IMDb Synopsis: Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity. With him are the skeptical young Luke, who stands to inherit the house, the mysterious and clairvoyant Theodora and the insecure Eleanor, whose psychic abilities make her feel somehow attuned to whatever spirits inhabit the old mansion. As time goes by it becomes obvious that they have gotten more than they bargained for as the ghostly presence in the house manifests itself in horrific and deadly ways.
When it comes to horror movies, ghosts and/or haunted houses are usually popular topics. Some ghost stories are just awful, while others are fantastic. Fortunately, The Haunting is part of the latter.
One of the things I love about classic horror films is that they (for the most part) rely on imagination to scare you, unlike today's horror films which are usually filled with gore. This film is scary in the psychological sense, which is what makes it so terrifying. An example: Nell (Jullie Harris) and Theo (Claire Bloom) are in their room when Nell hears noises outside of the bedroom door, causing Nell to grab Theo's hand. Nell starts screaming and wakes up Theo, who was asleep on the other side of the room and was obviously not the one holding her hand. There are many scenes like this one in The Haunting, but I found this one by far to be the most frightening.
Overall, The Haunting contains no blood or monsters, but it still remains to be utterly horrifying even forty-eight years after it's release. Don't skip this one.
5/5 stars
IMDb Synopsis: A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother.
Every time I see bloggers or film critics post lists of what they consider to be "must see" films, it seems as if Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is always included. Since it's primarily a horror film, I figured Halloween night would be the best time to finally watch it. Now I wonder why I waited so darn long to see it.
It's no surprise that Psycho is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made.Hitchcock's directing, the actors, the score and the cinematography are all what make it such a masterpiece. As far as horror films go, I did think it was quite scary. And as for the shower-stabbing scene (which shouldn't be a spoiler since almost everyone knows Janet Leigh dies), I actually found "Mrs. Bates" opening the shower curtain to be scarier than the stabbing itself. I also thought what Vera Miles discovered in the cellar (I'll save you from a spoiler) was equally terrifying.
The star of the show here is definitely Anthony Perkins. His stunning performance as Norman Bates makes characters like Norma Desmond and Harry Powell seem almost normal, and the stare he gives at the end of the film is guaranteed to give you chills.
Overall, if you've never seen Psycho, you should change that immediately.
5/5 stars
I also wanted to give an update on the Humphrey Bogart blogathon I announced last month, which you can read about here. So far, 20 people have already signed up, so a big thanks to all of you planning to take part. I also got a comment asking what you had to do to secure a place in the blogathon, and all that's necessary is just to let me know in the linked post. I'll be posting another update soon with all the blogs signed up to participate. Thanks for reading!
IMDB Synopsis: A group of people hide from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse.
I've never been very familiar with zombie films (or zombies in general), so I decided to start off with the film that is remembered for starting the zombie phenomenon: George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead.
I obviously knew prior to viewing that this was a horror film, but I had no idea what I was in for. It's gruesome, violent and probably the most disturbing film I've ever seen. It's no surprise that it's still considered to be a masterpiece among the horror genre.
While the film contains a great cast (Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman, just to name a few), the main thing that makes it unique is Romero's direction and the special effects. The film doesn't necessarily contain "constant gore", but during the few scenes that it does, it's terrifying. I'll admit I had to cover my eyes several times, particularly during the last half.
Overall, Night of the Living Dead deserves to be ranked with the greatest horror films of all time. For anyone interested, TCM is airing it on Halloween night at 8:00PM EST.
5/5 stars
IMDb Synopsis: A mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
I've never reviewed a silent film on my blog before. That's because, up until two months ago, I hated them. (And, honestly, I don't even remember why, except that I didn't like the idea of films without dialogue.) But, recently, I've seen quite a few silents that I really enjoyed (City Lights and The Scarlet Letter, just to name a few). Earlier this week, I saw Lon Chaney in The Hunch Back of Notre Dame, so I had really high hopes for The Phantom of the Opera. My expectations were by far surpassed.
If not for The Night of the Hunter, I would say Phantom is the scariest film I'd ever seen, mainly because of Chaney's shocking appearance. Naturally, after just seeing him play Quasimodo, I was expecting him to be quite grotesque as Erik, but he was much more horrifying than I expected him to be. Chaney's performance itself is absolutely wonderful and he affected me as much as Robert Mitchum did. Other notable performances are delivered by Mary Philbin and Norman Kerry.
Rupert Julian's directing is absolutely marvelous. Phantom is among some of the best-directed films I've seen, and that includes films like Casablanca, Vertigo, and Sunset Boulevard. I'm quite interested in seeing more of his films now, particularly the silent adaption of Ben Hur (also released in 1925).
Overall, I found The Phantom of the Opera to be a disturbing yet wonderful film. I know what I'm watching on Halloween this year...
If you haven't seen this film yet, you can do so here.
5/5 stars
