Horror Bites - Henry's Pact

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER (1976)

So here were are, at the end. In many ways the later years of the Hammer Horror cycle are a fascinating time in the studio's history. On the one hand they clearly wanted to have fun and play it fast and loose with established ideas... so the results are things like Captain Kronos. If only there were more movies released in that vein. On the other hand the pressure was now on to compete with The Exorcist and everything that followed once genre expectations were forever changed... which meant no fun was allowed. Evil children were in and period pieces were out. Which would be less of a problem if this particular story of blood rituals and sinister cults made more sense.

Scorecard

NOVEMBER

FILM OF THE MONTH: Summer Time Machine Blues ☆☆☆☆

Review Roundup - Exposition of Doom

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (2023)

It's hard to admit it but in life most things come and go, often never to return. The past will only ever be part of long term memories that should be reminisced about occasionally, but never obsessed over. Remember when Indiana Jones was in a rollicking adventure series during the heyday of Spielberg, Lucas, Williams, and Ford? It's still one of the best trilogies of all time, with perhaps some of the best action and music ever done for the big screen. But you can never go back to that era and re-experience it. Trying to live in the past will only make you miserable and bitter, which is why it's hard to be upset that this sequel exists. It's no good at all but in the end it was never going to be.

Horror Bites - Final Nails

LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974)

For a series that eventually became rather long in the tooth the Hammer vampire series is strangely adverse to giving a character like Count Dracula something to do. He's a fascinating villain that has remained popular for a reason after all. As Christopher Lee himself said why not use the source material? And I don't mean in bizarre half measures like the Jess Franco version. But for whatever reason the lure of using new gimmicks and storylines unrelated to Bram Stoker was always more appealing to the studio producers. So let's take a look at their further attempts to freshen up the whole thing... through the magic of traditional Kung Fu and contemporary kitsch.

Scorecard

OCTOBER

FILM OF THE MONTH: Horror Express ☆☆☆☆