Not Really Horror

 

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THE EYES OF THE MUMMY-1918-A man, Albert Wendland (Harry Liedtke) becomes obsessed with visiting the tomb of Queen Ma, whose other visitors have had “terrible misfortune” after going there. Wendland can't get anyone to go with him so he goes alone. He meets local Radu (Emil Jannings), who leads him into the tomb and attacks him. Wendland knocks Radu out and investigates, finding a room where he meets a woman also named Ma (Pola Negri) who says she is Radu's prisoner. Wendland whisks her away to Europe and tries to teach her how to act like a European but Radu also goes (with the help of a professor who saved him in the desert) to find her. Wendland gives a party and the male guests are mesmerized by Ma's exotic dance. A variety show agent wants Ma in his show. 2 months later, Ma is a dancing sensation and the professor goes to see her. He brings Radu, now his servant. When Radu sees Ma, the trouble begins. 

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There is no mummy in this silent film production which is good on its own but not really a horror movie. This silent German production was directed by Ernst Lubitsch who later went to Hollywood and directed many famous comedies like NINOTCHKA (1939) and TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942). 

Star Pola Negri (from Poland) made 3 more movies with Lubitsch, after which she came to Hollywood where she was quite popular and successful in silent films for Paramount for a while. Co-star Jannings would go on to work for FW Murnau, eventually coming to the US and winning the first best actor Academy Award in 1929. His film work for Nazi propaganda films during WW 2 finished his career as an actor after Germany's defeat. Actor Harry Liedtke was killed by The Red Army in 1945.

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A Val Lewton Production

 

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THE LEOPARD MAN-1943-In New Mexico, PR man Manning (Dennis O'Keefe) gets a small leopard for his client Kiki (Jean Brooks) to go to a nightclub with to attract attention. A castanet performer Col-Col (Margo) scares the animal and it runs away. Police search but can't find it. It kills a young girl named Theresa (Margaret Landry). After a woman is killed in a cemetery, Manning and the leopard's owner Charlie How-Come (future director Abner Biberman) believe a man, not the leopard, did the killing. A museum curator Galbraith (James Bell) suspects Charlie. Every time a fortune teller (Isabel Jewell) reads Col-Col's cards, an ace of spades comes up. Sure enough, Col-Col is victim #3. Manning and Kiki decide to catch the killer. 

Small but to the point thriller directed by Jacques Tourneur, one of three classic horror type films he made for producer Val Lewton in 1943. The other two were THE CAT PEOPLE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE! Jean Brooks was also in another Lewton production the same year, THE SEVENTH VICTIM.

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Lee & Cushing

 

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THE CREEPING FLESH-1973-Overzealous scientist Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) finds an unusual skeleton in Asia and brings it back to London. The doctor has been keeping a secret from his daughter Penelope (Lorna Heilbron) who believes her mother dead. However, Hildern receives a letter from his brother James (Christopher Lee), head of an insane asylum where his wife has been kept for many years and has just died. James is envious and resentful of his brother and tells him so. Later while examining the skeleton, a bony finger seems to grow flesh. Meanwhile James seems to be doing experiments of his own when one of his patients escapes. When Penelope finds out mom's secret, dad goes a little crazy and injects her with the blood from the skeleton finger. She starts to pick up mom's bad habits and winds up killing a sailor. While escaping from an angry mob she hooks up with the escaped lunatic who she later pushes to his death. She's captured and carted off to uncle's asylum. After snooping, James discovers what has happened to Penelope. Then he has the skeleton stolen. A rainstorm wrecks this endeavor and the reanimated skeleton comes looking for its finger. 

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A weird twist ending highlights this story. Michael Ripper has a small role. Often mislabeled a Hammer film, this independent English production shows promise but kind of never really gets going. Cinematographer Freddie Francis replaced Don Sharp as director right before filming started. Francis had directed several Hammer and non-Hammer films including THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964), DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965), TORTURE GARDEN (1967) and DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968).

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Southern Wolf

 

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WOLFMAN-1979-A son, Colin Glasgow (co-producer Earl Owensby), is summoned to his father's death bed by his cousins (the father is actually stabbed to death). It seems Colin has inherited a curse and he turns into a werewolf when the moon is full. The curse was put on his family by an evil reverend. After a nightly rampage Colin is thrown in jail. The reverend plans on killing Colin's girlfriend but somehow Colin escapes, turns into a wolf and kills the the evil clergyman, unfortunately dying in the process. 

This low budget period piece, very reminiscent of an Andy Mulligan movie, has bad acting & sfx. Star Owensby in the '70's, seemed to have a reputation as a "redneck Roger Corman" based in North Carolina but most of his output didn't get passed the Mason-Dixon line. Director/writer Worth Keeter later worked on the American versions of TV's "Power Rangers" shows.

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Satan Strikes

 

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NIGHT VISITOR-1989-Billy Colton (Derek Rydall), a moronic high school student who's always late for class spies on his new single hot neighbor Lisa (Shannon Tweed). He has a dopey friend Sam (Scott Fults) and a kind of girlfriend Kelly (Teresa Van der Woude). When Billy decides to climb to a window of Lisa's house to get some pics, he sees her ritualistically killed by a masked Satanist who turns out to be his teacher Mr. Willard (Allen Garfield) who lives with his weird brother Stanley (Michael J. Pollard) and have a kidnapped hooker in their basement. Unfortunately, the police (lead by Richard Roundtree) don't believe Billy because he's known to be a liar. Billy goes to an ex-cop Devereaux (Elliot Gould) for help. Meanwhile Willard and Stanley sacrifice the hooker to Satan. The police consult an authority on Satanism (Henry Gibson!). Later, when Kelly is kidnapped, Billy and Devereaux invade Willard's house. 

The out-of-control finale saves this from time wasting boredom and the annoying Billy character! Brooke Bundy plays Billy's mom. Director Rupert Hitzig earlier had produced WOLFEN (1981) and JAWS 3-D (1983).

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Found

 

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VHS 99-2022-Another in the found footage anthology series. First: “Shredding” directed by Maggie Levin. Some punk band pranksters go to an abandoned rock club now destroyed by fire where a band called "Bitch Cat" were in an audience stampede. The dead band members come back to life, take over filming and kill the living band members, then reanimate the band and make them play. 

2: “Suicide Bid” by Johannes Roberts. As a sorority initiation, a girl agrees to spend some time buried in a coffin recreating the urban legend of Guiltine, another girl who was buried underground 20 years before and was never seen again. 

3: “Ozzy Dungeon” by Flying Lotus. A demented kids show Ozzy's Dungeon, is hosted by an obnoxious, self-serving host. When a contestant named Donna is injured, her fat equally obnoxious mother kidnaps the host. Eventually they are all killed by a strange demon that emerges from the mysterious Ozzy in a cave. 

4: “The Gawkers” by Tyler MacIntyre. Some asshole teenagers spy on a woman across the street who turns out to be Medusa. 

5: “Two Hell and Back” by Vanessa & Joseph Winter. Two guys are filming a witch's coven while they summon a demon. The dudes are sucked into hell and run around with a woman named Mabel trying to find an exit portal. This is by far the most imaginative segment but it's once again marred by characters arguing and screaming.

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Chuck Power

 

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AN EYE FOR AN EYE-1981-After his partner Pierce (Terry Kiser) is killed in a shootout, undercover cop Sean Kane (Chuck Norris) resigns under pressure from his boss (Richard Roundtree). Pierce's widow Linda (Rosalind Chao) is a reporter who discovers a secret operation. Unfortunately, she's killed by a club foot Asian strongman (Prof. Toru Tanaka). Morgan Canfield (Christopher Lee), the head of a TV station seems helpful but acts suspiciously. Another reporter Heather (Maggie Cooper) helps Kane track down suspect Montoya (Mel Novak). Later Kane teams with Linda's father James (Mako). After he and Heather have sex, it's revealed that the whole drug shebang is headed by Canfield, helped out by Kane's corrupt cop friend McCoy (Matt Clark).

 Director Steve Carver (BIG BAD MAMA (1974), DRUM (1976)) worked with Norris again on probably his best movie LONE WOLF MCQUADE (1983). EYE isn't bad but what it needs more emotion from Norris.

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