House at the End of the Street

"House at the End of the Street" (2012) starring Jennifer Lawrence, Max Thieriot, Elisabeth Shue has a mother and daughter moving into a home next door to a house where a family was murdered in this horror/thriller.

After a divorce, Sarah (Shue) moves her daughter Elissa (Lawrence) to a small town where the only house they can afford is next door to a house where years earlier the mother and father were killed by their daughter, Carrie Ann.  Local lore has it that Carrie Anne got away and is living the the woods nearby.  Carrie Ann's brother, Ryan, was away at boarding school during the murders and he has moved back into the home much to the dismay of the neighbors.

Of course Elissa meets Ryan and they hit it off even though Sarah would rather she stay away from him.  Little does anyone know, Ryan has a secret - he has sheltered his crazy sister in a hidden room in the house all these years and she is always trying to escape!  Will Elissa get too close to Ryan and his secrets for her own good?

Jennnifer Lawrence ("Hunger Games") plays an unhappy teen well and Max Thieriot ("Bate's Motel", "Nancy Drew") is great as the mysterious neighbor.  This was a pretty good horror thriller that keeps you guessing and has some unexpected twists and turns.

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!

Cat People

"Cat People" (1982) starring Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard is a remake of the 1942 classic of the same name.

Irena Gallier (Kinski) is invited to New Orleans by her long lost brother Paul Gallier (McDowell).  Shortly after arriving at his home, he disappears because he has turned into a black leopard, been on a killing spree and been captured by Oliver Yates (Heard), the curator at the local zoo.  Irena doesn't know any of this and she doesn't know what her family legacy is.  She happens upon her brother at the zoo and Oliver becomes obsessed with her and offers her a job there.

Little by little, it starts to become clear to Irena, that she will turn into a cat if she has sex with anyone.  The only way to turn back to human form is to kill.

This remake is very well done. Kinski is wonderful as the naive Irena being emotionally overpowered by her domineering brother.  There's even a scary swimming pool scene - a homage to the classic scene from the original!  This remake is bloodier than its original but only in a couple scenes and definitely more erotic.  There's also hypnotic music by David Bowie.  Overall a very good remake of a classic horror movie.

13 Ghosts

"13 Ghosts" (1960) starring Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp, Donald Woods and Margaret Hamilton is a William Castle horror movie that invites the audience to use their ghost viewers to see the ghosts on screen.

The Zorba family, which is in financial dire straights, inherits a haunted house from their reclusive uncle but they must live in it in order to keep it.  The house contains the deceased uncle's collection of ghosts which he was able to see with his special ghost goggles and process for capturing them.  

Soon after moving into the haunted house, the family is playing with a ouija board that they find and they get contacted by their first spirit.  At certain times throughout the movie, the audience is instructed to put on the ghost viewers and the screen turns a bluish color while the ghosts show up in a translucent red color.  The housekeeper is played by Margaret Hamilton and she tries to help the family discover the secrets of the house and the ghosts within.

This is a fun old haunted house movie filled with ghosts, an old mansion and a "Leave it to Beaver" style family that tries to survive the terrors they encounter.

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
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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?