Have you heard about the version of Dracula also made in 1931 and also by Universal Pictures? This version was made in Spanish and made to capitalise on the demand for foreign- language films. It was directed by George Melford and even utilised the same sets as Tod Browning’s epic. Whilst this version was shot …
Continue reading Universal Classic Monsters Reviewed- Day 5- Dracula (1931)
The mysterious Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi reprising his stage role) emigrates from his castle in Transylvania and arrives in Whitby, England. He turns his attentions to a young woman called Mina. Goth was born here. There’s also a festival for the subculture which is held in Whitby as a tribute. Tod Browning’s Dracula is, indeed, …
Continue reading Universal Classic Monsters Reviewed- Day 4- Dracula (1931)
A mysterious masked man who lives under a Parisian opera house is obsessed with a young opera singer. Maybe watching this film for the first time was karma for wading through so many terrible horror sequels recently. Phantom is a glorious experience and has so many elements (acting, direction, photography, sets, the score, the use …
Continue reading Universal Classic Monsters Reviewed- Day 3- The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Hunchback Quasimodo falls for gypsy Esmeralda. But the hunchback finds that he isn’t the only one who loves her as other, more powerful (and less moral) men also want her for their own. There’s so much to love here. Of particular mention are the sets and locales which are still very impressive indeed. The make-up …
Continue reading Universal Classic Monsters Reviewed- Day 2- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
The very first Universal Classic Monsters film involves Dr Henry Jekyll, whose scientific experiments lead him to seek the darkness within every man. Unfortunately, this means he unearths a murderer dwelling within himself. This well-known Robert Louis Stevenson novella had already been filmed four times before this short film was made. This 26-minute epic resembles …
Continue reading Universal Classic Monsters Reviewed- Day 1- Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1913)
Fifty years after the events of the first film, we find a group of young people arriving in a near-deserted Texas town, looking to buy properties to renovate and transform the town into something more vibrant. When they force an old woman out of her home, she dies from the trauma. But they pay for …
Continue reading The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reviewed- Day 9- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Teenaged Leatherface and his pals escape from a mental institution and take a nurse with them against her will. A sheriff is following in hot pursuit. Another prequel but this time with two actors of name who I actually like (Stephen Dorff and Lili Taylor). And kudos to them for signing up to a TCM …
Continue reading The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reviewed- Day 8- Leatherface (2016)
A young woman finds out she has been left property in Texas in a relative’s will. Her and her friends travel down to check it out. But they encounter more than they banked on (i.e. a chainsaw-wielding psychopath). I somehow didn’t go to see this film when it was released. I think that even with …
Continue reading The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reviewed- Day 7- Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
A young woman dies whilst giving birth at her place of work which is a slaughterhouse. Her unscrupulous boss dumps the newborn child in an industrial wastebin outside where he is discovered and rescued by Luda Mae Hewitt who names the child Thomas…And that’s as much as I can bear to type. I hate prequels. …
Five teens are travelling from Mexico to Dallas for a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert when the hitchhiker they pick up blows her brains out in their van. They then go to report it but encounter ‘the family’ on the way. If you're travelling to go and see Lynyrd Skynyrd rather than Lou Reed in the early …
Continue reading The Texas Chainsaw Massscre Reviewed- Day 5- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Meathook Cinema 