Yipes! It’s the last day of September, and I’m only now releasing the August 2026 reviews. What’s up with that?!
Well, if you’ve been following my Patreon or my other social media, you know that September 2026 is the month I’ve finally (finally!) gotten the first 4 FROST HARROW books into publication. I’ve run a successful Kickstarter for the project and distributed nearly all of the rewards already. These 4 FH books will be released to the public on October 9th, just in time for Halloween! You can go to www.Frosthaven.com to either visit the Kickstarter or to get the latest info on the books (depending on when you click the link). Though obviously I’ll be talking about it on my site, here, too.
All that aside, August 2026 was a very exciting month in itself. My wife and I went to Minneapolis to hang the Mims (and other friends0 and attend the premiere of the new Mihmiverse movie: The Wandering Creature & Other Tales. You’ll find a review of that below, as well as a review of the new Spider-Man film, Vinegar Syndrome’s Reviver 3 collection, and a trio of Soviet Era SciFi films from (East) Germany’s DEFA studios. I also take a look at most of the 1940s Nancy Drew films, revisit some TV faves (old and new), and check out a bunch of genre films (also both old and new). So, what are you waiting for? Month’s almost over. LFG…!
* – This film is not good. Avoid it unless you tolerate dreck well.
** – A flawed film. You may enjoy it if you like this genre or the folks in it.
*** – A good solid film. If you like this genre, you’ll probably like this film.
**** – A superior film within its genre. Thoroughly enjoyable.
***** – An outstanding film on many levels. A great example of its genre.
Note that some shows I’ve given a parenthetical star rating, usually adding (occasionally subtracting) stars, depending on how your amusement may differ from mine. I’ve explained the meaning in the reviews themselves. Mostly.
Daimajin (1966) **** In medieval Japan, a coup kills a benevolent local lord and sends his children, a young boy and girl, fleeing into the countryside. The new rule is rule and imposes heavy taxes on the local villages. The villagers plead with their local gods, represented by a huge statue in the mountains: the Majin (Daimajin means Great Majin — a spirit or demon in human form). The children of the dead lord grow up near the statue, and eventually the boy decides to help the local revolt. But things are going badly for the rebels until the lord’s men decide to break the statue as well as people’s spirits. Then the god of the mountain, Daimajin comes to live to wreak havoc on the unjust. A whole lot of fun with a human-type daikaiju. Good production values and 2 sequels follow. Best living statue movie since Der Golem.
Shark Week Saturday ***** The final day of Shark Week 2026 is over. In a few minutes, I’ll review it as a whole, but for now, a short summary of Saturday 2026. Two good shows. The white shark one gets a few points off for scary recreations that are not labeled as such — making it more difficult to tell between the real survivor footage and stuff made for the show. Otherwise, a good show on Nova Scotia’s growing great white population. The thresher show was even better, with plenty of footage and plenty of scientific experiments to try to lure the threshers into showing off their famous tails. That the humans’ efforts came up short is super realistic: science proposes ideas, tests them, and then either succeeds or learns what they’ve learned for the next test. A good end to the week. Two shows with a 4.5 average rounds up to 5 sharks/stars for one of the best days this year.
Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter (1974) ***(*) Captain Kronos and his hunchbacked assistant and vampire expert traipse through a mostly deserted countryside looking for vampires to slay. Since there are many varieties of vampire in this film world, they have their job cut out for them. They soon save pretty Caroline Munro from the stocks, and she accompanies them to a town where young women are having their life drained and turning old in a few instants. Naturally, there is a creepy castle occupied by odd nobles nearby. Who is the vampire? This flick has a lot of good ideas, and Hammer wanted to make it the springboard for a possible new adventure/horror series. Unfortunately, they didn’t give the film the budget to pull that off. Nearly every scene in the film, especially the tavern scenes, is under-populated. Writer/Director Brian Clemens’ direction feels flat and unexciting, and even Laurie Johnson’s music can’t perk it up much. Still, if you like the details or Hammer in general, you can give it an extra star above “good.”
Blue Dahlia, The (1946) **** When Johnny (star Alan Ladd) returns home with his shell-shocked war buddy, Buzz (William Bendix), he doesn’t expect to find his wife hosting a wild party. Nor does he expect to find carrying on with another man, and it’s a real surprised when she turns up dead. Soon, Johnny is on the run trying to prove his innocence. He hooks up with Joyce (Veronica Lake), who initially is just giving him a lift up the coast. Johnny soon finds out that his wife had gangland connections, and there are more twists coming in this noir thriller. It’s the cast, though, that makes this fun to watch.
Red Planet (2000) ***(*) A crew of astronauts including Commander Kate Borman (Carrie Ann Moss). engineer Robby Gallagher (Val Kilmer), and a quadrupedal mapping robot, AMEE, are sent to Mars in hopes for finding a place to move the populace from a dying Earth. But a catastrophe in space forces all but the Commander to flee to Mars’ surface, while she hopes to repair the crippled craft. The crew expects to find pre-made habitations on Mars, but finds them mysteriously destroyed. Yet, Mars has been partially terraformed, so it takes a while for the stranded crew to start dying — and it turns out, the earth people may have brought their worst enemy with them. The science in this film is pretty silly science, and bringing a former military droid along without removing all its military programming is downright stupid. Still, the cast — including Terrance Stamp (who dominates every moment he’s on screen) — is good and this is decent SF adventure. If you like this kind of thing or the stars, give it that extra star above “good.”
Wandering Creature & Other Tales, The (2026) ****(*) This year’s Christopher R. Mihm retro-horror/SF film is an anthology of tales. The first features the bumbling hit men from the last film, Mouth and Mute, and their strange encounter with a thing from space. The second story is about a garden gnome out for revenge. The third features mutant killer hot dogs. The fourth is a foreign-film take about a man turning into a mushroom. The film is a little darker than Mihm’s previous efforts, but it also has a number of laugh-out-loud moments. If you enjoy Mihm’s past work, as I do, give this film that 5th star. This is an outstanding no-budget effort with a good cast and amusing FX. I also managed to win the gun prop used in the film at auction during the film’s premiere in St. Paul, Minnesota. (The same gun used in the previous film, Three Bad Girls Who Find a Gun and Become Vampires.) It resides in a place of honor in my house.
Captain America (1979) *(*) Steve Rogers (Reb Brown) a traveling artist is the son of a scientist (and perhaps superhero) “mockingly” called Captain America. His father’s super formula will only work on his gene pool, and bad guys want to steal it anyway. Their actions cause Steve to be injected with the formula to save his life, and he and his friends and his super-motorcycle and transparent shield then take on the bad guys who want to set off a neutron bomb. Speaking of bombs, this pilot flick shot in familiar run-down California locations plays like a bad ’70s detective show and a superhero flick done by people who have no knowledge of Cap or even superheroes in general. Clearly its roots are in the Six Million Dollar Man (and the then-popular Hulk show), but its so damn cheap, and Reb can’t get out five words without a pause, as if reading most of his performance off a cue card. He’s a buff, handsome guy, but even the costume isn’t Cap, until the end. Another star if you can watch it for the “so bad it’s good” effect — but it’s still not good.
Terrornauts, The (1967) *** A scientist who believes he heard an alien signal as a boy hears it again when he becomes an astronomer. He raises funds to send a return signal, and soon his installation is whisked away by an alien spacecraft. He and his companions, 2 other scientists, an accountant, and a cleaning woman (the latter 2 for comic relief), are then tested like lab rats in a (funky) robot controlled installation. As they try to figure out why they’ve been kidnapped, the woman scientist is accidentally teleported to an alien planet (with pasted-on moons in the sky). By the time our hero follows with a blaster, the woman is about to be sacrificed by savage green aliens. Escaping that leads them to learn the true message left for them on the automated station, and their mission, which is humankind’s last hope. This Amicus offering feels like a 1960s Doctor Who episode, but in glorious color. Vinegar Syndrome’s print and transfer look great, but also show the often “toy boat” level of special FX. Still, a lot of stuff blows up in the end, and genre fans will enjoy this little oddball. VS provides some nice extras, too.
Reviver 3 (2026) ***(*) Vinegar Syndrome’s REVIVER 3 continues to save and restore films that might otherwise be lost, and release them to the public in this special series where you don’t know what you’re getting until it comes out (at least if you pre-order, which helps support the restorations). This time, VS decided to go with about 4 hours of short subjects, the longest of which is maybe a half hour. The selections cover a lot of ground: live action, stop-motion animation, traditional animation, nature and PSA, and even puppets — from Muppet-style to sock puppets. Some real oddballs here, but something for almost everyone (though I wouldn’t let kids watch a lot of em’). Standouts include a story about a fuzzy bunny looking for a family, The Game about odd role-playing between an artist and her model, and a Yeti-led crew of puppets touring Philadelphia in time for the US Bicentennial. There’s even a short feature explaining the selections. Like the previous Reviver projects, well worth supporting! Extra star for folks who love eclectic shorts.
Man Made Monster (1941) **** Lon Chaney, Jr., got his boost into monster movies as Dynamo Dan the Electrical Man in this film. Dan survives a bus crash into an electrical tower when all others aboard are killed. This make two scientists eager to study him, theorizing that his act may somehow have given him a greater resistance to immunity. Unfortunately, one of the scientists (Lionel Atwill) has a more sinister scheme in mind: he hopes to use Dan to create an army of obedient creatures, needing only electricity to live. Sadly, Dan falls victim to this scheme, is framed for murder, and sentenced to die in the electric chair. Then, of course, things get weird. Chaney does a great job here, bringing sympathy to the hapless Dan even as he becomes a monster.
Invasion (1966) ***(*) During a very hot summer in England, something strange falls to earth near a remote hospital — a spaceship. The Asian-looking alien from the craft begs refuge as the doctors (including Edward Judd) treat him. He claims to have been a jailer taking 2 alien women to prison when his ship craft, and now the prisoners are hunting him. Of course, the 2 Asian-looking women on his trail may have a different story. This noir-like British SF movie has good atmosphere, really making you feel the heat in the black-and-white photography, though it moves at a leisurely pace. Vinegar Syndrome has released an excellent blu-ray of it, and if slow-paced, serious SF is your bag, give it that 4th star.
Scary Movie (2000) ***(*) The first in the early 2000s horror movie parody franchise focuses mostly on the then, Mega Popular Scream franchise, though it dips its satirical toes into other recent films, like I Know What You Did Last Summer. There are some good honest laughs, as well as juvenile and gross-out humor. But it amused me. And if I were fresher on the films it was sending up, I might have have given it that 4th star unreservedly. as it is, it gets a little boost for effort, and if you like the series or this kind of parody, you can put it above good, too.
Silent Star, The (1960) **** In the early 2000s, a fragment from the Tunguska explosion is found and turns out to be a “cylinder” from a civilization on Venus. A diverse multi-national mission is quickly mounted. On the way to Venus, they decipher more of the cylinder and discover that the scouting report it contains indicates the Venusians plan to irradiate Earth, killing humanity, before colonizing our planet. Because Venus, the Evening Star, remains silent, the crew decides to investigate before reporting the threat. When they land their retro-futuristic spacecraft, they discover a seemingly dead planet filled with weird hazards. They explore and find a ruined city, strange bug-like robots, and a tower over a moving pool of black slime. A groundbreaking East German (Soviet Era) SF film, the Region B blu-ray looks amazing, and the original cut is much better than the shorter US First Spaceship on Venus version. Though dated, a genuine classic with a lot of ideas.
Signals (1970) **(*) In the future, a spaceship Ikaros goes missing while investigating a signal from space of possible alien origin. At the start of the film, we see the Ikaros struck by meteors (of course) and its crew looking doomed. A second mission is mounted under pretext of repairing space communications (or something) but secretly hopes to find out what happened to Ikaros. There’s a lot of 2001-like special FX shots, and eventually the new ship, Laika, picks up the alien signal (which it doesn’t investigate) and finds the wreck of the Ikaros. Eventually, they learn that though it’s been 300 days, some of the Ikaros crew survives and could be rescued. While a handsome production (and good Region B blu-ray), the story here never quite hangs together, nor do the characters come alive. If you can put up with that, give it an extra star for looking pretty. Oh, and if you want your missions to go well, I wouldn’t name them after a kid who flew too close to the sun or a dog who died in space. 😉
Eolomea (1972) *** Eight space missions have gone missing near the space station Margot, which vexes Professor Maria Scholl and her former teacher, Tal. She convinces the world council to stop spaceflights while they try to figure out the cause. This strands spaceman Dan and the Pilot Kun on a remote (asteroid?) base, and leaves both the Pilot and the Teacher not knowing if their children on the missions have survived. It turns out that Maria and Dan have a past together, and they both end up flying to Margot to save another ship that goes missing, headed for the station. There, they are locked out of all but one section of the station, until… Eolomea is a legendary wandering Earth-like planet that some think is linked to a laser-like burst occurring every 24 years from a distant point in space. Eolomea is the key to the disappearances. The characters make this Soviet-East German production more interesting than its predecessor, Signals. I enjoyed it.
Giant Spider, The (2013) ***** Christopher R. Mihm’s classic monster film about a mutant giant spider menacing the city of Phantom Lake. This contains everything you’d want in a low-budget giant bug film: concerned scientist, an overzealous military, struggling lovers, and paddle girls — oh, yes, and the giant spider of the title in SPFX scenes tat are at least as good as the giant bug films of the 1950s. See the spider menace a goat, attack a drive-in movie, and trap people in a barn. Really, Mihm, hit it out of the park with this one. You may not dig it as much, for for me it’s the prefect good/bad, new/old SF horror movie. Always good for a rewatch.
Spider-Man Brand New Day (2026) ***** The world has forgotten that Peter Parker is Spider-Man thanks to the last movie. Sadly, that means none of Peter’s friends remember him, either. So, he’s devoted himself to being Spider-Man pretty much full time. Now, though, he’s been at it so long that the wear is telling on him, just when a new menace that can take over the body of anyone (except him) threatens New York. In what feels like a good Marvel Team-Up story, Peter turns to the Punisher to help him rescue his former girlfriend, MJ, and set things right. But not all evil menaces are what they seem, and soon Spidey has the Hulk to contend with on top of everything else. Your milage may vary, but for me this was a perfect Spider-Man film.
War Machine (2026) **** Alan Ritchson (Reacher) is 81, a man who wants to join the Army Rangers because of a promise he made to his brother, before that brother was killed in an attack in Iraq. Years later and pushing the age limit, he signs up for the course to try and make the cut one last time. There, he and all the other recruits are given numbers — until they graduate. On the final exercise, though, a simulated mission in the mountains, something goes terribly wrong. Instead of a simulated missile crash, 81 and the other recruits encounter a fallen alien weapon programmed to kill anyone it encounters. What follows is a brutal but effective action-SF film. Pushes credibility a few times, but totally worth seeing.
Return to Silent Hill (2026) ** A reporter returns to the contaminated town of Silent Hill to look for his lost love — or does he? The town is weirdly deserted except for strange monsters, and soon the entire place seems more like the interior of an insane asylum than a city. And obviously this is deliberate, but I don’t think it works as well or is nearly as clever as it thinks it does. Looks pretty good, but no real surprises for me.
Sheep Detectives, The (2026) **** Hugh Jackman is George Hardy, a shepherd to spends quite days in the countryside tending his flock, and come evening reads them detective stories. But one day, George is found dead in the field, and it seems the sheep may be sold to another farm — or a slaughterhouse. Taking their fates in their own hoofs, the sheep, led by Lily (Julia-Louise Dreyfus) decide they must solve the mystery of Hardy’s death. This is an amusing family friendly cozy mystery with talking sheep who are more clever than the local countryside police. Worth a watch and probably a re-watch.
Day After Tomorrow, The (2004) **** Climate change from manmade pollution is pushed too far in this Roland Emmerich actioner. Amid the numerous disasters such as tornados in California, a polar vortex forms, a gigantic sub-zero hurricane that threatens to freeze much of the US. Scientist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) must get to New York City to rescue his estranged son, Sam (a young Jake Gyllenhaal), facing numerous deadly obstacles, including a new Ice Age across much of the country. Though there is some basis in science for the scenes in this flick, the whole thing is pushed to absurdity — but that’s okay, because it’s a really fun movie. And where else are you going to see a frozen ship in midtown Manhattan filled with hungry wolves?
Land Unknown, The (1957) ***(*) A group of Antarctic explorers become trapped in an unknown primordial jungle when their helicopter descends into a volcano. With the copter broken the three men and one woman must make their way through a land filled with — you guessed it — dinosaurs, and try to fix their chopper before Antarctic night descends, possibly trapping them in the lost world forever. This sincerely made late 50s effort uses a combination of things for its dinosaurs, including giant lizards (like One Million BC), a mechanical/puppet plesiosaur, and (famously) a man in a T-Rex costume. Sure, the costume looks a little silly, but they’re trying, and for me it works well. Extra star for cheesy dino fans, like me.
Devil’s Mouth, The (2026) *** Vacation turns deadly for a group of college-age friends in Thailand. First, they accidentally leave one of their friends behind on a snorkeling expedition, not realizing she’s in the middle of a jellyfish swarm. Then, they go cave diving in an area where their guide warns that route may be too difficult for them. Yes, they’re headstrong idiots, most of them, and that just means you don’t mind so much when a shark trapped in the cave starts picking them off one-by-one. Honestly, most of the time I was rooting for the shark. There are definitely some stupid decision moments here, and the geography of the cave doesn’t make a lot of sense. (How is it both at sea level and above the top of an oceanside cliff?) But I still enjoyed the goofy suspense-horror of it.
Vera 5-2 Old Wounds ***** When joyriders in the woods stumble across a body, Vera and her team are called in to investigate. Turns out the body is that of a 17-year-old girl who went missing thirty years ago, during a miners’ strike, and was assumed to have run away. Her father never though she’d done that, but the police at the time just stopped looking into the disappearance. The remains are discovered with a camera, a company credit card, and the phone number of an abortion clinic. It turns out that the girl was involved with people on both sides of the strike, the company and her unionist father. She was also apparently acting as a reporter, photographing police action at the strike. Plenty of clues for Vera to sort through in this complex and heartbreaking mystery.
Vera 5-3 Muddy Waters **** The body of Jack Reeves, a young Irish Traveller (like an Irish version of the Romani), is found dead in a remote farm’s slurry pit (where shit and other waste is dumped to decompose). This naturally brings Vera and her team in to investigate. Turns out the dead man was engaged to a local girl, but the engagement ended before his disappearance. It also turns out he was living in a trailer in the woods, and interacting with the deaf son of a local couple. Adding complication is that the farm owner was hiring illegal immigrants to work his fields. Another good mess for Vera to sort out.
Return to Paradise (S2) **** DI Mackenzie (Anna Samson) is still in Australia, her hometown, still thinking about going back to England, but torn because she’s still attracted to her ex. Her ex, though, is engaged to be married, and the ongoing subplot of this season is the impending marriage, and how our heroine is coping with that. The mysteries are good, again, with murder venues including a pilotless runaway boat, a spiritual retreat, the locked hotel room of one of an old friend of DC Colin, and of course the foreshadowed wedding itself. I really like the lead here, and the whole Paradise series is reliably amusing.
Below (2002) ***(*) During WWII, a US submarine picks up survivors from a sunken hospital transport ship, including a British Nurse, Claire Paige. She soon finds out that the sub’s commander, Lt. Brice (Bruce Greenwood), has replaced the original commander, who was lost in action. The sub is plagued by weird events, which are initially blamed on one of the rescued, who turns out to be a badly wounded German under Claire’s care. But soon, it becomes obvious that the sub has bigger problems, both within and without. It’s being pursued by a German war ship intent on destroying the sub, and the sub appears to be haunted. What is the reason for this terrible malediction, and will Claire survive long enough to find out? Pretty good as both a submarine war picture and a supernatural thriller, you can give it an extra star if those genres appeal to you.
Rockford Files, The (S1) ****(*) Jim Rockford (James Garner) is a down-on-his luck private eye living in a trailer on the coast of Malibu. What he’s got going for him is that he’s good and just tough and moral enough to get the job done. Rockford also has a cantankerous father, “Rocky” (Noah Beery, Jr.), a grumpy police sergeant, Becker (Joe Santos), and a cadre of often less-than-reputable allies, including Angel Martin (Stuart Margolin) to help him get by. Rockford still often gets cheated out of his payday because of shady — or just plain broke — clients, but he always rolls with the punches with that trademark James Rockford/Garner wry humor. The start of one of the best detective series ever, and only dock it a star in comparison to the rest of the series.
Raven, The (1935) ****(*) Bela Lugosi is the egotistical Dr. Vollin who’s obsessed with both Poe’s horror stories and the young woman whose life he recently came out of retirement to save. Boris Karloff is Bateman, a criminal on the run looking for plastic surgery. When the two meet, Vollin sees an opportunity to advance his romantic interests by eliminating the girl’s father and friends, who oppose his designs. Vollin deliberately disfigures Bateman and will only fix what he’s done if Bateman done his every bidding. The mad doctor then invites his intended and her group to his house, to subject them to tortures from Poe’s book, until she agrees to marry him. What could possibly go wrong? This is one of my favorite Karloff-Lugosi films, and the only reason that 5th star is parenthetical here is because The Black Cat, Son of Frankenstein, and maybe The Body Snatcher are better. Dementedly diabolical.
Kraken (2026) *** In Norway, a scientist, Johanne (Sara Khorami) is called to an experimental fish farm to look into strange goings on. The farm is using a new electronic repellent to rid salmon of parasites, but can that have anything to do with people disappearing? Soon, she discovers that the farm (which is pushing its tech beyond safe limits) has stirred something deep in the fjord — a squid-like creature that could be the legendary kraken. This Norwegian SF/Horror film has a number of good sequences, though the CG monsters are sometimes ropey. It also has a dark fate for most of its characters. It’s very close to being really good, but some story gaps make it fall into just the “good” category.
Go West (Marx Brothers 1940) *** Groucho, Chico, and Harpo (the Marx Brothers) head west to make their fortune, with Grouch as an overconfident grifter (with a heart of gold). Chico & Harpo are accidental custodians of the deed to a “worthless” property that the railroad needs to buy. There are plenty of shenanigans as the deed changes hands in the form of an IOU written on the back, and of course, there’s a romantic subplot with between a handsome young man and a pretty girl. It’s all pretty by the book, though the climactic scene where the brothers dismantle a train to keep it running while it speeds down the track is a standout.
Tumbleweed (1953) **** Audie Murphy is Jim Harvey, a trail guide and wagon train guard who helps the wounded son of an Indian chief he finds int he desert because that’s the right thing to do. Later, when he tries to negotiate with that chief on behalf of a surrounded wagon train, he’s knocked out and left for dead, while everyone else is slaughtered — save two women that Jim had hide during the attack. The town blames Jim for the slaughter and imprisons him, but the Indian he saved kills a jailer and breaks him out. Now Jim is on the run with nearly everyone in the Old West after him. There’s a lot to sort out in this twisty western, and I really enjoyed it. I expected a programmer, but there’s a lot more in this western.
Vampyres (1974) ***(*) After we witness the scene of two lesbians being murdered after a lovemaking session, we cut to the (then) present, where a woman stops a car on a highway, asking for a ride home. She claims to have been stranded, but we’ve seen her blonde friend watching her from behind a tree in the nearby forest. Driven to her deserted mansion, the woman then takes the man who gave her the lift in and seduces him, before drinking his blood. Her blonde friend seems to be involved in some similar scheme. Some of the men these strange vampires trap die, but one lingers on. Does it have something to do with the murders at the start of the film? I’m not sure the flick gives us enough info to really tie up the story, but it looks good for a lower budget effort (much like a Hammer film), and it’s filled with nudity, eroticism, and horror. If that’s your bag, this is a good bet and gets a 4th star.
Man from Atlantis, The (IV) The Disappearances ** Scientists are disappearing, including the lovely mentor of Mark (the title character). Naturally, the Man from Atlantis leads the search to find her, which almost gets him killed (from lack of water), but eventually leads our hero and other scientists to a hidden island. There, the kidnapped scientists are brainwashed in a special “hot tub” and forced by the lead not-quite-evil scientist to help her build a rocket for all of them to escape Earth, which our villainess considers doomed. Though the ending is a bit of a surprise, and though this is shorter than the previous “pilots” before the MfA series, it still felt too long to me, and not very interesting, either.
Nancy Drew, Reporter (1939) ***(*) As part of a school assignment, Nancy takes on the job of reporter. Not content with the boring assignment she’s given, she plucks another one from the newsroom desk and is soon covering the trial of a woman who Nancy becomes convinced is innocent. She manages to drag her lawyer father into the case, and her boyfriend Ted (not Ned) Nickerson, too. Various perils and clue-solving ensues. Bonita Granville is amusing in this second of the classic Hollywood Nancy tales. Ted is mostly there for comedy, and it’s all fun. Extra star if you’re a Nancy fan and willing to overlook differences from the classic stories.
Nancy Drew ,Troubleshooter (1939) *** In the third of the classic Hollywood series, Nancy Drew and her dad go to a farming town to try and prove that a friend of theirs has been falsely accused of murder. Ted (not Ned) Nickerson just happens to be vacationing nearby, and the mystery turns out to revolve around a rare plant, a greenhouse, and a crop-dusting operation. To complicate things, Nancy’s lawyer dad meets a woman he falls for, but Nancy would rather not have another woman in the family. Bonita Granville (Nancy) and crew are fun again, but there is a stereotypical “lazy” black character (Willie Best a.k.a. “Sleep and Eat”), who naturally holds a key to the solution.
Nancy Drew & the Hidden Staircase (1939) *** Nancy & her lawyer father get involved with 2 rich spinster sisters whose house is the center of mysterious experiences. When one of their servants dies, the police think its suicide, but Nancy Drew — who he tried to steal something from earlier — knows its murder and sets out to prove it. With the reluctant help of Ted (not Ned) Nickerson, who’s got a summer job as an ice man. Various clues and misadventures — and a whole lot of nice mishaps — lead to the hidden staircase of the title, and eventually to a watery underground tunnel for the finale. All good fun, as usual, and it’s a shame this is the last of the Warner Brothers series.
Ritual of Evil (1970) *** Louis Jourdan is a psychiatrist investigating the death of one of his patients, whose body washes ashore after a mysterious party. Funny thing is, nobody can seem to remember a lot about what happened. Some think it was a swinger party, others that it had some occult overtones. And weirdly, some of the people involved — many of whom are rich and all of whom live on the California coast — have a mysterious satyr like statue representing a pagan god/demon. Even our hero starts to have blackouts, and despite his desire to protect the young heiress (Belinda Montgomery), people start dying, and everyone seems in mortal peril. The slow burn and “is it really supernatural” vibe of this flick doesn’t entirely work. It reminds me of a non-psychic Sixth Sense episode. But the cast and production are good enough to be amusing. It follows another film with Jourdan as the same character, Fear No Evil (1969) which I haven’t seen.
Treasure Island (1950) **** Young Jim Hawkins gets wrapped up in a search for pirate treasure on a near legendary island in this Disney adaptation of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s classic tale. Byron Haskin does a solid job directing, and production values are high, Robert Newton is a standout as pirate Long John Silver, with an accent that started “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” It’s always interesting to see what an adaptation does with the fate of Long John. Not sure I like this version better than the 1934 one, but it’s good.
Trilogy of Terror (1975 – Sven) ****(*) Karen Black has a tour-de-force of roles in this trilogy of tales by Richard Matheson and William F. Nolan directed by Dan “Dark Shadows” Curtis. In the first, she’s a college teacher pursued by an immoral student. In the second, she’s a pair of twins, one good the other evil, who despise each other. And in the most memorable segment, she’s a woman who buys a Zuni hunter doll for her boyfriend, only to have it come to life and stalk her through her apartment. This last segment, “Amelia,” terrified a whole generation when the made-for-TV movie came out, and it’s still powerful today. I’m only docking it a possible star (down to 4) because I had to watch it with frequent breaks by Svengoolie (whom I otherwise love). Without those breaks, the last segment makes this a 5-star shocker.
Alligator II: The Mutation (1991) ** A tough cop tries to hunt down and kill a giant mutated alligator preying on the local populace. To help (and hinder)him, a bunch of rednecks join the hunt, which allows us to up the body count in this disappointing sequel to the surprisingly good Alligator. Because this is was made after Jaws 2, we naturally have to have a helicopter scene, too. But this flick is not good. It reminds me a lot of Piranha 2, but without as many amusing parts. Not unwatchable, but pretty close.
Knights of the Round Table (1954) *** The rise and fall of King Arthur and Camelot are told in this pretty much by-the-book adaptation of the well-known tale. Arthur rises to the kingship and marries Guinevere, but she has a thing for his best knight, Lancelot, and that eventually leads to ruin at the hands of Mordred and Morgan LeFay. The Cinemascope photography looks good, and the Miklos Rozsa score adds some excitement, and some of the fighting is pretty good, but nothing here makes this film a standout.
Skinford: Death Sentence (2023) **** Jimmy Skinford (Joshua Brennan) is a small-time grifter whose luck has just run out. Taken to a remote location and forced to dig his own grave, he’s about to be executed when he touches a hand already buried in the grave. Much to his surprise, he survives the hail of bullets that follow. Even more remarkable, the hand he’s found belongs to a woman who’s amazingly still alive, Zophia (Charlotte Best). She’s now Skinford’s good luck charm, as it seems he can’t die while he’s touching her. Unfortunately, a bunch of bad guys and traffickers are still after him, and her now, too, in this gory crime-horror noir flick. Despite its low budget, plenty of amusing twists and turns. I liked it a lot. Thanks to Terry Frost for recommending it.
So that rounds it up for this month. Phew! Just in time! Our tally for this month is 42 films, series, and notable shorts (same as last month) bringing our 2026 Total to 359. Not the fastest reviewing clip I’ve ever set, but still respectable, especially given the time I spent on Frost Harrow at the end of August. I think we can almost certainly hit 500 reviews by the end of the year, but please tune in and find out!
NEXT MONTH: Yeesh! I just finished this set and you already want the next one? Did working on the Frost Harrow Kickstarter eat up some of my watching/reviewing time? How did I like the new seasons of House of the Dragon, Reacher, and Neagley and the new incarnation of Bergerac? What dinosaur film(s) did I watch in my birthday month? What else took my attention away from concentrating on a book series I’ve been working on for 30 years? As I said above, tune in and find out. September 2026 reviews are coming — maybe even sooner rather than later. (All though we all know that Halloween Season is now upon us!)
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