Horror Bites - Thanks, Ants

PHASE IV (1974)

Part man, part ant... wait hang on, let's back up and try that again. This is one of those sinister 1970s science fiction movies, the kind that really get under your skin. It's sort of like a demented clash between Look Around You and The Andromeda Strain. The isolated laboratory setting and the focus on testing solutions to a problem in particular remind me of Michael Crichton's space microbe story. Interestingly, it's the one feature film directed by artist and designer Saul Bass, who of course made numerous title sequences and posters for classic movies, but never made another full length release. This is a story full of striking images, eerie moments and a general sense of creeping dread. But they're just ants, what can you do outside of b-movie monster moments?

Horror Bites - Finger Trap

THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (1946)

Yeah, it's a killer hand movie, just check out that name - what a title. But bear with me, it's not total nonsense. Well sort of. While this kind of idea appears in all kinds of features from Dr Terror's House of Horrors to Evil Dead II, this one at least tries to maintain a certain tone of seriousness. Which is pretty difficult of course. But this is the 1940s, and Warner Bros have Peter Lorre on board for what will be their only horror movie from the period. Instead of going for silliness, this for the most part, plays out as a murder mystery plot inside a mansion in rural Italy. A wealthy pianist, left with only the use of one side of his body after as stroke gathers his acquaintances around him to witness his last will and testament. What could possibly go wrong?

Horror Bites - A Dracula Indeed

COUNT DRACULA (1970)

Watch Franco's Count Dracula they said, it's more faithful to the story they said. Okay maybe I'm being harsh. But while it's true that Christopher Lee actually gets to speak some of the dialogue that Bram Stoker wrote on the page, there's more to whether this works or not than just lifting scenes from the book. It's probably better than Lee's other vampire movie with Hammer that year at least; the title of Taste the Blood of Dracula is the best part. But the film in question here is kind of a mess with parts that work, parts that are just bizarre, and all kinds of head scratching technical choices involved. After hearing Lee's complaints about the sort of lines he got working with the likes of Terence Fisher, I wonder if he was happy with the results here.

Horror Bites - The Eyes Have It

DEAD & BURIED (1981)

Something rotten is going on in Potter's Bluff, a seaside town where you certainly do not want to spend your weekend away, or even stop to ask for directions. Yeah it's another scary isolated community story, albeit with a few surprises along the way. There are a couple of reasons to see this beyond adding to the obvious '80s horror quota for the month, and while Dan O'Bannon's name on the title credits is apparently there against his wishes, the other main draw here is Stan Winston, who provides some of the memorable moments here. But let's go past the names involved and talk about this creepy venture into mysteries at the morgue.

Scorecard

SEPTEMBER

FILM OF THE MONTH Dead and Buried ☆☆☆☆
A Man For All Seasons ☆☆☆☆
Heroes from the East ☆☆☆☆
Matinee ☆☆☆☆
Captain America: Civil War ☆☆☆☆
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad ☆☆☆☆
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad ☆☆☆☆