The Mummy can, in many respects, hold claim to being the most unloved of the classic movie monsters – if not, then surely the most inconsistently served. The oft-quoted line from Kim Newman, that the issue lies with “no foundation text” upon which to base the creature, certainly carries some weight, though Mummies had certainly been written about in the 19th Century – notable works include Poe’s short story, Some Words With a Mummy (1850), Conan Doyle’s Lot No. 249 (1892), the latter establishing the Mummy as a malevolent predator seeking revenge, as well as touching upon elements also explored in later films, such as the methods of resurrection and the supernatural control of a ‘master’.

Poe’s tale is rather more barbed, the bandaged cadaver reanimated by electricity and quizzed upon its ancient knowledge (or lack of), a side-swipe at both modernist self-aggrandising and the Egyptomania which had swept through both America and Europe since Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign of 1798-1801. The fascination of the general public in all levels of society lasted throughout the Victorian era, peaking again when Howard Carter uncovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. This obsession didn’t stop with the collection of Egyptian artworks and an influence on fashion and architecture – it was not uncommon in both America and Europe (though England especially) for the upper classes to purchase sarcophagi containing mummified remains at public auctions and then charging interested parties to a literal unveiling at what became known as ‘mummy unwrapping parties’. Though many of these were under the slightly dubious guise of scientific and historical investigations, the evidence of publicity material listing admission prices for children rather suggests a more obvious parallel of the fascination with freak shows, as well as the ever-popular grave robbing and body snatching.

It is such unbalanced factors which contributed to the Mummy onscreen as such a difficult to pin-down character. Bram Stoker’s 1909 novel, The Jewel of Seven Stars, concentrated on the attempts to resurrect a mummified Egyptian Queen but is full of the author’s own clear obsession with the subject, detailing minute features of objects and environment. Even looking at these three texts, very different perspectives are offered:

1. The curse
2. The resurrection (either via electricity, potion or supernatural means)
3. Love across the ages
4. The exotic nature and history of Egypt

Mummy films are somewhat doomed to pick one or more elements of this and then factor in the very nature of a Mummy – a zombie with bandages with a grudge. Most films dealt with this threat as a singular foe, one with pre-determined victims in a relatively limited environment (either in his native Africa/South America or relocated to a museum elsewhere). Fundamentally, it’s not easy the share the fear of the pursued – the regularly featured greedy archaeologist or treasure hunter clearly would not have many rooting for them, the similarly omnipresent character of the innocent damsel being mistaken by old clothy for his bride from B.C. is often equally wretched.

The first documented films concerning Mummies are 1899’s Georges Melies‘ Cleopatra (French: Cléopâtre), also known as Robbing Cleopatra’s Tomb, which, at only two minutes in length, is pretty much the synopsis, action and epilogue all in one. Despite a false alarm in 2005, no copy of the film now exists, a fate shared by another French film, 1909’s The Mummy of the King Rameses (French: La Momie Du Roi). Though literature was raided for ideas in some of these early efforts, in particular 1912’s The Beetle, based on the Rich Marsh 1897 novel of the same name, the general tone was of mystery, over-egged comedy and slushy drama, the long-lost tombs of nobility and monarchy gripping audiences without the need for too much in the way of ravenous corpses.

1932’s Chandu the Magician just pipped Universal to the post as an Egyptian villain stalked America’s screens with a recognisable actor in the role of the baddy, Bela Lugosi kidnapping all and sundry in a bid to possess a death ray (he later appeared as the hero in the follow-up, 1934’s Return of Chandu). As with so many of Universal’s introductions of classic monsters, many elements of 1932’s The Mummy leeched into films right up to the present day. For first-time viewers, the biggest surprise is the incredibly short screen time of the bandaged one, though the slowly-opening eyes of the revived Mummy is one of the great moments in horror film.

It is as the reawakened Ardath Bey that Boris Karloff spends most of the film; Jack Pierce’s excellent make-up giving ‘life’ to a cadaverous-featured, be-fezzed Casanova seeking his love whom he believes has been reincarnated. The Egypt of the film is populated by aloof and cultured Westerners working in a land of subservient and befuddled locals, including Horrorpedia favourite, Noble Johnson as ‘The Nubian’ and can be seen as a view of a colonial viewpoint of ‘foreigners and their strange ways’, sometimes quasi-religious, at others playing on the public awareness of the so-called Curse of King Tut’s Tomb, an event only a decade prior. Egypt is still as remote, uncouth and dangerous as the forests of Romania and the invented village of Vasaria – the notion that this place actually exists and that tombs were still being uncovered lending an extra, illicit thrill, modern science at war with religious belief and customs. Bey/Imhotep stalks his beloved in a more stealthy manner than that of Dracula, the quick nip on the neck replaced by a rather more sinister, unspoken threat of capture, death and sex, the latter two being interchangeable. This, of course, remains unspoken but presumably an inevitability, Universal instead charging the film with shots of unbridled romance, both in set-design and, importantly, a specifically-composed score by James Dietrich and Heinz Roemheld, the first for a Universal Horror. This was underpinned by passages from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, another nod to Transylvania.

Though a success at the box office, it was a full eight years before Universal unleashed a Mummy again, the 1940 film The Mummy’s Hand not being a sequel but rather a reintroduction of the monster. Universal flex their creative muscle here, rather like 1941’s The Wolf Man, their invented lore (the poem of how a man is doomed to turn to beast) it is a given ‘fact’ that a Mummy can be brought back to life and indeed sustained by a potion of ‘tana leaves’. Evidently aware of the lack of an actual Mummy in its 1932 effort, the studio pushed the bandaged monster to the fore, plot and backstory being secondary to getting him on screen and tormenting people. It was a simple enough conceit that it was this Mummy, Kharis who would appear in the film’s sequels, The Mummy’s Tomb, The Mummy’s Ghost and The Mummy’s Curse, all of which would feature Lon Chaney Jr as the monster, the quality always sinking ever lower but still with Pierce’s sterling work on the costume and make-up, much to Chaney’s chagrin.

If the lack of genuine horror in the films wasn’t enough, the ever-present comedy or cartoon featuring Mummies again gave the character a persona that was not to be taken seriously. No matter how hard you tried, if you put bandages on a violent, ever-living zombie, there was a danger of farce.

This can be evidenced with attempts such as the RKO-distributed Wheeler & Woolsey film, Mummy’s Boys (1936), The Three Stooges’ We Want Our Mummy (1939) and Mummy’s Dummies (1948) and on to Abbott and Costello’s encounters in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), a threadbare affair in both costume and entertainment – comedy often leaned on the fact Mummy is an un-threatening sounding word with two meanings as well as the opportunity to sing and dance in a manner audiences might expect from Egyptians (or not). Bandage unravelling was a given.

It would be two other countries which would rescue the Mummy from the filmic doldrums, at least in sparking an audience’s interest. 1957 saw the release of two Mexican films – The Aztec Mummy (Spanish title: La Momia Azteca) and The Curse of the Aztec Mummy (Spanish: La maldición de la momia azteca), neither likely to win awards for outright quality but giving Mummies in new life in a new environment, the ancient Aztec culture and wacky wrestling superhero (in this case El Ángel) marrying easily with the tropes already laid down by the earlier American films. The films offered enough promise for Jerry Warren to recut, dub and add additional scenes for an American audience. The films were a success in both markets and led to two further sequels, The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy (1958) and Wrestling Women vs.The Aztec Mummy (1964).

Britain’s bandaged offering, inevitably from Hammer, was 1959’s The Mummy. Here, Hammer borrowed heavily from Universal (again, overlooking the studious 1932 film and cutting straight to the monster-driven sequels) but brought out the big guns; Terence Fisher directing and the double-whammy of Lee and Cushing. For all the film’s faults, and there are several, the film finally gives the monster the strength and terror that his complex evolution and background demands.

Here, Lee towers over the other characters both literally and metaphorically, emerging from a swamp in a scene which should be considered as iconic as any in Hammer’s canon. No longer a shuffling bag of bones, the Mummy here is athletic and merciless, with the strength and stature of Frankenstein’s Monster with the eternal threat of Dracula.

Two of the sequels misfired quite badly, 1964’s Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and 1971’s Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb yet both have the odd moment of inspiration (the latter’s scenes involving voluptuous Valerie Leon in particular!) but running out of things for the Mummy to do. On the other hand, Hammer’s The Mummy’s Shroud (1967) is instantly forgettable.

Interestingly, Egypt’s own attempt at filming its own national monster feasted liberally on Abbott and Costello romping, the result being 1953’s Harem Alek (literally ‘shame on you’, retitled as Ismail Yassin Meets Frankenstein). Shrieking and gurning abound in a very close relation to the American comedians in their meeting of Frankenstein, the mummy in question being much nearer to the bolted creature.

One of the oddest appearances for a mummy was a narrator – voiced distinctively by Valentine Dyall – for Antony Balch’s 1969 British low budget anthology film Secrets of Sex aka Tales of the Bizarre. A healthy dose of dark humour, plus copious nudity from both sexes, has ensured that there is still a cult following for this eccentric entry.

Grabbing the monster by the scruff of the neck was Spain’s Paul Naschy, never one to tip-toe around a subject. 1973’s Vengeance of the Mummy (Spanish: La vengance de la momia) is gory, lurid and enormous fun, the hacking and head-crushing monster being completely self-governing and with the added bonus of an alluring assistant, played by Helga Liné, though sadly her rumoured nude scenes have yet to surface. Naschy played the Mummy once more, in the all-star monster fest of 1988’s Howl of the Devil.

The Mummy often appeared as part of an ensemble of monsters, giving the film-maker an answer as to what to do with it – from singing puppet mayhem of Mad Monster Party? and 1972’s animated semi-prequel Mad Mad Mad Monsters to encounters with Scooby Doo and rock band KISS, the monster remained an also-ran and supporting character. Though managing to get on screen in Fred Dekker’s The Monster Squad (1987), missing out on the action in comedy horror anthology The Monster Club (1981) suggests his standing in the pantheon of monsters was less than stellar.

The Awakening (1980) was a latter-day attempt at filming Stoker’s novel – though managing to visually capture a sense of antiquity and some pleasing shots of Egypt, it lacks fire and threat and once again a classic monster is reduced to dreary, slow-paced banality. On the other side of the coin was Frank Agrama’s 1981 brutal guts and gusto Dawn of the Mummy, which sees the restless ones reanimated by the hot lights of a fashion shoot. This at least forgives lots of manic running around and a conflict between the modern day and the ancient, gloves off and with little regards to sense or history. The title alone should lead the audience to expect a more zombie-based event and though frequently silly and frayed, largely due to the low budget, it does at least give the sub-genre a shot in the arm.

Later films perhaps tried too hard – 1982’s Time Walker pitched the Mummy as actually being an alien in stasis; 1983’s baffling and boring Scarab throwing Gods, Nazis and scientists into the mix but only ending up with a mess; Fred Olen Ray’s breast-led 1986 effort, The Tomb. None came very close to succeeding in any sense.

The 1990’s was possibly the most desperate time for Mummies worldwide – whether it was the schlock of Charles Band (The Creeps, 1997), the critically-mauled 1998 film Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy or Russell Mulcahy’s flying Mummy of Talos the Mummy (1998), the monster suffered more than most at the hands of those trying to use new technology at the expense of plot and character to succeed. Only in 2002 with Don Coscarelli’s film Bubba Ho-Tep did The Mummy make a meaningful return, pleasing both fans of Bruce Campbell and too-cool-for-school scouts for cults as they happen, as well as horror fans desperate to see their bandaged hero as a tangible threat.

When Hollywood finally decided to throw some money at a reborn franchise, there was to be disappointment – the Indiana Jones-type action of 1999’s The Mummy, as well as its sequels and spin-offs were an exercise in CGI and tame thrills. Speakers were blown, images were rendered but whatever fun audiences had, omitted the scare factor.

2014’s R-rated The Pyramid promises Rec-style horrors and a return, successful or not, to the concept of a straight-forward monster released from its tomb. Further field, Universal have promised/threatened to relaunch their entire world of monsters, beginning with The Mummy from 2016.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

Mummy Filmography: 

1899 – Cleopatra

1909 – The Mummy of the King Rameses (aka. La momie du roi)

1911 – The Mummy

1912 – The Mummy

1912 – The Vengence of Egypt

1912 – The Mummy and the Cowpuncher

1913 – The Egyptian Mummy – comedy short

1914 – Naidra, The Dream Worker

1914 – The Necklace of Rameses

1914 – Through the Centuries – short comedy

1914 – The Egyptian Princess

1914 – The Mummy

1915 – The Dust of Egypt

1915 – When the Mummy Cried for Help

1915 – Too Much Elixir of Life

1916 – Elixir of Life – comedy short

1916 – The Missing Mummy – comedy short

1917 – The Undying Flame

1917 – The Eyes of the Mummy

1918 – Mercy, the Mummy Mumbled – comedy short

1921 – The Lure of Egypt

1923 – The Mummy

1923 – King Tut-Ankh-Amen’s Eighth Wife

1926 – Mummy Love

1926 – Made For Love

1932 – Chandu the Magician

1932 – The Mummy

1933 – The Ghoul

1934 – The Return of Chandu

1936 – Mummy Boy

1938 – We Want Our Mummy

1940 – The Mummy’s Hand

1942 – Superman ‘The Mummy’s Tomb’ (animated short)

1943 – The Mummy Strikes

1944 – The Mummy’s Ghost

1944 – A Night of Magic

1945 – The Mummy’s Curse

1953 – The Mummy’s Revenge (Spain)

1953 – Harem Alek (Egypt)

1954 – Sherlock Holmes ‘The Laughing Mummy’ (UK TV episode)

1955 – Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy

1957 – Curse of the Aztec Mummy (Mexico/USA)

1957 – Castle of the Monsters

1957 – Curse of the Pharaohs

1957 – Pharoah’s Curse

1957 – Robot versus the Aztec Mummy (aka “La momia azteca contra el robot humano, Mexico)

1958 – El Castillo de los Monstruos

1958 – Dos Fantasmas y una Muehacha (Mexico)

1958 – House of Terror (aka “Face of the Screaming Werewolf,”  Mexico/USA)

1958 – The Man and the Monster (Mexico)

1959 – The Mummy

1960 – Rock n Roll Wrestling Woman vs the Aztec Mummy

1962 – I Was a Teenage Mummy

1963 – Attack of the Mayan Mummy aka The Mummy Strikes

1964 – Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb

1965 – Mummy’s Dummies

1965 – Orgy of the Dead

1966 – Death Curse of Tarta

1966 – Carry On Screaming!

1966 – Mad Monster Party?

1966 – The Mummy’s Ghost (short)

1967 – Get Smart ‘The Mummy’ (TV episode)

1967 – The Mummy’s Shroud

1967 – Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea “The Mummy” (TV episode)

1968 – El Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monster (Mexico)

1969 – The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? “Scooby-Doo and A Mummy, Too” (TV episode)

1969 – Secrets of Sex aka Tales of the Bizarre

1970 – Santo in the Vengeance of the Mummy (aka Santo En La Venganza de la Momia, Mexico)

1970 – Dracula vs. Frankenstein” (aka ‘Assignment Terror, Italy/Spain/Germany)

1970 – The Mummies of Guanajuato (Mexico)

1971 – Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb

1971 – Santo and the Vengeance of the Mummy (Mexico)

1972 – El Castillo de las Momias de Gaunajuato (Mexico)

1972 – Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters

1972 – The New Scooby-Doo Movies “Sandy Duncan’s Jekyll and Hyde” (features The Mummy)

1972 – Dr Phibes Rises Again

1972 – El Robo de las Momias de Guanajuato

1973 – Love Brides of the Blood Mummy

Las Momias de San Angel aka Terror en San Angel (Mexico)

1973 – Vengeance of the Mummy (La vengance de la momia, Spain)

1973 – The Cat Creature

1973  – Chabelo y Pepito vs. los Monstruos (Mexico)

1973 – Son of Dracula

1974 – Voodoo Black Exorcist

1975 – Demon and the Mummy (US TV Movie). A compilation of two episodes from the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker: Demon in Lace and Legacy of Terror

1975 – Doctor Who ‘Pyramids of Mars’ (TV episodes)

 La Mansion de las 7 Momias (Mexico)

1978 - KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park

1980 – Fade to Black

1980 – The Awakening

1980 – Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo “Mummy’s the Word” (TV episode)

1981 - Dawn of the Mummy

1981 – The National Mummy (La Momia Nacional, Spain)

1981 – Sphinx

1982 – Secret of the Mummy (Brazil)

1982 – Time Walker

1982 – Scarab

1983 – The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show “Where’s Scooby Doo?’

1984 – The New Scooby Doo Mysteries “Scooby’s Peep-Hole Pandemonium” (Maid Mummy)

1985 – The Tomb

1985 – Dear Mummy (Hong Kong)

1985 – Transylvania 6-5000 (US/Yugoslavia)

Amazing Stories ‘Mummy, Daddy’ (TV episode)

1987 – Night of the Living Duck (US animated short)

1987 – The Monster Squad

1988 – Howl of the Devil

1988 – Saturday the 14th Strikes Back

1988 – Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School

1988 – Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf

1988 – Waxwork

1989 – Encounters of the Spooky Kind 2 (Hong Kong)

1990 – I’m Dangerous Tonight (US TVM)

1990 – Tales from the Darkside: The Movie “Lot 249″

1990 – I’m Dangerous Tonight

1992 – I was a Teenage Mummy

1992 – Nightmare Asylum

1992 Franky and his Pals

1992 – Bloodstone: Subspecies II

1992 – I Was a Teenage Mummy

1993 – Bloodlust: Subspecies III (US/Romania)

1993 – The Mummy Lives

1993 – The Mummy A.D. 1993

1993 – The Mummy’s Dungeon

1993 – The Nightmare Before Christmas

1994 – Stargate

1995 – Goosebumps ‘Return of the Mummy’ + ‘TV Mummy’ (TV episodes)

1995 – Monster Mash

1996 – Bone Chillers ‘Mummy Dearest’ (TV episode)

1996 – Bordello of Blood

1996 – Le Siege del l’Ame (France)

1996 – The Mummy (Pakistan)

1996 – Birth of a Wizard (Japan)

1996 – La Momie Mi-mots” (aka “Mummy Mommy, France)

1996 – The Seat of the Soul” (aka “Le siege del Time, Canada)

1997 – The Creeps

1997 – Bram Stoker’s The Mummy aka Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy

1997 – Mummy’s Alive

1997 – Under Wraps (TV Movie)

1997 – 1998 – Mummies Alive! (animated series)

1998 – Legend of the Mummy

1998 – Mummies Alive! The Legend Begins (animated feature)

1998 – Trance

1998 – Talos the Mummy aka Tale of the Mummy

1999 – Ancient Evil: Scream of the Mummy

1999 – Ancient Desires

1999 – The Mummy

1999 – The Mummy (documentary narrated by Christopher Lee)

Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed (documentary)

1999 – The All-New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy ‘For the Love of Mummy’

2000 – Curse of the Mummy

2000 – Lust in the Mummy’s Tomb

2000 – The Mummy Theme Park (Italy)

2001 – Mummy Raiders

2001 – The Mummy Returns

2001 – The Mummy: Secrets of the Medjai (animated series)

2002 – Bubba Ho-Tep

2002 – Lust in the Mummy’s Tomb

2002 – Mummy Raider

2002 – The Scorpion King

2003 – Mummie (Italian short)

2003 – The Mummy’s Kiss

2003 – Scooby-Doo! Where’s My Mummy? “Mummy Scares Best”

2003 – What’s New, Scooby-Dooo?

2004 – Attack of the Virgin Mummies

2005 – Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (TV episode)

2005 – The Kung Fu Mummy

2005 – Legion of the Dead

2005 – The Fallen Ones

2006 – Monster Night

2006 – Seven Mummies

2006 – The Mummy’s Kiss 2: Second Dynasty

2006 – The University of Illinois vs. a Mummy

2007 – Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy

2007 – Mummy Maniac

2008 – Day of the Mummy (short)

2008 – Mummies…

2008  – The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

2008 – My Mummy aka My Mummy: The Tomb Is a Drag Without Her

2008 – Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior

2009 – Cry of the Mummy (comedy short)

2010 – Creature Feature (adult video features a mummy)

2010 – The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec

2010 – Pink Panther and Pals ‘And Not a Drop to Pink’ (TV episode)

2012 – Hotel Transylvania

2012 – Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption

Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H (animated series features N’Kantu the Living Mummy)

2013 – Isis Rising: Curse of the Lady Mummy

2014 – American Mummy

2014 – Day of the Mummy

2014 – Doctor Who “Mummy on the Orient Express” (TV episode)

2014 – Dummie the Mummy

2014 – Frankenstein vs. the Mummy

2014 – Mummy, I’m a Zombie

2014 – The Mummy Resurrected

2014- Scorpion King 4 – Quest for Power

2014 – The Pyramid

Day of the Dead is a 1985 American horror film written and directed by George A. Romero and the third film in Romero’s Dead Series, being preceded by Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978). Though planned as the final part of the saga, the travails of humankind versus their infected dead continued for a further three films (thus far) and two un-Romero related re-hashes… thus far! The film stars Joe Pilato, Lois Cardille, Sherman Howard (billed as Howard Sherman) and Richard Liberty. Tom Savini enjoys his finest moments in charge of make-up and effects, whilst Romero alumni John Harrison composed the score.

A helicopter circles Fort Myers, Florida, the four passengers on a recce mission for survivors from the zombie catastrophe introduced in Night of the Living Dead and last seen compromising tenement blocks, TV studios and shopping malls in Dawn of the Dead. It is clear from abandoned buildings, cars and debris that the situation has not improved – of note is a newspaper, The Southern Globe, which flutters into view, briefly informing us that the President is missing, the National Guard are overwhelmed and the C.I.A. have no answer to the crisis – indirectly, we are now aware that the zombie outbreak is not confined to isolated pockets of the American North West.

A Hispanic-American male, Miguel Salazar (Anthony Dileo Jr, Monkey Shines, Two Evil Eyes), an unwilling member of a small group of military personnel, uses a megaphone to try to attract survivors. We are also introduced to Jamaican helicopter pilot, John (Terry Alexander, Werewolf of Washington, House III – The Horror Show), radio operative, Irishman McDermott (Jarlath Conroy) and scientist, Sarah (Lori Cardille, daughter of ‘Chilly; Billy Cardille, host of TV’s Chiller Theater), who is also Miguel’s girlfriend. The ‘hellos’ only serve to attract the undead who appear from the seemingly abandoned resort. We immediately learn three things; they have decayed significantly since the previous film; they now make a sound (collectively the wailing is genuinely disturbing); there are an awful lot of them.

The helicopter returns to base, a fenced facility where the remaining humans reside underground in a series of bunkers divided into living quarters, science labs and a cavernous area gated off from roaming zombies. They are immediately harangued by the apparent leader of the group, a member of the military called Captain Rhodes (Pilato, Dawn of the Dead, Wishmaster) for their lack of success, their wasting of helicopter fuel and their futility leading to goading the zombies lined up at the fence. We realise that the camp is firmly divided into military versus science, with John and McDermott representing the average civilian, only making their way due to their technical expertise.

The military faction, Rhodes, Steel (Gary Howard Klar) and Rickles (Ralph Marrero, Tales From the Darkside: The Movie) are sweary, obnoxious and intolerant of the slow results of the scientists and their increased use of their slim resources. The scientists, led by Dr ‘Frankenstein’ Logan (Liberty, The Crazies)  and aided by Sarah and Fisher (John Amplas, Martin, Dawn of the Dead) are a meeker lot but under huge pressure to find answers, lest they become target practise. Unhelpfully, Miguel has been driven half-mad by the apocalyptic events, singling Sarah out for extra taunting and dividing the two groups even further.

Logan largely works alone and when he presents the fruits of his labours, a semi-domesticated zombie he names Bub (Howard, Freddy’s Nightmares), who has developed the rudimentaries of speech and tool-use and even recalls parts of his past life as a soldier but still remains chained for the safety of the humans, Rhodes is monumentally unimpressed, the ‘advancement’ offering no solution to the reversal of the plague.

Daily tasks include the rounding up of zombies for the scientists to experiment on; a task performed with little more than a lasso on a stick and some tricky wrangling in the dark. When two soldiers are bitten during one such venture, Rhodes declares all experiments should end and existing specimens (including stomach-less zombies, those with only a brain attached to their body and mouthless eyes) be destroyed. Worse is to come as both Sarah and Rhodes are enlightened as to Logan’s extracurricular experiments which have necessitated the flesh of Rhodes’ own men to be used as food. He shoots and kills Rhodes and Fisher, the rest cast out into the zombie-infested caverns, with little in the way of arms.

Meanwhile, Miguel has gone completely insane and staggers to the lift-accessed surface, not only becoming food for the undead but allowing the hoards to swamp the whole base. Amid the chaos, the trio of Sarah, John and McDermott aim to reach the helicopter and bid to fly to safety, whilst the remaining military adopt an ‘every man for himself’ approach, with the benefit of arms but the disadvantage of, well, everything else. As time and places to hide run out, one zombie in particular seems to have a score to settle…

It is no secret that this film little resembles Romero’s original vision for the conclusion of his’ Anubis’ trilogy. The intention was to film a far more overtly political film, the politicians controlling a military which had domesticated zombies into something resembling the slaves working the fields of sugar plantations, though rather than farming they were being trained as a weapon of control. Lower echelons of society lived in a dilapidated, drug-filled annexed ‘stalag’, a set-up which more closely mirrors Land of the Dead, Romero’s somewhat ill-fated attempt to finally film his intended story.

Though impressive in scope, Romero’s screenplay, running at an outlandish 204 pages, had little chance of being green-lit, less so when the studio, United Artists, learned that the film was doomed to receive an ‘X’ certificate due to the amount of gore and violence. In 1985, such a certificate was usually reserved for hardcore pornography and severely limited the commercial opportunities of a mainstream film, albeit a horror. The projected budget was gauged at around $6.5million, an amount the studio balked at.

This financial hoo-ha may initially seem unfair; the $55million plus performance of Dawn of the Dead at the box office would, you’d think, appease any fears but the underperformance of both Knightriders and Creepshow left investors wary. Horror was currently feasting on simple concepts; the slasher and the dream worlds of Freddy were big business and required far less in terms of location and set-pieces – Romero envisaged a high action, highly moral film, a risk for an audience that was snaffling up cheap jumps and equally cheap thrills.

Romero significantly pared down the script to a little over a hundred pages but this would still have needed in advance of an extra million dollars to film – there was little option but to jettison the idea and retain only elements – a brief flirtation with filming in 3D was perhaps wisely passed over. The eventual, accepted re-write, a scant 88 pages, required the film to have far less in the way of location and action – a significant opening sequence on water and an ending of all-out war went un-filmed, replaced by a now far talkier, claustrophobic film – brief aerial images of the city hinting at the scope, the tense underground sequences filmed at the former limestone Wampum mine in Pennsylvania, again reinforcing Romero’s philosophy that humans were comfortably the equal threat of the chomping dead.

When filming commenced at the end of 1984, it was clear that the environment of the ex-mine (now a storage facility) was going to problematic – it was dark, cold, wet and the damp meant the equipment regularly malfunctioned, as well as leading to the majority of the cast and crew succumbing to illness. Again, Romero gave budding actors and acquaintances key roles, saving money as well as giving an ‘everyman’ quality to the film – we could attempt to associate with the characters without being taken out of our escapism by the sight of familiar Hollywood actors. Of note, are Pilato, an excellently-realised glob of vicious bile and anger, Howard who is given a thankless task of making a trained zombie believable and sympathetic, without sinking to cheap laughs and Liberty, a character who, more than any other in Romero’s zombie films, gives way more than most exactly what has happened to lead us to this point. Again, Romero opts for lead roles to be played by a woman and a black actor.

Tom Savini was again allowed free reign to make his ideas flesh (rotting or otherwise), the advancements in techniques and technology allowing for grander gore theatre and an ability to give the zombies even more detailed individuality and hinted-at backstories. Sarah bemoans Logan’s lack of scientific breakthroughs at one stage, highlighting that he has barely progressed from “proving theories advanced months ago” – coupled with the existence of the newspaper seen in the first scene, it is clear this episode does not take place too much further in the future than Dawn, though accepted wisdom puts the timescale nearer to five years. This certainly explains the far more decayed creatures Savini presents to us. Two other important pieces of information are given to us by Logan; the estimate of the undead outnumbering survivors by around 400,000 to one and his discovery that the eating of flesh does not nutritionally sustain the zombies.

There are significant implications to the latter two statements, both of which suggest that the best course of action actually lies with John and McDermott – rather like the much-maligned Cooper of Night of the Living Dead who suggests hiding in a locked-up cellar and waiting for help to arrive (he is ultimately proved right), against such insurmountable odds, John’s dream of taking the helicopter and spending his life sunbathing on a deserted island (or indeed McDermott’s of drinking to forget) and leaving the carnage to exist in an alternative world are both realistic and appealing.

Neither the military nor science are proved to hold the answer – lack of ammunition and men mean Rhodes is in a hopeless situation, his anger at the scientists’ lack of progress having a certain amount of justification, though this overspills into the murder of two scientists and the ordered execution of Sarah. Pertinently, the ‘wise old head’ of the film, Logan is eventually revealed to be as insane as Miguel, devoid of ideas but happy in his world where he is as much a self-appointed king as Rhodes. Sarah, the lynchpin between the two, has neither the strength nor the tools to either heal Miguel (physically and emotionally), add anything meaningful to Logan other than criticism or commit to aiding the two to escape until the choice is made for her.

These are all extremely human reactions to an outrageous scenario. The desire to fight or explain away the problem is understandable, though clearly impossible. John echoes Peter’s quasi-religious musings from Dawn but takes it a step further – it doesn’t matter how or where, the important factor is that by sticking around they are under “a great big, fourteen mile tombstone”. Day of the Dead is unremittingly grim (especially compared to the same years Return of the Living Dead), the level of swearing actually being as shocking as the gore, which is quite an achievement, though it’s difficult to believe anyone would logically behave with decorum in such a situation. The confines of the bunker accentuate this to almost unbearable levels, the wider scope of Land of the Dead and its overplayed morals and posturing proving that in this instance, less was actually more.

The film’s score is the work of John Harrison, also known for his scores to Creepshow and Effects, though is probably known to most fans as the zombie who receives a screwdriver to his earhole in Dawn of the Dead. Also featured are Sputzy Sparacino who is the lead singer of Modern Man and Delilah on the tracks “If Tomorrow Comes” and “The World Inside Your Eyes”, the latter closing the movie and causing a certain amount of derision amongst some, the saccharine 80’s soul being ‘unbecoming’ of a horror film. In actual fact, the pitching of an distinctly 80’s sound in a film which is Romero’s final successful social commentary, is quite appropriate – put next to his later nasty, poorly played rock music, one of his most desperate latter-career devices, it’s a Godsend. Harrison’s electronic suites are highly underrated, lengthy and complex but used in the film with great care and subtlety. He just gets away with a comedic “gonk” reference. Just…

The ultimate irony is that the film was indeed the poorest in terms of financial return, grossing $30million at the box office and didn’t even have a flag of consolation waved by many a critic at the time; Roger Ebert gave it a lowly 1½ stars, declaring,

“In the earlier films, we really identified with the small cadre of surviving humans. They were seen as positive characters, and we cared about them. This time, the humans are mostly unpleasant, violent, insane or so noble that we can predict with utter certainty that they will survive”.

Such a viewpoint is unnecessarily pompous – moaning that the characters shout a lot, rather supposes he’d expect cosy-cups-of-tea debate; that they overshadow the zombies, misunderstanding the presented view of the survivors as being a greater threat to each other as much as he said ‘he got’ the retrospectively clumsier representation of consumerism in Dawn. Day of the Dead remains one of the 80’s greatest horror films though stands as a final fanfare for Romero as a director, only 1988’s Monkey Shines offering a glimpse of a filmmaker of huge invention and skill.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

‘There is a fate worse than death!’

Night of the Living Dead is a 1990 US horror film directed by Tom Savini. It is a remake of George A. Romero’s 1968 horror film of the same name. Romero rewrote the original 1968 screenplay co-authored by John A. Russo

Following the plot of the seminal original film, Barbara (Patricia Tallman: Army of Darkness, Monkey Shines) and her annoying brother, Johnnie (Bill Mosely: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2; The Devil’s Rejects) travel by car to visit the grave of their mother. At the graveside, Johnnie’s taunts of, “They’re coming to get you, Barbara”, are interrupted by not one but two shambling corpses, a tussle between corpse and male sibling leaving Johnnie dead with a cracked skull. Barbara flees but after crashing her car, is forced to sprint to the nearest dwelling, a large, remote farmhouse.

Once there, she finds several previous occupants dead but mobile but is soon aided by another living person seeking sanctuary, Ben (Tony Todd: Candyman; Hatchet). Ben has just about kept his cool whereas Barbara is a gibbering wreck. With the house barricaded up, they are surprised to find five other survivors, Harry Cooper (Tom Towles: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer; The Borrower; ) and his wife, Helen (McKee Anderson), who, despite the racket, had opted to stay out of sight in the cellar. Also holed-up are their daughter, Sarah, who has been bitten and is out cold, plus young locals, Tom (William Butler: Friday the 13th Part VII; Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3) and Judy Rose (Katie Finneran).

None too impressed at the lack of assistance, it is soon clear that common ground will be hard to find – the Coopers are insistent on locking themselves in the cellar to wait for help to arrive, the others more keen to escape by getting the truck outside to the nearby petrol station and heading for a safer, built-up area. With Barbara, who is starting to come back to her senses, staying to guard the house, the other three set off on their quest, only for a series of mishaps to leave two dead and the chances of escape even slimmer.

Back at the farmhouse, tensions have now reached unmanageable levels, squabbles over the TV and more importantly, gun rights, leaving more injured and the walking dead outside gathering in ever-greater numbers. It becomes a clear choice or fight or flight but unlike the original film, the survivors and the resolution may come as some surprise…

Buy on DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Such was the farcical nature of Romero’s rights issues with the original masterpiece, it achieved an unwanted notoriety in the industry as a film anyone could release or lay claim to. Under these circumstances, it is understandable that Romero and many of his crew from 1968 felt compelled to throw their own hats into the ring, especially now more respectable budgets and film-making techniques were available.

With Russo out of the way, Romero was able to stay far closer to his original vision, fortunately at a time when he was still capable of being innovative and thoughtful without causing howls of derision. Savini, though fully immersed in the lore of the dead films, was a risk, given that it was his first directorial work but the remake can largely be hailed as a success, though the caveats to this would be the hindsight of truly horrendous horror remakes and how awful Romero’s own directorial additions to the saga are.

The primary differences are the semi-role reversals of Barbara and Ben, a nice enough device, though Barbara’s transformation from sobbing hysteria to crack-shot marksman and voice of society, literally overnight, is somewhat over-played and hollow. The character of Ben is more successful, less tragic than the original and slightly aloof, a pleasing antidote to the traditional saccharine Hollywood treatment which one may expect. Similarly, Cooper has far more about him and is more dis-likeable than in the ’68 version. He remains fundamentally correct in his decision to keep safe and out of sight, an always pleasing aspect of the first, though Cooper’s self-preservation here makes it more understandable that others may choose the other route. Despite an almost identical role to the original, Mosely is pretty unbearable as the unlucky Johnnie.

There are numerous nods to both the ’68 film and Dawn of the Dead; aside from on-camera appearances from original cast members such as “Chilly Billy” Cardille, again interviewing locals and the original Johnny, Russell Streiner, as the sheriff, we can see the early red neck collectives taking great pleasure in dispatching the shuffling corpses. Allegedly planned for Romero’s version, the ending shows ‘lynched’ zombies strung up in trees for the locals to abuse, a jarring image and perhaps the biggest hang-over to the initial implied criticisms of human behaviour and racism.

There are also hints at the cause of the zombies – a TV broadcast quickly dispels fears that the issue lies with chemical spills, perhaps a dig at John Russo’s work on 1985’s Return of the Living Dead, whilst a photograph of the USS Eldridge in the farmhouse hints at the possibility that the so-called Philadelphia Experiment carried out by the military, may have had some influence. The zombies themselves are superb and reason alone to give this version a chance. It is not only the make-up which elevates them to near the top of the living dead league but their individuality and costumes. The early stages of the outbreak allow for naked zombies, seen in Romero’s original but rarely otherwise, as well as junkies, children and neighbours and family members of the trapped survivors. There is a reprise of the bug-eating zombie, though this is expanded to a ghoul eating a live mouse, one of the only times any film concerning zombies has tackled the fate of other living mammals.

The electronic score by Paul McCollough works best when straying away from attempts at sustained melody and theme and instead creates oily and atmospheric musical vignettes, suggesting gloom without resorting to ham-fisted, obvious cues. The film suffered heavily at the censors, being cut to avoid an ‘X’ rating, the outtakes still not replaced but occasionally shown by Savini at horror conventions.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

‘Just when you thought it was safe down under…’

Dark Age is a 1987 Australian-made film concerning not just the battle between humans and a gigantic killer crocodile but conservationists and Aboriginal people versus the local authorities who just want the beast shot and everyone to be quiet. The film was directed by Arch Nicholson (second unit director on Razorback) and stars John Jarrett (Wolf Creek both 1 and 2), Ray Meagher (Alf in teeth-grinding soap Home and Away), Nikki Coghill and Burnham Burnham (The Marsupials: The Howling III). The stunning cinematography was provided by Andrew Lesnie who worked on all six of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films. The film is based on the novel Numunwari by Grahame Webb.

In the Northern Territory, Australia, a huge saltwater crocodile is patrolling the river system and, though held in almost God-like regard by the Native Australians, attracts less flattering comments when its journeys lead it near a remote town. More forgiving is park ranger, Steve (a youthful Jarrett), who represents the white man with a heart, determined to protect the local fauna but he finds himself fighting a losing battle as locals start to become meals for the hungry reptile. Obliged by the majority of the local populous, as well as his permanently angry boss, Rex (Meagher), to slay the beast to protect the dwindling locals as well as save their tourist industry, Steve opts for a safe middle ground, aiming to catch the crocodile and re-locate it somewhere less provocative.

Thrown into the stew are a glut of beer-swilling hunters, led by John (Max Phipps; Thirst; The Cars That Ate Paris) who, in the quest to find it, shoot any living thing in or near the water, as well as the Aboriginal people who recognise the reptile as a ‘Dreaming Crocodile’, a spirit which has existed long before Man. Less integral is Steve’s ex-girlfriend (Coghill) who returns to help in a manner not usually common in former partners.

Tensions between the gung-ho, racist, drunk poachers and the crocodile’s protectors reach fever-pitch when even more humans go missing, not least a small child. It takes the son of indigenous leader Oondabund (Burnham Burham), Adjaral (played by David Gulpill, Hollywood’s go-to Aborigine; Crocodile Dundee, The Proposition), to join forces with Steve to try for one last time to save the creature.

Australia’s fascination with its own wildlife and Man’s uneasy relationship with it can be seen in many films, from Long Weekend to Razorback and more recent efforts like Black Water. Here, the element of Native beliefs are also considered, though the monotone, pidgin soothsaying and ancient wisdom becomes rather cloying, to the extent that your sympathies are tempted to wander.

A perfect companion piece to Razorback, the film is refreshing in its treatment of the huge, scaly threat, the crocodile given no redeeming qualities as such, the scene in which is devours a small child both matter-of-fact and unnervingly realistic.

Equally eye-popping are the poachers’ culling of other reptiles, chunks of croc meat flying across the screen as their bullets hit, a surprise to those who assumed, as with most other films, the animals simply sink or gently flip over when shot. The boorish, sweating hunters are a perfect villain, their disdain for anything moving or less than 8% proof adding a certain claustrophobia to proceedings, the air of ultimate futility quite heady. The shooting locations of Alice Springs and Cairns are beautifully shot and their alien appearance, certainly lend a believability to a huge monster living in the waterways – you wouldn’t blink if a dinosaur came crashing through the undergrowth.

Though generally appearing only fleetingly, the crocodile is certainly realistic, especially as shots of the real thing are mixed into some shots. Less comfortable are some of the actors, the spirituality and violence leaving little middle ground; the hunters too obviously ‘evil’; the Aboriginal beliefs too thickly laid on; the heroic conservationist too earnest. You’re left rooting for the crocodile to eat everyone, not necessarily a failure in the film-making but presumably not the aim.

The film was denied a release in its native land for many years due to the collapse of the Australian distributor, Avco Embassy. The Australian executive producer was Antony I. Ginnane, a champion of Australian horror and genre films – of note are Patrick and Dead Kids. The American financier was RKO Pictures, one of their last projects before the company was (yet again) rejigged and sold on to new owners. The film finally received a public screening in Australia in 2011.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

Dr Satan versus Black Magic (Dr. Satan y la Magia Negra) is a 1968 Mexican horror film directed by Rogelio A. González (Ship of Monsters) and starring Joaquin Cordero (Dr Satan; The Hell of Frankenstein; The Terrible Giant of the Snow), Sonia Furió and Noe Murayama (Blue Demon Versus the Infernal Brains). The film is a sequel to Dr Satan (1966) and retains the character and actor of the titular physician but changes director and transfers from black and white to colour.

Deep in the bowels of Hell, the notorious yet suave Doctor Satan (Cordero) is being given a thorough dressing-down by his employer, Lucifer. He is given one last chance to avoid Earthly punishment by doing his master’s bidding; he must return to Earth and steal the evil sorcerer, Lei Yin’s (Murayama) secret of turning base metals into gold. Preferring action and violence to an eternity in Purgatory, the doctor accepts.

Back on the Earth’s crust we meet Lei Yin, a somewhat Fu Manchu-like character who, alongside having a brilliant scientific mind, also happens to be a vampire of the old school changing-into-a-bat variety. Yin has come into possession of ‘the Sorenson Formula’ (by virtue of murdering Doctor Sorenson), which grants him alchemy via the use of an elaborate set-up involving a large ray-gun. Like any arch-villain worth his weight in recently transformed gold, he is always accompanied by his henchpersons played by Aurora Clavel (The Wild Bunch) and Nathanael León (Hellish Spiders; Night of the Bloody Apes; many Santo films).

Meanwhile, Dr. Satan is busy interviewing young ladies in his office, the lucky candidates rewarded by being transformed into super-strong go-go zombies, doomed to do whatever the good doctor decides. In a thoughtful touch, he dubs them Medusa (Furió) and Erata (Luz Maria Aguilar) and they sleep alongside him in coffins in his crypt. Whilst Dr. Satan and his slaves attempt to track down Lei Yin, the evil mastermind is attempting to relocate to Hong Kong but is rumbled by the police; luckily for him, his able assistant uses her desk-cum-tank the riddle to interferers with bullet-holes.

An early attempt to slay Yin is foiled when the doctor realises his bullets are useless and he can only kill him via the usual stake to the heart. Now aware of his pursuers, Yin makes the first of his regular transformations into a bat, a metamorphosis which only confirms Horrorpedia’s regular assertion that the manufacture of realistic fake flying mammals will forever remain out of Man’s reach.

In true Satanik/Diabolik fashion, it now becomes a battle of wits, with the permanently fog-greeted Lin maniacally laughing, as Dr Satan and his zombladies chase him in a red sports car, eager to please Lucifer. The doctor’s quick wits shift the advantage, as do Lin’s futile attempts to suck the blood of the zombies (“Ugh, zombies! Disgusting!”) but when The Infernal One checks in, will the doctor have succeeded in sparing his own life from an eternity in limbo?

Dr. Satan was considered a strong enough character to bring back for another crack at box office success, the advent of colour giving a whole host of new opportunities to exploit one of the more bizarre genre mash-ups from Mexico. The titular character is something of a novelty in himself, following in the footsteps of the likes of Italian characters Satanik and Kriminal but with an even closer bond to evil and Hell itself. Handsome and debonair, Cordero is a difficult villain/hero to either despise or root for, a little bland in himself and only of any real interest at all due to his winsome companions. Murayama, however, clearly relishes his role, cackling and cape wafting like it’s going out of fashion, equally diabolical when in his laboratory of bubbling vials or transforming into a bat in a flash of magnesium light.

The film is of the shaky sets kind but enjoyably so, the lurid, psychedelic colours redolent of some of the more trippy of Coffin Joe’s films, whilst retaining a cartoon innocence and throw-the-kitchen-sink-at-it fireworks mentality. Somehow, the film conspires to drag its heels on occasion, the pay-off being that when the action does hit, it’s with kaleidoscopic fervor, both visually and aurally, the blips of the lab combining with berserk electronic barrages to assault the senses.

Zombies, vampires, coffins, a mad scientist and his lab, bats, a stunning appearance by the Devil himself and fatal femmes and foes, this is Mexican fantasy horror at its most enjoyable, as you’d expect from the director of the jaw-dropping Ship of Monsters.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

‘Wanna see some monsters? Grab a shovel.’

Digging Up the Marrow is a 2014 film written, directed, executive produced by, and starring Adam Green (Hatchet trilogy; Frozen) as himself along with his friends playing themselves: Will Barratt, Rileah Vanderbilt, Josh Ethier, actor Kane Hodder (former Jason Vorhees), director Tom Holland (Fright Night; Child’s Play), Mick Garris (Critters 2; The Stand), Sarah Elbert, Steve Agee, director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm films; John Dies At the End), Evan Dickson, Corri English. Ray Wise (Jeepers Creepers II) appears as William Dekker.

The film is described as a documentary about “monster art” that Green has made in collaboration with popular urban artist Alex Pardee.

On August 23, 2014, Digging Up the Marrow had its world premiere at Film 4 FrightFest in London. Green presented the film in a shroud of mystery with no screener copies, trailers, clips, or stills from the film available beforehand. While audiences and critics have so far honored the filmmaker’s requests to not spoil even the smallest of details about the film on-line, the response to the screening on Twitter by audience members was overwhelming ecstatic and just two days later Green announced on his blog that the film had officially sold for North American and UK theatrical distribution.

Details of this ArieScope Pictures production 2015 release are forthcoming…

Plot teaser:

When filmmaker Adam Green receives a package in his fan mail from a strange man claiming that he can prove that monsters indeed exist, he and his crew are taken on a mysterious, fantastical, and terrifying journey into the shadows and deep down under the ground below our very feet…

IMDb

Toho’s Godzilla: Final Wars

The worldwide success of Gareth Edwards’ 2014 version of Godzilla (box office takings of $524,976,069) has led Toho to announce a new Japanese entry in their own franchise. At a press conference yesterday, Mr. Ueda [Taiji, Project Leader for Toho] said:

“With the success of the Hollywood version of Godzilla, we decided on a new [domestic] production. The screenplay is currently in development and we plan to start shooting next summer. We cannot announce cast or staff selections at this time. And we’re still deliberating whether to bring Godzilla to life via CGI or man-in-suit. This resurrection will be the centerpiece for ’16, and this is the force of our words.”

WH

Tahkhana (तहखाना “Dungeon”) is a 1986 Bollywood Indian horror film directed by Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay (Darwaza). It is a tale about two sisters separated at birth and the search for a hidden treasure which is guarded in a dungeon by a bloodthirsty monster.

It stars Hemant Birje, Arati Gupta and Kamran Rizvi, Narendranath, Puneet Issar Imtiaz Khan, Sheetal, Priti Sapru, Trilok Kapoor, Amarnath Chatterji, Huma Khan, Rajindernath and Shamsuddin. The soundtrack music was composed by Ajit Singh with songs sung by Amit Kumar, Anuradha Paudwal and Sushma Shreshtha.

Plot teaser:

Dying Thakur Surjeet Singh bequeaths his entire estate to his son, Raghuvir, disowning the other, Dhurjan, the family’s black sheep, who also indulges in black magic. The latter swears to use magical powers to usurp the estate, and even arranges the abduction of Raghuvir’s daughters, Sapna and Aarti. Mangal and his men manage to apprehend Dhurjan, imprison him in a dungeon, and rescue Aarti.

However, they are unable to locate Sapna, and Raghuvir is killed. Before dying, he informs Mangal that Sapna has one of two pieces of a locket around her neck, while the other is on Aarti’s, and when joined together will reveal the location of treasure buried in a dungeon.

Twenty years later, Aarti and her boyfriend, Vijay, along with several others, attempt to unearth the treasure – not realising that they not only face betrayal from one of their own, but will also release and fall prey to an ageless and indestructible entity…

Buy Tahkhana + Mahakaal on Mondo Macabro DVD from Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Yeah, the monster looks like a busty Howard Stern with a skin condition and the obligatory comedic sketches are jarringly incongruous, but there is a lot of fun to be had with this picture.

The sets and cinematography are sensational, the music and acting are gleefully camp, the direction is quietly effective and the filmmakers don’t hesitate to knock off main characters with unexpected relish. If you are looking to expand your horror-fiend horizons or if you like a dose of levity with your fright-films, Tahkhana will not disappoint.” Terror Transmission

“A monster movie at its heart, the film wastes little time with unnecessary comedic relief, relying instead on action, thrills and a couple of prerequisite musical numbers to flesh out a familiar story that, at the time, Indian audiences could not get enough of. While rather straightforward in its delivery, there are thankfully plenty of “what the?” moments for those looking for something out of the ordinary to enjoy…” Jason McElreath, DVD Drive-In

“As slow as the monster may stalk, the pace of Tahkhana moves rather quickly, a stark contrast to many of its ilk. Sure, there’s some inconsequential padding tossed into the mix, but it’s almost always amusing, thanks to a cast of characters that are diverse and interesting. It’s also worth noting that the majority of the comedy present actually hits home; that isn’t to say it isn’t goofy and inappropriate as all hell though.” KamuiX, Infini-Tropolis

“Given the nature of Tahkhana’s Big Bad, the whole film feels more like an adventure movie with an added monster than the sort of silly yet loveable and enthusiastic scream fest I by now expect of a Ramsay film. That’s not to say Tahkhana is a bad film; it is entertaining enough. I just don’t think it shows the Ramsay Brothers at their best.” The Horror!?

Indian horror on Horrorpedia: 1920 | 1920: Evil Returns | Aatank | Aatma (2006) | Agyaat | Bandh Darwaza | Bach ke Zara | Bees Saal Baad | Bhoot Returns | Cape Karma | Dahshat | Darling | Darwaza (1978) | Dracula 2012 | Ek Thi Daayan | Horror Story | Khooni Panja | Mallika | Phoonk | Pizza | Purana Mandir | Purani Haveli | Qatil Chudail | Ragini MMS | Tahkhana | Veerana (1988)

Wikipedia | IMDb

Monsters Crash the Pajama Party is a short 1965 US horror movie co-written, produced and directed by David L. Hewitt (Gallery of Horror; The Mighty Gorga). It stars Vic McGee (The Wizard of Mars), James Reason, Clara Nadel, Pauline Hillkurt.

During its original theatrical release, actors would venture out into the seats in costumes as though they were the monsters coming out of the movie screen, similar to The Tingler.

Monsters Crash the Pajama Party was released on DVD by Something Weird Video in September of 2007. The DVD was positively received due to its visually-interesting cover, extensive menus, and abundance of short horror films and clips.

Buy Monsters Crash the Pajama Party + Asylum of the Insane from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Plot teaser:

A group of teenage girls spends the night in an old dark mansion as an initiation into a college sorority. The girls all agree to the initiation due to them all not believing in ghosts. Their boyfriends begin to play spooky pranks on them with store-bought masks, which fails to frighten the girls since they had been expecting these pranks.

However, unbeknownst to the teenagers, the building is actually the headquarters for a mad scientist and his hunchbacked assistant, who are experimenting with turning humans into gorillas. The mad doctor abducts the girls, who are later rescued by the boys. The boyfriends then fight off the doctor’s henchmen, a gorilla, a werewolf, and a creature of some sort. Incensed by his monsters’ failure to re-capture any of the girls, he instructs them to blast a hole through the movie screen with a laser gun and venture out into the audience!

It is at this point during the original theatrical run of the film that actors dressed as the monsters from the movie would wander about the theatre seats to scare people, however lightly. The actors often wanted to seem comically spooky rather than actually scary.

Related: Ghost in the Invisible Bikini

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Throwing L.A. back to the stone ages.’

Jurassic City is a 2014 US science fiction action horror movie written and directed by Sean Cain (Silent Night, Zombie Knight; Sand Sharks; Rise of the Dinosaurs) and produced by Anthony Fankhauser. It stars Ray Wise (Jeepers Creepers 2; Infestation; Big Ass Spider!), Kevin Gage (Amusement; Fear City), Dana Melanie (Treehouse), Kayla Carlyle (Rosario to Vampire; From the Dark), Vernon Wells (The Dead Undead; Cowboys vs. Dinosaurs; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Sofia Mattsson, Vanessa Johnston, Jack Forcinito, Kelcey Watson, Robert Lsardo.

Plot teaser:

When a top-secret laboratory is unexpectedly breached, thousands of rampaging raptors are unleashed on Los Angeles. A black-ops unit is mobilized to contain the creatures before they cause city-wide chaos. Simultaneously, a truckload of raptors is rerouted to a nearby prison. Upon their escape, these ferocious flesh-eaters are beyond containment…

IMDb | Facebook

‘Blood-hungry spawn of the world’s most bestial fiend!’

Daughter of Dr. Jekyll is a 1957 American horror film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer (The Black Cat; The Strange Woman; The Man from Planet X) from a screenplay by producer Jack Pollexfen (The Neanderthal Man; Captive Women; The Man from Planet X).

The film stars Gloria Talbott (The Cyclops; I Married a Monster from Outer Space; The Leech Woman), John Agar (Tarantula; The Brain from Planet Arous; Zontar: The Thing from Venus), Arthur Shields, John Dierkes and Martha Wentworth.

In the US, it was released by Allied Artists as a double-bill with Bert I. Gordon’s The Cyclops.

Plot teaser:

It features Gloria Talbott as Janet, the daughter of the infamous Dr. Henry Jekyll, and John Agar as her fiancée. Janet learns that she may have inherited her father’s condition, and she begin to believe she may be guilty of murder when people are found horribly killed. However, all is not what it seems…

Reviews:

” …the film succeeds with eerie music and gloomy atmosphere, particularly in the dream sequences. It’s much better than Columbia’s boring Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951) in that we actually get to see a monster running around.” Joe Lozowsky, DVD Drive-In

“Ulmer has no patience for the niceties of smooth plotting or transitions; he’s only got a little over an hour to tell this story, and he seems determined to milk it for all the potent imagery it can yield, even if it means giving in to incoherence and silliness from time to time. The film’s finest scene comes towards the end, during the monster’s last nighttime raid, as it pauses to peer into a window at a sexy young woman changing into raunchy black lingerie. It’s an unashamedly exploitative moment, one that’s completely out of tune with the rest of the movie…” Only the Cinema

“Talbott is perfect in the role as she exudes that innocent and demure quality needed, and that wild-eyed wonderment at each revelation that is proffered to her.  And while the actress is a great fit for the film, sometimes the script works against her a little as she is perhaps a little too accepting of each and every situation she is made aware of.” The Tell-Tale Mind

“Shortcomings aside, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll is an engaging, entertaining, and atmospheric job from a masterful director. Ulmer transformed a miniscule budget and an indifferent script into an exercise that retains a thrall of unease.” Jay Alan Henderson, Forgotten Horrors, Vol.6: Up from the Depths

Buy Forgotten Horrors Vol. 6 from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Cast:

• Gloria Talbott as Janet Smith
• John Agar as George Hastings
• Arthur Shields as Dr. Lomas
• John Dierkes as Jacob
• Molly McCart as Maid Maggie
• Martha Wentworth as Mrs. Merchant
• Marjorie Stapp as Woman Getting Dressed
• Reita Green as Young Woman
• Marel Page as Young Man

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credits: Wrong Side of the Art!

Dark Haul aka Monster Truck is a 2014 American made-for-TV horror film directed by Daniel Wise from a screenplay by Ben Crane for Synthetic Cinema International (Remains; Deep in the Darkness; Chilling Visions: 5 States of Fear).

The film stars Tom Sizemore, Evalena Marie, Rick Ravanello.

Official plot teaser:

The meaning of cryptic prophesy splits apart a team of secretive guardians as they transport by 18-wheeler truck, a deadly creature and it’s half-human sister from their now ineffective holding place to a more secure location. The sister’s hidden agenda undermines the mission releasing the beast and they end up battling for the fate of the world when the true meaning of the prophesy is discovered…

Buy Dark Haul on Blu-ray from Amazon.com

IMDb

Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters – original title: Santo y Blue Demon contra los Monstruos – is a 1969 Mexican action horror movie directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares from a screenplay by Rafael García Travesi and Jesús Sotomayor Martínez for Sotomayor productions.

The film stars masked wrestlers Santo and Blue Demon, plus Jorge Rado, Carlos Ancira, Raúl Martínez Solares, Hedi Blue, Vicente Lara, Manuel Leal, Gerardo Zepeda, David Alvizu, Fernando Rosales.

Plot teaser:

To foil his plan for world domination, wrestling superheroes Santo and Blue Demon battle the mad Dr. Halder and his army of reanimated monsters: The Vampire, The Female Vampire, Franquestain, The Cyclops, The Wolfman, The Mummy and zombie thugs…

Reviews:

” …probably the grooviest of the bunch. A mad doctor revives a ton of horror movie monsters (wait, so they’re monsters AND undead?) and brainwashes them to do his bidding. There’s a spanking good sequence at the start of the flick that introduces each monster, one by one …

If you’re a fan of B-movie grandeur, do yourself a favor and check this bad boy out.” Analog Medium

“Despite the budget woes and quality issues, Santo and Blue Demon vs the Monsters still ends up being a fun flick, and is among the Santo films you should see first just to get your toes wet.

If you can handle Santo and Blue Demon punching their way through a castle filled with people in bad masks, you are ready to expand your journey.” TarsTarkas.net

“Still, despite all obstacles, Santo y Blue Demon contra los Monstruos staunchly resists the temptation to laugh at itself, and that is what really sells it. One wink, one moment of intentional camp, and it would have become unbearable, but, instead, every actor who looked upon those pitifully ridiculous monsters reacted to them as if they were the gravest threat ever faced by mankind. And bless them for it.” Teleport City

IMDb | Visit Teleport City for a detailed review and more images | Related: The Ship of Monsters

‘They’ll get you in the end!’

Ghoulies is a 1984 US comedy horror movie. It was to be directed by Charles Band, with special effects by Stan Winston (the two had previously collaborated on Parasite) but ended up being directed by Luca Bercovici with special effects by John Carl Buechler and his company Mechanical and Makeup Imageries Inc. It was released theatrically by Empire Pictures in March 1985 and was a surprise success on home video thus spawning three sequels. The film’s original title was Beasties.

The film stars Peter Liapis (The Stepdaughter), Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance, Scott Thomson, RalphSeymour, Mariska Hargitay. Bobbie Bresee (Mausoleum; Evil Spawn) has a minor role as a temptress.

Buy Ghoulies + Ghoulies II on Blu-ray from Amazon.com

Reviews:

You’d think that by saving their appearance for the 3rd act that they’d go all out, but instead we get one attack by a clown doll of some sort (with a Ghoulie inside it), a couple of dwarfs, and even a full grown woman with a giant tongue, who turns out to be the real (hey wait a minute, did Dream Warriors actually rip this movie off?). Said villain is actually our hero’s father, who tries to kiss his son for some reason I wasn’t interested in exploring. Even when it seems like they’re about to do something cool, they don’t – there’s a scene where everyone has gathered for a dinner party, and the Ghoulies are actually SITTING ON THE TABLE, but no-one notices them, because they all have sunglasses on.” Horror Movie a Day

“The script for Ghoulies, written by Luca Bercovici and Jefery Levy, does contain a few instances of cleverness (it’s brimming with movie references, from Rosemary’s Baby to The Ten Commandments), but there’s just not enough here to warrant a recommendation. How this managed to spawn three sequels is beyond me, though the ghoulies themselves are enjoyably campy.” Reel Film Reviews

“The set design is wonderful, with the Graves Estate looking suitably overgrown and creepy, but with a refreshing Beverly Hills feel that sets it apart from your average Scooby Doo haunted house. There aren’t a lot of stand-out kills to comment on, but the bit with the clown doll is definitely one of the coolest sequences in the film.” Adventures in Poor Taste

IMDb

‘Piece by bloody piece… he built a nightmare!’

Dr. Frankenstein’s Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead is a 2013 US comedy horror movie produced and directed by Richard Griffin (Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon; Atomic Brain Invasion; The Disco Exorcist) from a screenplay he co-wrote with Seth Chitwood.

The film stars Michael Thurber, Jamie Lyn Bagley, Samantha Acampora, Andre Boudreau, Sean Carufel, Alex DiVincenzo, Jesse Dufault, Christopher L. Ferreira, Aurora Grabill, Ryan Hanley, Shannon Hartman, Patrick Keeffe, David Langill,Beatriz Lopez, Jamie Lyn Bagley.

The film is unleashed on DVD in the US courtesy of Wild Eye Releasing DVD on March 24, 2015 as Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead.

Plot teaser:

A group of high-schoolers on a class trip to a wax museum become the latest victims of the evil doctor Charles Frank, who is attempting to create the perfect human being from the reanimated parts of previous unlucky patrons – reanimating an army of undead mistakes and experiments as the teens try to survive the night.

Buy on DVD from Amazon.com

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‘The mammoth monster that terrified the Earth! Too awesome to describe! Too terrifying to escape! Too powerful to stop!’

Monster from Green Hell is a 1957 science fiction horror film directed by Kenneth G. Crane (The Revenge of Dr. X) from a screenplay by Endre Bohem and Louis Vittes. It was produced by Al Zimbalist (Robot Monster; King Dinosaur; Cat Women of the Moon). The film’s strident score was provided by Albert Glasser (The Amazing Colossal Man; Earth vs. The Spider; Tormented).

Plot teaser:

In preparation for sending a manned rocket into space, American scientists Dr. Quent Brady and Dan Morgan are put in charge of a program that sends various animals and insects into orbit to test their survival rates. After one of their rockets carrying wasps malfunctions and goes off course, a computer calculates that the rocket is likely to land somewhere off the coast of Africa.

Some time later, in Africa, Dr. Lorentz and his daughter Lorna perform an autopsy on a native and determine that he died of paralysis of the nerve centers caused by an injection of a massive amount of venom. Arobi, Lorentz’ African assistant, then informs him that a monster is believed to be terrorising people and animals in an area known as Green Hell.

Several months later, Brady reads a newspaper account of turmoil in Central Africa caused by gigantic monsters and surmises that the wasps in the missing rocket were exposed to huge amounts of cosmic radiation because an earlier, minimal overexposure had resulted in the birth of a spider crab twice the size of its mother. Brady and Morgan request a leave of absence from Washington and head for Africa to investigate…

Reviews:

‘You might think it impossible to make a mostly boring film about giant, radioactive wasps, especially when the giant, radioactive wasps look like the ones in Monster from Green Hell. These are some of the most comprehensively failed atomic bugs in the business, making even Roger Corman’s notorious Crab Monsters look good by comparison. The stop-motion models used for those scenes in which we get to see a wasp’s entire body are reasonably detailed and fairly well animated, but the fact is that they look nothing on Earth like wasps.’ 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

‘Crane’s monstrous film incorporates ingenious trick photography, model work and stop-motion animation, as well as extensive footage culled from the 1939 Spencer Tracy picture Stanley and Livingstone. The result is not so much a movie as a patchwork.’ Time Out

‘The script calls for a socko conclusion with a hive of wasps on the rampage. Money and time must have plain run out, for we see only a couple of angles with more than one insect. Instead of a real sequence, editor/director Crane can only come up with a meaningless, freeform dissolve montage. Every effect shot we’ve seen before is double-exposed with lava flows and boiling magma, and intercut with some of the dullest ‘observers’ I’ve ever seen. Bad movie, + bad effects, = dissatisfaction.’ Glenn Erickson, DVD Talk

‘Dialogue is so dull and stupid that you have almost no choice but to laugh. “Instinctively I knew something was going to happen,” the hero solemnly tells us; “the only trouble was, I didn’t know what.” … Adolescent kids in the 50s must have felt pretty disappointed, heading to theatres to see giant insects but forced to watch people tramping through African brushlands looking for water.’ David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘See natives eaten alive by giant vultures!’

Beast of Blood – aka Blood Devils – is a 1971 Filipino horror film directed by Eddie Romero (Brides of Blood). It stars John Ashley (Beast of the Yellow Night), Celeste Yarnall and Eddie Garcia. It is a sequel to The Mad Doctor of Blood Island.

Plot teaser:

A ship carrying Dr.Bill Foster (John Ashley), Sheila Willard, her father and Carlos Lopez explodes and sinks after Don Ramon is found on board and goes on a rampage. Don Ramon washes up on Blood Island and heads to the jungle. Dr. Foster was the only other survivor and after a few months heads back to the island on another ship. On board is reporter Myra Russell (Celeste Yarnall) who is looking for the story about the explosion.

When Foster and Russell arrive on the island they find the natives in a state of fear saying the old Lopez mansion is cursed. With the village head man Ramu (Alfonso Carvajal) and the ship’s Captain (Beverly Miller), they search the house and find Razak (Bruno Punzalan) alive. The green men return and after a fight, Myra is captured and taken to Dr.Lorca (Eddie Garcia) who is alive but horribly scarred.

Dr. Foster and Laida (Liza Belmonte) search the mountains and find Dr.Lorca’s headquarters. Laida goes back to the village for help and Lorca shows Foster his latest experiments. He has removed Don Ramon’s head and has attached it to machines while the body remains strapped to a table. Lorca knows the head can speak but it won’t.

The Captain, Laida and Ramu lead an attack on Lorca’s headquarters and fight his men. Laida finds her father who shows signs of the chlorophyll effects and rescues him. Foster shoots Razak and Don Ramon’s head controls his body and has it attack Dr. Lorca and apparently Lorca is killed by the monster. Lorca’s lab explodes killing all inside and Foster and the group leave with a box of Lorca’s papers…

Buy Beast of Blood on DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

‘The film does eventually develop an entertaining level of gore-letting – seeing various members of the party gorily impaled in spiked ambush pits or bullet wounds gushing great jets of blood. The makeup on the disembodied head also looks particularly gruesome. The film climaxes on the good old Filipino exploitation movie action standard of the armed insurgency against the jungle encampment, which involves numerous extras being shot and blown up with great gusto.’ Moria

‘Despite some memorable horror moments, most of this movie is a tedious jungle adventure consisting of good guys and bad guys walking around in a jungle and shooting at each other. It is effective enough dishing out the grue, with the mad doctor keeping the monster’s head alive and separated from his body (why? It’s never explained), and some nasty operation scenes.’ Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

‘The first and last five minutes of the movie are easily the best, but everything in the middle is pretty much a mess.  Garcia must have been so busy in front of the camera that he forgot about what worked in Mad Doctor of Blood Island.  While he handles the horror scenes nicely, anything that doesn’t revolve around the decaying headless zombie is S-L-O-O-O-W.’ The Video Vacuum

Buy Blood Island Vacation on DVD from Amazon.com

IMDb | Wikipedia

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‘You’ll scream yourself into a state of shock when you see-‘

Horror of the Blood Monsters is a 1970 US science fiction-horror movie produced and directed by Al Adamson (Dracula vs. Frankenstein; Brain of Blood; Nurse Sherri). It stars John Carradine, Robert Dix (Las Vegas Strangler; Blood of Dracula’s Castle), Vicki Volante (Brain of Blood), Joey Benson (Gallery of Horror), Jennifer Bishop (Bigfoot; House of Terror; Impulse), Bruce Powers, Fred Meyers, Britt Semand.

The film’s caveman footage was derived from a 1965 Filippino movie – Tagani – then even older stock footage clips of various screen monsters were added. As these clips were in black and white they were tinted various colours using a phoney gimmick named ‘Spectrum X’. The film has also been released as Space Mission to the Lost Planet; Vampire Men of the Lost Planet and The Flesh Creatures.

Plot teaser:

In the near future, when an intergalactic vampire plague threatens Earth, an expedition travels a distant galaxy in hopes of discovering the plague’s source…

Buy on DVD from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

‘Adamson’s technique of combining a bunch of footage with an over-use of color filters was condescending to the audience at best, and downright criminally stupid at its worst. The idiocy of the plot is so mind-numbing that I still could not explain to you what the film was about.  There were giant mutant crabs, space vampires, something which looked suspiciously like part of a Dokken music video, and a John Carradine either hard-up for cash or–more likely–kidnapped for the role.’ Cheap as They Come

‘The Filipino-shot scenes are actually quite impressive and deal with a number of battling caveman tribes (some which are dubbed by Paul Frees!), including long-toothed vampires, bat demons that fly (heavily made-up dwarves on wires), lobster men that live in the water, and a race of snake-men (well, men with small snakes coming out of their shoulders — kill the snake, and you kill the man) … Overall, the result of the patchwork is an eccentric piece of B-movie cinema, and it’s easy to see why this is one of Adamson’s most popular films.’ DVD Drive-In

Buy Schock-O-Rama book from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

‘The bulk of the planetary scenes are taken up between battles between the peaceful Tagani and the brutish Tubeton (who have fangs – the nearest we get to any actual vampires). These contain some bizarrely entertaining scenes – like where the people are attacked by crab men (extras with pincer appliances on their hands) and a cave full of hairy winged bat creatures that are played by dwarves.’ Moria

‘Oh this is poor… I mean really, really poor. The cut and paste makes little sense and doesn’t work storywise. One can’t even say it is art, simply butchery. The cast are uniformly poor, with the exception of Vicki Volante who is masterful in her ability to count backwards! Poor old John Carradine seems, in turns, bemused and annoyed by the whole thing.’ Taliesen Meets the Vampires

IMDb | Image credits: GregKriegar.com | Scenes from the Morgue | Wrong Side of the Art!

WH

Gremlins is a forthcoming American comedy horror Warner Bros remake of the original 1984 hit that is currently back in development after a long period of gestation. No director has been assigned to the project – although fans will probably still hope that Joe Dante will make a return.

The writer of the original, Christopher Columbus, is producing and Carl Ellsworth (Disturbia, The Last House on the Left remake, Goosebumps) has recently been announced as handling the screenplay. Steven Spielberg is executive producing.

Updates to follow…

Buy The Goonies + Gremlins + Gremlins 2 on Blu-ray from Amazon.com 

 From the Dark is a 2014 Irish horror film directed by Conor McMahon (Stitches). It stars Niamh Algar, Stephen Cromwell, Ged Murray, and Gerry O’Brian.

Plot teaser:

A couple on a trip through the Irish countryside find themselves hunted by a creature who only attacks at night…

Reviews:

‘From the Dark is a taut, coiled piece of dread-infused cinema that may not rewrite the book on creature horror, but absolutely delivers everything one could hope for from a fresh entry in that subgenre.’ Fangoria

‘Familiar territory, admittedly, but it’s still edge-of-the-seat exciting, visceral and at times uncomfortably tense. Where Stitches had its tongue firmly in its cheek, From the Dark is determinedly no laughing matter and it’s all the better for its uncompromising, gritty bleakness and refreshing simplicity. It’s a little gem well worth keeping an eye out for.’ Starburst

‘It’s an accessible monster movie for mainstream audiences, which translates into redundant normalcy for hardcore horror fans. Unfortunately, you’re probably better left in the dark on this one, no matter how dangerous the shadows are perceived to be.” We Got This Covered

‘McMahon directs with a real confidence and in his writing he displays a true understanding of drama, as well as what genre fan boys and girls will demand from the experience … It’s a very accomplished piece of cinema and the setting of the Irish peat farm means that From the Dark lends the vampire sub-genre something we haven’t seen before; and the stripped down cast of just two young people in peril is stretched fully without any filler.’ Stuart Wright, Nerdly

IMDb

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