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15. The Mummy (October 20)
Seems I've spent the better part of my life amongst the dead.
Pieced together from fragments of Universal's The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb and The Mummy's Ghost, The Mummy feels like a slight departure from Hammer's previous horrors. While Horror of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein were straight ahead horror, The Mummy captures a real sense of action and adventure before it devolves into a straightforward English Gothic nightmare. The fast-paced story gets thrown off its stride by a long flashback midway through. Peter Cushing does solid work, but he feels slightly miscast here. Christopher Lee, however, is phenomenal in what was surely a horrible role. Hidden behind an amazing make-up job, Lee conveys a world of emotions with his body language and eyes as the titular creature. It may not reach the glorious heights of Hammer's previous horror productions, but The Mummy still manages its own share of greatness. Still the best mummy movie made to date.
16. A Bay of Blood (October 22)
I'm not saying that, Mr. Fossati; but if you kill for killing's sake - you become a monster.
The ultimate body count movie. Mario Bava crammed thirteen kills into the 80 minute running time. But this is no straightforward slash and burn. The opening scene plays like something out of a typical gialloblack gloves and all. Full of tension and suspense, it sets the stage for an intriguing mystery until Bava pulls the rug from under the viewer by panning up to reveal the identity of his killer. Before you know it, Bava flips the script and somebody kills our killer. Thus begins a chain reaction of blood-lust and fuckery over the ownership of a waterfront property. Lots of great scenes of tension, including a bodacious skinny dipper discovering a waterlogged corpse before being chased down by one of the hundred or so killers Bava has running around
. The confusing set of murderers forces Bava to introduce a clunky flashback to explain the whole mess, but that's a minor fault in an otherwise spectacular and influential proto-slasher.
17. Thir13en Ghosts (October 22)
I used to hunt displaced spiritual energies with your uncle.
Opens like gangbusters with a spectacular supernatural showdown between a pissed off ghost and a team of ghost hunters in a junkyard. Cars are tossed. Bodies are piled up. It's fun, ridiculous and over-the-top. Director Steve Beck can't quite keep the momentum going, though. Things bog down when the Kriticos family are introduced and they move into their new glass house. The dependable Tony Shaloub imbues his character with a genuine sense of kindness and decency, but unfortunately his family is grating and annoying. Matthew Lillard gets to have some fun as a twitchy psychic, but he's not given enough to do. Things pick back-up once all hell breaks loose and the ghosts are unleashed on the Kriticos family. Great ghost designs, make-up and sets really elevate the film. Could have been a real blast, but settles for being decent background noise.
18. Ghost Ship (October 22)
Congratulations. You found a boat. In the middle of the ocean, of all places.
Spectacular gory opening that features dozens of folks decapitated and bisected by a steel cable on the deck of an ocean liner. Unlike Thir13en Ghosts, director Steve Beck manages to keep the creep strong once the film settles into its main plot. Here it's a salvage crew attempting to earn a big payday by bringing in a rusty abandoned ship. Eschewing the cinematic pyrotechnics and glitzy editing he employed in his other Dark Castle feature, Beck opts for the more traditional language of a haunted house movie. Lots of long shots and takes to slowly build the tension. Not that he doesn't break out some showy shit, but his work is more restrained, which is appropriate given the spook house on water plot. The set design of the titular ship is simply stunning. The decaying and rotting glamor of the old Italian liner brings enough mood and atmosphere to fuel two movies. Julianna Margulies and Gabriel Byrne lead a fun cast that's given just enough to do to keep things interesting. It all adds up to a fun flick that's a worthy time killer.
19. Howl (October 22)
I've spent too much of my life on this train.
Passengers on a broken down train must band together to fend off an attack by a pack of werewolves. The plot is pretty standard siege movie fair. A group of disparate people barricade themselves from an all powerful threat, tensions rise and the group fight among themselves. The pace and story is fast enough to disguise some of the shortcomings, but when things slow the issues are only too apparent. The passengers are insufferable beyond the point of redemption. When they're given their predictable redemption scene, the moment falls flat in the face of their well established awfulness. The werewolf design is grounded in a more human look. Unfortunately the steroid junkie appearance of the monsters undermines the fact these are werewolves. They could pass as Rawhead Rex more athletic cousins. It's an enjoyable enough werewolf flick that doesn't overstay its welcome. Plus there's a nice propulsive lift of the 28 Days Later theme during the finale, so it's got that going for it.
Note: First time viewings are in bold.
Seems I've spent the better part of my life amongst the dead.
Pieced together from fragments of Universal's The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb and The Mummy's Ghost, The Mummy feels like a slight departure from Hammer's previous horrors. While Horror of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein were straight ahead horror, The Mummy captures a real sense of action and adventure before it devolves into a straightforward English Gothic nightmare. The fast-paced story gets thrown off its stride by a long flashback midway through. Peter Cushing does solid work, but he feels slightly miscast here. Christopher Lee, however, is phenomenal in what was surely a horrible role. Hidden behind an amazing make-up job, Lee conveys a world of emotions with his body language and eyes as the titular creature. It may not reach the glorious heights of Hammer's previous horror productions, but The Mummy still manages its own share of greatness. Still the best mummy movie made to date.
16. A Bay of Blood (October 22)
I'm not saying that, Mr. Fossati; but if you kill for killing's sake - you become a monster.
The ultimate body count movie. Mario Bava crammed thirteen kills into the 80 minute running time. But this is no straightforward slash and burn. The opening scene plays like something out of a typical gialloblack gloves and all. Full of tension and suspense, it sets the stage for an intriguing mystery until Bava pulls the rug from under the viewer by panning up to reveal the identity of his killer. Before you know it, Bava flips the script and somebody kills our killer. Thus begins a chain reaction of blood-lust and fuckery over the ownership of a waterfront property. Lots of great scenes of tension, including a bodacious skinny dipper discovering a waterlogged corpse before being chased down by one of the hundred or so killers Bava has running around
there's only five, but it feels like a hundred
17. Thir13en Ghosts (October 22)
I used to hunt displaced spiritual energies with your uncle.
Opens like gangbusters with a spectacular supernatural showdown between a pissed off ghost and a team of ghost hunters in a junkyard. Cars are tossed. Bodies are piled up. It's fun, ridiculous and over-the-top. Director Steve Beck can't quite keep the momentum going, though. Things bog down when the Kriticos family are introduced and they move into their new glass house. The dependable Tony Shaloub imbues his character with a genuine sense of kindness and decency, but unfortunately his family is grating and annoying. Matthew Lillard gets to have some fun as a twitchy psychic, but he's not given enough to do. Things pick back-up once all hell breaks loose and the ghosts are unleashed on the Kriticos family. Great ghost designs, make-up and sets really elevate the film. Could have been a real blast, but settles for being decent background noise.
18. Ghost Ship (October 22)
Congratulations. You found a boat. In the middle of the ocean, of all places.
Spectacular gory opening that features dozens of folks decapitated and bisected by a steel cable on the deck of an ocean liner. Unlike Thir13en Ghosts, director Steve Beck manages to keep the creep strong once the film settles into its main plot. Here it's a salvage crew attempting to earn a big payday by bringing in a rusty abandoned ship. Eschewing the cinematic pyrotechnics and glitzy editing he employed in his other Dark Castle feature, Beck opts for the more traditional language of a haunted house movie. Lots of long shots and takes to slowly build the tension. Not that he doesn't break out some showy shit, but his work is more restrained, which is appropriate given the spook house on water plot. The set design of the titular ship is simply stunning. The decaying and rotting glamor of the old Italian liner brings enough mood and atmosphere to fuel two movies. Julianna Margulies and Gabriel Byrne lead a fun cast that's given just enough to do to keep things interesting. It all adds up to a fun flick that's a worthy time killer.
19. Howl (October 22)
I've spent too much of my life on this train.
Passengers on a broken down train must band together to fend off an attack by a pack of werewolves. The plot is pretty standard siege movie fair. A group of disparate people barricade themselves from an all powerful threat, tensions rise and the group fight among themselves. The pace and story is fast enough to disguise some of the shortcomings, but when things slow the issues are only too apparent. The passengers are insufferable beyond the point of redemption. When they're given their predictable redemption scene, the moment falls flat in the face of their well established awfulness. The werewolf design is grounded in a more human look. Unfortunately the steroid junkie appearance of the monsters undermines the fact these are werewolves. They could pass as Rawhead Rex more athletic cousins. It's an enjoyable enough werewolf flick that doesn't overstay its welcome. Plus there's a nice propulsive lift of the 28 Days Later theme during the finale, so it's got that going for it.
Note: First time viewings are in bold.
