101) Tales from the Crypt (1972) - The More Horror There is...

Horror Anthologies! The More Horror There is....  

Now that I got my first 100 horror movies out of the way, I intend to watch a lot more! And by " a lot more" I mean checking out horror anthologies for my next bunch of reviews. Call me a glutton for punishment. There's a lot of them out there. These are multiple tales of terror calculated to drive audiences mad packed into one movie. 

I love these kinds of movies generally speaking. Movies and TV shows with multiple tales to tell always keep me coming back for more- The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Tales from the Darkside, Monsters, Tales from the Crypt, Amazing Stories, etc.

While I've seen a lot of these shows, I haven't seen nearly as many horror anthology movies. I've only reviewed a small few on here - Trilogy of Terror and Quicksilver Highway. The latter is part of my look into not-so-popular movies or series based on Stephen King stories which I wrote up back in 2019.

So, now that I've reach 100 horror movies, I'm continuing on with movies that offer double or triple the horror stories. 

I've wanted to dedicate a portion of reviews to horror anthologies. I do have my favorites. I made a list of 22 titles to pick from. I don't know if I'll do all 22. I'll certainly try. 

I'll call these reviews "The More Horror There is..." And we'll start with a horror anthology I've wanted to check out for a long time, but never have...until now. 💀 

"Who's next? Perhaps...you?"

Director

Freddie Francis

Cast

And All Through the House

Joan Collins - Joanna Clayton

Martin Boddey - Richard Clayton

Chloe Franks - Carol Clayton

Oliver MacGreevy - The maniac

Reflection of Death

Ian Hendry - Carl Maitland

Susan Denny - Mrs. Maitland

Angela Grant - Susan Blake

Poetic Justice

Robin Phillips - James Elliot

David Markham - Edward Elliot

Peter Cushing - Arthur Edward Grimsdyke

Wish You Were Here

Richard Greene - Ralph Jason

Barbara Murray - Enid Jason

Roy Dotrice - Charles Gregory

Blind Alleys

Nigel Patrick - Maj. William Rogers

Patrick Magee - George Carter

George Herbert - Greenwood

Harry Locke - The cook

 

...And All Through the House from
The Vault of Horror no. 35.

I'm a fan of EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Weird Fantasy and The Haunt of Fear. There's a lot of these types of comics that EC and other publishers produced back in the 1950s and later. My most favorite publication that popped out of the mind of Bill Gaines, former Co-Editor of EC, is Mad Magazine. 

The history behind Mad, which got its start as a satirical horror comic called Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad, is another story for another day. And one I could go on and on about.

Anyhow, I love those chilling stories, and maddening tales, and vaults and crypts full of horrific, over-the-top gritty and grimy fiction. My stash of such comics consist of reprints published in the 1990s save for my boxes of Mad. Those are originals. 

Each issue of Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Shock SuspenStories [sic], and the rest of the horror titles, created by Al Feldstein, features a "Crypt Keeper" or "Old Witch" or a "Vault Keeper" - some unsettling sinister story teller to move the issue along - and consists of multiple tales of horror which are often far fetched. Other times, they are insane yet somehow plausible. Either way, it's horror at its best, straight from the jugular vein. 

I found the entire HBO series of the same name, based on the EC comic books, on DVD for a reasonable $28. Of course I bought it. While watching season after season, I was reminded that there are a few movies that stem from the series - Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995), Bordello of Blood (1996), and Ritual (2002). I haven't watched any of these. At least, not yet.

What I didn't know was that before the HBO series and its subsequent film spin-offs, two movies based on the comics had already been released from the country that gave the world Hammer horror films - Britain.

Tales from the Crypt came out in 1972, and was followed by a sequel, The Vault of Horror the following year. I'll get to that one later.

Actually, both films are part of a string of anthology horror movies from the 1960s to the 1970s from British Film Company, Amicus Productions.

The series starts with Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965), and continues through Torture Garden (1967), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Asylum (1972) and the last film, From Beyond the Grave (1974).

Tales from the Crypt features five tales of terror all told as a group of five strangers tour some old catacombs. 

As they get lost, they find a hidden chamber. Inside, torches are lit, and there's five seats set up for each one of them.

The Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson) emerges, and details one by one how each of them is going to die. 

Each of their deaths is a story for the audience to watch. The stories are all pulled straight from the pages of the comics. 

The first segment tells the story of a deranged maniac dressed as Santa Claus who's on the loose. 

Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) has just murdered her husband when she hears of this escaped killer. 

As she tries to hide her husband's body, clean up the evidence, and keep her young daughter asleep in bed as she eagerly awaits Santa's visit, the maniac ends up outside her home and tries to break in. 

She uses this dire situation as a way out of getting caught by the police. She can just blame the maniac. 

Joan Collins and Oliver MacGreevy in the story And All Through the House.

As Joanne tries to call the police, her daughter let's the maniac in thinking it's really Santa Claus. 

It's the same story told in the HBO series, season one - episode two, also under the title And All Through the House. The original story is from Vault of Horror issue no. 35. I think the HBO series did the story much better as the maniac actually looks like a deranged, insane, and threatening maniac. In this movie, the maniac just strikes me as a dopey old man who's certainly not threatening in the least. That's not to say this earlier version is terrible. It makes the scenario much more realistic.

One small detail I found unsettlingly eerie is the Christmas song God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen playing as she attempts to clean up her husbands blood and dispose of his remains.

Blind Alleys is the fifth story of the film, pulled from the pages of Tales from the Crypt issue no. 46. 

A home for the blind receives a new director, Maj. William Rogers (Nigel Patrick). Rather than do what he can for the sake of the residents, he uses his position as a means to live luxuriously at their expense. 

One of the residents, George Carter (Patrick Magee - A Clockwork Orange) pleads with Rogers to improve the living conditions for the residents, but Rogers ignores him and uses the home's funds for his own sake. 

So, Carter and the other blind tenants decide they've had enough of this new director, and revolt. They put him in an isolation cell for a few days without food nor water. In the meantime, they create a maze outside his cell which only leads to torture and pain. Though he can see, this forces him into their world of uncertainty.  

The same story is told in season six of the HBO series under the title Revenge is the Nuts. It's also my favorite segment in the film.

The most notable part of the entire movie is Peter Cushing's role as Grimsdyke in the segment, Poetic Justice.

In this story about a smear campaign towards an innocent and misunderstood neighbor, Cushing's character is a man who lives by himself and is otherwise a happy individual. He owns several dogs, and entertains the neighborhood children. 

When I think of Cushing, three particular movie roles come to mind - his role as Dr. Van Helsing in The Horror of Dracula (1958), his role as Victor Frankenstein in The Curse of Frankenstein (his first lead role) and his role as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). He plays them as serious and focused characters. 

In this movie, he plays a character that's innocent, nearly juvenile, likeable and fun-loving. 

Wish You Were Here is a variation of W.W. Jacobs's famous story, The Monkey's Paw. It stars notable British stage, screen, and television actor, Roy Dotrice, who among many notable roles plays Leopold Mozart in the movie Amadeus. 

The story Reflections of Death, from Tales from the Crypt issue no. 23, is a twisted one regarding a dream coming true. Personally, I found this to be the least memorable story. 

The style and feel of the EC Comics peeks through every one of the segment's manner of storytelling. It lingers from story to story. 

The horror is spread on in the right quantity. It's in the scenarios that make us uncomfortable. It lurks in the story details like an evil creature sneaking behind secrets. It can't hide itself.  The stories leave room for the audience to imagine themselves in these frightening situations. All the audience can do is watch and consider what they would do in these predicaments. It makes them squirm and pray they never have to experience what they're watching. 

Peter Cushing as Grimsdyke.

The distinct feel and style of the EC comics is there. Though the stories are  over-the-top in the comics, they're presented realistically and not as far fetched in this movie. It takes talented writing and acting to pull off the believability. With such notable and highly acclaimed actors in the film (Joan Collins, Richard Greene, Barbara Murray, Roy Dotrice, Peter Cushing, Nigel Patrick, and Patrick Magee) it's no surprise the movie can pull off such a feat. 

This movie doesn't cut corners. 

Even though its source material are these old comics that have a price of 10 cents printed on the cover, the stories are treated respectfully with effort and high-end talent.  

I'm sure as a fan of these tales and such, I found it more enjoyable than I suspect others not acquainted with the comics might. Perhaps many will find the movie more on the dry side. 

But audiences don't need to be fans of the EC comics to enjoy this horror anthology. Watching it reminded me of the days of watching movies down in my parent's TV room near our basement, on a 1978 12 or 19 inch Sears Solid State color TV. I think that's what we had? It was something similar to that, anyways. It was the kind of television that gave a mid-range hum when you turned it on, and had those rabbit ears, and a brightness, contrast, and volume dial. And it crackled when you turned it off. Outside of a cinema, this setting is the perfect one for Tales from the Crypt. 

100) The Monster Squad (1987) - The Last Nostalgic Horror Rental

"One hundred years before this story begins, it was a time of darkness in Transylvania...a time when Dr. Abraham Van Helsing and a small band of freedom fighters conspired to rid the world of vampires and monsters, and to save mankind from the forces of eternal evil. They blew it!" 

Director

Fred Dekker

Cast

Andre Gower - Sean Crenshaw

Robby Kiger- Patrick

Brent Chalem - Horace

Ryan Lambert - Rudy

Ashley Bank - Phoebe Crenshaw

Michael Faustino - Eugene

Leonardo Cimino - Scary German Guy

Duncan Regehr- Count Dracula

Tom Noonan - Frankenstein's Monster

Jonathan Gries - The desperate man/ The Wolfman

Tom Woodruff - Gillman

Michael Reid MacKay - The Mummy

Jack Gwillim - Abraham Van Helsing

The weekend before Halloween, I found a DVD collection of Abbott and Costello's four "meet the monsters" movies. This was a great find for sure. During Halloween week, I wanted to introduce my two oldest kids (six and five years old) to these classics.

I put on Abbott and Costello's second "monster" movie Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) for us to watch together. Well, it's their third if you want to count Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949). 

After about 15-minutes, both kids were bored. 

As they're well aware of the classic Universal Monsters, and my daughter has a bit of a liking to Frankenstein's Monster mainly from depictions in cartoons and children's books, I asked if they'd rather watch Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). 

They nodded and so I put it on. 

Both kids, and for the most part, my two-year old, sat and watched the entire movie.

At the end, I asked them if they liked it or not. The oldest said "no" because he didn't like Frankenstein's Monster. Everyone's a critic, I guess. And my daughter just gave some silly answer because, well, that's just how she reacts to all inquiries imposed on her. Silly answers require no commitment later on. 

Regardless, they stayed tuned in until the end. 

This was their true introduction to a monster movie. More specifically, this was their introduction to the classic Universal Monsters - Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Wolfman. All three star in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. 

While I first watched Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein when I was around 12-years old as my dad had a VHS copy, it wasn't my introduction to the same monsters. 

My introduction to those monsters, and to horror in general, came thanks to the 1987 "horror comedy" The Monster Squad from 1987.

Actually, to be honest, I can't say with absolute certainty this was my introduction to the genre as growing up with three older brothers, I had seen bits and pieces of some heavier horror flicks such as A Nightmare on Elm Street part 3: Dream Warriors, Day of the Dead, and Friday the 13th Part ?. They rented movies like these which my innocent eyes had no business seeing at such a young age. But I saw parts, and that was enough. The damage was done. And now I have this blog.

The Monster Squad is a horror movie my parents allowed me to rent back in my youth. And it's one I really liked as a kid. I consider it to be truly my gateway into the genre. 

For years I thought I was one of the lucky few who knew about this movie, and appreciated it as I didn't know anyone else growing up that enjoyed it, or much less ever watched it.

It wasn't until I saw horror enthusiast and critic James Rolfe's review of The Monster Squad for his annual 31-day horror review series "Monster Madness" on his site, cinemassacre.com, back in 2007 that I realized this movie developed quite a fanbase since its bleak and abysmal release in 1987.  

Since then, I've noticed that its popularity has really peaked, even leading to a 2018 documentary Wolfman's Got Nards, directed by Andre Gower who plays the protagonist Sean in the movie. I watched half of the documentary last week, and I need to finish that.

The movie opens in Transylvania 100 years prior to 1987 where vampire hunter, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Jack Gwillim, Clash of the Titans) and a group of vigilantes charge into Count Dracula's castle to put an end to his vampiric reign of evil.

They're met with a female vampire sucking the blood out of a dead animal. Gross!

Andre Gower (left) and Robby Kiger.

As they start their attacks, the ground shakes and splits open. Living-dead corpses rise out of the floor to attack. 

In the center of the room is a powerful amulet. 

The vampire hunters bring in a young virgin girl to read an incantation that will open a portal to limbo in order to expel Dracula and his evil minions for ever. 

The portal opens, but things go wrong.

Cut to present day 1987.

A group of pre-teens who share a love of monsters and monster movies have a small club, "The Monster Squad," with Sean Crenshaw (Andre Gower) as their club leader. He's the biggest fan out of them all.

Sean has a six-year old sister Phoebe (Ashley Bank) who desperately wants to join her brother's club. 

Otherwise, the club is just Sean and his standard token friends. There's the overweight and often teased kid, Horace (Brent Chalem), Sean's second-in-command, Patrick (Robby Kiger), the little kid and club side-kick, Eugene (Michael Faustino) and the tough older kid, Rudy (Ryan Lambert). Rudy is kind of a weird character. I'll get to him later. 

Sean's mom, Emily (Mary Ellen Trainor), gives him a book she finds at a garage sale. It turns out to be the diary of Van Helsing. Lucky find!

Unfortunately for Sean, it's written in German. 

The only German-speaking person he knows in town is a reclusive old man who lives alone in Sean's neighborhood. 

The kids in town refer to him as "scary German guy" (Leonardo Cimino). 

But Jack is determined to get the contents of Van Helsing's diary translated. And much to his surprise, "scary German guy" isn't actually scary at all. He's a friendly German guy who's more than willing to assist Sean and his club. It's also subtly revealed that he's a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, so he knows a thing or two about horrifying monsters.

Meanwhile, Dracula (Duncan Regehr) steals Frankenstein's monster while it's being flown in a B-52 Mitchell. 

He also summons his monster cohorts - the Wolfman, Gillman (aka the Creature from the Black Lagoon), and the Mummy. 

They meet up at the lagoon where the Gillman dwells, and Dracula brings Frankenstein's monster (Tom Noonan) back to life. 

The Wolfman, played by Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite), is not the faithful follower Dracula assumes he is. When he's not transformed into a werewolf, he calls the police to warn them of Dracula's plans of bloodshed and world domination. Of course, they don't believe him.

Dracula is seeking the amulet he once possessed 100-years ago in order to take control of the world. 

Van Helsing's fighters had taken the amulet and hidden it out of Dracula's reach. 

He finds it buried in the wall of a the stone basement within an abandoned house in town. It's the same secret room were Van Helsing's diary was also found. Dracula takes up residence right there and turns it into his abode. 

Crucifixes surround the amulet along with words inscribed throughout preventing Dracula from simply taking it. 

The Monster Squad break into the house, and take the amulet, barely escaping Dracula's grasp. 

This royally pisses off the Count. With the help of his monster cohorts, along with three school girls whom he transforms into vampires, Dracula sets out the get back the amulet at any cost. 

He commands Frankenstein's monster to kill the children who took it, and get it back.

But the monster isn't necessarily keen to follow those orders. 

It becomes a race against time for the Monster Squad to find a virgin to recite the incantation to open the portal and suck the monsters into Limbo.

Dracula is a very intimidating presence on the screen thanks to Regehr's portrayal. Being a classically trained Shakespearean actor, I'm sure that has something to do with his performance.

Duncan Regehr as Count Dracula resurrects Frankenstein's 
monster (Tom Noonan) in The Monster Squad. 

Even Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula manages to convey a somewhat likeable persona for the infamous vampire. That's due to the way Lugosi gives him a cunning gentleness when he's not sucking the life out of some innocent victim. Of course, the audience can see past his false persona. They know he's completely void of all sanctifying grace. But the characters are fooled by his sexy and debonair characteristics. 

Regehr throws all that gentleness out. While dawning the classic Dracula look with the traditional black cape, old school tuxedo, slicked back hair and hissing, Regehr makes him a real badass. He's pure evil and Regehr doesn't hold back to let it show. I truly believe his Dracula should be on a pedestal leveled with other notable portrayals - Lugosi, Max Schreck from Nosferatu, and Christopher Lee in the Hammer Horror films. I mean, Regehr's Dracula straight up calls little Phoebe a "bitch" to her face. Not even Pennywise the child-eating clown did that!

In the documentary about the making and fandom of The Monster Squad, Ashley Bank who plays young Phoebe in the movie, says she was terrified of Regehr while on set. 

Andre Gower mentions that on the first take of the scene in which Dracula picks Phoebe up by the chin and demands she give him the amulet, little Phoebe was so scared that she lost her breath and couldn't scream. Dekker needed her to throw out a long scream, which she did in the second take. And that's the take used in the film.

There are some weird continuity moments in the movie. For instance, when Dracula recovers the crate with Frankenstein's Monster submerged in the swamp, and the other creatures gather around him, including the Mummy, the scene then switches to young Eugene's room (the kid wearing the Confederate cap for some reason). Eugene tells his dad there's a monster in his closet. Of course, his dad doesn't believe him and mockingly humors his son by opening the closet door to show his son nothing is in there. But he doesn't see the Mummy standing inside.

So, the way the scene comes across is that the Mummy participated in resurrecting Frankenstein's Monster, and then shuffles off to hide in a random seven-year old's bedroom closet. 

When his dad leaves, we see the Mummy having just crawled back out through the bedroom window and walking away. Why the hell did he bother to hide in there in the first place? He was in the closet. Did nothing except scare Eugene - accidentally, no doubt. And then left. 

While at the swamp with Dracula and the rest of the monsters, did he think to himself, "After this, I'll go find a kid's closet to hide in, hang out there for a bit,"? 

The movies biggest problem is its writing. 

For instance, only a virgin can read the words that'll open the portal. But the Monster Squad assumes the virgin must be female. These young boys struggle to find a virgin when, obviously, they're virgins themselves. No where in Van Helsing's diary does it specify the gender of said virgin. I don't recall that detail, anyways. I know it's a cliché in old horror movies that any needed virgins always seem to be female. Why? I suppose it's sexier that way, I guess?

Also, inside the Squad's treehouse, they have a camera pointed towards Patrick's older sister Lisa's room so they can watch her as she changes.

Rudy accidentally takes a picture of Lisa in her underwear while watching her through the zoom lens. He decides to use the photo of her as blackmail, as she claims she's a virgin, by posting copies around the school in order to get her to recite the words necessary to open the portal. So now the Squad is lacking in moral or ethical code just like Dracula. Aside from fighting monsters, now there;'s less for young audiences to aspire to when watching this squad that aims to do good. One of them is willing to blackmail his own sister in the worst possible way just to accomplish their goal. That's pretty evil.

And Rudy, who's the token cool guy with his slick black hair, leather coat, sunglasses, and cigarettes is clearly much older than the rest of the kids. They're in junior high while he's obviously in high school. Yet, he eagerly wants to be a part of their Monster Squad. It strikes me as awkward that a junior in high school like Rudy would be so eager to join a "monster club" made up of seventh or eighth graders. 

Ashley Bank as Phoebe with Tom Noonan as
Frankenstein's Monster.

Otherwise, considering the classic monster atmosphere, monster movie clichés are needed to maintain that classic tone. The classic monster movies gave birth to all those standards used in The Monster Squad. If the writers used monsters they made up themselves, then those same clichés would make the movie unimaginative and dull. Otherwise, impressively, they fit in well here. While watching these classic villains, those classic elements are expected.

The actors give their all in this movie, especially Jonathan Gries, Tom Noonan, Duncan Regehr, and the child actors, especially Ashley Bank. 

Mary Ellen Trainor, who plays Sean's mom, is an actress seen in a generous handful of 1980s movies such as The Goonies, Ghostbusters II, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Romancing the Stone and Back to the Future II. She is the quintessential movie mom. Trainor sadly passed away in 2015.

For a movie aimed at kids, it doesn't hold back. That accounts for the PG-13 rating.

And the look of the Gillman is fantastic and superb. Great love and care went into paying the proper homage to these Universal Monsters through their depictions. It's like a small love note to the golden years of horror. 

Monster movie fans, and those nostalgic at heart, will find The Monster Squad fun and enjoyable despite its flaws. The love for classic monster movies still shines through.

I think this is my last nostalgic horror rental for the year.  

This is the movie that did for me. I didn't know it then, but I know it now - The Monster Squad was my introduction to Hollywood's foundational monsters, Dracula, the Mummy, the Wolfman, Gillman, and especially Frankenstein's monster. 

The Monster Squad has a Scooby Doo style to it with all the kids chasing monsters. Kids and teenage protagonists were all the trend in the 1980s in movies. So The Monster Squad certainly has a spot among such teen adventure sci-fi and/or horror movies like The Goonies, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Bill &Ted's Excellent Adventure, and Teen Wolf.

Maybe I should have made this movie my first review on this blog. I'm happy with my decision to put it in a place of honor that is my 100th horror movie review. 

My set deadline for this post was Oct. 31. But broken deadlines help build anticipation. So, you're welcome!
And I never forgot that Wolfmans' got nards! Thanks to The Monster Squad, his junk is now canon. 

99) Arachnophobia (1990) - A Nostalgic Horror Rental

"A web would indicate an arachnid presence."

Director

Frank Marshall

Cast

Jeff Daniels - Dr. Ross Jennings

Harley Jane Kozak - Molly Jennings

Julian Sands - Dr. James Atherton

John Goodman - Delbert McClintock

Brian McNamara - Chris Collins

Henry Jones - Dr, Sam Metcalf

Stuart Pankin - Sheriff Parsons

In his stand-up comedy special, I'm Telling You for the Last Time, Jerry Seinfeld says "I know I will never be able to understand how a woman can take boiling hot wax, pour it on her upper thigh, and rip the hair out by the roots...and still be afraid of a spider."

From now until the end of time, millions of people will just never be able to comfortably share this world with spiders. And so spiders have been, and continue to be, the subject of a lot of horror. Hollywood has certainly harnessed their fear factor in movies such as Tarantula (1955), Earth vs. The Spider (1958), Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), Ice Spiders (2007) and Itsy Bitsy (2019).

For me, the one spider-horror movie that seems to stand out above the rest is Arachnophobia. 

It was released through Disney-owned Hollywood Pictures back in 1990.

The last time I saw Arachnophobia was back in the early nineties sometime.

It hit theaters towards the end of the classical slasher era which makes it a bit of a unique picture.

According to Sotiris Petridis's book Anatomy of the Slasher Film: A Theoretical Analysis, this particular subgenre stretches from 1974 to 1993. It's followed by the self-referential slasher era (1994 to 2000) and then the neoslasher cycle (2001 to 2013). But that's all another topic for another post.

Horror movie franchises were stretching themselves thin by the the start of the nineties as producers were attempting to attract audiences with the same old monsters for the fifth or sixth time. Friday the 13th part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers were all released the previous year. Child's Play 2 was one slasher flick that came out the same year as Arachnophobia. 

So, at the time of its release, Arachnophobia was certainly something practical and much less outlandish in the horror genre. In other words, it's a creature feature in the truest meaning of the term that doesn't rely on blood, guts, and homicidal maniacs in hockey masks or dream demons to freak out audiences.

Arachnophobia begins in a South American jungle as entomologist James Atherton (Julian Sands, Warlock) is leading a small team to search for a species of spider that has remained undisturbed by humans for centuries.

He finds two huge spiders that he identifies as being a prehistoric species. And they're both very aggressive. 

Atherton believes they belong to a hive of spiders acting as soldiers for a queen spider.

Nature photographer, Jerry Manley (Mark L. Taylor), is on the exploration with Atherton. When they get back to their camp, Manley goes to rest in his tent as he has a fever. Little does he know that a male spider found its way into his backpack. The spider crawls out into his tent, and makes its way under his sheets as he rests. 

It sinks its fangs deep into Manley's leg, sending him immediately into a seizure which kills him.

Atherton sees to it that Manley's remains are sent back to his hometown of Canaima, California. 

Little does anybody know that one of these spiders hitches a ride inside his coffin. 

By the time Manley's body gets to the local mortuary, it's completely desiccated. The spider had plenty to feed on during the trip.

The hitchhiking spider escapes the mortuary undetected, makes its way outdoors, and is picked up by a hungry crow.

Jeff Daniels searching for the spider's nest in Arachnophobia.

The spider bites the bird in mid-flight causing it to fall out of the air and onto the property of the town's soon-to-be new physician, Dr. Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels). 

Jennings just moved his family to Canaima from San Francisco to take over the medical practice of the town's retiring doctor.

The spider takes up shelter in Jennings's barn, mates with a house spider, and spins one hell of a web much to the displeasure of Jennings who suffers from a severe fear of spiders. 

Soon, it lays a ton of eggs as spiders tend to do. And like those Atherton found in South America, the newly hatched spiders spread out from their nest in a web formation to dominate the area. 

Soon, residents around town begin dying, one by one, after encountering these spiders.

At first, Jennings and others are clueless as to the circumstances behind these deaths. But after an autopsy of the victims, which local old local doctor and the sheriff protest to, Jennings finds bite marks on the deceased bodies. He remembers that Manley had been part of an expedition in South America, connects the dots, leading him to Atherton. 

Jennings contacts Atherton for assistance, and soon, a group of locals including the town's exterminator, Delbert McClintock (John Goodman) are out to fight these deadly arachnids. 

The presence of John Goodman really kicks the movie up several notches. He plays a fun character who refers to himself as "infestation management." His business-as-usual persona amidst the community's deadly infestation really makes his supporting role superb comic relief. He fits perfectly into the setting. 

His lines of expertise in the field of pest control and annihilation made me laugh. 

In one scene where he's discussing the spider situation with Jennings, he tells the doc that spiders would find his barn "a tad breezy this time of year. In that respect, spiders are a bit like you and me. No, I frankly doubt there are any spiders in your barn."

"Well, I frankly know there is, Delbert, I saw a web! There is a web in my barn," Jennings replies.

Delbert pauses a moment.

"...a web would indicate an arachnid presence."

Later, when he's introduced to the sophisticated Atherton, Delbert introduces himself and says "always nice to meet a colleague." 

Otherwise, he's a guy who collects beer cans, including "a rare '74 Miller Lite with a misprint on the label. Only a hundred or so cans in circulation."

Julian Sands' character is semi-pompous but not a bad character. His role is crucial as he knows what he's getting into. Usually, the common horror trope is the mean guy will get what's coming to him. Atherton isn't cruel to his collection of rare spiders. He treats them with the respect such poisonous spiders deserve. I wasn't expecting his fate towards the end. Oh...oops. Um... spoiler

Sometimes less is more. All it takes to make Arachnophobia creepy and unforgettable is its simplicity of being a movie about spiders. They don't need to be oversized mutated spiders. Sure, they kill a few people. But they terrify much more because, as we all can attest to, those damn spiders hide anywhere and everywhere. I've seen spiders crawl out of sink and bathtub drains. I also saw a huge wasp crawl out of my bathroom sink drain once, oddly enough. That sucker was long and huge. 

What Arachnophobia has is a very plausible story. That's what makes it chilling. Realism. This is the kind of movie that leaves lasting images in the minds of audiences, like clusters of spiders covering the walls of a house. This movie is what a creature feature ought to be.

I'm nitpicking when I mention the film's obvious use of mechanical spiders, but real spiders are used alongside those fake ones. The way those real arachnids are used is truly impressive.

One thing I don't like is the way the spiders hiss when they jump or throw their front legs in self defense. That aspect is unintentionally funny, cliché, and a completely unnecessary. 

The ending of the film felt rather uncharacteristic of the spiders after its explained that the species will spread out like soldiers on order from their general. But I don't want to lambast it too much as a movie like this needs an unsettling climax that encompasses the entire feel of the film. So, in that regard, it definitely succeeds.

The fear factor of this story is segmented in two parts which is common among classic creature features.

The first half delivers fear of the unknown. People are dropping dead around town, and nobody knows why. The audience is in on it, but the characters are clueless at first. That much is gripping. How will anyone know what's really going on? 

The second half comes when someone finally finds the scary monster (the spiders, in this case). Now the fear shifts as the characters face off against the deadly threat. How are they going to deal with it? How can the possibly attack all these small but deadly spiders that are spread all over the town? They can be anywhere! 

On top of that, Jennings suffers from an acute fear of spiders. The audience can really put themselves in his shoes as he finds himself surrounded (quite literally in the end) by what he fears most. The audience doesn't have to be afraid of spiders to feel what Jennings is feeling, but they have to be afraid of something. For me, it would be wasps, especially a swarm of them. 

Director Frank Marshall, who has produced and directed some truly memorable films, kicked off his motion picture directorial debut fantastically with Arachnophobia. He makes sure the audience gets plenty of up-close looks at those creepy spiders, with their fangs, multiple eyes, and all.

In some instances, all we're treated to are spider silhouettes. We know where the spiders are. One is in the lamp shade. One is behind the toilet. Another is hiding in the somebody's slipper. What we don't know is what they're going to do. There's a few surprises in these creepy crawly tropes.  

John Goodman as Delbert McClintock in Arachnophobia.

Though the movie has lots and lots of spiders, it doesn't feel over done.

The squirms will come. Those that are squeamish will certainly bury their eyes. All it takes is some brown, hairy spiders to do so. The movie's poster depicts the premise perfectly - one tiny spider dangling predominately over a wide open town. Again, sometimes less is more. I was actually going to watch another movie for my 99th review - the 1980 mystery horror The Changeling with George C. Scott. But that fell through. I'll have to review it later. 

Oh, and the trailer for Arachnophobia calls it a "thrill-omedy." Thankfully that's a word that died as soon as it was coined. 

I believe good horror movies can act as a way for someone to face their fears. They can act as a sort of how-to guide for confronting what frightens someone most. Arachnophobia is a perfect example.

So, I'll throw this into my pile of favorites.

NEW HORROR RELEASES - 98) The Muppets Haunted Mansion

"Oh, please...let them rest in peace."

Director

Kirk Thatcher

Cast

Will Arnett - The Ghost Host

Yvette Nicole Brown - Hearse Driver

Darren Criss - The Caretaker

Taraji P. Henson - Constance Hatchaway

Kim Irvine - The Maid

Dave Goelz - voice of Gonzo

Bill Barretta - voice of Pepe

I don't think it's a revelation to say the Muppets have never been quite the same since their creator, Jim Henson, passed away in 1990. That's not necessarily the fault of the Jim Henson Company nor Disney which currently owns the franchise.

To Disney's credit, they've been working to keep the Muppets alive and well, and in front of audiences as best they can despite the best years of Henson's creations being behind them.

The successful Muppet Show, which really made their popularity skyrocket, ran for five seasons from 1976 to 1981. It still holds up today. 

Subsequent programs came along after the success of The Muppet Show but didn't have quite the staying power.

His show The Jim Henson Hour ran for one season on NBC in 1989. It has a similar style to the classic TV anthology series Walt Disney Presents. Henson hosts the show and offers audiences a look behind the scenes to show off new innovations and ideas.

After that, the Muppets returned to prime time television with Muppets Tonight in 1996. New characters were introduced. Some of which have stuck around the Muppet Studios to this day. And much to the show's credit, it won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding children's program. 

It has a similar variety show format as The Muppet Show but is certainly more updated in style. Muppets Tonight ran for two seasons on ABC. The show was purchased by the Disney Channel, which ran a few more episodes not seen on ABC.

After several years, the Muppets made a sort of television comeback on ABC with the show The Muppets. It's a docu-style (or mockumentary, as it's often called) sitcom much like The Office. The writers switched the variety show theme with a late night show motif hosted by Miss. Piggy. 

The series, which ran for one season, follows the behind-the-scenes office work of the Muppets. And like most of their past programs, this series features regular guest stars.

I found it somewhat entertaining, but the laughs definitely didn't follow too many of their jokes.  

The streaming service Disney+ airs the current series Muppets Now which premiered in 2020. I've only seen the first two episodes. It consists of multiple segments in an unscripted style viral video or web series format.

Despite all the best efforts, I don't think the Muppets will ever have quite the spark and spirit that they possessed when Henson was running the show. But that's not to say they're no longer entertaining nor completely lost their humor. 

Now, with the Halloween season upon us, Disney decided to pair the Muppets with one of their classic Disneyland attractions, the Haunted Mansion. 

The Great Gonzo and Pepe the King Prawn as themselves 
in The Muppets Haunted Mansion.

The Muppets Haunted Mansion aired Oct. 8 on the streaming service Disney+ and brings together two of my favorite things. Not only do I enjoy the Muppets (The Great Muppet Caper being my favorite of their movies), but as a fan of whatever is considered spooky, the Haunted Mansion is for sure my favorite Disneyland attraction. So, I was excited to sit and watch this new special.

The story centers on Gonzo and Pepe the King Prawn. 

In stead of attending the annual Muppet Halloween party, Gonzo and Pepe decide to head over to a fear challenge event over at a haunted mansion.

Gonzo is excited as its the same mansion his favorite magician, "the Great MacGuffin," had mysteriously disappeared from 100 years ago. 

They're escorted over to this event in a hearse driven by Yvette Nicole Brown. 

When they arrive, they immediately run into a groundskeeper (Darren Criss) and his scrawny looking dog. Soon, they encounter several ghosts popping up from the cemetery on the grounds, along with singing busts as seen on the ride at Disneyland. 

After a catchy song from the groundskeeper and the ghosts manifesting around them, Gonzo and Pepe make their way into the mansion where they're greeted by their "ghost host" (Will Arnett).

The host tells Gonzo he's been summoned to the mansion in order to see if they can survive one over-night stay within. 

If they can, they're welcomed to leave the next morning. If not, he and Pepe will be doomed to stay inside the mansion... forever! (Cue thunderclap.) 

Gonzo is sure of himself that he fears nothing. Pepe, meanwhile, is terrified by everything he encounters within the mansion.

After exploring the house, and encountering several ghosts who resemble the other Muppets back at their Halloween party, the "ghost host" tells Gonzo that to survive the mansion he has to face his fears in room 999. 

It's the first Halloween special to feature the Muppets. And though it's not the sort of horror I've been reviewing here, it has ghosts and talking prawns and such, so...it counts.

The Muppet Haunted Mansion reminds me a bit of another Muppet special - A Muppet Family Christmas. This aired on ABC back in 1987, and is truly one of the best Holiday TV specials out there as it brings all the characters from Jim Henson's mind - Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and the Muppet Babies - into one special.

Like A Muppet Family Christmas, this Halloween special doesn't have much of a storyline. Actually, it doesn't necessarily need any big story. Rather, it has just enough to move things along and keep the audience invested. Otherwise, the self-aware humor as the Muppet characters react and interact with the familiar ghosts of the haunted mansion is the stuff of classics.

In true Muppet fashion, celebrity guests are sprinkled throughout without stealing the spotlight from either the ghosts nor Kermit and his pals. 

It's worth mentioning actor Ed Asner's appearance as one of the mansion's happy haunts, making it his final work as he passed away in August, 2021.  

Director Kirk Thatcher has worked with the Muppets before, and quite successfully. He worked as supervising producer on Muppets Tonight. He directed the Muppets' Bohemian Rhapsody YouTube video in 2009 which won the "Viral Video" category at the Webby Awards. Thatcher also directed the Muppets' Jungle Boogie and Kodachrome music videos. Their first Halloween Special was certainly in good hands.

Will Arnett as "the Ghost Host". 

The songs in this special are catchy, and the jokes garner laughs. In particular, the running joke about timing which involves a skeleton and mummy attempting bolster the fear of the moment had me laughing.

But most significantly, the special works with the Muppet's self-aware humor, breaking the fourth wall, as Gonzo and Pepe interactant with all the familiar Haunted Mansion scenes and characters. 

Disney Imagineer Kim Irvine has a cameo as a maid, and shares a scene with Miss. Piggy who plays the psychic medium, Madame Leota, who conjures the spirits from within her crystal ball. 

It's a significant cameo as her late mother, Leota Toombs, portrays Madam Leota in the séance scene during the Haunted Mansion ride. Nice touch, Disney!

Nothing in the Haunted Mansion is left ignored. Fans of both the attraction and the Muppets are surely going to get what they want out of this TV special, especially as it travels through the whole ride. It doesn't drag on, and none of it feels overdone. It's a fun watch and certainly one of the better Muppet programs around.

97) Little Shop of Horrors (1960) - A Nostalgic Horror Rental

"It grows like a cold sore from the lip."

Director

Roger Corman

Cast

Jonathan Haze - Seymour Krelborn

Mel Welles - Gravis Mushnick 

Jackie Joseph - Audrey Fulquard

Dick Miller - Fouch

Myrtle Vail - Mrs. Krelborn

Wally Kampo - Sgt. Joe Fink

Jack Nicholson - Wilbur Force

Charles B. Griffith - Voice of Audrey, Jr.

Gripe from the Editor 😡

I was all ready to publish this post on October 7. I researched a fair bit of information. I had everything nicely arranged. I just needed to proof it one more time. In the process I decided to change up the standard layout a bit by adding a GIF in the middle of the post. 

It didn't look good so I deleted it. This threw off the alignment in the middle of what I had written. When I tried to fix that, the whole article vanished - pictures, links and all. And just as I was about to hit the undo option, autosave decided to kick in. I tried everything I could to restore my article, but nothing worked. I even had the post open on another computer, and that had somehow updated itself to a blank canvas. I even tried searching for a link to the post's preview I had opened earlier. For a writer, nothing is more painful than seeing work disappear with no hope of recovery. So, here's take two. I'm going completely on memory from what I said the first time. It just sucks I had to write this over again. So much so, it's worth griping about.

~

Jonathan Haze as Seymour Krelborn in Little Shop of Horrors.

At some point in my youth, my brother told me about the movie Little Shop of Horrors. Thanks to him, I knew the basic premise involving a man-eating plant. And that's about all I knew. That much was terrifying for young me. In fact, I recall having a nightmare during my youth about what I pictured a man-eating plant to look like. This was before I even saw the movie.

Regardless, I was interested in watching the 1986 Little Shop of Horrors. That's the one directed by Frank Oz and starring Rick Moranis. 

I seem to recall Jack Nicholson being mentioned at some point in the conversation. However, I don't think I caught on to the fact that there are actually two Little Shop of Horrors movies. Aside from the 1986 film, there's an original movie from 1960 directed by "the Pope of Pop Cinema" himself, Roger Corman. 

Needless to say, my young curious mind wanted to see this "Little Shop of Horrors." I somehow talked my mom into allowing me to rent it. I'm guessing I would have been about 10-years old at the time.  

I recall standing in an aisle at California Video (I've mentioned this place several times before) and finding both films side by side on the rental shelf.

One video cassette cover had a picture of Jack Nicholson, grinning his Jack Nicholson grin at the viewer, and holding a potted flower. The shadow behind his flower shaped like a ravenous plant monster showing its piercing sharp teeth. 

The other video had a large plant monster with sharp teeth and a huge tongue sticking out of its gaping mouth as it popped people in like candy. 

I don't recall how or why I couldn't tell these two apart. I was confused as to which one was the version I wanted to see - namely, the more recent one. 

But I picked the Jack Nicholson cover, checked it out, and watched it. And I was disappointed at the choice I made. My 10-year old self wasn't as appreciative of classic films as I am now. 

Still, I watched it regardless. So, Roger Corman's Little Shop of Horrors was my introduction to the franchise.

The story takes place inside the financially struggling floral shop of Gravis Mushnick (Mel Welles), located in the impoverished part of the city called "Skid Row." His shop sees very few customers walking through the doors. 

One of his two employees, Seymour Krelborn (Jonathan Haze), is rather clumsy and often screws up customer orders. He also has a crush on his co-worker, Audrey Fulquard (Jackie Joseph), which is reciprocated. After he makes one more mistake, Mushnick fires him on the spot. 

In an attempt to save his position, Krelborn says he has a special and unique plant that resembles a Venus Fly Trap which he's been trying to care for. 

Krelborn thinks if Mushnick puts this plant, which he affectionally named "Audrey, Jr.," on display, it will surely attract on-lookers with money in their pockets.

He runs back to his apartment, which he shares with his hypochondriac mother Winifred, to fetch Audrey, Jr. 

He claims to have grown his intriguing plant from some seeds he purchased from a Japanese gardener on Central Avenue.

It's already beginning to wilt as Krelborn doesn't know how to properly care for it. 

When he returns to the shop, Mushnick is less than enthused. But he gives Krelborn one week to figure how to bring some life back into his plant.

Later, while alone with his Audrey, Jr., Krelborn accidentally pricks his finger. While shaking his hand in pain from the sting, his blood lands in the open plant. 

Audrey, Jr., reacts in a way making Krelborn realize it wants more blood. 

He starts feeding the plant by pricking his fingers. But as Audrey, Jr., grows, it needs more than what Krelborn can supply from his finger tips.

Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Jonathan Haze, and Dick Miller.

It begins talking and demanding to be fed. 

Its presence in the shop has increased sales. Still, its constant need for food leaves only one path for Krelborn to go down in order to keep the sudden success continuing. 

He doesn't know if he can bring himself to it, but Audrey, Jr., says it'll make it worth his while.

This is an eccentric, outlandish film for sure.

For instance, a lot of the characters have their own weird quirks. 

For instance, Krelborn's mother, Winifred Krelborn (Myrtle Vail) is a hypochondriac. Dick Miller's character, Fouch, enjoys eating flowers. Another of Mushnick's customers, Mrs. Shiva (Leola Wendorff) tells sob stories in an attempt to acquire free flowers. And, of course, the local dentist, Dr. Phoebus Farb, DDS (John Shaner), is in his field for the joy of inflicting pain on his patients. Steve Martin plays the dentist in the '86 film, his character name being Dr. Orin Scrivello. 

The most notable eccentrics in the film is Jack Nicholson's character, Wilbur Force. He visits Dr. Farb because he loves pain like a masochist (in the general use of the term). 

He even reads the latest issue of "Pain" magazine while waiting in the dentist's office. The same character, by the way, is called Arthur Denton in the 1986 movie, and is played by Bill Murray.

But despite the rather over-the-top quirky humor, and obvious low-budget quality, it all still works as an entertaining horror movie. And the gruesome elements aren't watered down.

It comes on like a switch during a scene in which Krelborn witnesses a railroad tramp get hit by a train. 

Since the guy dies from the impact, Krelborn decides to feed his remains to his plant. 

It's worth mentioning that this tramp character is played by Robert Coogan (uncredited in the film). Robert is the brother of Jackie Coogan who played "the kid" in Charlie Chaplin's legendary movie The Kid (1921). Jackie also plays Uncle Fester in the 1960s sitcom The Addams Family. 

When it comes to the comedy, the best lines go to Mr. Mushnick. 

In one scene where he's having dinner with Audrey, Mushnick realizes he forgot his wallet back at the shop. After being chided by the waitress, even before his meal is done, he walks back to the shop to grab some cash. When he gets there, Mushnick witnesses Krelborn feeding Audrey, Jr., severed body parts. 

Shocked, he makes his way back to the restaurant and asks the waitress to bring him whatever kind of booze she can find. 

"Did you bring the money?" she asks. 

"Don't work me with the money. I've got to get drunk, now!" he says. 

The movie's opening narrator is a clearly a spoof of Dragnet, as are the characters Sgt. Joe Fink (Wally Campo) and Officer Frank Stoolie (Jack Warford). They're a rip on Joe Friday and Frank Smith from the classic detective program. This humor might be lost on younger audiences, which certainly isn't the movie's fault. It definitely dates the film, though. 

Some fans speculate that Little Shop of Horrors is inspired by the 1932 John Collier short horror story Green Thoughts about a man-eating plant. 

In his book Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times, author Dennis McDougal thinks it may have been inspired by the 1956 science fiction horror story The Reluctant Orchid  by Arthur C. Clarke. 

Clarke's story is inspired by H.G. Wells's story The Flowering of the Strange Orchid. Wherever the idea stems from, it's now fairly well known.  

Neither version of the film is obscure. The Corman film later became a stage musical in 1982, which is when the popularity really took off. It led to the 1986 musical movie followed by thousands upon thousands of high school and community theater productions. It even became a Saturday morning cartoon called Little Shop that aired on Fox Kids TV for one season back in 1991. 

While the carnivorous plant is named "Audrey II" in the musical version, it's called "Junior" in the animated series. Is that a nod to the Corman original? I'd like to think so.   

Incidentally, the 1986 film has two endings. There's the theatrical ending, and an original ending. The latter is somewhat similar to this movie's ending insofar as Krelborn's fate is concerned. 

I've seen stage productions ending the same way, accompanied by the song "Don't Feed the Plants." There is a lot to say about the Frank Oz film, but that's another post for another time.  

It seems the second biggest claim to fame for this movie is Jack Nicholson's cameo. His appearance on the VHS cover is rather misleading in that not only is his appearance short, but his character never interacts or even appears with Audrey, Jr., in any scene.

And the claim that this is his "first motion picture performance" is simply wrong.

Before his Little Shop of Horrors cameo, Nicholson had in a lead role in the film The Cry Baby Killer (1958), produced by Corman and directed by Joe Addis. 

By the way. he also stars in another well known Corman movie, The Terror (1963) were he appears alongside Boris Karloff.  

Another legend in the horror genre, Dick Miller, has appeared in a large handful of Corman's earlier films such as Apache Woman (1955), It Conquered the World (1956), The Undead (1957). Bucket of Blood (1959), The Terror (1963), and X: The Man With X-ray Eyes (1963) to name a few.

With Little Shop of Horrors, it's not the last time Miller and Jackie Joseph would work with each other. They're both in the Joe Dante films Gremlins (1984) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) where they play Mr. and Mrs. Futterman in both movies.

Little Shop of Horrors is a drive-in style, or late night Creature Feature comedy horror that's fun to watch for its own sake. It's certainly a foundational film, and one that deserves to be on the same pedestal as other such classics like Night of the Living Dead and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Update (10/19/2024)

It's worth mentioning that Jackie Joseph made an appearance on the classic quiz show "You Bet Your Life," hosted by Groucho Marx, back in October 1959, episode #59-02! 

Did she win the big money? Watch and find out. 

96) Frightmare, AKA Horror Star (1983) - A Nostalgic Horror Rental

 "A star in life is a star in death."

Director

Norman Thaddeus Vane

Cast

Ferdy Mayne - Conrad Radzoff

Jennifer Starrett - Meg

Alan Stock - Oscar

Carlene Olson - Eve

Luca Bercovici - Saint

Scott Thomson - Bobo

Donna McDaniel - Donna

Jeffrey Combs - Stu

Leon Askin - Wolfgang

Barbara Pilavin - Mrs. Radzoff

 

When it comes to VHS tapes once hidden amidst the old shelves of the video rental stores of yore, the 1983 supernatural slasher Frightmare definitely fits among them - hidden and overlooked. 

That's kind of how I found this movie. I came across a VHS copy, plastic clamshell and all, in a bin of movies someone donated to my local library. It's a clean copy, and I grabbed it for free. 

Not to be confused with the 1974 British horror comedy also called Frightmare, the 1983 Frightmare is also known as Horror Star.

Various sources on-line give different release dates for this flick. Wikipedia says 1981. Others say 1982. I'm going with the online horror database allhorror.com which says Frightmare was released Sept. 9, 1983. 

Just for kicks, I also checked whether this movie has any DVD releases. It does. 

The weirdos over at Troma Entertainment released Frightmare on DVD in 2005. I also found a double feature copy of Frightmare from East West Entertainment packaged with Vault of Horror (1973), based on the EC Comic of the same name, and which stars the fourth incarnation of Dr. Who himself, Tom Baker. Stay tuned for that!

Before now, I had never seen nor heard of Frightmare so I really went into this blind. I didn't even so much as read the synopsis on the back cover. I went solely on the title and cover art alone. The cover art, by the way, is completely different from the poster I uploaded to this post. The picture on the clamshell can be found here. -----> *CLICK ME* 

So, basically this movie centers on some pesky college drama students, all of whom are huge fans of horror icon Conrad Razkoff (Ferdy Mayne), and then they die. Spoiler warning, by the way!
Actually the plot is a little more detailed than that. 

It starts with Razkoff playing a vampire in a denture commercial. During a shoot, he gets reamed by the director for giving a supposedly bad performance in his little denture ad. 

Razkoff later spots the director sitting on the edge of an outdoor balcony on the second floor going over some notes. Since the director hurt his feelings earlier, and probably gave him a tummy ache as a result, he sneaks up on him and pushes him off with his cane. 

The director dies when he hits the pavement below. 

Afterwards, Razkoff visits the school where these same drama students are enrolled to discuss his past performances in horror films. During his lecture, he passes out from the excitement around him. Or, perhaps he collapses because his feelings are still hurt. I don't know.

Meg (Jennifer Starrett), one of Razkoff's fans, is able to revive him.    

As he's sitting at home in bed recovering from the bad feels and collapsing, one of his former directors, the obese and sweaty Wolfgang (Leon Askin) pays him a visit.

Ferdy Mayne as Conrad Razkoff in Frightmare.

They discuss what will happen after Razkoff dies. In an attempt to fool the director, he closes his eyes and feigns death. And he does it rather well. 

Wolfgang is dumbfounded that Razkoff actually died right in front of him while they were discussing Razkoff dying. So, he takes the opportunity to speak his mind and ridicule the actor for making life difficult for so many years. 

Suddenly, Razkoff lunges at him, smothers him with a pillow, and kills him. 

And soon after, Razkoff dies, too! This time, he really dies. 

After his body is placed inside a mausoleum, those same drama students - Meg, Saint, Bobo, Eve, Donna, Oscar, and Stu - sneak into the cemetery at night and steal Razkoff's body, coffin and all.

They bring it back to their student house where they hold a horror party which includes wearing masks of their favorite horror monsters during dinner, and dancing with the cadaver of Conrad Razkoff. 

Meanwhile, Mrs. Razkoff (Barbara Pilavin) is desperate to find the body of her husband. She consults a medium in order to channel his spirit so he can tell her where he is. 

And this actually works. Meanwhile, the body of Razkoff rises from the dead in a literal explosion, and he seeks vengeance on the students, one by one, who stole and desecrated his body. He even has telepathic powers that he uses to terrify and kill his victims. Once, he uses his telekinesis to set one of the girls on fire. At another time, he makes his coffin float down some stairs and ram another victim to death.  

There's not much to the story. It's very cut and dry.

I'm grateful for the apparent effort within the movie to create something thrilling. Perhaps, time hasn't been friendly to Frightmare causing the frightening aspects, such as the overuse of fog, several close-ups with colored lighting, and awkward low angles when the story grows tense, to come across as unintentionally laughable. 

Mayne deserves applause, though, for pulling off a convincing cadaver amid all the stuff the other actors do to him, such as placing a live raven on his head. Mayne doesn't flinch, breath, smirk, move or blink. That's talent!
The rest of the acting is like watching community playhouse. For many of the actors, they're just getting through their lines and movements. 
There are some inconsistent cutaways which make me wonder who the hell was editing this movie. A few scenes manage to be a little unsettling and gruesome such as one where Razkoff pulls Oscar's tongue out because, evidently, Razkoff doesn't mess around! 

But despite the effort, Frightmare tries too hard to be a bone-chilling flick, using cliché horror elements to do so.
It's truly a standard horror movie offering all the day to day scares that would work just as well inside a haunted house attraction at Halloween. 
The plot could easily be accidental. There are a few scenes where the actors on screen just run around in a panic in the sloppiest way possible as though the director told everyone "just chase each other around the scene in a scary way. We'll provide the fog and constant close-ups, and just see what we get. Ok? Go team!" It's pretty messy.
Frightmare is the quintessential Friday night Creature Feature that used to air on random local stations. Fans of gore might enjoy it slightly more as there's just enough in there to classify it as a slasher. Heads are lobbed off in slow motion. Guilty parties are set ablaze. Others are bludgeoned to death with floating coffins. Movies like this are entertaining enough for a late night thrill, only to be reduced to "that one movie with that guy...what was it called again?" later on.

I don't really know what this movie is trying to be. A horror comedy? A gory macabre chiller?

Despite its low-budget appearance, Frightmare does have a few notable things going for it. 

Actors in Frightmare acting really, really hard! Hot sticky acting
everywhere...on the walls...in the cracks. Everywhere!

It stars a young Jeffrey Combs in his first horror movie debut. Combs since went on to appear in many other, and better, horror movies including well-known titles such as Re-Animator (1985), Bride of Re-Animator (1990), Frighteners (1996) and Would You Rather (2012). 

On top of that, Scott Thomson also stars in this flick. Thomson has appeared in a lot of movies, horror and otherwise, such as Police Academy 1,3, and 4, Ghoulies (1984) Twister (1996), and Jack Frost (1998). 

And Ferdinand "Ferdy" Mayne strikes me as a poor man's Christopher Lee. At least in this movie, he does. 

In fact, Lee and Mayne appear together in the horror sequel, Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985).

But I certainly don't want to dishonor this veteran German-British stage and film actor who has appeared in a lot of films between 1943 to 1995. 

Mayne has shared the screen with many noteworthy actors such as Peter Sellers in The Bobo (1967), Roman Polanski in The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), Ringo Starr in The Magic Christian (1969) Ryan O' Neal in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975), and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer (1984).
Mayne sadly passed away in 1998 at the age of 81. 

The passage of time as turned Frightmare into more of a museum piece as it's Jeffrey Combs' horror debut. And it's a quaint little nostalgic piece of VHS history that surely once warmed the shelf of the horror aisle at any given rental store back in the day. I bet it was often overlooked. In these regards, it's fun to watch.  As a story, I'm not sure what it's trying to be. Despite its best efforts, I was left with a mundane sloppy mess.