FilmWeViews.com » Horror

The Raven

movieMoll — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:59:28 +0000

Bela Lugosi’s over-the-top performance as mad scientist Dr. Richard Vollin is not to be missed. Lugosi hams it up as a brilliant, egotistical surgeon that has a fanatical obsession with Edgar Allan Poe, keeping a stuffed raven on his desk and devices of torture described in Poe’s tales in his dungeon! Although Boris Karloff has top billing, this is Lugosi’s film. It’s too bad Karloff doesn’t have more screen time, because his performance as disturbed criminal and victim of Vollin, Edmond Bateman, is top notch. This movie includes what is probably the only interpretive dance ever performed to Poe’s eerie poem “The Raven.” (61 min.)

Unrated - 1935

Director:
Lew Landers

Starring:
Boris Karloff
Bela Lugosi
Lester Matthews
Irene Ware
Samuel S. Hinds
Spencer Charters
Ian Wolfe

Writers:
Edgar Allan Poe (poem)
David Boehm (screenplay)

The Raven

GroovyMovieGuy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:11:34 +0000

What girl could help herself from being drawn to the charms of Bela Lugosi in his late 50s? Well, most likely any girl, but that didn’t stop anyone from making this movie.
Edgar Allan Poe obsessed and “mature” Dr. Richard Vollin (Lugosi) saves the life of Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) and turns his attention to the young lady. In gratitude she performs an interpretive dance to Poe’s “The Raven” which seals the deal for her freaky benefactor. Edmond Bateman (KARLOFF — Boris Karloff to us little people, he was going by one name at the time) gets unwillingly pulled into a twisted plot of revenge when young Thatcher’s father, Judge Thatcher (Samuel S. Hinds) objects to the doctor’s sick intentions.
While not necessarily a good film, it’s not a bad movie considering the vintage. Plus, you get Lugosi and Karloff together and some mad scientist organ playing as well. (61 min.)

Unrated - 1935

Director:
Lew Landers

Starring:
Boris Karloff
Bela Lugosi
Lester Matthews
Irene Ware
Samuel S. Hinds
Spencer Charters
Ian Wolfe

Writers:
Edgar Allan Poe (poem)
David Boehm (screenplay)

Shaun of the Dead

movieMoll — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:33:15 +0000

Equal parts comedy and zombie movie, “Shaun of the Dead” serves up laughs and frights and sends up zombie movies without becoming a caricature. Londoner Shaun’s life is in disarray. He’s lost his girlfriend, still sharing a flat with his waster friend Ed, hanging out at the same pub every night and has an unresolved relationship with his mother and stepfather. To make matters worse, his neighborhood is soon overrun with walking dead who feed on the living. For the first time in his life, Shaun decides to stand up and be a man. For those inclined to look for hidden meanings, the movie’s a social commentary on how our society has become oblivious and zombie-like. For the rest of us, the movie’s a lot of fun. (99 min.)

Rated R - 2004

Director:
Edgar Wright

Starring:
Simon Pegg
Kate Ashfield
Nick Frost
Lucy Davis
Dylan Moran
Nicola Cunningham

Writer:
Simon Pegg
Edgar Wright

Shaun of the Dead

GroovyMovieGuy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:27:12 +0000

It’s a comedy and a horror film not a spoof film, according to creators during DVD extras. But does the title remind you of anything, like “Dawn of the Dead”? Whatever your take, “Shaun of the Dead” certainly is comedic and it’s got all the gore of a good horror film with zombies to boot.
The mundane Shaun (Simon Pegg) and his slacker buddy Ed (Nick Frost) become men of action when zombies take over London’s suburbs. A shovel and cricket bat become their weapons of choice to put down the undead.
Although it’s zombie-like slow for the first 15 minutes, “Shaun of the Dead” picks up speed and gallows humor as Shaun and Ed try to save the day. Nicola Cunningham as Shaun’s ditzy and unassuming mother, Mary, is a delight as well as a light diversion from the carnage all around. (99 min.)

Rated R - 2004

Director:
Edgar Wright

Starring:
Simon Pegg
Kate Ashfield
Nick Frost
Lucy Davis
Dylan Moran
Nicola Cunningham

Writesr:
Simon Pegg
Edgar Wright

Bedlam

GroovyMovieGuy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:10:25 +0000

Val Lewton had some good movies that transcended the B-movie genre. “Cat People,” “I walked with a Zombie” and “The Body Snatcher” come to mind — even “Curse of the Cat People” is worth a watch. Unfortunately “Bedlam” just doesn’t cut it. Boris Karloff is the highlight of this film employing his creepy craft work as the keeper of Bedlam, an asylum for the insane. However, Karloff’s efforts are not enough to keep this slow moving barge interesting. It stalls midstream and I nearly stopped watching, but it did pick up speed and interest at the end.
Optional commentary on the DVD does make it appear that the film production code censor shot holes through the original script, draining the life from an interesting concept. The real horror of this movie is that creativity in the marketplace often gets crushed by the heavy-handed hacks who wield a pen like an axe. (79 min.)

Unrated - 1946

Director:
Mark Robson

Starring:
Boris Karloff
Anna Lee
Billy House
Richard Fraser
Glen Vernon
Ian Wolfe
Jason Robards Sr.
Leyland Hodgson
Joan Newton
Elizabeth Russell

Writers:
Val Lewton as Carlos Keith (screenplay)
Mark Robson

Bedlam

movieMoll — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:00:49 +0000

This movie is included in the roster of low-budget horror flicks produced by Val Lewton in the 1940s. Unfortunately, “Bedlam” is more of a period drama than a horror film and my least favorite of Lewton’s productions. Set in the late 1700s, Sims (Boris Karloff) is the director of the infamous London asylum. Here he abuses the inmates and misuses his authority to have his enemies committed, including the strong-willed Nell Bowen (Anna Lee). She eventually escapes and helps the patients receive more humane treatment, while Sims gets his just desserts. The last 15 minutes of the movie are pretty good, but it’s a drag up to that point. I’m a Boris Karloff fan, but feel his talents are wasted here. However, Val Lewton’s “The Body Snatcher” is a great gothic horror film with a delicious performance by Karloff. (79 min.)

Unrated - 1946

Director:
Mark Robson

Starring:
Boris Karloff
Anna Lee
Billy House
Richard Fraser
Glen Vernon
Ian Wolfe
Jason Robards Sr.
Leyland Hodgson
Joan Newton
Elizabeth Russell

Writers:
Val Lewton as Carlos Keith (screenplay)
Mark Robson

Isle of the Dead

movieMoll — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:21:28 +0000

In the late 1940s Producer Val Lewton churned out a pack of effectively eerie horror films, despite their low budgets. “Isle of the Dead” is the runt of the litter. The movie creates a sufficiently creepy atmosphere on a Greek island where several people are quarantined after an outbreak of the plague during the Balkan War of 1912. A superstitious Greek maid stirs up suspicions toward one of the quarantined, Thea (Ellen Drew) whom she believes is the evil Vorvolaka, a werewolf-like creature. The performances are excellent, especially Boris Karloff as the cold, determined General Pherides. But, the movie trudges along, only picking up steam in the final scenes. (71 min.)

Unrated - 1945

Director:
Mark Robson

Starring:
Boris Karloff
Ellen Drew
Marc Cramer
Katherine Emery
Helene Thimig
Alan Napier
Jason Robards Sr.
Ernst Deutch

Writers:
Ardel Wray
Val Lewton, Josef Mischel (uncredited)

Isle of the Dead

GroovyMovieGuy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:18:29 +0000

I think I know why they paired “Isle of the Dead” with “Bedlam” on the same DVD in “The Val Lewton Horror Collection.” It wasn’t because Boris Karloff was in both movies, it’s because they’re both a drag.
In “Isle of the Dead” Karloff plays a Greek army general who is devoted to protecting his country, his army and anyone in his charge. He assumes an air of authority and sinister resolve that permeates the film. The movie is fraught with tension between science and religion, enemies seen and unseen, as the few residents and visitors to a small island are faced with possible infection by the plague.
That sounds like the premise to a potentially intense script. Unfortunately it just fell flat and the “willing suspension of disbelief” becomes the unwilling suspension of giving a damn. Sorry, but I was bored to ennui. (71 min.)

Unrated - 1945

Director:
Mark Robson

Starring:
Boris Karloff
Ellen Drew
Marc Cramer
Katherine Emery
Helene Thimig
Alan Napier
Jason Robards Sr.
Ernst Deutch

Writers:
Ardel Wray
Val Lewton, Josef Mischel (uncredited)

The Body Snatcher

movieMoll — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:57:45 +0000

With “The Body Snatcher,” based on a Robert Louis Stevenson short story, producer Val Lewton presents a more traditional gothic horror story than psychological thriller. Boris Karloff is excellent as John Gray, an 1830’s Scottish cabby and grave robber. Gray relishes his hold over Dr. Wolfe MacFarlane (Henry Daniell) who employs the amoral cab driver to procure cadavers for his medical school. MacFarlane tries to justify — to himself and to his medical assistant Donald Fettes (Russell Wade) — that the theft of corpses is necessary for the advancement of medical science and the common good. But, MacFarlane’s unholy alliance with Gray leads to murder and madness. This was the last screen pairing of Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Although the horror film legends don’t share much screen time, they do have one intense and pivotal scene in this classic movie. (77 min.)

Unrated - 1945

Starring:
Boris Karloff
Bela Lugosi
Henry Daniell
Russell Wade
Edith Atwater
Rita Corday
Sharyn Moffett
Donna Lee

Director:
Robert Wise

Writers:
Robert Louis Stevenson (short story)
Philip MacDonald (screenplay)
Val Lewton (screenplay) (under pseudonym Carlos Keith)

I Walked With a Zombie

movieMoll — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:40:28 +0000

In “I Walked With a Zombie,” Nurse Betsy Connell (Frances Dee), a Jane Eyre-type character, travels to the fictional island of St. Sebastian. She’s been hired to care for the catatonic wife of sugar plantation owner Paul Holland (Tom Conway), with whom she promptly falls in love. Connell also falls under the spell of the warm tropical breezes, the distant beat of drums used in voodoo ceremonies and the strange superstitions of the locals. Viewers are drawn into the family’s tragic story, but are left to decide for themselves whether Holland’s wife was stricken by a tropical fever or had become a “zombie” as the villagers believe. Val Lewton produced a series of psychological horror films in the ’40s with high production values, despite their low budgets. “I Walked With a Zombie” features sold performances and creates an eerie and atmospheric film with some truly frightening moments. (69 min.)

Unrated - 1943

Starring:
Frances Dee
Tom Conway
James Ellison
Edith Barrett
Christine Gordon
Sir Lancelot
Teresa Harris
Darby Jones

Director:
Jacques Tourneur

Writers:
Inez Wallace (story)
Curt Siodmak (screenplay)
Ardel Wray (screenplay)