31 Scary Movie Mini Reviews 2024 – Part 2

Posted by sean

Every October I watch and write mini reviews for 31 scary movies. It’s the last day of October 2024, so here are my final 16 reviews.

Scary Movie Mini Review #16: House of Usher (1960) Directed by Roger Corman

Another Poe story from schlock master Roger Corman, who used his schlock money to make these artful Poe adaptations. The fiancé of a wealthy woman visits her family’s brooding gothic home. He finds both her and her brother in a sickly and fragile state, claiming to be cursed and unable to leave. The house is literally crumbling around them. If you’ve read the Poe short story, you know how it ends, though Corman never stuck that faithfully to the text, and deviates pretty wildly on some major plot points here.

House of Usher has atmosphere for days, a striking technicolor palette and grand, melodramatic acting and music. The concrete soundstage floor in some scenes is a bit distracting, but the otherwise elaborate house sets make up for it, as does the sound design and simple yet effective visual effects. There are even some crane shots and camera moves that feel strikingly modern, as well as a gorgeous color-tinted nightmare sequence. I particularly liked the creepy paintings of past Usher family members and the house itself, done in a wild neon abstract style that’s as creepy as it is anachronistic. Corman always got the maximum bang for his buck, and House of Usher has plenty of bang.

Continue reading →

31 Scary Movie Mini Reviews 2023 – Part 1

Posted by sean

Last year I reviewed 31 scary movies, one for each day of October. This October I’m doing it again! Today is halfway through October, so here are the first 15.

Scary Movie Mini Review #1: Kiss of the Vampire (1963) Directed by Don Sharp

This lesser Hammer Horror film has a garish poster that promises “giant devil bats summoned from the caves of hell to destroy the lust of the vampires!” Not surprisingly, the bats are normal sized cheesy rubber puppets on fishing line. Despite that, this movie has a unique tone to it, something surprisingly magical and haunting that’s abandoned in the goofy and rushed climax. 

A newlywed couple are on their way by motor car to their honeymoon. They break down somewhere in the German mountains near a castle, and of course there’s a menacing man watching them from a castle window. They end up at a strangely empty inn and are invited to sup with the wealthy doctor and his children who live in the castle. Unsurprisingly the doctor and his children are vampires, but they’re a different type, more satanic personality cultists than undead blood suckers. The young wife is slowly lured into this cult’s clutches, and the husband and local Van Helsing wannabe must save her. All this is rote cliché, but what stands out as unique is the slow, menacing pace and tone, the texture of long gray rainy days and gloomy moonlit nights. These vampires remind me more of the secret society in Eyes Wide Shut than the Draculas in countless vampire flicks, and their menace is more in the way they corrupt your soul than your blood. It’s a pity that the ridiculous rubber bats flap in at the end and ruin everything.

Continue reading →