Glenn Erickson's Reviews: Month: October 2023

Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers 10/31/23

It’s a triple dose of macabre thrills from the mysterious, unheralded master of horror Tod Browning: the silent Lon Chaney classic THE UNKNOWN restored with a new reel of footage, the heretofore obscure silent THE MYSTIC, and a new remaster of Browning’s uncanny masterpiece, FREAKS. We’ll be looking forward to reviewer Charlie Largent’s take on this release, the most notable horror item for Halloween ’23. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/31/23

The Devil-Doll 10/31/23

Tod Browning’s final fantastic film is . . . totally bonkers. Humans are reduced in size and dispatched like zombies to take revenge on a prison escapee’s enemies. It’s all to enable the escapee to reunite with his beloved daughter, so why not paralyze some chumps and condemn the puppet people to a strange living death?  Maureen O’Sullivan remains oblivious to the plot, Rafaella Ottiano rocks a deranged Bride of Frankenstein hairstyle, and Lionel Barrymore goes in drag as kindly ‘Mrs. Manderlip.’ MGM’s high-gloss special effects are the real star. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
10/21/23

The Giant Gila Monster + The Killer Shrews 10/31/23

Behold this mindless monster duo from the Feelin’ Fine summer of ’59, Texas- produced and ready to tear up drive-in screens. THE GIANT GILA MONSTER is truth in advertising, plus you get hot rods, non-rebellious teen rebels, and gospel-folk ‘rock’ music to accompany the hungry lizard with the flippidy flippidy tongue. The second show is a tense ordeal: seven unlucky folk withstand the onslaught of THE KILLER SHREWS, the really nasty kind that chew through walls with razor teeth to reach their prey. They’re like piranhas out of the water, with rat tails! James Best and Ken Curtis battle shrews and fight over Swedish Ingrid Goude, too. It’s a two disc set with a wealth of extras. On Blu-ray from Film Masters.
10/31/23

The Others 4K 10/28/23

Alejandro Amenábar made a strong English language impression directing Nicole Kidman in this creepy mood-piece about ghostly threats that garnered awards and big box office worldwide. The big prize earned for writer-director Amenábar should be for pulling off in fine form the kind of story repeatedly fumbled by M. Night Shyamalan — this one caught audiences with a lump in their throats, as a classic ghost story should. Reviewer Charlie Largent praises both the fine moviemaking and the class presentation, in 4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/28/23

The Edge of the World 10/28/23

Wow, this truly inspirational film sees modern realities vanquishing a traditional way of life — and doesn’t pull the usual reverential heartstrings. Michael Powell’s breakout feature combines ethnographic docu-realism with the cinematic image-communication he learned in silent movies, and the result is a masterpiece — an adult art film that needs make no excuses. The HD remaster fixes many old flaws, and brightens the beautiful soundtrack with its choral compositions. The stars are Niall MacGinnis, John Laurie, Finlay Currie and Belle Chrystall, all giving beautiful performances under difficult conditions. On Blu-ray from Milestone Film and Video.
10/28/23

Cujo 4K 10/24/23

He’s a plush toy — no, he’s a maniacal killer!  Here’s a Stephen King adaptation that makes the grade in the horror sweepstakes: reviewer Charlie Largent found it suspenseful and very well directed. Poor Cujo, a big, gentle St. Bernard, gets rabies and becomes a monstrous threat. Dee Wallace toplines a capable cast. Could there be a more ideal movie for militant cat lovers?  A lot of critics found it scary. On 4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/24/23

The Night Runner 10/24/23

Horror fans will want to check this one out for ‘academic, historical’ purposes . . . it’s an overlooked psychological ‘horror of personality’ tale that predates Psycho and uses some of the same building blocks: a motel setting, a psycho killer who can be pleasant when he’s ‘normal.’ We can see why it wasn’t a hit — but could it have been an influence on Robert Bloch?  Colleen Miller and Merry Anders are the dames in distress; star Ray Danton gives the character a low-key interpretation. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/24/23

Paramount Scares Collection Vol. 1 – 4K 10/21/23

Paramount’s contribution to Halloween ’23 — and its signal of support for hard video media — comes in the form of this horror gift box with five very different flavors of Scary: Rosemary’s Baby,  Pet Sematary,  Crawl,  Smile and a  ‘mystery title’ we’ve been asked not to reveal. All are in 4K with Digital codes; three include Blu-ray copies of the features. The takings range across a bona fide classic, to a Stephen King adaptation, a ‘nature run amuck’ survival epic, a haunting, darker-than-dark conceptual shocker, and a muphlepylammerpough … ptooey … why didn’t the last part of that sentence get through? Yep, they’re thinking gift, what with the fancy box presentation and extra goodies. On 4K Ultra HD + (partial) Blu-ray + Digital from Paramount Home Entertainment.
10/21/23

Black Sabbath 10/21/23

Kino reissues one of Mario Bava’s best!  Il maestro’s first full-on gothic horror in full-on color is a feast for the eyes, equating Fear with Chromatic Splendor . . . death was never a beautiful. This is the A.I.P. cut with Boris Karloff’s interludes in English and the episodes reordered — A Drop of Water, The Telephone, The Wurdulak. This time out reviewer Charlie Largent tackles the artistic horror puzzle that is Bava’s appeal. Karloff gets one of his best late-career roles as a very original supernatural menace. It’s an original ‘see it alone on a dark night’ wonderment. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/21/23

The Woman in Black 10/17/23

Charlie Largent gets Up Close and Creepy with a UK TV production not yet released here, that has a scary reputation — it’s not ‘horror movie’ scary, but REALLY scary. The haunted house tale was written by the great Nigel Kneale, from a book by Susan Hill. The revived Hammer Films company tried out a remake in 2012 with Daniel Radcliffe, but this 1989 show is the real deal. Not On U.S. Home Video.
10/17/23

Videodrome 4K 10/17/23

Long Live the New Flesh!  David Cronenberg’s most out-there ick-thriller precedes 30 years of weaker blow-your-mind sci-fi ‘mind evolution’ sagas, Matrices, etc., connecting to the scary truth of humanity merging with its communication and entertainment technology — is your cell phone physically attached to your body yet?  Slimy James Woods and fearless Deborah Harry tread in a shady cable TV realm that proffers taboo, intolerable content 24-7. Do we really prefer to live in nerve-wired, heightened-sensation hallucination. The storyline may go haywire, but Cronenberg has a keen ability to see alarming trends for what they are. On 4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/17/23

Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature 10/14/23

We were already big fans of Douglas Fairbanks’ fantastic silent The Thief of Bagdad;this double-bill disc gives us excellent encodings of the producer-star’s Robin Hood and The Black Pirate, supremely entertaining adventures that conjure up everything a Big Night at the Movies can be. Douglas Fairbanks is at his best; it’s impossible not to love the guy. The presentations are given full orchestral soundtracks in stereo, plus excellent commentary from the late great Rudy Behlmer. This may be the BEST way to break newbies into the crazy world of Silent Hollywood. On Blu-ray from the Cohen Film Collection.
10/14/23

Don’t Look Now 4K 10/14/23

Reviewer Charlie Largent delves into the visual mechanics of Nicolas Roeg’s investigation of the horror film, using his almost-subliminal fragmented visual association approach. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland’s married relationship is so intimate we almost believe the sex scenes, but the haunting images of death are always intruding. Is horror only in the imagination?  Roeg’s chiller is also the most moody portraint of Venice on film, bar none. Now even more richly textured, in 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/14/23

Beast from Haunted Cave + Ski Troop Attack 10/10/23

The latest double feature from the new label Film Masters yields two thrillers from dynamo producer Roger Corman, filmed in snowy South Dakota using the same actors and technical talent. The monster romp is a fine directing debut for cult favorite Monte Hellman, from a retread crime script by the dependable Charles B. Griffith. The second show is a micro-budgeted war film on skis, a creditable ‘make something from nothing’ effort. The special edition extras celebrate Corman’s hit & run filmmaking style, and are topped by Tom Weaver’s candid, research-laden audio commentary. On Blu-ray from Film Masters.
10/10/23

Tombs of the Blind Dead 10/10/23

The skeletal claws of the DEAD reach out at us from Franco-era Spanish horror, where cruelty and oppression seem built into every violent fantasy. Amando de Ossorio hit pay dirt with this fright show that ignited a mini-franchise: a curse from the past looses the ghoulish remains of evil Knights Templar, eyeless zombies that ride slow-motion ghost horses, and locate their prey by sound. Who do they pursue? Twenty-something sexually-active señoritas, preferably in hot pants. The extras are abundante on this lavish two-disc presentation. On Blu-ray from Synapse Films.
10/10/23

Salem’s Lot 10/07/23

Halloween warm-up Special: Yes, it’s a review of a 7 year-old disc release, but we’re tired of waiting for new Halloween movies!  We seize the chance to finally absorb one of Tobe Hooper’s most notable efforts — how does it hold up after 44 years?  The answer is ‘not at all bad,’ even though the 3-hour TV version suffers big-time from padding bloat. On the other hand, any chance to see James Mason and Bonnie Bedelia in action cannot be passed up. On Blu-ray from Warner Brothers Entertainment.
10/07/23

Nevada Smith 10/07/23

Big budget westerns from the past are looking better than ever — the fine cinematography and big-star casts dazzle as contemporary films never do. Steve McQueen took a leap to stand-alone action stardom in Henry Hathaway’s prequel to The Carpetbaggers, telling a western backstory. The film’s violence is extremely rough for 1966, and an impressive roster of actors brings the drama to life: Brian Keith, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy, Martin Landau, Suzanne Pleshette, Janet Margolin, Raf Vallone and many others. The new disc’s audio commentary is highly informative, too. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/07/23

Haunted Samurai 10/03/23

Let’s pop back once again to take in an old-fashioned Lone Samurai saga — this one’s worth it. Preceding the Lone Wolf and Cub series but sharing a creator and some of the same violent stylistics, it’s a hero-on-the-road tale with creative, original touches, including a spy-ninja angle that enlists what looks like magic at work. The fact that we actually care about the characters puts it way ahead of the competition. It got a mini-release back in the day, and then disappeared completely from U.S. movie radar. On Blu-ray from Surviving Elements/ Diabolik DVD.
10/03/23

Carlito’s Way 4K 10/03/23

Stylish and energetic, this gangster saga from Brian De Palma and David Koepp is solid both in characters and genre action. It’s a crime tragedy set in Spanish Harlem, with a fine perf from Al Pacino as a former kingpin trying to go straight. He’s sprung from a long prison term by Sean Penn’s mob mouthpiece, whose cocaine-fueled greed and hubris sends everything off the rails. Penelope Ann Miller is Carlito’s romantic dream and John Leguizamo the punk upstart blocking his path; we also get good input from Luis Guzmán and a young Viggo Mortenson. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Arrow Video USA.
10/03/23