The Cursed (2010)

 

The Cursed is a 2010 horror film directed by Joel Bender and starring brothers Costas and Louis Mandylor, Francesca Cecil and Brad Thornton.

Ever since the early 20th century, people in a small rural town have been disappearing and animals have been slaughtered mysteriously. Denny White visits the town in present times to stay with a friend, meeting the local sheriff on the way. However things get confusing when the sheriff and his wife vanish, and the appearance of a shadowy entity has been seen lurking. Animals have been killed and Denny is getting the blame.    

The title of the film must not be confused with others of the same title! This film was going to be called "Tenebrous". It's also called "The Fog Returns" on Bluray. There is plenty of blood and gore but still unanswered questions to the baffling mystery. I give this is a rating of 2/10.

Blood Strawberry

Crowhaven Farm

 

A 1970 supernatural film made for television, directed by Walter Grauman, and starring Hope Lange, John Carradine and Paul Burke. 

A woman inherits a house after the sudden death of a relative. She soon moved in with her husband and became convinced that she knew the place and  might've lived there before in a past life. There are strange visions she has of villagers in 17th century clothes involved in piling bricks on somebody. There's a number of weird neighbours and a history of witches. Also not forgetting the star character of the film, a creepy girl named Jennifer.

As a kid I first saw this movie and was scared of its chilling atmosphere. It was a pleasure to watch it again recently. Most of the actors have done Twilight Zone before. John Carradine plays one of the villagers in a minor role but also he's the father of David Carradine who starred in the epic TV series Kung Fu. 

Don't underestimate TV horror films, because this one is spooky. I rate this brilliant horror a 8/10.

Blood Strawberry       

The Phantom from 10,000 Legues

 

A 1955 science fiction directed by Dan Milner, and starring Kent Taylor, Kathy Downs and Michael Whalen. In black and white, yet you would think it was in colour by the stunning sunny beach scenes. 

A mad scientist put a dangerous device in the sea to find out what radiation does to marine life. It resulted in a mutated creature that was created from the radioactive energy given off by the machine in the sea. When people are found dead on the beach, it draws attention to biologist Dr Ted Stevens and the local authorities. Meanwhile, there is a mystery to unravel and it isn't just the sea monster to watch out for!

The pier seen throughout the film got destroyed by a giant wave years later. The biggest star of the film was the sea monster, played by Nina Hanson, who appeared in Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2001. The film is quite a decent sci-fi flick for summer and it gets a 5/10.

Blood Strawberry

 

White Zombie (1932)

White Zombie is a 1932 horror film directed by Victor Halperin, with stars that include Bela Lugosi, Joseph Cawthorn and Madge Bellamy. 

A young couple travel to the island of Haiti for their wedding but something weird is going on there. Zombies are all around and it's scaring the locals. When the couple are married, the bride becomes focus of unwanted attention and sinister magic is used on her. A powerful witch doctor on the island has hypnotic eyes and keeps a pet vulture. There is a castle on a cliff that everyone stays away from because it's filled with zombies!   

Beautifully made film and it was scary too! Bela Lugosi directed some of the film and, according to his son, this was one of his favourite. White Zombie is the first horror film to portray zombies as evil. The heavy metal band White Zombie was named after this particular old movie. I rate this atmospheric film a 8/10. 

Blood Strawberry  

Monstrosity or The Atomic Brain

Monstrosity or The Atomic Brain is a 1963 sci-fi/horror movie in black and white. Monstrosity film has two titles, because the TV release called it "The Atomic Brain". It was directed by Joseph V. Mascelli, and the stars include Marjorie Eaton, Frank Fowler and Frank Gerstle. 

Doctor Otto Frank is a mad scientist working on experiments with brains just to make a rich elderly woman named Mrs March look beautiful. A few young women have travelled to the United States to work in a large house but it's the same house with Mrs March and mad scientist! There are some strange characters including a wolf man, a zombie girl and a cat girl. Parts of the film is quite shocking while others are weird and funny.

The film was made in 1958 but not released until 1963. The lateness was due to lack of funds and it's eventual release caused the script to become outdated! It wasn't very popular with film critics but it was adapted into a musical stage play in 2010 featuring dancing cats. 

I rate this movie a no-brainer 3/10.

Blood Strawberry    

The Giant Behemoth

 

The Giant Behemoth is a 1959 science fiction film in black and white. It was directed by Eugéne Lourié and Douglas Hickox, and the stars include Gene Evans, John Turner and Leigh Madison. 

This is one great monster film that is well remembered from seeing on late night TV. An atomic explosion has woken something terrible in the deep ocean. A fisherman goes missing but soon his daughter finds him dying on the beach. Scientists are investigating what happened, and they discover that it's too late! An enormous dinosaur swims along the River Thames and then it causes havoc in the streets of London!

This is the era when other monster movies appeared, such as "Godzilla" and "The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms", the latter was also directed by Eugene Lourie. The original plan was to make the creature look like a blob and then decided to introduce a dinosaur, which is much more scary. 

A feast of a film gets a 10/10!

Blood Strawberry 

       

Fiend Without a Face

Fiend Without a Face is a 1958 sci-fi/horror flick in black and white. It was directed by Arthur Crabtree, and the stars include Marshall Thompson, Kim Parker and Kynaston Reeves. 

A brainiac professor has been undergoing a secret experiment, involving mental projection and telepathy that backfired, resulting in a menace creature that is deadly and invisible. People are ending up dead around a military base and what's more is that local farmers are concerned about their livestock. There is a mysterious killer on the loose, leaving an even deeper mystery.

A real treat of a film, with good special effects for its time. It doesn't disappoint at all. Strange fact is the director of the film lost heart in it so the main star Marshall Thompson was left to finish directing it. During the promotion of the film, a mechanical brain was displayed in a cage outside a cinema that attracted so many people that it caused a bit of chaos. 

I rate this fantastic film a 8/10

Blood Strawberry

It Conquered the World

This is a 1956 sci-fi/horror film in black and white. Directed by Roger Corman and the stars include Lee Van Cleef, Peter Graves and Beverly Garland. 

A scientist has been secretly in touch with an alien from Venus and helps them visit the Earth. His friends don't believe him and many people are more worried about a malfunctioned satellite. The electricity has gone out, but it affects everyone apart from those considered allies of the alien. "Friends" or those who seem to be under the influence of the alien? 

The film makers had a very interesting time over designing the alien itself! While the script has got some philosophical chatter, the alien (who makes an appearance early on) looks like an angry carrot! The actress Beverly Garland said "That conquered the world?" in an amused way and kicked it. The king of Venus is the heavy set vegetable but it comes with deformed alien bats. 

The storyline itself was quite scary but the creatures looked too silly. Despite all of this, there are some very shocking moments and also with added humour amongst the soldiers. This film was remade in 1966 under the title "Zontar, the Thing from Venus."  I rate this a 3/10.

Blood Strawberry