Witchfinder General (1968) aka Conqueror Worm

4 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: He'll hang, burn and mutilate you. He's the... witchfinder general
Directed by: Michael Reeves
Written by: Michael Reeves, Tom Baker
Actors include: Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Rupert Davies
Genre: Horror
Length: 86 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although it's not the best of it's kind, it's a very well done tale of a witch finder and it has Vincent Price in the title role...what more could you want? The sets, and cinematography are very nice, and the acting is decent as well. It's not the quickest paced film, but when it picks up it becomes pretty entertaining and even a bit bloody! The tale is of the Witchfinder and his assistant coming to town to accuse a Priest of witchcraft. The priest has a lovely Niece who is engaged to a brave young man who fights for Parliament. While he's away the Witchfinder betrays his Bride-To-Be and revenge is all he can think about. I appreciated that they did include some fun scenes of torture and cruelty. Pretty classic really, though I hate to say that I prefer it's copycat Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält [Mark of the Devil]. Thanks to tuukkis for suggesting that I watch this!

Availability:  On DVD

Twisted Nerve (1968)

4.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: Cleaver. Cleaver. Chop. Chop. First the mom and then the pop. Then we'll get the pretty girl. We'll get her right between the curl.
Directed by: Roy Boulting
Written by: Roy Boulting, Leo Marks
Actors include: Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Billie Whitelaw
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 118 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one nifty psychological thriller that was instantly entertaining and loveable. Martin Durnley (Hywel Bennett) is a strange young man of 22. His Mother treats him like he's a little boy, and his Step-Father seems to hate his guts and desperately wants him out of the house. Martin's brother is a mongoloid in an institution, and well Martin seems to have an alter ego as a 6 year old named Georgie (which drove our cat Georgie insane). Martin meets a beautiful kindly young librarian named Susan (Hayley Mills) who he becomes obsessed with. When his Father forces him out of the house he goes to live in at the house of Susan under false pretenses. Things seem to get worse because Susan and the others only know Georgie...when Georgie doesn't get what he wants Martin is the one they'll have to deal with. Let's just say Martin isn't the type of person you want to say no to. It actually maintained a really good level of tension and the acting was really impressive too. Definitely one of the better little known thrillers from the '60s, very surprising and cool.

Availability:  On DVD region 2

The Ghastly Ones (1968)

3 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: A Gruesome Orgy Of Human Mutilation!
Directed by: Andy Milligan
Written by: Andy Milligan
Actors include: Veronica Radburn, Maggie Rogers, Hal Borske
Genre: Horror
Length: 72 minutes
Banned: UK

Review:
It's weird because this film is extremely cheap feeling and in the spirit of a Herschell Gordon Lewis, it's just Lewis has some special flair and comical element that makes his movies extremely entertaining. Andy Milligan does have his moments for sheer absurdity and attempting some major gore stuff, it's just not nearly as proficient and well his basic filming skills are very lacking. Also considering this film is only 72 minutes and much of it felt like filler well that does say a fair bit doesn't it? This is meant to be a period piece though I would say it only seems that way in parts, the impressive thing is that Milligan apparently made all the costumes as well as writing, directing and producing this flick. It's about a group of siblings and their spouses who are supposed to spend 3 days in an isolated mansion in order to claim their inheritance. It's got a bit of a mystery vibe as we aren't to know who's brutally killing off the guests. The half-wit character who eats live rabbits seems to be my favorite part but I think he's the reason this was deemed a video nasty. This does have some cheaply graphic killings that are pretty funny, but the cheesy nature makes them very easy to watch and I can't imagine much of this movie offending anyone. Still if you like super cheap gore flicks this does have a certain appeal, I sort of enjoyed it in a way I suppose! It's just so ineptly filmed and with such awkward and silly dialogue and pointless ugly nudity that most will want to avoid this.

Availability:  On DVD as part of a 2fer with Seeds Of Sin

Whistle, And I'll Come To You (1968)

4 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jonathan Miller
Written by: M.R. James, Jonathan Miller
Actors include: Michael Hordern, Ambrose Coghill, George Woodbridge
Genre: Horror
Length: 42 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Considering this has one of the most irritating characters on earth in it (Professor Parkins), it's surprisingly refreshing. It's based upon an old ghost story from M.R. James and it's supposedly his darkest (according to our narrator). I actually came across it on some list of the scariest moments in film and television and well I can kinda see why it made their list. Professor Parkins is a stuffy smug irritating fellow who mumbles to himself and only believes what is in his books. The subject of ghosts comes up in a conversation and he explained that he cannot believe in that sort of thing the way one would believe in say Australia. Professor Parkins loves his walks around the seaside and one day he stumbles upon an old whistle that he blows. From there everything he knows is turned on it's head as he meets something he never expected. It's a short story coming in at under 45 minutes and it's an effective one, it's just a shame we have to put up with that irritating fools mumbling for much of the film. Still definitely worth it, beautiful cinematography (the shots on the seaside are lovely) and a good story.

Availability:  On DVD

What's The Matter With Helen? (1968) aka The Box Step

3 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Curtis Harrington
Written by: Henry Farrell
Actors Include: Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Musical
Length: 141 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I kind of hoped for more with this as I really like Shelley Winters and well Debbie Reynolds is pretty amusing too. The two play very best friends who's Sons have been arrested for murder, so they decide to flee for a new life. Adelle (Reynolds) is the talented one, she opens her own dance studio for children and seems to have quite a few singing and dancing numbers. Unfortunately we have to watch plenty of children tap dance and sing entire numbers throughout the film (I could have totally done without this). Helen (Winters) is the more religious and timid creature desperate for Adele's friendship though she pretty much lives in a shell. Things are going swimmingly until Adele meets the man of her dreams and plans to marry him, then we are all wondering....what's the matter with Helen? For long periods of the film nothing much happens, I know they are trying to establish the two women's relationships but it's overly boring. Once Helen starts acting strange things definitely pick up and getting interesting but it's almost too little too late. At least parts of this were worthwhile, and it is rather campy which makes it somewhat entertaining even when it's dull. Not the best film by far but this will definitely appeal to some.

Availability:  On DVD as part of a 2fer with "Who Slew Auntie Roo"

Targets (1968)

4.5 / 5 Jan '10
Tagline: TARGETS are people...and you could be one of them!
Directed by: Peter Bogdanovich
Written by: Peter Bogdanovich, Polly Platt
Actors include: Boris Karloff, Tim O'Kelly, Arthur Peterson
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 90 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I definitely liked this a whole bunch, even though parts of it seemed unimportant...the great moments more than made up for any lulls. Boris Karloff plays aging horror star (what a stretch) Byron Orlok who is working on retiring because he feels he's irrelevant. Also we have a story with a fellow named Bobby Thompson (who looks like a cross between Bobby Kennedy & Matt Damon) who seems very square, has a very nice family yet something is very clearly wrong with him. He gleefully shoots and collects guns...and rounds of ammo and gets weirder and weirder. He snaps, goes on a huge massacre spree that winds up at the drive-in where Byron is showing one of his films. It's actually a very cold and evil feeling picture, I can't help but wonder if it helped inspire any of the shooting tragedies that followed in real life unfortunately. This is one dark and strange film, the tension is great as one can tell something bad is about to happen for much of the movie. I'm surprised they got away with this sort of thing back in '68 but heck I'm glad they did. Something that you've really got to see, shocking and disturbing probably Karloff's best late film that I've seen.
 
Availability:  On DVD