evil in the house. He goes into the attic and he sees something under the floor. It is a creature with a claw and it tries to grab him. Peter hacks at it and the judge arrives and sees that he has chopped off his own hand. The judge borrows a book on the occult.


He is going to London. The justice is in charge while he is gone. The Judge tells the justice, Squire Middleton(
James Hayter) to keep an eye on things. A young child, Mark isn't feeling well. Two local girls ask him to come out. Reverend Fallowfield(Anthony Ainley) is worried because the children haven't been attending classes. Mark gets killed by the other youngsters. A girl called Angel(Hayden) tries to seduce the Reverend. She wants him to come with her. She tells him that they killed Mark. He is appalled and he rejects her. She tells her father that the Reverend asked her to take off her dress and touched her.


Two young boys take a girl called Cathy off. They start messing with her and suddenly all of the children appear. Angel is their leader. She puts a flower crown on Cathy's head . The Devil appears to them and Cathy is killed. The Reverend is taken away because of what Angel said. He is released when Cathy's body is found. Ralph knows that it was the children. Cathy was his girlfriend and he is distressed by her death.  The judge is called back and he wants to know what is going on.  The locals think that a young woman called  Margaret(Dotrice) is a witch and they are going to throw her into the river. Ralph sees them and he pulls her out. He brings her away and he sees a mark of the devil on her. The doctor will cut it off. She tells Ralph that Angel wants her. She runs off and goes looking for Angel. She gets caught in a trap, Angel leaves her to die as Margaret has lost her mark. She is caught by the locals. 
The Judge tells Ralph to tie her up and they ask questions, She tells them that tonight is important.  Ralph discovers that he has fur on him which is the mark of the Devil. The judge and the villagers go to stop Angel and her child followers. They find them, Ralph is there too. The judge and the others attack the Satanists. The Devil appears and the judge stabs him with a crucifix and burns him. Angel dies too. Ralph returns to normal.


This film is pretty good. It is interesting and there are some good scenes. It is folk horror and it does remind me of The Wicker Man in some ways. I kept expecting to see Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing in this! It does have a Hammer feel about it. If you enjoy Hammer films, then this will be right up your alley, as it is quite similar to one, I feel. Tigon did have some great films, though such as Witchfinder General and Curse of the Crimson Altar. I liked this and I enjoyed it so it gets a 6/10.

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Someone's Watching Me! Movie Review



Trailer here.

Someone's Watching Me! is a 1978 TV movie directed by John Carpenter and starring Lauren Hutton, David Birney and Adrienne Barbeau.

The movie begins with a woman called Leigh(Hutton), who moves into a new apartment. She is working at a TV station. There is a man watching her in her apartment. He calls her at work. A man called Steve(Grainger Hines) asks her out but she isn't interested. Leigh arrives back at her apartment to find her door open. She goes to call the police and a man runs out. He has placed a bug in her apartment. She is at a bar when she meets a man called Paul(Birney). They have a conversation and they kiss. The watcher sees it. Leigh receives a telescope in the mail and a bikini. The watcher calls her . Paul thinks that she should call the police and make a complaint. The watcher is calling her all the time and following her. She eventually calls the cops, but their hands are tied as he hasn't done anything to her.


The watcher sends her a letter, pretending to be a travel company. The letter says that she has won a holiday. The person who sent it wants to meet her. He tells her that he will meet her in the car park. Leigh is suspicious and she brings a knife with her. She manages to drop it and she has to hide. The man appears but he doesn't find her. He sees her and Paul together . Paul decides that he will call the LAPD and talk to a police officer . The watcher calls her and she realises that he watching from the building across from her.  She talks to the police and tells them this. The police need evidence.  They go the apartment across from hers and arrest a man, but it isn't the watcher. Leigh thinks that the whole thing is over.


She receives another letter and she decides to take matters into her own hands. She and a friend of hers, Sophie(Barbeau) have walkie talkies.  Sophie watches from Leigh's apartment as Leigh goes across to the other building. She gets into the apartment across from hers and she finds his lair. There is a log of phone calls, a telescope. Sophie gets attacked.  Leigh comes back to her apartment and Sophie has disappeared. The police are starting to think that she is crazy. Leigh finds the bug in her apartment. Paul thinks that maybe it's a maintenance man. They settle on a building inspector called Herbert Stiles.  They find out that he could have messed with things in the building to frighten Leigh. Leigh goes to his house and she finds his equipment. Leigh calls Paul. Paul thinks that he is responsible for deaths of other women he watched. Leigh comes back to her apartment and she is attacked by Stiles. He tries to kill her and there is a fight. He ends up getting stabbed by Leigh and he takes a dive out of the window. He dies. Leigh's nightmare is over.


This was a very enjoyable TV movie. Of course, you know that it will be decent because of John Carpenter. I found it suspenseful and entertaining. The cast are good and I liked the story. Sometimes, these TV films can be more enjoyable that big budget ones. Carpenter did a good job here and it is amazing to think that this was just before Carpenter started filming Halloween. This isn't as good as that film. but it is worth a look if you like a decent thriller. I recommend it. I will give it a 6/10.

Saturday, February 24, 2024

The Black Torment Movie Review


Trailer here.

The Black Torment is a 1964 horror movie directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring John Turner, Heather Sears and Ann Lynn.

The film opens with a girl running from something. She is caught and killed by an unknown assailant.
Cut to Sir Richard Fordyke(Turner) and his new bride Elizabeth(Sears) arriving to meet Richard's father. When they arrive, the workers are not so happy to see him. Sir Richard talks to the blacksmith, Black John(Frances de Wolff). There is definitely something wrong. Sir Richard's coachman asks the locals why they are so hostile. Black John tells him that there have been deaths in the village and people think that it has something to do with Sir. Richard. Richard's father has suffered a stroke and he cannot speak so he uses his hands. A lady called Diane( Lynn) is his father's carer. She is the sister of Richard's first wife who died a few years before.


The steward, Seymour(Peter Arne) welcomes the couple, though he seems a little cold. The newlyweds met Richard's father and Diane. Richard asks Seymour about the frosty welcome they received and Seymour tells him about the girl who was murdered recently. Her name was Lucy Judd. He tells him that the girl called Richard's name before she died. Richard tells him that he wasn't even in the village at the time the girl was killed. Seymour informs him that the tenants are superstitious. Richard gets a note which is a copy of the same note left by his first wife, who killed herself because she could not have children. He is very upset by this. He is looking out of the window when he sees a vision of his dead wife. He orders the servants to block up the windows. 


A maid gets attacked. A servant tells Richard that the saddle he ordered is ready, but Richard has not ordered any saddle. Things are getting very strange. He confronts the man who made the saddle and he is told that they had a conversation about it. He is told that the name of his first wife, Anne, has been inscribed on it. Elizabeth thinks that there is evil in the house. She says that Richard has changed since coming back. Richard vows to find out what is going on. A man called Colonel Wentworth(Raymond Huntley) comes to see Richard and tells him that the locals suspect that he is the killer of Lucy Judd. He says that there are witnesses who can place him in the area at the time. This is all very confusing to Richard.


Locals say they have seen his wife, Ann riding through the countryside chasing him and calling him a murderer.  Wentworth offers some soldiers to protect the family from the villagers. A maid goes missing and people think that he had something to do with it. They think that he is the Devil. Richard sees Ann outside once again and he goes after her on his horse. She follows him as he rides along. Elizabeth thinks that Richard has lost the plot. They argue and she asks him where he was. Richard leaves. Seymour sees him and is confused. He just went away. Now here he is again.  Richard's father is killed.
Richard asks Diane about it. She knows nothing. Richard is really losing his grip on reality. He calls for the doctor. Seymour tells Elizabeth that Richard is going mad. Ann was Seymour's cousin. He says that Richard inherited her fortune. Ann appears to Richard and she tells him that he is a killer. She wants him to kill himself.


Richard starts to see his dead father. He has gone mad. Elizabeth looks for him and he tries to choke her. She also sees the ghost of Richard's first wife. She gets Richard's gun and she manages to shoot Richard. The twist is that it isn't Richard. It was a trick. Diane was the ghost of Ann. She killed the dad and she and Seymour used Richard's brother who was an imbecile and was shut away. They made him act as Richard. Diane wanted to destroy Richard because of what happened to her sister.  Seymour is Ann's cousin and he thinks that the estate should be his. He fights with Richard. Colonel Wentworth hears all of this and knows that Richard is innocent. He stabs Diane. Richard stabs Seymour who falls out of the window to his death. Elizabeth feels bad for shooting Richard's brother. Richard tells her that he was in an asylum. Seymour found out and the plan was hatched. Elizabeth and Richard are relieved that it is all over and Elizabeth tells him that they will make the house happy once again.

This was a good film. I liked the story and the mystery. It had a good cast and the ending was decent. I recommend this one to fans of gothic horror  This does remind me of a Hammer production but it isn't. It is worth a look. I will give it a 5/10.

Saturday, December 2, 2023

Late Night Trains Movie Review



Trailer here.

Late Night Trains a.k.a. Night Train Murders is a 1975 Italian thriller directed by Aldo Lado and starring Flavio Bucci, Macha Meril and Irene Miracle.

The story begins with two young ladies, Margaret(Miracle) and Lisa. They are travelling from Munich to Italy on the train to spend Christmas with Lisa's parents. There are two criminals on the train also. They are Blackie(Bucci) and Curly. They are causing trouble on the train and they have no tickets. They spot the two girls. The girls are messing with them and chatting to them. There is a woman on the train who is looking for someone to have sex with. Blackie obliges and they have sex in the bathroom. Curly attacks a train worker. Margaret and Lisa are horrified. They move away from the two criminals. The train stops in Austria because of a bomb threat and they try to call their parents. There is no answer and they have to catch a different train. The woman and the two criminals get on to it also.` The train is old and empty for the most part. Margaret and Lisa feel very nervous.


The thugs get into their compartment and they have the woman with them. They are acting strangely. This worries the two girls. Curly is a drug addict. He shoots up and becomes crazy. The woman and Blackie start fondling each other etc and this makes the girls uncomfortable. Curly pulls out a knife. The girls are scared now. Curly tries it on with Lisa and she has to play along with him. There is a peeping tom on the train who they bring in and make rape Margaret. He gets away from them and heads off. Curly and the woman end up killing Lisa with the knife.  Margaret tries to run and she ends up jumping out of the window of the train and dying from her fall. Lisa is flung out of the window by the three criminals. Curly keeps a tie that Lisa had bought for her father.


Lisa's parents hear about the deaths of two young women on the radio. When Margaret and Lisa don't show up, they realise something bad has happened. The woman meets Lisa's father, who happens to be a doctor. She asks him to help her. The two crims accompany her. Lisa's mother recognises the tie that Curly has. She had been talking about it with Lisa earlier on in the movie so she knows that it must have come from Lisa. The peeping tom has an attack of conscience and he calls the police and tells them that the two criminals and the woman killed the two girls. Lisa's mother tells the dad about the tie. They confront the woman about it and she says that the two thugs did it and she was just a victim. The dad goes on a rampage and he kills Curly. Blackie runs, but he gets caught and shot. They are both dead, but the woman sees to have weaseled her way out of it. The movie ends with the police coming and we don't know if the woman is arrested.


I think it is obvious that this film is influenced by The Last House on the Left. It isn't as good as that film, though. There are some uncomfortable scenes in this. It isn't for the faint hearted. You know that something bad is going to happen to the girls, but it's still not an easy watch. I didn't like the ending. It was not satisfying to me. I think all three of the criminals should have been killed. It is one of those films that you won't forget in a hurry, but it really doesn't contain anything too awful compared to modern movies. The action doesn't happen immediately and it takes the film a while to get going. If it sounds like your kind of movie, then it is worth a look. I will give it a 5/10.

Sunday, October 15, 2023

Terror At Red Wolf Inn Movie Review


Trailer here.


Terror At Red Wolf Inn is a 1972 horror movie directed by Bud Townsend and starring Linda Gillen, John Neilson, Mary Jackson and Arthur Space.

A college girl called Regina(Gillen) wins a holiday at an inn called The Red Wolf Inn. She arrives there and meets a handsome young man called Baby John(Neilson). He seems a little odd. They arrive at the inn and Regina meets Evelyn(Jackson) and Henry(Space), They are Baby John's grandparents. There are two other girls staying there too. They are Pamela and Edwina. Regina wants to use the phone but it is out of order. Regina has weird dreams. She goes downstairs to get something and Baby John comes along with a big knife. She is scared. She decides that she likes him, though. The next day, Evelyn tells Regina that Pamela has left. Evelyn is weighing the girls. Regina looks around and she finds a little house. She goes inside and she finds Pamela's dress.


A party is held for Edwina. She is leaving tomorrow. Baby John wants to talk to Regina. He likes her.
He tells Evelyn that he wants her. Evelyn isn't so sure about it. Henry and Baby John knock out Edwina and they take her down to the refrigerator. They cut her body up. Regina discovers that Edwina has gone. She is starting to wonder what is going on. Regina calls her mother, but Evelyn cuts off the call. Regina tries to leave but she can't. Baby John takes her back to her room. Regina asks him about Edwina. He won't say anything.  A cop comes to the house, but he is related to Evelyn and her husband, so he is no help. Regina gets her hands on the keys to the freezer. She sees human body parts. She escapes the house and runs to the beach. She sees a boat and swims out to it.  Baby John sees her. She finds a house on the shore and she tries to get help, but it is deserted. Baby John catches her.


Evelyn and Henry come along and they all take her back to the house. Baby John doesn't want to kill Regina. He gets her and tells her that they need to leave. He leads her outside but they get caught. The dog attacks Regina and John kills it. Evelyn tries to stop him from leaving. He goes to comfort her and then Henry goes to kill Regina. The movie ends with Regina making food for Baby John. Evelyn and Henry are dead and Regina seems to be the new chef.


This film was okay. I don't think that it is a great film. The story was decent, but the execution was not.  I wanted to like it more than I did. It is a low budget affair and there are no big names in this. I found it middle of the road but it is worth a look for fans of 1970's horror. I will give it a 4/10.