Franken Berry and friends
Seasonal sweetness Whenever Halloween season rolled around, and I would see Franken Berry, Count Chocula and Boo Berry in the cereal aisle, I’d have mixed […]
Horror
Sam Sherman remembers
Memoir of a movie maker — and movie lover ‘When Dracula Met Frankenstein’ by Sam Sherman Edited by Tim Ferrante Murania Press 377 pages, $29.95 […]
‘Monster Mash’ in Burbank
Brick-and-mortar sightings Ya got me why “Monster Mash,” the book, ain’t for sale in Cracker Barrel gift shops every October. (Oh, that’s right, the lady […]
‘The Mole People’ (1956)
Underground cinema We 1960s monster freaks have always thought of “The Mole People” as a monster movie. But is it, really? From the distance of […]
‘Beach Girls and the Monster’ (1965)
AIP laughs at this movie This movie is terrible, terrible, terrible. It’s also awesome, awesome, awesome. Jon Hall’s “The Beach Girls and the Monster” straddles […]
‘The Crimson Ghost’ (1946)
Coolest. Villain. Ever. Fans of the Misfits will take one look at “The Crimson Ghost” serial and say, “Hey, they ripped off the Misfits!” Actually, […]
‘Blood of the Vampire’ (1958)
Hammer, this ain’t I’d been warned that “Blood of the Vampire” is little more than a faux-Hammer movie. But I’ve always needed to see it, […]
‘Spider Baby’ (1967)
Lon Jr.’s finest performance Through the years, your perspective changes. In the ’80s, when I first saw Jack Hill‘s “Spider Baby,” I cavalierly lumped it […]
‘Invisible Invaders’ (1959)
Romero was taking notes Edward L. Cahn‘s hokey, disjointed horror/sci-fi hybrid is one of those “People of Earth!” movies that were everywhere in the ’50s. […]
‘Vampyr’ (1932)
Dreyer’s shadowy world Yes, Carl Theodor Dreyer‘s “Vampyr” deserves respect as a pioneer in the vampire movie genre. But modern audiences are going to have […]
‘Giant From the Unknown’ (1958)
Nice scenery, lame monster ‘Giant From the Unknown: Deluxe Edition’ The Film Detective General release: $24.95 (Blu-ray), $19.95 (DVD) Collector’s boxed set: $64.95 (Blu-ray), $59.95 […]
‘Day the World Ended’ (1956)
Apocalypse then Was Roger Corman trying to trick moviegoers into thinking this was a sequel or re-release of “The Day the Earth Stood Still”? If […]
‘The Brain Eaters’ (1958)
Nelson, VeSota’s big chance Ed Nelson — billed in “The Brain Eaters” as Edwin Nelson — had what it takes to be a leading man […]
‘Attack of the Crab Monsters’ (1957)
Hold the Cheddar Bay Biscuits A friend, who is not a cult movie fan, described the title “Attack of the Crab Monsters” as sounding like […]
Halloween movie picks
In 2020, the biggest horror is something you cannot see. (One guess what I’m talking about.) So my Halloween movie picks this year center on […]
‘Not of This Earth’ (1957)
The eyes have it Half the fun in watching Roger Corman‘s series of shoestring-budget sci-fi films of the 1950s is to spot the ways Corman […]
‘Svengali’ (1931)
Hamlet, schmamlet By 1931, all that boozing and fornicating were beginning to catch up with John Barrymore, but they had yet to vanquish him. Barrymore […]
Weird (Feb. 1969), Part 2
It’s finally in my hands As I write this (on July 21, 2020 at 7:57 AM EST), the Feb. 1969 edition of the horror comic […]
Coronavirus memes
Monsters to the rescue By Mark Voger, author “Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture” Me and my “Dark Shadows” buddy at the Orange […]
Sid Haig (1939-2019)
Remembering a gentle genre giant Let’s face it, 80 is up there. But it was still a shock to learn that we lost exploitation-film icon […]