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.

UNWRAPPING THE MUMMY!!! (1932, 1959, 1999)

THE MUMMY (1932) d. Karl Freund (USA)
THE MUMMY (1959) d. Terence Fisher (UK)
THE MUMMY (1999) d. Stephen Sommers (USA)

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One of the most enduring classic horror archetypes, The Mummy has appeared on film almost since the inception of cinema, with numerous silent efforts preceding Universal's landmark production in 1932 starring Boris Karloff.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939) / (1959): A CLASSIC REBORN!!

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939) d. Sidney Lanfield (USA)
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959) d. Terence Fisher (UK)

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Though not the first fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes is arguably the best-known. Over 25,000 stage adaptations, films, television productions, and publications have featured the detective, and Guinness World Records lists him as the most portrayed human literary character in film and television history. Tonight, we’ll be celebrating two film versions of Arthur Conan Doyle’s celebrated sleuth’s oft-adapted tale, The Hound of the Baskervilles.

HAMMER HORROR: THE GORGON (1964) / THE REPTILE (1966) Round Table!!!

THE GORGON (1964) d. Terence Fisher (UK)
THE REPTILE (1966) d. John Gilling (UK)

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By the mid-1960s, Hammer Studios had exhausted its supply of classic Universal monsters, with vampiric counts, stitched-together reanimated corpses, lycanthropic curses, and bandaged Egyptian shamblers all present and accounted for. In response, the creative teams dug out their tomes of Greek mythology and exotic travel guides to conjure two original monsters, both – coincidentally or not – featuring female creatures levying doom on the locals.

COUNTESS DRACULA (1971) Blu-ray Review

Countess Dracula (1971) d. Peter Sasdy (UK)

Despite the slightly misleading title (no actual bloodsuckers ever show up), there is one very good reason to check out Synapse’s latest DVD/BR release of Countess Dracula and her name is Ingrid Pitt. Though the previous year’s The Vampire Lovers will likely remain her greatest onscreen triumph within the eyes of the horror faithful, the buxom and charismatic Polish-born actress sinks her unfanged teeth into the role of the notorious real-life Erzebet Bathory (or Elisabeth Nadasdy, as she’s called here) with equal gusto.

HANDS OF THE RIPPER (1971) Blu-ray Review

Hands of the Ripper (1971) d. Sasdy, Peter (UK)

In the waning days of the Hammer heyday, the studio cranked up the flesh and the blood in an attempt to hold the attention of their horror fanbase. Even their Dracula and Frankenstein flagship franchises were losing their allure for audiences to a bevy of scrappy independent efforts who were willing to shed more blood and show more flesh. After enjoying success with their trio of sassy Karnstein bloodsuckfests (The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire, and Twins of Evil), they danced out a pair of Jack the Ripper-themed costume dramas in 1971: the gender-bending Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde and the (slightly) more grounded Hands of the Ripper, which posits that the offspring of Springheel Jack, traumatized by the sight of her mother skewered in front of her, will grow up to be a ticking time bomb primed to plunge sharp implements into tender flesh.

DEMONS OF THE MIND (1972) movie review

Demons of the Mind (1972) d. Sykes, Peter (UK)
As Hammer struggled to keep pace with the times, it conjured this odd little Gothic curiosity piece focused on the twisted goings-on of the Zorn family and their supposedly cursed bloodline. Robert Hardy (best known as the elder vet on All Creatures Great and Small) is the doomed patriarch who keeps his young adult children (Shane Briant, Gillian Hills) secreted away from the world, fearing for their safety...or is it the safety of others he is concerned with?

THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012) movie review

Woman in Black, The (2012) d. Watkins, James (UK)

Hammer’s latest offering envisions Daniel ("don't call me Harry") Radcliffe’s legal beagle as an epically grieving widower (which works quite well considering the cloud of death and pain that hangs over the Crythin village populace), and the hostility he encounters from both the locals and the estate’s long-dead vengeful spirits only increases our empathy toward him. Screenwriter Jane Goldman offers a worthy riff on Susan Hill's novel, complemented by director Watkins’ solid atmospheric work, although the most effective moments are not the ones seemingly designed to appease a modern day audience (now you see ‘em now you don’t CGI ghosts, big aural jump scares) but the "classic" slow burn spooking sequences (gazing down long hallways, silent climbs up and down foreboding staircases). Ultimately, I admired the period effort more than loved it, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Is it likely to leave lasting memories and have you looking under the bed? Probably not, but it's among the better studio-based genre efforts and ranks just below Let Me In and Wake Wood as far as Hammer's recent output. (I'd rank them 3 for 4, with The Resident being the only true disappointment under Simon Oakes 21st century stewardship.)