‘Abby doesn’t need a man anymore… the Devil is her lover now!’ Abby is a 1974 American blaxploitation horror film about a woman who is possessed by an African sex spirit. It stars William H. Marshall, (Blacula) Terry Carter, Austin Stoker, and Carol Speed as the title character. It was directed by William Girdler (The Manitou; Grizzly; Three on a Meathook), who co-wrote the...

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Poster designed by Reynold Brown ‘Body of a boy! Mind of a monster! Soul of an unearthly thing!’ I Was a Teenage Frankenstein – aka Teenage Frankenstein – is a 1957 American science fiction horror film directed by Herbert L. Strock (The Crawling Hand; Blood of Dracula) from a screenplay credited to Kenneth Langtry [actually producer Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel].

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War of the Colossal Beast is a 1958 science fiction horror film written, co-produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon (Empire of the Ants; Necromancy; The Cyclops; et al) and produced by Carmel Productions and distributed by American International Pictures (AIP). It continued the storyline of the 1957 movie The Amazing Colossal Man, although it was not marketed as a direct sequel and featured a...

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‘They haven’t built the coffin that can hold him!’

Doctor Phibes Rises Again is a 1972 British horror feature film directed by Robert Fuest (The Devil’s Rain; And Soon the Darkness) from a screenplay co-written with Robert Blees. The Louis M. Heyward  production is a sequel to The Abominable Doctor Phibes and was promoted with the addition of an exclamation mark in its title.

The AIP production stars Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Peter Cushing, Beryl Reid, Terry-Thomas and Peter Jeffrey.

Review:

Three years on from being abominable, the conjunction of the planets cause Phibes to rise from his stasis. Finding the house above his lair has been demolished and ransacked of the ancient papyrus scroll detailing the location of the River of Life, he vows to take back what is rightfully his and finally grant himself and his beloved (dead) wife Victoria eternal life. A trip to Egypt is called for and no-one, the thief Darius Biederbeck, who is as desperate as Phibes to find the source, nor Inspector Trout, back again with his superb one-liners and comic misunderstandings, can stop him.

Biederbeck: “What kind of fiend are you?”

Phibes: “The kind that wins, my friend!”

After the success of the first outing, the studio wasted no time in bringing Dr Anton Phibes out of his self-induced hibernation just a year later. The film is enormous fun but it would be remiss of me to insist it’s as stunning as the first; however, there is still much to admire and the film is never anything less than terrific entertainment.

If the Phibes sequel is lacking one element present in the first that sets it down a rung on the ladder, it’s the cohesion the biblical plagues gave it; though the titular villain is still killing with ever more devious traps, it’s rather more indiscriminate and less joyously fiendish. The 1920s setting still allows Fuest’s skill at direction to flourish but the set-up is a little clumsy. Biederbeck provides the opportunity for the always reliable Robert Quarry (Count Yorga, Madhouse) to flex his diabolical muscle but the relationship between himself and his aide, Ambrose (played by Hugh Griffith, who was cast as the rabbi in the first outing) is rather muddy and if anything gets in the way of the plot. An even bigger pinch of salt is required to accept that both Victoria and Phibes’ orchestra, The Clockwork Wizards, are able to be shipped across to Egypt undetected.

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of The Abominable Dr Phibes and Dr Phibes Rises Again, transferred from original film elements by MGM, and both presented in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, region B/2.
• Audio commentary on The Abominable Dr Phibes by director Robert Fuest.
• Audio commentary on The Abominable Dr Phibes by author William Goldstein.
• Audio commentary on Dr Phibes Rises Again by Video Watchdog‘s Tim Lucas.
• Dr Phibes and the Gentlemen: Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson recall the horror classics.
• Daughter of Phibes: Victoria Price discusses her father’s career.
• The Doctor Will See You Now: Interview with David Del Valle.
• Trailers
•100-page booklet featuring new writing on the films by Julian Upton, Martin Jones, Little Shoppe of Horrors’ Justin Humphreys and Trunk Records’ Jonny Trunk, the on-set recollections of Caroline Munro, plus interviews with Tim Burton and American International Picture’s publicist Milton Moritz, illustrated with original archive stills

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What these factors take away are certainly made up for in additions to the cast. Replacing the pregnant Virginia North in the role as Vulnavia is the tremendous Valli Kemp, who was due to remain as Phibes’ assistant for the proposed sequels, which sadly never appeared.

Also featuring are the instantly recognisable brute, Milton Reid (The Blood on Satan’s Claw, an alarming amount of British sex comedies of the 70s), paying the price for being Biederbeck’s servant by having his brain bisected by a booby-trapped phone, Peter Cushing as the ship’s captain, Beryl Reid as, well, Beryl Reid (see also the return of Terry-Thomas in a different yet equally memorable role) and John Thaw, pecked to death by an eagle. Frankie Howerd (The House in Nightmare Park) was also earmarked to star but, alas, we were denied this comedic pleasure.

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Though some of the desert scenes were set on location (in Spain), the set design is still sumptuous and Egypt is the 1920s looks as radiant as London, the detail of Phibes’ pyramid hideaway being everything you could hope it to be. Allegedly, relations between Price and Quarry were not perfect, animosity largely due to AIP positioning Quarry as the new star of horror, much to Vincent’s chagrin, whilst Quarry felt Price something of a ham. It is said that after giving Price a burst of opera, Quarry announced “I bet you didn’t know I could sing?” to which Price responded “Well, I knew you couldn’t f*cking act”.

Buy Vincent Price: The Art of Fear – Amazon.co.uk

Music is again of critical importance in the film, duties on this occasion taken by John Gale, who surprisingly went on to very little else.  The score is decidedly more orchestral, veering away from Basil Kirchin’s jazz stylings, although the Clockwork Wizards still play a key role. The film does at least provide us with the dizzying wonder of Vincent Price actually singing ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ over the end credits, a fitting end to a series which was sadly curtailed so quickly.

The great haste in which the sequel was made, as well as the noticeable budget cuts, certainly stifle what is still a great film. As a pair, both The Abominable Doctor Phibes and Doctor Phibes Rises Again bring to the screen one of the great villains of horror cinema, a particularly British creation, doused in tragedy as much as pure evil.

In-house wrangling at AIP deprived us of the planned sequels; Bride of Phibes has a well-fleshed out plot, seeing Phibes attempting to rescue Victoria from the hands of a satanic cult; vengeance coming in many forms from being sucked to death by leeches to being smothered in butter and eaten by lobsters (!).

Further sequels are scant on detail but were mentioned by both Fuest and Price in interviews; the last mention of the character being attached to George A. Romero‘s Laurel Production company, with David Carradine scheduled to play the lead…

Daz Lawrence, MOVIES & MANIA

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How to Make a Monster will be released on Blu-ray by Scream Factory on May 26th 2020. Special features will be announced nearer the release date.

‘It will scare the living yell out of you!’

How to Make a Monster is a 1958 American horror feature film directed by Herbert L. Strock (The Crawling Hand; Blood of Dracula; I Was a Teenage Frankenstein) from a screenplay written by Aben Kandel (as Kenneth Langtry) and producer Herman Cohen. It was released by American International Pictures (AIP).

The film is a follow-up to both I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein. How to Make a Monster was filmed in black and white, with the final scenes in colour.

Plot:

Pete Drummond, Chief Make-up Artist for twenty-five years at “American International Studios,” is pink-slipped by the new management from the East, Jeffrey Clayton and John Nixon, who plan to make musicals and comedies instead of the horror pictures for which Pete has created his remarkable monster make-up and made the studio famous.

In retaliation, Pete vows to use the very monsters these men have rejected to destroy them. By mixing a numbing ingredient into his foundation cream and persuading the young actors that their careers are through unless they place themselves in his power, he hypnotises both Larry Drake and Tony Mantell, who are playing the characters Teenage Werewolf and Teenage Frankenstein in the picture Werewolf Meets Frankenstein currently shooting on the lot.

In recent years, the title has been used several times: for a song on Rob Zombie’s 1998 debut solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe; for a TV movie in 2001; for the name of the 2004 album by The Cramps; for a documentary on special make-up effects applications in 2005; and for an 8-minute short film in 2011.

Reviews [click links to read more]:

” …How to Make a Monster zips right along, aided by the fact that its premise allows it to incorporate action scenes from Teenage Frankenstein vs. the Teenage Werewolf whenever the main plot starts to bog down. And the comedic elements are surprisingly funny for 1958, relying more on sly jabs at the foolishness and absurdity of the movie business than on the juvenile slapstick more typical of late-50’s B-movies.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

“Some of the murder scenes are decent but there’s an awful lot of taking between. The color climax starts out moody and striking but it bogs itself down in stiff conversations. Harris makes the villain fun to follow but the teens should have had more screen time. Enjoy it as proto-postmodernism, and as self-promotion for AIP.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

“Herman Cohen horrifier bravely dare to mock its own genre, making its weak script […] and mediocre makeup effects worth enduring.” John Stanley, Creature Features

“Dismally routine in the main, the film is given certain historical fascination by the backstage setting and litter of old props from AIP movies, including the head of the female horror from The She Creature (1956).” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror

“Unfortunately, the novelty of the film-within-a-film angle is not enough to carry the picture. The movie is more of a murder melodrama than an honest to goodness monster flick, and the details of the investigation grow tiresome. That’s not to say there aren’t some enjoyable scenes.” Exclamation Mark

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” …if you’re looking for unintended laughs, look no further than John Ashley’s musical number. He sings a wonderfully awful song while chicks that look like low rent versions of The Rockettes dressed up like dominatrixes dance around. Goddamn, did I mention I love this movie?” The Video Vacuum

Cast and characters:

• Robert H. Harris … Pete Dumond
• Paul Brinegar … Rivero
• Gary Conway … Tony Mantell (Teenage Frankenstein)
• Gary Clarke … Larry Drake (Teenage Werewolf)
• Malcolm Atterbury … Security Guard Richards
• Dennis Cross … Security Guard Monahan
• Morris Ankrum … Police Captain Hancock
• Walter Reed … Detective Thompson
• Paul Maxwell … Jeffrey Clayton
• Eddie Marr … John Nixon
• Heather Ames … Arlene Dow
• Robert Shayne … Gary Droz
• Rod Dana … Lab Technician
• Jacqueline Ebeier … Jane
• Thomas Browne Henry … Martin Brace – director of ‘Werewolf Meets Frankenstein’ (as Thomas B. Henry)
• John Phillips … Detective Jones
• Paulene Myers … Millie – the Pedestrian
• John Ashley … John Ashley
• Herman Cohen … Banks – Director in Projection Room (uncredited)
• Frank Richards … Studio Groundskeeper (uncredited)

Filming locations:

ZIV Studios – 7950 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California

Technical details:

• 73 minutes
• Audio: Mono (Ryder Sound Services)
• Black and White | Colour
• Aspect ratio: 1.66: 1

Release:

In the USA, How to Make a Monster was released by American International Pictures on a double bill with Roger Corman’s Teenage Cave Man.

The post How to Make a Monster – USA, 1958 – overview, reviews and Blu-ray news appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.

‘in her eyes… desire! in her veins… the blood of a monster!’

Blood of Dracula is 1957 American supernatural horror feature film starring Sandra Harrison, Louise Lewis (I Was a Teenage Frankenstein), Gail Ganley (Not of This Earth) and Jerry Blaine, released by American International Pictures (AIP). It was released as Blood of the Demon in Canada and in the UK as Blood is My Heritage.

Virtually a remake of I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, the Carmel Productions movie was produced and co-written by Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel [as Ralph Thornton] (Berserk!; Trog) and directed by Herbert L. Strock (How to Make a Monster; The Crawling Hand).

Plot:

Six weeks after the death of her mother, Nancy Perkins’ father (Thomas B. Henry) marries Doris (Jeanne Dean) and decides to enrol his daughter (Sandra Harrison) into a boarding school, the Sherwood School for Girls.

Nancy is immediately harassed by her dormmates that night, and Myra (Gail Ganley), their leader, tells Nancy about their secret club, “The Birds of Paradise,” and introduces her to Eddie (Don Devlin), a young groundsman whom the “Birds” take turns dating. Myra is the assistant for Miss Branding (Louise Lewis), the school’s chemistry teacher, who is writing a thesis about her belief that there is a “terrible power,” “strong enough to destroy the world – buried within each of us.”

During chemistry class, Myra and her friend Nola (Heather Ames) deliberately switch a chemical in order to burn Nancy, causing her to react violently. Intrigued,  Miss Branding later talks with Nancy and gains her confidence. She then asks Nancy if she may hypnotise her and Nancy agrees.

Miss Branding places an amulet from antiquity around her neck, telling Nancy that it came from the Carpathian Mountain region and is capable of healing, as well as destroying – and has the ability to release frightening powers. As Nancy gazes at the amulet, Miss Branding hypnotizes her and instructs her to always obey her…

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Reviews [click links to read more]:

“The nasty politics of relationships among teenage girls has served as an extremely fertile seeding ground for horror films and fiction during the last 30 years, but in the late 1950s, it was almost completely unexplored territory … On the downside, this movie is hampered by extremely bad acting from most of the cast, and the vampire makeup Sandra Harrison wears is absolutely ludicrous.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

” …one of American International Pictures’ better and more enduring teen-horror outings of the era. Coupled with a lot of atmosphere and period appeal that was never anticipated by the makers back in 1957, the movie has grown in reputation since its original bottom-of-the-bill release…” AllMovie

“Commendably, Lewis plays the role absolutely deadpan, especially when explaining her quest for “a special kind of girl with special potentials.” That Miss Branding is a lesbian is also alluded to in the film’s first attack scene […] But, like everything else in the film, the notion is merely toyed with, then dropped. Worse, the action never works up any real energy, dwindling to a pathetically fudged ending in which Nancy’s impalement isn’t even shown.” Jonathan Rigby, American Gothic: Six Decades of Classic Horror Cinema

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“Neither as well-directed as Teenage Werewolf, not so well scripted as Teenage Frankenstein, and considerably less outrageous than either, its most striking feature is Harrison’s grotesque vampire outfit, which includes chalky face, batwing eyebrows, Lugosi peak and bobbysoxer sweater.” The Aurum Encyclopedia of Film: Horror

“Dim low-budgeter, all talk and little action. Dracula has nothing to do with it,” Howard Maxwell, The A – Z of Horror Films

“Many screenwriters have succeeded at crystalizing the fears of a culture, but Kandel did so on a totally unconscious level. His scripts are sterling examples of a writer going inwards to create, and bringing forth results that are characters and situations embodying the concerns subliminally perceived in society.” Boiling Sand

“The film basically takes the same route as I Was a Teenage Werewolf, but never lives up to that effort, especially with Harrison’s monster turns kept to a bare minimum. But her wild bat make-up is memorable, looking closer to ‘Nosferatu’ with big hair than anything else, and an impromptu musical number, ‘Puppy Love’ is a hoot.” DVD Verdict

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” …obviously models its plot off of Werewolf, but it emphasizes the weaknesses of that movie while losing its strengths; there isn’t a performance here to equal Michael Landon’s, for example. The scientist’s plan to save the world makes no sense whatsoever, there are far too many scenes that have no point and lead nowhere, and the whole girls’ school setup is contrived and unbelievable…” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“Almost silly enough to be enjoyable.” Alan Frank, The Horror Film Handbook

“Centering everything around women was a great idea. All the main characters, young and old, are female. It’s hard to call it a feminist film, unlike contemporaries like The Leech Woman. But the amoral professor does complain about the world “ruled by men, for men” and does make an example of female power.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

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” … an absurd script and the horror sequences are not particularly convincing or horrific. But Sandra Harrison and Louise Lewis perform with such solemn intensity as to command a kind of respect.” Monthly Film Bulletin

“Blood of Dracula sits, as the other Herman Cohen teenage monster movies do, atop the growing rift between teenagers and adults that emerged into the open in the 1950s, the sense of resentment, of being suppressed and misunderstood by adults that people like Elvis Presley and James Dean were tapping into. The film also interestingly introduces a proto-feminist theme…” Moria

” …entertaining in a kind of dated/cheesy way and it is interesting as a look at teen horror movies of the 50s. But beyond an almost historic/curious appeal, it doesn’t offer much else.” The Movie Scene

“The effects here are quite good! The vampire is pretty well designed, even if it does look a little silly, and the make-up people did a good job on Nancy before and after the transformations. It convincingly makes her look like she’s been put through the wringer, as opposed to emerging completely/totally unblemished, lipstick intact.” Not This Time, Nayland Smith

“Certainly it is one of the better AIP films, and one of the better films Herbert L. Strock directed (which may not be saying much). And, let’s face it, the basic notion here, of dragging not just psychic powers but Dracula into the world of science (kicking and screaming all the way) is utterly batty in the best sort of way.” Rivets on the Poster

“This one has teen boarding-school debs spinning the platters and dancing with seat cushions, not to mention the Puppy Love’ production number. The other parts of the slow-moving snoozer involve pre-liberation feminism and risible vampire makeup… ” Mike Mayo, The Horror Show Guide: The Ultimate Frightfest of Movies

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“Low-budget chiller … in which a new student at a girl’s prep school turns into a murderous vampire after falling under the hypnotic spell of the school’s feminist science teacher … Stylized violence, hokey menace and sexual innuendo,” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (1957)

” …the evil doctor’s plan doesn’t make a lick of damn sense. I mean she is trying to unleash a power within her that’s “greater than the atom bomb” […] Still, Blood of Dracula is plenty of fun. It’s got a silly-looking monster, cheesy transformation scenes, and dumb rock songs.” The Video Vacuum

Cast and characters:

• Sandra Harrison … Nancy Perkins
• Louise Lewis … Miss Branding
• Gail Ganley … Myra
• Jerry Blaine … Tab
• Heather Ames … Nola
• Malcolm Atterbury … Lt. Dunlap
• Mary Adams … Mrs Thorndyke
• Thomas Browne Henry … Mr Paul Perkins (as Thomas B. Henry)
• Don Devlin … Eddie
• Jean Dean … Mrs Doris Perkins (as Jeanne Dean)
• Richard Devon … Det. Sgt. Stewart
• Paul Maxwell … Mike, the young doctor
• Shirley Delancey … Terry (as Shirley De Lancey)
• Michael Hall … Glenn
• Craig Duncan … Police Officer
• Edna Holland … Miss Rivers
• Carlyle Mitchell … Stanley Mayther
• Voltaire Perkins … Dr Lawson
• Barbara Wilson … Linda
• Jimmy Hayes … Joe
• Lynn Alden … Ann

Filming locations:

Ziv Studios, 7950 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, California from 9th September 1957

Technical details:

• 69 minutes
• Black and white
• Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
• Audio: Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Image thanks: Wrong Side of the Art!

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Paul Blaisdell was an American artist, sculptor and actor, best known for his special effects creations for some of the early Science Fiction creature features made by Roger Corman. Despite …

Continue reading Paul Blaisdell – artist, sculptor and actor at MOVIES and MANIA.

I Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 American horror feature film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult and Yvonne Lime as his girlfriend, Arlene. It was co-written …

Continue reading I Was A Teenage Werewolf – USA, 1957 – reviews at MOVIES and MANIA.

Doctor Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine is a 1965 American International Pictures (AIP) comedy feature film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart (The Slime People) and Jack …

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Albert Kallis was a professional artist who designed many film posters for American International Pictures (AIP) releases in the 1950s. Kallis’ striking designs elevated the selling of exploitation movies to a new …

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The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1904. The novel is one of his lesser …

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‘World panic as UFOs approach Earth…’ The Eye Creatures is a 1965 American science fiction horror film about an invasion by a flying saucer and its silent alien occupants. While …

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‘They transplanted a white bigot’s head onto a soul brother’s body! The Thing with Two Heads is a 1972 science fiction comedy horror film directed by Lee Frost from a …

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‘A macabre masterpiece of terror!’ The Raven is a 1963 American comedy horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. The movie stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff …

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Count Yorga, Vampire is a 1970 American supernatural horror film about a couple that invites a Count from Hungary to conduct a seance for the woman’s recently deceased mother, oblivious …

The post COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970) Reviews of ’70s ‘modern’ take on vampirism appeared first on MOVIES and MANIA.