unioncblue Reviews

The Murder Mansion (1972)

great late night fare

[6/10 · 10 February 2001]

'Murder Mansion' used to play on late night t.v. back in the 80's when television was cool and played this kind of product all the time.

Some truly creepy scenes elevate this Euro-chiller about ghosts and vampires inhabiting a fog bound mansion. A bit slow moving but the genuinely eerie atmosphere, well orchestrated fright sequences and memorably strong music (like a witch's cackle over swirling organs ) by Marcello Giombini make this one slightly above average.

I have the old Charter video version that runs 83 minutes but it somehow seems cut. Hopefully, with the renewed interest in Euro-Horror, this will get a good DVD/Video re-release.

MAJOR SPOILER...................DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE FILM: The first 75 minutes or so of the film are an enigmatic tale of the supernatural but then, quick left turn, all is revealed to be an elaborate hoax to scare off the stranded aristocrats with fright masks and folklore thus putting the film firmly into the Giallo subgenre. Might be disappointing for those looking for 'Web of the Spider' type thrills but would make a great double feature with 'The Night Evelyn Came out of the Grave' (another supernatural-cum-giallo chiller)

Bates Motel (1987 TV Movie)

could be called Psycho 5

[6/10 · 8 February 2001]

This used to play every Fourth of July on t.v... EVERY Fourth of July! NBC's tagline: This 4th of July...Make it a scream! ( or something like that )

Saw this when it was first produced for NBC back in 1987. After a few reruns on that network it was picked up by Lifetime Cable and is now in Encore Mystery Channel's listings. NOWHERE near a classic but passable "stalker" fare if you have really, really low expectations for homogenized tele-terror.

Ironically, when I went to see Scream 3, I couldn't help but think about The Bates Motel ( And it's been years since I've seen this film! ). The similarities are shocking: Big, creepy manse as catalyst in final third of both films, extended chase scenes on staircases, Mrs. Bates' fright mask of skull and black mack ( nearly a decade before the first Scream ) and the eventual unmasking of the "killer" in both films.

It's probably crazy but I couldn't shake the comparisons. Strange. Also, though the movie was lensed way before Psycho IV: The Beginning, storywise, it easily could've been a fourth sequel.

Tame terror, with bizarre casting, but odd enough to give it a look

Night of the Dark Full Moon (1972)

A film I grew up with..

[7/10 · 4 February 2001]

I remember this one showing up on late night t.v. around the holidays and it always played on Elvira's Movie Macabre. ( New Year's Evil was another one that Elvira would show ).

As an earlier reviewer said, this one did predate the Holiday themed slasher films of the late 70's - early 80's but it also had the killer-phoning-from-inside-the-house gig way before Black Christmas and When a Stranger Calls.

Filmed in 1970, Silent Night, Bloody Night is a very moody little film with great music and is actually bouyed by it's low budget.(The sepia tones of some of the scenes recalls 1927's Cat and the Canary). It really is an underrated little terror flick and it does deserve to be cared about and given a good remastering (If a good print even exists). Anchor Bay..Image..Are ya listening???

I still play my muddy old Paragon video version and plan to get the new DVD release of the film. Cannon released the film circa 1972/1973 under different titles such as Death House and Night of Vengeance (a title that was also slapped on a re-release of Last house on the Left) but I've always dug it's original title of Night of the Dark Full Moon.

Night Creatures (1962)

Saw it once and it stuck with me..

[10/10 · 4 February 2001]

It's really hard to say but there are a handful of films that Horror fans worship yet they can't really be classified as Horror in the true sense. These films walk the thin line between Horror and Escapism and for some indescribable reason we view them as we would, say, a sleazy slasher or a bloody, profane gorefest. And most often, like I do, end up dubbing these films as the cream of the Horror genre.

I saw Night Creatures (1962) years ago on late, late night t.v. (about 2:45 in the a.m. on a very fuzzy broadcast station) and haven't yet recovered from it's power. Spooky escapist fare with strong horror trappings. Kinda like running around in fog at midnight.

Anyway, beautiful little film, definitely an unsung masterpiece from Hammer Studios. Don't know why this film is so damn hard to get a hold of. Anchor Bay has been releasing lotsa Hammer and I know they're no dummies, so why aren't they putting this gem out? It would also be sweet if Disney would re-issue their own version of Captain Clegg (Alias Dr. Syn, the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh) which, incidentally, came out the same year as Hammer's version.