My Favorite Movies

Great stunts, brilliant use of CGI, and there are even one or two love stories going on amongst all the action. This is simply one of the best films that I have ever seen. Watch out for the very important drop of blood!

Some interesting ideas and very charismatic acting will keep you interested especially as it's a film that you may have to watch more than once to understand everything that is going on.

The action is real edge-of-your-seat stuff which doesn't let up until the end. Until the final 10 minutes you don't really see or find out who the "them" are. What makes it worse is that it's all very believable!

Definitely the best Stephen King miniseries and the most memorable. David Soul does a credible job as Ben Mears, James Mason is also suitably icy as Straker, but not enough is made of Barlow, his Nosferatu-like master.

Thought by many to be the best haunted house film ever made, it is sadly becoming quite dated. Great use of sound makes up for never actually seeing the ghost and adds to the dark and uneasy atmosphere.

A witty amalgam of previous werewolf movies and fully fledged horror make this the best werewolf movie to date.

For those of you who are familiar with Robert Wise's "The Haunting", it will be no surprise for you to learn that "The Legend of Hell House" was little more than a 70s remake of the same story. Even the title was similar to Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" (which of course was the novel that "The Haunting" was based on). Some might call it plagiarism but I'd rather think of "The Legend of Hell House" as writer Richard Matheson's homage to a work of fiction which has inspired every director of a ghostie film ever since.
In this case, director John Hough, who is better known for his TV work and Hammer's "Twins of Evil" (1971), set the story during the week before Christmas in a fog enshrouded Blenheim Palace. No New England "Hill House" here but the birthplace of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill no less. Changing the location was largely due to APC moving the whole production to England hence also the cast of British actors rather than Americans. Yes, Roddy McDowell, who plays psychic Benjamin Fischer, was British in spite of being a staple of American TV for over three decades. Interestingly, the other psychic played by the gorgeous Pamela Franklin was actually born in Japan, Clive Revill was a New Zealander and Gayle Hunnicutt was born in Texas. Even Michael Gough who goes uncredited as Ernest Balasco was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It's funny what you find from a bit of Googling when writing a review. Perhaps this movie isn't quite so full of British actors after all.
One thing "The Legend of Hell House" is full of, though, is atmosphere. It's so intense that you could almost cut it with a knife although at just over an hour and a half long the claustrophobia of the apparent five room set does tend to get a little bit wearying after a while. Every ghost story cliché is used but this was before we even started to think of them as clichés. For the most part, it's all very original in spite of the aforementioned homage to "The Haunting".
There's hardly any gore in this apart from one important scene featuring Pamela Franklin but there are a couple of sexy moments. Gayle Hunnicutt's attempted seduction of Roddy McDowell is the most memorable for me but, without spoiling it for anyone, Pamela Franklin is the real star of the naughty bits here. Just think along the same lines as "The Entity" and you'll figure out exactly what happens to her in this film.
Possession and psychic abilities play a much bigger part in the story than I would have liked especially if you try to think of this as a true haunted house genre movie. The ending really felt like a bit of a letdown considering Roddy's speech about all the horrors (including rape, torture, and even cannibalism) which supposedly occurred in the house during its former occupancy. Like most films of this time a lot more is implied than actually occurs on screen so you just have to use your imagination and dig Roddy McDowell's performance instead.
All the acting is first class in fact with the characters being a lot less annoying and dated than the ones in "The Haunting". Clive Revill as scientist Lionel Barrett was overly stubborn to the extent that he almost became another Dr Frankenstein with his ardour to prove his techniques correct (with similarly disastrous consequences). The use of his machine to rid the house of ghosts, of course, became an important part of "Ghostbusters" later on and the science versus the supernatural theme is always an important part of any haunted house movie anyway. There'll always be a sceptic, a psychic, a control and a scientist in any of these stories. You can almost, but not quite, swap any of the characters for the ones in Stephen King's "Rose Red" too to see how much "The Legend of Hell House" has had an influence.
I expect you all want to know if it's actually scary or not. Well, depending on the age at which you first see it, it is definitely scary. Only "The Others" comes any way close to the same scariness for a modern audience although really that movie has more in common with "The Innocents" than anything here. Some scenes work better than others including the jump scares and twists. The ones which don't work usually involve Gayle Hunnicutt to some extent but it's more the fault of the dialogue than anything else. I also found Roddy McDowell to be a rather odd choice for a hero but I really couldn't see anyone else capable of filling that role either. "The Legend of Hell House" is all very tense more than anything else (and a little bit too wordy rather than graphic) but it's still one of the best haunted house movies ever made.

Chic French beauty Anne Parillaud is possibly the best reason to watch this romantic comedy/thriller but all horror buffs will love it for the endless in-jokes and clips from the classic Dracula films.

This is one of the best vampire action films I have ever seen, if not the best. Wesley Snipes is perfectly cast as the laconic comic book hero and Stephen Dorff makes a great adversary. The action sequences are amazing.

This really does look, sound and feel like a comic book brought to life and lives up to all the hype surrounding it.

Although it is a bit slow, this adds to the considerable sexual tension which is unrelenting throughout the film.

A great atmosphere, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing fighting it out, beautiful actresses, rubber bats on wires, and all done on a budget which wouldn't even pay for Keanu Reeves' voice coach in a modern production!

Rumour has it that Yutte deeply regrets ever having starred in this film.

When everybody believed that it was a true story, this was a terrifying film indeed. Now that it is known to be a hoax, the film is still pretty damned scary in its own right.

Apart from lots of bleeding "ping-pong ball eyed" victims, and a couple of autopsies where you get to see a rubbery brain, the film is low on gore but high on entertainment value.

Very much part of the Frankenstein-genre, this Wes Craven effort is often strangely touching and almost sickly compared with his usual fare.

A stylish journey into a very different world of the undead. This is what "The Lost Boys" should have been!

This is a much better film than it sounds. Lee and Cushing play their famous roles perfectly and the 1970s background gives new life to an almost worn out Hammer tale.

Once a great horror film but now looking considerably dated in places. Loads of blood and screaming and a claustrophobic atmosphere to boot. John Hurt has a really bad case of indigestion...

Even if the denouement means that you could never watch this film twice, the steamy sex scenes will undoubtedly have you hovering over the rewind button.

Anne Rice's book was hardly brilliant but this film tries hard to recreate the best bits even though it doesn't quite manage to make them any more interesting.

More of a remake than a sequel, this version was made due to the censor's banning of the original. This is also by far the better of the two films with more style and a black sense of humour.

With some of the most memorable death scenes ever made and tense all the way through, this is the first and best of a terrifying trilogy.

This looks like a very atmospheric Hammer film but it isn't. Truly horrible! It's especially nasty on the uncut 18 certificated version.

This is one of those thriller type films that should have been more horrible than it is... but it has its moments. The girls in this are very pretty and the practical jokes are wonderfully sick.

If you're scared of spiders, you probably won't see much of this film!

Great Elvis impersonation from Bruce Campbell but not scary in any way. It's just a bit of fun and very nicely made.

This ultra low budget movie was cited as one of the original "video nasties". Although it's hard to see nowadays how this gorefest caused such uproar.

This comic finale to the "Evil Dead" series loses pace occasionally but has some great one liners, loads of action, and the best skeleton army since "Jason and the Argonauts".

If you like Freddy, Jason, The Shape etc. then you'll love this! Gory and sometimes sickening, but always effective.

Although many were disappointed that this film had nothing to do with the Michael Myers character, it has a lot of other fine points.

There are a couple of moments of nakedness but very little actual horror despite the subject matter.

This is far from being one of my favourite Hammer Dracula films simply because Christopher Lee isn't in it. Peter Cushing almost makes up for it on his own but it's like having Laurel without Hardy.
Baron Meinster played by David Peel just doesn't work for me though some people consider this to be one of the best Hammer films because of all the action.
The latest DVD versions all seem to have missing scenes which make it even more disappointing.

Criticism has been levelled at certain actors not quite managing to retain their assumed nationalities and accents, dude, but the Oscar winning music and costumes tend to cover such lapses.

This is the closest Hammer ever came to reading Bram Stoker's novel and Dracula's climb down the walls of the castle is one of the results!.

The motivation for Dracula's revenge is the weak link in this tale and Christopher Lee is reduced to only a few lines overall.

This version is not much more than a remake with some different actors and the names of the victims changed. Still good in places though, and the ending isn't bad either.

The late Oliver Reed gives such a stunning performance as the wolf man that it is obvious that only a true wild man such as himself could have made this role work.

If you are familiar with the Sherlock Holmes story of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", you may notice a few plot similarities. But Sherlock Holmes never had so much action!

This film made a star of Lon Chaney, jnr., created all the myths about werewolves that would be used throughout Hollywood ever after.

A refreshing change to the usual run-of-the-mill werewolf movies as this is from a girl's perspective using werewolfism as a metaphor for puberty.

The effects and gory dream sequences are done superbly but it isn't overly scary as there is a tendency for most people to cheer Freddy on rather than feel any sympathy for his victims.

There's lots of blood and guts for gorehounds and some very interesting deaths but the crappy tagged-on ending spoils it all.

Based loosely on Gary Brandner's book of the same name, this is still much better than any of its appalling sequels.

As much as Edward Furlong leaves me cold, I found some of his toys in this film very amusing.

The special effects are excellent though some scenes are a tad formulaic and predictable.

Even though the sequels have been heading this way, I didn't expect "Seed of Chucky" to be a comedy! I also didn't expect it to be quite so good. Jennifer Tilly is excellent, as is the puppetry, and everyone did a fantastic job. There's loads of satire about Hollywood and horror buff in-jokes, plus all the obligatory cameos. It was the perfect end to the "Child's Play" series.

The 1931 black and white Universal monsters movie is still the best version of Mary Shelley's classic novel. Boris Karloff creates great pathos even with all the heavy and uncomfortable makeup.

The costumes and atmosphere are perfect, as you would expect, and goriness abounds, but none of it is as scary as it is thought provoking.

This is an absolute classic of Universal Horror filmaking. Everything is done right. The acting is typical of the time but if you are a fan of the genre, as most of us are, it doesn't detract at all from the emotions raised by the story.

Christopher Lee looks odd as the monster because Universal had copyright over the traditional ''bolts through the neck'' makeup. Some say the improvisation is better but you can't help feeling that it would have been nicer to have had the Karloff monster in it.

The script is uneven but the acting ability of the cast compensates, as does the typical Hammer look.

Very exploitive and probably miles away from the supposedly true story which inspired it but still very creepy and effective.

A worthy sequel to ''The Omen'' and just as scary.

Peasoup vomitting and head turning abounds in this glorious study of possession and exorcism.

Jeff Goldblum is perfectly twitchy as the Brundle-fly and Geena Davies is made to look even more beautiful in comparison.

Not quite as good as it could have been but the grisly special effects are superb and there are some very touching moments.

This much copied "slash 'em up" has little of merit other than being the first and best of a bad lot.

Desmond Harrington does a fantastic job as Kenneth Winslow. He's sort of like half Norman Bates and half Willard (but without all the rats!).

Dr BloodOk, ok, so it's not really a horror film... except for that one scene where the bad guy is dragged off to hell by demons. However, as a supernatural romance this is the best there is.

Hailed universally as "the supernatural comedy of the year" in 1984, this was responsible for such spinoffs as a hit record, hundreds of little plastic figures, a cartoon series and, worse, a not very good sequel!

Loads of in-jokes and spoofing of famous scenes from other movies, coupled with the all the brilliant animatronics, make this an absolute classic.

The little creatures in this film were, like the equally silly "Critters", designed to cash in on the success of "Gremlins".

It's nice to see Jeffrey Combs doing something other than Herbert West even if it is only for the opening scenes.

It's not particularly scary for a ghostie film but it does have a great storyline and everything, including Demi Moore, looks great.

Very much a product of the late 1980s, this gruesome fantasy from Clive Barker introduced the world to the hideously mutilated Cenobites and possibly the most stomach-churning rise from the dead ever made!

Even nastier than the original. There are moments in this which will make you wince and put you off body-piercing for life!

This has a superb first half with excellent child actors which makes up considerably for John-Boy Walton's presence in the rest of it.

The drunken toymaker played by Mickey Rooney is named Joe Petto and he has an odd son named Pino... once you make the connection, you then realise that this is hardly a Disney movie.

The low budget production values add to a chilling authentic feel which is not so apparent in the 1990 remake.

Yet another horror movie which doesn't know whether to go for laughs or scares but delivers both willy-nilly.

Probably the sickest, most violent, and most gruesome Italian horror movie ever made.

Trivia fans might like to know that the blood in the shower scene was Hershey's chocolate syrup.

More of a thriller than a true horror genre classic but the scary moments are better that most of the slasher films which have followed.

Ok, so it's more like an uncensored reality television version of "Thelma and Louise" than a real hardcore porn ...but it still has lots more sex and violence than most people will be used to. Only one moment is truly gratuitous though and this is possibly the only film where the porn elements are not merely padding but are an integral part of the story.

No relation to the earlier "Prom Night" film with Jamie Lee Curtis in it except for the title.

Anthony Hopkins gives a memorable performance as the chilling Hannibal "The Cannibal".

Apart from having to use the subtitles because some of the dodgy fake accents were a bit difficult to understand at times, I thoroughly enjoyed this prequel. It really needed to be gorier to be classed as a real horror film as it was more like James Bond than "The Silence of the Lambs". But it was still something to get your teeth into... with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

There are many funny moments among all the squelchy deaths and Michael Moriarty is perfectly cast as the industrial spy who ends up a hero.

The best tale involves a demon pulling the bits off the wing of a plane while John Lithgow is driven crazy thinking of ways to stop it.

If you like B-movies and you really hate bugs, this could be the film you have waited your whole life to see.

There is little characterisation offered and one of the best monsters to ever be created is also ultimately wasted on this film.

A lot funnier than the original "Ben" and "Willard" rat films from the 70s.

It's not without its flaws (especially as it's all filmed in Finland rather than Russia) but "Gorky Park" was one of the "must see" films of the 80s. Some of the action is a little bit rushed and, unlike the book, the plot tends to lurch along rather than develop smoothly. William Hurt does a good job with the material available though.

This was the first film I ever bought on VHS and I've lost count of the number of times I've watched it. Everything about this movie is first class and Rutger Hauer gives the most charismatic performance of his career. It's powerful stuff and I'm always surprised that so few people have even heard of it.

Nice atmosphere, gorgeous females in the form of Mädchen "Twin Peaks" Amick and Alice "First Contact" Krige, but a very thin script.

More of a comedy than a horror but there are some memorable gory scenes which have little to do with the Bram Stoker novel.

When I had the choice recently to see this or "The Golden Compass" I chose the latter because I just knew this would suck with a PG-13 rating. I thought I might as well at least watch a real kids' film rather than another kiddified non-horror vampire/zombie movie.
Alas I finally did watch this pile of crap as well though. It wasn't just bad compared to the two previous versions of the same story but was particularly crap in its own right. Even "The Omega Man" is better than this tedious mess!
Will Smith was okay in it but everything was very below average. There were too many pointless flashbacks and not enough action to keep anyone with more than one brain cell entertained for very long. As a slightly zombified version of "Cast Away" it was equally as dull.
Mercifully it was all soon over even if the pacing of the movie was so slow that it felt like I'd been watching it for a week by the time it ended.
It's one to avoid. Watch "The Last Man on Earth" version instead.

Not scary at all but an imaginative story and definitely worth a watch. Very British filmmaking with a very British cast... apart from Vincent Price that is.

Not a bad little campy horror film.

More or less Jaws on land. "Alligator" is nicely paced and well acted and even has some quite exciting scenes here and there.

If you ever needed proof that to spare the rod spoils the child, this is it! Based on Maxwell Anderson's play, this picture was the inspiration for 1994's "The Good Son".

A bit too sickly sweet in places to be really pleasing but the special effects are fantastic and the script isn't too bad either.

Thousands of real birds and nearly 400 trick shots make reality of the seemingly impossible, and lend an air of sheer terror that you will never forget.

Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder both give impressive performances in spite of the slow start. The lag is short lived however as the action soon builds to a very satisfying climax.

The film is composed entirely of reportedly "found" footage and has some very scary moments which unfortunately lose their lustre once you find out that the whole thing is completely made up rather than being based on a true story at all.

A real treat for gorehounds this one! The effects are much better than in the 1958 original version of this film, including one that'll make you think twice about unblocking the sink again.

The scenes between the monster (Clancy Brown) and the dwarf (David Rappaport) are the most touching and memorable in this somewhat overambitious film.

Shocking psychological and physical horror from the twisted imagination of Clive Barker at its best.

In many ways it is a similar kind of story to "Christine" though the Stephen King effort was even sillier.

Very scary in places with a chilling atmosphere and some great camerawork.
Candace Hilligoss is highly watchable and makes the whole thing very believable.

Possibly the best adaptation to date of a Stephen King novel. Although some of the camerawork and effects look dated and amateur, the story is very evocative.

This brilliantly understated horror film is an all time classic. Simone Simon is as feline as they come and is the ultimate sex kitten.

A young girl, in the closing and the best narrative, has difficulty sleeping. Though her parents suspect the family cat of wrongdoing, the girl knows better - especially after she spots a foot-high troll coming out of her bedroom wall!

This is one of the scariest ghost stories ever filmed. Full of suspense and a nasty feeling of dread. The ending is a bit of a let down as things move towards a predictable denouement.

Yet another Stephen King story and, unfortunately, not exactly one of his best. However, this film is full of both enough tension and atmosphere to keep you watching to the end.

One of Stephen King's best stories turned into a superb film in spite of a seemingly ludicrous plot. The Plymouth Fury oozes evil more than you could ever believe.

The sexual tension between Stamp and Eggar sometimes does not quite work and the format is more like a stage play than a film, but, for all its flaws, it is better than most thrillers on offer today.

Although made more horrible by the participation of the hateful Angela Lansbury, this is supposed to be a fantasy rather than a horror film.

It was slightly disappointing in that it was just like a movie version of Angel but without Angel actually in it.