The Flesh and the Fiends - 1960

We picked this title for movie night because it sounded cool, and it has Basil Rathbone in it. I'm still bummed about losing two different old horror movie lists, FYI.

A couple of men don't want to work, so they decide to sell fresh corpses to an anatomist. Side plot: an anatomy student falls in love with a promiscuous, party-loving woman.

I'm keeping the summary short on purpose. The most fascinating thing about this movie is that it's based on a true story. A card at the beginning hinted at that, but we all know how accurate movies based on real events are.

Burke and Hare were real murderers, and they killed 16 people. With their wives, they would lure some of the victims, get them drunk and suffocate them. Others appeared at Hare's house to rent a room only to get killed later. Some of them turned up sick and were helped into the afterlife. The worst part was that only Burke was hanged for these crimes. Hare turned states evidence and was released. The women also had no consequences. Hare and the two women were recognized a few times before they were able to get out of the country and disappear from history. Dr. Knox was also released from any responsibility.

The thing about this movie that struck me (after I learned more about Burke and Hare) was how accurate it was. Of course, it's not documentary quality or anything, but they paid attention to some of the details. Dr. Knox had the disfigurement from his childhood smallpox and remained aloof and seemingly ignorant of the source of his corpses. Burke and Hale's murders were fairly accurate (the ones they showed), and they even used a tea chest to transport the victims. Even Daft Jamie was true!

Where it differs greatly is the ending, and it annoyed me. Hare still gives evidence, and Burke is hanged, but Hare is released from jail without any protection. You can imagine what happens after that. The fate of Dr. Knox is super frustrating in the movie. One comment from a child is enough to change his thinking forever.

The movie itself was in black and white, which surprised me for the time it was released.  But I learned it wasn't until later in the 60's most movies were in color. I was confused why there were so many naked people in the movie, and it didn't seem to fit. And Dr. Knox's speech at the end lost a lot of its importance since he was a jerk. His ending was super unearned.

I walked away from this movie angry, but I started by laughing my butt off. The movie starts with Dr. Knox buying a corpse, but if you watch, the "corpse" keeps blinking. It was so funny. They had options: don't have the eyes open, turn the man, don't stick him upright in a tea chest!

Anyway, I wouldn't watch this again, and the only part I'd recommend is the very beginning with the blinking. Because it's hilarious. The rest of it is maddening. We were really rooting for Daft Jamie. And knowing he was real just makes it sadder...

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Season 1) - 2023

This anime was recommended to me by one of my daughter's friends.

Frieren was part of a group of heroes that defeated the Demon King. Years pass, and since Frieren is an elf, she doesn't age the same as other members of the party. As they start to pass away, Frieren starts to realize the great friends she had. Along the way, she picks up an apprentice, and they start a journey to get to the northern lands.

This show was awesome. I loved the growth and insights into Frieren. The humor is good and just right for the tones of the show. The music also stood out to me, and I've been looking into possibly getting the soundtrack. The sweet, family moments during the show were so well done, and I especially liked how the past linked with the present.

Frieren isn't finished as a manga, and I'll be waiting for season two of the show. It just aired, so I'm not sure when it will be available. Manga-wise, I'm working my way through Dr. Stone at the moment, and then I plan on getting caught up on Frieren. The story is just too good. And thanks to a sale, I have the first three manga waiting for me. Great recommendation by my daughter's friend and easily earns the Great Show! review.

Night Monster - 1942

The world hates us.

After my original list of old horror movies disappeared, I was happy to find another one. Imagine my sadness when I went to find out the next movie on Saturday, and the list was gone! Apparently, the person who made this list on IMDB decided they wanted to make it private. But why?! It was a great list, and it's not like there were personal details. Oh well...

Mom and I decided to just randomly pick one, and hope for the best. We saw a movie with Lionel Atwill and our hero, Bela Lugosi.

A man invites the doctors who he feels are responsible for his current paralytic condition to his house. They are mostly apologetic, except Lionel is standing his ground that they couldn't have done more. A mystic comes and lurks next to the stairs. He's also got a cool trick where he can make a kneeling skeleton appear and put droplets of blood on the floor. Then, people start getting murdered. Not surprisingly, Lionel is the first to go.

This movie was pretty entertaining. I wasn't expecting the man of the house to make his appearance on screen the way he did, and that was my favorite moment. The lady doctor was useless and left her patient to be harassed or even murdered. She wouldn't stand up for herself or the woman she was there to see. The end was crazy and made no sense. And I think Bela died. RIP.

I'm giving this movie a Good Movie! review based on the fun parts. It was like a current horror movie where people make the stupidest decisions and then they're shocked when they end up with more corpses. The body count is pretty high in this one, and I feel like it's worth a watch.

The Shaggy D. A. - 1976

I let my daughter pick our movie for this week since last time was such a disaster. She had this one in mind for a particular reason, which she didn't reveal until later.

Wilby Daniels is frustrated. Crime is rampant in his town, and he blames the current District Attorney for not prosecuting criminals. Wilby decides that he's going to run for D. A. The problem is when some thieves steal the Borgia ring, which is able to turn Wilby into a dog. Now he has to try and campaign and stay out of the pound.

This movie was crazy. At first, I wasn't aware it was a sequel to The Shaggy Dog, so I was confused why I wasn't looking at Fred MacMurray. It's not that I'm super familiar with The Shaggy Dog, I'm not even sure I've even seen it, but I knew the My Three Sons guy was supposed to be in it. Also, the stunts were insanity. I watched a "sheepdog" slap a man, rappel down a rope and even drive a car! Also, the way they moved the dog's mouths when they talked was hilarious.

It made for some pretty strange moments. At one point, they're talking about how one of the dog's is getting ready to be put down. Then a black lab starts singing with that weird mouth movement. It was crazy. There were also some confusing moments when it came to the amount of time Wilby stayed a dog. It was inconsistent.

Overall, this movie was just weird. The Shaggy Dog series is inspired by a 1923 kid's adventure novel called The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten. I read a bit about that story, and it looks like one of those times when "inspired" is probably the closest word you can use. It wasn't a terrible movie, and we had some laughs, but I wouldn't watch it again. A bit too strange for me.

Double Feature - Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937) and Revolt of the Zombies (1936)

When the kids are home, or just one of them, I try to make sure we have something that will be at least somewhat entertaining to watch for movie night. My daughter wasn't being very helpful picking a movie, so I scoured the horror list and picked Riders of the Whistling Skull. I had skipped a few movies, but the summary sounded right up our alley.

This movie was sold as a supernatural western. Now that's different! There's the Three Mesquiteers (apparently, they're famous for making 51 B-Westerns) helping a woman find her father. He's disappeared while searching for treasure out at the lost city of Lukachukai.

You know what wasn't in this movie? Anything supernatural. Both summaries mentioned that word, but I'm not sure they actually watched the movie. It also said something about a mummy, but it was just an old lady who tried to murder somebody. This movie was awful. We never even found out what happened to the treasure. 

It was still early, so we decided to try a zombie movie. In this one, a priest claims that he knows the secret of making zombies (in this case, zombie means robotic or mind control). He gets killed for the knowledge, and then an expedition is sent to destroy the knowledge at the source. Armand is in love with a woman who uses him, and that starts his villain arc to where he ends up having a whole zombie army. 

This one was super weird. I get that he was heartbroken, but he needed to get away from those people. I don't think growing your zombie army was going to help. And then when he released them all at the end, was he pleased he had showed that stupid woman he loved her? It was just a dumb reason to have zombies. I didn't realize it, but this movie was supposed to be a sequel to a Bela movie called White Zombie. A lawsuit prevented the movie from telling people that, but the creepy eyes that popped up on the screen all the time were actually Bela's! So he was in the movie, and we didn't even know it!

It's interesting how we all saw the movies. Some of us thought the first one was beyond dull since there wasn't anything supernatural. Others considered it interesting because "at least something was happening." The rest of us, myself included, enjoyed the zombie movie more. It was more ridiculous and had some very silly "green screen" moments. And the plot was insane, Overall, I wouldn't recommend either of these movies, but I would definitely say if you're looking to watch a movie with anything supernatural, steer clear of Riders of the Whistling Skull. The most dangerous things in there are the unstable cliffsides and the stagnant water.

The Ghost Walks - 1934

Technically, the next movie in the list had an ape in it, so we skipped it for this one.

Some yahoo has written a horror play, and he decides the best way to expose an investor to it is to hire actors to carry out Act I before his very eyes! The problem comes when someone really "dies," and the investor won't believe the play is off. Now, people are disappearing, and a crazy man is loose in the house.

This movie was better than most of the others ones we'd seen lately. The comedy was tolerable if you ignore the investor's secretary. Mr. Woods was my favorite, and I was ready for him to shoot someone. The woman, as usual, was dumber than a box of rocks. If someone disappears from my closet, there's no way I'm going to stay in that room by myself. That's just dumb.

Anyway, this one gets a Good Movie! review. It's probably the best thing I've seen in a while, and that's just a sad commentary on my viewing choices lately.

The House of Mystery - 1934

I'm a little late since this was for movie night, but it's been a week. I might not remember everything quite right. This movie had an ape in it, so I was a bit excited.

An explorer plunders a temple and is cursed by a priest. He brings back a woman, and they hide in plain sight. The investors in his expedition track him down, and they want their share of the loot. But they're going to have to overcome the curse!

This movie was interesting enough. The woman in it was weird, as usual, but she made some pretty poor decisions. My favorite character was poor, downtrodden Horatio. I feel like the ape wasn't very efficient, though. He was supposed to be trained to insta-kill when the drums play, but he failed a few times.

I feel like this movie tried to follow Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932). My favorite apeman, Erik, is still the undisputed champion. This movie didn't really do anything to set it apart from all the others, and I'm still not sure how Chanda handled everything. The drums, the ape and the incense were all a lot. I suppose she could've set up the incense, but what if the person didn't stay still? Oh, never mind...

The Earth Dies Screaming - 1964

This was another movie that ended up on my list, because it was Armageddon-looking fun.

Jeff drives into a quaint English town and finds dead bodies everywhere. Eventually, he comes across a few other survivors, and they figure out that aliens have attacked Earth with gas, and only those that were protected from the gas have survived. The aliens have slow-moving robots lurking around, so they have to be careful! Will they be able to save humanity?!

To be honest, I'm not really sure. This movie had some of the weirdest stuff in it. I don't understand why anyone would purposely walk up to one of the robots and then stand there and let it zap you. And for some reason, that enabled the aliens to reanimate the dead and use them as slaves. What?

Eventually, Jeff and the crew are able to defeat the slow robots (that should never be a threat) by downing a tower that's been transmitting orders. The thing is, what about the aliens themselves? Shouldn't they be doing something? Or they just wanted to destroy humanity with a gas and then throw out some robots for fun? What's the point? Anyway, at the end, Jeff loads up the small group of survivors onto a passenger jet and hopes others will see it and head south. Or something.

Wow, this one was bad. I thought the premise was really cool when it first started. Everyone is dead from an unknown threat. What a cool idea! And then it got real weird. FYI, no one should die from those robots. No one. I can't say this was entertaining, because it was so stupid. The threat was so nonexistent, since the aliens were not really there. It was just the stupid robots. Just another hour of my life I'm never getting back.

The Man Who Could Cheat Death - 1959

I had this on my watch list, because it looked weird, and I'm always up for that. While I was watching it, I felt like I'd seen it before, but I haven't been able to verify that.

In 1890 Paris, Dr. Bonnet has finished his statue of Margo. At the unveiling, he is reunited with Janine, a past love interest. She's currently in the company of Christopher Lee (who is sporting a questionable mustache - I'm not sure how I feel about it), but she still has a flame lit for Bonnet.

Ludwig is a fellow doctor and friend from Bonnet's past who is noticing a change in his friend. Bonnet needs an operation, or he will suddenly feel his 104 years. He also has some magic bubbling liquid in his safe that helps him stay young. When Ludwig discovers Bonnet has resorted to murder, the old man refuses to help Bonnet anymore. And then Ludwig pays the price.

And here's where Christopher Lee makes his mistakes. He tries to warn Janine about Bonnet, but she accuses him of jealousy, both of Bonnet's talents and her love for him. In other words, she's an idiot. Anyway, Lee heads over to perform the surgery (Ludwig couldn't perform it anymore due to a stroke), but when he hears Ludwig is gone, he refuses. Bonnet reveals he's holding Janine hostage, and Lee folds faster than a chair. Hmm, let this psycho loose or sacrifice a stupid woman. 

So he "performs" the surgery, and Janine finds Margo, who has gone insane in a dungeon with her bust. Let's think about this. Janine knows Margo has been trapped down in the dungeon, and Bonnet locked Janine in this place, but when Bonnet returns, she's all "Yes! I'll stay with you forever!" What?! Ugh, let her die. Unfortunately, Lee and the police find Janine, and she watches Bonnet turn old Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade style (and at one point he kinda looked like a turtle), Margo sets him and herself on fire, and the movie ends.

The font they used for the title credits for this movie were also weird, but it's a minor thing. Overall, I think if you're able to look past some of the super weird stuff, there are some interesting themes in there. When Ludwig is talking to Bonnet about whose life is more important, that was a really interesting conversation. Ludwig was, by far, my favorite was Ludwig. I feel like they weren't kind to him in the picture, but it didn't take away from the fact that he was the smartest and best character.

The Vampire Bat - 1933

This week, we watched a movie starring Lionel Atwilll. He's someone I always like to see on the screen. At first, this movie seemed familiar, but nope! There's just a lot of old vampire movies.

Dead bodies are popping up all over the village drained of blood. The locals are attributing it to a vampire, but a young man is looking to a more human explanation. Herman acts pretty weird, and he carries around a bat in his pocket, so he becomes an easy target for the torch and stick brigade. The problem is, once he's dead and another body shows up, the timeline doesn't line up!

What's really happening is Dr. Atwill is using the blood to keep alive a small sponge. He says it's advancing science, but I'm skeptical. I couldn't figure out what was so exciting about the breathing sponge, but Lionel was excited about it. He had a minion that I'm calling Emu, because I couldn't understand what his name was. Emu didn't speak for most of the movie, but then he was just a normal guy. But then he was creepily skulking across a roof and whispering under his cape at the detective/solver of the crime.

So then the weird ending happens. I'm wondering if there's a normal ending in any of these movies. And by normal, I mean one where I'm not wondering what just happened and why it happened. In this one, Emu straight up murders Lionel after switching places with the solver and then kills himself. What?! Why? And how was Lionel communicating with Emu across the expanse?

The movie was on the strange side. With the breathing sponge, the ESP, and poor Herman and his bat corpse, it was entertaining enough. But these endings are killing me with their nonsense! RIP Emu. I'm not sure why you're dead...

Requiem from the Darkness - 2003

I was scrolling through random animes on Tubi and ended up starting this one. Last night, I finished up the two-part finale. 

Momosuke is an author trying to write a book of 100 ghost stories. As he travels around Japan, he encounters a strange group of three individuals who also seem to gravitate toward the supernatural. They are the Ongyou, and they seek out and punish sinners. Momosuke pops in constantly and basically gets in the way.

A bit of background on this - the show is based on the stories of Natsuhiko Kyogoku called The Wicked and the Damned. I saw seven of those in English, and the titles matched up to episodes in the show. 

I don't know what drew me into this anime. The animation was pretty bad, and the music was worse. Momosuke annoyed me a lot of the time, because he would ask to go along with the Ongyou, but then he would get in the way purposely or accidentally. I think my favorite character was Mataichi. He was a trickster-ish man who posed as a monk and sent people to the afterlife.

Overall, I'm not sure what I think of this anime. I was entertained enough to make it through the whole thing, but it wasn't very long. Thirteen episodes isn't that much of a commitment. Most of the show was pretty disjointed until the end, and that's when a story came together to finish it out. I think that was the part I enjoyed the most. This anime will probably fade from my memory pretty quickly, but Mataichi will be one of those characters I'll remember.

The Ghoul - 1933

I've found a different list of horror movies, and I'm keeping it a secret, hoping it won't disappear like the last one. The pick for this past week was this Egyptian-influenced horror starring none other than the Grinch, Boris Karloff.

In this movie, a man is on the verge of death (it takes him a while to actually kick the bucket), and he wants to be buried in a wholly un-Christian way! He believes that the great god of the underworld, Anubis, will resurrect him since he has possession of the "Eternal Light." Little does he realize others are working against him. He will come back to exact his revenge for the betrayal!

This movie was strange in a number of ways. First, the Grinch needed some of that cream they sell for crepey skin. Even before he died, he was struggling with that and a wicked unibrow. Also, there were so many plot holes, I'm not sure how to even start describing them. The only one I will mention is Davis. He was my hero, and I imagine that after he made his phone call, he headed out for a cheeseburger and milkshake. He deserved it.

The end of the movie also didn't really resolve that much. What happened to the cousins? Or club foot man? Or even the parson man that knew how to blow stuff up? And there was a considerable lack of murdering in this movie. It took forever for any ghouling to happen, and then he wasn't killing anyone I wanted dead. I was super excited when I thought he was going to kill the super irritating woman, Miss Kaney, but no. And she really deserved it!

Overall, this one was pretty bad. I didn't like the statue of Anubis. For some reason, it seemed bustier than I remembered. I didn't like the way the Grinch wasn't really a ghoul, and the explanation was pretty stupid. Even the heirs were irritating. Pass!

The Incredible Melting Man - 1977

This is one of those random movies I threw on the list to watch. It seemed like it would be a fun horror movie.

Astronauts head out to Saturn where seeing the sun through the rings has deadly consequences. Two out of the three men die, and the third is...melting. He escapes from his hospital bed and starts murdering people.

I started out liking this one. The guy was gooey, and the doctor trying to track him down had zero personality. I was especially fond of his tactic of tracking the melting man with a Geiger counter and nothing else. What did he plan on doing when he found him? I also really wanted to know how they got back from Saturn, but they just glossed over that minor detail.

But then, it started to really drag. It was right around the time the comic relief old people stopped at the orchard. I kept checking to see how much time was left. The melting man was gory, as expected. And I was okay with the blood, but the pus was straight up gross and not for me. The end was also pretty disappointing. The only people I really cared about were the sheriff and the general, and the movie wasn't kind to either of them.

I wouldn't watch this movie again. My favorite part was definitely when the doctor was chasing around the melting man with his Geiger counter, calling out for his friend in his monotone voice. "steve. where are you steve? i'm here to help you, steve." I think he almost showed emotion once, but it was a false alarm. Once he made it to the top of the stairs, he was back to his paper personality. Even when his life was on the line, nothing shook him from his constant state of indifference. "help me, steve. i'm going to fall, steve. help me." I was glad when it was over.