Terrifying Tuesdays: Week Four of My Scary Movie Recommendations from the 1970s-1990s

From Amazon

Time for my final week of scary movie recommendations for the month.  First up is "The Shining" (1980), which is arguably the best known film adaptation of Stephen King's works.  You have two chances to watch it on BBC America on Halloween day, at 2:00 AM and then again at 1:30 PM on the east coast (check local listings for times in your area).   It is also available on a number of streaming services for a fee.

Next on my list is "The Sixth Sense" (1999), the first and probably best known scary movie from director M. Night Shyamalan.  Watch this movie on Halloween day as well, on FX at 8:00 PM on the east coast (again, check local listings for times in your area).  This film is also available on a number of streaming services for a fee.

Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" (1999) is in my opinion one of his best movies and also a great adaptation of the classic tale by Washington Irving.  While not available on TV before Halloween, it is coming up in early November on several networks, and is available on a number of streaming services, some with seven day free trials if you wish to go that route.  If so inclined, you can also read Irving's short story here.

"Tales from the Crypt" (1972), based on tales from mid-century horror fiction comics, is one of the earliest of many horror anthology movies from this time period, and is one of the better offerings.  Another plus for me is that it also stars Peter Cushing in one of the five segments!  This one is currently streaming for free (with ads) on Tubi, or watch it on YouTube here.

I tend to prefer horror films to science fiction, but "Total Recall" (1990) is in my opinion one of the better movies of the genre, not least because of two strong female characters.  The film is based on a short story by well known science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (which you can read here).  While not available for Halloween, you can watch the movie on IFC on November 9th.  It is also available on streaming sites for a price.

Next on the list is the creature feature "Tremors" (1990), which is a fun and effective blend of comedy and horror.  I could not find this one free online anywhere, but of course there are a number of streaming service options.

"Trilogy of Terror" (1975) is a different sort of horror anthology in that it stars actress Karen Black as the main character in all three tales, the most memorable of which is the last one featuring a killer doll.  All of these stories are based on original short works by science fiction author Richard Matheson.  You can watch this movie on YouTube here.

There are two more movie recommendations for my list this month, and I will add them to this post as soon as I put them on the list. This month seems to have flown by, so enjoy the remaining days to come, and have a fun Halloween! 👽👻🎃💀👿

Okay, the next film recommendation has been posted, and it is "The Uncanny" (1977), which is another horror anthology.  This one has three tales, all featuring cats, and I wish I could have posted it yesterday, which was National Cat Day!   Better a day late than never, though, so if you are an ailurophile, you can watch this movie on YouTube here.

My final movie recommendation for the month is yet another horror anthology (that makes a total of seven for the month!).  "The Vault of Horror" (1973) consists of five short stories told by five men who find themselves inexplicably stranded together in a building sub-basement.  This is admittedly not one of the best anthologies, but it is decent enough if you like this sort of film (as I do).  You can watch it on YouTube here.

And this is it for my October movie recommendations from the 1970s-1990s!  I hope you enjoy at least some of them, and I am already compiling my list for next year with movies from the 2000s.  Happy Halloween! 👽👻🎃💀👿

Terrifying Tuesdays: Week Three of My Scary Movie Recommendations from the 1970s-1990s

From Amazon

Week Three of my scary movie recommendations starts with "It" (1990), the television miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name.  I know that the 2017 film is considered very good and is highly recommended, but this version will always be my preference, as it stars many favorite actors from my younger days.  I could not find this free online, but it is available on several streaming sites for a price.

Is there anyone who has not seen or at least heard of the Steven Spielberg movie "Jaws" (1975)?  Based on the Peter Benchley novel of the same name, this film probably kept more people away from the beach than all other reasons combined (and also gave poor sharks a much worse reputation than they deserve).  The movie is always available on cable networks around the Fourth of July, but I could not find it online for free right now, although it is available on streaming sites.

If you are a fan of underwater horror movies, then you should enjoy "Leviathan" (1989).  Workers in a deep sea mining facility are just about to wrap up their mission when they discover the wreck of a Russian ship, with disastrous consequences.  While this one is not available for free online viewing right now, it will be streaming for free on Tubi starting November first.

For a completely different change of pace, watch Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993), a stop motion animated film which is an homage to both Christmas and Halloween!  Spooky and fun at the same time, this movie is suitable for all but the youngest viewers.  It can still be viewed on FreeForm's "31 Nights of Halloween", on October 27th at 5:40 PM and on Halloween Day at 4:40 PM (check your local listings for exact times).

From nightmares to the devil himself, my next movie choice is "The Omen" (1976), an absolutely chilling tale of a Satanic child.   A diplomat and his wife are expecting their first child, only to have it die at birth.  Unbeknownst to the mother, the hospital persuades the father to instead secretly adopt the son of a mother who just died.  After a few years, it becomes all too apparent that this switch was a very bad idea.  You can watch the film on YouTube here.

Next on my list is "Phantoms" (1998), based on a Dean Koontz novel of the same name.  While this movie does not generally receive high ratings, I like it because it is set in a small Colorado town and I first saw the movie when I lived in Colorado.  The setting reminds me of the small town of Ouray, which I passed through once but never had the chance to actually visit, although I would still like to some day.  I think it is very effective as a horror movie, and the concept is unique.  I could not find it available free online (except supposedly on Pluto TV but I could not get it to run) but it can be found on several streaming sites.

"Poltergeist" (1982) has been on the cable networks quite a bit this month - it is on AMC right now as I type this, and will be on BBC America on Saturday, October 26th/27th (6:15 PM/12:45AM on the east coast, so check your local listings for your area), as well as on many streaming services.  This is another movie that probably almost everyone has seen or heard of, but it is still worth re-watching even if you have seen it multiple times.

Last up for this week is "Predator" (1987), another movie that is most likely familiar to almost everyone.  This film can be watched on FX on October 24th at 7:00 AM and on October 28th at 8:00 AM on the east coast - check your local listings for times in your area.  You can also watch a rather mediocre copy on YouTube here.

Next week is Halloween week, so I will post descriptions of all of the remaining movies on my list, even the ones that will not have been added to the list yet, since I post on Tuesdays and Halloween in on a Thursday this year.  If you are a horror movie fan, from now until the end of the month you should be able to find a plethora of films to watch, so have fun and see you next week! 👽👻🎃💀👿

Terrifying Tuesdays: Weeks One and Two of My Scary Movie Recommendations from the 1970s-1990s, Part 2

 From Amazon

Welcome to Part Two of my scary movie recommendations for October.  Up next is "Deep Rising" (1998), a horrific but weirdly fun creature feature set on a stranded cruise ship.  I do not enjoy the ocean, and as a confirmed landlubber my idea of hell is being stuck on a cruise ship, so this film is especially scary for me!  You can watch this one on YouTube here.

If, like me, you find dolls to be profoundly creepy, then you will truly appreciate the terror of the movie "Dolls" (1987).  Six people find themselves suspiciously stranded near an old mansion with a storm approaching, and have no choice but to seek shelter there.  The elderly puppet maker and his wife seem hospitable enough, but the sheer number of dolls and puppets throughout the house is unnerving, and as the night progresses this unease proves to be justified. You can watch this movie on Dailymotion here.

Next in line for your viewing pleasure is "The Fog" (1980), a John Carpenter classic about the vengeful ghosts of a ship's crew who appear out of the fog to wreak havoc in a small coastal town, some of whose residents are descendants of those who were responsible for their tragic deaths.  You can watch it for free on TokyVideo here, but I strongly suggest you do not watch the 2005 remake, which is a major disappointment.

Believe it or not, I have another horror anthology to recommend (I told you this time period includes quite a few anthologies!).  "From Beyond the Grave" (1974) is in my opinion another one of the better offerings - I actually think that all four of the short stories are equally well done.  And as a big fan of Peter Cushing, I was pleased to see that he plays a pivotal role in this film.  I could not find this one free online, but it is available on a few streaming sites.

For a more lighthearted film, my next choice is "Galaxy Quest" (1999), which shamelessly parodies the original Star Trek television series, but in a mostly affectionate way.  While the movie is not especially scary, the space alien villains are hideous and nasty, so I feel I can include it here.  This is another film that is available on streaming sites but not for free anywhere online that I can find.

The final movie for Week Two is "Ghostbusters" (1984), another fun and not too scary movie about a team of scientists who decide to specialize in removing pesky ghosts for a (substantial) fee, coincidentally at the same time that an evil force has caused spooks to run wild in New York City.  A new sequel to this long-running franchise was just released this year, so the original has been available for viewing on multiple streaming sites, as well as cable television networks on occasion.

Okay, that's it for now, and next week I will (hopefully) remember to cover the movie recommendations for Week Three! 👽👻🎃💀👿

Terrifying Tuesdays: Weeks One and Two of My Scary Movie Recommendations from the 1970s-1990s, Part 1

From Walmart

Since I forgot to post about my recommendations for last week, this week I will quickly run through the films for the past two weeks. Without further ado, let's get started!  I reviewed my first choice on the list in a previous post, so today we start with the second movie listed, which is the horror anthology "Asylum" (1972).  In general, horror anthologies do not get much love, and for good reason, as some if not all of the included short tales can be less than perfect.  However, I personally feel that, if done right, the horror genre can be more effective in a shorter format as it can be difficult to maintain the proper amount of unease and terror for the entire length of a movie or novel.  The best movie horror anthology in my opinion is "Dead of Night" (1945), which showcases some of the best short horror fiction in its vignettes, but I think "Asylum" is one of the better offerings as well.  You can watch it for free on YouTube here and decide for yourself if you agree:

"Beetlejuice" (1988) is up next and surely needs no introduction, as the sequel was just released recently and the original has been available for viewing on multiple sites.  I have yet to see the new movie, but always enjoy watching the first one as I find it highly entertaining.  I am probably also one of the few to find Delia Dietz's house remodel to be far preferable to the Maitlands' bland style!

"The Blair Witch Project" (1999) is notable as one of the first found footage horror movies and the one that popularized the style.  Despite its limited budget the movie became quite a hit.  It is available for viewing on several streaming services, but not for free.

I love a good ghost story, and "The Changeling" (1980) is considered by many to be one of the best.  A New York composer (George C. Scott) loses his wife and daughter in a horrific car accident, prompting him to move to the West Coast to escape his tragic memories.  He rents an old mansion and soon comes to find that it is haunted, but by whom, and why?  If you want to find out, you can watch the film on YouTube here.

For a completely different change of pace, "Creature" (1985) is a space alien film obviously inspired by the movie "Alien" (1972), which was my first recommendation on this list.  Even so, I find the two movies to be just different enough to like both.  Watch this one on YouTube here and see what you think (assuming that you have already seen "Alien", which is not available free online).

The 1970s-1990s was a great time period for horror anthologies, and "Creepshow" (1982) may be the one best known to most people.  This is one of those anthologies where the quality of each segment is variable (I definitely have my favorite and least favorite of the five offerings), but the good ones are very good so I do enjoy this movie.  A couple of interesting facts - the film was directed by George Romero and several of the stories were written by Stephen King.  Also, most of the filming was done in and around the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area (even in my hometown, as I grew up in a Pittsburgh suburb, so I have a special fondness for this film).  I could not find this one free online, but it is available on several streaming sites, including Shudder.  Interestingly, "Creepshow 2" (1987) is available on YouTube here, and there is some disagreement among horror enthusiasts as to whether the sequel is better or worse than the first film.

The next movie on the list is "Cube" (1997), which is an early version of the more recent escape room movies.  Seven people find themselves trapped in a chamber of constantly shifting cube-shaped rooms, some of which are booby-trapped, with no memory of how they came to be there.  They must find a way to escape without getting killed, but the potentially fatal rooms are not the only danger they face.  I like to think of this movie as an example of mathematical horror, because these people must solve a complex mathematical problem to escape, and what could be more horrifying than being forced to do math?  You can watch the movie on YouTube here.

Since this post is getting rather long, I am separating it into two, so this one will be followed by another covering the movie recommendation for Week Two.  See you there! 👽👻🎃💀👿

Terrifying Tuesdays: This Week's Favorite Mid-Century Scary Movies to Watch (Week 4)

From Amazon

Happy Halloween!  For this last week of favorite mid-century scary movies, I have links to six of the seven movies I have listed.  First up is "The Monster That Challenged the World" (1957) which can be viewed on DailyMotion here.  An earthquake in California releases prehistoric giant molluscs with a taste for humans and the ability to reproduce quickly in California's waterways.  Can the US navy stop them in time?  Find out by watching the film!

From Amazon

Next up we have "Mysterious Island" (1961) which can be watched here on DailyMotion.  Four prisoners being held in a Confederate army prison escape in a balloon along with a Confederate soldier who tries to stop them.  A violent storm blows them off course and causes them to crash on an unknown island.  Here they struggle to survive while attempting to figure out a way to leave the island, which is full of unusual oversized creatures and a menacing volcano.  Will they survive long enough to escape the Mysterious Island?  Watch the movie if you want to find out!

The third film, which you can watch on YouTube (above), is "The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955), AKA "The Creeping Unknown" in the United States.  A manned rocket designed by Professor Bernard Quatermass crash lands to Earth, and only one of the three astronauts on board survives.  As he recovers in a hospital, the astronaut begins to undergo horrendous changes and escapes.  Quatermass must track the man down and find a way to stop him before he spreads an alien organism that will destroy the world.  Will Quatermass succeed?  See the film to find out!

From Amazon

A giant bug movie is next for your viewing pleasure (I could not find a free video showing for Them! (1954), the second giant bug movie on my list for this week).  The link for Tarantula (1955) on Vimeo is available here.  Leo G. Carroll stars as a research scientist whose experiments go horribly awry, creating an enormous tarantula that threatens a small Arizona town.  Can the local doctor and the scientist's newest research assistant (played by John Agar and Mara Corday, respectively) find a way to stop the horrendous beast?  Once again, you can only find out if you watch the film!

Image from Amazon (DVD link here)

Last but not least for this week is "The Uninvited" (1944), which is my favorite classic ghost movie.  The only video link I could find is in two parts on DailyMotion - see Part 1 here and Part 2 here.  Brother and sister Roderick (Ray Milland) and Pamela (Ruth Hussey) Fitzgerald accidentally stumble upon and fall in love with an unoccupied seaside abode called Windward House, and are able to purchase it from the owner, Commander Beech (Donald Crisp) for an unusually low price.  They soon find out that there is a reason the house was such a bargain, and delve into the mystery of the house which involves the Commander's deceased daughter Mary, his granddaughter Stella (Gail Russell), and his daughter's best friend, the superbly sinister Miss Holloway (Cornelia Otis Skinner).  With the help of the local doctor (Alan Napier) they eventually find out why the house is haunted, but not without several perilous moments for young Stella.  Throw in a cute little dog, a motherly housekeeper with a fluffy cat, and a few comedic moments from Milland's character, and you have the most perfect cozy creepy ghost story to watch on All Hallow's Eve!

So there you have it - six links to free online videos perfect for scary Halloween viewing!  Have fun watching one or more or even all of them today if you so desire, or do whatever it is that makes you happy on this spooky holiday (just pace yourself with the Halloween candy 😜).  👻🎃💀🐍👽

Terrifying Tuesdays: This Week's Favorite Mid-Century Scary Movies to Watch (Week 3)

This week I have quite a few links to some favorite mid-century scary movies to share, so let's get started!  First up is "House on Haunted Hill" (1959), starring Vincent Price as a millionaire throwing a very spooky birthday party for his scheming wife in a haunted house full of jump scares and plot twists that will make you glad you were not invited to the party.  The video from YouTube is shown above.

Next up is a YouTube link shown above to the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956).  Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Carolyn Jones, and King Donovan star as four friends and residents of a small California town trying to escape from a terrifying alien invasion.  This classic has been remade a couple of times but the original is still my favorite.

The third link from YouTube (above) is the film "Island of Terror" (1966), starring Peter Cushing (my all-time favorite scary movie star) as one of a team of scientists who travel to a remote Irish island to investigate an unusual death, only to find that this death is not a solitary incident and the cause is something so horrifying that the entire island is soon endangered.

From Amazon

I have two more movie links but I will not load them in this post because they are available on DailyMotion and I have found that if I share their videos here they run continuously.  "It Came from Outer Space" (1953) stars Richard Carlson as an amateur astronomer who witnesses what he assumes is a meteor crash in the Arizona desert.  He soon discovers that the object is more than just a meteor, and strange occurrences in his town are directly linked to his discovery.  You can watch this movie here.

From Amazon

Finally, "The Monolith Monsters" (1957) really does involve a meteor crash landing on Earth, bringing with it a mysterious alien life form that threatens to destroy yet another small town, this time in California.  Luckily a local geologist is there to save the day!  Watch this film here.

These movie links ought to be enough to keep you entertained all week.  I hope you enjoy some or all of them - Halloween is almost here!

Terrifying Tuesdays: This Week's Favorite Mid-Century Scary Movies to Watch (Week 2)

From Amazon

 This week I have links to two of my favorite mid-century scary movies, but both come with caveats that have nothing to do with the supernatural.  First up is a YouTube link to "Fiend Without a Face" (1958), about a US Air Force base in Canada experimenting with atomic energy, which leads the soldiers at the base and the inhabitants of the nearby town to confront one of the most unusual horror fiends ever seen in old 1950s B movies.  Unfortunately, however, please be aware that a dog dies in this movie.  I almost never watch movies in which dogs perish, but this old film is one of my very few exceptions (if I could I would just remove that scene from this movie as it is not even necessary to the story):

From Amazon

Up next is "The Ghost Breakers" (1940), starring Paulette Goddard as a young woman who inherits a spooky castle in the Caribbean and Bob Hope as a radio personality who ends up helping her explore the mystery surrounding the old castle.  This is mostly a comedy (I especially love the hilarious scene where Hope and Goddard are trying to read through a tourist brochure once they reach Cuba, the island closest to Black Island where the castle is located), but there is an actual ghost and some of the scenes are truly scary.  The caveat for this movie is that, like a lot of old movies from this era, there is a rather racist undertone, so keep that in mind if you decide to watch.  Happy pre-Halloween viewing, everyone!

Terrifying Tuesdays: This Week's Favorite Mid-Century Scary Movie to Watch (Week 1)

From Youtube

This week I have a link to one of my all-time favorite scary movies from the 1950s.  "The Crawling Eye" (1958), AKA "The Trollenberg Terror", stars Forrest Tucker as an American scientist who travels to Europe to investigate strange events which are occurring on the Trollenberg, a mountain in Switzerland.  The blurb on the image above is a bit melodramatic, but the movie does provide a lot of suspense and a few very creepy scenes.  Below is a YouTube link to the movie (enjoy!):

Terrifying Tuesdays: My Favorite Mid-Century Scary Movies for Halloween

From Love This Pic

In case you did not notice, to the left of my blog page I have added a list of my favorite mid-century movies for Halloween.  In my opinion these old movies are some of the best creepy films to watch, although I have added a few that have some frightening or supernatural elements but are more comedic than horrific, just to give you a break from scares now and then.  I will add a new selection every day - we are up to three today.  Every week I will add a link to any of these movies that are available free online.  This week I have a link to the movie "Attack of the Crab Monsters" (1957) that you can watch on YouTube:

  

 I hope you have as much fun watching these old classics as I do! 👻🎃💀🐍👽

Terrifying Tuesdays: Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights

It has been quite a while since I have done a Terrifying Tuesday post, but I am one of those people who loves that old tradition of telling ghost stories around a roaring fire during the winter holiday season, and the book I am currently reading is perfect for evoking a supernatural chill on a long December evening.  Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights is an anthology edited by Lucy Evans and Tanya Kirk for the British Library Tales of the Weird series.  This collection features twelve stories set during the shortest days of the year, written by authors both well-known and obscure and originally published from 1893 to 1974.  Some are gentle tales while others are sinister, but each one sets just the right tone for a satisfying ghost story during this cold and dark time of the year.  If you too love a good ghost story I highly recommend checking out this book as well as others in the series - I think you will find them quite enjoyable in a spooky sort of way!

Terrifying Tuesdays: Earth vs. the Spider, AKA The Spider (1958)

From Sci-Fi Film Fiesta

Are you ready to start celebrating Halloween by watching cheesy 1950s science fiction B movies?  I know I am!  My favorite sub-genre by far is comprised of what I call the "Giant Bug" movies, where arthropods grow to immense proportions, often due to exposure by humans to radiation, whether intentional or unintentional.  Surprisingly, today's film does not seem to be about the dangers of the unrestricted use of radioactive materials - instead the giant spider in "Earth vs. the Spider" (1958) just appears for reasons unexplained.

As is usually the case, the clueless townspeople have no idea a monster is in their midst until one of their own goes missing.  Odd circumstances surrounding the disappearance should be their first inkling that all is not normal, but of course no one is willing to believe that one missing man is anything more than a tragic accident.  The missing man's teenage daughter and her boyfriend actually encounter the giant spider while out looking for her father, but the town sheriff brushes off their claims as nonsense.  However, their high school science teacher is willing to suspend disbelief after examining a piece of the spider web the two teens bring to him, and he convinces the sheriff that he should at least send out a search party for the missing man.  The search party finds the spider instead, losing a few of their men in the process, and then the frantic efforts begin to find a way to destroy the monster.

This is a good old-fashioned horror movie that is tame enough for the whole family to enjoy, and you can watch it below or on YouTube:

Interesting Fact: The director, Bert I. Gordon (AKA Mr. B.I.G.!) shamelessly promoted his two previous science fiction films in this movie by prominently displaying posters of these movies in the theater where the male teenage protagonist works!

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 0

From Shadow's B-Movie Graveyard

I hope your Halloween this year is less scary than the rest of 2020 has been!

Terrifying Tuesdays: The Fog (1980)

From Horror Site

Happy Halloween!  This last installment of nautical-themed movies for Halloween features John Carpenter's classic horror film "The Fog" (1980).  The cast includes Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, and Tom Atkins, all veteran horror movie actors, as well as the always excellent Hal Holbrook.  The plot of the movie revolves around a suspicious shipwreck 100 years ago off the coast of tiny Antonio Bay in California.  An eerie glowing fog slowly seeps into town as the anniversary of that wreck approaches, and with the arrival of the fog the horror begins.

"The Fog" is not for the faint of heart, but for horror movie lovers it is a must-see (do not make the mistake of viewing the 2005 remake, which is a disappointment to say the least).  This film hits all the right nautical horror notes - a terrifying sea fog, a ghostly shipwreck, and even an imperiled lighthouse!  The only thing missing is a sea monster, although you could consider the fog itself to be a monster.  Enjoy this creepy little horror-from-the-sea film here (you can watch the trailer below), and I sincerely hope that your Halloween night is not a foggy one!

Interesting Facts: John Carpenter claimed that this film was partly inspired by "The Crawling Eye" (1958), which also featured a frightening fog.  It was decided after viewing the rough cut that "The Fog" did not include enough gore to compete with contemporaneous films, so some of the more violent scenes in the movie were added later.  This film was the first of only two movies in which Janet Leigh appeared with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 3

                

Terrifying Tuesdays: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

From Alchetron

"The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (1953) is loosely based on the Ray Bradbury tale "The Fog Horn" described in yesterday's post.  The movie was already in production under the working title "Monster from the Sea" when the producers found out that Bradbury had just sold his story, which was originally entitled "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", for publication.  The movie studio bought the rights to the story and changed the name of their movie to that of the short story.  Bradbury later changed the name of his story to differentiate it from the movie.

This film is notable for being the first in which well-known animator Ray Harryhausen had full charge of the technical effects and premiered his signature stop-motion model animation technique known as "Dynamation".  The plot involves the revival from suspended animation of a fictional dinosaur called the Rhedosaurus by the detonation on an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle.  The creature then makes its way to its ancient spawning grounds off the coast of New York City, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake.  The film was a financial success at the time of its release, and is quite well-done for the atomic bomb monster movie genre, of which it was one of the first to be produced.  You can watch the film here or here.  (Be sure to look for the scene starting at about minute 42:53, which is a fairly close reenactment of the Bradbury short story, although minus the fog horn or any empathy for the beast!)

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 0

From Jim Lane's Cinedrome

             

Terrifying Tuesdays: Leviathan (1989)

From IMP Awards

Like yesterday's short story, today's movie choice features a mutated sea creature.  However, in "Leviathan" (1989) the mutation is a deliberate experiment by humans rather than an accidental freak of nature.  The crew of a mining colony finds a sunken Russian ship and one of the crew members sneaks back a souvenir, with dire consequences for everyone.  The cast includes Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Ernie Hudson, and Hector Elizondo.  While the plot of cast members being picked off one by one by an unknown horror is standard, the premise is unique, which makes this movie worth watching.  The movie is available free online at HDGO, and you can see it here, but once you do you may never want to watch a film about science gone wrong again!

What is it? (from Horror Homework)

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 3 (not extremely gory, but some scenes are rather grotesque and disturbing)
             

Terrifying Tuesdays: Ghost Ship (1952)

From Listal

There is something truly terrifying about the thought of being trapped on a haunted ship.  There is no escape, and nowhere to run.  Your only option would be to jump into the water if you were desperate to get away, and then visions of "Jaws" (1975) come to mind!  "Ghost Ship" (1952) is a little gem of a movie about a luxury steamer yacht supposedly inhabited by ghosts.  A young Canadian couple (played by real-life couple Hazel Court and Dermot Walsh) buy the boat, scoffing at its haunted reputation.  A series of incidents convince them that the ghostly inhabitants may actually exist, leading them to call in the services of a psychic investigator and a medium.  What exactly was the past of this ship, and why do restless spirits haunt her?  Watch the movie and find out!  Even those who do not care for horror movies can watch this one, as it is not especially scary.  You can see the film at HDGO online for free here.

From Pinterest

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 0
             

Terrifying Tuesdays: Edgar Allan Poe's Lighthouse Keeper (2016)

From Moviesjin.com

I think this is the first time I have written a post about a movie I had never even heard of until the day before!  "Edgar Allan Poe's Lighthouse Keeper" (2016) is based on an unfinished probable last work by Edgar Allan Poe, the well-known American author of macabre tales.  You can read the story fragment upon which this film is based here.  The piece is so short that the movie creators could have chosen any number of directions to take the story line, but the one essential element is an isolated lighthouse.

In the movie there are two main characters, the lighthouse keeper of the title and a younger man who ends up shipwrecked on the island, but are these two men the only people on the island?  You will have to watch the movie to find out!  Since I had never seen the movie before yesterday I had no idea what to expect, but on the whole it is pretty well done, if a bit predictable at times.  Some parts are rather slow-going, but there are enough scary scenes to keep things interesting.  One short sex scene (no nudity) and a rather violent sequence near the end mean that this is not a movie for children, but if you are interested in seeing a fairly new horror movie for free then take a look at this one (the YouTube format is rather strange, as the film is set inside of another animated image, but it is still watchable if you go to YouTube and click on the full screen option):

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 3 (despite the rather gruesome DVD cover, most of the movie is not that gory)

             

Terrifying Tuesdays: The Best Bookstore Sign

From Mystery Fanfare

               

Terrifying Tuesdays: Horror at Sea Triple Feature

Image at left from Shane Marais; center image from Blumhouse; image at right from Film-Cine.

For my horror at sea theme this week, I have selected three (instead of the usual two!) movies that cover very different sorts of terrors.  "Deep Rising" (1998) is a creature feature, where the passengers on a luxury cruise ship are threatened by a particularly nasty denizen of the deep.  In "Below" (2002), a ghostly presence with a grudge haunts the crew of a World War II submarine.  The third film, "Virus" (1999), is a science fiction-based tale of menacing alien life forms aboard a seemingly abandoned research vessel discovered by a salvage ship crew.  No matter how you feel about oceans, these movies will have you thinking twice before venturing out to sea!

From SciFi-Movies.

Bonus Classic: One of the better B-movies from the mid-twentieth century, "It Came from Beneath the Sea" (1955) warns of the consequences of nuclear testing, a common theme for these sorts of films from this era.  I especially like the fact that one of the scientists is a smart, no-nonsense woman (at least as envisioned by the film industry at the time!).  An added bonus is the special effects by Ray Harryhausen, generally acknowledged to be the master in this field.

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 5 for "Deep Rising", 4-5 for the other two movies, 0 for the bonus classic
             

Terrifying Tuesdays: Fear of the Dark Double Feature

Image at left from Forest Fly.
Image at right from CineMaterial.

Scary movies about fear of the dark abound, and the two movies I have chosen for this week's theme are "Darkness Falls" (2003) and the aptly named "Fear of the Dark" (2003).  Both involve young boys with an extreme fear of the dark who must convince those around them that this fear is truly justified.  While these films are not considered top-notch horror movies, I found them both to be satisfyingly scary without excessive gore (but be prepared to suspend disbelief for a while in terms of plot and sometimes logic!).

From IGN.

If you really like violently scary films, you can also add the movie "Pitch Black" (2000) to this list (a good horror movie, but a little too violent for my tastes).

Bonus Classic: Watch "Dead of Night" (1945), arguably the best horror anthology movie ever made.  It includes a segment based on A. M. Burrage's "Smee", the short story described in yesterday's post.

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 1 for the first two movies, 0 for "Dead of Night", and definitely a 5 for "Pitch Black" should you choose to watch that film as well.
             

Terrifying Tuesdays: Ghost Story Double Feature

Image at left from Film-Cine.
Image at right from Imp Awards.

For this week's Halloween theme of ghost stories, I have chosen "The Sixth Sense" (1999)and "The Others" (2001) as the movie double feature.  Anyone who, like me, is a big fan of ghost movies will have already seen these two films, and probably multiple times, but both movies are good enough to watch yet again.  For those few individuals who have not seen them, the first film is the tale of a young boy who, with the help of a child psychologist, learns to accept his unique relationship with the spirit world, while at the same time helping the psychologist come to a self-discovery of his own.  In the second movie, a mother raising her two young children alone in an isolated house while awaiting the return of her soldier husband learns from unexpected sources that the fear and desperation she feels are due to circumstances she least expects.

From Optics Talk.

Bonus Classic: For an excellent classic ghost-themed movie, watch "The Uninvited" (1944), in my opinion one of the best supernatural films ever made.

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 1 for "The Sixth Sense", 0 for the other two