Christmas Horror- the good and the bad part two!

In my last post, I listed my favourite Christmas horror movies. Now, I am going to list some that wouldn't be my favourites, but that I enjoyed. I also will list some that I didn't love. Let me start with some of the ones that I found entertaining....

Elves

This 1989 Christmas horror film is bad, quite bad, but at the same time, it is entertaining. There is something endearing about it and that makes it better than it is. It is a simple tale of a Christmas elf who is awakened during a blood letting ritual by a teen and her friends. Yes, it is a weird mix of elves, Nazi plots and a girl who is a cranky teen. It is a funny film because the elf looks bad and the plot is crazy, but it will make you smile, so I recommend it.

Krampus

This 2015 Christmas horror movie is a lot of fun. We all know the character and that makes for some festive frights. It's partly comedy and partly horror. There is a lot to like about it. It is one of the better Christmas films. I enjoyed it and I recommend it.

Rare Exports:A Christmas Tale

This film is from 2010 and it is from Finland. In this film, Santa is evil and people have to try and stop him from being defrosted in a block of ice. A man and his son try to stop him from coming back to life and killing the local children. This is a weird movie and it is partly a comedy. I don't usually like horror comedy very much, but it works here. This is an unusual take on the evil Santa so have a look if you want something different.

Terrifier 3

I don't think I need to say much about this. Everyone has heard of the third installment in the franchise and you should watch this if you liked the other two. Art the clown is demented, as usual and he is basking in the Christmas spirit in this film. He is murdering his way through the festive season and this will delight you if you enjoy some yuletide gore. Highly recommended.

Now, there are a few others that I enjoyed and I am not going to get around to each one. Here a few more that I liked. Jack Frost(1997) is a fun take on an evil snowman. Home for the Holidays is a 1972 TV slasher film set around Christmas. Silent Night, Bloody Night(1972) is another slasher film which has a Christmas theme. He Sees You When You're Sleeping is a decent Christmas slasher from 2024. All Through the House is a fun Christmas slasher film from 2015 which is worth watching.

Now, anthologies are always fun and these Christmas horror anthologies are worth watching. The first one is  A Christmas Horror Story(2015). Holiday Hell is another one from 2019. I liked some of the stories. All the Creatures were Stirring(2018) is another anthology which has some pretty good stories.

This is where I tell you about the bad films that I saw. Now, I just didn't enjoy these very much. I wanted to but some had poor acting and others were just bad.  Better Watch Out is from 2016 and I thought that it would be better, but I didn't like it much. Red Christmas(2016) is bad, in my opinion. I didn't like it. It's a Wonderful Knife(2023) is a mix of horror and comedy and it fell flat for me. I didn't get it and I didn't like it. Secret Santa(2015) is another horror/comedy and it is drivel. Pure drivel. I disliked it immensely. The last film that I will put on the list is one from 2022. It is called Nutcracker Massacre. The premise was interesting and I liked the poster, but the film didn't really deliver .

I am going to include two more films that are not Christmas films, but should be included because they are related to the festive season. New Year's Evil from 1980 is ok and worth a look as is Bloody New Year from 1987. Weird film, but worth a look as it is one of the few New Year horror films out there.

So, that is my list of Christmas horror films. Of course, there are some that I haven't included but you will have more than enough to keep you going. I hope that you have a Happy Christmas and as always, thank you for reading and following Jigsaw's Lair!

Christmas horror -the good and the bad!

So, Christmas is coming once again and it is a time for some good seasonal horror films. I know that it is time for some heartwarming movies too, but I am going to concentrate on some festive scares. Now, I have my favourites and then there are others that I like but don't love. So, let me begin with these frightful holiday movies which might delight or make you cringe...

Black Christmas

I am referring to the 1974 version, of course. The remakes are not for me. This classic slasher film is a fantastic watch. It is atmospheric, creepy and fun. There is a great cast, including John Saxon and Margot Kidder. The kills are all good. The premise is great. A killer in the attic is downright creepy and the noises coming from him make you uneasy. His calls to the sorority girls are horrible and the fact that he is calling from inside the house is definitely unsettling. This film is THE best Christmas horror film, in my opinion. It is my favourite Christmas horror movie of all time. So, if you haven't seen it, do so immediately. It won't disappoint!

Silent Night, Deadly Night

This 1984 film was controversial when it was released because of the content. It seems funny to us now, but people didn't like the idea of a killer Santa Claus. This film is quite mean, really. The beginning has a weird grandpa who tells his grandson , Billy, that Christmas Eve is the scariest night of the year. That is enough to warp any child but there is even more to come. Billy's parents are murdered by a psycho dressed as Santa Claus. Then he is thrown into an orphanage run by a horrible nun. She warps poor Billy even more. He ends up working at a toy store and he seems to be getting along well, but when he has to dress up as Santa for work, he snaps. This prompts him to go on a rampage. He just kills everyone. He loses it and goes to the orphanage to get the evil nun. His brother Ricky is still living there and he sees his brother. Billy dies and his brother seems to take up his cause. This film is dark in tone and definitely not feelgood. You can understand why Billy is a bit unbalanced but when he snaps, then he is full on psycho. There are some good kills and some great scenes. I really recommend this one. There were sequels, but most of them aren't good. Part two is worth a look, though.

Christmas Evil

Christmas Evil is a 1980 horror movie and you can tell from the title that it is another seasonal frightfest. This one has a man who decides to become Santa Claus and punish those who are bad.

This man is not respected by his work colleagues. He is resentful. It all comes to a head and he decides that is going to go around town killing those who he considers bad. He becomes more and more unhinged as he goes along and he ends up in a bad way at the end. It is a good offering for this time of year and I recommend it.  You could read into everything and come up with all sorts of meanings in the film, but I just like it because it's fun. 

Don't Open till Christmas

This 1984 British film is an interesting one. It is about a Santa serial killer who is making his way 

through London killing those he meets. A woman called Kate sees her father murdered by the killer and she tries to figure out who did it. A cop is on the case and he talks to Kate and they investigate. The movie is about Harris trying to catch the guy, who murders lots of people dressed as Santa. There are some good kills here and it is an interesting murder mystery story with a Christmas twist. The ending is fun and this will satisfy any horror fan.

To All A Goodnight

This slasher film from 1980 is about a killer Santa Claus at a finishing school. A group of girls and their boyfriends are staying there over the Christmas holidays and someone wants to kill all of them. It is directed by David Hess who you might remember from Last House on the Left and House at the Edge of the Park. He is a bad guy in movies but he does a good job here. It is a decent film despite bad reviews. I enjoyed it and I include it in my Christmas watchlist. If you enjoy a Santa slasher, then give it a try.

Christmas Bloody Christmas

Christmas Bloody Christmas is a recent Christmas horror movie. It is from 2022. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it is a good film. I really liked the idea of a robotic Santa Claus killing people. It is a fun movie about a woman and her friend who are terrorised by a defective robot Santa Claus. There is a lot of gore in this and the kills are pretty good. It is a rarity - a newer movie that I like. I  had to include it here. I definitely recommend adding this to your Christmas list. 

Now, I don't want to make this post too long, so I am going to break it into two parts. There are some other titles that I want to include and I will do so in the next post. In the meantime, have a look at these movies. There is something for every horror fan. 

Moonstalker Movie Review

Moonstalker is a 1989 horror movie directed by Michael O' Rourke and starring Blake Gibbons and John Marzilli.

The film begins with two people being murdered in their caravan. There is a family camping in the same area. They are Harry(Ernest Abernathy), his wife Vera(Joleen Mullins), their kids Tracy(Kelly Mullis) and Mikey(Ron K. Collie). They meet a man called Pop(Tom Hamil) who says he is going to camp nearby. He has his son, Bernie(Gibbons)chained up in his carvavan. He tells Bernie to go and kill the family. Tracy is out at night and she sees Pop and Bernie. Bernie has killed her family. He and Pop go after her but Pop has a heart attack and dies. Tracy escapes. There are more people in the woods, though. A wilderness training camp is being set up,. A guy called Bobby(Alex Wexler) and his pal Ron(Jon Balogh) are in it. Bernie  kills one of the counsellers who asks for directions. He dresses up as the counsellor and takes his truck. Tracy sees it and thinks that she will get help but Bernie runs her over.

More counsellors meet a grisy end as Bernie continues his killing spree. The Sheriff shows up to check on the remaining camp people. Bobby tells them about Bernie and Pop. He says that they got a letter from the county to leave their home. Pop refused to leave so deputies went up there and killed Pop's wife by mistake. Bernie ran off into the woods and went crazy. Now, he is a camper's worst nightmare. 

More people die and it is down to two people, Debbie and Ron. They find some weapons and prepare to defend themselves against Bernie. Ron ends up getting killed, Bernie chases Debbie. She shoots a cop by mistake and she goes crazy. She is taken away. Bernie is dressed as a cop and he drives off, probably to kill more people elsewhere.

This is low budget fare. That doesn't mean that it isn't fun, though. It is fun but there is terrible acting in this. The plot is okay and the kills are alright but it isn't anything amazing. This will satisfy you if you enjoy 80's slasher films. I am giving it a 4/10.

Jeepers Creepers 2 Movie Review

Trailer here.

Jeepers Creepers 2 is a 2003 horror movie sequel directed by Victor Salva and starring Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck, Eric Nenninger, Nicki Aycox, Billy Aaron Brown, Diane Delano and Thom Gossom Jr.

The film continues on from the original. A boy is abducted from a farm by The Creeper(Breck). His father, Jack Taggart(Wise) and his brother, Jack Jr, see him being taken off. Next day, a school bus is driving along. They are coming back from a football game when they hit something. A tyre is totally ruined. They start talking about the story of the burned church where the bodies were found stitched together. The teachers see what burst the type. It is some sort of bone thing. Jack Jr. is working in the fields when he finds a special dagger. The kids on the bus are Minxie(Aycox), Chelsea, Rhonda, Izzy, Dante(Al Santos), Double D, Scott(Nenninger), Jake, Big K, Coach Charlie(Gossom Jr.), Coach Dwayne and Betty(Delano), who is the bus driver.

Jack Jr and his father are making weapons. Scott is pissed off as he didn't get to play for long enough in the game. Mitzy sees Darry pointing at the cornfield nearby. She sees Billy. She sees The Creeper thowing the bone at their tyre. Now, two tyres are out. They see a car and the man in it tells them that he will alert the cops. Betty finds another spike. She and the coaches get taken by The Creeper. The kids are all in a panic. Jack is listening to the police scanner. He hears about the abductions and he and Jack Jr. go out to see what's going on. Scott sees a farm in the distance. He wants to make a run for it. They see The Creeper outside the bus. It wants Double D next. Minxie has another vision. She sees The Creeper and Darry(Justin Long). He tells her about The Creeper and how he hunts for twenty three days. She tells the group all about it.  She tells them that it has to go back into the ground in the morning as this is the twenty third day. She tells them that it will come back for the chosen ones.

Jack finds a car. It is the car from earlier. It has been ripped apart so The Creeper claimed another victim. Jack makes contact with the bus and he tells them to hang on until he can get there. The Creeper is on the roof. It tries to get Bucky, but Rhonda spears it. It is injured and flies off and it falls on the bus. They try to get off the bus but the door won't open. The Creeper starts to regenerate. Scott gets the door open and he wants to leave. He wants to separate the ones the Creeper wants from the ones it doessn;t. Double D, Bucky and Jake were chosen. Double D says that it looked at Scott too. They are going to leave but Scotty gets taken by The Creeper.

Jack comes along and sees Minxie in the road. She tells him and his son that they can't kill it. She joins them. They arrive at the bus and Jack and The Creeper face off. He shoots at it. They battle. Jack gets injured. The others find a truck and get into it. The Creeper follows. They fight it off. Izzy crashes the truck . Double D is okay and so is Rhonda. The Creeper is hurt. It wants Double D. It gets speared through the head. Jack is back along with the rest of the kids. He spears it again and again. It seems to die. Minxie says that is isn't dead but its time ran out. Cut to twenty three years later. People come to see the Creeper which is hanging in Jack's barn. They talk to him about it. He shows them the weapon that killed it. He is waiting for it to return.

This is a good sequel. I enjoyed the story and it was fun overall. Of course, the bonus is that Ray Wise is in it. That has to be a reason to watch it. He is a great actor and always good in every role he plays. This film is definitely worth your time. I think that if you liked the first film, then you will like this. I give it a 6/10.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.