Strangling In Germany

 

 (imdb)

STRANGLER OF BLACKMORE CASTLE-1963-Lucien Clark (Rudolph Fernau), a guy about to be knighted, is visited by a gun toting masked figure, who accuses him of murder and says he has some stolen diamonds in his possession. An arriving car scares the intruder away but he vows to be back. Clark's niece, reporter Claridge (Karin Dor; THE FACE OF FU MANCHU (1965)) comes home with Lord Blackmore (Hans Neilsen), a bird lover with a weird beard who's renting his castle to Clark. After a murder where the victim had an M carved on his forehead, two Scotland Yard detectives Mitchell (Harry Riebauer) & Watson (Gerhard Hartig) investigate while Claridge does her own snooping and a rival reporter Mike (Hans Reiser) hangs around too. Clark is involved with the diamonds. His chauffeur is decapitated while delivering some stolen loot and Clark receives the head in a wood box. His butler Anthony (Dieter Eppler) seems up to no good. The cops' big clue is the suspect has 9 fingers just like Clark…

This German production isn't bad although the climax is a little crazy. It's based on a story by Bryan Edgar Wallace. It was directed by Harald Reinl, who earlier made two films featuring the “Dr. Mabuse” character and later made the speculation film CHARIOTS OF THE GOD? (1970) and several sequels.

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Lovecraftian

 

 (themoviedb.org)

FROM BEYOND-1986-Dr. Tillingast (Jeffery Combs) is accused of killing his superior Dr. Pretorius (Ted Sorel) who's found decapitated. He says something bit off Pretorius' head. They were working on a machine dubbed “the Pretorius resonator”) that stimulates the pineal gland. A notorious psychiatrist Katherine McMichaels (Barbra Crampton) doesn't believe Tillingast is insane and takes him back to where they were experimenting. Police Sgt. Brownlee (Ken Foree) accompanies them. They turn on the machine and meet the nude reanimated body of Dr. P. He turns into a whatziz and almost eats them but Tillingast turns the machine off. McMichael becomes obsessed with learning more. After almost being eaten again, she escapes and after doing her famous s & m scene has to fight the bizarrely transformed Pretorius. Later everyone thinks she's insane. A crazed female doctor wants her to have shock therapy. She escapes and Tillingast runs around the hospital killing people. When she returns to destroy the resonator, Tillingast kidnaps her. Pretorius somehow returns and terrorizes her. She defeats him and goes insane. 

A lot of disgusting SFX (by a huge crew) made this a cult film but Crampton helped too. She was later on the TV soap operas “The Guiding Light” and “The Bold and The Beautiful”. Conceptual art by Neal Adams. An Empire Pictures release, filmed in Italy, Charles Band was one of the producers. 

Director Stuart Gordon had already become a cult like director after making RE-ANIMATOR (1985), also with Crampton & Combs. Producer Brian Yuzna co-wrote the screenplay with Dennis Paoli based on the HP Lovecraft short story “From Beyond”. A more recent adaptation of the same story is BANSHEE CHAPTER (2013).

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More Naschy

 

 (imdb)

THE DEVIL'S POSSESSED-1974-Baron Gilles de Lancre (Paul Naschy) hires Simon (Eduardo Calvo) the alchemist to teach him how to make gold from glass. At first Gilles is reluctant to help the alchemist because it requires a human sacrifice. However, with some urging from his consort Georgelle (Norma Sebre), he overcomes his misgivings, and a local cutie is killed. Later Gaston Malebranche (Guillermo Bredeston) returns from the war and has a fight with some hooligans in a bar. The Baron uses murder and torture to keep everyone in check while searching for the philosopher's stone. His Georgella says the devil will talk to him through a severed head, so he has a local boy decapitated. The head does talk to him and tells him to sacrifice some virgins but the voice is actually that of the alchemist who is obviously in cahoots with Georgelle. 

Later Gaston, who once saved the Baron's life, is more than welcomed in the Baron's castle but Georgelle doesn't like him and says he should be killed. When an assassination fails, Gaston joins the underground peasants who oppose the Baron. After losing a jousting match to Gaston and killing the alchemist because he failed to produce the philosopher's stone, the Baron and his army go on a killing spree. Later he thinks he's invulnerable, but his enemies prove him wrong. 

This great historical bloody horror film was written by star Naschy under his real name Jacinto Molina as he once again teamed the director Leon Klimovsky (THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN, DR. JEKYLL VS. THE WEREWOLF). The story is loosely an adaptation of the life of Gilles de Rais, a 15-century notorious French serial killer who had serves under Joan of Arc. Read about him here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_Rais

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Mummy in Spain

 

 (imdb)

VOODOO BLACK EXORCIST-1974-A voodoo priest in the Caribbean is burned for having an affair with a married woman named Kenya. Many years later he comes back as a revenge seeking mummy when he's discovered by an expedition and brought aboard a luxury liner. He wakes up and sometimes he's crusty looking but most times he's normal. He cuts off the head of a steward and puts the head in the bed of Silvia (Eva Leon), a woman who may be the reincarnation of his girlfriend. Then he has a guy he's made his slave run over a doctor with a steamroller. A short rotund police chief figures out what's going on and the mummy is burned up. 

This production from Spain is pretty bad. The director Manuel Cano also made THE SWAMP OF THE RAVENS.

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Francostein Monster

 

THE (EROTIC) RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN-1973-Just as Dr. Frankenstein (Dennis Price) and assistant Morpho (your director Jess Franco) have resurrected the monster, Cagliostro (Howard Vernon) and Melisa (Anna Libert), his vampire bird-girl kill them and take the monster. Before he dies Frankenstein asks Dr. Seward (Alberto Dalbes) to save the monster ("my legacy"). 

At the doc's funeral Seward meets Vera Frankenstein (Beatriz Savon) who at night steals her dad's corpse with the help of her nurse. She brings dad back to life for a few minutes and he tells her to get his monster back. She vows revenge against Cagliostro. Later Melisa has the monster kidnap a woman and in a bizarre ceremony the woman's head is severed from her body while Cagliostro and un-dead ghouls look on. When the monster kidnaps an artist's model, it meets Vera who convinces him to take her instead of the model. Held prisoner, Vera beats a henchman in a cruel game where the henchman winds up impaled. Cagliostro hypnotizes Vera so she will obey him. He wants to build a mate for the monster and start a new race. Meanwhile Steward and a police inspector investigate. 

Poor dead Dr. Frankenstein is found and brought to life once more by Steward but the doc attacks Steward until the inspector throws acid on him. Then using "magnetic rays and an incisor machine", Vera helps make the perfect mate. Melisa goes into a blood frenzy on a hapless victim. Before the monster can consummate with "his bride" Steward convinces him/it to turn against Cagliostro and his minions. He kills Melisa and tries to do in Vera but the inspector shoots him. Laughing madly Cagliostro escapes and Vera warns he'll return….

Mindless but entertaining Spanish-France horror mess from Franco who also made a "hotter" version  with more nudity (not an uncommon move for for the director). Franco (1920-2013)  made upwards of 10 movies in 1973!

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The Original

THE EVIL DEAD-1981-Ash (Bruce Campbell) and 4 jerky friends (1 guy, 3 girls) go to a secluded cabin. There's a lot of strange noises and there seems to be something in the woods. In the basement (where there's a THE HILLS HAVE EYES poster) they find some ancient books, artifacts and a tape recorder. The tape has a doctor talking about Sumeria, The Book of The Dead and resurrecting the deceased. The taped chanting of the doctor seems to bring up some force and a tree crashes through a window. At night one of the women Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) is attacked by tree branches then chased through the forest by an unseen force. On the tape the doctor says his wife is possessed. Cheryl becomes a ghoul and threatens the rest, stabbing Ash's girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker) with a pencil. They lock her in the basement. The third girl Shelly (Sarah York) becomes possessed and attacks Scott (Richard Manincor), the other guy. Shelly gets partially burned, has her hand cut off, then dies after being dismembered in a very gory scene. Then Linda becomes a giggling demon. Ash yells: “You bastards! Why are you torturing me like this?!”. When Scotty dies, Ash is left alone to fight the demons. 

There's a lot of bloody effects, decapitation, demon attacks and of course poor Ash is beaten, stabbed and generally terrorized but manages to destroy the demon and survive....or does he? 

This was director Sam Raimi's first feature film (he'd only made short films before this) and seems to be influenced the low budget horror film EQUINOX (1970). It still packs a wallop today. Followed by two sequels and a cable TV show many years later.

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It Strikes Again!

THE FLYING GUILLOTINE-PART 2-1976-A group of rebels are still trying to overthrow the emperor (now played by Ku Feng) who has a small army of guillotine toting men. Ma Teng (now played by Lung Ti) perfects another counter to the blades but a monk working for the emperor makes a wacky double guillotine! An all out battle caps the finale with blood and dismemberment where Ma Teng gets revenge but he and his comrades are all killed. It's so wild they needed two directors (Kang Cheng and Shan Hua) to handle it!

Flying Guillotine

THE FLYING GUILLOTINE-1975-During the Manchu dynasty, Xin Kang (Ku Feng) creates the title weapon for his evil emperor Yung Cheng (Yang Chiang). After killing a German Sheppard and a rooster he trains a group of men to operate the weapon and they become assassins who get rid of the emperor's enemies. One soldier, Ma Teng (Kuen Tai Chen) revolts and runs away. He meets a woman and they have a baby. Meanwhile another soldier plots to overthrow his leader. When Ma Teng and the flying guillotine assassins cross paths again he invents an umbrella like defensive against the deadly decapitating machine. This violent and enjoyable craziness was directed by Meng Hua Ho  (THE DRAGON MISSILE) and is based on actual legends of the existence of such a weapon.

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Shaw Brothers

THE DRAGON MISSILE (FEI LONG ZHAN)-1975-This Shaw Brothers production features another inventive weapon: a deadly boomerang. An assassin (Lo Lieh) working for an evil governor (Ku Feng) obtains some medicine to save his boss's life but it's stolen by his old friend (Tony Liu). Later using the boomerang (called “the missile dragon”) the assassin beheads his ex-friend's mother and gets the medicine back but keeps it a secret from his entourage because they are under orders to kill him once he has it. Naturally, his ex-friend wants revenge and he's joined by the daughter of the doctor (Nancy Yen) who made the medicine. They also get help from a woman (Terry Liu) in the assassin's entourage who has retractable blades in her fingers (similar to Wolverine). After some fights and decapitations, a crazy all out battle takes place where fishing nets help to battle the boomerangs. 

Director Meng Hua Ho also made THE FLYING GUILLOTINE the year before.

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Everyone Loves a Mystery

I LOVE A MYSTERY-1945-This murder mystery is based on a very popular radio show created by Carlton E. Morse. Jack Patton (Jim Bannon) and Doc Long (Barton Yarborough) investigate the murder of Jefferson Monk (George Macready) who rightly predicted his own decapitation death. His invalid wife (Nina Foch) says that earlier he'd been attacked by a scary faced peg-legged guy. In a flashback (which also features a flashback) it's learned Monk had an encounter with Mr. G (Lester Matthews), a (phony) Asian leader of the “oldest secret society”. Apparently Monk looked like the society's mummified “sacred one” and they offered him 10 thousand dollars for his head! It seems his wife was trying to drive him mad to inherit his money but she succeeded too well! 

This was the first of three low budget movies based on the radio show. Former dialogue director Henry Levin directed all of them and had worked with female lead Nina Foch earlier on the disappointing CRY OF THE WEREWOLF. 

Like I said before in my review of their second feature THE DEVIL'S MASK, Jack and Doc make a good team and the the story had some weird twists. Of course as usual I reviewed the second movie first!

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Fulci!

HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY-1981-This starts off with a woman looking for her boyfriend in empty building. She finds him but he's a bloody mess. Then she gets a knife through her head. In NYC Norman (Paolo Malco; also in THE NEW YORK RIPPER for the same director) and his wife Lucy (Catriona MacColl; also in THE BEYOND by the same director) are packing to go live in a rural Boston house (in a cemetery) where Norman's co-worker killed his mistress then committed suicide. Their young song Bob (Giovanni Frezza; also in the director's MANHATTAN BABY) looks at a picture of the house and sees a young girl in the window. Later, when his parents go to pick up the keys Bob meets the little girl, named Mae who only he can see. She warns him to stay away. While they unpack Norman discovers that the basement door has been boarded up. Soon the mysterious looking Ann (Ania Pieroni; also in TENEBRE) shows up to be their babysitter. At night Norman catches her trying to break open the door. When she is alone in the house the next day, Lucy is terrorized by weird noises. Norman decides to open the door to show Lucy there's nothing there and the two of them are attacked by a bat. They decide to move but then the real estate agent is killed in a bloody poker attack by a grunting unseen killer. Meanwhile Bob plays tag with Mae. Ann gets decapitated and Bob is chased by the killer. Lucy doesn't believe him but when he's trapped in the basement (and Norman has to break down the door with an axe) we learn that for some reason a Dr. Freudstein, a deformed one armed killer who needs human cells to survive is living in the basement! When Norman stabs him maggots ooze out of his body. Despite this the monster doctor kills both Bob's parents then terrorizes Bob until Mae (who also seems to be a Freudstein) pulls him to safety (or does she?). Her mother? /grandmother? leads them away (to heaven? or the past?) in the "makes no sense" ending.

HOUSE was directed by cult Italian gore-master Lucio Fulci and to me is one of his weakest films. It's full of plot holes and characters saying ambiguous things that are never explained. Who is the little girl Mae? How suddenly did Norman find out about Freudstein? And what the hell was actually going on? Why did Freudstein become an ugly killer living in the basement? And more importantly where did they get the kid who plays Bob? He was kinda of scary himself a few times and reminded me of Mick Jagger! The story also seems to hint that Norman and Anne could have had an affair.

It does feature some extreme gore (a Fulci specialty) and a little suspense.

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Late Corman, Early Coppola

DEMENTIA 13-1963-This begins with a husband and wife out in a row boat at night discussing his mother's inheritance. He has a heart attack and dies. She fears that she will be cut out of MIL's will if his death is discovered so she throws his weighted body into the water. After some brief credits, the woman Louise (Luana Anders) packs hubby's suitcase and forges his signature on a note to his mom (Eithne Dunne). Louise is living in an old Irish castle with her two brothers in law. William Campbell is the older brother Richard, an artist who works in metal and is engaged to Kane (Mary Mitchel). Billy (Bart Patton) is the younger bro, shy and weak. They are all haunted by the memory of Kathleen, a sister who drowned when she was a little girl. The woman schemes to make MIL change her will by making the old woman think Kathleen has come back. Her plan doesn't work as she is killed by a mysterious ax murderer who also decapitates an old poacher. Patrick Magee is the weird family doctor who figures it out. 

Producer Roger Corman wanted a low budget PSYCHO rip-off made with money left over form his THE YOUNG RACERS (which had featured Campbell, Anders and Magee). He hired Francis Ford Coppola (only his third film) to write and directed it in Ireland. It's dark and bizarre and the acting is very good. Corman and Coppola clashed over the final cut's running time and Corman added a  "gimmick" prologue (directed by either Jack Hill or Monte Hellman) to pad it out.  So Corman wanted to rip-off Hitchcock and William Castle??

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Hammer Zombies

THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES-1966-Hammer teamed up with 7 Arts to release this eerie horror film. While on vacation a curmudgeonly doctor Sir James Forbes (Andre Morrell) is summon to Cornwall by his ex-pupil Peter (Brook Williams) to check out the "strange malady" afflicting his wife Alice (Jacqueline Pearce from BLAKE'S SEVEN). After a not so nice welcome, Alice dies and Sir James' daughter Sylvia (Diane Clare who was in THE HAUNTING) is harassed by a group of fox hunters under the charge of Squire Hamilton (John Carson), a weird guy who talks like James Mason. He tries to act gentlemanly by she isn't buying it. While Sylvia is walking home sees a zombie like guy dump Alice's body down a hill. Meanwhile Sir James and Peter are arrested for grave robbing but they get off when the coffin they dug up is empty! Apparently Hamilton is the leader of a Voodoo blood cult that turns folks into zombies and makes them work in the local tin mine. Hamilton wants to zombify Sylvia. Guys in robes wearing masks that have "Daredevil" horns attack a vicar. Later pasty faced zombies rise from the grave but it seems to to a dream sequence. Somehow after nearly being buried alive Sir James saves his daughter and makes the zombies turn against their master and destroy his plans. The best scene is when Alice suddenly becomes a zombie and Sir James decapitates her with a shovel. Michael Ripper is very good as one of the constables who helps out.

Like a lot of Hammer films it takes time to get going but delivers some great scenes. The under rated (at least in America) Morrell is great in the lead role. Director John Gilling also made THE REPTILE the same year. Hammer teamed with 7 Arts to make THE WITCHES the same year too.

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Rip-Off

THE DEVIL WITHIN HER-1975-Former exotic dancer Lucy Carlesi (Joan Collins) gives birth to a rather large and strong baby (at least that's what the doctor's say; it looks like any normal baby). Weird things happen almost immediately. Baby scratches mommy and later bites their housekeeper. Her Italian husband Geno (Ralph Bates with an accent) hires a nanny but the baby pushes her into a pond and she dies! Lucy reveals a strange story to her girlfriend (Caroline Munro) about the last time she danced and how a dwarf actor "cursed" her ("You will have a baby as big as I am small! A monster!"). She believes her baby is possessed and even sees the dwarf's face in place of her son's. Their doctor (Donald Pleasance) doesn't believe it but when he visits he's decapitated. Dad winds up dead by hanging and his body is stuffed in a drain pipe. Dad's sister, a nun (Elleen Atkins) suspects no good and eventually performs an exorcism but by then everyone is dead! John Steiner is also in it as a Cockney club owner. Much of it doesn't make sense and there's some unintentional humor and it all seems to be inspired by THE EXORCIST, IT'S ALIVE and ROSEMARY'S BABY. 

Director Peter Sasdy did better with previous efforts like TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA, COUNTESS DRACULA and HANDS OF THE RIPPER. For some reason it has recently been re-titled SHARON'S BABY.

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Scooby Do Be Doooooooo!

SATURDAY MORNING MYSTERY-2012-This is a weird dark ghost hunters investigating a haunted house  film but the four lead characters seem to be based on those in the cartoon series SCOOBY DOO! Although it features sex, nudity and swearing. There's a pet dog (named Hamlet) too but he just acts like a real dog. The group sets up cameras and goes about exploring. The Shaggy character (who also has drugs) watches two of his partners having sex. When it appears they might actually have found a ghost it turns out they are on acid that the ersatz Shaggy hid in their water cooler. This also helps explain the characters bird brain antics. After some BLAIR WITCH  type chase scenes the dog is eaten and there's a bloody decapitation. The guys are killed. A local sheriff (who had told the group early about the legend of the house) comes to the rescue of the two girls but in the movies stupidest scene he's captured climbing over a wall (and later tortured). The vicious deeds are done by Mona & Frankie , a brother and sister who's parents were accused of killing them after they disappeared but in fact they were hiding out somewhere in the house the whole time and are now crazy killers. This picks up steam as it goes on and despite it's derivative story line it's suspenseful and well directed. I was actually surprised at the typical cliche' ending. This was director Spencer Parsons second full length film.

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