THE MUMMY (1959) Blu-ray Review

The Mummy (1959) d. Terence Fisher (UK) (86 min)

In 1895, archaeologists Stephen Banning (Felix Aylmer) and his brother-in-law Joseph Whemple (Raymond Huntley) unearth the opening of Egyptian princess Ananka’s tomb, much to the excitement of Banning’s son John (Peter Cushing), who is laid up with a broken leg but refuses to leave the site until his father breaks the seal. A local follower of the god Karnak, Mehemet (George Pastell), cautions the Westerners with a dire warning: “Whomever disturbs the tombs of Egypt… dies.” They shrug him off, but within moments, Banning is rendered a gibbering idiot after his encounter with… something. Three years later, ensconced in a mental hospital, he emerges from his stupor long enough to warn his son that the curse of Ananka is real, and is shortly thereafter dispatched by the murderous hands of the princess’ guardian mummy, former high priest, and forbidden lover Kharis (Christopher Lee), resurrected by Mehemet. Whemple is next on the bandaged assassin’s hit list, followed by John, although the latter escapes his fate when his wife Isobel (Yvonne Furneaux) distracts Kharis with her striking resemblance to Ananka, awakening a centuries-old fire in its dessicated breast….

MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL (1957) Blu-ray Review

Monster from Green Hell (1957) d. Kenneth G. Crane (USA) (71 min)

Dr. Quint Brady (Jim Davis) and colleague Dan Morgan (Robert E. Griffin) are performing the usual 1950s cinematic scientist duties of space exploration, researching the effects of cosmic radiation on a few animal test subjects (including wasps, monkeys, and crabs) by firing them in three, count ’em, three rockets into the stratosphere. Unfortunately, one of the capsules goes off course, disappearing from the radar although the “computer” determines that it will probably land somewhere “in Africa.” Sure enough, six months later, there are reports arising from an area known as Green Hell, already treated with much apprehension from the locals, that SOMETHING has arrived so unnerving that birds refuse to nest in the trees and herds of elephants (and other stock footage wildlife) steer clear. Oh, and one of the tribe has been killed by a predator that injected so much venom into its victim that resident white doctor Dr. Lorentz (Vladimir Solokoff) is stumped. Brady and Morgan FINALLY mount an expedition to track down their stray rocket to see if there is a connection. Surprise, surprise, there is, to the tune of mammoth radiation-mutated wasps buzzing, stinging, and strangling their helpless prey, and it’s up to our heroic Western eggheads to clean up the mess.

ON THE 3RD DAY (2021) Blu-ray Review

On the 3rd Day (2021) d. Daniel de la Vega (Argentina) (85 min)

Enrique (Gerardo Romero) answers a mysterious phone call, telling him to bring a certain item to Santa Cruz, with it “hopefully being the last time.” Elsewhere, Cecilia Amato (Mariana Anghileri) and her son Martín (Octavio Belmonte) are taking a spontaneous road trip. These two disparate individuals literally collide one fateful night, with Cecilia waking up three days later in a deserted building with no idea how she got there and, further, no idea where Martin is. When a kindly service station agent brings her to hospital, she immediately falls under suspicion of having done harm to her child by the local police (Osvaldo Ventura) as well as her ex Fernando (Diego Cremonesi). But her doctor, Hernan Pastori (Lautaro Delgado), believes there’s something unusual about Cecilia and tracks her down after she escapes the house of healing, offering to help her remember what transpired and hopefully recover her boy.

THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER (1982) Blu-ray Review

The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) d. Albert Pyun (USA) (100 min)

Titus Cromwell (Richard Lynch), frustrated by noble King Richard’s successful defense of Ehdan, ventures to Tomb Island and resurrects a terrifying master of the black arts, Xusia of Delos (Richard Moll). With the wizard’s help, Cromwell crushes his foes then attempts to murder his newfound ally before Xusia can regain his full powers. Meanwhile, Richard’s young son Talon, who witnessed the murder of both his parents at Cromwell’s hands, escapes into exile, eventually becoming a highly profitable and respected mercenary. 11 years later, rebellion is brewing, with the Ehdan people championing Prince Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale) to reclaim the throne, with his faithful and spirited sister Alana (Kathleen Beller) by his side. Cromwell captures Mikah, whereupon Alana entreats Talon (now played by Lee Horsley) to take up his three-bladed sword against their mutual longtime enemy and rescue her imprisoned sibling.

MY DEAR KILLER (1972) Blu-ray Review

My Dear Killer (1972) d. Tonino Valerii (Italy/Spain) (100 min)

While investigating an unsolved kidnapping, an insurance agent is killed in most dramatic fashion, lifted up and then decapitated by a small steam shovel engaged to dredge a small pond. When the lethal heavy machinery operator is found hanging dead in a country barn, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide… until the clever and handsome Inspector Luca Peretti (George Hilton) demonstrates that the driver could not have killed himself. Thus begins Peretti’s descent into the infamous and newly-reopened “Maroni case,” complete with a tangled and ever-increasing web of suspects and victims, with the hopes that he can eventually get home in time to make love to his sexy doctor girlfriend (Marilù Tolo).

SILENT NIGHT (2021) Blu-ray Review

Silent Night (2021) d. Camille Griffin (UK) (92 min)

With Michael Bublé blaring through the soundtrack, far-flung school chums converge on the moneyed country homestead of Nell (Keira Knightly) and Simon (Matthew Goode) for the Christmas holiday. (Well, it's Nell's mom's place, but who's counting?) Her posh friend Sandra (Annabelle Wallis) arrives with her soft-hearted and soft-bodied husband Tony (Rufus Jones) and holy terror offspring Kitty (Davida McKenzie) in tow, while their other classmate Bella (Lucy Punch) sails along with partner Alex (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), taking odds as to how long before one of them needs to drink themselves into a stupor. The final party to arrive is dignified doctor James (Sope Dirusu) with his younger girlfriend Sophie (Lily-Rose Depp), who have a rather portentous announcement to make. Rounding out the crew are Nell and Simon’s eldest son Art (Roman Griffin Davis) and their younger twins Thomas (Gilby Griffin Davis) and Hardy (Hardy Griffin Davis), all of whom swear like longshoremen and add lively color to the proceedings. This eclectic cast of characters squeeze in tight for an evening of “truth, forgiveness, and love,” a holiday they will never forget.

Because it’s the last one they will ever see.

"Wait... what?"