Scream And Scream Again (1969)

Genre: Horror, Mad Scientist

Source: My Own Collection

Grade: B

                  I got this movie for a pretty good deal online, in one of those awesome M.G.M Midnite Movies Double Feature sets,this particular one came with the movie THE OBLONG BOX. Anyhow I went into watching this movie a tad bit reluctant, because everything that I  had heard about this movie was not very positive. Well in a way i`m kind of glad I went in with that mindset because what I saw in the movie SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN was kinda cool and in a weird way a bit intriguing on an intellectual level.
        
             Now if your just dieing to hear the plot details, i`m afraid I can`t truly explain it, its just one of those movie`s. Even Vincent Price himself said that he never truly understood the movie`s story. What I can tell you though is its got sadistic human yet unhuman monsters, a evil government plotting to take over the world (no doubt some form of Anti-Communism), and pits of Acid that completely dissolve anything until nothings left. Yeah, you really just have to watch it.

        A huge plus about this movie is it had three of my favorite actors in the cast Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee. BUT I have to warn you even though they are the top three billed cast members Vincent Price is only in the movie for i`d say 30 minutes, and Christopher Lees is in it for around 15 to 20 minutes, while Peter Cushing is only in it for not much more then 5 minutes. Then on top of that none of three ever actually share a scene were its actually all three of them. Instead you only get one fairly brief scene at the end of the movie of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. Though despite there disappointing amount of screen time, they all three still put in some memorable performances.

         I thought the movie also put in some fairly decent effects and make-up. Like were the detectives catch this "Thing" and hand cuff his hand to the car were he merely rips off his entire hand, in order to escape! Then there was just some flat out creepy stuff like were the thing starts to suck on a girls wrist after he had just got done beating the shit out of her. And were the thing jumps into a pit of some yellowish acid and is completely disintegrated into nothing. I also must say I am still very amused at how this movie was only rated PG because its got its fair share of boobs, violence and weird images you really would not expect to find in a PG horror movie. Oh well got to love the thouse pre 1989 rating systems.    

        So all together I didn't find this movie to be as bad as people were making it to be, sure its not the best Vincent Price movie, and yes at some parts I felt like I was watching some bizarre spy movie as opposed to a horror movie, but I still found my fair share of enjoyment in it. I probably would not recommend this movie  to someone new or not accustomed to these particular movie`s, but if your a fan of Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, or Peter Cushing then you should definitely make a point of watching this movie sometime, and make your own personal judgement call as to weather or not you like SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN.

Upcoming Projects/Posts

Hey I am so sorry I have not put up some new posts for awhile, i`ve been over encumbered with school and varies other things. But I am currently working on some new projects to post for starters last saturday I attended MONSTERPALOOZA in Burbank and had one of the best times of my life were I met many of my Icons such as Bert I.Gordon, Jack Hill, Jonathan Haze, Julie Adams, plus many,many more. Anyways I am currently in the process of writing down my entire experience there plus all the conversations I had with the stars. So hopefully I can complete that before to long.
          Then of course I`m going to be putting up some new movie reviews pretty soon. Now recently I was struck with an idea that made me sort of wonder, would anyone be interested if I started doing some of my reviews through a video/movie style? In the same way James Rolfe does his horror movie reviews during Cinemassacres Monstermadness? Just an idea I thought might be fun to try out.
Thanks for reading,
 William Israel

R.I.P Michael Gough (1917-2011)

In case you have not yet heard, the legendary actor Michael Gough died today at the age of 94. He was one of the last Horror Movie actors from the golden age of horror.
He stared in such movies as Hammer horrors 1958`s HORROR OF DRACULA in which he played the character Arthur. He was also acted along side Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee in the phenomenal 1968 film CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTER. Other memorable roles of his include that of the Occult Auctioneer in THE SKULL and the Mad Scientist Dr.Charles Decker in  1961s KONGA.

    
Then of course his later roles were that of the kindly butler Alfred in all four of the 90s Batman movies. Then he played Notary Hardenbrook in the great 1999 SLEEPY HOLLOW movie. His last role was that of the Dodo Bird in last years ALICE IN WONDERLAND, which I am happy to say was a good final film for him and i`m just happy I was able to see it in theaters when it came out.

 It always sadness me to see a great actor like him pass away, but unfortunately it happens. So in honor of him tonight I will watch some of his movies and put up some reviews of them very soon.

R.I.P Michael Gough "The world will always acknowledge your greatness"

          


      

Before I Hang (1940)

Genre: Horror, Mad Scientist

Source: My Own Collection

Grade: C

I know for a fact we have all have had one of those movies that you hear about or read about and that you then end up really wanting to see, but when you actually see it ends up really not being that amazing, in fact it ends up being a pretty sore disappointment. Well thats kinda how this movie ended up being for me, I had read about and thought it sounded like one of the best Boris Karloff movies ever, but alas upon my initial viewing of it I was severely let down. Overall I had expected the movie to deliver more of a  "punch" but it just didn't deliver that. So by the end of the movie I was thinking "was that it"?

Now before you get the impression i`m going to spout off on a tangent i`d like to say this movie did have some pluses. Such as the awesome performance put in by Boris Karloff, he plays his role with such style that he makes the character a sympathetic yet demented mad scientist. Edward Van Sloan even puts in a good performance as the doctor who helps Boris out at the Beginning, in case you don`t know who that is he played Van Helsing in Universals Dracula and he played the leader of the spy ring in 1939`s The Phantom Creeps. Though I noted this was one of his last major films were he was credited in and since his days on Dracula he had grown a bit pudgy and lost a lot of the facial features that he had when he played Van Helsing in Dracula. Then this movie was also very well directed, I was impressed with the uses of shadows and mist. So at least it had a some what decent atmosphere.

Now with that said, the main problem I had with  this movie was I felt it was way to rushed. Characters didn't develop,and there was not very much suspense other then like two scenes. It seemed to me like the film makers were just trying to rush the movie along at way to fast a rate.Next the script had the potential of being awesome, but it wasn`t! There was just so many things the writer could have added to make this movie stupendous, but of course they didn't. Then all the actors who played cops and prison guards were incredibly bland giving there characters no unique traits. Finally the films ending was not horrible but not very memorable,basically the script was just a little two-bit script with a not so memorable ending. Then If I were trying to get someone into these types of movies I would definitely not show them Before I Hang.

Remake Vs Original #1 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

    1956 Version                         VS                           1978 Version              
    

  Starting with the original 1956 version, this one takes on a very dominate Science Fiction style story and sticks to it, while on the other hand the remake kept wondering between a Horror style and a Science Fiction style story. I also would like to comment on how the original was shoot in Black and White, giving it a errie nightmarish tone that the color remake completely lacked. Though I must compliment the casting choices of the remake, Donald Sutherland as Dr.Bennell was an excellent choice,but of course I still preferred Kevin McCarthy as Dr.Bennell from the original by a long shot. Of course the cameo Kevin McCarthy is given in the remake was awesome, funny, and one of the most appropriate cameos i`ve ever seen. Plus since i`m a huge Leonard Nimoy fan  I was natural very pleased with the role they gave him in the remake .Then respectively Jeff Goldblum and Brooke Adams were well casted in their roles in the remake. 

The next thing about these movies that are different is the endings. Now which one you personally prefer is completely up to your on preference in movies.I personally liked both endings even though they were quite different from each other.For example the original takes on a happier ending, but it was one of those happy endings that came at sad price, were he was the only one who ended up surviving the whole thing. In the remake its a completely opposite ending  basically everyone dies and the "Bodysnathcers" win bring an end to the human race as we know it, but the final scene in the movie were you find that out is unforgettable.

     So in conclusion this was a very well made remake that lives up to the cult status of the original. Its very well casted with some of my all time favorite actors like Leonard Nimoy, Donald Sutherland, and Brooke Adams in staring roles, plus a great cameo incorporation of Kevin McCarthy.Though I really didn't like the way they switched the setting in the remake, rather than putting it in the small town atmosphere of the original they put it in the big city atmosphere. Which honestly just killed the eerie atmosphere for me, the original is superior atmosphere wise by a long shot because of that. Then finally like I said before the remake takes on a more Horror aspect but keeps a Science Fiction. While the original is just a straight up Science Fiction movie. Now in my personal preference i`m more inclined to prefer the Science Fiction take on the story as opposed to the Horror take that Remake went with, the Science Fiction one was just more fitting in my eyes. 

So My take: EXCELLENT REMAKE, but I still prefer the original over this one any day for a variety of reasons. 

House Of Wax (1953)

Genre: Horror, Revenge, Serial Killer

Source: My Own Collection

Grade: A+



 House of Wax has always been one of my all time favorite Vincent Price movies. It also is also one of the few remakes that has turned out better then the original. In case you didnt know House Of Wax actually a remake of a 1933 movie starring Lionel Atwill (Son Of Frankenstein) and Fay Wray (King Kong). The original that this is based on is very good, infact its my favorite Lionel Atwill movie. But I just really prefer this one over it.

The films story is set in a very early 20th Century New York, a unique setting that I found very fitting for the film. I also must praise the make up artist who designed Vincent Prices characters look, it was incredibly awesome and very creepy to look at. Same goes for the outfit he wore throughout the movie when hes killing people, creepy and looked just ultra awesome!
  
 The films story is masterpiece, the concept is freaky as heck. Its also a very original story that, in my opinion improved on the original story from 1933. like for example the films Intro was spectacular! It admittedly dives into the story and sets a great tone, that carry`s on throughout the movie. Then of course I love films finale, Prices character takes on like ten cops before hes defeated. I must admit though I was hoping he would escape from the detective and all the police. Which is another thing about the movie I`d like to touch upon, Price was such a sympathetic villain.  I truly sympathized  his character and hoped he would get away even though he killed all those people, though I think it was prices performance that made that character that way.

  So overall  this was a great film. The performance of Vincent Price was one of his best and it was also fun to see a young Charles Bronson play the mute assistant Igor. The story was a masterpiece and overall well crafted movie with a perfect setting and stupendous Make Up and Costume Design. I could not recommended this movie highly enough, its that great!
    

Scared To Death (1947)

Genre: Horror, Psychological, Revenge

Source: My Own Collection

Grade: A


     Now this movie provided many unique experiences such as;  being the only color film that stared Bela Lugosi, the film was told through the point of view of the already dead protagonist (you`ll see what I mean when you watch it), and it was one of the only if not only movie to have BOTH George Zucco and Bela Lugosi star in together.

      I remember the first time I read about this movie and how it was filmed in Color and starred Bela. Thinking at first that that was way to good to be true I went on a mission to find it. Which really didn`t take to long since the films in Public Domain I was able to pick it up at "Big Lots" on a budget pack for an extremely cheap price! I believe it was only one dollar for a four pack of Bela Lugosi films, so 25 Cents was all I really paid for to acquire this movie. Which I must say it was completely worth it!
      The films story is a bit unique and gets rather odd at times. Don`t get me wrong now, it was still a a pretty good movie. But I cant understand why they decided to have the entire movie told from the point of view of a dead girl, who wasn`t even a good character. She was a complete bitch in the whole movie and was made completely unsympathetic. The way she dies though was really sweet, shes you guessed it Scared To Death! I won`t say how, but its pretty cool the way the "murderer" does it.
         The only other thing other then this movie being in color, that stands out is the All-Star Cast. Its got the great George Zucco as the mysterious doctor, though the role was supposed to go to Lionel Atwill but he was quite literally dieing, so Zucco was called in to replace him. Which I think worked out rather well because Zucco was perfect for the role and his style of acting is very similar to Lionel Atwills anyways. Next you had good old Bela Lugosi as the mysterious magician, he brought some great sinister traits to that character that only Lugosi would be able to do. You even get  to hear him scold his midget assistant in his native language of Hungarian for about a second.  Now that Midget also has a track record of appearing in many great horror films such as Tod Browings "Freaks" and also starred with Lugosi in two other horror pictures other than this one such as "The Corpse Vanishes" and the very funny Horror Comedy "Spooks Run Wild". To this day he is my all time favorite midget actors.

All around this was a fun movie to watch. I loved seeing all these great actors like Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, and the midget actor Angelo Rossitto all in the same movie. This was a very good "who done it and why is everyone acting so weird" style mystery horror movie. Of course its not Bela Lugosi`s best movie, but it is his only movie that he stared in that has color, that alone should make this movie worth checking out for all the Lugosi fans who have not yet seen it.