Month: December 2024

OK, I don't even know what's happening here, but....skellington! Last day of 2024!

The 1979 Salem's Lot telemovie also featured a Nosferatu-like vampire, entirely different from the novel's urbane master vampire. I think they've adapted Salem's Lot a couple of times since, but they disappeared without a trace. The novel was very '70s, being sort of a Peyton's Place with vampires, and it could be that you're…

Hey, so, Shadow of the Vampire. I'm not featuring it because a) I saw it at it's premiere showing at the Music Box Theatre, where, b) a young lady in the audience asked a question during the director's Q&A that was so dumb it still makes him laugh, which c) was followed by a…

Hello! I hope everyone had a great Christmas. No Watch Party next week, I'll be catsitting at my sister's. So...Jan 10th, I think? That will be the next one. I didn't run out yesterday to see Nosferatu, but the word on it is still quite encouraging. This still, obviously, is from the Herzog/Kinski version…

The monster to revisit this week is Count Orlok, the barely (and legally indistinguishable) stand-in for Dracula in 1922 seminal Nosferatu. I've said that roughly 90% of horror movie tropes originated from this film and 1919's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Moreover, the film isn't just historically important, it's also a great watch. David…

I mentioned Leviathan yesterday, but again, I really get much out of it. It was a turgid remake of The Thing, I thought. Still, this was the last great era for practical monsters. Look at that rig! Notice both the ending of this and of DeepStar Six involve the monster reaching the surface. It…

I was very excited at the time. I've always loved sea movies, and obviously particularly loved sea monster movies. Godzilla is great, always, but when he comes up out of the water...c'mon. So I was excited in the '80s when they announced a whole run of rival sea monster movies. The Abyss, Leviathan (a…

If seek revenge you should dig two graves. Or, in this case, a lot more than that. The central idea stands, though, as the seeking of revenge, no matter how justified, leads to damnation. One of the last iconic monsters, practical, of course, and design and built by (if I'm remembering correctly) Stan Winston…

Remember fun kid's horror movies? The '80s was chockablock with them. I saw The Gate in the theater, and I remember it being pretty fun, mixing a bunch of campy tropes like demonic black metal albums. Also, if I remember correctly, these little demon guys were stop animated. Just fun. Make movies fun again.