Day of the Animals

"Day of the Animals" (1977) starring Christopher George, Leslie Nielsen, Lynda Day George, Richard Jaeckel, Michael Ansara, Ruth Roman and Jon Cedar is a tale of all of nature's animals going crazy and attacking a rural town.

A diverse group of folks are vacationing in Northern California and are taking helicopters up into the mountains for a week long guided hike.  Unfortunately the group picks the day that the Earth's ozone layer has become so depleted that the sun's radiation is particularly strong above 5000 feet and the radiation causes all the animals to go crazy and start attacking the humans.

Animals start killing off our hikers one by one and the group becomes fractured because of two camps of people, one led by the hikers, Paul Jenson (Leslie Neilsen in an off type role where he plays a bad guy) and the other led by the guide and local Native American (Ansara).  Of course, not staying together is the worse thing they can do but who can make smart choices when all the animals are attacking and it seems like the end of the world?

"Day of the Animals" is a fun, nature strikes back horror movie from the '70s.  The characters are over the top, the animals are attacking the horrific fun has just begun!

Nothing But the Night

"Nothing But the Night" (1973) starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Diana Dors, Georgia Brown, Keith Barron and Gwyneth Strong is a mystery/horror movie about a mysterious girl and the foundation that takes care of her.

The trustees of the Van Traylen foundation which takes care of orphaned children keep ending up dead and it appears to be suicide but police colonel Bingham (Lee) doesn't believe they may be murders.  During his investigation, he seeks the help of his friend Sir Ashley (Cushing) who is a psychiatrist.  One of the orphans from the foundation survives a bus crash and is soon caught up in the mystery.  The sinister goings on lead the policy and psychiatrist to a remote British island where the Van Traylen foundation and orphanage is based.

"Nothing But the Night" is a good mystery / horror movie that is also somewhat of a police procedural.  The mood and atmosphere is filled with a sinister quality that keeps the story engaging.

Five Dolls For an August Moon

"Five Dolls for an August Moon" (1970) starring William Berger, Ira von Fürstenberg, Maurice Poli, Edwige Fenech, Howard Ross, Helena Ronee, Teodoro Corrà, Ely Galleani, Edith Meloni and Mauro Bosco is a psychedelic murder mystery from Italian horror director Mario Bava.  

George Stark (Corra) is an extremely wealthy man who owns a mansion on a remote Mediterranean island.  He invites a group of friends and potential investors for a weekend of relaxation and potential business investment involving a brilliant chemist Professor Gerry Farrell (Berger).  The business rivalries soon end up overriding any friendships and intrigue turns to murder as one by one the guests turn up dead.

"Five Dolls for an August Moon" is like Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" on acid.  It takes place in the swinging '60s and all the characters are good looking and dressed glamorously.  The music is over the top fun and the extreme sudden close ups of the characters add to the overall visual feast which is this movie.  You'll want to watch the fantastic opening cocktail party scene over and over just for the fun of it!

The Night Digger

"The Night Digger" (aka "The Road Builder") (1971) starring Patricia Neal, Pamela Brown, Nicholas Clay and Jean Anderson and written by Roald Dahl is a horror, thriller, melodrama about a daughter caring for her elderly mother in a decaying mansion who are joined by a young stranger on a motorcycle.

Maura Prince (Neal) is an aging woman who is stuck in a life caring for her elderly and blind mother, Edith Prince (Brown).  They live in an old mansion in the English countryside that according to Maura is 'going to pot'. Maura has been offered a full time job at the hospital where she volunteers but her mother is a master manipulator who gets her to remain at home with her.

Needing to make some extra money, Edith was considering a friend's nephew as a tenant but that has unexpectedly fallen through.  Out of the blue, a handsome young stranger, Billy Jarvis (Clay) shows up at their doorstep saying he has been referred by the friend and offers to do work around the house in lieu of room and board.  Edith falls for the young man's charms and she almost convinces herself, as well as her busy body church friends, that Billy is her great nephew.

Billy moves in and soon is fixing up the old house and gardens and even winning over the reluctant Maura who didn't want him there in the first place.  As things get better and better at home, Billy starts getting bouts of depression and heads off on his motorcycle in the middle of the night with murderous results.  Apparently, the Night Digger is a serial killer that has been killing young women in the area and getting rid of the bodies. How will this turn of events affect the Prince mother and daughter?

"The Night Digger" is an excellent psychological love story filled with eerie Gothic atmosphere.     Patricia Neal is superb as the long suffering daughter of an overwhelming mother, who just wants to break out and live her own life before it's too late.  The action is rather slow but the decaying mansion and estate as well as the talented cast of characters and the situations they encounter, make this gem of a film very enjoyable to watch.

Children of the Stones

"Children of the Stones" (1977) starring Gareth Thomas, Veronica Strong, Peter Demin, Ruth Dunning, Iain Cuthbertson and Katharine Levy is a British serial that takes place in a sinister village and is geared toward children but fun to watch at all ages.

Scientist Adam Brake (Thomas) and his son Matthew (Demin) are moving to the sleepy English village of Milbury for three months to do some research on the magnetic forces surrounding the local stone formations that circle the village.  They soon meet Margaret (Strong) and her daughter Sandra (Levy) who also have recently moved to town and start telling them about the weirdness going on in the village.

Milbury is full of happy people.  They say "Happy Day" to each other instead of good afternoon and everything is always well.  They also like to go to the stone circle, hold hands and chant every once in a while in the middle of the night.  What are they all up to?  Well, our group of adults and children work together and try to solve the mystery before it's too late because, you see, all the newcomers eventually turn into a "Happy Dayer".  Not only that, but Matthew and his father are somewhat receptive to the psychic energies and visions coming off the stones.

"Children of the Stones" is a world where the children are smart and the parents actually listen to them.  The village is full of strange characters that just want our characters to be part of the town and join with them and mysteries galore.  A very fun adventure/mystery show with a sinister atmosphere throughout!

The Beast Must Die

"The Beast Must Die" (1974) starring Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Ciaran Madden, Tom Chadbon and Michael Gambon is a fun horror movie from Amicus Studios where the viewer gets to decide who the werewolf is.

Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) is a rich businessman / hunter who wants to hunt the biggest and rarest game there is - a werewolf.  He has done the research and narrowed it down to the following guests who he has invited to his remote mansion and estate and accuses one of them of being the werewolf:

• Arthur Bennington (Charles Gray) - the diplomat
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• Jan Jarmokowski (Michael Gambon) - world renowned pianist
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• Davina Gilmore (Ciaran Madden) - student & wife of Jan and old friend of Tom's wife
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• Caroline Newcliffe (Marlene Clark) - Tom's wife
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• Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon) - an artist who had been in prison
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• Prof. Lundgren (Peter Cushing) - an archaeologist and a werewolf expert
• 

Tom has brought his guests together on the night of the full moon and has rigged his entire estate with cameras, microphones and other surveillance systems to help him hunt the werewolf.  

Things don't go as smoothly for him as planned and the werewolf gets the upper hand even with all the precautions.  One by one, the guests and Tom's associates are getting killed off.  Will Tom accomplish his deadly task?

This is a very enjoyable werewolf movie from the 70s.  Everything about it screams the 70s, including the clothing, decor and the fantastically funky music!  The cheesy "Werewolf Break" which comes after all the clues have been given and allows the audience to choose which person they think is the werewolf.  "The Beast Must Die" is a must see for fans of old horror movies!

Who is the Werewolf?