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.

Dead Man's Island

"Dead Man's Island" (1996) is a mystery/thriller made for TV film that takes place on a remote island, starring: Barbara Eden, William Shatner, Roddy McDowall, Morgan Fairchild, Traci Lords, David Faustino, Christopher Atkins, Olivia Hussey, Jameson Parker, Christopher Cazenove and Don Most.

Chase Prescott (Shatner) is a rich man who owns many companies and a beautiful mansion on a remote, private island.  He invites a cast of characters from his businesses, friends and family to the island retreat because he thinks one of them is trying to kill him for his fortune.  He has also invited an old friend, Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins (but everyone calls her Henrie O.) (Eden), who is a renowned journalist so she can investigate these suspects and let him know who the would be killer is.

The list of suspects include: Valerie St. Vincent (Fairchild) who wants Chase to back her on a Broadway play; Trevor Dunnaway (McDowall), Prescott's attorney; Miranda Prescott (Lords), Chase's beautiful young wife; Burton Andrews (Most), Chase's private secretary; Lyle Stedman (Parker), Senior Vice President at Chase's company; sons Haskell (Faustino) & Roger (Atkins); and housemaid Rosie (Hussey) and butler Milo (Cazenove).

Barbara Eden does a good job as Henrie O (although her Texas accent is less than convincing) - asking all the guests the uncomfortable questions everyone would rather not talk about.  Not only do we have a possible murder on the island - there is also an approaching storm to add to the suspensful atmosphere and drama!  "Dead Man's Island" is a fun murder mystery with an all star cast of characters.

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?

The Brotherhood of Satan

"The Brotherhood of Satan" (1971) starring Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, Charles Bateman is an excellent horror movie about a family trapped in a desert town with a bunch of old Satan worshipers.

The family of Ben (Charles Bateman), his girlfriend Nicky (Ahna Capri) and his daughter KT (Geri Reischl) are on their way to Grandma's house when they witness a terrible car accident.  They drive to the nearest town of Hillsboro and they are mobbed by the local townsfolk and quickly flee in their car.  However, they don't get far until their car breaks down and they have to return to Hillsboro.

They discover the town has been cut off from the outside by unknown forces for over a week and one by one their children have gone missing.  Ben joins with the Sheriff (L.Q. Jones, also the movie's writer and producer), the local doctor and priest to determine what is happening to all the children.

While this is occurring, the film also shifts to the local witch's coven which worships Satan and is gathering the children for its sinister plans.  Who in the small town is the leader of the coven?  You soon find out and you get a good look at the elderly denizens of Hillsboro who will do the unspeakable to stay alive and young.

"The Brotherhood of Satan" is a surprisingly good horror flick.  It is visually well filmed and the idea of a town being cut off from the rest of the world creates a sinister sort of claustrophobia.  There are some extremely creepy scenes in this movie, especially the birthday party scene where the children are catered to by unseen figures in black robes.  I highly recommend that you find and watch this film!

Fear in the Night

"Fear in the Night" (1972) starring Judy Geeson, Joan Collins, Ralph Bates and Peter Cushing is a Hammer horror movie about a woman who moves in to her new husband's home on the grounds of a boys' school and keeps getting attacked by a one-armed stranger.

Peggy Heller (Geeson) is recovering from a nervous breakdown and has just married Robert Heller (Bates), a teacher at a boys' school in the English countryside.  On the eve of moving to her new home, she is attacked by a one-armed intruder who has a prosthetic arm.  Her landlady and new husband have a hard time believing her because there is no evidence and of her recent breakdown.

The couple moves into the a cottage on the school grounds between quarters and Peggy wanders through the old Tudor school which is currently empty of students.  She also meets the headmaster and his wife, Michael and Molly Carmichael (Cushing & Collins).  While away on business, Peggy is once again accosted by the one armed man and no one believes her.  She also interacts with the creepy headmaster who happens to have an artificial arm that the viewer notices but apparently not Peggy.

"Fear in the Night" is a film that slowly builds tension and mystery and takes place in the empty school and estate and keeps you guessing until the end.

Insidious Chapters 1 & 2

                                                      

"Insidious" (2010) and "Insidious: Chapter 2" (2013) directed by James Wan, starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye, Steve Coulter, Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell are parts 1 & 2 of a supernatural horror movie that is sure to give you thrills and scares.

The Lambert family: dad Josh (Wilson), mom Renai (Byrne) and sons Dalton (Simpkins) and Foster (Astor) are haunted by the spirit world.  We learn from Josh's mom, Lorraine (Hershey) that Josh has been haunted since he was a child by certain spirits that would show up in photos with him.  Josh was hypnotized by ghost investigator Elise Rainier (Shaye) when he was a child so he would forget about those experiences.  Unfortunately, Josh's son Dalton has similar abilities of astral projection which allows his spiritual body to go to "The Further" which is a place in the spirit world where tormented souls never move on.

In "Insidious", Dalton gets lost in the Further and Josh has to go after him, facing all his childhood fears head on.  He rescues him and brings something back with him.

"Insidious Chapter 2" takes place immediately after the events in chapter 1.  Elise's two assistant investigators, Specs and Tuker,  have returned, bringing a bit of comedy amongst all the horrors found within the film.

The Insidious movies are not gory like James Wan's "Saw" movies.  They are scary chillers that return to the style of old fashioned horror movies by building tension, providing eerie atmosphere and jump out of your seat scares.  If you enjoy a good ghost story, check these movies out.