Charles W Jones, Author - Blog

Is The Crimson Cult ( 1968 ) a BDSM movie? Exploitation? Sadly, it’s not either. It’s a strange mystery, I guess, but it’s not horror, and barely horror-lite. Altar is the British name for the film. It stars Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Mark Eden, and Virginia Wetherell, and it was distributed by American International Pictures. This is another film that received a new title when it arrived in the USA: The Crimson Cult. It was based on the short story The Dreams in the Witch House by H. P. Lovecraft. Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s like Boris Karloff is going to pop up at any moment. Robert Manning The few glimpses of men in S&M gear isn’t enough, nor is Karloff’s extraordinary performance pushing to make this movie any better, though, unfortunately, he couldn’t even save it. The set is beautiful, a standard of AIP, but, again, when it’s a flop you can throw anything at it and it’s not going to change the pig wearing lipstick. I agree with The Monthly Film Bulletin (36 (42...

Twice-Told Tales ( 1963 ) is based on three of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s stories. Based on the film, I’m surprised that American International Pictures wasn’t involved, but it was United Artists. While it carries the name of his anthology of the same name, only Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is from the anthology. Vincent Price takes the lead in all three of the adaptation. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is the first adaptation, it’s sort of a fountain of youth sort of story. As with anything, be careful of what you wish for, you might just get it. This story is strange and has moments that are fucking ridiculous. I liked the age transformation effect they used in both reverse and forward. The acting and sets are what I expect from AIP, which this is not. Next up is Rappaccini’s Daughter. For me it has strange nuances of Romeo and Juliet misted with the Midas Touch, and add a dash of Beauty and the Beast. The poisonous tree is very strange looking and is completely out...

Witchfinder General ( 1968 ) (aka The Conqueror Worm) is a collaboration between Tigon British Film Productions and American International Pictures. For the American release, AIP changed the name to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Conqueror Worm to link to other Corman/Poe movies they created. I’m not sure how brilliant that was since this has nothing to do with any of Poe’s stories and is based on Ronald Bassett’s historical fiction novel Witchfinder General. The Witch Trials have never made sense to me. How does it make sense that they are a witch if they can swim or float? A lot of people can do these things. So then if they survived, they were hung. OK. So if they were a witch, then couldn’t they get out of the noose? Thank the celluloid gods that Monty Python went after this. For the most part, Witchfinder General is boring, which is unexpected for AIP (maybe, that’s why they changed the name to add a little excitement). It’s more of a dark romance than horror or even thriller. Matthew...

Blood Bath ( 1966 ) – after seeing it again, I don’t get the name, but whatever – is from American International Pictures, and is a total B Movie. It’s artsy like The Cabinet of Caligari (1962) or Carnival of Souls (1962) featuring a beatnik art scene. A very young and svelte Sid Haig plays Abdul the Arab (sometimes character names blow me away, especially from this era) I wish he’d been in more scenes. Speaking of scenes, this movie has some weird ones that didn’t seem to fit together. Well, there’s a good reason, this movie was clipped together from a few AIP features that weren’t going to see the light of day…or night. This also makes the story a bit disjointed. The camera angles and amazing screams make up for the cut and paste movie failing transitions. There’s one scene that I found breathtakingly beautiful, and I’m not sure if it was intended for me to take it that way. I don’t even know if anyone else found Sordi running on the beach with the crazed woman chasing him amazing or...

Spirits of the Dead ( 1968 ) is a strange anthology film containing three Poe stories. While American International Pictures didn’t produce this film, they distributed the English version; I watched the French/Italian version. It’s strange that not all the voices can be heard as they are erased from the soundtrack. I wonder if it’s the same in the English version. The “Metzengerstein” segment is about a young heiress who is into orgies and other wild acts. The costuming and sets are well imagined. This story is just strange, being French or not. I think if I’d seen the English version, I’d have thought the same. I don’t recall reading this poem as maybe if I had, I would have better insight on it. However, as they displayed it in this anthology, I’m not a fan. Next is the “William Wilson” segment and is the tale of a man who has a doppelgänger; well, another young man has the same name, but they don’t look the same. In one scene, I’m convinced that the cadaver wa...

At the beginning of Journey to the Seventh Planet ( 1962 ), the narrator paints a story of the future, this is an excerpt. “The year is 2001. Life is changed now. The planet Earth is no longer racked by wars and threats of annihilation. Man has learned to live with himself.” I wish we would’ve hit that expectation, I guess we still have time. Paradise Uranus – complete with rats, several Eves, and even our apples. Journey to the Seventh Planet is an American International Pictures film, which is obvious with the styling, the thing that amazes me is that they did this with a budget of $75k. One of the things I love about AIP is their ingenuity and recycling of sets and props. The effects are cool and trippy in this one, too, and they even use stop-motion animation; love it. I started laughing every time they said Ur-ah-nus. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it pronounced that way before—obviously, Ur-anus or Ur-an-us—and everyone was very thoughtful about making sure that they said it ...

I like men who look urgent. Woman At Party X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes ( 1963 ) is a movie I’ve wanted to see again for the longest time. Roger Corman Directed and Produced this American International Pictures masterpiece with Les Baxter, adding his musical genius to the score. While the horror/terror level of this film isn’t very high, it’s almost non-existent, but that is made up for with the trippy special effects and bizarre storyline. It seems like a good idea, to see into a patient to make a diagnosis, saving the expenses of other tests and procedures. But what do you do with the rest of your gazes after you’ve used the eye drops? I have an idea, and they do touch on it with the party scene, but how far would it go? Would you be able to see through clothes when you want, but through the skin when needed? A few scenes stuck in my brain. The first is after Xavier shows Diane what happens to a monkey that he gave the eye drops to; he gives her a cigarette, and she says thanks and...

It always amazes me how many movies have different names in different parts of the world; it seems like it’d be so confusing for the producers and more expensive to have two. Today, I’m talking about one of those movies The City of the Dead (UK)/Horror Hotel (US) ( 1960 ). After seeing this film, I have to say the US name makes no sense. The back story is the beginning of the movie, so there’s no question of what’s happening and why. I’m not saying this was a bad thing, the movie is downright creepy, and this helps set the tone. Nan Barlow, a student, decides to visit Whitewood to research witchcraft, her brother, Dick Barlow thinks it’s all a sham and has an argument with Alan Driscoll, history professor, about it. I love the ease she has picking up a creepy dude from the side of the road. The amount of fog in Whitewood is almost comical and random people are walking around the downtown area. Some of the sets I recognize from other movies of the time, but that always makes it fun to ...

I find it surprising that Diary of a Madman ( 1963 ) isn’t an American International Pictures film, the style is very similar, but it does star Vincent Price. This film is based on Guy de Maupassant’s short stories Le Horla and Un fou. It was also advertised as “The most terrifying motion picture ever created!” I’ve not read either story, so I couldn’t tell you if it got lost in translation or not. It’s one of those movies that starts with the ending, at a funeral, and then we get to learn what happened to Magistrate Simon Cordier through the reading of his diary. As the events unwind, I wonder when the terrifying is going to start. The brief, but effective “stabby-stabbby” scene is super dramatic and intense. I love Odette’s reaction to being stabbed, it’s quite amazing. The effects are minimal, too. When the “horla” possesses Cordier, a strange cyan stripe of light covers his eyes. The camp/cheese level is barely existent; I expect it to be high when Vincent Price is involved. I...

In Queen of Blood ( 1966 ) American International Pictures gives a strange futuristic world set in 1991 where we have the International Institute of Space Technology on the Moon, and we travel to Mars-like it’s no big deal. The Science Fiction aspects of the film remind of the original Star Trek TV series with echoing squeals and beeps for sound effects. Of course, that was typical of the time as were the visual string effects. The horror bits are strange but effective. I was taken aback that the Queen was painted green while the others on her spaceship were not. Maybe, where they came from people of power were green-skinned. I read a little about Queen of Blood to discover that Director Curtis Harrington felt that Ridley Scott took inspiration from his film when he created Alien (1979). Maybe, if you squint you can see the similarities in the blur; the eggs aren’t similar, the setting might be the only thing that I can see. It could be me. Who knows? There so many good things about th...

I can’t think of anyone that doesn’t know about this movie, even the youngsters that I work with. The Birds is one of the most iconic movies ever made, and the perfect fit for the 22nd day of 30 Days of Terror . Yes, of course, bandages! It’s terrible! Lydia Brenner Alfred Hitchcock has always had a way of pulling me into his productions from TV shows to movies, and The Birds ( 1963 ) is one that engulfs me with a strange sort of terror that nothing else created has ever done. As I see it again, (and this happens every time) I forget that the first hour is like a 60s romance, but that’s OK because I like Melanie (Tippi Hedren) and Mitch (Rod Taylor) as they flirt and tease the other. The truth is that Melanie is a stalker, while maybe not malicious, a stalker nonetheless. Who else finds out where a man lives and where he stays on the weekends to give his sister a gift? On top of that, she’s doing it out of revenge for him humiliating her. How can I not give The Birds 5...

Horror Comedy can either be good or bad, for the 16th day of 30 Days of Terror , I chose to talk about a classic, produced by American International Pictures and filled with a star-studded cast. For whatever reason American International Pictures designated The Comedy of Terrors (1963) as horror comedy. I didn’t find any scary moments in this film at all. Comedy? Yes. Strange? Oh, yes. I won’t hold it against them, because this movie is fantastic. Did I mention Les Baxter did the score? The cast is phenomenal. Not only do we get Vincent Price as Waldo Trumball, Peter Lorre is his sidekick, Felix Gillie. Their slap-stick antics are bizarre to watch, though quite entertaining. It’s nice to see actors do things they normally wouldn’t do. My favorite in this film is Rhubarb the cat playing Cleopatra the cat; do not skip the ending credits of this film you’ll miss her acting prowess. I’m used to seeing Basil Rathbone in the serious role of Sherlock Holmes, and it’s delightful to see him in...

For day 8 of 30 Days of Terror , I thought it’d be fun to have something more thrilling than horrifying, so Dementia 13 came to mind. The 60s had some of the best experimental thrills, and this is a great example. Dementia 13 ( 1963 ) is another American International Pictures great, directed and written by Francis Ford Coppola, and I’m thinking was trashed when it was remade in 2017; I have no desire to see the remake. This thrilling example of modern Gothic has great twists that kept me guessing whodunit. The strange level in this film is off the charts with the corpse in different places around the estate and the mad axeman killing after someone had seen the body. The edginess wasn’t as sharp as it could’ve been, but the creepiness makes up for the shortcoming. Louise is ambitious, and I expected her to make it further in the movie and she would’ve had she not seen the girl’s corpse. I cannot say enough times that B-Movies are more exciting than the others. Dementia 13 is in bl...

Today is the first day of my 30 Days of Terror where I am spotlighting some of my favorite Horror Movies of all time. Since I love Edgar Allen Poe’s stories, I figured that I’d start the month with adaptations of the Tell-Tale Heart. These are two classics that are different in the way they tell the story, but equally good. 1941 The Tell-Tale Heart ( 1941 ) is a short film, starring Joseph Schildkraut as Young Man, and Roman Bohnen as Old Man. I love how closely this follows Poe’s story. Of course, it’s not an exact replica, but it still is amazing. An extremely uncomfortable feeling is present, as intended, with the phantom beating of the heart. If you come across this one, watch it; it’s worth the twenty minutes of your life. 1960 The Tell-Tale Heart ( 1960 ) cuts the story apart and puts it in a different order, and adds much to the original. I’m not saying it’s a bad adaptation, just different. This version adds a layer of sexual tension that is quite uncomfortable (as ...

The House of a Thousand Dolls (1967) is touted as American International Pictures sleaziest film, and I guess for the time it was, but by today’s standards it’s not. This is one of my least favorite AIP Vincent Price movies. The idea is great, but the layer of suspense isn’t as strong as their other films. The only real hardcore bit is the whipping scene, which almost came out of nowhere with this slow to climax movie. I had hoped it’d be more exciting and harsher, Price’s performance wasn’t anything special either. I guess that’s what happens when there’s so much hype, and I see it a lot with many of today’s films. If you stumble across this, go ahead and watch it, but don’t expect too much. I give this one 2 out of 5 stars.

Die, Monster, Die (1965) is a loose adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s story The Colour Out of Space, and I can see the influence of American International Pictures Corman-Poe adaptations. The sets are lavish, giving the Gothic Romance feeling as is present in many of this company’s adaptations. I watched The Curse, which follows first, not knowing that Die, Monster, Die was too. Stephen Reinhart wants to go to the Witley place, but no one in town will give him directions or take him, and no one will tell him why. He is forced to walk and finds a crater and scorched out land on his trek to the estate. The sets, as I mentioned before, are of a Gothic nature, which I don’t mind and I thought added to the character of the strange story. The monsters remind me of Sid the Sea Monster that didn’t come to TV until years later; for 1965 they aren’t the worst things that I’ve seen, but the puppet masters could’ve used more control over them. The makeup effects were total cheese, but that’s wha...

When I first saw Rosemary’s Baby (1968), I hated it. So now, I’m giving it another shot, thinking that maybe I missed something. Nope. I still find it dreadfully bland and anticlimactic. There are aspects of it that I enjoyed, so I’ll talk about those. The set is beautiful. The apartments and the decorations within each are incredible. I’m curious if they were actually someone’s personal spaces that they used for filming, but not enough to take a closer look anywhere. Mia Farrow is gorgeous and had it not been her in the lead role, I’m not sure I could’ve stomached the entire 136 minutes. I thought some recent horror films were long and uneventful, but this one, GAWD , come on! The score is alright, not overpowering or too dramatic. Her strange dreams are fun, though nonsensical, and should’ve been cut back as the rest of the movie. Seriously, why is this thing so long? Didn’t they edit anything in 1968? I thought there was something else that I enjoyed, but I’m miserably mistaken. I k...

I have taken the challenge of finding the strangest horror movies made and Carnival of Souls (1962) fits that list perfectly. Somehow Mary Henry has survived a water-born car accident, while her friends died, and she has no memory of how. For whatever reason she goes to Utah to take a job as a church organist, and she finds a room at a boarding house. As the story progresses, it’s unclear whether she’s hallucinating or what’s happening is real. So much of this movie makes little sense, it’s like fragmented pieces of reality shoved together, and it’s all on purpose. Everything seen and felt is for a reason, adding a layer of chilling surrealism. The entire story feels like something Alfred Hitchcock would produce. And when it ends, the strangeness didn’t leave my mind, and I yelled HA! Please, if you get the chance, watch Carnival of Souls from 1962. I give it 4 out of 5 Stars.

Vincent Price is my favorite actor, and to honor his birthday, I’ve decided to tell you about a few of his movies that I find exceptional. The simplicity of The Bat (1959) makes it strong. Even the one effect is stupendous; really, I’m not making fun of it. I wonder if they tried to get a real bat to fly around the room, and when it didn’t land on Lenita Lane like they wanted, they decided to use a rubber bat on not so invisible strings. Or, more probable, Lenita said she wouldn’t have any part of a real bat anywhere near her, Agnes, too, so they went with the Lo-Fi effect, either way, I think it’s charming. The Bat stars Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead, who I love seeing outside of Bewitched. I find it interesting that Price is billed first though his role isn’t as large as Moorehead’s; gotta love 1950s Hollywood, I bet he was paid a ton more than her too, and I’m sure it’s not much different now. The costuming for “The Bat” character is cool, and I see how it has influenced ...

I told you to let me die. Jan Compton Seeing The Brain That Wouldn’t Die as a kid, I was absolutely transfixed on the grotesquery of what was happening, seeing it thirty or more years later, I’m a bit baffled. The concept is amazing, too bad bringing it to life missed the mark. Most of the movie seemed like improv with nothing but Jan as the center piece. It’s not all bad, there are some delightful elements, like Jan’s head being attached to tubes and wires; the songs She Blinded Me With Science and Weird Science came to mind as I watched. Dr. Bill Cortner is a Dr. Frankenstein wannabe, and his Igor (Kurt) isn’t close to being anything more than a wuss. Thank god for Virginia Leith as Jan Compton, without her this movie wouldn’t have anything worth looking at, even the monster locked in the closet, while gross was bland. Unfortunately, I can only give this one 2.5 out of 5 Stars.