‘A disturbed teenager unleashes a night of terror’

Bad Ronald is a 1974 American TV movie directed by Buzz Kulik (Crawlspace, 1971) from a screenplay by Andrew Peter Marin. It is based on a novel by Jack Holbrook Vance, who is more famous for his science fiction and fantasy novels.

An introverted and shy teenager, Ronald, accidentally kills a mocking peer and his mother helps him hide in a spare room in their house. Problems arise when the mother goes for an operation and dies, and the house is sold to a new family, with the teen still living inside. Ronald descends into a fantasy world and develops an unwelcome fondness for the youngest daughter of the family…

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Main cast:

Scott Jacoby, Kim Hunter, Dabney Coleman and sisters Lisa and Cindy Eilbacher.

Review:

Although Scott Jacoby who plays Ronald and Cindy Fisher who plays Babs, the object of his affections, never troubled the Academy in their subsequent careers, the acting is of a high standard; the most notable appearance in the film is by Kim Hunter who plays Ronald’s mother and is best known for playing Zira in the 70s Planet of the Apes films.

The music for the film was composed by Fred Karlin who also scored the likes of Westworld and Chosen Survivors. Bad Ronald is considered one of the very best films made for television and sits alongside the likes of Dark Night of the Scarecrow as a film that now appears somewhat inappropriate in terms of theme and content for the small screen.

Fondly remembered since it was first broadcast and appeared as a bootleg tape for many years, Bad Ronald has recently been given the new lease of life it has long deserved in the form of an official DVD from the Warner Archive imprint.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Other reviews:

“Surreal, psychological, and singular, Bad Ronald is the perfect encapsulation of all that made classic TV movies great.” Andrew Todd, Birth. Movies. Death.

“Bad Ronald is an effective demented little piece and deserves a thorough watch; if not just to thrill and excite horror hounds who enjoy creepy little oddities from the seventies but also for writers-to-be to study a straight narrative structure that continually paces itself soundly and also makes biting commentary on the complex dance between accidental horror, emotional scarring and psychological instability.” Lee Gambin, ComingSoon.net

Buy: Amazon.co.uk

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

Wikipedia | IMDb

Curse of the Black Widow is a 1977 American made-for-television horror film directed by Dan Curtis (Burnt Offerings; Dark Shadows; The Norliss Tapes; Trilogy of Terror) from a screenplay by Earl Wallace and Robert Blees (Dr. Phibes Rises Again; Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?; Frogs). It originally aired on ABC on September 16, 1977.

The film stars Anthony Franciosa (Julie Darling: Tenebrae; Web of the Spider), Donna Mills, Patty Duke, Vic Morrow and June Lockhart.

For the past four years, Los Angeles has been terrorised by a series of mysterious murders, in which several men have been found dead with huge puncture wounds in their chests. The latest happens when private detective Mark Higbie (Tony Franciosa) is visiting a bar. A dark-haired woman with a German accent needs help with her car, and one of Higbie’s friends goes out to help her. The woman makes a pass at him, but is turned down. Minutes later, the man is found dead.

Higbie does some digging, and finds out that Lieutenant Conti (Vic Morrow), who is leading the investigation, knows who the culprit is but is covering up details. He soon finds out why–all of the victims have had their bodily fluids sucked out of them, and the wounds are filled with spider venom…

Reviews:

“This has the feel of an extended episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker with a few modifications to accommodate a different set of characters. I don’t mind that in the least; for the most part, the movie is lively and entertaining, and there’s quite a few familiar names in the cast… Dave Sindelar, Fantastic Movie Movies and Ramblings

“C’mon you know you can’t resist this! It’s like someone mashed up that giant spider episode of Gilligan’s Island with Kolchak and then forced some Love Boat stragglers to perform in it! Curse in no way Curtis‘ finest hour but if you are a fan of seventies television and laughable giant monsters it may be yours.” Kindertrauma

“A stumbling narrative drags out what is actually a fairly slight story with far too many time-outs for pointless walks on the beach, drinks over disco or in one instance a scene designed solely for Curtis to show-off his cute little daughter Tracy Curtis’ prowess as a child gymnast. Despite Curtis’ customary solid production values this is less atmospheric than many scary Seventies TV films.” Andrew Pragasm, The Spinning Image

Cast and characters:

• Anthony Franciosa as Mark Higbie
• Vic Morrow as Lt. Conti
• Donna Mills as Leigh Lockwood
• Patty Duke as Laura Lockwood/Valerie Steffan
• June Lockhart as Mrs. Lockwood
• June Allyson as Olga
• Sid Caesar as Lazlo Cozart
• Jeff Corey as Aspa Soldado
• Max Gail as Ragsdale
• Roz Kelly as Flaps
• Michael DeLano as Carlo Lenzi
• Robert Burton as Jeff Wallace
• Bryan O’Byrne as Oakes, zoo watchman
• Tracy Curtis as gymnast
• Irene Cagen as Rita (credited as Irene Forest)
• Bruce French as Summers, hospital administrator
• Mari Gorman as Sophie
• Elizabeth Grey as Charlene
• H.B. Haggerty as Marion ‘Popeye’ Sykes
• Crofton Hardester as Gianni
• Howard Honig as Harker
• Rosanna Locke as Jennifer
• Robert Nadder as Hank, morgue attendant

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘A tale of mounting terror’

Satan’s Triangle is a 1975 American made-for-TV horror film directed by Sutton Roley (The Curse of Dracula TV series; Chosen Survivors; Sweet, Sweet Rachel) from a screenplay by William Read Woodfield (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea). It stars Kim Novak, Doug McClure and Alejandro Rey.

The soundtrack score was composed by Johnny Pate (Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde; So Evil, My Sister).

A USCG pilot and his winchman Haig (Doug McClure) answer an SOS call at sea and arrive at a derelict schooner, the Requite. Haig lowers himself to the ship, where he finds three dead bodies along with one survivor, Eva (Kim Novak), cowering in the cabin.

As the pilot attempts to retrieve Haig and Eva with a rescue basket, the line breaks, plunging the two into the ocean. After they swim back to the boat, the pilot informs Haig that he must return to base because his fuel is borderline.

Eva and Haig spend the night on the boat, during which time she recounts the story of the storm that killed everyone else aboard. One man was hurled through a hatch; one is hanging from the ship’s mast; another vanished before her eyes; and a fourth man is in an aft compartment, floating in the air.

Eva attributes the deaths to supernatural causes, but Haig has a practical explanation for everything, including the man who appears to be floating in the air…

Buy DVD (English audio): Amazon.com

Reviews:

” …an exceptional made-for-TV movie with some surprising twists and turns. The cast is uniformly terrific but I’m especially fond of Kim Novak’s performance as the troubled and tormented lone survivor aboard the ill-fated fishing boat. Novak has always been an understated actress and in Satan’s Triangle  she makes great use of her big eyes and natural sex appeal to woo the audience as well as Doug McClure.”Kimberly Lindbergs, Streamline

“While the plot is pretty barebones, there is much time allotted to itemizing the role spiritualism plays in the lives of humans. By suggesting a Biblical explanation for the very real and very strange events surrounding the multiple disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, nicknamed Satan’s Triangle, the film embraces the paranormal…” Jamie Lisk, Cranked on Cinema

“It’s rather short on surprises when all is said and done; when one of the pilots puts forth a series of logical explanations for all of the freak accidents that occur aboard the boat, you won’t be fooled for a second, especially since his explanations come across as less plausible than the real explanation.” Dave Sindelar, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“A salty & dank atmosphere highlights this intriguing telehorror, buoyed by some interesting visuals (dead Fey hanging upside down from the mast is a chiller). Both McClure and Novak deliver good performances, the surprise ending is both clever and admirably downbeat.” The Terror Trap

“Is the devil testing them? Or is there a logical explanation? The movie does have a great ending. This is one of those great 70’s TV movies, up there with Gargoyles and Are You Afraid of the Dark?” Buried.com

“Just about any review the curious can find of this made-for-TV movie makes particular mention of its twist ending — namely, that it terrifies and induces shivers, if not pants-wetting. The big problem is that director Sutton Roley (Chosen Survivors) forces the viewer to sit through an awfully tedious hour to get there, where a bigger problem awaits: that the ending is vastly overrated and ridiculously predictable.” Rod Lott, Flick Attack

Choice dialogue:

Haig: “I believe in God. God, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny. The Devil? That I can’t swallow…”

Eva: “We’re going to die on this boat now. Just like the others.”

Cast and characters:

• Kim Novak as Eva, the sole survivor of a storm at sea + Tales That Witness Madness; Bell, Book and Candle
• Doug McClure as Lt. J. Haig, winchman of a USCG helicopter + The House Where Evil Dwells; Humanoids from the Deep; The People That Time Forgot
• Alejandro Rey as Father Martin + TerrorVision; The Ninth Configuration; The Swarm
• Ed Lauter as Strickland, the ship’s captain + Python; Magic
  Jim Davis as Hal, a hunter + The Day Time Ended; Dracula vs. Frankenstein; Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter 
• Michael Conrad as Lt Cmdr. Pagnolini, pilot of the USCG helicopter + Scream Blacula Scream
• Titos Vandis as Salao
• Zitto Kazann as Juano
• Peter Bourne as Swedish captain
• Hank Stohl as Coast Guard Capt. Dunnock
• Tom Dever as Miami Rescue Radio Officer
• Trent Dolan as Miami Rescue Lieutenant

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘How can you fight an abstraction? What defense can you use against the infinite?’

Fear No Evil is a 1969 American made-for-television film directed by Paul Wendkos (From the Dead of Night; Good Against Evil; The Mephisto Waltz) from a screenplay by Richard Alan Simmons. It was based on a short story by Guy Endore (author of The Werewolf of Paris).

This film and Ritual of Evil (1970) were pilots for a proposed Universal Television series called Bedeviled. It should not be confused with Frank LaLoggia’s 1981 film of the same title.

Plot:

Dr. David Sorell (Louis Jourdan), a psychiatrist turned reluctant paranormal investigator, begins looking into a friend’s accident and soon discovers that it may be linked to the sinister workings of a satanic cult and a mirror which may reflect doom for those who possess it…

Review:

Airing March 3rd 1969 on NBC, Fear No Evil has the distinction of being considered the first US made-for-television horror film; at least two others had been made previously – Dark Intruder (1965) and Chamber of Horrors (1966), unsold pilots for the series The Black Coat and House of Wax, respectively, which never became realities – but instead of running on television at the time, both films were released theatrically. All three share not only the horror format but also what has become a fixture in the genre, the serious-minded parapsychological investigator, a type that originally debuted in Robert Wise’s 1963 theatrical movie, The Haunting.

In this Universal Television production, pervasive face of 1970’s genre vehicles, Bradford Dillman, plays Paul Varney, a physicist at Interspace and a man haunted by lost memories and seemingly influenced by possible occult forces; Linda Day George, another prevalent face of the decade, as Barbara Anholt, Paul’s fiancée, is the bewildered ingénue desperately trying to maintain her grip on reality after an unforeseen car accident briefly leaves her without Paul’s companionship but in too close proximity to an ominous mirror Paul had absentmindedly purchased just before the accident; television legend, Carroll O’Connor, only three years away from his iconic role as Archie Bunker, plays Myles Donovan, Paul’s co-worker at Interspace and a man that, at times, swings unnervingly between pleasant amiability and vague mendaciousness; Marsha Hunt, a neglected talent from the Golden Age of Hollywood, plays Mrs. Varney, Paul’s mother and the bridge between Barbara’s happy past and perilous future; the fine-tuned, ever-smooth Louis Jourdan plays Dr. David Sorell, psychiatrist and hesitant believer in the paranormal; rounding out the major cast members is the always reliable, and seminal British actor, Wilfrid Hyde-White as Harry Snowden, Dr. Sorell’s mentor and genteel clubhouse lawyer concerning the paranormal.

Fear No Evil’s opening scene masterfully sets the tone for the rest of the movie and expertly whets the viewer’s appetite; it depicts a distressed Paul Varney deep in shadows and frantically racing through L.A.’s famous Bradbury Building at night, careening from door to door, desperately trying to find a way out. He’s obviously experiencing some nightmarish state which has yet to be clarified and which is made eerily manifest by meaty Dutch angles from cinematographer Andrew J. McIntyre and the brilliantly macabre wheels-within-wheels organ music and reverberating voice accompaniment of composer William Goldenberg.

McIntyre’s camera work and lighting are superb throughout the film, with creamy illumination where appropriate in less claustrophobic moments and suffocatingly tenebrous during the darker bits, beautifully intensifying a mounting anxiety and ghoulish dread brought on by possible satanic rituals likely linked to the dark and ornate mirror mentioned previously. Thankfully, Goldenberg repeats this sinister organ and echoing voice motif during heavier scenes but astutely mixes it up by replacing the organ with tinkling chimes, floating wind instruments, and a moody, undulating double base during other more hallucinatory sequences.

Paul Wendkos’ direction, as usual, is solid, and his craftsman’s eye for the moody and ominous comes through with intensity and spine-chilling spookiness. The entire cast delivers on performance, with Carroll O’Connor furnishing what could possibly be the standout in the film; he’s both understated and believable while being edgy and charming, leaving the viewer frequently wondering where he stands in the midst of all the diabolical goings on.

Marsha Hunt comes in a close second, her character at first coming off as slightly cold toward her son’s fiancée but then warming up rather effectively in the second act; her subtle and shocking turn in the third act is just as convincing and surprisingly refreshing, thanks to the shrewd and perceptive script by Richard Alan Simmons.

If a viewer had to tag, the one slight drawback of Fear No Evil would have to be the special effects by Don Record; the mirror sequences, which play a major part in the movie, seem a bit brittle and almost cartoonish, while the flashback/dream episodes have a touch of the flimsy about them. This is only a minor quibble, though, and not really a reflection on Don Record’s skill as a special effects artist, considering this was pretty advanced technical fair for television in the late 1960’s. Essentially, the work probably couldn’t have been done any better at that time, which makes this first official entry in the long and prestigious line of made-for-TV shudderfests legitimately worth your attention and an absolute must for all fans of venerable, well-made horror films.

Ben Spurling, Horrorpedia

Other reviews:

” …the story is fascinating and takes some very interesting turns, the acting is strong, and it was quite ambitious […] The biggest problem with the movie is that the dialogue is clumsy at times; it’s full of dialogue that looks better on paper than it sounds coming from the mouths of actual people. Nevertheless, this is a unique and and interesting TV movie that works well as both horror and mystery.” Dave Sindelar, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“This early teleterror is well acted, especially from a fresh faced young Day (she hadn’t yet married Christopher George) and Jourdan is good as Sorel. A bit talky at times, nevertheless this knows when to reel it in when necessary and manages to be decent late nite viewing.” The Terror Trap

Cast and characters:

• Louis Jourdan – Dr. David Sorrell + Swamp Thing; Count Dracula; Daughter of the Mind
• Lynda Day George – Barbara Anholt + Mortuary + Pieces + Day of the Animals + Ants!
• Carroll O’Connor – Myles Donovan
• Bradford Dillman – Paul Varney + Piranha; Bug; Chosen Survivors; Moon of the Wolf
• Wilfrid Hyde-White – Harry Snowden + The Cat and the Canary; Chamber of Horrors; Ten Little Indians
• Marsha Hunt – Mrs. Varney
• Katherine Woodville – Ingrid Dorne
• Harry Davis – Mr. Wyant
• Ivor Barry – Lecturer
• Jeanne Buckley – Miss Barnett
• Robert Sampson – First Party Guest + The Dark Side of the Moon; Re-Animator; City of the Living Dead
• Lyn Peters – Second Party Guest
• Susan Brown – Third Party Guest

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘They come for blood’

Rise of the Gargoyles is a 2009 Canadian made-for-TV supernatural horror film directed by Bill Corcoran (Vipers; Friday the 13th: The Series) from a screenplay by Andy Briggs. It stars Eric Balfour, Caroline Néron and Justin Salinger.

In Paris, two workers find a hidden chamber while digging in the underground of the Saint Jean André Church. They find valuable objects but while collecting them together but they are attacked by a creature.

Meanwhile, discredited architect-historian Professor Jack Randall, who wrote a book about gargoyles that was ridiculed by his peers, is encouraged by his friend Carol Beckham to investigate the old church. They sneak in the site during the night and while Carol is collecting some artifacts, Jack is recording with his camera.

Suddenly, Jack sees a winged monster coming towards him and he flees from the location with Carol, but breaks his camera. They go to a bar and a huge stone falls over his car. Jack takes a cab to his boarding house and Carol is attacked and beheaded by a gargoyle at her apartment…

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Reviews:

” …a somewhat watchable little movie while also being completely disposable. Though we don’t get to see the gargoyle much, it is still always there, if only in spirit, making weird sounds leaving eviscerated Parisians in its wake and glowing rocks all over the place. Yes, we only see the gargoyle do one little beheading, but it was a cool beheading and we are thankful for that.” Christopher Armstead, Film Critics United

“You can see everything coming long before the limp script gets to the plot point. The special effects were few thanks to the lack of gargoyle screen time. And some of the dialogue (“Jack, give this story a happy ending”) can make your eyes roll. But for all of that, I didn’t hate Rise of the Gargoyles.” KillerReviews.com

“Not the worst in the genre and not the best. The acting is better and I personally like Eric Balfour. The story is silly but reasonably well written. The visual effects are OK for the few there are. A little bit long at times, somewhat dull toward the end. No surprises. Still, I could stick with it to the end without too much will power.” Michel Vega, IMDb

Choice dialogue:

Inspector Gibert: “You would be surprised what atrocities a man can commit.”

Main cast:

Eric Balfour, Caroline Néron, Justin Salinger, Ifan Huw Dafydd,  Nick Mancuso (Bloody Blacksmith; Death Ship; Nightwing), Tanya Clarke, Constantin Barbulescu, Gabriel Spahiu, Lucian Ciurariu, Alexandra Buza, Flaviu Crisan, Paul Niculita, Florin Busuioc, Mihai Diaconu.

NB. Ifan Huw Dafydd was dubbed by Benoît Rousseau.

Filming locations:

MediaPro Studios, Bucharest, Romania
Paris, France

IMDb | Related: Gargoyles – architecture | Gargoyles (TV movie, 1972)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a 1973 American television horror film adaptation of Bram Stoker‘s 1897 novel Dracula written by Richard Matheson and produced and directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis (Burnt Offerings; The Norliss Tapes; Trilogy of Terror), with Jack Palance in the title role. It was the second collaboration for Curtis and Palance after the 1968 TV film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the UK, the film was theatrically released by EMI as Dracula in 1974.

“Bistritz, Hungary May 1897”: natives in Transylvania seem afraid when they learn solicitor Jonathan Harker is going to Castle Dracula. Jonathan shows up, and finds the Count abrupt and impatient to get things done. He reacts very strongly to a photograph of Harker’s fiancée Mina and her best friend Lucy.

After rescuing Harker from the brides, the Count forces Harker to write a letter saying that he will be staying in Transylvania for a month. Harker climbs down the castle wall and finds Dracula’s coffin, but is attacked and knocked out by one of Dracula’s gypsy servants before he can stake Dracula. They later throw him in the lower levels of the crypt, where the brides attack Harker…

Buy: Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“Palance’s take on Dracula as a weary, lovelorn immortal is another riff on Barnabas Collins and represents a departure from the two most noteworthy Dracula turns from the 20th century in Lugosi and Lee. Palance’s age and stateliness recalls the former, while his feral bursts echo the latter, but his performance is more than just a simple portmanteau of those two titans. There are moments of profound, human despair here…” Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!

“Drac has feelings… but this is what makes him all the more dangerous. Palance is as imposing as Christopher Lee with his stature and projects perfect menace as he throws grown men like their nothing.” Jeff Dolniak, Cinema Head Cheese

“Dan Curtis’ Dracula contains all of the elements to make a perfectly fine – and maybe even spooky – Gothic horror film. But the most important element of Bram Stoker’s story has always been – and will always be – Dracula himself. To get him wrong is to negate any of the elements that are done right, and to render the film both flawed and forgettable.” Tyler Smith, Battleship Pretension

“Palance is just terrific. He’s genuinely unsettling and gives such a great impression of an unstoppable force, plus a sense of great evil, but also agony with it, tormented by his eternal existence, and with quite a few moments where he seems to be in great mental and even physical pain […] Nigel Davenport is a refreshingly un-eccentric, down to earth Van Helsing, even though the character as written here is a bit wimp-ish in places, and the almost entirely British cast members are all solid…” Dr. Lenera, Horror Cult Films

“Jack Palance is unable to shake the image of the old warhorse of countless westerns and makes his way through the role with characteristic asthmatic wheeze. The performance is appalling – the scenes where Palance tries to demonstrate anger by throwing things around in a room are so lacking in threat, so lacking in anything except hammy melodrama, that the entire plausibility of the film collapses. The rest of the casting is not much better.” Richard Scheib, Moria

“Palance gives his all (and of course hams it up on occasion) with every line that he delivers and every physical attribute of the vampire king that he interprets. He is one of the most intimidating screen Draculas, and his technique brings a fresh, sympathetic vulnerability to the character, yet his animalistic growls and fits of anger make sure he remains scary.” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In

Buy: Amazon.com

“Rather than ape the fairy tale artifice of Hammer, Curtis grounds his Dracula in the realism of Nineteenth century Europe. This yields mixed results. On the one hand, aside from a pack of German Shepherds doubling unconvincingly for wolves, the sober treatment renders fantastical events never less than believable. Yet the prosaic handling of several of Stoker’s most famous set-pieces cry out for a more magical, supernatural charge.” Andrew Pragasm, The Spinning Image

“The movie is quite well shot, using locations from Yugoslavia as well as those in England (Oakley Court, best known as the house from The Rocky Horror Picture Show is featured prominently) and using some nice compositions to build mood and atmosphere. The story plays out at a good pace and Curtis’ direction is more than capable here. This one really comes together nicely and it holds up well.” Ian Jane, DVD Talk

Cast and characters:

• Jack Palance as Count Dracula / Vlad III the Impaler (Alone in the Dark; Craze; Torture Garden; et al)
• Simon Ward as Arthur Holmwood (The Monster Club; Dominique; Deadly Strangers)
• Nigel Davenport as Abraham Van Helsing (Phase IV)
• Fiona Lewis as Lucy Westenra / Dracula’s deceased wife (Strange Behavior; The Fury; Blue Blood)
• Murray Brown as Jonathan Harker (Vampyres)
• Penelope Horner as Mina Murray
• Pamela Brown as Mrs. Westenra
• Sarah Douglas as one of Dracula’s wives
• Virginia Wetherell as one of Dracula’s wives (Demons of the Mind; Disciple of Death; Curse of the Crimson Altar)
• Barbara Lindley as one of Dracula’s wives
• George Pravda as Innkeeper
• Hana Maria Pravda as Innkeeper’s wife
• Reg Lye as Zookeeper
• John Pennington as shipping clerk

Filming locations:

Oakley Court, Windsor Road, Oakley Green, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK (Carfax Abbey)
Trakoscan Castle, Croatia

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credits: Adelphi Posters

I, Desire – aka Desire, the Vampire – is a 1982 American made-for-TV supernatural horror film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey (The Night Stalker; Home for the Holidays; The City of the Dead) from a screenplay by Robert Foster. It stars David Naughton, Dorian Harewood and Marilyn Jones.

David Balsiger (Naughton), a Los Angeles law student working as a coroner’s assistant, falls in love with an attractive strange woman (Jones)…

Reviews:

“In some ways I, Desire makes a great reverse companion piece to An American Werewolf in London. It also fits keenly beside Paul Schrader’s 1982 take on Cat People, with its constant rotation between fascination and fear of the erotic. As a television movie, it is limited from going to certain extremes, but if you read between the lines it has more to offer than many current attempts to tackle similar material.” Kindertrauma

“Decent atmosphere owes much to TV’s 1974-1975 Night Stalker series; Naughton delivers a pleasant enough performance.” Terror Trap

“Aside from a few obvious twists, I, Desire is a great little movie. I have loved David Naughton since he was a werewolf in sheep’s clothing and he doesn’t let me down as the hunky vampire hunter […] The supporting cast is just as good (Marilyn, where have you gone?) with Dourif stealing the diner scene with so much scenery chewing you’d think he was bulimic.” Amanda Reyes, Made for TV Mayhem

“I, Desire does a decent job at times building the suspense through the visuals, but it does look very cheap […] I, Desire comes off as a bit of a rip off of something like Kolchak: The Night Stalker. The movie has its moments and will scare younger viewers.” JP Roscoe, Basement Rejects

Main cast:

• David Naughton –Waking Nightmare; The Hatred; Sharknado 5; American Horror Story; Cool as Hell; Hallows Point; Big Bad Wolf; Mirror, Mirror III: The Voyeur; Ice Cream Man; Body Bags; Amityville: A New Generation; The Sleeping Car; An American Werewolf in London
• Dorian Harewood – Gothika; Godzilla: The Series; Pacific Heights; A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
• Marilyn Jones – Monsters TV series; Tales from the Darkside; V; The Love Butcher
• Barbara Stock – Charmed; The Twilight Zone TV series
• Arthur Rosenberg – House of Frankenstein [1997]; Cujo
• James Victor
• Brad Dourif – Herbert West: Reanimator; Chucky movies; The Control Group; Malignant; Spontaneous Combustion; et al
• Marc Silver – Motel Hell

IMDb

‘A pretty co-ed’s part-time job leads to a bizarre payoff!’

Scream Pretty Peggy – aka Scream, Pretty Peggy – is a 1973 American made-for-television horror film directed by Gordon Hessler (Scream and Scream Again; Cry of the Banshee; The Oblong Box; et al) from a screenplay by Jimmy Sangster (Fear in the Night; Dracula; The Curse of Frankenstein; et al) and Arthur Hoffe. It stars Bette Davis, Ted Bessell and Sian Barbara Allen.

The film was broadcast as the ABC Movie of the Week on November 24, 1973.

Peggy is a college student and aspiring artist who works as a housekeeper in the mansion of mysterious recluse Mrs. Elliott and her oddball sculptor son Jeffrey.

Peggy becomes suspicious when George Thornton comes to the house looking for his missing daughter, who once worked in the position she now holds, and even more so when she learns Jeffrey’s sister, whom she was led to believe was on an extended European vacation, is “hopelessly insane’ and living in the apartment above the garage.

Undaunted by warnings from her employer, Peggy is determined to befriend Jennifer, a decision that leads to terrifying events…

Reviews:

“If you wanna see an original and fresh TV-movie that delivers something you never seen before, this is not the movie for you – but it’s still highly competent, intelligently written and with a couple of very creepy scenes and an OK twist at the end.” Fred Anderson, Schmollywood Babylon

” …cobbled together from various other stories (most notably Psycho), there are a few sharp flashes thrown into the mix. Those wonderfully chilling moments are a testament to Hessler’s adept direction, and Bob Prince’s unnerving score. Despite the story’s limitations they create a tension that lies thick on the contemporary gothic telethriller.”Amanda Reyes, Are You in the House Alone? A TV Movie Compendium 1964 – 1999 

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

“Although more cliché ridden than a thousand hipsters, there are several elements to this 1973 made-for-television movie that raise its ass above the chaff; the killer in a long flowing nightie with disheveled hair is tops for one. The image is not used enough but it’s grand and slasher worthy.” Lance Vaughan, Kindertrauma

“Scream Pretty Peggy is a simplistic, enjoyable telehorror with coy slasher overtones. Both Allen and Bessell (from TV’s That Girl) deliver solid performances while screen legend Davis is in fine form as the boozy Mrs. Elliott. With a memorable shock ending, this rare effort is worth seeking out.” The Terror Trap

“Other than the lazy plot twist, and some nitpicky elements here and there, it was a decent film. I was entertained and had fun watching it.” Slack Jaw Punks

“There was no originality in this film, save for Davis showing how she can even brighten the line readings of crappy dialogue. The recipe for this film is like one of Kathy Mitchell’s Dump Cakes. Take — 3/4 cup Psycho 1/4 cup Die! Die! My Darling! 1/4 cup “House of Wax. Bake, edit, and the results are “Scream Pretty Peggy!” The Raving Queen

“Blatantly plagiaristic TV-movie rip-off of Robert Bloch’s Psycho utilizing predictable plot devices.” John Stanley, Creature Features

Just missing the “classic suspense/horror movie” category, this film ends up a camp classic, not quite awful, not great, but worth watching due to the stars.” Michael Karol, The ABC Movie of the Week

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca

Choice dialogue:

Jeffrey Elliott: “I was trying to portray the ultimate in evil. I don’t think I have succeeded.”

Jeffrey Elliott: “Art’s only obligation is to touch people’s emotions. Whatever emotions.”

Main cast and characters:

• Bette Davis as Mrs. Elliott – Wicked Stepmother; The Watcher in the Woods; The Dark Secret of Harvest Home; Burnt Offerings; The Nanny; Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte; What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 
• Ted Bessell as Jeffrey Elliott – The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV series, ‘Thou Still Unravished Bride’)
• Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy Johns – You’ll Like My Mother
• Christiane Schmidtmer as Jennifer Elliott
• Charles Drake as George Thornton – The Screaming Woman; It Came from Outer Space; The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
• Allan Arbus as Doctor Eugene Saks – Damien: Omen II
• Jessica Rains as Girl in Office
• Christiane Schmidtmer as Jennifer Elliot
• Tovah Feldshuh as Agnes Thornton – Angelica; The Walking Dead; Silver Bullet; Terror Out of the Sky; The World of Darkness;

Filming locations:

The Noah Dietrich estate above the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California, USA
Universal Studios – Universal City, California, USA

Trivia:

The horrific sculptures were the work of Don Chandler who went on to sculpt Bruce the shark for Jaws (1975).

Production designer Joe Alves went on to direct Jaws 3-D in 1983.

Offline reading:

Do You Want It Good or Tuesday? From Hammer Films to Hollywood! A Life in the Movies by Jimmy Sangster, Midnight Marquee Press

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credits: Slack Jaw Punks

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Dead of Night: A Darkness at Blaisedon is a 1969 American made-for-television horror film directed by Lela Swift (Deadly Visitor; The Gift of Terror; The Satan Murders) from a screenplay by Dan Curtis (Burnt Offerings; Trilogy of Terror; The Norliss Tapes; et al) and Sam Hall (House of Dark Shadows). It stars Cal Bellini, Kerwin Mathews, Thayer David and Marj Dusay.

This was a pilot for a proposed supernatural series to be called “Dead of Night”. It was ordered by ABC-TV (already home of Dan Curtis’ hugely successful Dark Shadows). Although the series did not sell, the pilot was broadcast on 26 August 1969.

Review:

For those familiar with Dan Curtis’ other horror productions, this pilot for an early unrealized Dead of Night TV series covers similar, if distilled, burial grounds.

Most of the action takes place in Blaisedon Manor, an old manse borrowed directly from Poe and only seen in deep shadows and diaphanous mist. Cobwebs occupy every strategic surface and corner of the interior; electric light is eschewed in favour of less illuminating candle flame; worn, Victorian furniture steadfastly holds its ground against fast encroaching modernity from the outside world; angles are sharp and frequent, bordering on the Escheresque; fireplaces are large and framed by ornately carved mantles, over which hang ominous portraits invoking an unsettling past.

Angela Martin (elegantly played by Marj Dusay), who has just inherited the old Blaisedon estate, calls on Jonathan Fletcher (Kerwin Mathews at his sturdy, yet deferential, best) and Sajid Rau (played with breezy confidence by Cal Bellini), two paranormal investigators; she tells them she’s trying to sell off the house as she can’t afford to keep it.

However, no-one is apparently willing to buy the house because of claims it is haunted; she states she doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she would like Fletcher and Rau to investigate anyway in order to declare the house ghost-free and, therefore, marketable. Being stereotypical male characters from late ‘60s television, they immediately drop everything and agree to help this beautiful damsel in distress.

Music editor, Irving Robbin, deftly cobbled together bits and pieces from Robert Cobert’s masterly score for Curtis’ concurrently running hit, Dark Shadows (ABC, 1966 – 1971) for this chiller, adding a distinct feeling of unease due to Cobert’s ubiquitous wailing violins, echoing xylophones, and trembling bass notes which set the nerves on edge.

Trevor Williams’ art direction leaves no doubt that Blaisedon House is a place occupied by the creeping dead, with its numerous cobwebs, gloomy antique furniture, and murky wallpaper. The script by Curtis and long-time Dark Shadows scribe, Sam Hall, treads recognizable ground, but this ends up leaving the viewer feeling comfortably macabre rather than noticeably annoyed.

Lela Swift’s direction is energetic and tense due to bracing zooms and the constant and creative movement of the camera through excruciatingly tight sets; Swift’s and editor John Oldsewski’s frequent cuts simultaneously open up the close spaces and add to the mounting anxiety in each scene. And Thayer David, always an actor of considerable presence, here delivers an unsettling performance as Seth Blakely, the threateningly malevolent Blaisedon groundskeeper.

Being a shot-live-on-tape production, the movie does occasionally suffer from flubs: shadows from off-camera crew and boom mics clearly passing over sets and actors, microphone conversations just audible below the actor’s dialog, cameras hastily being moved out of shot once it’s discovered they’re visible.

Though not a blooper, one thing which does stand out, and which can either be seen as distracting or charming by the viewer is the costume design of Ramsey Mostoller, or simply Mostoller in the credits; her sense of fashion in this production was perfectly in step with the times but can be seen by an unforgiving modern audience as being horribly dated. Her design for Bellini’s character looks like the slightly altered wardrobe of Fred Jones from Scooby-Doo, loose ascot and all.

Despite these potential minor blemishes, this short (just under a full hour) pilot offers quite a few eerie shivers for the generous and accommodating viewer looking for classic, old-fashioned frights.

Ben Spurling, Horrorpedia

Other reviews:

“Though not badly made or acted for the medium, everything here seems overly-familiar and the whole project is ultimately forgettable (even by 1969 standards).” The Bloody Pit of Horror

Choice dialogue:

“A man’s possessions. How sad they are when he’s dead.”

IMDb

Image thanks: The Bloody Pit of Horror

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1968 Canadian/American television horror film directed by Charles Jarrott based on a teleplay by Ian McLellan Hunter (The Amazing Mr. X), based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella of the same title. The Dan Curtis production stars Jack Palance, Denholm Elliott, Leo Genn and Billie Whitelaw.

Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself…

Reviews:

“With convincing make-up by Dick Smith, remarkable art direction by Trevor Williams, and a supporting cast that includes Billie Whitelaw (The Omen) and Denholm Elliott, this is finest adoption of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel next to the 1932 Fredric March version. The only drawback is that it’s totally shot on videotape.” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In

” …probably due to budgetary reasons, it was done on videotape and looks it. However, don’t allow this to put you off. This one ranks high as far as screen adaptations of the book are concerned and it is thoroughly absorbing for its entire two-hour running time.” Digital Retribution

” …the opening scene where Dr. Jekyll faces off with a sneering panel of physicians is a little too cliched to really be effective, and having most of the dialogue reprised during the final confrontation scene is the one downside to what is otherwise an extraordinarily effective scene. But these are really minor quibbles; the movie works very well indeed…” Dave Sindelar, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“Palance also hits just the right notes as Jekyll (which is not necessarily easy, as Palance looks pretty intimidating even as the refined Dr. Jekyll). The character traces a sort of bell curve through the film– anxious and under attack by his colleagues at the beginning, intoxicated by Hyde’s perverse joie de vivre in the middle, and worn out and hopeless at the end.” Brian Schuck, Films from Beyond the Time Barrier

” …this is a handsome and well-written version of the story which explores a number of elements of the story which have been ignored in other versions. Some have called it the best version of the story – frankly I have my doubts – but what is true is that it is a very solid and watchable version, and it remains consistently entertaining.” Rivets on the Poster

Buy DVD: Amazon.com

“Palance is first-rate in both titular roles, well done score by Robert Cobert. Whitelaw (Damien’s sinister nanny from The Omen) is fetching as Hyde’s clinging hooker. Nice makeup by Dick Smith.” The Terror Trap

“Jekyll’s ultimate weakness of character is exposed as the film reaches its climax, and Palance builds it up perfectly with his performance. This is a must-see for fans of gothic horror, Jack Palance, and just well-made films.” Steve Miller, Terror Titans

Buy DVD: Amazon.com

Choice dialogue:

Dr. Jekyll (as he prepares to swig his potion): “Gentlemen, be damned to you.”

Cast and characters:

• Jack Palance … Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde – Living with the Dead; Horror of the Hungry Humongous Hungan; Alone in the Dark; Without Warning; Craze; Bram Stoker’s Dracula; Torture Garden
• Denholm Elliott … Mr. George Devlin – Brimstone and Treacle; Underworld; The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983); Hammer House of Horror; The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978); To the Devil a Daughter; The Vault of Horror; The House That Dripped Blood; Mystery and Imagination (TV series)
• Leo Genn … Dr. Lanyon – Endless Night; Die Screaming Marianne; A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin; The Bloody Judge; Ten Little Indians; The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse
• Torin Thatcher … Sir John Turnbull – Night Gallery (TV series)
• Rex Sevenoaks … Dr. Wright
• Gillie Fenwick … Poole – Friday the 13th: The Series
• Elizabeth Cole … Hattie
• Duncan Lamont … Sergeant Grimes – The Creeping Flesh; Nothing But the Night; Burke & Hare; My Partner the Ghost TV series; Quatermass and the Pit; Frankenstein Created Woman; The Evil of Frankenstein; The Quatermass Experiment TV series
• Paul Harding … Constable Johnson
• Oskar Homolka … Stryker – Mr. Sardonicus
• Tessie O’Shea … Tessie O’Toole
• Jeanette Landis … Liz
• Liza Creighton … Billie
• Billie Whitelaw … Gwyn Thomas – Hot Fuzz; The Omen; Supernatural TV series; Night Watch; Frenzy; The Flesh and the Fiends
• Donald Webster … Garvis

Filming locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

IMDb

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‘A perfect 666’

Satan’s School for Girls is a 1973 American supernatural horror made-for-TV feature film. It was directed by David Lowell Rich (The Horror at 37,000 Feet; Eye of the Cat) from a screenplay by Arthur A. Ross (Creature from the Black Lagoon; The Creature Walks Among Us). The Spelling-Goldberg production stars Pamela Franklin, Kate Jackson and Lloyd Bochner.

A mysterious person seems to be chasing student Martha Sayers (Terry Lumley), who drives to her sister’s lakeside house in Los Angeles. The same day, the police and Martha’s sister Elizabeth (Pamela Franklin) find her hanged in the living room. The police rule her death as an unmotivated suicide, but Elizabeth refuses to believe this and investigates further.

She decides to visit the exclusive academy that Martha attended, The Salem Academy for Women, despite warnings from Martha’s roommate, Lucy Dembrow (Gwynne Gilford). Under the assumed name of Elizabeth Morgan, she enrols at the college, where she is welcomed by her classmates Roberta Lockhart (Kate Jackson), Debbie Jones (Jamie Smith Jackson) and Jody Keller (Cheryl Ladd)…

Review:

Satan’s School for Girls is an early example of the kitschy titling that would later bring us the likes of Satan’s Cheerleaders, and is one of the few TV movies to have been remade (in 2000, with Shannen Doherty in the lead role).

The original stars Pamela Franklin as Elizabeth Sayers, a woman whose sister committed suicide under mysterious circumstances while attending Salem’s School for Girls. Suspicious of her sister’s death, Elizabeth enrols at the school in order to investigate and soon, with the occurrence of another suicide, she finds herself caught in an increasingly complex web of dark and anomalous happenings.

Odd behaviour abounds: the headmistress, played astutely by acting maven Jo Van Fleet, is at first stiffly composed almost to the point of repressiveness, projecting an aura of smothered perplexity; Roy Thinnes is impeccably smooth as Mr. Clampett, the hip art teacher professing mind-expanding theories of perception bordering on the delirious in order to get his students to reach a deeper level of creativity; and Lloyd Bochner gives a typically vigorous performance as Mr. Delacroix, the brittle and unsettled psychology instructor fixated on the breaking of wills; Kate Jackson’s Roberta, on the other hand, is one of the few characters to come off relatively stable, adding a poised buoyancy to the otherwise increasingly thick atmosphere.

Notwithstanding the death which opens the story, the first half of the film is brightly lit, with frequent outdoor scenes counterbalancing tense indoor moments; the second half, on the other hand, bubbles with a deepening dread accentuated by cinematographer Tim Southcott’s murky lighting and judicious framing as characters weave in and out of adumbral hallways, bosky night time locales, and a shadowy basement that anyone in his right mind would avoid.

Director Rich, whose career capably spanned many genres, here delivers fitting, if not scintillating, imagery while seemingly allowing actors to pull out their own performances, not always to good effect; Debbie’s (Jamie Smith-Jackson) neurasthenic hallway crackup approximately twenty-one minutes into the film makes the viewer shriek from laughter rather than unease, and Cheryl Ladd is merely present for most of the film, with only a hasty moment of well-done classroom befuddlement before fading back into the scenery.

Arthur Ross’ script is strictly a journeyman’s effort, competent but unremarkable; everything follows logically from everything else, all the right notes are played, tensions gradually build through a sound three-act format, and the conclusion is vaguely haunting without being too convincing.

As is so common from the era, scriptwriter Ross obviously knows very little about the occult, and therefore, wisely avoids delving too deeply into details, which helps keep the whole thing from tumbling into catastrophic silliness; unfortunately he, like most tradesman writers of the time, mistakenly conflate witchcraft with Satanism, melding the two most prominent bogeymen of a casually dabbling viewership into one, giant, shudder-some, cloven-footed fiend. It works, if you put your mind on hold and don’t sweat the shorthand.

The truly weak spot in the film, though, is the naked foreshadowing of every vital plot point, a safe telegraphing which was expected at the time but has since fallen out of favour, leaving the modern viewer feeling slightly cheated.

Ben Spurling, HORRORPEDIA

This review is a re-edited extract from a chapter about satanism and the occult in 1970s made-for-TV movies in the book Satan Superstar, published by The Reprobate Press in 2018.

Order Satan Superstar from The Reprobate Press

Other reviews:

“The finale is actually fairly atmospheric and while the movie has ‘fad cash in’ written all over it, at least it does what it does well. A classic? No, not a classic, but if you like supernatural seventies horror and don’t necessarily need the more explicit content that this film’s R-rated theatrical counterparts bring to the screen, you can certainly have a good time at the movies with this one.” Ian Jane, Rock! Shock! Pop!

” …since the title gives it away, about the only mystery left is “Who is Satan?”, and practically every review I’ve read gives that away. It has a couple of good moments, in particular a scene in which a bevy of women with long poles prevent a professor from escaping from a pond and causing his death.” Dave Sindelar, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“Given the film’s title, the big reveal at the climax doesn’t come as much of a surprise. The seventy-odd minutes preceding it, however, are a cavalcade of seventies centre-partings, moody lighting, mildly terrifying suspense, two-thirds of Charlie’s Angels and Luciferian evil.” Rich Flannagan, Are You in the House Alone? 

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

“If one were to seek it out, Satan’s School for Girls would provide some decent entertainment but it is not really one of those must-see films that would even warrant having been looked for. It is good yes, but worth only to catch if it were playing on T.V. or if one was a major fan of the actresses within.” The Telltale Mind

” …even with the lowly production values and implicit television censorship, it isn’t a bad little flick.  The story is predictable, but not boring.  There’s one satisfying murder (beware sorority sisters bearing poles, that’s all I’ll say), and either Roberta is given some reasonable dialog or Kate Jackson has talent (and I’m putting my money on the second).” The Film Atheist

“It’s alternately creepy and cheesy, and occasionally both at the same time, but the acting is generally fine. Jackson is perfectly eerie, and Ladd is game, but her part is very small.” Michael Karol, The ABC Movie of the Week Companion

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca

Cast and characters:

• Pamela Franklin as Elizabeth Sayers – The Food of the Gods; Thriller TV series; The Legend of Hell House; Night Gallery; Necromancy; And Soon the Darkness; Our Mother’s House; The Nanny; The Innocents
• Kate Jackson as Roberta Lockhart – Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; Satan’s School for Girls (2000); Death at Love House; Killer Bees; Night of Dark Shadows; Dark Shadows TV series
• Lloyd Bochner as Professor Delacroix – Legend of the Mummy; The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries: ‘The House on Possessed Hill’; Crowhaven Farm; The Dunwich Horror; The Night Walker
• Jamie Smith Jackson as Debbie Jones – Night Cries; Bug; House of Evil
• Roy Thinnes as Dr. Joseph Clampett – Dark Shadows TV series; Rush Week; The Norliss Tapes; The Horror at 37,000 Feet; The Invaders TV series
• Jo Van Fleet as Mrs. Jessica Williams
• Cheryl Stoppelmoor [Ladd] as Jody Keller
• Frank Marth as Detective – Kolchak: The Night Stalker
• Terry Lumley as Martha Sayers –
• Gwynne Gilford as Lucy Dembrow – Fade to Black; Beware! The Blob
• Bill Quinn as Gardener – Lucky Stiff; Dead & Buried; Psychic Killer; Night Gallery
• Ann Noland as Kris
• Bing Russell as Sheriff – A Taste of Evil; Billy the Kid vs. Dracula; The Munsters

Trivia:

In 2000, Satan’s School for Girls was remade with Shannon Doherty in the lead role. Kate Jackson returned but this time as the college dean.

Wikipedia | IMDb

The Possessed is a 1977 American made-for-TV supernatural horror film directed by Jerry Thorpe from a screenplay by John Sacret Young, and starring James Farentino, Joan Hackett, Diana Scarwid, and Harrison Ford.

Kevin Leahy, an alcoholic Catholic priest who has strayed from his faith, crashes his car and is pronounced dead at the scene. As penance, he is sent back to Earth to fight evil as an exorcist and returns to life.

At the Helen Page School, a Catholic all-girls college in Salem, Oregon, graduation season is near. The school is about to go coed. Ellen Sumner (Claudette Nevins), is a teacher at the school, which her daughter, Weezie, attends. One evening, the paper in Ellen’s typewriter inexplicably bursts into flames…

Review:

A hesitant and vacillating priest played sensitively by James Farentino, comes back from the dead as an exorcist; he’s forced to redeem himself by opposing a demon whose ironic proclivity for causing death by fire at a girl’s school has become a bit too flagrant.

Though a possession story, the arson element dominates, causing the film to bear a more than passing resemblance to Stephen King’s Firestarter, though the movie predates King’s novel by three years. If it has to be considered, perhaps consider it an inspiration.

Leonard Rosenman’s score wonderfully reinforces a mounting unnerving tension, and John Sacret Young’s writing is strong, with some very clever dialogue; the acting by most is of high quality, but impeccably so by Harrison Ford; it makes one wish he were in more of the film, if not the entirety of it.

The Possessed is highly compelling up to the final encounter, but then becomes a watered-down and unconvincing riff on The Exorcist and unfortunately fizzles to some degree.

Ben Spurling, HORRORPEDIA

This review is a re-edited extract from a chapter about satanism and the occult in 1970s made-for-TV movies in the book Satan Superstar, published by The Reprobate Press in 2018. Order Satan Superstar from The Reprobate Press

Buy DVD: Amazon.com

Other reviews:

“Short, sharp, creepy, it might still deliver some minor shocks. Not at all bad for TV. I remember catching it twice on TV, late 70s and again early 80s. Several scenes really stuck enough to make it a must-see when it rolled around again.” Mark Hodgson, Black Hole

” …almost no information is provided regarding the nature of the demon, and, the possession arguably arrives too late […] Nonetheless, it’s highly ambitious stuff for the small screen that offers up some risqué themes, a brilliantly game performance by Hackett and a couple of effective set-pieces along the way.” Kevin Hilton, Are You in the House Alone? A TV Movie Compendium 1964 – 1999, Headpress, 2016

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

” …an air of mold and perversion and frustrated ambitions that gives The Possessed an edge over other Exorcist knock-offs. Terrific cast, effective atmosphere, and a genuinely scary finale. The little-seen The Possessed comes highly, highly recommended.” Paul Mavis, DVD Talk

“Director Jerry Thorpe tries to coast on the hothouse atmosphere of the all-girls school and indeed manages to create a claustrophobic air, but the ultimate ratio between build-up and payoff comes as something of a disappointment. The movie’s climax is truncated and abrupt. This is indicative that the exorcism angle and the character of the priest are the least satisfying aspects of the film, which seems to want to tell a more nonspecific ghost story.” Jeremy Heilman, Movie Martyr

“It would be a lie to say it’s scary, but it’s engaging. You care about what’s happening on the screen, which I rarely do nowadays. And this more or less without any spectacular scenes. Well, it’s not totally without them – there’s some cool stuff involving fires and when we finally understand who’s behind it all, it’s completely cheese-less. Bravo!” Fred Anderson, Schmollywood Babylon

“A good cast, including P.J. Soles, Dinah Manoff, and Ann Dusenberry in minor roles, a terrific setting, and a brisk showdown/conclusion…make this one worth seeing.” The Terror Trap

Cast and characters:

• James Farentino as Kevin Leahy – Aaahh!!! Real Monsters TV series; The Cradle Will Fall; Dead & Buried; Night Gallery TV series
• Joan Hackett as Louise Gelson – Dead of Night; How Awful About Allan
• Harrison Ford as Paul Winjam
• Claudette Nevins as Ellen Sumner – The Mask
• P. J. Soles as Marty – Grindsploitation; The Butterfly Room; Beg; The Devil’s Rejects; Uncle Sam; Alienator; Innocent Prey; Halloween; Blood Bath; Carrie; et al
• Diana Scarwid as Lane – Psycho III
• Eugene Roche as Sergeant Taplinger
• Ann Dusenberry as Louise “Weezie” Summer – Jaws 2
• Dinah Manoff as Celia
• Carol Jones as Alex

Filming locations:

The film was shot on location at Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1976.

Release:

Originally broadcast on NBC on May 1, 1977, the film aired just a few short weeks before Star Wars would make Harrison Ford a household name.

The Possessed was made available via a Warner Archive DVD-R on April 22, 2010.

Wikipedia | IMDb

Cruise Into Terror – aka Voyage Into Evil – is a 1978 American made-for-television horror feature film directed by Bruce Kessler (Deathmoon; Kolchak: The Night Stalker; Simon, King of the Witches) from a screenplay by Michael Braverman. The movie stars Dirk Benedict, Frank Converse, John Forsythe and Christopher George.

Gerald Fried (Maneaters Are Loose!; Survive!; The Baby) contributed a suitably strident score.

An Egyptian sarcophagus, recovered from the sea in the Gulf of Mexico, contains the son of Satan, and its effects start to make the passengers of a small ship behave strangely…

Reviews:

“Thanks to its low budget, most of the shenanigans are filmed at the dock or on threadbare sets that seldom resemble the location that they cut to, and padded out with fog, flashing lights, hammy dialog, mismatched stock footage of lagoons, sharks, wavy horizons and a coral reef – all of which do nothing but add silly charm to the laughably plotted goings-on.” DF Dresden, Are You in the House Alone?, Headpress, 2016

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

“Amid much eye-rolling, mumble-mouthed dialogue and really terrible acting (Christopher George, as a business man who wants to sell the artifacts for big bucks, is the worst), my all-time favourite moment is when the sarcophagus starts to breath like an inflating/deflating balloon whenever it is threatened or trying to influence somebody (such as the repressed/horny Meriwether).” David Churchill, Critics At Large

“A bunch of past their prime actors bicker over what to do with a Sarcophagus (sell it, throw it offboard, burn it?). Occasionally someone dies, and later we learn the devil’s son is on board. I’ve seen my share of 70’s made for TV horror and this is certainly above average when it comes to entertainment value even if its entirely in a so bad it’s good manner.” Fulci 420, Letterboxd

“The cast has a whale of a time with the subject matter and while the jolts are few, this one is not nearly as bad as you may have heard. Any contrived chiller with the likes of both Georges, Stella Stevens and Ray Milland can’t be all bad…” The Terror Trap

Cast and characters:

• Dirk Benedict … Simon McLane – Demon Keeper; Sssssss
• Frank Converse … Matt Lazarus – The Haunting of Rosalind; Dr. Cook’s Garden
• John Forsythe … Reverend Charles Mather – Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles TV series
• Christopher George … Neal Barry
• Lynda Day George … Sandra Barry – Mortuary; It Happened at Lakewood Manor; Day of the Animals; et al
• Jo Ann Harris … Judy Haines – Deadly Games; Goober and the Ghost Chasers; The Beguiled
• Lee Meriwether … Lil Mather – Hell’s Kitty; The Munsters Today; 4D Man
• Ray Milland … Dr. Isiah Bakkun – The Attic; Frogs; The Premature Burial; The Uninvited; et al
• Roger E. Mosley … Nathan
• Hugh O’Brian … Captain Andrews – Ten Little Indians; Rocketship X-M
• Stella Stevens … Marilyn Magnesun – Megaconda; Little Devils: The Birth; Wacko; The Manitou
• Hilarie Thompson … Debbie Porter – Killer’s Delight; The Fury; Hex
• Marshall Thompson … Bennett – Bog; First Man Into Space; Fiend Without a Face; Cult of the Cobra; et al
• Ruben Moreno … Emanuel

Release:

Cruise Into Terror was shown on the ABC network on February 3, 1978

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Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell is a 1978 American made-for-television supernatural horror feature film directed by Curtis Harrington (Ruby; The Dead Don’t Die; The Cat Creature; Night Tide; et al) from a screenplay by Stephen and Elinor Karpf (Gargoyles). The movie stars Richard Crenna, Yvette Mimieux, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann.

Artie Kane (Eyes of Laura Mars; The Bat People) composed the soundtrack score.

Married couple Mike (Richard Crenna) and Betty (Yvette Mimeaux) decide to buy their kids (Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann) a cute little puppy to replace their recently deceased dog. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, they adopt a hound from the local satanic cult that turns out to be a fuzzy demon from Hell.

Before her mysterious death, the maid is the first to suspect the pup is possessed. When the wife and kids start performing strange occult rituals, dad Mike suspects the dog has demonic powers and flies to Ecuador to seek the advice of a Shaman about exorcism rituals…

On July 26, 2011, Shriek Show released the movie on Blu-ray disc in a high-definition restoration from the original negative. Extras include:

• Audio interview with Curtis Harrington
• To the Devil a Dog featurette
• Promotional trailer
• Martine Beswick photo gallery
• Martine Beswick text interview

Reviews [may contain spoilers]:

“If you have the patience, you’ll be rewarded with a fast peek at the (admittedly cool) hellhound when it eventually shows up, some mild terror and brightly colored outrage as the kids become enchanted and evil, mom gets horny, and the house goes mad.” DF Dresden, Are You in the House Alone?, Headpress, 2016

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

“This is the sort of Val Lewton approach that Harrington put to good use in Night Tide… Best of all is the jokey casting of (Kim) Richards and (Ike) Eisenmann, previously seen as psychic siblings in (Disney’s) Escape to Witch Mountain…” Cinefantastique

“It was solid cheesy fun throughout. If you like 70s styles and décor, the Witch Mountain kids, young adult horror, made-for-TV horror [in which bad things might happen or be implied, but it’s never going to be really, really scary], and enjoy a current of true silliness peppered with some surprisingly suspenseful stuff… this may be for you!” Cinema de Merde

“A cute puppy with Village of the Damned style glowing eyes and a dog that just stares at people are not exactly the stuff of nightmares, unless you have some really f*cked up nightmares. I still think it’s worth a watch and it’s pretty entertaining for a 70s TV movie but one thing’s for certain: The wallpaper in the Barry household is far more frightening that anything conjured up by Devil Dog.” Crustacean Hate!

“Director Harrington does an outstanding job of keeping what could be a seriously bad, cheesy B-movie on track, and the cast sports two of this reviewer’s personal favorite TV-movie regulars from the era: Richard Crenna and Yvette Mimieux.” Debi Moore, Dread Central

” …suffers immensely through a cut-rate budget, halfheartedly implied shocks, laughable special effects, and uninspired direction by Harrington who was obviously going through the motions here. But perhaps this is what has given this cheesy little TV film such an undeserved following through the years?”  George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In

“Putting aside the whole “Hound of Hell” idea and its inherent retardedness for a moment, this movie really does not deliver the goods. I mean, I’m not trying to tell Satan’s minions how to do their job or anything, but the damn dog doesn’t even bite anyone! Come on! All he does is stare. Stare stare stare and pant.” Final Girl

“The score holds up very well and manages to impress, creating a sense of doom and foreboding each and every time Lucky starts working her magic. The score alone can’t carry this movie, however. Thankfully with the help of some veteran actors, above average performances are given by the entire cast.” Horror Digital

“Despite the dense amount of action packed into its 95 minute running time, Devil Dog falls short in the special effects department. After the laughable final showdown between Mike and Lucky, the family becomes un-possessed and son Charlie reminds all that there were at least nine other puppies in the litter.” Kindertrauma

“” …tries to pretend a story about good white upper-class people being driven to evil by the family dog is somehow frightening […] Barely a scene goes by that does not feature something sublimely ridiculous. Especially the death by hypnotism scenes…” The Horror!?

” …this is pulp horror nonsense at its most oddly compelling. Harrington marshals some suspenseful sequences […] those who caught this as youngsters have never forgotten the delirious finale where the devil dog manifests in a ball of flames as a hideous horned goblin with frilly neckwear.” Andrew Pragasm, The Spinning Image

“Implausible but fun TV terror with decent performances from Crenna and Mimieux. Best scene: the weird ‘mirror while sleeping’ trick Mike uses to reveal his wife and children as possessed devils.” The Terror Trap

Choice dialogue:

Betty Barry: “Well, it’s the American way isn’t it? Since when aren’t we rewarded for being best?”

Buy with Day of the Animals + Grizzly via Amazon.com

Cast and characters:

• Richard Crenna … Mike Barry – Leviathan; Death Ship; The Evil; Wait Until Dark
• Yvette Mimieux … Betty Barry – Snowbeast: Bell, Book and Candle (1976); Black Noon; The Time Machine
• Kim Richards … Bonnie Barry – Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!; The Blair Witch Mountain Project; The Car; Escape to Witch Mountain; The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Ike Eisenmann … Charlie Barry [as Ike Eisenman]
• Lou Frizzell … George [as Lou Frizzel]
• Ken Kercheval … Miles Amore
• Martine Beswick … Red Haired Lady – From a Whisper to a Scream; Seizure; Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde; Slave Girls
• R.G. Armstrong … Dunworth – The Waking; Warlock: The Armageddon; Children of the Corn; Evilspeak; The Pack; Race with the Devil; et al
• Tina Menard … Maria
• Gertrude Flynn
• Bill Zuckert … Mr. Lomax, Dog Breeder – Alien Intruder; Critters 3; The Time Machine (1978); The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove; Bewitched TV series
• Jerry Fogel … Doctor Norm
• Lois Ursone … Gloria Hadley
• Fredrick Franklin
• Bob Navarro … Newscaster
• Jack Carol … Scottie the Gate Guard
• James Reynolds … Policeman
• Victor Jory … Shaman – Kolchak: The Night Stalker TV series; The Man Who Turned to Stone

Image credits: Horror Digital

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‘Guess who’s back? The nightmare continues…’

When a Stranger Calls Back is a 1993 American made-for-cable-television psychological horror feature film written and directed by Fred Walton, based on characters he created with Steve Feke for the 1979 cult film, When a Stranger Calls. Carol Kane and Charles Durning reprise their roles in this sequel which also stars Jill Schoelen and Gene Lythgow.

The soundtrack score was again provided by Dana Kaproff (The Amityville Murders; Chiller; Empire of the Ants).

The original movie was remade for a new generation in 2006.

Plot:

Julia Jenz (Jill Schoelen) is babysitting for Dr. Schifrin and his wife.  A mysterious man knocks on the door. He tells Julia that his car is broken down and asks to come inside to use the phone. Julia refuses but agrees to call his auto club. The phone is dead. The man returns continuously to ask for help. Meanwhile, around the house, Julia notices things turning up out of place. Soon, it becomes obvious that someone is moving in and out of the house, and Julia discovers the children have been abducted. The intruder comes for her but she narrowly escapes. The children are never found…

Five years later, Julia is a college student, still traumatised by the incident. Seemingly, objects are being moved in her apartment, and Julia believes that the intruder is once again stalking her. Jill Johnson (Carol Kane), now a counsellor at the college Julia attends, offers to help. Jill contacts John Clifford (Charles Durning) to come to Julia’s aid and help figure out who is stalking her…

Review:

Strangely, writer-director Fred Walton opted to repeat the imbalanced format of his original 1979 movie for this belated cable TV follow-up. Thus, there’s a fairly suspenseful opening sequence involving beleaguered babysitter Julia, competently played by Jill Schoelen, followed by a long stretch of investigative work by Charles Durning’s stolid character, then a suitably gripping climax involving a twitchy Jill (Carol Kane) fending off the oddly camouflaged killer.

The slower section is enlivened by revelations about the killer’s chosen (and failed) occupation which, for spoiler reasons, it would be unfair to dwell upon here. The nightclub scenes also involve some nudity on the part of the female performers which may come as a surprise until the movie’s Showtime background is considered.

Unfortunately, there are some head-scratching lapses in continuity (perhaps the movie was reduced from a longer format so exposition scenes are mssing?). Elsewhere, some supposedly creepy cat-and-mouse moments, such as the killer adding a bottle of cheap vodka to Jill’s shopping trolley when she’s not looking, merely come across as mildly amusing rather than unsettling.

Perhaps it’s Carol Kane’s attempts to be angsty that don’t come across as well as they might, or maybe the fact that her subsequent career, involving many comedy roles, reveal her true talents obviously lies with making audiences laugh? That said, the shadowy showdown in her apartment at the end is worth the wait and this is a suspenseful sequel that all fan’s of the original should seek out.

Adrian J Smith, HORRORPEDIA

Other reviews:

“Kane’s character seems to have been written as a tough-as-nails survivor. But the actress plays her with such absurd gravity that she lapses into grim self-parody. That’s a good thing, because the plot of When a Stranger Calls Back is full of holes. At times, it feels like important scenes were left unshot or on the cutting-room floor; explanations arrive half an hour late, or not at all.” Brian J. Dillard,  AllMovie

When a Stranger Calls Back suffers from the same problem that it’s predecessor does. It falls too short of the standard it created in the opening sequence. As stated previously, that level of intensity would have been impossible for any director to maintain, however, the audience is still left with a feeling that they were “teased” with the first 20 minutes.” Jenn Duglos, Classic Horror

“It’s a decent nail-biter that plays on the tension it builds up, despite its gaps in logic. The pic is great until it falls apart when it shows the killer at work on his night job, after the halfway point. Though it recovers for a scary climax, the pic has nevertheless lost its momentum and never fully recovers.” Dennis Schwartz” Ozus’ World Movie Reviews

“Walton’s script works up plenty of the requisite fright tactics, and David Geddes’ prowling camera probes into obscure areas or catches Julia standing in mid-fright after her tormenter leaves a memento. The telefilm is a good rattler, despite some logic dropouts.” Tony Scott, Variety

Cast and characters:

• Carol Kane … Jill Johnson – Ghost Light; Vampirina TV series; Ava’s Possessions; Office Killer; Addams Family Values; Pandemonium; When a Stranger Calls; The Mafu Cage
• Charles Durning … John Clifford – Dark Night of the Scarecrow; When a Stranger Calls; The Fury
• Jill Schoelen … Julia Jenz – Popcorn; Curse II: The Bite; The Phantom of the Opera: The Motion Picture
• Gene Lythgow … William Landis aka The Great Landis
• Karen Elizabeth Austin … Skid Row Woman (as Karen Austin)
• Babs Chula … Agent
• John Destry … Detective 1 (as John Blackwell Destry)
• Duncan Fraser … Club Owner
• Jenn Griffin … Club Girl 1 (as Jennifer Griffin)
• Gary Jones … X-Ray Technician
• Terence Kelly … Medical Examiner
• Michèle Lonsdale Smith … Center Woman 1 (as Michele Lonsdale-Smith)
• Kevin McNulty … Dr. Schifrin
• Sheelah Megill … Center Woman 2 (as Sheelagh Megill)
• Rebeccah Mullen … Club Girl 2 (as Rebecca Mullen)
• Bobby Stewart … Detective 2
• Jerry Wasserman … Detective Brauer
• Cheryl Wilson … Mrs. Schifrin
• Meredith Bain Woodward … Realtor

Running time:

94 minutes

Release:

When a Stranger Calls Back was originally broadcast on Showtime on April 4, 1993. In the US, it was released on DVD by Good Times Video on May 15, 2001.

On December 17, 2018, Second Sight issued the film in the UK on Blu-ray as part of a Special Edition release with the original 1979 movie.

Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com

• Brand new scan and restoration
• The sequel When a Stranger Calls Back in HD
• New interview with director Fred Walton
• New interview with actor Rutanya Alda
• New interview with composer Dana Kaproff
• Reversible sleeve with new artwork by Obviously Creative and original poster artwork
• English subtitles for the hearing impaired for both films
• Original Soundtrack CD
• 40 page perfect bound booklet with new essay by Kevin Lyons
• Reversible poster with new and original artwork
• Rigid slipcase packaging

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Ritual of Evil is a 1970 American made-for-television horror feature film directed by Robert Day (The Initiation of Sarah; Fear No Evil; Grip of the Strangler) from a screenplay by Robert Presnell Jr., based on characters created by Richard Alan Simmons. Produced by David Levinson, the Universal movie stars Louis Jourdan, Anne Baxter, Diana Hyland andWilfrid Hyde-White.

Plot:

Psychiatrist Dr. David Sorrell (Louis Jourdan) treats young heiress Loey Wiley (Belinda Montgomery), whose parents have died under mysterious circumstances. His investigation uncovers a cult, led by a powerful witch, Leila Barton (Diana Hyland). Things grow complicated as Sorrell and the witch begin to fall in love…

Review:

While lacking the feverish Dutch-angled scenes, creepy cinematography, and phantasmal script of director Paul Wendkos’ Fear No Evil, as well as the substantially sinister performance of Carroll O’Connor as Myles Donovan, director Robert Day’s Ritual of Evil still packs a punch, benefitting from composer Billy Goldenberg’s unearthly ethereal score and Anne Baxter’s eccentric channeling of Phyllis Diller in her portrayal of a stewed Jolene Wiley, mother to Loey Wiley (Belinda Montgomery) and Aline Wiley (Carla Borelli).

Its plot of occult detective battling a woozy jumble of sinister forces at the root of multiple deaths is typical of American TV horror film production of the time, and appropriately so, considering the silly ballyhoo of marketing mountebanks like Anton LaVey, Carlos Castaneda, and Timothy Leary; with them, witchcraft mingles with satanism which, in turn, becomes indistinguishable from ESP, reincarnation, ghostly communications, and paganism.

The main thrust, if you will, of Ritual of Evil is that a coven of satanic witches is performing sacrifices to Priapus, an ancient Greek fertility god who would normally be depicted with an enormously erect phallus, but in this case, is limited to representation by a vaguely sensual and smolderingly malevolent Satyr-like statue which could easily be passed off as one half of a set of macabre bookends. The sterilisation, of course, was due to the Federal Communications Commission’s regulation and definition of unacceptable content at the time, which has fluctuated along with common opinion since its inception.

Ben Spurling, HORRORPEDIA

Other reviews:

“The music (again by Billy Goldenberg) is highly reminiscent of the themes used in Fear No Evil, heavily borrowing the sonic tone and mood of the first film. Sadly, editor Byron Chudnow did not return for the sequel, as it could have used his master touch. The film commits the gravest sin (no pun intended) for a horror film, feature or TV-wise: it’s just plain not scary.” Conjure Cinema

“The story touches on a few themes pertinent to the time period but in ham-fisted fashion with laboured speeches. Day stages the spooky moments with a similar bludgeoning lack of subtlety. The protagonists are also far less interesting this time around: shrill, self-absorbed soap opera types straight out of an Aaron Spelling production about whiny rich people.” Andrew Pragasm, The Spinning Image

Cast and characters:

• Louis Jourdan … David Sorell – Swamp Thing; Count Dracula 1977; Daughter of the Mind
• Anne Baxter … Jolene Wiley
• Diana Hyland … Leila Barton
• John McMartin … Edward Bolander
• Wilfrid Hyde-White … Harry Snowden – The Cat and the Canary; Fear No Evil; Chamber of Horrors
• Belinda Montgomery … Loey Wiley – Phantom Town; Silent Madness; The Devil’s Daughter
• Carla Borelli … Aline Wiley
• Georg Stanford Brown … Larry Richmond
• Regis Cordic … The Sheriff
• Dehl Berti … Mora
• Richard Alan Knox … Hippie
• Johnny Williams … Newscaster
• Jimmy Joyce … 1st Reporter
• James LaSane … 2nd Reporter
• Clarke Lindsley … Chris [uncredited]

First broadcast:

February 23, 1970, on NBC.

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The House That Would Not Die – aka The House That Wouldn’t Die – is a 1970 American made-for-television horror feature film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey (I, Desire; Home for the Holidays; The City of the Dead) from a screenplay by Henry Farrell (How Awful About Allan; Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte; author of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? novel), based on the 1968 novel Ammie, Come Home by Barbara Michaels.

The Aaron Spelling produced movie stars Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Egan, Michael Anderson Jr., and Kitty Winn.

Plot:

Ruth Bennett (Barbara Stanwyck) has inherited an old house in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Amish country, which she moves into with her niece, Sara Dunning (Kitty Winn). The house was built before the Revolutionary War and is said to be haunted by the spirits of its original inhabitants.

With the help of Pat McDougal (Richard Egan), a local professor, and one of his students, Stan Whitman (Michael Anderson Jr.), they delve into the history of the house and find a scandal that involves a Revolutionary War general, who was suspected of being a traitor, and his daughter, who had disappeared after eloping with her boyfriend, a young British soldier. The spirits of the general and his daughter take possession of Pat’s and Sara’s bodies and a dark secret is revealed…

The House That Would Not Die will be released on Blu-ray and DVD by Kino Lorber – the first time on either format – on January 8, 2019. Special features:

• Audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith
• Interview with director John Llewellyn Moxey

Review:

The House That Would Not Die is another tale of haunted early American colonials, but this time cloaked in the black velvet of séances, possession, hidden rooms, and constant wind. Television horror maestro, John Llewellyn Moxey (who, back in 1960, had helmed the impressive New England witchcraft shocker The City of the Dead), directs with his typically expert skill from Henry Farrell’s script.

The film, having moved the action from the novel’s location of Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighbourhood to Amish country, is a perfect example of the modern rural gothic, or – as outlined in Grady Hendrix’s book Paperbacks from Hell – women in nightgowns running from gloomy mansions.

While the denouement might seem a bit soft for modern viewers, it does fit nicely with the occult gothic, old-fashioned ghost story vibe, making this a solid and worthy TV production.

Ben Spurling, HORRORPEDIA

Other reviews:

“The cast is fairly decent, but the storyline is incredibly predictable and the chills just aren’t there for the most part, though nostalgic viewers who saw this one as kids seem to look at it through rose colored lenses. One senses Henry Farrell who adapted the book, may have had to tone things down a lot for the tube…” The Bloody Pit of Horror

“The script is one cliche after another, the acting is uninspired (Richard Egan probably comes off best), the use of music and sound is standard-issue, and the movie just wanders from scene to scene without building up much in the way of suspense.” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“The climax which involves Egan’s possession momentarily upgrading to super bananas is short lived but convincing enough thanks to the fact that Egan is kind of scary even when not being host to a contentious ghost. Gorehounds and folks under 70 may want to run in the opposite direction of this one but if you’re up for quiet granny scares this just might be the hooch for your hot toddy.” Kindertrauma

“John Llewellyn Moxey directs with occasional effect – there are some odd moments during the seance and the investigation of the cellar that raise some atmosphere. Mostly the film has an easy predictability where all atmosphere comes at timed intervals and builds to contrived cliffhangers in time for the commercial break.” Moria

“It makes up for the lack of horror present, but there are a couple of times that it does present a slight chill down the spine […] What this movie offers is a little bit of mystery, some fine performances by a very talented cast and a lazy way to spend an afternoon.” The Telltale Mind

” …TV horror is nicely brought to life by grande dame Stanwyck and vet actor Egan; well made by genre director John Llewellyn Moxey (he helmed 1972’s excellent tele slasher Home for the Holidays among others). This one’s chock a block full of enjoyable atmosphere and with a good revelation ending. House is well worth seeking out.” The Terror Trap

Cast and characters:

• Barbara Stanwyck … Ruth Bennett
• Richard Egan … Pat McDougal
• Michael Anderson Jr. … Stan Whitman
• Kitty Winn … Sara Dunning (as Katherine Winn)
• Doreen Lang … Sylvia Wall
• Mabel Albertson … Mrs. McDougal

Technical credits:

74 minutes | 1.33: 1

Image credits: The Telltale Mind

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Culture Shock aka Into the Dark: Culture Shock is a 2019 American horror feature film directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero (making her feature debut) from a screenplay co-written with Efren Hernandez and James Benson. The movie stars Martha Higareda, Richard Cabral, Shawn Ashmore, Barbara Crampton and Creed Bratton.

Into the Dark is a horror event series from prolific producer Jason Blum’s independent TV studio. The series includes twelve feature length episodes, with a new instalment released each month inspired by a holiday. Culture Shock will air on Hulu on July 4, 2019.

Plot:

A young Mexican woman (Martha Higareda) in pursuit of the American dream, who crosses illegally into the United States only to find herself in an American nightmare…

Director/co-writer Gigi Saul Guerrero has said:

As a Mexican immigrant, my goal in making this film was to portray the level of desperation and anxiety that comes with the crossing experience and give audiences something to think and talk about.

We are given the incredible privilege as filmmakers to create stories that bring about social awareness and change, and I am grateful for the opportunity and platform to share such a deeply personal one.

Filming locations:

Santa Clarita, California

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‘They said it was over. They were wrong.’ Omen IV: The Awakening is a 1991 American supernatural horror feature film directed by Jorge Montesi (Night Visitors; Friday the 13th: The Series) and Dominique Othenin-Girard (Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers; After Darkness) from a screenplay by Brian Taggert, based on a storyline co-written with Harvey Bernhard. The movie stars Faye...

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‘A perfect 666’ Satan’s School for Girls is a 1973 American supernatural horror made-for-TV feature film. It was directed by David Lowell Rich (The Horror at 37,000 Feet; Eye of the Cat) from a screenplay by Arthur A. Ross (Creature from the Black Lagoon; The Creature Walks Among Us). The Spelling-Goldberg production stars Pamela Franklin, Kate Jackson and Lloyd Bochner.

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