What’s this? November is just beginning and I’m already writing about October’s reviews?! Almost unheard of, but time to catch up while watching TV between Halloween and the 2026 election has, amazingly, left me a little ahead of the game. Frost Harrow fulfillment is nearly complete now (you can buy the full series at Frosthaven.com), and I had a great time at Gamehole Con. Despite that stuff maybe cutting into my schedule, I still had plenty of viewing time during October 2026.
This month, we have wrap up for some engaging TV series, both old and new, I’ve reviewed many classics — not surprising for Halloween Season — and some new films I liked well enough to return to again in the future (Hold the Fort among them). Thanks to my wife continuing her pursuit of the “1000 flicks to see before you die,” I ran into some classics I thought I’d watched but hadn’t, including a seminal Blaxploitation film. Because October contains Bela Lugosi’s birthday, I watched bunch of Bela’s iconic (and not so iconic) roles. And of course, it would be impossible to have an October without viewing horror classics from Universal and Hammer, including what I consider a perfect “trilogy” of Christopher Lee Dracula films. There’s a lot of fun stuff to get through, so let’s jump right in!
* – 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.
Hunchback of Notre Dame, the (1939) ***** Charles Laughton plays the deformed title character (in amazing makeup) in this remake of the classic tale. Maureen O’Hara is stunning as the gypsy girl, Esmerelda. Cedrick Hardwicke is Frollo, the evil churchman, and the production values on this are just as good as the 1924 Universal version. Until I watched these almost back-to-back, I would have rated the earlier version as superior, but seeing them so close together, almost everything here is equal to or better than that classic, including the story and the cinematography. They say 1939 was the greatest year for motion pictures, and this film is one of the reasons why.
Dracula II; Ascension (2003) *** I didn’t expect this sequel to Dracula 2000 would be as good, and good thing, because it isn’t. It has some good scenes, some good ideas — including using some classic vampire lore about untying knots and counting seeds/rice — but Dracula spends most of the time being dead/revived in a lab, and that’s just not as interesting as the more open settings of the first film. Jason Scott Lee is an interesting new character, but this is a pretty standard watch.
Dracula III: The Legacy (2004) ** Jason Scott Lee returns, but sadly the slide on this series continues. This becomes a trek across (low-budget) Eastern Europe to hunt down Dracula and maybe rescue a woman who i can’t remember if she’s from the previous film or not. From there, we get pretty standard set pieces, rebels and bad guys with guns, and eventually Rutger Hauer. Oh, Roy Scheider returns in a cameo, too — but even with the twist at the end, it’s still less than the 2 before it.
Hills Have Eyes, The (1977) **** A family looking for a silver mine (that they might have some rights to) gets lost in the southwestern desert and runs afoul of a family of inbred killers looking for fresh meat in all senses of the word. The suspense is strong and the cast does a good job in this Wes Craven classic. And Beast is a very good dog.
Nosferatu (1979) **** Werner Herzog was crazy enough to make 2 different versions of this adaptation of the silent classic, Nosferatu: one in German and one in English, both with the same cast, which includes Klaus Kinski as Dracula. (Since the book is now public domain, Herzog can use the real names if he wants.) Despite that gimme, the story mostly follows the earlier film. It’s shot on location and full of creepy atmosphere. A fine remake.
Devil Doll, The (1964 – Euro Cut) **** An evil mentalist-hypnotist-ventriloquist Vorelli (Bryant Haliday) seems able to bend anyone to his will, except maybe for his creepy-looking dummy, Hugo. Not only is Hugo rebellious, but can seemingly walk around on his own. Reporter, Mark English (William Sylvester), wants to find out what’s up, but only ends up losing his girlfriend to Vorelli. Can English solve the mystery of Hugo? A good indie suspense-horror film, the European Cut has extra nudity, including a public hypnotism sequence that would surely get you sued today.
Curse of Simba, The (a.k.a. Curse of the Voodoo) ** Produced by the same people who did Devil Doll, and starring Bryant Haliday (again), this flick is about a white hunter who hunts lions in forbidden lands, and is then apparently cursed by the tribe, as are his associates. I guess he spends some time trying to save his mind controlled black friend/bearer from mind control, but the storyline is too muddled, and if we’re supposed to sympathize with the imperialist hunter, it didn’t work for me.
Raw Force (1982) *** A karate club travels to the Philippines (or somewhere like that) to test their martial arts in a contest on a forbidden island. What none of them know is that not only is the island home to martial arts monks, those monks are also cannibals, and they’re mixed in with a jade smuggling ring that’s supplying them with victims. It’s a crazy exploitation style picture with plenty of nudity as well as crazy action. Story doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I enjoyed it.
Wizard of Oz, The (1939) ***** Classic MGM adaptation of the Baum tale transports us from a sepia-toned Kansas to Technicolor Oz as Dorothy (Judy Garland) tries to find her way back home. Along the way, she’s aided by the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, and stalked by the iconic scary Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton). The music, the visuals, the makeup, everything in this flick is top notch end to end. A classic.
Invisible Man Returns, The (1940) **** Vincent Price plays the title character here, wrongly accused of murder, and given the invisibility potion so he can escape his death sentence. The only trouble is, like the original potion, this will eventually drive the invisible man insane. His friends are looking for both the real killer and the cure, but can they find either or both in time. Excellent special effects and strong cast including Cedric Hardwicke.
Marlow Murder Club (S2) *** The second season of the Marlow Murder club puts our trio of amateur sleuths in league with the police, cutting some annoying tension there. But the ladies still break police procedure enough that the perps would likely all get off in a US court. The mystery mansion tale where one of Bec’s friends is killed had some amusing points, but somehow this series now seems a little too pleased with itself and chummy (especially with the police) in a way that doesn’t feel earned to me. Not bad, but not as good as season one.
Marble Hall Mysteries (Susan Ryland S3) ***** Susan Ryland is hired as an editor to a new writer picking up the Atticus Pünd franchise. Trouble is that writer has put his own family secrets into the book he’s writing, and a lot of people are not pleased about it. Again we get a mystery in the present, one in the past, and one in the fictitious story featuring Pünd on a Greek island. I really enjoyed the characters and twists in this one, and I think it’s my favorite of the Ryland Mystery series. It seems to wrap things up, though, so will there be any more?
Venture Brothers, The (S1) **** Dr. Venture pretends to be a greater scientist (in the mold of his father) than he is. Bodyguard Brock Sampson is like Race Bannon mixed with James Bond on steroids. And Venture’s 2 boys, Hank and Dean think they’re the Hardy Boys or Jonny quest, but they’re hopelessly naive and bungling. This cartoon parody of 1960s spy and adventure/SF/superhero shows is not only hilarious, but also stands on its on as a fun adventure series. Only ding is that the first series is very short — though there is a Christmas special, too.
Proof Is Out There (S6) **** This History Channel show returns bringing a skeptical eye to all the paranormal junk that clutters up YouTube and other social media. Most of the time, they’re very good at explaining things rationally — though I still feel like they usually have at least one “sop” to paranormal believers every episode, because those folks are the show’s main audience (looking to have their irrational beliefs reinforced). IMO, of course.
Lanterns (S1) ***** Lanterns starts with a surprising murder and then just gets better from there, as it explores the past and present exploits of Earth’s first Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, and his trainee substitute, John Stewart. I don’t know what I can say that won’t spoil some plot point, so I’ll just let you know this is NOT a series for kids and tell you to WATCH it.
Cry of the Werewolf (1945) ***(*) Mystery surrounds the Marie LaTour museum, which some suspect may contain her tomb. But when a secret room is discovered, people end up dead, as a descendant of Marie — who is a werewolf (turning into a real wolf/ dog, not a wolf-woman) tries to keep the remaining family secrets safe forever. Exactly who we’re supposed to be rooting for is unclear, as there’s a bit of a Cat People (1942) riff going on. But I’ll give it an extra star for sincerity and daring to make a werewolf a wolf — even if it’s probably a dog.
Wrong Bed, The: Naked Pursuit (2017) *** A hot couple (some guy plus Jewel Staite from Firefly) wake up naked in a bed together, but neither remembers how they got there. And they’re handcuffed together. They then have to figure out if they can trust each other, or anybody else in this decent TV mystery film. Plays out pretty well, but more actual nudity (not coy TV nudity) and tougher violence probably would have made it better.
Cannibals & Carpet Fitters (2018) *** Some slightly sleazy carpet layers get caught by the owners after they’re hired to replace the carpet in a house owned by cannibals. A funny set up, but the execution is often more brutal than funny, and there’s no point in getting attached to any of the characters you see — which makes it a little predictable, after a while. Not bad, but I hoped for something with more wit.
Lon Chaney: 1000 Faces (2000) **** Good and reverent biopic on the famous silent-era star who may have been the best screen actor of his time. Of course, he was even more famous as the Man of 1000 Faces ,a master of special-effects makeups before anyone else even thought of doing that. Good on clips and remembrances.
Man Who Could Cheat Death, The (1959 Euro Version) **** Anton Diffring is Dr. Bonnet, philanthropist and artist in this lesser known Hammer film. Hazel Court is an old model who comes back into his life as he tires of his current model, and his mysterious need for human glands resurfaces. Turns out, he’s much older than he looks, but his elixir of life is running out. How far he’ll go to renew himself is what makes this a horror film. Worth noting that in the Euro version of the film, the lovely Hazel Court appears topless in the early modeling scene. Va-va-voom!
Deep Undead (2005) **(*) A ship filled with Jazz Age vampires goes down off the East Coast, but the vamps don’t die. Rather, they wait until released/discovered by divers exploring the ship. Somehow, there’s atomic waste involved, too, and soon a multi-prong plague is spreading locally. But not too convincingly, in this shot-on-video movie. Honestly, the filmmakers crammed too many ideas into this film for its own good. The blu-ray makes this quirky film look as good as possible, and it has plenty of extras, but still… Shot on S-VHS or something. If you like this kind of quirk, might get that extra star.
Horror Island (1941) *** Dick Foran is a shady (but lovable) character who along with his buddy runs a variety of almost-shady businesses out of the wharf where his boat is docked. When he inherits a “haunted’ island, he invents a buried treasure legend (based on an old map) and decides to run tours for marks — I mean people — hoping to find the treasure. As the scheme progresses, a pretty girl gets dragged into the trip, and soon we get an amusing haunted house treasure hunt. Pretty much by the book, but I find it amusing each time I watch it.
Pink Flamingos (1972) *(***) Divine is Babs Johnson, the “filthiest person alive,” a criminal living in a run-down trailer with her weird mother (in a baby playpen), her son Crackers, an their Marilyn-esque friend Cotton. Babs is a wanted criminal but more than that, she’s deeply envied by Connie and Raymond Marble, drug-running, human trafficking, baby sellers, who want that “filthiest person” title for themselves. With that set-up, it shouldn’t be too surprising that maverick director John Waters pushes this film way, way past the boundaries of good taste, with a lip-syncing anus and the famous dog-shit scene at the end. There are things here you cannot un-see, thus the 1-star rating for the squeamish. But for people who love subversive cinema, it’s a gem.
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971) **** Sweet Sweetback (actor/director Melvin Van Peebles) grows up in a whorehouse and becomes the star attraction in a live-sex show. When two “sympathetic” cops need someone to take in for questioning, Sweetback is supposed to be home by morning. Instead, the cops force him to tag along when they rough up another black guy, bad enough that Sweetback strikes back. From then on, he’s on the run in this seminal blaxploitation film that still rings true on too many fronts. Super well made with interesting film techniques, too.
Fiend Without a Face (1958) **** A scientific experiment gone wrong unleashes invisible, brain-sucking monsters near a US military base in (alleged) Canada. Marshall Thompson is the Air Force Major looking into the mysterious deaths. Naturally, there’s a pretty girl for the major to pursue, and a nuclear power plant to add to suspicions. The real fun, though, is in the final act where the monsters become visible for our heroes to battle. The combination of stop-motion and other special effects is great here, especially considering the low budget of the film. A minor classic.
Dracula (1931 Spanish) **** This near-legendary version of Dracula was made by a Spanish-speaking (Mexican) crew on the same sets and using the same script as the more famous American Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. A Transylvanian vampire, Count Dracula, comes to London seeking new blood accompanied by a madman, Renfield. There he preys on local women until Van Helsing and company discover his secret and hunt him down. Some people consider this version superior to the Browning-directed US version, but though it is longer (I’m not sure why), and sexier (especially the Mina character, here called Eva), but… Having watched both flicks in close proximity, I have to come down on the side of the US version, which not only moves along more quickly, but has the unbeatable team of Lugosi, Dwight Frye, and Edward Van Sloan. This is a good watch, though, especially historically and if you haven’t seen it.
Batman & Robin (1949 Serial) *** Our title heroes face off against master criminal the Wizard — who can become invisible — in this 2nd Batman serial (with a lot less racism than the first). The serial follows the traditional 15-chaper formula, with plenty of fist fights and cliffhangers, and one surprising minor character death that nobody seems to feel emotionally. A pleasant enough way to spend 15 afternoons, but repetitive if you binge them.
Munster Go Home (1966) *** TV’s Munsters — Herman, Lilly, Eddie, Marilyn, and Grampa — go to England when Herman inherits a castle and a lordship from a distant relative. Naturally, there are some folks in England who think all that should be theirs. First, they try to scare the Munsters away, and when that doesn’t work, their plans escalate to trying to take Herman out in a road race. There’s a romance for Marilyn in this family friendly flick, too.
Berserk (1967) *** Joan Crawford is running a struggling circus where suddenly performers start dying in gruesome ways. Some of the deaths are pretty shocking and gory for the time (and a Crawford film), and of course there are numerous suspects and red herrings. Overall, the film looks good and is entertaining, and of course Joan brings her all.
Creature Commandos (S1) **** This animated series, based on the DC comics, has Rick Flagg, Sr., leading a band of misfit monsters — including the Bride of Frankenstein, a werewolf-like weasel, a n anti-Nazi robot, and an aquatic girl — to a small European country (that looks like something out of Disney) to prevent the predicted end of the world. Of course ,things are never as simple as they seem, and this brutal but good series will never be mistaken for Disney. Also apparently ties into the larger DC Universe plans.
Beast in the Cave, The (2016 Short) **** Horror Host Dr. Gangrel and his friends made this short adaptation of a very early (teenage) H.P. Lovecraft story. In it, a tourist in Mammoth Cave gets separated from his guide and is stalked by a creature in the dark. I re-read the story, and this is a very good adaptation, and being a short does not overstay its welcome.
Below (2026) **** In a Newfoundland town that depends on harvesting icebergs for its living, a huge iceberg floats into the bay in this Netflix series. With it, it brings some kind of psycho-active property making the locals hallucinate, though the monster stalking them is probably real. I enjoyed this series a lot, and the science behind some of the perils was pretty good, though — for me — the ending wasn’t as strong as the rest. Great cast and good script.
First Man Into Space (1959) **** Marshall Thompson is Naval Commander Chuck Prescott, in charge of a test pilot program with his hotshot brother, Dan, behind the stick. Despite Chuck’s worries, Dan rides his rocket-plane beyond its limits, all the way into the edges of outer space. But communications is lost with the ship, and soon wreckage is found. Then a mysterious set of killings begin, and it appears that something horrible has come to Earth. Made by the same company as Fiend without a Face, this is another quality low-budget sci-fi thriller. It’s also a film I have an inordinate fondness for, as I watched it on TV in the recovery room after surgery when I was 8. I think you’ll like it, too.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (S4) *** The fourth and final season of this show (and the third in color) continues the trend from last season toward more kid-friendly shows. The plots generally break down to: Monster of the Week; Spy aboard the Seaview; Something turning the crew against each other; and powerful aliens or time travelers. I love this show, but I’m afraid that Season On, in black & white, was its high point. Can still be fun watching, though.
Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters, The (1954) *** When neighborhood kids need a park to play ball in, slip & Satch go to find the lot’s owners. The owners live in a spooky old house,, and it turns out they’re even spookier: with a couple of mad scientists, a psycho girl, a woman who owns a man-eating plant, and a robot. Monster comedy ensues, with some folks even turning ito a werewolf-Hyde type character. If you like the Bowery Boys’ routines, this is par for the course.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) ***** A doctor returns home from a trip to find not only an old flame back in town, but also townsfolk who think their friends and families are imposters. Weirdly, just as he starts investigating, people seem to settle down — except for his friends, who find a “blank body” on their pool table. But even that evidence doesn’t stick around, and our heroes soon don’t know who to trust in this classic Cold War sci-fi invasion flick. An all-time classic not to be missed.
This Island Earth (1955) **** A super-smart scientist is lured away from his research to a secret tech company with mysterious goings on. It turns out, the place is trying to develop technology to fight a war on an alien planet, Metaluna. Soon, some Earthlings are headed there to face meteor attacks, mutants, and the end of a world. Shot in beautiful color, a lot of the science doesn’t hold up, but the special FX still look pretty great in this sci-fi classic.
Trailer Park of Terror (2008) *** A young woman boyfriend dies while being bullied at a trailer park, which causes her to go on a rampage and kill everyone where she grew up. Years later, a group on a church/rehab field trip have their bus break down and stumble into the park, where all the residents are back as undead monsters. Stars out well enough, but becomes overwhelmingly brutal and leaves you with no one to root for. Based on a comic.
Hold the Fort (2026) **** A young couple feels torn about the nice house they’ve moved into with a very pro-active Home Owner’s Association (HOA). And at the HOA equinox party, it turns out they’re expected to protect the clubhouse/fort from the supernatural forces that assault it — witches, ghosts, werewolves, etc. — every equinox. This new horror-comedy really tickled me on many levels. The fights and FX are good, the gore is gruesome, the characters are engaging, and the funny bits mostly funny. Recommended.
Night Monster (1942) **** Mysterious goings on turn into mysterious deaths near old mansion. Those living inside include a wheelchair-bound old man, a turbaned mystic who can materialize things through concentration, and Bela Lugosi as a suave butler. Can the heroes investigating the deaths unravel the mystery, or will they be the next victims? An unexpected twist I love in this atmospheric mystery-horror flick.
Black Cat, The (1941) *** Broderick Crawford is a real estate man and Hugh Hubert his quirky antiques-dealer friend looking to get the assets of an old dark mansion from the old woman living there, who’s believed to be on her last legs. When they arrive, the house is full of prospective heirs, including Basil Rathbone, Anne Gwynn, Gale Sondergaard, and Bela Lugosi as a creepy groundskeeper. But when the still-feisty old lady unexpectedly dies, it’s her cats who inherit the place, and housekeeper/cat tender, Sondergaard who seems set for life. Then more murders commence. Not to be confused with the 1934 Lugosi-Karloff classic, this one gives Bela’s interesting character part short shrift and leans heavily on the antique dealer for comedy. Not bad, but no classic.
Count Dracula (1977 BBC) **** This multi-part BBC telefilm adaptation featuring Louis Jourdan as Count Dracula is the most faithful adaptation of the original novel to date. Sure, Lucy and Mina are sisters, and one of Lucy’s suitors (Arthur Holmwood) is missing, but most of the other parts of the story are there, including actual English locations for parts of the film. The solarization “psychedelic” effects haven’t aged real well, and it’s slow in parts, but… Johnathan Harker goes to Transylvania; Dracula crawls on walls; the ship crashes at Whitby; Dracula is chased back to the continent; Van Helsing and Mina confront the Brides, and more. Solid effort.
Chandu on the Magic Island (1935) *** Bela Lugosi plays the hero, Chandu the Magician, in this film created by cutting down the 12-part serial it came from. In the abbreviated story, Princess Nadji is kidnapped and taken to the lost island of Lemuria. Chandu must face down numerous cliffhanger challenges, sometimes calling on his magical powers to get out of a fix. It’s interesting for Lugosi in an all-too-seldom heroic role, but despite the story being slight in the original, it’s still a bit incoherent.
Wolf Man, The (1941) ***** Lon Chaney, Jr., is Larry Talbot, heir to the Talbot legacy in Wales, returned home after his older brother’s death. There he falls in love at first sight with a shop girl (Evelyn Ankers) and is bitten by a werewolf (Bela Lugosi) when trying to protect her friend. Larry survives the attack but inherits the curse, becoming the Wolf Man — one of Universal’s Top Tier monsters. The film’s a classic as is the Talbot character. See it if you haven’t, and if you have seen it… Watch it again.
Devil Bat, The (1940) **** Bela Lugosi is a cologne designer who’s made a a fortune for the company’s owners while gaining little for himself. Despite them offering him a $5000 bonus (out of their millions) he decides to take revenge on the whole family by creating a giant bat and training it to kill anyone wearing a “special cologne” he’s developed. Lugosi is delightful in this low-budget film, saying “Goodbye” to his enemies who never suspect he’s already signed their death warrants. There’s some comedy relief reports, too, but it’s Lugosi we’re all here to see.
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1958) **(**) Space Aliens come to Earth in a shaky flying saucer in this Ed Wood “masterpiece” of so-bad-it’s-good. The script is absurd, the delivery over the top, and the plot… Well, I guess the first 8 plans must have been even worse than Plan 9, though with these aliens in charge, I don’t think quality of plan would help at all. Famous for its unintentional comedy and for Wood using test footage of his friend Bela Lugosi, in famous Dracula cape, to make this Bela’s “Last Film.” If you like extraordinary cheapness, this gets 2 more stars.
Haunting, The (2020) **(*) In this new adaptation of the classic Shirley Jackson book, a scientist (Liam Neeson) studying fear invites a group of people to an allegedly haunted house under false pretenses. He then wants to study their reactions, assuming the house isn’t haunted — but it is. And soon things get dangerous and heavily CGI (unlike the previous film version). The cast, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, and Lili Taylor, is good but the adaptation badly misses the point of the original story, and the CG just isn’t that scary. Give it an extra star if you’re a fan of the actors or a real CG lover.
Haunted Mansion, The (2003 Disney) *** Eddie Murphy is an ambitious real estate salesman who diverts his family from a vacation to possibly make a deal on a big old house — (Disney’s famous) Haunted Mansion. There, the head ghost quickly realizes that Murphy’s wife is a dead ringer for his lost love. He and his butler (a very spooky Terrance Stamp) conspire to keep the family, or at least the woman, around… forever. The parents and their kids quickly become involved with the mansion’s other ghosts, and all sorts of hijinks ensue. When this came out, I was fully tired of Eddie Murphy’s stock persona. But now, 2 decades later, I knew what was coming and his routine didn’t bug me as much. Though this is not as good as the more recent version simply called Haunted Mansion (2023).
Devil Commands, The (1941) **** Boris Karloff is a scientist studying the differences in brain waves between men and woman. When his wife is accidentally killed, he discovers by accident that her brain waves still seem to be in the ether/or his machine. This causes him to team up with a medium and, using dead bodies as conduits in an expanded machine, try to get voice messages from his beloved. Not very well know, this film is sincerely made and super creepy with touches of cosmic horror. And of course, Karloff really helps to sell it.
Nightmare on Elm Street, A (1984) **** Teenagers on Elm Street are having trouble sleeping, because a scar-faced man with a stiped shirt, a slouch hat, and knives for fingers keeps popping up in their dreams. Soon, teens start dying in strange and gruesome ways, and while the police blame one of the boyfriends, but Nancy doesn’t believe it. She discovers that the man is Fred Krueger, a child-murderer killed by vigilante justice. Now he’s somehow attacking people from their dreams. Still scary after all these years, this started off a franchise that continues to this day.
Nightmare on Elm Street 2, A: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) *** Fred Krueger is back in people’s nightmares, this time vexing a teenage boy, Jesse, who has moved into Nancy’s old house. Soon, people close to Jesse start dying in gruesome ways, and he becomes convinced that Krueger is taking over his body And maybe he’s right, as the later part of the film seems to confirm, but… This installment of the franchise is not as imaginative as the first, though the gross SPFX are amped up. Weirdly — or maybe not — it also plays as a young man struggling against his (homo)sexuality. Interesting, but not as good.
Mad Doctor of Market Street, The (1942) *** Lionel Atwill is the titular doctor in this suspense-horror film. On Market Street, he tries to restore life to people he’s drugged to death, but when he fails, he hast to flee. Adopting a new look and a new identity, he boards a ship to elsewhere. But when the ship accidentally sinks, Atwill and the other passengers are stranded on a distant island. There, Atwill saves the life of an islander and becomes a local god, which you know won’t turn out well. Amusing, but nothing special.
Strange Case of Doctor Rx, The (1942) *** Criminals who are not convicted are mysteriously dying, found with notes signed Dr. Rx somewhere on their bodies. Jerry Church, a private investigator, is talked into investigating the case by his former police partner and the DA. The murders seem impossible, but Church must be onto something, as Rx kidnaps him, intending to give him a brain transplant from a gorilla! Despite that, this film is more of a murder mystery than a horror flick. It’s not bad, but not exceptional, either gorilla aside.
Black Cat, The (1934) ***** Vitus Werdegast travels to the creepy mansion of Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff), intending to get revenge for war crimes and the loss of Vitus’ wife and daughter. But on the trip there, a bus crash strands a young couple alongside the old foes, and the woman would make a good sacrifice for Poelzig’s upcoming satanic rituals. This film is way more twisted than just that, though — probably the most twisted horror movie from the classic period — and with Edgar G. Ulmer directing, Lugosi (in a rare heroic role) and Karloff are at their best. Even among classics, this is a classic.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) ***** Grave robbers and a full moon accidentally revive Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) a.k.a. the Wolf Man. Soon, he’s traveling with his old friend Maleva the gypsy (Maria Ouspenskaya) seeing Frankenstein’s secrets of life and death and being pursued by a the doctor whose care he escaped after coming back from the dead (Patrick Knowles). When the Wolf Man accidentally falls into the cellar of the destroyed Frankenstein manor, he discovers the monster (Bela Lugosi) frozen there. Then things get crazy. Another Universal classic, this film also has the distinction of being the first monster team-up — and how often have we seen that in non-Universal franchises over the years? The opening scenes are genius, and I enjoy it all the way through.
Revenge of the Creature (1955) **** A new expedition comes to the Amazon, this time to capture the Gill-man, which they do, and then take him back to a marine park in Florida for study. There, Prof. Ferguson (John Agar) arrives to study the Creature with pretty Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson). They run some Pavlovian-type tests to determine the Creature’s intelligence (which seem cruler today than they did back then), and of course things go wrong, and the Creature gets loose. Shot in 3D like the original, this film isn’t quite as good but still highly enjoyable.
Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022) **** After solving a mystery in the Himalayas, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby (Mystery, Inc.) realize that many of their classic foe’s costumes were manufactured by a common person: Coco Diablo, who they then track down and put in jail. (Despite Velma’s sudden crush on the villainess.) Unfortunately, this leaves our heroes with dearth of mysteries to solve. Until next Halloween rolls around, and they find themselves faced with ghostly doppelgangers. More Scooby fun ensues, with Mystery, Inc. getting Coco out on parole to help. On second viewing, I still liked this original video animation a lot, and Velma’s longing for Coco seems very natural. Good job, Scooby Gang!
Venture Brothers, The (S2) ***** The Venture gang amps up the satire and the crazy, as the boys come back, the Monarch tries to win back Dr. Girlfriend, and the supporting cast gets broader and often crazier. Dr. Venture’s half brother? Dr. Orpheus & daughter? Molotov Cocktease and other wild exes? All here. Tune in and enjoy the crazy!
Missing Guest, The (1938) ***(*) The first remake of the Blue Room mystery leans more on the comedy, playing up old dark house tropes and an intruding reporter. A young man goes missing after spending a night in the mysterious Blue Room, center of a family curse. When the next man in the room turns up dead, there’s plenty of mystery to solve — though I think this turned out somewhat different from the original. If you like the Blue Room series (there are 3), give it another star.
Horror of Dracula (1958) ***** Christopher Lee became an icon as Dracula in this (very) loose adaptation of the Stoker novel. Johnathan Harker is sent to Dracula’s castile as an envoy to root out evil. He falls but on his trail comes Van Helsing (Peter Cushing in an iconic role), who traces the vampire to where Harker’s fiancée, Lucy Holmwood, lives with her brother Arthur (Michael Gough).and his wife Mina. Some events play out from the book, but obviously, all the characters are switched around. Despite this, Hammer’s first Dracula offering is exciting and fun, largely because of the unbeatable Lee-Cushing pairing.
Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive (2026) **** This new biography of Vincent Price features a good overview of his life and career as presented by admirers — including Alice Cooper, Tim Burton, and John Waters — and his family, including daughter Julia and her half-brother Vincent Barrett Price and his grandson. These people tell a lot of wonderful stories and memories of the man and his work, starting with his earliest movies all the way to the end of his life. Maybe they gloss over some of his struggles and go a little light on his relationships, but who can blame them? Vincent seems pretty universally beloved.
Pit & the Pendulum, The (1961) **** An Englishman, Francis, goes to the ancient castle of his brother-in law, Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price) to visit his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). When he gets there, though, he discovers Elizabeth has mysteriously died, though her spirt may still be haunting her husband. This Poe-inspired tales features worries of premature burial as well as a Medina ancestor who tortured people, including with the titular bladed pendulum. A fine, creepy entry in Corman’s Poe series of films.
Haunted Palace, The (1963) ***** Charles Dexter Ward (Vincent Price) and his wife Anne return to the weird town or Arkham, Massachusetts, more than a century after his ancestor was executed as a warlock. To say the locals are hostile to his returning to the (imported) family castle would be an understatement. Soon, though, Charles starts acting strange, more like his ancestor than himself in this film based on an H.P. Lovecraft story (despite its Poe-inspired title). Price is excellent in one of the best Lovecraft adaptations ever.
White Zombie (1932) ***** A young man, Neil, comes to Haiti to marry his girlfriend Madeleine, but after the wedding ceremony, she mysteriously dies. Neil quickly become convinced that she’s a victim of voodoo, and has been spirited away by plantation owner Beaumont and zombie master Murder Legendre (Bela Lugosi). This horror classic is one of the best low-budget films of all time, and if you don’t want to watch it, you should at least read my really cool novelization.
Doctor X (1932) **** A city is plagued by a series of cannibalistic murders during every full moon. Doctor Xavier (Lionel Atwill) tells police he can solve the murders with a series of scientific tests, and the decide to give him a chance. Weird science ensues in this 2-strip (red and green) technicolor horror flick by master director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), and it’s plenty creepy. It also features Fay Wray. Thankfully, a restoration has restored all of that to its full 2-strip color glory.
Mystery in the Wax Museum (1933) ***** Lionel Atwill is Ivan Igor, a sculptor who runs a beautiful wax museum. But his crooked partner burns the museum down for the insurance money. Ivan is badly burned, too, but 10 years later has started a new wax museum, focusing on murder and other sensations. But as this happens, bodies have been disappearing from the morgue, and ace reporter Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell) thinks that may be connected to the wax museum. Fay Wray also appears as Florence’s roommate, a potential model for Marie Antoinette. It’s another 2-strip technicolor masterpiece from director Michael Curtiz — but it’s the films pre-code production (talk about soon-to-be forbidden topics like drug abuse, necrophilia, and even — gasp — sex!) and sassy Farrell that really make this a cut above. Great film.
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) ***** Two couples on tour in the Transylvanian wilderness ignore the advice of a manly priest Father Sandor (Andrew Kier) and end up in the nearly deserted castle of Count Dracula. There, one of the hapless crew is murdered and his blood used to revive the count (Christopher Lee), reduced to dust in the last film. Dracula’s first victim is the murdered man’s wife, You can guess what’s in store for the remaining characters in the 2nd Dracula movie from Hammer, which carries on right where the first film left off. And though Lee doesn’t speak even a line, the flick is creepy and cool with an exciting ending.
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) ***** Dracula was a scourge on the countryside ,but after his destruction, the locals remain superstitious. So Monsignor Mueller takes a fearful local priest to banish the evil from Dracula’s castle forever. Mueller performs a ritual and bars the castle door with a huge cross, but the priest lags behind and accidentally revives the Prince of Darkness (Christopher Lee again). Dracula then comes to town and fixates on Mueller’s niece, who’s in love with a nice student who also happens to be an atheist, much to Mueller’s distaste. This could also be an issue because in this version, you have to pray when you stake a vampire, or he won’t die. I like the mythos twists and the characters and conflicts in the 3rd of the Lee as Dracula series. This and the previous two form my favorite unholy trinity of Hammer films.
So that’s it for October 2026. Total for this month is an amazing 68 films, series, and notable shorts, especially surprising since I was a way for a chunk of the month and our team won the World Series! I guess I was just trying hard. That brings our 2026 Total to 459. Which makes hitting 500 reviews this year a reasonable certainty!
NEXT MONTH: There will definitely be some Halloween hangover — in a good way, of course. But honestly, it’s so early in the month as I write this that I really don’t know what the current month will offer up. It’s already heralded a welcome change in local and national politics, but I don’t expect that will slow down my reviews Stay tuned and see what November brings!
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