A BUCKET OF BLOOD & THE WASP WOMAN: CORMAN QUICKIES IN 1959!!!

A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959) d. Roger Corman (1959)
THE WASP WOMAN (1959) d. Roger Corman (1959)

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The year before he became the American rival to Hammer Studios in the Gothic Horror department with The Fall of the House of Usher (1960), Roger Corman was the reigning "King of the B's" at the drive-ins across the USA, delivering thrills and chills to teenagers young and old. Tonight, we celebrate two prime slices of black-and-white low-budget fare that still manage to deliver the goods: A Bucket of Blood (starring "That Guy" Dick Miller) and The Wasp Woman (with Susan Cabot), both from 1959!

CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL 2014 review round-up!!!

The AC and the BC (Bobcat, rocking an amazing Bigfoot sweater)

Having traveled over hill, dale, oceans, and international borders over the past couple years, I've become a very big fan of the film festival scene. However, this spring, The Doc didn't have to travel any further than his own backyard to indulge in a special slice of pre-release big-screen cinematic goodness.

Created in 2013 by the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), with a program that included Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, Emily Hagins’ Grow Up, Katie Aselton’s Black Rock, Jonathan Levine’s All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, Jason Lapeyre & Robert Wilson’s I Declare War, James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, and the remastered director’s cut of William Friedkin’s Sorcerer, the Chicago Critics Film Festival offers a rich cornucopia of films comprised of recent festival favorites and as-yet-undistributed works from a wide variety of filmmakers. According to their website, the CCFF is the ONLY current example of a major film critics group hosting its own festival (Go Chicago!!!), showcasing works from around the globe and from all genres.

For horror fans, this year's lineup featured some impressive Windy City debuts, including Housebound (which recently won the Audience Award at Scotland's Dead By Dawn Festival), Bobcat Goldthwait's found-footage Bigfoot flick Willow Creek, Tommy Wirkola's follow-up to his 2009 Nazi zombie hit, Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, and Elijah Drenner's celebration of the life and career of one of Hollywood's best-loved character actors, That Guy Dick Miller (shown as a double feature with Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood, one of Miller's rare leading turns).

A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959) movie review

Bucket of Blood, A (1959) d. Roger Corman (USA)

Step right in, Daddy-O, for the coolest combo of comedy and horror to make the scene. At once parody and time capsule, director/producer Corman and screenwriter Charles B. Griffith simultaneously slam and celebrate the “Beat” generation and its penchant for kooky poetry, groovy jazz, hipster slang, and the search for “the next big thing.”