SANTO Y BLUE DEMON CONTRA LOS MONSTRUOS (1970) | The Wildest Lucha Libre Horror Movie Ever?

SANTO Y BLUE DEMON CONTRA LOS MONSTRUOS (1970) d. Gilberto Martínez Solares (Mexico)

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In 1970, Mexican cinema delivered one of its most delightfully chaotic spectacles with Santo y Blue Demon Contra Los Monstruos, a film that perfectly captures the wild, genre-blending energy of the lucha libre boom. Starring two of Mexico’s most iconic masked wrestlers, El Santo and Blue Demon, the movie drops its legendary heroes into a plot that’s equal parts classic horror, sci-fi pulp, and pure wrestling fantasy. It’s a world where monsters roam freely, mad scientists hatch improbable schemes, and every problem can be solved with a well-timed flying drop-kick.

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) 4K Blu-ray Review

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) d. Terence Fisher (UK)

Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), imprisoned and awaiting judgment, recounts to the local priest the dark path that led him to his fate. A brilliant, driven, amoral young scientist, Victor is obsessed with mastering life and death. With the reluctant assistance of his former mentor Paul (Robert Urquhart), he assembles a living creature from stolen body parts, convinced he is on the verge of a world-changing breakthrough. As Victor’s quest comes closer to fruition, his fiancée Elizabeth (Hazel Court) senses a disturbing shift in him, while the duplicitous maid Justine (Valerie Gaunt) grows increasingly frustrated with Victor’s waning attentions. Paul desperately tries to pull Victor back from the brink, but the reanimated being (Christopher Lee) proves far more dangerous and unpredictable than anyone could have expected.

CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980): The Most Controversial Found-Footage Movie Ever Made!

CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) d. Ruggero Deodato (Italy)

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Despite its reputation as one of the most controversial exploitation films ever made, Italian director Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust (1980) occupies an unexpectedly important place in cinema history. Its blend of documentary aesthetics, media-critique, and staged “found footage,” anticipated techniques that would later become mainstream, showing up in everything from reality television to modern horror franchises.

HAMMER IN 1960: BRIDES OF DRACULA, TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL, HELL IS A CITY, AND MORE!!

BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) d. Terence Fisher (UK)
THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL (1960) d. Terence Fisher (UK)
NEVER TAKE SWEETS FROM A STRANGER (1960) d. Cyril Frankel (UK)
HELL IS A CITY (1960) d. Val Guest (UK)

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Celebrated for its distinctive brand of horror and suspense, Hammer Films has left an indelible mark on British cinema and influencing filmmakers around the world. The year 1960 was especially significant for Hammer, as it was a time when the studio was solidifying its identity as a horror juggernaut, but also experimenting with genres, and pushing the boundaries of storytelling, atmosphere, and visual style. Tonight, we’ll focus on four films from that year: Brides of Dracula, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, and Hell is a City. Each representing a different facet of Hammer’s evolving approach, from Gothic horror and psychological thrillers to socially conscious drama and gritty crime narratives.

SCARE-A-THON 2025 FINAL RESULTS!!!

And that, my Autumnal Aficionados and Allies, brings us to the end of Scare-A-Thon 2025 and yet another OCTOBER HORROR MOVIE CHALLENGE!

In its humble origins, the Challenge itself has always been to watch (at least) one fright flick for each of those glorious 31 days that make up the month of October, 16 of which being first time viewings. In 2010, I launched the annual Scare-a-Thon to coincide, raising funds and awareness for various charities and organizations along the way. 

With this being the 15th installment, I wanted to try something a little different: Rather than simply watching movies and reviewing them as in years past, I held interviews with a wide assortment of fellow fright fans, highlighting the community itself alongside these movies we hold so dear. It turned out to be a marvelous experiment!

Thanks to the generous hearts and minds of fans like you, over $7,700 has been raised for the INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE, with additional funds still coming in, making this the most successful Scare-A-Thon EVERRRRRRRR! (The fundraiser link will remain open for another week, so if you would like to make a donation, there is still time!)

**CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW!!**

Thanks to all my guests who showed up at all hours from across the globe to chat on the HORROR 101 with Dr. AC YouTube channel, as well as everyone who participated in some way, whether it be making a contribution, liking a Facebook/Instagram post, watching or listening to a partner podcast, leaving a comment, suggesting a movie, attending our Terror Tuesdays lectures at the Chicago Public Library, or even just sharing what YOU were watching this month.

Below are the 18 "official" Scare-a-Thon events (with links to the episodes), as well as a list of the various horror titles viewed for the October season. Before we get to that, however, there is the usual assemblage of useless factoids to ponder while you're thinking ahead to next year's costume.

Have fun!

CHALLENGE STATS:
Total Movies Watched: 33
First Time Views: 16
Total Scare-A-Thon Donations: $7,722

THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) Turns 40: Why We’re STILL Hungry for Brains!!

THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) d. Dan O’ Bannon (USA)
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II (1988) d. Ken Weiderhorn (USA)
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3 (1993) d. Brian Yuzna (USA)
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD: NECROPOLIS (2005) d. Ellery Elkayem (USA)
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD: RAVE TO THE GRAVE (2005) d. Ellery Elkayem (USA)

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With a nod to undead kingpin George A. Romero (courtesy of a story credit from Night of the Living Dead co-writer John Russo), medical warehouse worker James Karen (Poltergeist) reveals to protégé Thom Mathews (Friday the 13th: Part 6) that NOTLD was actually based on a true story, stemming from a reanimating chemical, 2-4-5 Trioxin. And wouldn’t you know it, there just happens to be one canister left downstairs. Before you can say, “don’t touch thates ar,” corpse rising from their graves, licking their moldering lips, and unlike the lumbering shamblers of old, these zombies move with a purpose.

TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975) Turns 50: The Legacy of a TV Horror Classic!!

TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975) d. Dan Curtis (USA)

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Trilogy of Terror, the beloved horror anthology movie from producer/director Dan Curtis starring Karen Black, premiered on ABC television March 4, 1975. Curtis was already a household name, having created the legendary vampire soap opera Dark Shadows, as well as The Night Stalker, the highest-rated made-for-television movie released at the time, alongside well-received adaptations of Dracula and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (both starring Jack Palance). So when he hired the legendary Richard Matheson to adapt three of his short stories, it seemed like a can’t-miss proposition.

Tobe Hooper’s LIFEFORCE (1985) Turns 40: Nude Space Vampires & The Apocalypse!!

LIFEFORCE (1985) d. Tobe Hooper (USA/UK)

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Based on Colin Wilson’s novel, The Space Vampires, a team of astronauts encounter a ship lodged within the head of Halley’s Comet and discover three impossibly beautiful humanoid creatures, two male, one female, encased in coffin-like crystalline blocks. And, as any genre film fan can predict, as soon as they get these strange creatures back to earth, blocks are going to crack and heads are going to roll.

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN & WEREWOLF OF LONDON: THE UNIVERSAL LEGENDS TURN 90!

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) d. James Whale (USA)
WEREWOLF OF LONDON (1935) d. Stuart Walker (USA)

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Tonight, we open the creaking doors to celebrate a pair of Universal classics that both turn 90 this year: Werewolf of London and Bride of Frankenstein, released in that golden year of genre cinema, 1935. While not always mentioned in the same breath, these two films mark an important moment in Universal Pictures’ legendary horror cycle, one building on an already iconic legacy, and the other attempting to carve out a new path through uncharted territory.

THE CHANGELING (1980): ONE OF THE BEST GHOST STORIES EVER MADE!!

THE CHANGELING (1980) d. Peter Medak (Canada)

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Tonight we’re discussing The Changeling (1980), Peter Medak’s stellar haunted house tale which usually takes a back seat to the big-budget envisioning of Stephen King’s The Shining, released the same year. But in many ways, this small Canadian film, loaded with creepy atmosphere and tightly fashioned suspense sequences, surpasses the ax-swinging histrionics that Kubrick and Co. dish out.

MARIO BAVA'S BLACK SUNDAY (1960) UNMASKED – The Italian Gothic Horror Boom Begins!

BLACK SUNDAY (1960) d. Mario Bava (Italy)

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Tonight we’re discussing Mario Bava’s Black Sunday (aka The Mask of Satan) (1960), one of the most atmosphere-drenched cinematic forays into the supernatural. Marrying the feel of the Universal classics with the darkness of a Grimm fairy tale, and adding in the gorier and sexier feel of the rising Hammer color Gothics, this tour-de-force directorial debut introduced the world to Italian DP Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace, Black Sabbath) and scream queen in the making Barbara Steele (Castle of Blood, The Long Hair of Death), both becoming genre superstars overnight.

SCARE-A-THON 2025: IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Hello, friends and fellow fiends!

Yes, believe it or not, SCARE-A-THON turns 15 this year, having raised nearly $50K for over a dozen organizations in that time. In honor of the occasion, I decided to do something a little different. In the spirit of bringing folks together, instead of our usual walk-a-thon approach (pledging per movie), we're going old-school TELETHON style (look it up, kids), with a grand array of guests enticing you to break out the checkbook!

Throughout October, an amazing group of amazing horror-themed organizations and individuals are collaborating with the INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE, helping people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives. (Their current focus is the situation in Gaza, for obvious reasons.) 

You can donate to IRC RIGHT NOW: https://irc.donordrive.com/campaigns/SCARE-A-THON-2025

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) 40th ANNIVERSARY – Revisiting the '80s Vampire Horror Classic!!!

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) d. Tom Holland (USA)
FRIGHT NIGHT PART II (1988) d. Tommy Lee Wallace (USA)
FRIGHT NIGHT (2011) d. Craig Gillespie (USA)
FRIGHT NIGHT 2 (2013) d. Eduardo Rodriguez (USA)

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Written and directed by Tom Holland, 1985’s Fright Night is a genre-blending horror-comedy that combines classic vampire lore with 1980s suburban paranoia. The story follows teenager Charley Brewster, who suspects his suave new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige, is a vampire. When his girlfriend Amy and best friend Ed dismiss his fears, Charley turns to horror host Peter Vincent to save the day... and the night.

40 YEARS OF DAY OF THE DEAD (1985): THE ROMERO ZOMBIE CLASSIC!

DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) d. George A. Romero (USA)

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Following up one of the biggest worldwide horror sensations was no easy feat for writer/director George A. Romero. When the sequel to Night of the Living Dead, 1978’s Dawn of the Dead, turned out to be even more successful and arguably just as influential, other doors opened for the horror icon. But when it came to concluding his zombie opus, budget limitations forced him to scale back his original vision for what would ultimately come to be known as Day of the Dead.

GIANT MONSTERS OF 1955: TARANTULA, IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, & KING DINOSAUR!!

TARANTULA (1955) d. Jack Arnold (USA)
IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955) d. Robert Gordon (USA)
KING DINOSAUR (1955) d. Bert I. Gordon (USA)

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Tonight, we step back seventy years to 1955—the cusp of the golden age for giant monster cinema, as atomic anxiety crept from the headlines onto the silver screen, mutating into monstrous metaphors that stomped, crawled, and slithered into our collective imagination. We’ll look at three emblematic 1955 films - Tarantula, It Came from Beneath the Sea, and King Dinosaur - and explore how their monsters weren’t just fanciful products of science fiction, but also reflections of Cold War fears, rapid technological advancement, and the uneasy relationship between scientific progress and military might.

HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986) | Defending the True Crime Horror Classic

HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986/1990) d. John McNaughton (USA)

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Tonight we take a look back at one of the most disturbing and uncompromising horror films ever made: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Loosely inspired by the real-life confessions of Henry Lee Lucas, John McNaughton’s debut feature is relentless in its refusal to offer comfort, catharsis, or a triumphant finale of good over evil. Originally slapped with an X rating, which made it nearly inaccessible for years, Henry is no ordinary '80s slasher. And what it lacks in graphic cinematic splatter, it makes up for in atmosphere and dread.

MASTERS OF HORROR: SEASON 1 - LOOKING BACK AT 20 YEARS OF MOH!!

MASTERS OF HORROR (2005-2007) was a horror anthology series like none before, making its small-screen bow on the cable channel Showtime in October 2005.

Created by Mick Garris, the show brought together some of the most renowned names in horror filmmaking to direct hour-long episodes that showcased their unique visions. Predating the wave of multi-voiced anthology films like V/H/S and ABCs of Death, each episode was a self-contained story, with genre icons such as John Carpenter, Dario Argento, Tobe Hooper, Stuart Gordon, John Landis, Joe Dante, and Don Coscarelli, alongside newer voices such as Lucky McKee and Takashi Miike, exploring different themes and scenarios ranging from supernatural terror to the murderer next door.

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The idea behind the series emerged from informal dinners hosted by Garris, with established horror directors sharing ideas and mutual admiration for one another, as well as discussing the genre’s rich history and diversity.

JAWS (1975) TURNS 50: THE GREATEST (FISH) STORY EVERY TOLD!!

JAWS (1975) d. Steven Spielberg (USA)
JAWS 2 (1978) d. Jeannot Szwarc (USA)
JAWS 3D (1983) d. Joe Alves (USA)
JAWS: THE REVENGE (1987) d. Joseph Sargent (USA)

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From its harrowing opening sequence to the breathtaking climax, Steven Spielberg’s hugely successful masterpiece of suspense and thrills, JAWS (1975), scared audiences out of the water and into theaters in record-breaking numbers. On the surface, the plot is simplicity itself: The locals of the northeastern island town of Amity start turning up as fish food when an enormous great white shark materializes, leaving fear and body parts in its wake.

RE-ANIMATOR (1985) AT 40: GREEN, GOO, GUTS, AND GAGS!!

RE-ANIMATOR (1985) d. Stuart Gordon (USA)
BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR (1990) d. Brian Yuzna (USA)
BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR (2003) d. Brian Yuzna (Spain)

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Stuart Gordon’s debut feature Re-Animator is a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek blend of horror, sci-fi, and dark comedy that helped define the splatter subgenre of the 1980s. Loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft’s serialized novella and set at the fabled Miskatonic University, the wildly intense Herbert West (deliciously played by Jeffrey Combs) embarks on a series of experiments to bring the dead back to life—with increasingly chaotic and outrageous results.

THE BUNNY GAME (2011) Blu-ray Review

The Bunny Game (2011) d. Adam Rehmeier (USA) (76 min)

A down-on-her-luck prostitute’s (Rodleen Getsic) painful existence takes a serious left turn into Hell when she is abducted by a psychotic trucker (Jeff Renfro) who chains her in the back of his 18-wheeler to do with as he pleases. It’s a 76-minute assault on the senses and the soul, one that injects moments of such incredible intensity and honesty into its opening act that when I first viewed the film in 2013, I had already cleared a spot for it on my list of “most impressive releases of the year” before it had reached the 20-minute mark.

FULCI'S FINEST? CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD aka THE GATES OF HELL (1980) TURNS 45!!

CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (aka THE GATES OF HELL) (1980) d. Lucio Fulci (Italy)

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Tonight we're returning to the eerie and bonkers world of Italian horror with a film that defies conventional storytelling — Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead, known to American audiences as The Gates of Hell. Following up on the success of Zombie the year before, City of the Living Dead marked a turning point in Fulci’s career, steering him away from the multitude of genres he had previously worked in, into the surreal, apocalyptic horror that would ultimately come to define his legacy within the genre.

PEEPING TOM (1960) – THE CONTROVERSIAL CLASSIC TURNS 65!!

PEEPING TOM (1960) d. Michael Powell (1960)

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A provocative psychological thriller and a daring exploration of voyeurism, Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom tells the story of Mark Lewis, a withdrawn cameraman filled with deep pain and dark secrets. Powell’s brilliant examination of the human urge to look, but not be seen looking, turns Mark’s camera into both weapon and mirror.

MANIAC (1980): 45 YEARS OF SWEAT, SPLATTER, SLASHERS, AND SPINELL!!

MANIAC (1980) d. William Lustig (USA)

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Wildly controversial and undeniably influential, Maniac (1980) is one of the most unsettling slasher films of the early 1980s. Directed by William Lustig and starring Joe Spinell - who also co-wrote the screenplay - Maniac follows Frank Zito, a deeply disturbed and isolated man driven by trauma, navigating the grim streets of New York City.

BATTLE ROYALE (2000) – THE J-HORROR CLASSIC TURNS 25!!!

BATTLE ROYALE (2000) d. Kinji Fukasaku (Japan)

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One of the high water marks of dystopian cinema, Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale takes place in a near-future Japan where a class of 42 students are forced by the government to fight to the death on a remote island. Blending social commentary with extreme violence, Battle Royale critiques government authority, youth alienation, and the sensationalism of media.

THE VAMPIRES OF 1970 (COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE LOVERS, DARK SHADOWS, DRACULA, NUDE VAMPIRE)

COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970) d. Bob Kelljan (USA)
HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS (1970) d. Dan Curtis (USA)
THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) d. Roy Ward Baker (UK)
COUNT DRACULA (1970) d. Jesus Franco (Spain)
THE NUDE VAMPIRE (1970) d. Jean Rollin (France)

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1970 was a landmark for vampire cinema. No longer confined to fog-shrouded castles or Victorian settings, vampires were reimagined through the lenses of filmmakers across the U.S. and Europe, allowing the vampire mythos to explore shifting cultural and political attitudes with more sex, skin, and blood on full display. Tonight we’ll be looking at five significant films released that year, each offering a unique and transgressive spin on the undead.