Glenn Erickson's
Review Page and Column
Night of the Blood Beast + Attack of the Giant Leeches 11/05/24
Film Masters
Blu-ray
This ’50s cult monster double bill was produced by the Corman brothers Roger and Gene. The first re-plays ideas from several Sci-fi classics on a shoestring budget, and squeaks by with a novel wrinkle of its own. Using some of the same crew and actors, the second item is even cheaper. It hasn’t a single original idea, yet occupies a proud roost in cult circles owing to the opportune casting of hottie Yvette Vickers. That there Liz Walker would still be steamin’ up the swamp, if them consarned scum-Leeches hadn’t-a sucked up all her fine bayou blood. Durn pests. The extras include full commentary coverage by Tom Weaver. On Blu-ray from Film Masters.
11/05/24
Creature with the Blue Hand + Web of the Spider 11/05/24
Film Masters
Blu-ray
aka Die Blaue Hand. Is a German krimi a murder mystery, a horror film, or what? Reviewer Charlie Largent checks out an adaptation of an Edgar Wallace page-turner about a series of ghastly murders; as it features Klaus Kinski, the disc company has coined the not-bad term ‘Euro-Kinski.’ We’re eager to know how it looks. Included is Web of the Spider, Antonio Margheriti’s remake of his own earlier ‘Danza Macabra.’ The special edition adds an alternate version of Creature with the Blue Hand and an audio commentary by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. On Blu-ray from Film Masters.
11/05/24
CineSavant Column
Hello!
Forget so-called ‘scary’ movies … the next day and maybe several days more are going to be nail-biters, depending on the breaks. Let’s hope for a peaceful democratic election and transfer of American political power. That’s my two bits for the day, Amen.
The CineSavant Column items today are good reading. Joe Dante and David J. Show forwarded links to these recent articles, each of which puts forth some big opinions and bold ideas.
The first item is a November 2 posting on Fast Company dot.com, written by filmmaker and actress Justine Bateman. The title alone says what it’s about and raises our curiosity:
Here’s what comes next.
Bateman gets her message across efficiently, explaining how corporate culture has killed movies by turning entertainment into ‘content,’ and embracing technology that will allow marketable ‘content’ to be manufactured by computers. The short article ends not with more cries of doom, but the thought that something new and different will emerge from the entertainment void that will be created.
On a more positive note is an October 23 article on The Ringer by Abe Beame. Movie theaters are crashing everywhere because the corporate movie industry is embracing streaming, choking distributors and movie theaters out of the profit chain.
Rather than bemoan the falling enthusiasm for new product, Beame looks at recent trends and cites the growing popularity of repertory theaters and special screenings. He gives several anecdotal examples of creative ways that film societies, etc., are getting someone other than Marvel-addled teenagers out to the theaters. luring the cinema-literate hipster crowd that everyone thought had gone extinct… even here in too-cool-for-you Los Angeles.
Agree or not, the title has appeal for film enthusiasts, and any encouraging word is good news for us who like to cheer-lead for movies in general. You may not agree with the title of Beame’s article, but we like its positive ring:
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson
Circus of Horrors — 4K 11/02/24
KL Studio Classics
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Dr. Rossiter will give you something to scream about! Sidney Hayers’ Big Top terror flick is luridly oversexed, excessively gruesome — and great fun. Mad plastic surgeon Anton Diffring creates his own harem of facially-restored women who also happen to be criminals. Circus acts provide the ‘accidents’ to remove any that become a liability. It’s a garish display of good filmmaking, crazy thrills and questionable taste … and a non-guilty pleasure we’re proud to praise. Now more wickedly delightful in 4K Ultra HD from KL Studio Classics.
11/02/24
Enough Rope 11/02/24
KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray
aka Le Meurtrier. Taken from a story by Patricia Highsmith, director Claude Autant-Lara’s murder thriller can boast an attractive cast: Maurice Ronet, Gert Fröbe, Robert Hossein, Marina Vlady and Yvonne Furneaux. The slick production, good music and committed performances can’t be faulted, but the point gets lost amid a lot of yelling. Just the same, Hossein and Fröbe know how to enliven a scene, and the location work is a travelogue to Nice of 1963. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
11/02/24
CineSavant Column
Hello!
Just a quick notice today, as we find ourselves in a state of max trepidation over next Tuesday’s election — we have to admit that we feel like Gert Fröbe, just above. Can sanity prevail? We’re doing our best to be optimistic.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has made a disturbing announcement — they’ve laid off a number of specialists in motion picture preservation and library archive work. Although it mostly happens behind the scenes, preserving films is supposed to be one of the Academy’s key functions. Here is the news, as reported at Variety, The L.A. Times and Deadline.
I guess that’s might happen when you sink mega-millions into a museum. It’s the kind of corporate move one expects from a conglomerate-owned movie studio. The Academy’s preservation staff has reportedly been gutted of both its leadership and its most experienced specialists. Photochemical film experts with the knowledge and judgment to do the job right are not expendable. Word is already circulating, calling for an intervention by Scorsese, Spielberg, et. al..
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson
Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger 10/29/24
Cohen Media Group
Blu-ray
David Hinton’s documentary celebration of the ‘Archers’ team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is a feature-length rumination filtered through Martin Scorsese’s narration, emphasizing his first awakening to the Power of Film. The collaboration was so rich and the films so impressive that it takes over two hours just for a cursory pass through the Archers’ career: The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death. The curatorship is excellent and the film clips good; the main focus is not biography or thematic analysis but the sheer Love of Movies by a supremely talented filmmaking team. On Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group.
10/29/24 On Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group.
10/29/24
I Remember Mama 10/29/24
The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray
George Stevens’ back-from-the war masterpiece honors family vaues and stability with the near-reverent story of a Norwegian immigrant family subsisting in San Francisco of 1910. The filmmaking is fastidious and the performances exemplary — Irene Dunne is the Hanson matriarch, young Barbara Bel Geddes the teenager who wants to write, and Oscar Homolka the overbearing Uncle who ‘lives in sin.’ The family situation is humble, yet idyllic when we factor in the plight of immigrants and refugees today: a reasonably secure place to live, a reasonable level of peace. The new remaster gives the film an added luster. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
10/29/24
CineSavant Column
Hello!
What — where are the monsters? More Halloween-themed movies will arrive in November. Some simply haven’t gotten here yet and a couple that have — Film Masters’ Creature with the Blue Hand and Powerhouse Indicator’s El Vampiro: Two Bloodsucking Tales from Mexico — got caught up in the review log jam.
I’m hearing from friends that are dead serious about having new fun titles to watch on and before Halloween. Some write me to talk about their changed reactions to old favorites, as when a rediscovered ’50s picture suddenly plays better for them. If you really get stuck for ideas, the CineSavant Review Index overflows with critical discerning shamelessly enthusiastic coverage of just about every worthy horror / Sci-fi / fantasy picture from years gone by. Co-reviewer Charlie Largent has contributed a ton of these, being a like-minded major booster of good horror. Not only that, Charlie properly proofreads his articles.
In the meantime, we direct readers back to earlier CineSavant articles about the joys we remember from spooky matinees — yes, mostly as kids. Our Hypnotic Chill! Monster Thrill! piece takes in a triple bill of memories, as does How Much Shock Can You Stand?, Charlie Largent’s personal take on his perfect horror triple bill.
Now maybe we’ve really lost track of what is and what isn’t an interesting link. If you really want to go spelunking in the lost past of CineSavant, you can have a look at what was current in past Octobers at this page…
I’ve indexed CineSavant and DVD Savant back to 2012, so here are some quick links to what we were covering as hot ‘new’ horror and fantasy pix:
And we’re grateful for John McElwee’s Greenbriar Picture Shows for posting something we couldn’t provide this week, a great link for disc collectors interested in 100-year-old silent horror pictures.
Just a few days ago, our Charlie Largent reviewed a new Blu-ray for the 1926 haunted house thriller The Bat. John’s GB post talks about the ins and outs of that whole subgenre of part-horror part-comedies set in haunted houses, where the supernatural business usually boils down to some con game, money scam or inheritance ruse. The films were once just vague titles that collectors like McElwee thought they’d never see, but individual items (Seven Footprints to Satan, perhaps) keep showing up. You never know, the lost London After Midnight could suddenly pop up somewhere, too.
Anyway, if you’re into a good discussion of vintage horror from a collector’s viewpoint, we don’t have it but Greenbriar does:
Happy Halloween! — Glenn Erickson
The Tenant — 4K 10/26/24
Vinegar Syndrome
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Roman Polanski’s twisted ‘apartment horror’ creepshow melds supernatural and psychological possession — a meek clerk finds himself being possessed by the previous occupant of his apartment: a woman who committed suicide. It might be all in his mind, but the spook-show trimmings are compelling too: the new tenant plays his cross-dressing new role to the bitter end. Polanski’s razor-sharp direction piles on the unpleasantness and paranoia, abetted by Sven Nykvist’s cinematography and a battery of stellar performances by Melvyn Douglas, Shelly Winters, Isabelle Adjani, Jo Van Fleet and Lila Kedrova. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.
10/26/24
The Bat — (1926) 10/26/24
Undercrank Productions
Blu-ray
From the dedicated label Undercrank Productions comes a restored Blu-ray of Roland West’s original haunted house horror farce, the first silent adaptation of the stage classic by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Welcome to the realm of creaky doors, secret passageways and clutching claws! Reviewer Charlie Largent will settle the big question — is it really a Dark and Stormy night? Louise Fazenda, Jack Pickford, Jewel Carmen and Arthur Housman star, and the film boasts art direction by William Cameron Menzies. On Blu-ray from Undercrank Productions.
10/26/24
CineSavant Column
Hello!
Halloween approaches … thanks to Wayne Schmidt, we actually have a nice holiday- themed top banner photo up today. Like several CineSavant confrères, Wayne really gets into Halloween fun, and we appreciate the assist.
Advisor & collaborator Gary Teetzel has stumbled across a nifty TV show starring Boris Karloff:
“Speaking of Boris: The 1950s were not a great time for Karloff in terms of movies. Feature roles during this period were few and far between, and the decade saw some of his weakest efforts: Island Monster, Voodoo Island, Sabaka, Frankenstein 1970. But Boris kept busy with stage and TV work. For my Halloween contribution, here he is as a not-so-mad scientist in a 1958 episode of ‘Studio One,’ The Shadow of a Genius.“
“Karloff plays a scientist on the brink of winning a major award who must cope with family difficulties and the shocking discovery that he may have accidentally stolen ideas from a deceased colleague’s work. It looks like Boris is in fine form. Of special interest: The episode was scored by that young, up-and-coming kid Jerry Goldsmith.”
The show co-stars Eva Le Gallienne, Patricia Barry and Skip Homeier, with Herbert Anderson and Morris Ankrum. It was directed by Ralph Nelson:
Coincidentally, Joe Dante just circulated this nice 2019 link to a ‘Flapper Press’ article by John C. Alsedek. It’s about Boris’s radio career, which started in horror but took an unexpected, very happy turn — You know, For Kids:
Correspondent Jeff Allee sends along a YouTube posting that caught our attention. He says it is now common knowledge, but being that CineSavant monitors the Cutting Edge of everything important in the culture, we never heard of it until now.
Art echoes reality, in this case 66 years before the fact. It’s an episode of the Robert Culp western TV show Trackdown from May of 1958, about a predatory charlatan who defrauds an entire town. Dabbs Greer and Neyle Morrow co-star. The despicable charlatan is played by Lawrence Dobkin. Hey, the leading lady is Claudia Barrett, of Robot Monster fame.
The weird connection is that the villain’s name is Trump. An unrepentant conman, Trump holds the town for ransom, promising a fake barrier against an outside threat he’s conjured up out of nothing. It’s … a little unnerving. The townspeople buy the scam 100%, and panic ensues. Trump inspires a local lawman to become a greedy opportunist as well.
At our house, we watch reruns of the long-running TV show Law and Order. We must have seen 5 episodes in which the Trump name surfaces, always when a detective wants to make a joke about the most dishonest, unprincipled businessman in New York City. Ain’t politics strange? We’re truly living in Bizzaro World, or an episode from The Twilight Zone.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson
Columbia Horror 10/22/24
Powerhouse Indicator
Blu-ray
This collector’s box of Columbia odds ‘n’ ends has a couple of movies that are only marginal horror, but all have at least one or two horror elements. A gangster picture with Boris Karloff dips into mad doctor territory, and the mad scientist in an aviation thriller has cooked up an anti-aircraft death ray. Peter Lorre runs a slave labor camp that features torture. A werewolf movie dabbles in feminist lycanthropy, while a ‘back from the dead’ thriller is stylish but vague. The hot discovery is a beautiful remaster, complete with original tints, of the obscure Voodoo epic Black Moon starring Fay Wray. On Region B Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
10/22/24
Pandora’s Box 10/22/24
The Criterion Collection
Blu-ray
Director G.W. Pabst imported the notorious Hollywood showgirl Louise Brooks to Germany, to star in one of the greatest of Weimar-Era films. Brooks’ Lulu is the equivalent of catching lightning in a bottle, a revelatory performance in a play adaptation that upends Victorian conventions: female sexuality is for once not demonized for ‘loosing evils on the world.’ Among silent masterpieces, this is one of the most mysterious. An impressive digital restoration finally makes it to Blu-ray. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/22/24
CineSavant Column
Hello!
We’ll be going back to look for typos in today’s reviews — this was quite a work crunch and I need to turn my brain off for a couple of hours.
The solution for the column arrived on Saturday afternoon, with a delivery of fancy Halloween horror offerings that we’ll probably still be reviewing halfway to Thanksgiving. Some are pre-order titles. They’re attractive and colorful, and each looks like it took thousands of hours of curatorship work to produce. Here’s a quick list with links to more product info:
Forgotten Gialli Volume Seven (Vinegar Syndrome) has the Italo rarities Mystère, Obsession: A Taste for Fear and Sweets from a Stranger.
The Tenant 4K (Vinegar Syndrome) is a deluxe disc of the Roman Polanski suspense picture newly remastered — it comes in an elaborate box with bay windows that open.
Cruel Brittania: Three Killer Thrillers From The UK (Vinegar Syndrome) collects Ted Hooker’s Crucible of Terror, Jack Cardiff’s Penny Gold and Freddie Francis’s Craze, produced by Herman Cohen.
Trick ‘R’ Treat 4K (Arrow) an omnibus presentation of four horror stories by Michael Dougherty. Note: I’m not finding American pages for some of these Arrow disc sets, but the review copies received are domestic discs. I’ve read online that they are/are going to be available here; some readers report ordering the identical U.K. versions.
Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment 4K (Arrow) is a full-on compendium of the Clive Barker series, starting with Hellraiser and all three sequels, Hellbound, Hell on Earth and Bloodline, plus a 200 page book, ‘Ages of Desire.’ We’re still waiting for ‘Hellraiser V: Sunday School Picnic.’
J-Horror Rising (Arrow) is a multiple-title set, with Shikoku, Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, Inugami, St. John’s Wort, Carved, the Slit-Mouthed Woman, Persona, Noroi and The Curse plus a thick booklet.
Delirium Photo of Gioia (Vinegar Syndrome) is a 1987 Lamberto Bava thriller with Daria Nicolodi.
Daiei Gothic – Japanese Ghost Stories (Radiance) has The Ghost of Yotsuya, The Bride from Hades and The Snow Woman plus an 80-page book.
These are gift boxes, for sure — the long lists of extras, essays and other goodies is too much to take in. You’ll have to click about online to figure out where to buy these. Some come only direct from the company, and there should be news online about U.S. release dates for the ones for which we only found U.K. pages.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson