My favorite Dracula is George Hamilton from Love at First Bite .
I loved that movie. George Hamilton, Richard Benjamin and Dick Shawn were all hilarious and Arte Johnson made for a very funny (and very creepy) Renfield. Lots of great one liners in that one
Agreed,Langella was very smooth and did his best with the ancient 1920s play, but he was utimately Disco Dracula to me.A shame, because Lord Olivier made a great Van Helsing.Not a bad film on it's own terms and a major improvement over the Lugosi movie.
Cemetery Man is superb and Anna Falchi's outstanding in more ways than one.(She's also a good actress).A fine movie with considerable style and creative cinematography.
And ageless George is wonderful in his Bela Lugosi parody of Dracula and equally impressive as Zorro.Difficult roles to play,much less spoof.All of this begs the question: Why wasn't he afforded an opportunity to play these two characters seriously?Hamilton always likes to claim that he isn't an actor, but I think his Dracula and Zorro comedies prove otherwise.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Here's another that some of you may recall...the film before there was a Stephen King's SHINING: BURNT OFFERINGS. I read the Robert Marasco book years ago and although the film doesn't quite match the literary version's sense of depth, it was memorable scare nonetheless.
Anthony James is still very creepy in this as the chauffeur. My son hates it when I play this movie on account of him. )
That's one of my brother's favorites at well, he picked up the DVD a few months ago.
That one scared the S**T out of me! Karen Black, in the final scene: "I've been waiting for you, Ben." I've just got chills typing this out!
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Here's another that some of you may recall...the film before there was a Stephen King's SHINING: BURNT OFFERINGS. I read the Robert Marasco book years ago and although the film doesn't quite match the literary version's sense of depth, it was memorable scare nonetheless.
Anthony James is still very creepy in this as the chauffeur. My son hates it when I play this movie on account of him. )
That's one of my brother's favorites at well, he picked up the DVD a few months ago.
That one scared the S**T out of me! Karen Black, in the final scene: "I've been waiting for you, Ben." I've just got chills typing this out!
The scene at the end of Trilogy of Terror when she opens her mouth and we see the pointy teeth is even worse for me. That one stayed with me for a while.
Another good one is Shadow of the Vampire, a fictionalized account of the making of Nosferatu wherein Schrek turns out to be a real vampire. Willem Dafe got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Shrek, and John Malkovich plays Murnau as somebody who will do literally anything to get his movie made.
Another good one is Shadow of the Vampire, a fictionalized account of the making of Nosferatu wherein Schrek turns out to be a real vampire. Willem Dafe got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Shrek, and John Malkovich plays Murnau as somebody who will do literally anything to get his movie made.
Dafoe is wonderfully creepy and suprisingly funny, and Marnau shows himself to be a bigger monster than his monster.
Best lines in the film -- Marnau telling Shrek he needed his cinematographer and why couldn't he have eaten the script girl instead. Showbiz can be so cruel. )
I'm a huge horror movie fan, but I'm almost always disappointed in what passes for a horror film today. They're nothing more than slasher films, as far as I'm concerned. Blood and gore ruin "horror" movies for me.
I like, moody, eerie, atmospheric stuff of a supernatural bent. I especially love ghost-haunted house stories.
I agree with you totally. I think a lot of the older film win over the newer ones because they don't rely on effects for the atmosphere. It is created by the actors and our imagination.
You only have to look at The Haunting to see that. Excellent movie and very scary unlike its modern remake which was lacking in everything apart from big names!
3) The Changeling: If you don't sh** your pants at the ball scene, you're not wearing any. George C. Scott is terrific
I cant believe you mentioned this movie. I think it is fabulous and very underrated. Most people I know have never heard of it buts terrific. You may have inspired me to seek it out. George C Scott is excellent.
If we're including television, then I'd also mention the following:
Salem's Lot: Tobe Hooper directed a made for TV version back around 1980; that one still scares me to this day.
I STRONGLY AGREE with this one. I was so punked out when I saw this picture that my cousin used to scrape on my bedroom window to get a rise out of me. )
You can count me in as huge Salem's Lot fan. This was a brilliant piece of film. I would love to have seen it on a big screen . James Mason is just fabulous ( as always )and David soul actually showed he was more than just 'Hutch'. The scratching on the windows has gone down in horror history as an iconic moment.
I watched it again recently and it still has lot to offer. I also made the mistake of watching A Return to Salem's Lot which just has to be one of the worst pieces of film, period. Dreadful in every way and should never be associated with the original.
I must also give a mention to The Innocents with Deborah Kerr and Peter Wyngarde. I love stories with kids ... they always seem more spooky.
You can count me in as huge Salem's Lot fan. This was a brilliant piece of film. I would love to have seen it on a big screen . James Mason is just fabulous ( as always )and David soul actually showed he was more than just 'Hutch'. The scratching on the windows has gone down in horror history as an iconic moment.
I watched it again recently and it still has lot to offer. I also made the mistake of watching A Return to Salem's Lot which just has to be one of the worst pieces of film, period. Dreadful in every way and should never be associated with the original.
I'm not sure if you're aware of this Lady Rose, but Salem's Lot was actually a TV movie, and quite an intense and disturbing one considering it was released way back in 1980.
Return to Salem's Lot was absolutely dreadful. But the recent remake of Salem's Lot with Rob Lowe as Ben Mears was even worse. Father Callahan got turned into a bad guy and the vampires mysteriously turn into flesh eating zombies near the finale. Rutger Hauer as Barlow was the only bright spot as he did at least remind me of the character from the book.
I must also give a mention to The Innocents with Deborah Kerr and Peter Wyngarde. I love stories with kids ... they always seem more spooky.
Peter Wyngarde has long been one of my favorite actors; his voice was one of the most distinctive that I've ever heard. I just saw Flash Gordon last night and he could have given James Earl Jones a run for his money. I'll always remember him as No. 2 from the "Checkmate" episode of The Prisoner and as Stuart Kirby in the "Epic" episode of the Avengers. Sophisticated Scoundrel indeed. )
Does anyone remember the tv mini-series 'V'? That was really scary when we found out that the human-like aliens were actually red-eyed lizards who ate mice!
I'm not sure if you're aware of this Lady Rose, but Salem's Lot was actually a TV movie, and quite an intense and disturbing one considering it was released way back in 1980.
Yes I was thanks Tony. I just worded it badly. I think it would have been great as a a cinema release. If it had such an effect on the small screen it would have only been amplified on the big.
I haven't seen the Rob Lowe version and I have no intention of watching it , especially after what you have just written )
As for Peter Wyngarde it is such a shame his career never recovered after his arrest in 1975. An entertaining actor.
As for Peter Wyngarde it is such a shame his career never recovered after his arrest in 1975. An entertaining actor.
I wasn't aware of that. I'd love to know a little more about it. The last time I saw him was on an episode of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett. He was barely recognizable and his distinctive voice had altered dramatically.
Does anyone remember the tv mini-series 'V'? That was really scary when we found out that the human-like aliens were actually red-eyed lizards who ate mice!
Oh yes and Jane Badler was the best Evil Alien Lizard Mouse Eating woman ever! I got it on DVD a few months ago (during one of my Deep Discount DVD 20% off binges) and have yet to rewatch it.
I'll also toss in my agreement on Salem's Lot. That with IT (especially the first part of IT) is the best Stephen King TV adapatation, and better than 96% of his films. Which brings me to Misery & Carrie which should be mentioned.
Does anyone remember the tv mini-series 'V'? That was really scary when we found out that the human-like aliens were actually red-eyed lizards who ate mice!
Oh yeah, I used to watch that all the time. There was a follow-up mini-series in which the aliens were defeated and a short-lived TV show that pretty much screwed up everything from the two mini-series. It all started strong but faded very quickly. I'm surprised nobody's tried to revive that one as of late.
As MBE points out, Jane Badler made for a very memorable lizard (what ever happened to her?) and the show had a pretty high babe quotient overall including Jude Chadwick and even Sybil Danning at one point.
Continuing the Stephen King motif, I always thought that the TV movie The Langoliers was well done. It was almost verbatim to the book (a rarity these days) and the cast was very good, especially Mark Lindsay Chapman as Nick. Bronson Pinchot was also a hoot as stressed out businessman Craig Toomey.
Ditto for The Stand, a very long but very faithful and downright scary adaptation of the novel. Who can forget Matt Frewer as The Trashcan Man.
I didn't like Langoliers. I thought it was stretched out way too long to fit some kind of mini series time slot It would have worked much better had it been 1/2 or 1/3rd the length.
The Stand is a very good adaptation, and probably the best written and acted of King's mini-series though it trailed off at the end rather simplistically. My main gripe is I HATED what he did to Nadine. He took one of his most complex characters, maybe them most complex woman he's ever written aside from Dolores Clairbourne (most are either psychos or wimpy abuse victims who finally fight back or die) and turned Nadine into a bad girl cartoon by splitting off all her best traits and her realtionship with the boy and gave them to a rather blah dishrag "worthy" woman. Feh.
I can see your point about Nadine, although other than her relationship to the boy I thought the miniseries covered most of her beats from the book including her ambivalence regarding Flagg.
What did you think of Storm of the Century? Personally, I was really disappointed as, in my eyes, it suffered from the same problem you attribute to The Langoliers, namely that it was stretched out way too much. While the ending was well done I thought most of the characters were almost cliches from King's other books.
I was actually thinking about Storm of the Century when writing about Langoliers, that they had the same problem. There's too little character development and actual plot content to justify that running length.
I think this is a problem with many recent US mini series. One of the biggest offenders, not a horror series, from a few years ago was The 10th Kingdom. It was 10 hours long with about 2 hours worth of story. US TV has really forgotten how to make a grand or even good mini-series any more. Even The Stand was over a decade ago. They take stories that should be small and bloat them into an "event", instead of taking stories that need a long time to tell and telling them well. I guess the closest mini series come to being done on US TV anymore are in continuing shows like 24 and Lost. Well more 24 than Lost since 24 has an actual start and end to each season.
German expressionism rivals if not exceeds the golden age of Italian horror, which is personally my favorite. You can't go wrong with Vampyr, where the viewer's perspective comes from inside a viewing window glass coffin. Nosferatu is an interesting curio piece and Max Schreck (fright) did have the job pat down, but in the long run it was an inferior B production version of Dracula which Stoker's widow even pressed charges against.
Lon Chaney Sr. - The Unholy Three (not the remake when the talkies came out) is the quintessential crime picture which evolved into horror. As The Phantom Of The Opera defined the genre to American audiences.
Herbert Lom's Phantom from Hammer is probably my second favorite, hard to explain but I never much cared for the Claude Rains version. However, Charles Laughton was the best Hunchback, not to mention the lovely Maureen O'Hara as Esmerelda.
Speaking of Laughton, was he not the best Captain Bligh, ever? (and Henry VIII) With apologies to Anthony Hopkins and Trevor Howard, but Laughton's been in classic horror pictures like James Whales' The Old Dark House and Island Of Lost Souls. He's right up there with the legends -- Karloff, Lugosi, Lee, Cushing, Price, and Lorre, imo.
Full agreement on Laughton-especially as Henry VIII and as the hunchback.
Innocent Blood is pretty nifty little horror film.It definitely features one of the sexiest vampires of all time--in my opinion anyway-- in the exquisite Annie Parillaud.And Robert Loggia is terrific as the Mafioso whose existence she changes forever.
And on the subject of female vampires,Daughters of Darkness is also worth a peek.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited September 2006
There was a movie that I remember seeing on the ABC Night Movie as a small kid called...
"LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH"
I recall begging to stay up a little longer since it was the weekend to see this only to regret it. I don't think I got any sleep that night. )
Has anyone seen that film since? Please someone tell me that they remember this...
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Well, I remember The Clifton House Mystery, about a hidden room that is discovered having been boarded up, a man on horseback from the 1700s of thereabouts appears at a ghostly hour, with this sinister tinkly jingle like from a music box that stays with me to this day...
I want to see The Hostel. is it a horror film or a gross-out film?
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited September 2006
Another horror flick that I found impressive was the Brit scare called The Woman In Black (1989)
I saw this in the 90s on the A&E Channel for one weekend only and that last scene in the picture alone gave me chills as a grown man. Those who've seen this in England know what I speak of. I see that it's not available anywhere here in the States but that it's a successful play across the pond. I'd love to check that out if I ever get over there...
Another chiller I seem to love is the Aussie flick Visitors starring the hot Radja Mitchell and that Prison Break guy. Not exactly a trembler of a scare but I loved it...
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Vincent Price is wonderful in this campy 70s horror outing with outlandish deaths, over-the-top acting, and downright weird setpieces this may be considered one of the best B-movie horror films of all time!
Plus, it's got Caroline Munro in it. (Though she never gets to speak...)
Vincent Price is wonderful in this campy 70s horror outing with outlandish deaths, over-the-top acting, and downright weird setpieces this may be considered one of the best B-movie horror films of all time!
Plus, it's got Caroline Munro in it. (Though she never gets to speak...)
Don't forget the equally entertaining sequel: Dr. Phibes Rises Again. Those are two of my favorite movies; they have a real sense of style to them.
Might I also add that Caroline Munro should be up for the award of "Hottest Corpse in a Horror Movie". (If there is such an award)
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited October 2006
Being that October is my favorite month (I love Fall), I love getting into the Halloween spirit by watching nothing but horror flicks for the duration.
So last night I was checking out SHOCKER (1989) and yes it doesn't have that cool value it once held with me after all these years but I love seeing that little girl hop up on the Catepillar tractor and yell: "Come on you f ***er, Move!"
I swear it's worth sitting through for me just to wait on that part. ) )
For those who've seen this cheesy flick know what I'm talking about.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Comments
Agreed,Langella was very smooth and did his best with the ancient 1920s play, but he was utimately Disco Dracula to me.A shame, because Lord Olivier made a great Van Helsing.Not a bad film on it's own terms and a major improvement over the Lugosi movie.
Cemetery Man is superb and Anna Falchi's outstanding in more ways than one.(She's also a good actress).A fine movie with considerable style and creative cinematography.
And ageless George is wonderful in his Bela Lugosi parody of Dracula and equally impressive as Zorro.Difficult roles to play,much less spoof.All of this begs the question: Why wasn't he afforded an opportunity to play these two characters seriously?Hamilton always likes to claim that he isn't an actor, but I think his Dracula and Zorro comedies prove otherwise.
That one scared the S**T out of me!
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
The scene at the end of Trilogy of Terror when she opens her mouth and we see the pointy teeth is even worse for me. That one stayed with me for a while.
Another good one is Shadow of the Vampire, a fictionalized account of the making of Nosferatu wherein Schrek turns out to be a real vampire. Willem Dafe got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Shrek, and John Malkovich plays Murnau as somebody who will do literally anything to get his movie made.
Dafoe is wonderfully creepy and suprisingly funny, and Marnau shows himself to be a bigger monster than his monster.
Best lines in the film -- Marnau telling Shrek he needed his cinematographer and why couldn't he have eaten the script girl instead. Showbiz can be so cruel.
MBE
I agree with you totally. I think a lot of the older film win over the newer ones because they don't rely on effects for the atmosphere. It is created by the actors and our imagination.
You only have to look at The Haunting to see that. Excellent movie and very scary unlike its modern remake which was lacking in everything apart from big names!
I cant believe you mentioned this movie. I think it is fabulous and very underrated. Most people I know have never heard of it buts terrific. You may have inspired me to seek it out. George C Scott is excellent.
You can count me in as huge Salem's Lot fan. This was a brilliant piece of film. I would love to have seen it on a big screen . James Mason is just fabulous ( as always )and David soul actually showed he was more than just 'Hutch'. The scratching on the windows has gone down in horror history as an iconic moment.
I watched it again recently and it still has lot to offer. I also made the mistake of watching A Return to Salem's Lot which just has to be one of the worst pieces of film, period. Dreadful in every way and should never be associated with the original.
I must also give a mention to The Innocents with Deborah Kerr and Peter Wyngarde. I love stories with kids ... they always seem more spooky.
I'm not sure if you're aware of this Lady Rose, but Salem's Lot was actually a TV movie, and quite an intense and disturbing one considering it was released way back in 1980.
Return to Salem's Lot was absolutely dreadful. But the recent remake of Salem's Lot with Rob Lowe as Ben Mears was even worse. Father Callahan got turned into a bad guy and the vampires mysteriously turn into flesh eating zombies near the finale. Rutger Hauer as Barlow was the only bright spot as he did at least remind me of the character from the book.
Peter Wyngarde has long been one of my favorite actors; his voice was one of the most distinctive that I've ever heard. I just saw Flash Gordon last night and he could have given James Earl Jones a run for his money. I'll always remember him as No. 2 from the "Checkmate" episode of The Prisoner and as Stuart Kirby in the "Epic" episode of the Avengers. Sophisticated Scoundrel indeed.
Yes I was thanks Tony. I just worded it badly. I think it would have been great as a a cinema release. If it had such an effect on the small screen it would have only been amplified on the big.
I haven't seen the Rob Lowe version and I have no intention of watching it , especially after what you have just written
As for Peter Wyngarde it is such a shame his career never recovered after his arrest in 1975. An entertaining actor.
I wasn't aware of that. I'd love to know a little more about it. The last time I saw him was on an episode of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett. He was barely recognizable and his distinctive voice had altered dramatically.
Oh yes and Jane Badler was the best Evil Alien Lizard Mouse Eating woman ever! I got it on DVD a few months ago (during one of my Deep Discount DVD 20% off binges) and have yet to rewatch it.
I'll also toss in my agreement on Salem's Lot. That with IT (especially the first part of IT) is the best Stephen King TV adapatation, and better than 96% of his films. Which brings me to Misery & Carrie which should be mentioned.
MBE
Oh yeah, I used to watch that all the time. There was a follow-up mini-series in which the aliens were defeated and a short-lived TV show that pretty much screwed up everything from the two mini-series. It all started strong but faded very quickly. I'm surprised nobody's tried to revive that one as of late.
As MBE points out, Jane Badler made for a very memorable lizard (what ever happened to her?) and the show had a pretty high babe quotient overall including Jude Chadwick and even Sybil Danning at one point.
Continuing the Stephen King motif, I always thought that the TV movie The Langoliers was well done. It was almost verbatim to the book (a rarity these days) and the cast was very good, especially Mark Lindsay Chapman as Nick. Bronson Pinchot was also a hoot as stressed out businessman Craig Toomey.
Ditto for The Stand, a very long but very faithful and downright scary adaptation of the novel. Who can forget Matt Frewer as The Trashcan Man.
The Stand is a very good adaptation, and probably the best written and acted of King's mini-series though it trailed off at the end rather simplistically. My main gripe is I HATED what he did to Nadine. He took one of his most complex characters, maybe them most complex woman he's ever written aside from Dolores Clairbourne (most are either psychos or wimpy abuse victims who finally fight back or die) and turned Nadine into a bad girl cartoon by splitting off all her best traits and her realtionship with the boy and gave them to a rather blah dishrag "worthy" woman. Feh.
MBE
What did you think of Storm of the Century? Personally, I was really disappointed as, in my eyes, it suffered from the same problem you attribute to The Langoliers, namely that it was stretched out way too much. While the ending was well done I thought most of the characters were almost cliches from King's other books.
I think this is a problem with many recent US mini series. One of the biggest offenders, not a horror series, from a few years ago was The 10th Kingdom. It was 10 hours long with about 2 hours worth of story. US TV has really forgotten how to make a grand or even good mini-series any more. Even The Stand was over a decade ago. They take stories that should be small and bloat them into an "event", instead of taking stories that need a long time to tell and telling them well. I guess the closest mini series come to being done on US TV anymore are in continuing shows like 24 and Lost. Well more 24 than Lost since 24 has an actual start and end to each season.
MBE
I think it's one...
Good 80s campy horror.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Nah, it's wholesome family entertainment. It has Pia Zadora, it MUST be good.
Point taken.:))
However,she doesn't grace Jesus Christ--Vampire Hunter.
Her participation might've improved that little epic.
German expressionism rivals if not exceeds the golden age of Italian horror, which is personally my favorite. You can't go wrong with Vampyr, where the viewer's perspective comes from inside a viewing window glass coffin. Nosferatu is an interesting curio piece and Max Schreck (fright)
Lon Chaney Sr. - The Unholy Three (not the remake when the talkies came out) is the quintessential crime picture which evolved into horror. As The Phantom Of The Opera defined the genre to American audiences.
Herbert Lom's Phantom from Hammer is probably my second favorite, hard to explain but I never much cared for the Claude Rains version. However, Charles Laughton was the best Hunchback, not to mention the lovely Maureen O'Hara as Esmerelda.
Speaking of Laughton, was he not the best Captain Bligh, ever? (and Henry VIII)
Innocent Blood is pretty nifty little horror film.It definitely features one of the sexiest vampires of all time--in my opinion anyway-- in the exquisite Annie Parillaud.And Robert Loggia is terrific as the Mafioso whose existence she changes forever.
And on the subject of female vampires,Daughters of Darkness is also worth a peek.
"LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH"
I recall begging to stay up a little longer since it was the weekend to see this only to regret it. I don't think I got any sleep that night.
Has anyone seen that film since? Please someone tell me that they remember this...
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I saw this in the 90s on the A&E Channel for one weekend only and that last scene in the picture alone gave me chills as a grown man. Those who've seen this in England know what I speak of. I see that it's not available anywhere here in the States but that it's a successful play across the pond. I'd love to check that out if I ever get over there...
Another chiller I seem to love is the Aussie flick Visitors starring the hot Radja Mitchell and that Prison Break guy. Not exactly a trembler of a scare but I loved it...
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Vincent Price is wonderful in this campy 70s horror outing with outlandish deaths, over-the-top acting, and downright weird setpieces this may be considered one of the best B-movie horror films of all time!
Plus, it's got Caroline Munro in it. (Though she never gets to speak...)
Don't forget the equally entertaining sequel: Dr. Phibes Rises Again. Those are two of my favorite movies; they have a real sense of style to them.
So last night I was checking out SHOCKER (1989) and yes it doesn't have that cool value it once held with me after all these years but I love seeing that little girl hop up on the Catepillar tractor and yell: "Come on you f ***er, Move!"
I swear it's worth sitting through for me just to wait on that part.
For those who've seen this cheesy flick know what I'm talking about.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -