Mr. Sardonicus

What a cheeky bugger that William Castle is.

Niche though it is his films have a good appeal and this is a most original and interesting story. Concerning a doctor who is tasked with the rehabilitation of a reclusive baron whose face is marred by a gruesomely freakish grin, it's not really your typical horror film. Set at a brisk pace of 90 minutes it's more of a drama as we get situated with this small cast of characters and the circumstances that brought the baron to coin the name Sardonicus for himself, despite some fairly grotesque moments for 1961 and the villainous characteristics of the titular character. Ronald Lewis is a very compassionate and learned lead, not framed as a hero who must end the monster but rather a doctor sent to heal willingly in spite of some rather unscrupulous tactics by the baron, but he does solid work and is fairly believable. Guy Rolfe as Mr. Sardonicus is undoubtedly the highlight with his blank mask, imposing height, and quite a soothing refined voice that hides a cruel and inhuman psyche willing to torture women to find some miracle cure for his disfigurement, and the prosthetic is simple and yet instantly memorable. Audrey Dalton as an old flame of the doctor while not having a lot of stake in the plot unfortunately does fine work regardless and you can imagine her intense need to escape such a ghoulish prison. Oscar Homolka as the scarred manservant fits the archetype well as a loyal subservient to his master and he has such a good physique about him with a missing eye and solid voice. One thing I have taken consistent notice of this week is each film doesn't hold a great mamy sets bit rather fleshes out the few they have to really enhance the production value and this is no exception, the castle and sparse grounds is quintessential spooky scenery that always just looks superior in pristine black & white but the interiors are lavish and classy. The 60s was truly the bridge between classic horror and modern horror, I mean think about it you have stuff like this and the Poe series in the early years and by the end of it we got stuff like Targets and Night Of The Living Dead injecting both modern sensibilities and starting to up the gore factor. It's a prime decade for horror fans of both camps! I gotta admit it was a blast to see William Castle introduce and do his gimmick for the film which consisted of voting cards to show mercy or punish Sardonicus for his actions, in true showmanship style with the right amount of cheese, humor, and tone that sets you up nicely for the film. It's more of a minor example than a must see movie for the season but I enjoyed it enough, and I can recommend it if you need a break from the newer more intense stuff or just enjoy good old fashioned spooky stuff. 2.5 stars, 6.5/10, and like always I got some Universal Monster goodness for you on Halloween week...

House On Haunted Hill

Can you believe I haven't done this one yet?

I've seen this film a good handful of times in the past even before I started reviewing films so it came as a shock to know we haven't visited the House on Haunted Hill. Nothing short of just good old fashioned classic horror in my opinion, where Vincent Price plays a rich socialite and invites five guests to a haunted house he's rented and will give each individual $10,000 to spend the night. As he so eloquently puts it, "There'll be food, drink, and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders.", and if Vincent Price invited me to that, which honestly sounds like a regular evening at his home (seriously the man was a great lover of culinary arts, fine alcohol, and horror as a genre and by God I miss him everyday), even for $10,000 which in today's money is about $100,000 I couldn't fathom saying no. The house itself on the outside is a marvel of architecture, and though it was built in 1924 and showcased here in 1959 it honestly looks like it was built 10 years ago today, but on the inside it's a proper old dark mansion with candles, chandeliers, creaking doors, and cobwebs which we get familiar with quickly. The film kinda gave me Clue vibes where a group of people traverse to a mansion and are presented weapons before getting embroiled in a murder. You would almost suspect the movie to be a proto-slasher film where several people get bumped off, and honestly the film goes in several different directions than just spooky house thrills and chills the guests. Though I do feel sorry for Nora in this movie, it's a flat out drinking game honestly, take a shot everytime this poor lady is left on her own and take another shot for every incident that scares her, and if you wanna go that extra mile take an additional shot every time she screams. Fan-flippin'-tastic screamer by the by that Carolyn Craig, and the same goes for Carol Ohmart! Elisha Cook is just that right kind of forebodingly creepy and yet humorous as he constanrly hammers away at all the terrible things that have occured at the house. I don't need to say jack or shit about Vincent Price in this movie, true he isn't in top malevolent or tortured acting range but he's just the master of horror, the titan of terror, the thrill in thriller, and the dialogue he has with Carol Ohmart is a highlight. I doubt I need to explain the literal skeleton in the room, but for those uninitiated William Castle the director was a great showman and incorporated gimmicks into his films, with this movie he had a glow in the dark skeleton swing around the theater while the climax of the movie played, and man I would just love to experience a midnight spook show in this day and age though a bygone relic it still is. Even after all this time the movie still has good atmosphere, creepy use of sound effects, and is a wonderful film to watch if you got some other classic horror fans in for a 50s movie marathon one night. I had a great time with it, and it just goes to show it doesn't always have to be a bloodfest or a high special effects horror movie to be enjoyed. I give it 3.5 stars, 8/10, and this dear ones closes another chapter of October on this show. But never fear, we still have 4 more days till Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, 4 more days till Halloween, Silver Shamrock. It's almost time kids, the clock is ticking, be in front of your TV sets for the horrorthon on TCM and don't forget the big giveaway at 9:00. Don't miss it, and don't forget to wear your masks. The clock is ticking. It's almost time. Watch....

The Night Walker

Just one more before another new film.

As a person who has not seen many William Castle films, I've only seen House On Haunted Hill and a bit of The Tingler, this will be a hard one to top. And most of his films showcase some gimmick, he was a showman first and a director second but did both really well, yet with this movie it's just a little horror film that branches into a mystery and it works quite well I thought. It got me from the opening theme which I love to death, it honestly sounds like something I would hear on the Goosebumps show and it even threw me for a loop or two as the story neared it's end. The story follows a widowed wife of a blind scientist who dies in an explosion, but is haunted by him in her dreams 2 decades before Freddy Krueger, and the dreams only deepen leading to an investigation. I love the opening with a more subtly creepy narrator who discusses dreams and sets the mood perfectly for the film. Barbara Stanwyck is a very good lead, and I actually applaud Castle on the fact that there really aren't any young faces in the cast, there be no 20 somethings playing teenagers in this horror film, and she is a phenomenal screamer. Like those screams put other scream queens to shame. Hayden Rorke as the scientist with all the burn makeup is effectively creepy and is used sparingly as he should be. Since the film deals with dreams there are several surreal sections that actually feel like you are experiencing a fever dream, with mannequin people, dreams within dreams, a good few jumpscares, and all the while the music plays on. It's no classic but I applaud the screenwriter Robert Bloch who also wrote Psycho, and consider it to be a quite good movie. To my knowledge until fairly recently this movie was only on VHS and just got a Blu-Ray release in 2018, but I was fortunate to watch it once again on the Youtubes and it does somewhat upset me I can't watch a lot of these movies in the middle of the night because of my schedule, very few horror movies can have such a strong effect even in daylight so I do urge you to watch it when the sun is long gone, in the glow of your TV, and see what kind of dreams you have afterward. 3.5 stars, 7/10, and regrettably tomorrow will be the last review of October. It's forever bittersweet to know the month is nearly over but Halloween is approaching with supernatural speed and I can't wait.