I remember being traumatised by the Poster for The Fog before I actually saw the film. We had driven past The Odeon in York and I briefly glanced at it. As this was just a glance I thought I saw a woman lying in bed with a ghostly hand reaching out to grab her. I …
Continue reading Day 7- 31 Days of Halloween- The Fog (1980)
Vincent Price’s Dr Phibes avenges the death of his wife by bumping off the culprits with each murder having a biblical connection. Very camp, very funny and very unsettling- this is one of Price’s best just like Witchfinder General and the Poe films he also made with Roger Corman. Check out Phibes’ clockwork band- one …
Continue reading Day 6- 31 Days of Halloween- The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)
Small town vigilantes wrongly accuse a mentally challenged man of attacking and killing a little girl. It turns out he didn’t attack her but saved her from a neighbour's vicious dog. The vigilantes find this out just after killing the innocent man who is disguised as a scarecrow. Oops. When the local courts offer no …
Continue reading Day 5- 31 Days of Halloween- Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)
One sign that you’ve made a horror classic- your film spawns a slew of imitators. Sometimes one or two of these imitators are witty, knowing and innovative. Thats what happened here. Jaws made such a splash (pun intended) that there were plenty of rip-offs. Piranha was one such film but was great on its own …
Continue reading Day 4- 31 Days of Halloween- Piranha (1978)
I feel like I've grown up with this film. This was one film that I remember seeing on the shelves of video stores when I was a child but didn't get round to seeing before it mysteriously disappeared. Absence made the heart grown fonder and I knew I must see this forbidden fruit. But when …
Continue reading Day 3- 31 Days of Halloween- The Exorcist (1974)
A class are transported to an island and its then disclosed that they have to kill each other with the last person left standing the winner. Brutal (as you'd expect) but also witty, humane and strangely poignant in places. This film is brilliantly acted, directed with style and is beautiful to look. Murder and deception …
Continue reading Day 2- 31 Days of Halloween- Battle Royale (2000)
What a cracking film to start my 31 Days of Halloween with. This is a British film which stars Bette Davis as a nanny for a family living in London in which a young boy has been sent away for supposedly killing his sister. The boy is due to be released after two years and …
Continue reading Day 1- 31 Days of Halloween- The Nanny (1965)
Every day in October I will be reviewing a different horror film. Some of the criteria I've used for the choice of films are - a film from each decade from the 1920s onwards - films from a number of different countries - a Friday the 13th film as within October this year the 13th falls on a Friday!!! …
I first learnt of the film When A Stranger Calls (1979) from watching the excellent horror compilation film Terror in the Aisles on VHS in the 80s. The clips featured in the film dwelt exclusively on the first 20 minutes of the movie and were the ultimate in tension and almost unmanageable levels of 'edge …
I love the fact that a movie can be so original and iconic that it can inspire other films to be made. Think of Halloween (1978) and the tidal wave of slasher films that were unleashed in its wake. This can also happen with movie posters and a film's iconography. The Breakfast Club is a …
Meathook Cinema 