Posts by Jason Jones

While Man-Made Monster is not one of the all-time great horror films like many of its thirties and forties Universal Pictures celluloid brethren, it is not without certain merits; in particular, it can be viewed historically as the proving ground for one of Universal's undisputed classics, The Wolf Man. Both filmed in 1941, Man Made Monster first teamed many of the people who would later collaborate on The Wolf Man. Star Lon Chaney Jr., and director George Waggner are well known to have gone on to make the furry opus, but many of the other talents that reunited for the Wolf Man included some of Universal's stable of technicians and artists like special effects wizard John P.(read more...)

Carnival of Souls is unlike any other movie I’ve ever seen. I don’t think it would make any serious film fan’s "best ever" list, but it is unique and at times chilling enough to have carved a niche for itself in horror history. At times this 1962 black and white indie thriller is amateurish, even downright cheesy. I must say, however, that there is a certain quality this film possesses, as do many independent and novice films, that frees it from the traditional trappings of Hollywood and allows for some genuinely fresh and inspired moments. Those inspired moments in Carnival of Souls, blended with the crudeness of the production, are amongst the most inventive and absolutely creepy in all of horror cinema.(read more...)

"This is the scroll of Thoth. Herein are set down the magic words by which Isis raised Osiris from the dead." More importantly, those are the opening words of Universal Pictures monster classic The Mummy. While of the big four classic Universal monster movies (including Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man), this may be the least fondly remembered, but it was one of the most important films the studio would make in the thirties. Following the success of Dracula and Frankenstein, The Mummy established Universal's prowess in horror and began some now well-known monster movie formulas.(read more...)

The Vampire Lovers, while based on nineteenth century writer Sheridan LeFanu’s classic vampire novella "Carmilla," is not high art. It is however, a highly enjoyable if a little tawdry vampire yarn in the grand Hammer tradition replete with foggy graveyards, ruined castles, buxom, braless, neck-biting beauties and the greatest vampire killer of all time, Peter Cushing.(read more...)