Don't Open the Door! (1974 film)

Don't open the door... it could be a creepy shadow!

So, yesterday, we reviewed Don't Look in the Basement.  Today, we'll be seeing a few familiar faces, because Don't Open the Door! was brought to us by the same director, using some of the same actors as before (some directors like to use talent again and again... look at Tim Burton with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter!).  Out of the three I recognized, two of them get a bit larger roles, while the other only appears in a couple scenes.  So, let's get into it!

The film starts off with a man and woman discussing whether to call "her" or not.  The woman wants to call, while the guy doesn't.  Finally, she leaves and places a call to Amanda to let her know her grandmother's not doing well, and to come back, but not let anyone know.  After an opening credit sequence with a bunch of dolls and doll heads (and a very abrupt music halt), we cut to a flashback to when Susan was a little girl and her mother was murdered.  Thirteen years later, and she hasn't gone back there since.

She arrives to her grandmother's mansion and finds her grandmother in bed, and three men in the house... Judge Stemple, Claude Kearn (a museum curator), and Dr. Crawther, her physician.  Upset over both how her grandmother's been treated and how Stemple and Kearn are both trying to get ownership of the house once she's gone, Amanda orders all three of them out, then calls her friend, Nick, to try to get some help for her grandmother.  Later that evening, however, she starts getting strange, breathy phone calls from an unknown man...

This film was interesting, in how it deals with mental strain and the consequences of it.  The stress of suddenly needing to help her grandmother, plus the repeated phone calls and pressure from the other two to sign over the house to them all drive Amanda to the breaking point.  As for how this happens... well, I can't tell you that, it'd be spoiling!

All in all, a pretty good film, another representative for the Grindhouse style.  Not a whole lot of blood in this film, but a lot of suspense.  I give it a 4 out of 5.  Up next, well... we've been warned not to open the window or door, and not to look in the basement.  Now, we're not even allowed in the building!  It'll be Don't Go in the House!  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

Don't Look in the Basement (1972 film)

Wow, talk about minimal art design!

We're going back even further with today's entry for Don't Week, with a low budget classic called Don't Look in the Basement (aka The Forgotten).  This one's a bit all over the place, especially near the end, but it was an interesting film that keeps you on edge for a while.  I originally watched it on a double DVD set with the William Castle classic House on Haunted Hill, starring Vincent Price.  The film actually stands up pretty well, considering its age and the attention it probably got over the years (or lack thereof).  And so, without further ado, here's my review for Don't Look in the Basement!

The film starts in an old farmhouse where a motley crew of people are living.  It's serving as a home for the criminally insane, the Stevens Sanitorium, where Dr. Stevens has some unusual theories on treating mental illness.  We follow the nurse, Jane, as she makes her rounds, but then she gets threatened by one of the inmates, Harriet, when Jane tries to touch her "baby" (really a doll).  Whether this is just the tip of the iceberg, or the breaking point for her isn't clear, but Jane decides to move on to another pasture.  She goes out to the doctor, who's working with an inmate called Judge who's using an ax to pummel a log.  While the two are talking, Judge turns with the ax and whacks Dr. Stevens in the back.

When this happens, another medical figure steps out of the house.  This is Dr. Geraldine Masters, and she takes charge of the situation rather quickly.  When told that Jane's going to be leaving soon, something weird happens to her...

The rest of the movie follows new nurse Charlotte, who arrives shortly afterwards, and manages to befriend most of the inmates.  But, as she gets closer to them, someone else is watching her, and people end up in a bad way when they get close to informing her of something...

This was a pretty fun movie.  There isn't a whole lot of blood, despite the era it comes from, but the subject matter itself is rather intense.  All of the actors playing the inmates give a LOT to their performances, and it adds to the watchability of the film.  I liked it, and really do recommend it to anyone interested in this period of horror film.

All in all, I give it a 4 out of 5.  It's a good film that keeps you guessing till close to the end, with interesting characters all over the place.  Next, we have a film with a Double Don't title... the way I'm reviewing it, it's called Don't Open the Door, but another title for it was Don't Hang Up.  Until then, take care, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

Don't Open the Window (1974 film)

Don't Open the Window: Whatever's Out There Will Wait!

One of the many ideas I had last year that I never got around to for Happy Horrorween was Don't Week.  I got the idea from the Grindhouse films' fake trailer "Don't," which was, in turn, inspired by many British films that would have a different title when released in the US, often with trailers that didn't have any of the film's dialogue (the belief being that American audiences wouldn't intentionally go to see a film from another country with British-accented English).  As I was thinking about this, I noticed a lot of films with that word, Don't, in the title and thought it would make an excellent subject for a special week.  So, one year later, we're finally starting Don't Week!

Kicking the week off, we have Let Sleeping Corpses Lie!  Now, I know what your thinking, the article title says Don't Open the Window.  This film was released under numerous titles over the years, and in different markets... at least fifteen titles in all.  Don't Open the Window, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, Brunch with the Dead... all titles for the same movie!

The film starts with George, an art dealer, leaving his office in the city (filmed in Manchester) and heading for Windermere (complete with glimpses of people wearing masks, shots of pollution in the air, and even a woman streaker running through traffic at a stop light).  Along the way, he stops at a gas station and ends up getting his motorcycle creamed by the car ahead of him.  The wheel's shot on his bike, so he leaves it with the station mechanic and rides with the woman, Edna, who's driving the car and going close to George's destination.

After a brief argument over whose destination to go to first, George agrees to go to Edna's sister's place first.  Getting lost along the way, however, George goes to a nearby field to ask directions while Edna stays at the car.  George stumbles across a farmer and a pair of scientists experimenting with a device that emits "sonar radiation" to wipe out insects and parasites.  Meanwhile, Edna sees a figure walking from the direction of a nearby stream.  The figure stops and turns its blazing red eyes towards her and starts immediately advancing on her...

This film was pretty good.  It works on a lot of suspenseful buildup.  We don't get your typical "horde" of zombies, like you'd see in films nowadays, but there are a few.  Makeup is somewhat minimal, outside of a few wounds and zombie munchings.  Locations were excellent, including a beautiful waterfall Edna's brother-in-law was setting up a photoshoot for.

I first heard about this film from my mother.  She told me about how it was one of the scariest movies she'd ever seen, and about having to walk home alone, at night, after seeing it, past an empty barracks building (she was in the army then).  When we first got Netflix, I made sure this was one of the first films we received.

I give this movie a 5 out of 5.  It's an interesting movie, a fun ride, and I can't recommend it enough to fellow zombie fans.  Tune in next time for another entry in Don't Week.  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972 film)

Copyright: Hammer Films and Columbia-Warner Bros.

A little late in getting this up, but better late than never, I always say!  For years, many have debated over who played the best Dracula.  Some say Bela Lugosi, some say Duncan Regehr of Monster Squad, and some say the man who starred in this film, Christopher Lee.  I originally thought of covering the original Christopher Lee Dracula film, Horror of Dracula (or just Dracula on its British release), but realized it would probably be another retelling of the original story, and I wanted to get a little more variety in my articles.

I can't remember if this was my first Christopher Lee Dracula film, or if I saw another before this one, but I know I saw this one years ago, possibly on one of the premium stations like Encore or Starz.  I do know that I enjoyed it, though I still hold Bela Lugosi as the better Dracula actor, myself.  But, before we get too into that, let's get into the summary!

The film begins with a carriage chase (I thought this was going to be different from the original film!) through Hyde Park, with Dracula fighting Van Helsing, his eternal arch nemesis, on top of it.  As the horses pulling the carriage pull away, due to the pin connecting them pulling free, Dracula throws Van Helsing off the roof, then ends up crashing with the carriage into a tree.  As Van Helsing looks on, Dracula stumbles from alongside the carriage with one of its broken wheels impaling him.  With a mild struggle, Van Helsing manages to drive it in the rest of the way, then succumbs to his own injuries as a man rides up to the scene and watches Dracula waste away to dust.  The new man takes Dracula's ring, and a vial of his ashes, and leaves the scene.

Fast forward a hundred years to contemporary (for 1972) London.  The majority of the film takes place here, as one young man seeks to revive Dracula, with Van Helsing's descendants seeking to stop him.  The film here is amazing to me, I love looking back into the past and seeing the fashions, hearing the music, all of that.  The film came out five years before I was born, so it's nice to connect with my decade.

I did enjoy the film.  Christopher Lee was great in the role, but his role in the film was a bit limited.  He is, of course, a highly respected actor, and rightly so.  Besides Dracula, he also was Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Saruman in the Middle Earth saga, and, in one of the first roles I remember seeing him in, Dr. Catheter in Gremlins 2: The New Batch.  He also had roles in quite a few Tim Burton films, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Dark Shadows.  Playing opposite Mr. Lee was Peter Cushing.  Cushing was another great actor, who played in Tales from the Crypt, Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (with Christopher Lee again), and the original Star Wars.  Caroline Munro played Laura, one of the early victims of the film.  She's had a long acting career, including one film I covered on the original version of the site, The Last Horror Film (filmed during the Cannes Film Festival in France).  She was a Bond Girl (in The Spy Who Loved Me), and was also in an old favorite of mine, Slaughter High.

All in all, a pretty fun film, with a few surprises here and there.  I highly recommend a view, and give it a 4 out of 5.  Next up, we'll have something a little more recent, with Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring Gary Oldman as the eponymous count.  Until then, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

Tourist Trap (1979)

I love old roadside attractions, which we have a few of here in Oregon.  From the Enchanted Forest to the Prehistoric Gardens, from the Wildlife Safari to the Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery, I enjoy just about anything like that.  When the House of Wax film came out in 2005, it reminded me of some of those old attractions I saw in the past.  Flash forward to earlier this year when I found out there was another film that House of Wax resembled more than the original Vincent Price film.  I'm proud to bring you that film today.  From Full Moon founder Charles Band comes: Tourist Trap!

The film starts with a young man, Woody, rolling a tire down the road in search of a service station.  Upon finally finding one, he heads in but finds everything abandoned.  Hearing a noise from the back, Woody goes to investigate.  Coming upon a spartanly decorated room with a figure laying on a cot, he hears the noise, clearly a voice, and goes to check on the figure.  Suddenly, it jerks towards him, showing itself to be a mannequin.  The door slams shut and locks suddenly, but one of the windows opens, so he approaches it, only to be rebuffed when the window slams shut, as well before he gets to it.  He backs away towards another window, only to be surprised by another mannequin crashing into that one, its head falling into the room and starting to laugh at him.  Woody then moves to another door, but this one's booby trapped as well, this time with a hideously ugly, armless, hairless mannequin laughing with a high-pitched voice.  Woody grabs a pipe laying in the room and bashes a hole in the door, reaching through to unlock it when something grabs his arm as the mannequins keep laughing, the furniture starts shaking and a cabinet starts letting fly with a bunch of bottles and a knife.  Finally, another pipe flies into his side, killing him and causing his blood to drain out.

The rest of the film follows Woody's girlfriend and three other friends as they go looking for him and decide to check out an attraction called Slausen's Lost Oasis, with the help of the owner, Mr. Slausen himself.  But is he as helpful as he seems?  The group's in for a twisted evening.

The movie was pretty good, with some interesting special effects for its time.  I still don't know how they had that stuff flying out of the cabinet and into the viewers faces.  The makeup on the film was done by Face Off judge Ve Neill, and it was done really well.  The mansion where a good bit of the action takes place is amazing, too, and all of the mannequins lining the halls and filling the rooms lend it an extremely creepy vibe.

Chuck Conners played Slausen, the museum owner who typically feels like he's both friendly and creepy at the same time.  Best known for westerns like The Rifleman and Branded, this film was one of his attempts to get away from being stereotyped.  He did a really good job here, showing his versatility.

This was definitely a good film.  While not up to par with special effects nowadays, it does still work and provide a nice, creepy vibe to it.  I give it a 4 out of 5.  Next up, we'll take a look at the movie inspired by this film but given another film's name... 2005's House of Wax, costarring Paris Hilton.  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

Halloween (1978 film)

I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil. - Dr. Sam Loomis

Greetings, Happy Horror faithful, and I hope you had an excellent Halloween!  We had a great one here, breaking our previous records for trick or treaters by five kids, and getting alot of compliments from people coming to the house.  The night before, I decided to watch Halloween as soon as I got home from work.  I should have worked this review out right after that, but I didn't, and didn't realize just how busy I'd be all day for Halloween, so now I'm extremely late in getting this done.  But, as I always say, better late than never!

So, Halloween!  The film that started it all for slasher films (outside of Psycho, of course).  In 1978, John Carpenter (no relation to me) was hired to make a film about babysitters being stalked by a mysterious killer, when the producer suggested theming the film around Halloween.  Made on a $300,000 budget, the film was made over a period of twenty days and filmed around the South Pasadena area.  Despite the theme, the film was actually made in April, which produced quite a few problems production-wise.  How did they do?

The film centers around the figure of Michael Myers (billed as "The Shape" in the end credits), a young man who killed his sister when he was 6 years old and was institutionalized for 15 years, only to escape the hospital he'd been living in 15 years later.  Arriving in his hometown of Haddonfield, he spies young Tommy Doyle and his babysitter, Laurie Strode, and fixates on them, following them around town and generally scaring the daylights out of them in general.  Come the night of Halloween, Michael starts doing more than stalking them...

This movie has come to be known as the progenitor of modern horror, or at least the slasher genre.  It features everything that the genre has come to be known by: a masked killer following and stalking several teenagers, then getting them alone and ending their lives in relatively gruesome ways.  It also seems to start the tradition of the "final girl", the survivor of the film who proves to be more resourceful than her friends (or, some would say, just more lucky).  John Carpenter mixed and wove together the elements that brought the characters to life.

The cast brought together for the film was excellent.  Donald Pleasence played Dr. Sam Loomis, Michael's psychiatrist and hunter, a part originally offered to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (who, according to Wikipedia, later told Carpenter that declining the role was the biggest mistake of his career).  Pleasence played Blofeld in You Only Live Twice, Dr. Kobras in Pumaman, as well as The Devonville Terror and Escape from New York.  Jamie Lee Curtis made her film debut here as our heroine, Laurie Strode.  She became known as a "scream queen", going on to star in such films as Prom Night, Terror Train and The Fog.  P.J. Soles played one of Laurie's friends, Lynda, who heads to the house another friend is babysitting at for a romantic tryst with her boyfriend.  She was also in the original Carrie and cult film Rock 'n' Roll High School.  Nick Castle played The Shape in most of his appearances.  He went on to direct The Boy Who Could Fly and The Last Starfighter, as well as Tag: The Assassination Game.

A true classic film, marred only by the one thing I'm guaranteed to dock a film for, so I give it a 4 out of 5.  Thank you for bearing with me throughout this whole month, and for being patient with my delayed article posting.  I'll be back soon with another article, but for now, I'll be taking a short break.  Thanks again, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

It's Alive (1974 film)

I assure you, Mrs. Davis, that your baby is very much alive. - Dr. Norton

From the mind of one of my favorite directors, Larry Cohen, comes the killer mutant baby epic, It's Alive.  I can remember seeing bits and pieces of this film when I was little, and of its sequels, and my mom telling me a bit about it, as well, but I didn't see it all the way through for a while.  I picked the film up at Wal-Mart when I saw it for sale in the cheapie bin.  I just opened it tonight just so I could bring you a review for it!  Take note, the film was remade a few years ago, but this is the original version!

The film starts with an expectant mother, Lenore Davis, waking her husband, Frank, up to take her to the hospital to give birth.  When they get there, everything seems to be fine.  The doctor comments about how large the baby is, but expects that the delivery will be smooth.  Meanwhile, Frank sits in the waiting room, talking to three other guys.  The talk turns to chemicals and additives to water and smog, when Frank gets up and walks down to see the new babies in the nursery through the window.  While standing there, he sees, out of the corner of his eye, an orderly stumble through the double doors, covered in blood, who promptly collapses.  Running through the doors, he races down to his wife's delivery room, a doctor and orderly in hot pursuit.  Getting there, Frank finds the doctors and nurses dead, the umbilical cord chewed through, and a hole in the skylight above.  There's something not quite right with the Davis baby...

Let me start out by saying this film was done on a budget.  Larry Cohen is a master of shooting amazing things with not alot of money, and it shows through on this film.  Whether it's using his own home for the Davis' house's interior, using a real hospital, delivery room, AND doctor in the hospital scene, using real police in other scenes, Mr. Cohen did very well here.  Also done well were the makeup and puppet effects by Rick Baker, who went on to win Oscars for make-up in American Werewolf in London, Harry and the Hendersons and Ed Wood, among other films.  Lastly for behind the scenes, the film's composer was Bernard Herrmann who scored Psycho, North by Northwest, Citizen Kane, and his last movie, Taxi Driver.

John Ryan played Frank Davis, father of the killer baby.  He was also in Futureworld, The Postman Always Rings Twice and probably his best known film, Runaway Train, among many, many others.  Sharon Farrell played Lenore Davis, and she definitely portrayed the role well, as the woman seems to slowly slip off of the deep end as the movie goes.  Her other roles include Night of the Comet, Arcade from Full Moon, and television appearances in Freddy's Nightmares and a long-running role on The Young and the Restless.

One thing I found interesting in the commentary was this.  When Cohen first made the film, he had the backing of Warner Bros.  When he finished the film, the leadership at the studio had changed, and Warner had wanted to focus more on higher budget, more uplifting type films, and here came a killer baby movie.  Warner did as little as possible with the film, giving it an ad campaign that didn't really focus on what the movie was about, trying it in test markets where it really wouldn't do well.  It actually did better overseas than it did in the US.  Three years later, Warner's regime switched again, so Cohen resubmitted his film.  This time, the head liked the film and gave it a wide release, with a better ad campaign, and it managed to make a fortune for Warner Bros. and Larry Cohen.

This film was an interesting ride.  The only problem I really have with it is that a cat gets harmed in it.  (Obviously, the cat wasn't hurt in real life, but as a cat owner, it's hard for me to see it even if it's made up.)  With that, I give it a 4 out of 5.  Tune in next time for some more interesting horror films.  We're going slightly more recent tomorrow!  Until then, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!