FrankensteinsDaughter

I rented this because of Barbara Steele, who is fast becoming my all time favorite actress of the macabre! In this interesting, dark and very atmospheric black and white Gothic Italian chiller, the haunting and lovely Barb again displays her versatility by playing a dual role similar to what she played in "Black Sunday." Her first role is that of a manipulative, wealthy and unfaithful woman named Muriel. Muriel's frequent taunts directed at her scientist husband Stephen (played by Paul Muller) don't go unnoticed. And neither does her affair with the hunky castle gardener! When Stephen finds out what's afoot, he murders both Muriel and the gardener and seals them in a downstairs crypt. Too bad for him Muriel left all her funds and her large estate to her fragile and very naive sister Jenny (Steele's second role, in a blonde wig). Stephen decides to court and marry Jenny and then plots to drive her crazy for the inheritance with help from a bizarre female accomplice (Helga Line in a very interesting role as an elderly maid whose youth and beauty is restored by blood transplants administered by Stephen). And did I mention the vengeful ghosts? Well, it's probably better I don't get into that!

Well I honestly loved this movie! The plot is typical of the genre but very entertaining nonetheless, the sets are nicely detailed, the score by Ennio Morricone is gorgeous and the cast is very enjoyable. Muller is excellent and oozes evil as the murderous husband. Steele and Line (the latter's sleek nose and regal demeanor perfectly contrasting the more exotic look of Steele) not only prove just how gorgeous women used to be before plastic surgery but also deliver nicely shaded acting performances as well. There are also several good looking guys in the cast, especially Laurence Clift as a compassionate doctor who takes a liking to Jenny.

So make sure to check this one out if you enjoy Gothic horror as much as I do. I think you'll really enjoy it!

David Hess virtually replays his "Last House on the Left" role in this very bad Italian exploitation movie. He plays a perverted greaseball named Alex who spends his free time raping and strangling women. At the garage where he works, some snotty rich kids pull in to get their car worked on and Alex finds himself drawn to the attractive Lisa (Annie Belle), so he decides to follow them to a party, dragging along his retarded co-worker Ricky (Giavanni Lombardo Radice who frequently uses the Anglacized name John Morghen). Well at the party, it doesn't take long for Alex's bad side to come out as he proceeds to terrorize the people there. Some of the men are beaten, all of the women are stripped naked at one point or another and Alex tries to coerce Ricky into joining in on the fun. During one rape scene, the female "victim" seems like she could care less about it. There is ample opportunity for the party guests to turn the tables on their attackers, but it takes them forever to do so. It's very annoying to watch, but then there's one of those out-of-left-field endings that's supposed to justify why everyone acts brain dead throughout the entire movie. Sorry but I didn't buy it!

I have no clue why this movie has a favorable score and reviews! It's just plain inept! Mostly terrible acting, cringe-worthy dialogue, completely unimaginative directing, almost no plot to speak of and that final twist I mentioned is so contrived and unlikely you'll want to smash the DVD when it's over with. The pluses are the photography is decent, the main theme song is sort of creepy, a couple of the actors were tolerable (namely Christian Borromeo and Lorraine De Selle, the rest of the cast either overacted or acted with all the enthusiasm of a tree stump) and it piles on full nudity and sexual scenes. There is really not much in the way of gore, but a lot of violence or sexually violent scenarios that might make it uncomfortable for some people to watch. I just found is ridiculous and amateurish; too badly made to really be effective or offensive.

Misleadingly advertised as a Ring/Grudge like horror film, this is actually a poignant, dark and ultimately compelling drama with supernatural elements added. Jennifer Connelly is excellent in this movie as a disturbed single mom who's trying to make the best life possible for her young daughter (Ariel Gade) with limited resources and while in the middle of a messy divorce. Moving into a creaky apartment building with plumbing problems, both are seemingly haunted by the spirit of a young girl, who may be a murder victim. And I won't reveal anything else about the story. While Connelly carries the movie on her own and gives what is probably the best female acting performance in a "horror" film since Kathy Bates in Misery, she's ably supported by the likes of John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, Camryn Manheim and other excellent character actors. CGI is only discreetly used here for the special effects. The script is very well thought out and the production values are excellent.

I honestly blame the average rating (5.6 as of this writing) on teenagers who felt cheated by the false advertising. However, this is a film made for adults, not kids with short attention spans expecting decapitations, hacked off limbs and cheap jump scares every five minutes. If you are only wanting a bloody/exploitative horror film, don't watch this movie. If you want a mature psychological drama with good character development, excellent acting and a downbeat ending, you will probably enjoy Dark Water just as much as I did.

I agree with the other posters who compared this to 'Repulsion.' This film does borrow much from that landmark Roman Polanski film, right down to the rotting skinned rabbit symbolism (though potatoes here), but this film is unique in its own way. It's like a filmed stage play; with almost all of the action taking place in one small apartment. Jane Hamilton (aka porn star Veronica Hart) is Joyce Peters, a wealthy, pregnant and mentally disturbed New York City socialite on the fringes of her shallow subculture. With her husband (supposedly) away on business, and finding no support from her money-hungry mother and sister, she's attacked by an intruder, kills him, loses her baby and retreats into a delusional world that mixes the past/flashbacks, the present and troubling fantasy. Given the overall ambition and maturity of this project, it's hard to believe that much of the cast and crew came from the world of porn. The direction of Chuck Vincent, a man best known for adult films and R-rated sex comedies, is shockingly inspired at times, especially for the obvious low budget range, and particularly impressive is Hamilton/Hart, who gives a genuinely wrenching tour de force performance. 'Deranged' is bleak, depressing, claustrophobic and disturbing, and not a movie for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was a very nice soft-core movie for both men and women. Plenty of nudity/sex, but without the overall raunch you'll usually find. They could not have done a better job in casting as the entire ensemble was stunning. Trust me guys, if you want to get your woman in the mood, get something with Bobby Johnston in it! And I'm sure lovely Monique Parent, Samantha McConnell and the rest of the ladies would do it for any heterosexual male. Unfortunately, Bobby and Monique do not share a scene together and if you are aware of a movie where they do, please PM me! I'd love to know. The photography was much better than usual. So was the story. Predictable, but nice, sweet natured and romantic. At the very least it was not one of those annoying predictable murder mysteries full of bottle blonde women with huge fake breasts. I give this 7/10!

Fred Olen Ray is a lousy director, even as far as B movie directors go, but 'Haunting Fear' is probably one of his better films. Yes, it does butcher the great Poe story 'Premature Burial' and yes, it is badly paced and uneven throughout, but it is also pretty entertaining. Scream Queen Brinke Stevens is better than usual as a pretty, fragile housewife whose worthless husband (Jay Richardson) is plotting to do away with her because he needs money to pay off a gangster (played by Robert Quarry). Delia Sheppard, a veteran of many early 90s soft-core movies, actually gives the best performance in the film as a slutty mistress. You will also enjoy small roles played by Karen Black as a psychic, Robert Clarke as a doctor and Michael Berryman in a nice cameo in one of the better scenes. The ending didn't make much sense!

Despite some major problems (mainly contained in Stephen King's uneven and often heavy-handed script), this is still a pretty fun attempt to bring 1950s EC horror comics to the big screen. One of the best things about it is director George ('Night of the Living Dead') Romero's creative, vivid direction, that captures the bright color schemes and comic book framing to a tee. Each tale has a different horror theme usually tempered with some comedy and ranging from a rich patriarch returning from the dead to get revenge on his obnoxious family to a meteor that causes an outbreak of vegetation to a fanged, ape-like creature that's been locked away in a crate for decades. All five of the tales presented, despite some missteps, offer up good gory fun. Some of the acting is good, too, particularly Adrienne Barbeau as a heavy drinking, obnoxious faculty wife who gets what she deserves, Hal Holbrook as her hen-pecked husband and E.G. Marshall as a wealthy, obsessively clean old jerk who is savaged in his futuristic apartment by a legion of cockroaches. Talk about flesh crawling! Tom Savini's special effects are great, as usual.

For some unknown reason, here recently I've been in the mood to watch a lot of vintage 1960s-70s Italian horror movies. Hardly any other film comes as highly recommended as Black Sunday and after viewing this incredibly moody effort, I can easily see why. It's by far one of the most beautifully photographed films I've seen of any genre. It's also one of the most atmospheric; a sense of horror and dread hang over every frame, and yet it is a film whose power does not lie entirely in the narrative. It's hidden somewhere, pretty much everywhere... in dark corners, in secret crypts, in fog, in shadows... The shots in this film are brilliantly composed. It is a true triumph for director and cinematographer Mario Bava, who provides such rich, dream-like technical depth that (pardon the cliché) this film truly does transport viewers somewhere else in time.

Even though this movie is best appreciated as an exercise in style and technique, the plot line (witch who is executed and returns centuries later to get revenge on the descendants of her executioners) is also enjoyable. So is Barbara Steele, who is ideally cast in a dual role as both the evil witch and the pure heroine. She's an actress who can switch from innocent and ravishing to hideous and horrific with the flick of an eyelash. No wonder she's considered the queen of horror. She deserves to be.