Horror Bites - Russia's Greatest Love Machine

RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK (1966)

There's a endearing quality to a lot of the old Hammer double features, the ones typically made in tandem to save costs and so they could be screened together. So in this case it's not a surprise that a lot of the cast members and several sets are clearly the same as those in Dracula: Prince of Darkness. But watching them back to back decades after their intended release format it's more of a trivia point than a real flaw, and noting all the recurring scenery is lots of fun. The writers play it fast and loose with the facts in this vaguely historical thriller in which Christopher Lee dons a beard and drinks his way to the top of Russia's social ladder. As he sates his less than pious ambitions it's very obvious this is not an educational film, but that should be pretty apparent from the title alone.

Horror Bites - Sins of the Father

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939)

It goes without saying that the work done by James Whale on the original two Frankenstein films is iconic for a variety of reasons. But nobody really talks about the sequels that followed which don't have the same director, the same visual style or the same twisted sense of humour. After this third instalment they don't even have Boris Karloff. Rowland Lee's Son of Frankenstein is an odd piece of work with continuity errors that seem to be included on purpose to detach itself from the previous films so that it can move in a new direction. But that doesn't mean this should be overlooked by Universal monster fans as the film isn't without it's own merits.

Horror Bites - Never More

THE RAVEN (1935)

Béla Lugosi appears in a lot of horror films. Some evoke memories of classic chills, Gothic architecture and macabre dialogue. Others are simply B-movies that may have plenty of appeal but are certainly not genre benchmarks. In this case there's a line being ridden between the two as an Egard Allen Poe inspired tale of romance and madness begins to play out. But it's also a story that quickly and frequently veers off the rails straight into the realm of absurd death traps, crazy schemes and maniacal laughter. Audiences at the time might have been shocked by some the elements included here but today it's impossible to take it seriously.