Frightmare (1983)

Not to be confused with the 1974 English cannibal film of the same name, Frightmare (aka The Horror Star) is the story of recently deceased horror veteran Conrad Radzoff (Ferdinand Mayne) who claims that death will be his best performance yet! The night after he is entombed into his specially constructed mausoleum (complete with a blinking neon star), a group of drama students break into the crypt and decide to take old Conrad back to their place for some partying! After a creepy dinner with the diners all wearing masks, they each take turns dancing with the corpse and one girl even goes to far as to smooch him! They put Conrad back into his coffin, but are too tuckered out to take him back to his final resting place, so they just put him in their attic and call it a night.

The next morning the cops discover Conrad is missing from the mausoleum and his widow enlists the help of a psychic medium to find out where he is. Turns out he’s in hell, but is hellbent on returning and getting revenge on the young whippersnappers that disturbed his slumber. His widow heartily agrees, saying, “Burn them! Burn them! BURN THEM!”

Having been summoned, Conrad rises from the dead and stalks the kids in the house, killing them one by one.

What is so interesting about Frightmare is that it tries to bridge the gap from Gothic-tinged Hammer horror (think fog-shrouded cemeteries, genteel-looking old men in Dracula capes, damsels in distress) with the kids-being-stalked-by-an-unstoppable-killer slasher formula. I liked the “classic horror” atmosphere of the film, but the slasher aspect felt a bit off. The story had some holes (a cop, who looks more like a mafia don, keeps popping up but doesn’t add anything to the story), pacing problems, awful dialogue (“We did something BAD!”) and the kills left a lot to be desired. Even though the result is a mixed bag, this seemingly strange combination of old and new horror styles makes Frightmare worth a look anyway.

The film was written and directed by Norman Thaddeus Vane and one good thing about his script is that he spent more time developing the character of Conrad Ragzoff than he did the kids’ characters. I felt much more empathy for Conrad than I did any of the annoying college kids, who exist mostly to get picked off. Conrad is one of the best things about the film, and the character is obviously an homage to Christopher Lee. Actor Ferdinand Mayne even resembles Lee and has the same kind of aristocratic air as he does.

Speaking of Mayne, he was truly a joy to watch in this role, especially in the opening scenes when he is still alive and in the videos he leaves behind for the funeral and those that appear to greet visitors to his crypt. Another actor to note in the film is Jeffrey Combs, who plays one of the clueless kids in one of his earlier roles. Most of the actors who play the college drama students don’t have much to do, but they all do a pretty good job of playing stupid and dying horribly. Even the “Final Girl”, just sits around and whimpers and only survives because she faints dead away at the sight of the resurrected Conrad.

As for the deaths, Conrad kills most of the kids with telekinetic powers rather than with his bare hands. One girl spontaneously combusts into a fireball, another girl gets squashed by a flying coffin, a guy gets locked in Conrad’s crypt as it fills with poisonous gas, another guy gets decapitated by a flying sword, and so on. The only “hands-on” deaths occur when a guy gets his tongue/jaw ripped out and then strangled, a woman gets her mouth stuffed with a wad of cash and another guy gets stuffed into a coffin and burnt alive in the crematorium. It was disappointing that the deaths weren’t at all gory (especially since at least half of the film was trying for that slasher vibe), but it wasn’t a deal-breaker. Instead, the film treated the deaths in the more restrained, classic horror tradition instead of going all-out like a slasher flick.

Still, there are some pretty silly scenes throughout the film besides the previously mentioned death scenes. One was the partying scene where the kids pass around Conrad’s corpse like he’s a party favor, which is so disturbing it borders on ludicrous! Another more “laugh-out-loud” scene is the over-the-top séance scene where Conrad’s widow and psychic medium are trying to contact the dead Conrad. The ladies put on such hysterical performances here that I dare you not to laugh! The film also features some god-awful music and sound effects that sound just like one of those cheap Halloween party CD’s, complete with howling and growling.

Frightmare has a lot of issues and I think it would have a lot of problems connecting with horror fans today. Still, it is an interesting little movie that tries to combine old-school horror with the slasher formula. Sometimes it doesn’t succeed, but it is still interesting enough to check out, especially if you love Gothic-tinged horror movies. Though Frightmare isn’t a “must-see” for all horror fans, those that appreciate both the old and new aspects of horror filmmaking may just find themselves enjoying it like I did!

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Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007)

I remember when I first saw the remake of House on Haunted Hill in 1999. Sure, the original with Vincent Price is a classic, but I hold a special place in my heart for the one starring a very hammy Geoffrey Rush and some very creepy ghosts. The night I saw it was a dark and stormy Halloween. I was still in high school and my friend and I decided to ditch everyone else and go to the movies. We had to drive a very curvy and treacherous road to get to the theater (we lived in the boonies back then), so we were already kinda on edge. THEN we saw the movie, which scared the pants off of both of us. And THEN we had to drive BACK on that dark and desolate country road, with ominous trees on either side of us and curves hiding whatever might be lurking ahead…

So, since I enjoyed the experience of watching House on Haunted Hill and still count it as a guilty pleasure, I was eager to check out Return to House on Haunted Hill when it came out this October. Although it didn’t leave the impression that its predecessor did, Return to House on Haunted Hill was still a pretty fun and entertaining haunted asylum movie.

The film picks up a few years after the events that transpired in the first film. One of the only survivors, Sarah, apparently commits suicide and her sister Ariel (Amanda Righetti) is thrust into her sister’s world. It seems that Sarah was in the possession of a valuable journal that told of the location of a priceless statue of Baphomet. Ariel ends up with the journal, but soon a gang of goons kidnap her, her boyfriend (Tom Riley) and the journal and set out for the house. Meanwhile, a professor (Steven Pacey) who has been searching for the statue his entire life and his two assistants (Cerina Vincent and Andrew Lee Potts) also go to the house. The two groups run into each other, and the group of goons, led by Desmond (Erik Palladino), one of the professor’s old students, takes everyone hostage while they search for the statue. The labyrinth house used to be an asylum headed by the evil Dr. Vannacutt (Jeffrey Combs), who performed terrible experiments on the patients. The house and its unrestful inhabitants don’t particularly take to these new intruders, and soon goes into lockdown mode, effectively locking everyone within the cavernous structure. Can Ariel, the professor and the rest of the “good guys” get away from Desmond and his goons and retrieve the statue first? A better question to ask would be, can anyone get out alive?

Let’s get one thing straight before proceeding…this movie doesn’t have the same spooky atmosphere as the House on Haunted Hill, and it isn’t anywhere near as frightening, but I still found it pretty entertaining. The spooks that haunt the place are pretty creepy, and I especially loved Jeffrey Combs’ reprisal of his role as the scary Dr. Vannacutt. The vibe and monsters felt very much like Silent Hill, even with a few ghosts of those that were burned alive, like the ember babies in Silent Hill.

For direct to video, the special FX were handled quite well, though there were a few instances of shoddy CGI. I found the best scene to be when a few people fell into the murky hydrotherapy pool and a few very creepy things were waiting in the depths. Talk about tense! There are a few gory scenes, like a guy getting drawn and quartered so his body is completely pulled apart, a head splattering scene involving a very heavy fridge and a few others. While none of these feature any groundbreaking special FX, they are all done well and look great!

The acting is also strong (with a few exceptions) for a direct-to-video flick. These movie is blessed by the lovely Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever, It Waits), sexy Erik Palladino (Dead & Breakfast, The Thirst) and who can forget Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator)!? Combs doesn’t have a lick of dialogue, but his presence and menacing performance are enough! We also get a strong female lead, played by Amanda Righetti, who comes off very realistically. The rest of the cast (though they may only survive a few minutes) also does a commendable job.

On the negative side, the movie drags toward the beginning and feels like more of a heist movie than a horror movie. It takes the main characters about 30 minutes to get inside the house, and even when they are exploring its depths, there are several moments where the action is lulled and even brought to a standstill. The good news is that the movie is only about 80 minutes long, so these lulls don’t last long. I also thought the characters were under-developed and pretty generic. I did enjoy the storyline of the Baphomet relic, even though the storyline (and dialogue) got a little ridiculous at times. Still, I was able to overlook these negatives and sit back and enjoy the film.

Return to House on Haunted Hill doesn’t live up to its predecessor or the original Vincent Price House on Haunted Hill film, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give it a shot. This is not the greatest movie out there, but I don’t think it is trying to be. If you just want to shut your brain off and relax with a movie, Return to House on Haunted Hill is a good choice.

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Castle Freak (1995)

Despite its silly cover and title, Castle Freak is a surprisingly solid straight-to-DVD film from director Stuart Gordon. Though Gordon is most famously known for his blackly comedic and fun Re-Animator film, he takes a more serious approach with 1995’s Castle Freak, which stars Re-Animator alumni Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton.

An American family inherits a massive castle from an unknown relative in Italy. If the stress of moving wasn’t enough, the family also lost their 5-year-old son just nine months prior. The father, John (Jeffrey Combs) was driving drunk when he crashed the car carrying his son and daughter. His son was killed and his teenage daughter Rebecca (Jessica Dollarhide) was left blind. Since then, things have between John and his wife, Susan (Barbara Crampton), have been awfully strained. John sees the inheritance as a way to rekindle things with Susan, but Susan just can’t seem to forgive him, even though he has sobered up.

Meanwhile, their old Italian housekeeper tells them the scandalous story of the Duchess who lived in the castle and how she took an American husband. The Duchess soon had a child, Giorgio, but her husband abandoned them both and went back to America. Supposedly, Giorgio died when he was just 5 years old and for the 42 years since then the Duchess has let no one inside the castle. Some of the villagers, though, believe that the Duchess kept Giorgio alive and tortured him to punish her philandering husband. The old lady says that sometimes strange noises can be heard coming from the castle...

Soon, strange things start befalling the family. Rebecca swears there is someone else in the castle. After a stressful few days of strange noises and emotional turmoil, John takes to drinking again and even brings home a prostitute. Before long, mutilated bodies start piling up and suspicions fall on him.
Can the family band together to prove that the castle freak exists before John is hauled off to jail or, worse yet, before they all die painful deaths at the hands of the freak?

The most impressive thing about Castle Freak is the depth it goes into in regards to character development. There are no wispy-thin characters and everyone has a detailed background. The interactions between all the players drew me further and further into the story, fully engaging me until I couldn’t pry my eyes from the screen. Of course, Jeffrey Combs was a joy to watch as always. Though he quickly becomes unhinged as the movies progresses, I couldn’t help but feel for the poor guy as well. Barbara Crampton does a fantastic job as the fed-up and overwhelmed Susan, but it’s Jessica Dollarhide as Rebecca that really shines. Even though she was handicapped, she wasn’t whiny or spoiled, but looked at her disability as a challenge she had to face. It was very easy to root for her the entire time! Another standout performance was the castle freak himself, played by Jonathan Fuller. His creepy movement and Neanderthal grunts, plus the raw emotion he exhibited, really left me with conflicted feelings. One minute I was cheering him on as he escaped, the next I was hoping he would be caught…

For a straight-to-DVD film, Castle Freak sure looks sharp, even if it does have a low-budget feel. The special FX makeup and gore are the most impressive. The makeup and prosthetics done on the “freak” look incredibly real and very freaky. The gore is pretty gruesome, especially a scene involving Mr. Freak and the prostitute. There’s a fair bit of whipping, biting, dismemberment and plenty of blood flowing!

I also enjoyed that the film was shot on location in Italy, at an actual Italian castle (owned by the head of distribution company Full Moon Pictures). The beautiful countryside and gothic castle complemented the story (loosely based on the H.P. Lovecraft tale “The Outsider”) perfectly.

The film is not without its flaws, though. It takes about a good solid hour for anything to really happen, which might be a deal-breaker for some. The beginning felt a little too repetitive and slow for me, but the ending made up for the fact. Also, no matter how well it tries to hide the fact, Castle Freak is still a low-budget film and at times looks as such.

Still, for what it is, Castle Freak is a great film if enjoyed by the right people. It has complex characters, a fantastic location, great performances and solid special FX. The next time you have an itch for a serious B-movie, look no further than one of Full Moon’s best efforts, Castle Freak!

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The Attic Expeditions (2001)

This little-seen gem of a horror film that is The Attic Expeditions is a twisted mind screw that all horror fans deserve to see. It’s got a terrific cast (Jeffrey Combs, Ted Raimi, Seth Green and even Alice Cooper in a cameo!), as story full of twists and turns and enough tricks up its sleeve to keep you entertained!

Trevor Blackburn (Andras Jones) wakes up from a coma he’s been in the last four years, only he wakes up to find himself in a mental institution with no memories of why or how he got there. Dr. Eck (Jeffrey Combs) tells him he murdered his fiancé Faith (Beth Bates) in a strange ritual and has been under the doctor’s care ever since. Trevor can’t remember what happened and struggles with brief flashes of memories he does have. Nonetheless, Dr. Eck sends him to a halfway house for recovering mental patients called The House of Love. Trevor is under the care of Dr. Thalama (Wendy Robie), along with patients Amy (Shannon Hart Cleary), Douglas (Seth Green), Liz (Nancy Wolfe) and Ronald (Jerry Hauck). Soon, strange things start happening that call into question Trevor’s reality. Is everything happening in his head? Did Trevor really even kill his fiancé? Or has Dr. Eck gone too far in his “treatment” of Trevor?


The Attic Expeditions in one twisted movie that toys with you through its entire 90 minute running length. Just when you think you have it all figured out, it throws another curveball at you. Through its nonlinear narrative and nightmarish images, the film places you squarely in Trevor’s shoes. Like him, the viewer has no idea what is real and what isn’t.

One of the many joys of this movie is the performances by the actors. Jeffrey Combs does puts on a great performance as Dr. Eck, one that resembles his most famous role, that of Dr. Herbert West in Re-Animator. He is hilarious, enigmatic and thoroughly entertaining to watch! Andras Jones as Trevor is easy on the eyes as well as being a superb actor. Though he may (or may not) have done horrible things, we still feel for his character and care a great deal about him. Seth Green is hilarious as always and seems pretty comfortable playing a spastic nutcase! The rest of the cast should be commended for a job well-done also…my favorite crazy was Ronald, played by Jerry Hauck, whose “conversation” with his alligator hand puppet was one of the creepiest scenes in the film.

There’s a fair amount of blood in the film, but not enough to satisfy gorehounds. This film really doesn’t need gore, though, as it’s got enough tricks to keep you guessing until the end (and even at that point, not much is revealed). The horror of the film is more focused on psychological torment and nightmarish visions than blood ‘n’ guts. The spooky trunk in the attic that appears to have someone or something in it…that’s wayyyy spookier than any evisceration could ever be!

Guys (and some girls as well) will be tickled pink to see redhead Beth Bates and blonde Shannon Hart Cleary bare all for the camera in a few sex scenes with Jones. I felt these scenes were a bit silly, especially with the stereotypical “hard rock” music that flared up every time Trevor would get with another woman. At one point, I even expected him and his therapist to get it on (luckily that didn’t happen)!

Be warned, though, the story jumps around more than a schizophrenic in a candy shop. One minute, it’s all sweet talk as Trevor and his fiancé Faith talk about their future together under a grand oak tree but the next scene gets all down ‘n’ dirty with Trevor bound to the ground in a cave, about to be sacrificed in a grisly manner over what appears to be a satanic symbol. I could still follow the story, but it does take a little patience and understanding. The way it was edited and shown does make a lot of sense considering the entire story, so stick it out! The ending might leave some scratching their heads, but I absolutely loved it. I don’t need explanations, I just loved it and it worked!

I wholeheartedly recommend The Attic Expeditions to horror fans or those that want their heads messed with a little bit. In this day and age of remakes and "reimagings" it's nice to see something original come along. Not only that, but The Attic Expeditions will screw with your head days after watching it…
Available on Amazon!

Edmond (2005)

Edmond is a bleak, existential journey one man takes when he realizes his life is meaningless…

Edmond Burke decides he’s had enough of his boring, beige-colored, corporate life. Taking the advice of a psychic, he leaves his wife and his old life behind to discover where he is really supposed to be. Unfortunately, his journey takes him into the seedy underground of the city, where in one night he visits multiple bars, strip clubs, peep shows and massage parlors. Through his hellish journey, he finds the hookers too expensive, the pimps violent and many a conman roaming the dirty streets. It seems everyone wants to take advantage of him, from the hookers to a man running a card game con on the street. He is beaten and robbed, but keeps on roaming the streets searching for answers. In such a lonely, dog-eat-dog world, Edmond finally snaps and ends up killing a woman and threatening others. He is sent to prison, where he has a lifetime to mull over the philosophy of life that sent him to the brink of madness.

William H. Macy stars as Edmond, playing the same lost, lonely, sad and confused man he plays in almost every other film. Sure, he gives a powerful performance, but it is one we have already seen in countless films. His Edmond is a pathetic sack of a man who does whatever people tell him to do including following the psychic’s advice that he’s not in the right place in life and a man at a bar (played by Joe Mantegna) who tells him to go get laid. He finally snaps when he realizes that the world outside of his white-bread upbringing is a mean place where people just use and abuse each other.

The cast features many other familiar faces, including Julia Stiles as a waitress he ends up sleeping with, Mena Suvari, Bai Ling and Denise Richards all as hookers, Debi Mazar as a madam of a massage parlor, Jeffrey Combs as a hotel desk clerk and George Wendt as a pawn shop owner. Unfortunately, these appearances are little more than cameos as Edmond wanders through the dangerous underbelly of the city and we don’t get to see much these actors. This film is solely focused on Macy’s character.

That being said, this is much more a character-driven film than a horror movie. It was penned from a play by David Mamet and directed by Stuart Gordon of Re-Animator fame. Don’t expect any over-the-top, gory, humorous horror here, though. Edmond’s level of violence doesn’t exceed a couple of beatings and one killing, which happens off-screen. The horror here is much more psychological as Edmond’s sanity continues to slip. Gordon, though, does a masterful job of directing the Mamet-penned emotional script and cinematographer Denis Maloney captures all the seedy trashiness of Downtown.

This film won’t please a lot of horror fans because of its slow pace and lack of bloodshed. You will need some patience to view the film, but the unsettling and uneven pace mirrors Edmond’s own psychological state of mind and is there for a reason. Fans of David Mamet films will find this more their style, but Edmond should also hold some interest to those who enjoy psychological dramas about a person’s changing reality. Edmond is an intriguing piece of cinema that forces you to wake up and examine your own life to see if you are really living it.

Available on Amazon!