Anyone like the Phantasm movies? I thought that the first two were great; the last two in the franchise were highly unecessary.
Also, another film by Don Coscarelli, BUBBA HO TEP which was supposed to have horrific but comedic undertones. Has anyone seen this one? It has never come on cable and it's just hard to find at the local video shop.
I love the Phantasm films. A bald ice-cream man chasing a sinister grave-robber and his dwarf assistants across America ) The last one left a lot of questions up in the air and I hope Reggie and co can make at least one more. Ominously Phantasm is under consideration now for a reboot or reimagining or whatever they call it. Alarm bells always ring for me when they do that. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn Of The Dead are prime examples of how this 'revamp' usually goes pear-shaped.
Don Coscarelli and Bruce Campbell can do no wrong in my book. I loved Phantasm, Beastmaster, the Evil Dead trilogy, Bubba Hotep, and Man With The Screaming Brain.
Also like to recommend The Flesh And The Fiends, (American title, Mania)
I think it's Donald Pleasance's best horror role ever. It's about Burke and Hare with Pleasance cast as the latter of the infamous grave robbers. Cushing plays Doctor Knox and George Rose is Burke.
This is my favorite movie attempt on the old story. Black and white, smoky graveyards. Great for Halloween. And as mentioned Pleasance gives the performance of a lifetime. The scene where he's blinded is down right awesome.
The one slasher film I did enjoy, as a guilty pleasure, was Friday the 13th Part 10: Jason X, wherein our titular antihero Jason Voorhees is frozen in suspended animation for his many crimes and reawakened hundreds of years later on a spaceship bound for a distant planet. The body count on this one goes literally into the thousands when Jason destroys a city in space; and towards the end Jason is augmented into a nearly indestructible killing machine. The dialog was beyond cheese and the acting as amateurish as a 4th grade play. But the cast knew this one was strictly for laughs and gleefully went along with it. The ending was also pretty innovative: Jason is ejected from the spaceship, falls into the atmosphere of New Earth, survives being burned alive during re-entry, and crashes into a carbon copy of Crystal Lake, all as a pair of lovers decide to go see where the falling star landed, thus bringing his saga full circle ... or something like that.
Jason X is great fun. I knew I'd have to sit down and watch this one when David Cronenberg popped up at the start and got killed. Love the female android (KM-14).
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited October 2006
For me, I pretty much left the Jason films back in the 80s. Thanks to the pioneer Michael Myers, which spawned ol' Jace, Freddy and other sex slashers, I was od'ed on the concept by the end of that decade. They were good first date flicks but nothing much more...
Although I do remember Friday/13th Part 3 in 3-D; I enjoyed that one. B-)
I prefer the creepier formulas like say GHOST STORY or something along those lines.
"Dance with me, you little toad."
That line still makes me shiver...
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited November 2006
This might be common knowledge to most of you already but perhaps you may or may not agree with the validity of this list?
The 100 Most Scariest Scenes
100 The Wicker Man - "It's YOU!"
99 Return of The Living Dead - "BRAAAAINNNNS!"
98 To Kill A Mockingbird- "Jem is truly outrageous"
97 Frankenstein- "Little girl takes a dive"
96 Blue Velvet- "Frank comes home"
95 The Hitcher- "You want fingers with that?"
94 Jaws- "Quint tells a story"
93 Creepshow- "Creature in the crate"
92 Confessions Of An Opium Eater- "Vincent Price trips out!"
91 The Hills Have Eyes- "Geekin' out!"
90 Dumbo- "Pink Elephants On Parade"
89 Them!- "THEM!"
88 Heavy Metal- "Undead Air Force"
87 The Shining- "All work and no play"
86 Night Of The Hunter- "Shelly Winters takes a bath"
85 Altered States- "Special FX spook overload"
84 Scanners- "Killer migraine"
83 The Legend of Boggy Creek- "Not even the toilet is safe"
82 The Birds- "The eyes have it"
81 Tombs of the Blind Dead- "Slow motion horseback riding"
80 Invasion of the Body Snatchers- "That's one ugly dog"
79 The Crying Game- "Nice package!"
78 The Exorcist III- "Old lady crawls on the ceiling"
77 Event Horizon- "OK, retroCRUSH is scared by missing eyes"
76 The Shining- "Red Rum"
75 The House On Haunted Hill- "Ghosts in the viewfinder"
74 Silent Scream- "Through the craw space"
73 Gates of Hell- "Puke your guts out"
72 Poltergeist II- "Swallow the worm"
71 Akira- "Teddy bears are supposed to be cute"
70 The Evil Dead- "No means no, even for trees!"
69 Zombie- "Surprise, more eye trauma!"
68 Freaks- "One of us!"
67 Prince of Darkness- "What the HELL is that?"
66 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- "Do you like head cheese?"
65 Marathon Man- "Without novacaine"
64 Poltergeist- "Who moved those chairs?"
63 The Wizard of Oz- "Flying monkeys!"
62 When A Stranger Calls- "The call is coming from your house!"
61 The Shining- "Furry Freakout!"
60 Pee Wee's Big Adventure- "Large Marge sent me!"
59 Jaws- "We're gonna need a bigger boat"
58 Psycho- "Hi, Mom!"
57 The Exorcist- "Subliminal seduction"
56 Psycho- "Norman's eyes"
55 The Godfather 2- "Fredo...."
54 The Changeling- "Follow the bouncing ball"
53 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- The Bone-Room
52 The Ring- "Girl in the closet"
51 Jaws- "Shark tug of war"
50 An American Werewolf in London- "A walk in the woods"
49 Trilogy of Terror- "Zuni fetishist"
48 The Exorcist- "Pea soup puke-fest"
47 Eraserhead- "Cutest baby ever"
46 Salem's Lot- "Who's that scratching on my window?"
45 Poltergeist- "What nice complexion you have!"
44 Repulsion- "Delusions of madness"
43 Friday the 13th- "Swimming with Jason"
42 Seven- "Sloth"
41 Reservoir Dogs- "Lend me your ear"
40 King Kong- "Kong shakes his big log"
39 The Thing- "Creepy crawler"
38 28 Days Later- "Where is everyone?"
37 The Cell- "A horse is a horse, of course of course"
36 Silence of The Lambs- "With a nice chianti!"
35 Poltergeist- "Time to clean the pool!"
34 The Ring- "Samara comes out of the well"
33 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom- "I hate bugs!"
32 The Evil Dead 2- "Grabbin' Ash"
31 The Exorcist- "Hot crucifix action"
30 Alien- "That egg looks bad"
29 The Phantom of the Opera- "Unmasked!"
28 The Shining- "Here's Johnny!"
27 Twilight Zone The Movie- "Wanna see something real scary?"
26 Dracula- "Renfield eats flies"
25 Halloween- "Sheet with glasses!"
24 Suspiria- "Eyes without a face"
23 A Nightmare On Elm Street- "What big arms you have"
22 Serpent and the Rainbow- "Not the spider!"
21 Invasion of the Body Snatchers- "Sutherland screams"
20 Full Metal Jacket- "Pyle loses it"
19 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- "Wonka's boat ride"
18 Nosferatu- "Shadow terrors"
17 Misery- "Hobbling"
16 The Thing- "Blood Runs Cold"
15 Invasion of the Body Snatchers- "You're NEXT!"
14 The Blair Witch Project- "If this tent's a shaking..."
13 Night of the Living Dead- "They're coming to get you, Barbara!"
Has anyone seen a US show called Masters Of Horror? Some famous horror directors are involved but I've never seen it over here.
Is it worth seeking out?
I've heard of that but haven't seen it yet. There's also an anthology show called Masters of Science Fiction supposedly in development; they may be made by the same company. It is equally hard to find info for.
I'd also read that Stephen King's short story 1408 is being made into a movie. 1408 is one of the scariest stories I've ever read; it's about a cynical writer who debunks supernatural happenings and decides to spend a night in a New York hotel Room - No. 1408 - that is supposedly haunted. It's no coincidence that the numbers 1 4 0 8 add up to 13 and the story stayed with me long after I was done reading it. King's movie track record isn't too stellar but if this manages to stay faithful to the text there might be some good frights in it.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
Has anyone seen a US show called Masters Of Horror? Some famous horror directors are involved but I've never seen it over here.
Is it worth seeking out?
I've seen most of the first season. Highlights for me were episodes
1:2 'Dreams in the Witch House.' Stuart Gordon adapts H.P. Lovecraft again.
1:4 'Jenifer,' best thing Dario Argento has done in ages, years, decades.
1:6 'Homecoming,' the great, underrated Joe Dante comes up with a satirical zombie film.
1:8 'Cigarette Burns,' John Carpenter essentially remakes 'In the Mouth of Madness,' but it's still worth watching.
1:13 'Imprint,' is as gruesome as you'd expect from Miike Takashi. In fact this might be the goriest thing he's ever done. Which is really saying something.
If you like any of these guys I'd take a look at the show. I think it's available as a box set, or in batches of episodes. Season 2 is playing on satellite at the moment. Not sure what channel, but I caught an episode with George Wendt going a bit crazy the other week when I was channel-hopping.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
I downloaded the Masters Of Horror George Wendt episode out of curiosity and although you could see the final resolution coming a mile away it was a lot of fun. A family of skeletons ) Even if you didn't know you'd guess this was the John Landis episode.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
I downloaded the Masters Of Horror George Wendt episode out of curiosity and although you could see the final resolution coming a mile away it was a lot of fun. A family of skeletons ) Even if you didn't know you'd guess this was the John Landis episode.
I said it was a good one.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Just seen 'Pelts,' the latest episode to air on Bravo. Dario Argento directed this, but it's nowhere near as good as his season 1 effort 'Jenifer.' Season 2 does seem to have dipped in quality. I didn't think much of the John Carpenter episode last week either. Hopefully there's better to come.
Quite a few people here (including myself) have expressed their appreciation of Ian Ogilvy within the last few days. I visited You Tube basically looking for anything from The Return of the Saint but I became more intrigued by what I found below.
The Sorcerers is a British horror film starring Boris Karloff as a discredited hypnotist (Prof Marcus Monserrat) who, with the aid of his wife
(Estelle Monserrat - Catherine Lacey), invents a mind control machine that they use on Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy).
Has anyone seen this film? And is it any good? It has some pretty good reviews on the imdb.
EDIT: I'm stumped. The link above does not work, yet it appears to me to be the correct address?
Quite a few people here (including myself) have expressed their appreciation of Ian Ogilvy within the last few days. I visited You Tube basically looking for anything from The Return of the Saint but I became more intrigued by what I found below.
The Sorcerers is a British horror film starring Boris Karloff as a discredited hypnotist (Prof Marcus Monserrat) who, with the aid of his wife
(Estelle Monserrat - Catherine Lacey), invents a mind control machine that they use on Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy).
Has anyone seen this film? And is it any good? It has some pretty good reviews on the imdb.
I've seen it. It was directed by Michael Reeves, who went on to make the truly great 'Witchfinder General.' He sadly died after making that film. He was really young too. I think he was about 24. Ogilvy starred in all three of the films made. They were pretty tight I guess. 'The Sorcerers,' has Karloff and his wife invent a machine that allows them to control Ogilvy's young and groovy (it's the 60's) man about town, so they can feel the thrill of being young again. It all gets out of control though and they start making him do even more extreme things. It's pretty good. Reeves is one of the great lost directors. Who knows what he could have accomplished if he had lived?
I've seen it. It was directed by Michael Reeves, who went on to make the truly great 'Witchfinder General.' He sadly died after making that film. He was really young too. I think he was about 24. Ogilvy starred in all three of the films made. They were pretty tight I guess. 'The Sorcerers,' has Karloff and his wife invent a machine that allows them to control Ogilvy's young and groovy (it's the 60's) man about town, so they can feel the thrill of being young again. It all gets out of control though and they start making him do even more extreme things. It's pretty good. Reeves is one of the great lost directors. Who knows what he could have accomplished if he had lived?
Thank you, John. I have 'The Witchfinder General' on DVD, and it is a wonderful film. I believe The Sorcerers is also available on DVD and I am considering whether I should purchase it. All opinions are welcome, good and bad.
I saw The Sorcerors on TV many many years ago. Mr. Drake's summary is pretty much how I remember it as well. Ogilvy was very young in this one, probably in his early 20's at most.
Another good horror film with Ogilvy from the same period was And Now The Screaming Starts, also starring Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. The plot involves a family curse that befalls Ogilvy and Beacham and leads to some very dire consequences.
I heartily recommend buying the dvd of Sorcerers if you can at the right price, MNL. It's an underrated horror with Karloff at the close of his career. (he was to pass on in 1969)
There's an informative commentary track by Ogilvy on the Amicus film Screaming mentioned by Tony above. Ian's a charming fellow and the track runs a considerable length describing his career, ROTS included.
An earlier film from Reeves, it might even have been his first, is an obscure little thing called The She Beast. Ogilvy and Barbara Steele play newlyweds on holiday in what appears to be some part of Transylvania. I have the dvd somewhere but its been a while. Not a very good film, but interesting if you're into this stuff.
Thank you, Tony and Alex. I'd pretty much made up my mind already to purchase The Sorcerers DVD before I read your posts. Your opinions certainly clinched it.
I visited Play com but it's sold out there. I also tried to visit Amazon UK, but was having difficulty accessing the site. I will try again later.
Thank you, Tony and Alex. I'd pretty much made up my mind already to purchase The Sorcerers DVD before I read your posts. Your opinions certainly clinched it.
I visited Play com but it's sold out there. I also tried to visit Amazon UK, but was having difficulty accessing the site. I will try again later.
They may have it at HMV ... for the grand some of £2.99! May treat myself.
I will post a review here at the earliest opportunity.
And here it is.
The Sorcerers
Well, I can't say I was scared or horrified in any way. Nor did I see anything particularly original. Having said that, what a wonderful film it is, especially considering the £50,000 budget. I was enthralled from start to finish.
All the actors involved are convincing and believable, not just the principals. Boris Karloff is wonderfully sympathetic as Professor Montserrat. Catherine Lacey delights as the Professor's ever more domineering and power crazed wife, Estelle. And Ian Ogilvy is thoroughly convincing as the bored youth turned killer.
The principal action scenes (the high speed motor bike ride and the police car chase) are extremely well filmed, proving that you don't need to spend millions of pounds/dollars to produce genuine thrills.
The story is pretty straight forward. Disgraced ex-hypnotist, Professor Montserrat (with the help of his wife, Estelle) invents a mind control machine which he can use to share the experiences and sensations of his subjects. He want's his creation to be used for the good of mankind, but Estelle has other idea's. She persuades him that since they have endured much hardship they should reap the benefits for themselves alone, at least in the short term. The Professor reluctantly agrees.
The Professor seeks out a bored youth and comes across Mike Roscoe. He entices him to try out the machine with the promise of a thrilling experience. It's all very innocent to start with as the Professor and Estelle share Mike's experiences of breaking an egg, walking the street, swimming etc. Mike is completely unaware that his mind is being controlled.
Things move to the dark side when Estelle persuades the Professor that she want's a fur coat. They get Mike to steal it, but he is almost caught by a policeman and cuts his hand in the process. It's at this point it becomes clear that they share all Mike's sensations, good and bad.
Estelle then assumes control and dominance over Mike and when the Professor resists she knocks his walking stick away from him leaving him a virtual cripple. He is unable to stand or walk without it. She then destroys the mind control machine which prevents any chance the Professor had of bringing Mike back to reverse the process. Estelle is now in complete control over Mike and the Professor. She sends Mike on a killing spree, an ex-girlfriend (played by a very young Susan George) and the female lead singer from the pop group at the local nightclub.
The professor establishes that the only way to stop Estelle is to stop Mike. The only real weak point of the film is that it's not made apparent (to me at least on one viewing) how the Professor does gain control over Mike from Estelle. My best guess is that the mental energy required to control both Mike and the Professor gradually weakens her.
Finally, it's no coincidence that Ogilvy appeared in all three of Michael Reeves' films. It's clear from The Sorcerers and The Witchfinder General that both of them had real potential. One can only imagine the height's they may have reached together if Reeves hadn't died so tragically young.
Finally, it's no coincidence that Ogilvy appeared in all three of Michael Reeves' films. It's clear from The Sorcerers and The Witchfinder General that both of them had real potential. One can only imagine the height's they may have reached together if Reeves hadn't died so tragically young.
Wholeheartedly agree MNL. Reeves was a great loss. I think he and Ogilvy could have done so much together. I'm glad you liked 'The Sorcerors.'
Finally, it's no coincidence that Ogilvy appeared in all three of Michael Reeves' films. It's clear from The Sorcerers and The Witchfinder General that both of them had real potential. One can only imagine the height's they may have reached together if Reeves hadn't died so tragically young.
Wholeheartedly agree MNL. Reeves was a great loss. I think he and Ogilvy could have done so much together. I'm glad you liked 'The Sorcerors.'
Yes, Reeves was a great loss. And considering all aspects, The Sorcerers and The Witchfinder General are remarkably good films. I thoroughly recommend them both to anyone who has not seen them.
Saw another two episodes of 'Masters of Horror.' 'Valerie on the Stairs,' based on a story by Clive Barker. Great title, entertaining episode. Then, there was the awful 'Right to Life, with the excellent Martin Donovan starring as a man haunted by his comatose wife. It's directed by Rob Schmidt, who is hardly a master of anything. What he's doing keeping company with guys like John Carpenter, Miike Takashi and Joe Dante is anybody's guess. They must have needed somebody to make up the numbers.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
Anyone old enough to remember this trailer when it aired on late night tv? The effect that it had on you at the time as a child? :v
Comments
I think it's Donald Pleasance's best horror role ever. It's about Burke and Hare with Pleasance cast as the latter of the infamous grave robbers. Cushing plays Doctor Knox and George Rose is Burke.
This is my favorite movie attempt on the old story. Black and white, smoky graveyards. Great for Halloween. And as mentioned Pleasance gives the performance of a lifetime. The scene where he's blinded is down right awesome.
Jason X is great fun. I knew I'd have to sit down and watch this one when David Cronenberg popped up at the start and got killed. Love the female android (KM-14).
Although I do remember Friday/13th Part 3 in 3-D; I enjoyed that one. B-)
I prefer the creepier formulas like say GHOST STORY or something along those lines.
"Dance with me, you little toad."
That line still makes me shiver...
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
The 100 Most Scariest Scenes
100 The Wicker Man - "It's YOU!"
99 Return of The Living Dead - "BRAAAAINNNNS!"
98 To Kill A Mockingbird- "Jem is truly outrageous"
97 Frankenstein- "Little girl takes a dive"
96 Blue Velvet- "Frank comes home"
95 The Hitcher- "You want fingers with that?"
94 Jaws- "Quint tells a story"
93 Creepshow- "Creature in the crate"
92 Confessions Of An Opium Eater- "Vincent Price trips out!"
91 The Hills Have Eyes- "Geekin' out!"
90 Dumbo- "Pink Elephants On Parade"
89 Them!- "THEM!"
88 Heavy Metal- "Undead Air Force"
87 The Shining- "All work and no play"
86 Night Of The Hunter- "Shelly Winters takes a bath"
85 Altered States- "Special FX spook overload"
84 Scanners- "Killer migraine"
83 The Legend of Boggy Creek- "Not even the toilet is safe"
82 The Birds- "The eyes have it"
81 Tombs of the Blind Dead- "Slow motion horseback riding"
80 Invasion of the Body Snatchers- "That's one ugly dog"
79 The Crying Game- "Nice package!"
78 The Exorcist III- "Old lady crawls on the ceiling"
77 Event Horizon- "OK, retroCRUSH is scared by missing eyes"
76 The Shining- "Red Rum"
75 The House On Haunted Hill- "Ghosts in the viewfinder"
74 Silent Scream- "Through the craw space"
73 Gates of Hell- "Puke your guts out"
72 Poltergeist II- "Swallow the worm"
71 Akira- "Teddy bears are supposed to be cute"
70 The Evil Dead- "No means no, even for trees!"
69 Zombie- "Surprise, more eye trauma!"
68 Freaks- "One of us!"
67 Prince of Darkness- "What the HELL is that?"
66 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- "Do you like head cheese?"
65 Marathon Man- "Without novacaine"
64 Poltergeist- "Who moved those chairs?"
63 The Wizard of Oz- "Flying monkeys!"
62 When A Stranger Calls- "The call is coming from your house!"
61 The Shining- "Furry Freakout!"
60 Pee Wee's Big Adventure- "Large Marge sent me!"
59 Jaws- "We're gonna need a bigger boat"
58 Psycho- "Hi, Mom!"
57 The Exorcist- "Subliminal seduction"
56 Psycho- "Norman's eyes"
55 The Godfather 2- "Fredo...."
54 The Changeling- "Follow the bouncing ball"
53 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- The Bone-Room
52 The Ring- "Girl in the closet"
51 Jaws- "Shark tug of war"
50 An American Werewolf in London- "A walk in the woods"
49 Trilogy of Terror- "Zuni fetishist"
48 The Exorcist- "Pea soup puke-fest"
47 Eraserhead- "Cutest baby ever"
46 Salem's Lot- "Who's that scratching on my window?"
45 Poltergeist- "What nice complexion you have!"
44 Repulsion- "Delusions of madness"
43 Friday the 13th- "Swimming with Jason"
42 Seven- "Sloth"
41 Reservoir Dogs- "Lend me your ear"
40 King Kong- "Kong shakes his big log"
39 The Thing- "Creepy crawler"
38 28 Days Later- "Where is everyone?"
37 The Cell- "A horse is a horse, of course of course"
36 Silence of The Lambs- "With a nice chianti!"
35 Poltergeist- "Time to clean the pool!"
34 The Ring- "Samara comes out of the well"
33 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom- "I hate bugs!"
32 The Evil Dead 2- "Grabbin' Ash"
31 The Exorcist- "Hot crucifix action"
30 Alien- "That egg looks bad"
29 The Phantom of the Opera- "Unmasked!"
28 The Shining- "Here's Johnny!"
27 Twilight Zone The Movie- "Wanna see something real scary?"
26 Dracula- "Renfield eats flies"
25 Halloween- "Sheet with glasses!"
24 Suspiria- "Eyes without a face"
23 A Nightmare On Elm Street- "What big arms you have"
22 Serpent and the Rainbow- "Not the spider!"
21 Invasion of the Body Snatchers- "Sutherland screams"
20 Full Metal Jacket- "Pyle loses it"
19 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- "Wonka's boat ride"
18 Nosferatu- "Shadow terrors"
17 Misery- "Hobbling"
16 The Thing- "Blood Runs Cold"
15 Invasion of the Body Snatchers- "You're NEXT!"
14 The Blair Witch Project- "If this tent's a shaking..."
13 Night of the Living Dead- "They're coming to get you, Barbara!"
12 The Exorcist- "Head spinning"
11 Deliverance- "Squeal like pig"
10 The Shining- "Room 237"
9 The Exorcist III- "Head scissors"
8 Night of the Living Dead- "Look who's outside"
7 Jaws- "Heads will roll"
6 Un Chien Andalou- "Eye slicin' fun!"
5 Poltergeist- "Clown under the bed"
4 Alien- "Chestburster"
3 The Shining- "Danny takes a trike ride"
2 Carrie- "Surprise Arm"
1 Psycho- "Shower scene"
http://www.retrocrush.com/scary/
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Is it worth seeking out?
I've heard of that but haven't seen it yet. There's also an anthology show called Masters of Science Fiction supposedly in development; they may be made by the same company. It is equally hard to find info for.
I'd also read that Stephen King's short story 1408 is being made into a movie. 1408 is one of the scariest stories I've ever read; it's about a cynical writer who debunks supernatural happenings and decides to spend a night in a New York hotel Room - No. 1408 - that is supposedly haunted. It's no coincidence that the numbers 1 4 0 8 add up to 13 and the story stayed with me long after I was done reading it. King's movie track record isn't too stellar but if this manages to stay faithful to the text there might be some good frights in it.
Funny you should bring this up; Nightshooter & I were arguing on the phone about this program that comes on SHOWTIME Network here.
He hates it and I love it although some of the stories come across as a bit gory and that's not frightening but sickening.
Honestly, this season has been give or take. But I'm a horror geek anyway so it's tolerable...
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
I've seen most of the first season. Highlights for me were episodes
1:2 'Dreams in the Witch House.' Stuart Gordon adapts H.P. Lovecraft again.
1:4 'Jenifer,' best thing Dario Argento has done in ages, years, decades.
1:6 'Homecoming,' the great, underrated Joe Dante comes up with a satirical zombie film.
1:8 'Cigarette Burns,' John Carpenter essentially remakes 'In the Mouth of Madness,' but it's still worth watching.
1:13 'Imprint,' is as gruesome as you'd expect from Miike Takashi. In fact this might be the goriest thing he's ever done. Which is really saying something.
If you like any of these guys I'd take a look at the show. I think it's available as a box set, or in batches of episodes. Season 2 is playing on satellite at the moment. Not sure what channel, but I caught an episode with George Wendt going a bit crazy the other week when I was channel-hopping.
I hope you watched that one all the way through, JD. It was one of the better ones for this season.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
I said it was a good one.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
The Sorcerers (1967) - Car Chase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USWulhf6oAw
The Sorcerers is a British horror film starring Boris Karloff as a discredited hypnotist (Prof Marcus Monserrat) who, with the aid of his wife
(Estelle Monserrat - Catherine Lacey), invents a mind control machine that they use on Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy).
Has anyone seen this film? And is it any good? It has some pretty good reviews on the imdb.
EDIT: I'm stumped. The link above does not work, yet it appears to me to be the correct address?
Here's another link.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ian+ogilvy
I've seen it. It was directed by Michael Reeves, who went on to make the truly great 'Witchfinder General.' He sadly died after making that film. He was really young too. I think he was about 24. Ogilvy starred in all three of the films made. They were pretty tight I guess. 'The Sorcerers,' has Karloff and his wife invent a machine that allows them to control Ogilvy's young and groovy (it's the 60's) man about town, so they can feel the thrill of being young again. It all gets out of control though and they start making him do even more extreme things. It's pretty good. Reeves is one of the great lost directors. Who knows what he could have accomplished if he had lived?
Thank you, John. I have 'The Witchfinder General' on DVD, and it is a wonderful film. I believe The Sorcerers is also available on DVD and I am considering whether I should purchase it. All opinions are welcome, good and bad.
Another good horror film with Ogilvy from the same period was And Now The Screaming Starts, also starring Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. The plot involves a family curse that befalls Ogilvy and Beacham and leads to some very dire consequences.
There's an informative commentary track by Ogilvy on the Amicus film Screaming mentioned by Tony above. Ian's a charming fellow and the track runs a considerable length describing his career, ROTS included.
An earlier film from Reeves, it might even have been his first, is an obscure little thing called The She Beast. Ogilvy and Barbara Steele play newlyweds on holiday in what appears to be some part of Transylvania. I have the dvd somewhere but its been a while. Not a very good film, but interesting if you're into this stuff.
I visited Play com but it's sold out there. I also tried to visit Amazon UK, but was having difficulty accessing the site. I will try again later.
They may have it at HMV ... for the grand some of £2.99! May treat myself.
http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1&sku=82422
* edit ...Cancel that, it seems to be unavailable
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sorcerers-Boris-Karloff/dp/B0000AM776/ref=sr_1_1/202-0227236-2314233?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1172875126&sr=1-1
Thank you, Tony. One copy of The Sorcerers DVD is now heading it's way in my direction. I will post a review here at the earliest opportunity.
And here it is.
The Sorcerers
Well, I can't say I was scared or horrified in any way. Nor did I see anything particularly original. Having said that, what a wonderful film it is, especially considering the £50,000 budget. I was enthralled from start to finish.
All the actors involved are convincing and believable, not just the principals. Boris Karloff is wonderfully sympathetic as Professor Montserrat. Catherine Lacey delights as the Professor's ever more domineering and power crazed wife, Estelle. And Ian Ogilvy is thoroughly convincing as the bored youth turned killer.
The principal action scenes (the high speed motor bike ride and the police car chase) are extremely well filmed, proving that you don't need to spend millions of pounds/dollars to produce genuine thrills.
The story is pretty straight forward. Disgraced ex-hypnotist, Professor Montserrat (with the help of his wife, Estelle) invents a mind control machine which he can use to share the experiences and sensations of his subjects. He want's his creation to be used for the good of mankind, but Estelle has other idea's. She persuades him that since they have endured much hardship they should reap the benefits for themselves alone, at least in the short term. The Professor reluctantly agrees.
The Professor seeks out a bored youth and comes across Mike Roscoe. He entices him to try out the machine with the promise of a thrilling experience. It's all very innocent to start with as the Professor and Estelle share Mike's experiences of breaking an egg, walking the street, swimming etc. Mike is completely unaware that his mind is being controlled.
Things move to the dark side when Estelle persuades the Professor that she want's a fur coat. They get Mike to steal it, but he is almost caught by a policeman and cuts his hand in the process. It's at this point it becomes clear that they share all Mike's sensations, good and bad.
Estelle then assumes control and dominance over Mike and when the Professor resists she knocks his walking stick away from him leaving him a virtual cripple. He is unable to stand or walk without it. She then destroys the mind control machine which prevents any chance the Professor had of bringing Mike back to reverse the process. Estelle is now in complete control over Mike and the Professor. She sends Mike on a killing spree, an ex-girlfriend (played by a very young Susan George) and the female lead singer from the pop group at the local nightclub.
The professor establishes that the only way to stop Estelle is to stop Mike. The only real weak point of the film is that it's not made apparent (to me at least on one viewing) how the Professor does gain control over Mike from Estelle. My best guess is that the mental energy required to control both Mike and the Professor gradually weakens her.
Finally, it's no coincidence that Ogilvy appeared in all three of Michael Reeves' films. It's clear from The Sorcerers and The Witchfinder General that both of them had real potential. One can only imagine the height's they may have reached together if Reeves hadn't died so tragically young.
The Sorcerers is highly recommended
Wholeheartedly agree MNL. Reeves was a great loss. I think he and Ogilvy could have done so much together. I'm glad you liked 'The Sorcerors.'
Yes, Reeves was a great loss. And considering all aspects, The Sorcerers and The Witchfinder General are remarkably good films. I thoroughly recommend them both to anyone who has not seen them.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=k7JJK8W-UQs
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
If I had seen that as a child I would need serious therapy.
The fruit cellar segment with Norman Bate's mom did the same thing. But as far as dolls go.. Talking Tina in the TZ.