222) The Monkey (2025) - New to Horror

"It's just like life."

Director
Osgood Perkins

Cast

Theo James - Hal and Bill Shelburn
Christian Convery - young Hal and Bill
Tatiana Maslany - Lois Shelburn
Adam Scott - Capt. Petey Shelburn
Colin O'Brien - Hal's son, Petey Shelburn
Sarah Levy - Aunt Ida
Osgood Perkins - Uncle Chip
Rohan Campbell - Ricky
Danica Dreyer - Annie Wilkes

I haven't watched as many new horror movies this year as I have in previous years. I don't have the same sort of access to theatrical releases as I used to. I'm also watching too many other things to catch anything new that's streaming. And, honestly, not much has grabbed my interest. 

The 2025 movie "The Monkey" did, though. It's odd-ball premise and being based on a short story by horror writer Stephen King is what grabbed my interest. I just didn't catch it in theaters when it was released back in February, but I found it streaming on Hulu. 

Speaking of new horror releases grabbing my interest, the new "Conjuring: Last Rites," which was released yesterday (September 5) snatched my interest as well, mainly because I read Robert Curran's book "The Haunted" about the Smurl family which the movie is based on. Otherwise, those "Conjuring" movies are more misses than hits in my opinion. The only one that I found entertaining was "The Conjuring 2" from 2016. The first one was too over-the-top for me. And the third, "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It" from 2018 was...honestly...I don't remember what I thought about it outside of simply not liking it much. Now, I'm getting off topic. 

Anyways, movie makers seem to continue taking interest in the obscurer-er writings of King. I've seen adverts recently for an upcoming horror movie called "The Long Walk" based on King's 1979 novel of the same name. 

By "obscurer-er" I mean older stories by King that haven't gotten the big screen treatment. The last King adaption to hit the big screen was, as I recall, "The Boogeyman" back in 2023. 
Frank Darabont and Jeff Schiro happened to adapt King's 1978 short story "The Boogeyman" into a short film back in 1982. Darabont would later direct three other more well-known Stephen King movie adaptations - "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Mist," and "The Green Mile." 

King had a Renaissance around the time "It" was released back 2017. A surge of King story to movie adaptations began popping up - "Doctor Sleep," "The Dark Tower," "In the Tall Grass," "1922," "11.22.63." to point out a few titles that released either theatrically or on streaming apps around then.  

I wrote about that back in 2018 as I checked out 10 not-so-remembered movie adaptations of King's works from the past. 

1) The Mangler
2) Riding the Bullet
3) Mercy (Based on King's short story "Gramma.")
4) Dolan's Cadillac
5) Quicksilver Highway
6) The Dark Half
7) Disciples of the Crow & The Boogeyman ("Disciples of the Crow" is based on King's "Children of the Corn")
8) Segmented Stories - ("The Moving Finger," "Gramma," and "Word Processor of the Gods.") 
9) Cell
10) Desperation

King's short story "The Monkey" was first published in Gallery magazine in 1980. A revised version is included in King's collective 1985 book "Skeleton Crew." 

In this movie, Petey Shelburn (Adam Scott) tries to leave a mechanical wind-up monkey that plays a drum, at an antique store. He's nervous and desperate to get rid of it. He warns the store proprietor not to allow the monkey to strike its drum. As he does, the monkey's hand comes down on its own and strikes its drum which causes an unfortunate and deadly accident to occur. 

Petey ditches the scene but not before torching the monkey. He then leaves his wife Lois (Tatiana Maslany) and their two young sons, Hal and Bill (both played by Christian Convery) for the rest of their lives.
Hal is the more sensitive of the two boys which brings on the wrath and anger of his brother, Bill, the more rebellious of the two. 

They both find the monkey unscathed among a collection of items their father collected from around the world as he worked as an airline pilot. 

They wind it up of course, and it does its mechanical performance. 

Later that evening, as their babysitter (Danica Dreyer) takes them out to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner, she suffers a terrible accident that causes her to lose her head. This begins a chain of deaths through unusual freak accidents which occur each time the monkey is wound up and plays its drum. This includes the sudden death of their mother due to a sudden aneurysm. 

The babysitter's name, by the way, is Annie Wilkes. If you know, you know. Paul Sheldon would definitely know. So, there's that weird callback. 

Anyways, Hal and Bill are forced to live with their Uncle Chip (Osgood Perkins) and Aunt Ida (Sarah Levy) who are both more or less decent people.  

Christian Convery in dual roles as Bill and Hal Shelburn.

After the death of Uncle Chip who dies thanks to the monkey, the twins decide to seal the monkey in its box and dump it down a well. 

Now an adult, Hal (Theo James) has never been able to completely forget about the toy monkey. Nor has he kept in touch with Bill (also played by Theo James). Bill relentlessly bullied his brother in their youth so it's no wonder Hal prefers to avoid any communication. 
While dealing with a custody issue over his son Petey (Colin O'Brien), his Aunt Ida...yep...has an accident. It's a very, very, very unfortunate freak accident. 

Hal's paranoia turns quickly into reality as the monkey mysteriously returns to his life. And with it, an undesirable reunion with Bill. 

While the name Stephen King brings stories such as "Carrie," "The Shining," and "It" to most minds, off-the-wall horror stories (for lack of a better term) like "The Monkey" aren't anything new for King. When he's not taking the dumb side of dumb arguments on "X" in his old, crotchety age, King is still writing insane fiction. And evidently people are still making movies out of his not-as-popular works.  

This guy wrote about a possessed laundry-folding machine in the short-story, "The Mangler," a town inhabited by the ghosts of dead rock n' roll legends in "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band," a haunted Polaroid camera in "The Sun Dog," and deadly wind-up novelty teeth in "Chattery Teeth." 

If King can come up with stories that mix horror with outlandish plots, and still be taken seriously, what's stopping me from actually writing some of the weird ideas I've had for stories. And I do have a few.  

I'll add that his book "Pet Sematary" is the scariest book of his I've read. And his short story "The Moving Finger" was the creepiest. 

When it comes to the term "dark comedy," this applies to "The Monkey" in the truest sense of both words. 

Some of the ol' Stephen King tropes are including in "The Monkey." There's the Maine location. Most of King's stories are set in Maine. There's also a father who left when he ran out for some cigarettes.

And an insane premise sitting on top of something deeply (to some degree or another) psychological. Maybe it's drugs that arouse these weird plots? No accusations, of course. Seriously, what is "scary" about "The Monkey" and these other weird stories? In this case, it's the premise of unbelievable realities that dissolve boundaries. It's beyond the protagonist's control. In fact, the main character is at the mercy of some evil thing. And evil doesn't have mercy. It doesn't reason, either. Nor does it have any willingness to even try. 

"The Monkey" has the feel of a classic campfire horror tale. Only an active imagination eager to scare could conjure up a story about a deadly supernatural wind-up monkey that plays a drum. Add some ridiculous gore and really grotesque ways to die, and it quickly becomes a dark comedy in the truest meaning of the term "dark comedy." 

What I found most haunting was how well the face changes on the toy monkey without actually changing. The production quality of making the monkey have expression without changing its facial structure was absolutely masterful. I'm guessing it was either lighting or altering the color shades on its face that made its expressions go from innocent, to cunning, to evil and raging as it stared straight on with wide open staring eyes that never move. 

Director Osgood Perkins certainly has a twisted sense of humor. "The Monkey" manages to be a great fright-night popcorn flick gorefest. It's over-the-top and it knows it's over the top. And the underlying theme of family and forgiveness in the most difficult time gives the movie some actual substance.

Otherwise, the movies' insane. It's crazy. It's practically puerile. I was invested from beginning to end. 

221) Brain Damage (1988)

"This is the start of your new life, Brian. A life without worry or pain or loneliness. A life filled instead with colors and music." 

Director
Frank Henenlotter

Cast
Rick Hearst - Brian
Jennifer Lowry - Barbara
Gordon MacDonald - Mike
Theo Barnes - Morris
Lucille Saint-Peter - Martha
John Zacherle - Aylmer

I had my review for the 1988 comedy horror "Brain Damage" saved for the Halloween when I post 10 or more reviews during the season that follow a specific theme or series. 

After watching it and organizing my opinions, I decided to post it now and watch something else in its place. I already watched and reviewed another movie from director Frank Henenlotter for October, so I decided to post this commentary now. 

The first thing that came to my mind after watching "Brain Damage" is that it's definitely an experience. I'm sure if I thought long and hard enough, I could come up with a cleverer way to say that. But that's really the most accurate description. "Brain Damage" is really an experience. In other words, I doubt I'll ever forget I saw this movie. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. 

The movie starts with an older couple about to feed a platter of brains (gross, I know) to some unknown creature they're keeping in the bathtub. They're really excited about feeding this thing and making sure it's happy. 

That joy dies a quick death when they find this mysterious creature is missing. They panic and frantically try to find it. They're both so agitated that they begin to convulse in a seizure. They foam at the mouth, and everything. 

The story then shifts to Brian (Rick Hearst). Brian is leading a relatively normal life and lives with his brother, Mike (Gordon MacDonald) in the same apartment building as that older couple. He also has a beautiful girlfriend, Barbara (Jennifer Lowry) and I'm assuming a decent job as well. Things aren't extraordinary with Brian, but life is generally good. 

One night, just before he and Barbara are about to leave for a concert, Brian suddenly feels sick. 

He insists Mike take Barbara out instead while he rests from whatever's ailing him. 

So, they go out and leave Brian home. Lying in bed, Brian starts having some really trippy hallucinations.

Aylmer! And this thing talks.

Obviously, things are worse than he realizes. A parasite has somehow attached itself to Brian and causing these hallucination by inserting a needle-like appendage from its mouth into the back of his neck. It's injecting him with a fluid that goes straight to his brain creating a euphoric pleasure mixed with visions of colors and lights. 

Once Brian gets off his high and snaps back to reality, he takes the parasite off his neck and has a conversation with it.

It happens to speak perfect and distinguished sounding English. No joke! So, it introduces itself to Brian. 

It promises to give him more of his "juice" to create those euphoric feelings and tantalizing hallucinations. All Brian has to do is allow him to continue feeding on him from the back of his neck.

So, Brian agrees. 

The parasite tells Brian to go for a walk to where ever he wants to. This walk is likely the best walk he's ever had. 

During these parasitic trips, Brian doesn't speak coherently and doesn't realize what's going on around him. When the fluid and good feelings wear off, he doesn't remember anything. 

Of course, he's addicted to all this. Meanwhile, Mike and Barbara are worried about him and try to intervene. 

That older couple from the beginning catch on that their parasite attached itself to Brian. 

The husband (Theo Barnes) confronts Brian to try to get the parasite back. They had been feeding it animal brains before it escaped and found someone else. 

He tells Brian that the thing is called "Aylmer" and his "influence" can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Though they want Aylmer back, Brian isn't so willing to let him go. 

Aylmer ultimately wants to eat people. Once Brian figures out the parasite is using him to get to innocent victims, ultimately killing them, he realizes how deep and out-of-control this situation has gotten. So, he tries to free himself from Aylmer and his euphoric juice. But he can't. The withdraw is too hard to overcome by mere willpower. 

No doubt it's obvious this movie is an off-the-wall allegory regarding drug addiction, or any kind of addiction, really. 

According to Jon Towlson's book, "Subversive Horror Cinema," Henenlotter was inspired to make "Brain Damage" from his own addiction to cocaine. That's certainly no surprise. 

Rick Hearst in "Brain Damage."

"The film is about the joys and perils of addiction, in whatever for that may take. 'This is the start of your new life,' Aylmer promises Brian at the start of their liaison, 'a life without worry or pain or loneliness.' The fact that Brian's life is already good at the start - he is affluent, with a good job, an apartment on the Lower East Side and a girlfriend - speaks to the hedonistic appeal of cocaine to young people like Brian during the late 1980s." (Towlson, 186).  

"Brain Damage" doesn't strike me as a glorification of drug use, or addiction in general. The movie is called "Brain Damage" after all. 

Brian is depicted as enslaved to this thing on his neck, which I'd say is an accurate depiction of sin in general - enslavement to our vices and lower passions. 

The nitty-gritty of the addiction theme is spot on despite how off-the-wall it comes across. The devil, or Aylmer, knows where and what his victim's weaknesses are, and he presses them hard.  Pure will power doesn't completely help. Man needs grace. And Aylmer has absurdity itself as something to hide behind. Brian would be hard pressed to tell someone the parasite on his neck talks to him, and be believed. 

When Brian relies on his own power and limited strength to break himself from the addiction and its strong pull as he suffers withdrawal, Aylmer tells him, "Ready to beg for it, Brian? Ready to crawl across the floor and plead for my juice? No? Not yet? Well, give it a few more hours, Brian. Whenever you want the pain to stop, I'll be here. Whenever you want to stop hurting, you come to me. When the pain gets so great you think you're turning inside-out, just ask for my juice." 

Aylmer talks like a figure of reason, as it forms articulate sentences and arguments, trying to encourage Brian to allow it to feed. 

When Brian succumbs to the urges, Aylmer goes from "sympathetic" tempter to Brian's accuser, saying he can't break free now. He's fallen too far. 

At one point when Brian meets a girl at a club during one of his parasitic trips, Aylmer entices Brian with illicit sexual thoughts and contact with her just so it can feed on her brains, too. So, temptation, obviously, plays a big part in the movie's theme. It's blatant at times. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend "Brain Damagae." 

I mean, Henenlotter also directed the 1990 black comedy, "Frankenhooker" so sexploitation seems to run in his films. He also wrote and directed the black comedy "Basket Case" and its sequels, "Basket Case 2" and "Basket Case 3: The Progeny." Henenlotter seems to love a bit of gag-inducing gore! 

Kevin Van Hentenryck makes a cameo as his character from Henenlotter's "Basket Case" which I'll be posting a review for this October. 

"Brain Damage" is a trippy flick that oddly works as the off-the-wall dark comedy it is. It's as though the writers were more concerned with enjoying themselves and going with whatever came out of their mind when coming up with this flick. Who cares about line delivery or how ridiculous the whole thing becomes. They certainly wanted to entertain in the oddest way no matter how absurd it is by the end. 

It's a gory, cringe inducing creature feature at its best. Silly, surreal and repulsive. I went along for the ride all the way through. And the dialogue isn't any different. The lines definitely match the tone of the movie. 

"Why are the stars always winkin' and blinkin' above? What makes a fellow start thinkin' of fallin' in love? It's not the season; the reason is plain as the moon. It's just Aylmer's tune! What makes a lady, of eighty, go out on the loose? Why does a gander, meander, in search of a goose? What puts the kick in a chicken, the magic in June? It's just Aylmer's tune! Listen, listen, there's a lot you're liable to be missin'. Sing it, swing it, any old place, and any old time. The hurdy-gurdies, the birdies, the cop on the beat. The candy-maker, the baker, the man on the street. The city charmer, the farmer, the man in the moon, all sing Aylmer's tune!" 

As social media says all the time, now that I've seen it, I can't unsee it.

220) Funeral Home (1980)

"Good riddance to bad rubbish."

Director
William Fruet

Cast
Lesleh Donaldson - Heather
Kay Hawtrey - Maude Chalmers
Dean Garbett - Rick Yates
Barry Morse - Mr. Davis
Stephen E. Miller - Billy Hibbs
Alf Humphreys - Joe Yates
Robert Warner - The Sheriff
Jack Van Evera - James Chalmers

Obscure cult/ B-horror movies are the kind of movies that belong on this blog. I made this platform for those kinds of flicks. I think I've strayed a little bit from posting about horror and thriller movies that are off the radar. So, I'm getting back into form...for now. 

The 1980 Canadian slasher flick, "Funeral Home" which is also known as "Cries in the Night." definitely fits on this blog. I mean, who even knew this movie existed? Who would watch it? 

I would, of course. I love sitting out on the patio in the early to mid-evening with a portable DVD player, a Mayflower cigar and a cocktail or even just a soft drink and watching these obscure movies. I have a lot of them in my private film reserve. How's that for prestigiousness? 

I found "Funeral Home" hidden within a collection of 50 horror/thriller movies collectively called "Chilling Classics." It's a box set of low budget B films put out by a company I've mentioned previously on this platform called Mill Creek. 

I have a few of these box sets and have reviewed a handful of movies I pulled from them. I really need to throw a lot more of them on here. 

These movies are otherwise generally difficult to find and putting them in these box sets is probably their only hope of anyone ever watching them again.

The worst thing about the movies included in these sets is the picture quality. The movies aren't digitally enhanced or improved. The picture is often dark, and the sound quality can often be just as poor as the picture. Basically, the movies are distributed just as they are. It's as though they're recorded right from the original print. 

But these Mill Creek sets can have a gem hidden amongst movies that are otherwise best left forgotten. 

"Funeral Home" begins as a young girl named Heather (Lesleh Donaldson) arriving in a small town to stay with her grandma, Maude Chalmers (Kay Hawtrey). 

Lesleh Donaldson as 'Heather.'

Maude uses her home as an inn though it used to be a funeral home. 

Heather's grandfather, James, worked as the local undertaker. However, he's been missing for years. And Maude has certainly been suffering inside at his absence. She hasn't operated the inn as much as she would like. So, she has been trying to earn a steady living by selling floral arrangements as the inn business isn't as lucrative as she would like. 

Maude hopes to open the house to travelers as soon as she can. The only person she has working for her is a mentally disabled maintenance guy named Billy Hibbs (Stephen E. Miller). 

Maude's neighbor, Sam (Les Rubie), comes over to complain about a car that was abandoned on his property. 

Authorities trace the car to a real estate developer who went missing not too long before. He had been sent there to survey the area before he vanished. 

As Heather arrives at her grandma's inn, some other guests arrive at the same time - Harry Browning (Harvey Atkin) and his illicit lover Florie (Peggy Mahon). Maude won't allow them to stay since they're not married. However, they don't want to leave. 

They down some drinks together and then drive off to a nearby quarry to spend some alone time together. Heather was the one who recommended they drive over there. 

While they're at the quarry, Maude's car shows up, smashes into the back of their car, and then pushes them over a cliff into the water below. 

Later, Heather goes on a date with local pretty boy, Rick (Dean Garbett). When she returns home, she hears her grandma speaking to an unknown man down in the basement. Curious, Heather asks Maude about whom she was speaking with, but her grandmother denies speaking to anybody. 

The following day, Rick stops by while Maude is out. He tells Heather about her grandfather being an alcoholic. He also remembers her grandpa being rather mean as he recounts a time when, during his youth, her grandfather locked him and his buddy in the basement of the funeral home as punishment for sneaking into the basement. They had managed to escape but not without bringing on the wrath of Heather's grandpa. 

So, spurred by curiosity, she and Rick start snooping around the property to find anything that can give them more insight into her late grandpa. 

Lesleh Donaldson and Kay Hawtrey.

They do find a few curiosities along with some dark and painful history about James and Maude.  

Maude continues to talk to an unknown man in the basement, and the weird activity Heather was witnessing quickly turns dark and intense. 

I quickly picked up on similarities between this movie and Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" especially at the end. "Funeral Home" surely takes inspiration from the 1960 classic. 

For an obscure horror movie, I found "Funeral Home" a decent horror thriller. It takes its time building up to something worthwhile. But the dark atmosphere pulled me in right at the beginning. Once it hits the second act, it really catches a second wind and takes off from there.  

The performances, especially that of Kay Hawtrey, aren't that bad! Hawtrey has an apparent enthusiastic energy that carries the movie to the end. She has a sweet grandmotherly charm that covers a foreboding unhinged frightening old lady who's only put at bay by her sweet grandmotherly persona. 

Hawtrey manages to depict a truly split character amazingly well. It's an entertaining horror performance!

"Funeral Home" has all the characteristics of being a "psycho biddy" horror flick thanks especially to Kay Hawtrey's performance. I've mentioned the horror subgenre psycho biddy (also known as hagsploitation) in my reviews of "Whoever Slew Auntio Roo?" and "Mountaintop Motel Massacre." 

The term refers psychological thrillers that center on older women who have gone insane to some degree or another. The 1990 movie "Misery," based on Stephen King's novel of the same name about the crazy and unstable Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) as she holds author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) captive is a perfect example of psycho biddy horror. "Funeral Home" is definitely a psycho biddy horror flick. It's a genre I'm curious enough to continue exploring. 

"Funeral Home" has a captivating enough story. And I found it unsettling enough to be an entertaining horror movie experience. 

Despite the inspiration it takes from "Psycho," all the rest has a decent amount of effort and deliverance with a high enough creep factor to be a memorable horror movie. Hawtrey, and the creepy unsettling storyline makes this movie solid and carries the story through to the end. I expect I'll come back to it again for another horror night. 

219) Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

"I tried to kill a stray cat with a cabbage, and all but made love to the Lady Rowena."

Director

Roger Corman

Cast

Vincent Price - Verden Fell
Elizabeth Shepherd - Rowena Trevanion/ Ligeia
John Westbrook - Christopher Gough
Derek Francis - Lord Trevanion
Oliver Johnston - Kenrick
Richard Vernon - Dr. Vivian
Frank Thornton - Peperel the butler

Ronald Adam - the Minister

I'm finishing up Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe series with this eighth movie in the series. Some consider "The Oblong Box" (1969) to be the final movie. It stars Vincent Price who stars in the previous Poe movies, and it also stars Christopher Lee. It's also based on a story by Poe. Plus it's produced through American International Pictures (AIP), which produced Corman's Poe movies except for "Premature Burial." AIP did eventually purchase the distribution rights for "Premature Burial." Anyways, Corman isn't involved in the production of "The Oblong Box" so it's not a part of his series. Still, I may review it at some point but I'm not including it in this thread. 

"The Tomb of Ligeia" deals with death, reincarnation, and love. Common themes in these Poe movies. Plus, there's also a big house, a coffin, and flames. The formula continues!

The story starts with a funeral at none other than Castle Acre Priory. I guess you can't start a horror movie without something centered on death. 

The funeral is for Ligeia (Elizabeth Shepherd) who's the wife of Verden Fell (Vincent Price). Being as young and beautiful as she was. Ligeia's casket comes with a window so her face can be seen even after she's dead. During the funeral, a black cat comes out of nowhere and jumps on her coffin. It looks as though this random cat is taking her soul. 

As expected, her death looms over Verden. He's especially troubled at the possibility of her soul being someplace that's hot and filled with all sorts of creative forms of torture. 

Ligeia made some blasphemous comments about God, and she was also an atheist. That would definitely land a soul in Hell. 
"Man need not kneel before the angels, not lie in death forever, save through the weakness of his feeble will," are Ligeia's words which Verden reads at the funeral.
"Blasphemy!" the minister says. 
So, she didn't believe in God's existence yet was still mad at God. So much so, she felt it necessary to hurl a few insults at God whom, again, she didn't believe existed. But now she's dead. She definitely believes there's a God now! 

Anyways, Verden's mourning and fear drives him to becomes reclusive in his mansion, which used to be a medieval monastery.
While wandering the cemetery on the grounds, he meets a woman named Rowena (also Elizabeth Shepherd) who's just passing through riding on horseback. The scene thus proves cemeteries really are a prime place to pick up girls.

Vincent Price as Verden Fell in "Tomb of Ligeia."

She happens to be engaged to Verden's friend, Christopher Gough (John Westbrook). However, that doesn't stop her from marrying Verden. 

This makes Ligeia's spirit pretty upset. Since she's dead, there's really little she can do accept haunt the place. So, she haunts the place. Ligeia manifests here and appears over there. And that black cat from the funeral starts showing up and freaking everyone out...as if the apparitions of Ligeia weren't freaky enough. 

In fact, Rowena thinks this cat is trying to kill her. It probably is! 

Well, Rowena is just not having any of it. Verden takes it upon himself to destroy this cat! 

Spoiler - the cat is actually Rowena in cat form. 

The duel between Verden and the cat culminates to Verden fighting the soul of Ligeia.

Like the rest of Corman's Poe movies (except for "Masque of the Red Death," their fight leads to the tomb burning down with Verden and Ligeia inside. It's not a Poe film by Corman unless something burns down. 

At least, he manages to strangle that damn cat! 

Now that he's dead, Rowena and Christopher hook back up and... the end. 

After coming off the previous "Masque of the Red Death, unfortunately "Tomb of Ligeia" comes across a little too weak and more of the same with tropes seen in Corman's previous Poe movies. 

The effort to make a gripping Gothic horror flick is ever present, but the story is too predictable. On the flip side, Corman has great care and respect for Poe. He clearly doesn't try to make a cheap spectacle. "Tomb of Ligeia" has a solemn tone that's respectable, and something I appreciate. 

In Ed Naha's book, "The Films of Roger Corman," Corman is quoted as saying, "I tried to make this last film as different from its predecessors as possible." 

It manages to feel like the rest. Despite the formula being on repeat for the eighth time, I find this entertaining enough.  

The creepy set designs, the unsettling camera angles, and Vincent Price's unsettling performance fit for Gothic horror make for truly classic horror.

Price still has that sinister vibe. His appearance reminds me of his role as Roderick Usher in the first of Corman's Poe movies, "House of Usher." 

Like Usher, his character is sensitive to light. However, in this movie he wears sunglasses throughout the story. It adds an otherworldly quality to Price as they make it difficult for the audience to read his face. Plus, it gives him a badass look! Maybe Price wanted to go full circle here by playing a similar role to his first movie in the series? 

As much as I love Vincent Price, especially in his Gothic horror roles, I enjoyed watching him more in the earlier Poe movies. It's business as usual for Price in this movie. In other words, he's played this kind of role again and again.

"Tomb of Ligeia" builds up suspense satisfyingly well. It's that Corman know-how at work!

I mentioned the possibility of reviewing the unofficial ninth movie "The Terror" but I've seen it before, found it boring, comically plotless, and I honestly don't feel like sitting through it again. At least, not right now. I have other movies I'm anxious to get to. Maybe that short mention just now will have to be my review of "The Terror."  

As for Roger Corman's Poe movies, they all have a real nightmarish quality to them. All of them. Even this last one. I love the Gothic style. The camera work. Vincent Price's performances. 

While some of the movies are better than others, and some certainly capture Poe's spirit better than the other adaptations, I found each one to be entertaining. I looked forward to each movie, and I mean that sincerely. The grand set designs in each one of these movies is fantastic and truly, truly the stuff of classic horror! 

I think these movies may have been even more entertaining and memorable had more of them been anthology movies like "Tales of Terror." Still, collectively, Roger Corman's Poe series really hit the spot for me as far as vintage horror goes. Each movie carries with it a remarkable cast. Some legendary faces in the horror genre show up along the way. It's fantastic. I think my favorite scenes throughout the entire series involved Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff going at it in "The Raven." Legendary! 

When it comes to the eeriest of these movies, I'd have to go with "The Haunted Palace." It's the most unsettling of the Poe movies. And it has Lon Chaney, Jr. - another horror legend! 

Vincent Price's performance in "Masque of the Red Death" is his most evil and intimidating one out of all these movies. It's the best of his performances in these Poe films. 

All in all, these movies have a well-deserved spot in horror. Roger Corman knew how to do a lot with a few gems! They're brilliant to watch, and deserve a lot of praise.

218) The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

"Thus passes the glory of the world." 

Director

Roger Corman 

Cast
Vincent Price - Prince Prospero 

Hazel Court - Juliana
Jane Asher - Francesca
David Weston - Gino
Nigel Green - Ludovico
John Westbrook - Physical Red Death 
Patrick Magee - Alfredo
Paul Whitsun-Jones - Scarlatti

Director Roger Corman's 1964 movie, "The Masque of the Red Death" is the seventh film in his Edgar Allan Poe series, and the second to last of them. It's followed by "The Tomb of Ligeia" which was released the same year. 

I actually watched "The Tomb of Ligeia" before watching this but we got to keep these things in chronological order, right? 

Aside from the fourth movie in the series, "Tales of Terror" from 1962, "The Masque of the Red Death" pulls away from the usual formula of all these other Poe movies. And it's the darkest one yet. 

The movie begins as the disease referred to as "red death" spreads across medieval Italy. An old peasant woman wandering through the country comes face to face with the red death in the form of a hooded figure dawning red cloak. 

He presents this woman a white rose which turns blood red just before he hands it to her. He then tells her to take the rose back to her village and tell everyone there that, "the day of their deliverance is at hand." I guess fictional medieval plagues are notorious for being vague and nonsensical. 

That village is ruled by a pretty sadistic and evil prince named Prospero (Vincent Price). He pays that same village a visit with his entourage and is met with two poor villagers, Gino (David Weston) and Ludovico (Nigel Green). 

Meanwhile, that old lady from the beginning is found dead from... the red death! Her face is covered in blood oozing from her pores. Hence, the name "red death." 

So, Prospero orders his people to burn the entire village down. In the midst of the turmoil and cries of the villagers, he invites them to a feast at his palace in his usual condescending tone. This is where the audience is supposed to yell, "Don't do it! Don't go!" at the T.V.  

Gino doesn't take the mockery kindly, nor should he, and criticizes Prospero remarking he'll probably treat everyone like dogs and feed them nothing but table scraps. He then says that someday, Prospero's reign of terror will come to an end. 

This threat doesn't sit well with Prospero. Gino's father-in-law, Ludovico, backs him up as Prospero forces both men to their knees for his own amusement. 

Then he forces both of them, along with Gino's lover, Francesca (Jane Asher), to go with him back to his castle for his own amusement. 

Back at his castle, Prospero holds a bunch of parties with a ton of wealthy self-absorbed guests who are just as debauched as he is. 

He takes pleasure in humiliating his guests such as making them imitate as animals in front of everyone else.

Francesca is shocked to find out that Prospero is a Satanist. He certainly fits the part with his love of watching people humiliate themselves. For instance, he tricks a companion of his, Alfredo (Patrick Magee) to dress as a gorilla during a masquerade party. He then has his dwarf-jester, Hop-Toad (Skip Martin) to set Alfredo on fire, which he does for a laugh. 

But the red death comes uninvited to one of Prospero's parties. "The uninvited - there is much to fear." as Prospero observes earlier in the movie. 

He thinks the red-hooded figure is the devil. Well, it's not the devil but it's going to take Prospero to him. It doesn't take much time before Prospero realizes his time on Earth is at an end, and his fate is nothing but death. 
The story ends on a dark note as other plagues and diseases (tuberculosis dressed in a white hood, yellow fever in a yellow hood, scurvy in an orange hood, cholera in a blue hood, influenza in a purple hood, and the bubonic plague in a black hood) gather around the red death to discuss how many lives they've each given to death during that night. 

As I mentioned, this movie doesn't follow the same formulas and tropes that the previous Poe movies do. The story follows Prospero's complete surrender to evil and how that not only completely corrupts him, but it also corrupts those around him. Instead of ending with a huge estate burning down in flames which is common in these Poe movies, Instead, it all ends with Prospero begging to be spared from death which he brought upon himself, and shouting "no, no!" 

There's a contrast between the darkness of the subject matter and the colors which cover Prospero's evil world covered in the façade of vibrancy and care-free false security. 

The glamour of evil is precisely that. A façade. How else will the devil entice souls? With it's more serious and darker tone, I bet it takes inspiration from Ingmar Bergman's 1957 Swedish film, "The Seventh Seal." 

In one scene, one of Prospero's guests, Juliana (Hazel Court) wants to be in this cult of his. She gives herself over to the devil in a manner reminiscent of Lady MacBeth calling upon evil spirits to "unsex" her in Shakespeare's tragedy, "MacBeth." 

Vincent Price as 'Prospero' in 'The Masque of the Red Death.'

In fact, Corman claims he had some reluctance in actually releasing "The Masque of the Red Death" because of similarities to "The Seventh Seal." In an interview with Lawrence French, published in the introduction to "The Masque of the Red Death" novelization, Corman says, "I kept moving 'The Masque of the Red Death' back, because of the similarities, but it was really an artificial reason in my mind."

In his book, "Top 100 Horror Movies" writer Gary Gerani also quotes Corman from a 1970s interview.

"I had seen Igmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal' and thought there might be a horror movie application for it." (142) 

He definitely nailed it, especially as death appears in a red hood. And the final scene has six other hooded figures dawning a different color to symbolize their deathly touches. 

There's some depth to this picture that's sharply felt more than Corman's other movies. He takes on a different approach and it works well for a Gothic horror movie. 

It's worth mentioning that Jane Asher was dating former Beatle Paul McCartney at the time. I heard in various commentaries about this movie that McCartney visited the movie set. 

Anyways, I've considered myself a fan of Vincent Price, which is part of the reason why I wanted to watch all of Corman's Poe movies, all of which (except "Premature Burial" star Price. I think his performance here really solidified my fandom for Vincent Price. This performance of his is the most intimidating and frightening I've seen yet.
Gerani also points out that the set for "The Masque of the Red Death" is borrowed from the 1964 historical picture, "Becket" which is about the tumultuous friendship between St. Thomas Becket and King Henry II that ultimately led to Becket's martyrdom.

Corman definitely out does himself with this movie. It carries a timely moral.   
Evil is certainly not glorified in this movie. The villain is truly Prospero. The darkest of Roger Corman's Poe movies yet, with a real intimidating Vincent Price performance! One more to go after this one.
It's no revelation that pacts and dedication to the devil, whom Prospero always accurately refers to as the "Lord of the flies," end with screams and despair. As the movie claims, "thus passes the glory of the world." Prospero turned his back on God. So, God accommodated him. 

 

217) Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022)

Director
David Poag

Cast
Donovan Colan - Jake
Dylan Frankel - Carson
Jaiden J. Smith - Bo 
Christopher Lloyd - Alec Windsor
Marla Gibbs - Grandmother
Marissa Reyes - Kate

I admit I was curious more than I should have been when I heard a movie based completely on the Wal-Mart of seasonal stores, Spirit Halloween, was dropping back in 2022. 

I feel like I'm on track reviewing "Spirit Halloween: The Movie" as I wanted to use this blog as a platform for the campiest, or underrated, or off-the-radar type of oddball horror movies out there - new or old. 

I didn't go out of my way to see what kind of movie centered on a chain of retail store the so-called "writers" could come up with. I anticipated a movie that would be nothing more than an hour and a half long commercial that, by the way, stars Christopher Lloyd! It's the only logical conclusion one can make. To assume otherwise would be nothing short of high expectations. 

I didn't watch "Spirit Halloween: The Movie" until now, and that's because I happened to come across it on a streaming app. I can't recall which one. 

Again, I was curious to see what kind of story could be pounded out for a movie named for a Halloween costume store. I do have to say I enjoy Spirit Halloween whenever I come across one around in October. It's a fun experience. The animatronics are entertaining enough. And being the horror fan that I am, I appreciate the range of "stuff" for sale. 

The movie begins sometime in the 1940s or 1950s as a corrupt developer named Alec Windsor (Christopher Lloyd) harasses a landowner claiming he now owns her property. He has seemingly tried to obtain her land for some time. 

The woman happens to be a witch, and curses Windsor causing him to drop dead on the spot. His soul then floats away someplace. 

Things transition to the present time. Teenage buddies Carson (Dylan Frankel), Bo (Jaiden J. Smith), and Jake (Donovan Colan) walk through town discussing plans for Halloween.
Jake is still grieving the loss of his father as his relationship with his mother and stepfather is a bit strained. He wants to go trick-or-treating with his friends just as they've done before. It's tradition. 

Carson, however, thinks they've outgrown trick-or-treating and prefers to do something new. Bo thinks Carson has a point. They've outgrown trick-or-treating. 

The three of them visit their local Spirit Halloween superstore and decide to hide somewhere inside until it closes so they can spend Halloween night within. And it works. 

Once the store closes, the three buddies have fun messing with all the animatronics and other Halloween merch. The scenario makes the perfect sales pitch for the seasonal pop-up Spirit stores. 

While having fun inside like it's their own personal Pleasure Island, one of the animatronics comes to life. Little do the boys know that the store was built on the property from the beginning of the movie. And Windsor's cursed spirit is free to roam during this time of year looking for a living person to possess. 

So, his ghost takes possession of different animatronics, chasing the kids around until they discover a secret underneath the building. 

The whole movie reminds me of something I would have watched on Nickelodeon back in the late 1990s. 

I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a terrible movie. I would say, however, that it's forgettable and void of any real personality. It's as plain and level as it can be.

There is a thin and very general moral about courage, friendship, and strengthening family bonds. That's all fine and good. The mystery and lightheadedness are also fine and good for young viewers. There's no profanity and, basically, it's a clean-cut movie. 

Though it's aimed at kids, the movie is simply bland. It's not bad. It's not a great kids movie. It's just...bland. There's nothing memorable nor anything to take away. I get the feeling that had it any depth to it, "Spirit Halloween: The Movie" would be criticized for taking itself too seriously. Or it would just be "too deep" for a movie called "Spirit Halloween: The Movie." 

I do have to give a nod of approval for the scene in which "Night of the Living Dead" is playing on a TV. As far as I'm concerned, "Night of the Living Dead" is the "It's a Wonderful Life" of Halloween movies. 

Christopher Lloyd always makes an enjoyable villain. In fact, he's great at it. He plays a villainous role in the 1993 movie "Dennis the Menace" and even more notably, plays Judge Doom in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." 

Lloyd strikes me as an actor who's in the field for the joy and love of being an actor. He doesn't strike me as someone who's in it for fame and all that entails. Rather, I wouldn't be surprised if he takes on any role that he deems enjoyable and expressive. 

Thankfully, "Spirit Halloween" has an hour and twenty-minute run time. So, it doesn't overstay its welcome. It gets to the point, hits a climax, and then ends.

I love how the title includes the phrase "the movie." It brings to mind the days of pop culture cinema from my own youth when intellectual properties and such got the movie treatment. Writers sold the novelty to audiences by calling their movies, "the movie." 

"Garbage Pail Kids: The Movie," "Superman: The Movie," "The Transformers: The Movie," "Twilight Zone: The Movie," "Jetsons: The Movie." Though that's still a practice with movies titles, it has a sense of nostalgia to it. 

I predict "Spirit Halloween: The Movie" will pop up some twenty years from now as a cinematic oddity when people will recall "that Halloween store movie." Maybe then it will have some appeal for the novelty it is. And it is a novelty. Otherwise, it's just a bland experience. I got nothing out of it. It didn't even arouse a desire to head to my nearest Spirit Halloween. 

216) The Raven (1935)

"I will not be tortured! I tear torture out of myself by torturing you!"

Director

Lew Landers

Cast

Boris Karloff - Edmond Bateman
Béla Lugosi - Dr. Richard Vollin
Irene Ware - Jean Thatcher
Lester Matthews - Dr. Jerry Halden

Samuel S. Hinds - Judge Thatcher
Spencer Charters - Col. Bertram Grant
Inez Courtney - Mary Burns

Though I'm nearly done watching my way through Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe movies, beginning with "The House of Usher" and eventually finishing with "The Tomb of Ligeia," I wanted to shift my gaze for a moment to an earlier movie based on Poe's poem, "The Raven." Die-hard fans of my blog will recall my comments on Corman's movie, "The Raven" from 1963. Well, this is an earlier movie based on the same poem.

The movie begins as a young dancer named Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) is injured in a car accident. Her fiancé, Dr. Jerry Halden (Lester Matthews) desperately tries to convince Dr. Richard Vollin (Béla Lugosi) to operate on Jean's cranial nerve roots which were damaged in that accident. Vollin is a retired neurosurgeon who, frankly, has no concern or care when it comes to the suffering and needs of others. In fact, he's a blatant sadistic madman but he certainly keeps that tidbit of personal information to himself. On top of all that, he doesn't want to come out of retirement just to help Jean. 

Jean's father, Judge Thatcher (Samuel S. Hinds) appeals to Vollin's narcissism to convince him help his daughter, and Vollin agrees.

A month goes by. Jean is pretty much recovered by then. But Vollin has some major infatuation with her. 

While she's at his house, he advances on her, but she refuses and tells him she needs to get going.

Vollin is a fan of Edgar Allan Poe. So, as a personal thank you for his help, upon her stage return Jean performs some kind of performative solo dance routine as "The Raven" is recited.

Her dad thinks Jean is starting to fall in love with Vollin. He asks Vollin not to give off any false impressions that would give his daughter the idea he's interested. Little does he know that Vollin actually has it bad for Jean. 

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in "The Raven."

When Judge Thatcher catches wind of Vollin's feelings, he demands that he back off so his daughter can marry Jerry. 

While all this is going on, a bank robber named Edmond Bateman (Boris Karloff) pays Vollin a visit. He asks him to construct a new face for him as he's hiding from the law after murdering some prison guards while escaping San Quentin. 

As payment, Vollin asks Bateman to carry out a chore for him that involves murder!

Bateman is apprehensive about this as he doesn't want to be a violent criminal anymore. He blames his life of misdeeds on the constant ridicule he's endured all his life. 

Vollin agrees to work on his face. However, he actually disfigures his face even more forcing Bateman to bend to Vollin's will. Only Vollin can repair the intentional damage done.

Anyhow, Jerry convinces Jean to spend a weekend at Vollin's estate despite her dad's wishes to win some favor with the prestigious doctor. Some other guests are also supposed to spend the weekend there. 

Bateman acts as Vollin's valet, and freaks out all the guests with his hideous face. Little do they know of Vollin's sinister plans for them, and that Bateman is reluctantly in on it. Of course, the mistreatment they give him makes him more willing to help Vollin carry out his evil intentions of intentional cruelty for the mere pleasure of it. 

While the guests, which includes Jean's father, don't treat Bateman very well, Jean apologizes to him for being so disturbed by his hideous appearance. This act of kindness softens Bateman quite a bit. 

Judge Thatcher doesn't trust Vollin and wants to leave. He's only there to keep an eye on him while his daughter is around. But Jean and Jerry don't take his concerns seriously. 

During the late-night hours, Vollin takes Judge Thatcher against his will down to a dungeon where he keeps a secret collection of torture devices. 

He straps Thatcher to a table in order to reenact Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum." 

Bateman knocks out Jerry before Vollin takes Thatcher so he can't help him. 

When he awakens and goes down into the dungeon with Jean to find her father, Vollin has plans for them, too. And they walk right into his trap.

"The Raven" is the third film in a trilogy of Edgar Allan Poe-based movies from Universal. It follows 

"Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1932) starring Bela Lugosi, and "The Black Cat" (1934) starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. 

"The Raven" director, Lew Landers, directed some other horror flicks after 1935 including "The Boogie Man Will Get You" (1942) which stars Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre, both of whom star in Corman's "The Raven." He also directed "Return of the Vampire" (1943) which stars Bela Lugosi. Otherwise, he has a mix of genres in his filmography - sci-fi, westerns, mysteries, adventure flicks. Landers has also done some early T.V directing including two episodes of the "Adventures of Superman." He has quite a resume. He made quite a shock fest with "The Raven." 

This movie is not so much based on "The Raven" by Poe. Rather, it's suggested by Poe's poem. Clearly! Rather than make a movie adaptation of Poe's poem, it's used as a bridge for the villain to get closer to the protagonist. It's certainly better than Corman's trippy version. 

Universal's version is a dark and grim movie that doesn't overstay its welcome. In fact, for a horror film, it's a satisfying story despite straying far from Poe's work. Bela Lugosi fits as an insane and twisted doctor. For a horror movie from the 1930s - a time where caution was practiced much more when it came to decency - this movie doesn't pull any horrific punches. Granted it carries some cliches such as being set in a big dark house on a dark and stormy night. But the premise involving surgery adds to the uneasiness the movie brings overall.  

"The Raven" is a classic for horror fans thanks to the underrated performance from Lugosi and Karloff, who clearly channels his inner-Frankenstein's monster which he performed only four years prior. I think if it wasn't for Lugosi and Karloff, the film would fare as well. All in all, it's entertaining.