Horror Hospital (1973) aka Computer Killers

3 / 5 Apr '11
Tagline: The Operation is a Success ... When the Patient Dies
Directed by: Antony Balch
Written by: Alan Watson, Antony Balch
Actors include: Michael Gough, Robin Askwith, Vanessa Shaw
Genre: Horror, Black Comedy, Sci-Fi
Length: 100 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one silly campy and ridiculous mess of a movie but parts of it were at least amusing. It's about a rock singer (who definitely looks like a member of the Rolling Stones) who wrote a really fantastic song (so he says) that is ripped off by his band. He needs a breather so he sees an advert for "Hairy Holidays" (what?) and signs up immediately. He happens to meet up with a young lady (with an identical haircut) at the train station on the way to the retreat. Of course she is headed to the same retreat to meet her Aunt Harris (who happens to be one of the staff at this place). This place isn't quite what they expected...in fact it's a hospital where the evil Dr. Storm (Michael Gough) uses clients to perform mind control surgery of some sort. It really doesn't bother with things like logic or scares, it's very much a black comedy really. It at least does bother to offer a unique decapitation method you won't soon forget but little else is worth remembering.

Availability:  On DVD

Horrors Of The Black Museum (1959) aka The Crime In The Museum Of Horrors

4 / 5 Sept '10
Tagline: It Actually Puts YOU In The Picture - Can You Stand It?
Directed by: Arthur Crabtree
Written by: Herman Cohen, Aben Kandel
Actors include: Michael Gough, June Cunningham, Graham Curnow
Genre: Horror
Length: 95 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This definitely has it's high points and it's low points unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as Arthur Crabtree's Fiend Without a Face but it's darned close. This is a film about a murderer who is using rather odd antiques rigged to kill which is absolutely the best part. The beginning sequence with the binoculars was brilliant and one of the best I'd seen in a while. In fact the deaths in general were rather bloody (especially for the time) and shocking which I loved. It also did have a rather amusing sense of humor in several ways, when this movie was on point it was really on. What was the downfall here is too much chatty cop drama, boring as humanly possible and it seems like they try to cram as many words into a sentence as they can. The fact that the cops are nearly speaking in monotone doesn't help matters anyway. I'm impressed they went as far as they did and the absurdity of it was really wonderful, I wish there were more films from this time with this sort of violence. The gimmick used for the release of this film was "Hypnovision", not sure what that means as it wasn't a part of the dvd version I watched. Overall it's well worthwhile for horror fans, this has a little something extra even though parts are admittedly boring.

Availability:  On DVD