Lady Frankenstein

Lady Frankenstein is a 1971 Italian horror film directed by Mel Welles and Aurelliano Luppi. The stars includes Joseph Cotton, Rosalba Neri and Paul Muller. 

Baron Frankenstein has been making deals with grave robbers, to send him fresh corpses of executed criminals. The experiments failed but one successful monster was resurrected from death, only to be horribly mutilated during the surgery and storm. It's only instinct is to kill everyone. Meanwhile, Frankenstein's daughter, Tania, has completed her studies and become a doctor, who feels willing to help her father's gruesome secret work!

An extremely nightmarish story with plenty of atmosphere and tension. There are some hilarious conversations with the grave robbers. It features violence and some nudity, while the gory scenes appeared mostly indoors. The story is loosely based on the original classic Frankenstein's Monster, although this film has included some romance. "Only the monster she made could satisfy her strange desires!" One of the early movie posters features Dr Tania Frankenstein as blonde even though she's really a brunette. 

I rate this gothic monster horror a shocking 8/10.

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A Christmas Carol

 

This is a 1984 supernatural fantasy film made for TV, based on the story by Charles Dickens. Directed by Clive Donner and the stars include George C. Scott, David Warner and Frank Finlay. 

This is a much more grim version of the story and it's true to the book. A hard hearted wealthy businessman has rejected the celebration of Christmas and also abandoned any sense of compassion, love and family. He's visited by spirits that take him on a journey to find his inner humanity again and learn how to enjoy life. 

The spirits in this version are scary, especially the ghost of Marley and the ghost of things yet to come. The large house that Scrooge lives in is spooky and not surprising it's haunted. They used a real gravestone in this film with permission from a nearby church. The actor playing Scrooge wore heavier clothing to suit a freezing winter, as described in the book. It was mostly filmed in the ancient town of Shrewsbury. I rate this a merry 9/10 for sheer entertainment

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The People Across the Lake

This is a 1988 thriller/horror and mystery film, directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman, and the stars include Valerie Harper, Barry Corbin and Gerald McRaney. 

A family leaves the city life to go and move into a nice house in a picturesque country village named Tomahawk. All seems fine until dead bodies turn up in the lake. An angry recluse lives in the woods nearby and a perfectly nice neighbouring family make friends. Meanwhile the mother gradually finds nothing is all as it seems to be in the house itself.  

There are insane characters that spoil the pleasant looking scenery. It has a number of amusing lines such as "I don't want to be a redneck" and "put your seatbelt on over your mouth." The corpses are displayed in a secret room, but someone has a way of entering their new house without them knowing. A wholesome film and a bit funny so it gets 5/10.

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The Other (1972)

This psychological horror was made in 1972 but set during the 1930's. It was directed by Robert Mulligan and the stars include Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur and Victor French. 

A small village at a farm experience weird goings on. Meanwhile, twin brothers play odd games involving a ring that once belonged to their dead father. They're bullied by their cousin and an elderly neighbour who's scared of rats. The boys' hideout is down a basement of a barn where it's always dark. Members of the boys' large family come up against mysterious accidents while the twins are not what they first seem to be.

This film is based on a novel by Tom Tryon who was involved in producing this. However, Tryon has been disappointed with the end result of the film. The real life twin brothers who play in this film haven't done anymore acting in movies. While it was set in the year 1935, there are some mistakes and slip ups made such as a 1940's news report and a jet aircraft in the distance. The film is supposed to be set in late winter but clearly it was during full summer! 

I give this strange film a punch 6/10.   

Baron Blood

This is a 1972 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bava, and the stars include Joseph Cotten, Elke Sommer and Antonio Cantafora, 

An American named Peter visits his ancestral home in Austria and is fascinated by a castle that belonged to one of his infamous ancestors, who was an evil baron that died centuries ago. The castle was turned into a tourist attraction but is sold at auction to a mysterious wealthy man. Peter and his girlfriend think it's fun to summon the ghost of the dead baron.

A beautifully made film with a true castle named Burg Kreuzenstein in Vienna, Austria. The film was made in just six weeks just in time and on a small budget. There's plenty of spooky atmosphere and fog, creepy paintings and statues, a lot of running, some jump scares and gore. Described as gothic horror, the style of the director is creating tension. The sounds of screaming from the film was used to make the "Well to Hell" hoax.

I rate this creepy ghost film a nice 6/10.

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

This original science fiction/horror "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from 1956 is in black and white. Directed by Don Siegel, and stars Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter and Larry Gates. It was based on a novel called The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. 

A young doctor returns home from a medical conference, to find out some people are behaving strangely and thinking their relatives are someone else. When he's called to a friend's house to discover a body that is the exact likeness of someone he knows, things get weirder. Weird trucks carrying large green pods are being delivered and people are becoming emotionless. 

This is a truly scary film, about paranoia and being alone in a world with aliens. The actors experienced a horrific process of being made to sit inside liquid with only breathing straws in their mouths. The main character played by Kevin McCarthy lacked sleep during filming and had to do so much running that the crew were on standby in case he passed out from exhaustion. Later he would appear as another character in the 1979 remake. The tunnel where the doctor and his girlfriend hide from the crowds of alien people is the famous Bat Cave in Griffith Park.  

A spectacular film with my rating 10/10.

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Jabberwock (2011)

The film "Jabberwock" is a 2011 fantasy made for television. Directed by Steven R. Monroe and stars Tahmoh Penikett, Hugh Ross and Raffaello Degruttola. 

A young squire discovers a strange egg and a dragon appears. He stumbles upon a village and is not believed. However, a warrior has returned home just before then and decides to help kill the dragon. The monster shows itself and causes a lot of damage, then kidnaps a young woman. Meanwhile, a blacksmith has been working on a very tough suit of armour and needs to finish it before the dragon destroys everyone.

The film is set in Medieval times although the term "Jabberwock," which is the name for the dragon in this film, was created in the 19th century by author Lewis Carroll. Some of the tools used by the blacksmith wasn't invented until the 18th century, such as the galvanised wrought iron. Also a character used the word "sadistic" but this word was invented hundreds of years later by author Marquis de Sade. 

I give this fun film a chance of 6/10.

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The Mandalorian

"The Mandalorian" is a 2019+ sci-fi/fantasy TV series created by Jon Favreau and the main star is Pedro Pascal. It's a spin-off to the Star Wars films but this series is set a few years after "Return of the Jedi". So far there's been two seasons and the third hasn't been released yet.

The main character is the Mandalorian, a bounty hunter that experiences many dangerous and awesome adventures to protect a child with special powers. This small child is innocent but he's a highly wanted asset to many powerful and sinister people. There are many different aliens, people and worlds for the Mandalorian to visit in order to keep the Child safe. At the same time, the Mandalorian has to fulfil his duties. He encounters monsters, friends and enemies all.

A fantastic series with brilliant special effects, acting and storylines. The Galactic Empire has gone but there's still a threat even the viewer can pick up on. It's set in the far distant edges of the galaxy away from the New Republic. While making this series, a large number of storm troopers was needed so a lot of fans volunteered. The idea of the Mandalorian character is loosely based on the character "The Man With No Name" portrayed by Clint Eastwood from the Spaghetti Western films. 

I rate this series an epic 10/10.

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