In the non-groovy past, a de-Jewified Larry Van Helsing (really? Larry? Not Abraham) and Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) both die—a scene that breaks with past films, but Hammer was never consistent. An unknown person wandering by grabs a vial of the Count’s blood, which pops up again in 1972. In that swinging time, some hippies,
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)
A direct sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (and the only film in the “millennium series” to carry any continuity) Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (also known as Godzilla vs. Mothra vs. Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.) starts with an injured Godzilla somewhere in the ocean and a damaged Mechagodzilla in the shop. As politicians fret, the twin fairies from
The Lure {Córki dancingu} (2015)
Silver (Marta Mazurek) and Golden (Michalina Olszanska), a pair of mermaids, seduce the members of a band to introduce them to human culture. Getting legs when they are dry helps them move around. With their stunning singing voices and their reappearing tails when they get wet, the two win over crowds as part of a
Ben (1972)
The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
Elderly one-handed pianist Francis Ingram (Victor Francen) gathers his live-in nurse Julie Holden (Andrea King), his roguish friend Conrad Ryler (Robert Alda), his eccentric secretary Hilary Cummins (Peter Lorre), and his lawyer (David Hoffman) to sign a document that later turns out to be his will. Julie secretly plans to leave due to Ingram’s oppressive
The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Big game hunter Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) is sailing back from a hunt with his wealthy friends when their yacht hits a reef and sinks. Rainsford alone makes it to the shore of a small island, which is inhabited by hunting enthusiast Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks) and his servants (Noble Johnson, Steve Clemente, Dutch Hendrian).
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936)
In 1830s London, Sweeney Todd (Tod Slaughter) has carved out a successful career by murdering men fresh off ships, splitting the funds they carry with Mrs Lovatt (Stella Rho) who runs the bakery next door. He’s set his mind in a less bloody way on the beautiful Johanna (Eve Lister), daughter of wealthy ship-owner Stephen
The Old Dark House (1963)
American Tom Poston (Tom Penderel) is asked by his sometimes roommate Casper (Peter Bull) to meet him at his ancestral home. Arriving at the deteriorating mansion, he discovers Casper dead and the house inhabited by Casper’s mother, dotty Agatha Femm (Joyce Grenfell), his twin brother Jasper (also Peter Bull), his uncles, sinister Roderick Femm (Robert
Murder by the Clock (1931)
Cruel, elderly Julia Endicott (Blanche Friderici), matriarch of a dying family, walks through the cemetery, trailed by Philip (Irving Pichel), her feeble-minded, brutish son and Miss Roberts (Martha Mattox), the housekeeper. Julia claims they are going to the family crypt to lay flowers, but really it is to check the moaning alarm horn she’s had
Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)
Depressed, jealous, opium-addicted choirmaster John Jasper (Claude Rains) is obsessed by Rosa Bud (Heather Angel), who is the fiancée of his nephew, Edwin Drood’s (David Manners). She finds Jasper’s attentions creepy, though she keeps it to herself. Neville Landless (Douglass Montgomery) and his sister Helena (Valerie Hobson), of mixed racial heritage, come to town with Neville falling
Three Giant Bugs
Tarantula (1955) The Black Scorpion (1957) The Deadly Mantis (1957) The ‘50s giant bug craze was part of the larger atomic monster sub-genre which started with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and went on full tilt for the next decade. These were B-pictures—or C-pictures—where sparing expense was always a factor. Still, they tended not to
Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
Gamera is just wandering around in outer space, which is something he does now, when he runs into hostile aliens in a collection of beach balls. He destroys the balls after they have radioed home for reinforcements. On Earth, two Kennys, one Japanese and one American, are at some kind of international boy scout camp.