Last Seen pre-1970 Classic/Vintage Horror Movie?

[Tommy Jarvis]

Diabolique 1955 ★★★★

Thursday, I enjoyed one of the perks of this website: Getting a notice when something pops up one of your preferred streaming sites. Movie for the night immediately picked.

Fair warning: this is a slow burn. The first act is entirely used to set up the atmosphere leading up to the murder. Which, in a way, should ring in fact more true with a generation that throws around words like psychological abuse. So it kind of surprises me to hear people call this boring. Even more than the previous generations, they would/should be able to relate to the wife and her position.

From there, we get a Hitchcockian thriller about two women who are pushed to the edge and then strike back, in the process taking out the cause of their misery. The murder scene itself is tension filled with the wife having second thoughts and the husband sealing the deal with his own abusive behaviour.

We then get to their plan to hide the body with an odd mix between suspense (the blood drips) and “comic relief” (the radio quiz couple and by extension perhaps the drunk). The weird things that start happening. The widow now seemingly breaking down and the mistress taking charge. Thus reinforcing an interesting dynamic between the two of them.

THE scene that everyone remembers still stands like a house, though the ensuing twist makes the whole plan rather convoluted and lose some credibility.

Still fours stars, though.

[FryeDwight]

Originally Posted by DeadbeatAtDawn

Queen of Blood, 1966. 6/10

Director: Curtis Harrington

QUEEN OF BLOOD (1966). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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I finally got a chance to see this and while it's got a decent premise, the patchwork appearance of the film does take it down some. Earlier Russian footage is put together with newer scenes and it all looks like Elmer's Glue was used to do the connecting, although it could have been the copy viewed.
Also, it seemed to Me that ALIEN took quite a bit from this...love how they bring Florence Marley on board with no reservation or precautions and the less than happy consequences.
Still fun...Basil Rathbone giving his all,( even at this late stage), John Saxon has some great lines, Dennis Hopper looks like He's trying not to laugh, Florence Marley has an eerie sense of danger (maybe having no dialogue) and just too cool to see "Mr Monster" AKA Forrest J Ackerman (The editor of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine and sans mustache too!). I thought it was neat in the very last scene that what He is carrying looks more like Hothouse tomatoes. ***

[Tommy Jarvis]

The Wasp Woman 1959 ★★★½

Director Roger Corman delivers a tasty bit of fifties horror sci-fi.

This one looked a bit more serious and straightforward than the cheese that made his name, but nonetheless, it was well done and I even dare say that the special effects here were a step up compared to the Vincent Price version of The Fly.

The story was okay, seeing a lady at the head of a company in 1959 must have been a nice change pace and Susan Cabot delivers the take no shit attitude well. And the action scenes were well filmed. Wasp woman would kick Ant-man's ass.

[FryeDwight]

THE STRANGER (1946). Orson Welles plays a Nazi going undercover by teaching in a small town and marrying the daughter of a prominent citizen.. Things start to go south as an investigator looking for ex-Nazi's shows up and how He has to try to keep the deception going to stay free.
Welles didn't think much of TS and honestly, He's not the kind of performer You would have sympathy for and Loretta Young as his wife, though lovely, is incredibly naive and dense. The best parts of the film are Edward G Robinson as the investigator (he's very good) and a scene stealing performance by Billy House as a checkers playing pharmacist (it was driving Me crazy trying to figure out where I saw him and thanks to IMDB, recalled He played Lord Mortimer in BEDLAM the same year). Also a very early performance by Richard Long (CULT OF THE COBRA and TV's NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR) who was married for a time to Mara Corday (TARANTULA, THE GIANT CLAW and SUDDEN IMPACT). ***

[Tommy Jarvis]

2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 ★★★★★

An all time classic for the ages. The best way to watch this is with somebody and see the disbelief on their face. "Holy crap! And this was made in 1968? Bruh."

Every single time, I am in awe of the majestuousness of it all. Overwhelmingly grand and, upon this rewatch, I wonder if and how much this influenced somebody like Wes Anderson.

I also liked how it incorporated horror elements, with Hal as an excellent psychopath.

I have no pretentions about understanding all the layers and metaphors in this movie. But I am looking forward to finding books and YT videos analysing and explaining them. Tips always welcome in the comments.

And of course: Merry Christmas, everyone.

Fanatic 1965 ★★★★

Die! Die my darling is a very entertaining Hammer flick.

The storyline is rather straightforward: a young lady goes to visit the mother of her recently deceased fiancé/boyfriend (tying up loose ends and what not), only to find that this woman takes cuckoo for Christ to a whole new level.

Tallulah Blankhead really shines here as Mrs Terfoile. From the first moment you see that expressive face, all the red flags are up and all the alarm bells should be ringing. She ends up holding our heroine Patricia, setting up a slew of escape attempts that keep you on the edge of your seat. Well told and a good moment to mention the performance by Donald Sutherland as the simple minded Joseph.

In these domains, it's also a sixties film. When the protagonist finally escapes, it's not so much by her own doing. It's more when Mrs. Terfoyle's fanaticism ends up being her undoing after killing the caretaker and resident pervert Harry. Good job by Peter Vaughan. And the “new guy” gets to save her, followed by a “told ya”-moment. Yeah, that would be done very differently today. Not throwing a stone at anyone here, mind you.

Nonetheless a solid sixties horror. Worth a check.

[FryeDwight]

2001 is an absolute classic; I feel it is the best Science Fiction film ever made


THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL! (1968). A couple of years before HAWAII FIVE-O, Jack Lord plays a Hungarian drifter who is picked up in the Arizona desert by Susan Strasburg and taken to meet her family, who are truly not a traditional sort and I found a lot of similarities to SPIDER BABY as the story progressed. Not great, but not bad either, although the final wrap up I found less than satisfactory. ***

[Tommy Jarvis]

The Kiss of the Vampire 1963 ★★★★

Excellent Hammer flick about vampires and cults.

The opening has you immediately set up with a solemn funeral and then,...I say, that was a bit rude.

Noel Willman looks a bit like Christopher Walken before there was such a thing. I also like how innocent the main couple look. The lady/damsel in distress at first has an odd looking expressionless face that makes sense once she is captured and bitten. I also like how the cult lures the husband away by getting him nicely hammered (pun intended).

Good wholesome Hammer fun. Looking forward to seeing more.

[FryeDwight]

THE HYPNOTIC EYE (1960). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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An absolutely boffo opening (very much like HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM) quickly becomes tedious (see last parenthesis) as an incredibly dense detective (He probably would have trouble finding a Dunkin' Donuts) is investigating a series of lovely women killing themselves in horrible ways and the common denominator for all of them involves them visiting a hypnotist (incredibly dismal sort) whose lovely assistant Alison Hayes-the main reason I watched- picks out volunteers from the audience.

This had potential to be pretty good and it just doesn't take advantage of the plot point and although the ending is kind of tough, there really should have been a back story of how and why; it truly might have helped. **

[TaeKwonZombie]

Had to rewatch one of my favorite classics House On Haunted Hill (1959)

[TaeKwonZombie]

House of Wax (1953)