Sunday, 29 July 2018
397 Demon Seed
This is more of a science-fiction film than a horror flick but still ratchets up some shocks. Fritz Weaver plays a scientist who designs a super-intelligent computer, Proteus, that starts to have designs on his wife.
Julie Christie ( as Susan Harris )
Sex : Susan is artificially impregnated by Proteus
Death : Survives
Julie was born in India and rose to become one of the most iconic film stars of the sixties winning an Oscar for Darling in 1965. Christie has always picked her roles carefully leaving room for charity and campaigning work but she is still active at 78.
Saturday, 28 July 2018
396 The Death Bed ( 1977 )
This low budget horror is like Edgar Allen Poe on acid. A demon takes the form of a giant bed that consumes anyone unfortunate enough to lie on it. There's also a good guy permanently trapped in a painting on the wall who comments on the munching. The acting is awful and the special effects are laughable but it's so crazy it has a certain appeal.
Demene Hall ( as Diane )
Sex : No
Death : Diane is consumed by the bed
This was Demene's first acting role. She quickly faded from view but was able to make a successful comeback as a mature actress in the noughties.
Julie Ritter ( as Suzan )
Sex : Suzan strips for bed
Death : Suzan is consumed by the bed
This was Julie's only real acting role. She later achieved some success as a TV composer in the late nineties.
Rosa Luxemburg ( as Sharon )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Rosa's only screen role.
Dessa Stone ( as first female victim )
Sex : The victim begins to have sex on the bed
Death : She is consumed by the bed
This was Dessa's only film role.
Linda Bond ( as The Resurrected )
Sex : She has sex to destroy the bed
Death : She's already dead
Friday, 27 July 2018
395 The Child ( 1977 )
This film was part of my bad horror video club on a Monday night at my hall of residence in the eighties. It hasn't improved with age. The premise is OK, a young governess comes to a child who is communing with zombies to get even with friends and family but it's horribly botched in execution with low production values and a maddeningly intrusive soundtrack.
Laurel Barnett ( as Alicianne )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Laurel was active in the late seventies and eighties but her recent whereabouts are unknown.
Rosalie Cole ( as Rosalie )
Sex : No
Death : Axed in the head by Alicianne
This was Rosalie's only film.
Sunday, 15 July 2018
394 Squirm ( 1976 )
This low budget horror sees a small town attacked by flesh-eating worms following a violent electrical storm. The special effects are not bad but it's hard to empathise with the white trash characters.
Patricia Pearcy ( as Geri )
Sex : Geri has a shower
Death : Survives
Patricia was a stage actress from Texas before her screen debut in 1974's Cockfighter. She effectively retired in 1984, becoming a private drama teacher in Austin though she took a few voice parts in the nineties. She is now 71.
Fran Higgins ( as Alma )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Fran's only film.
Patricia Pearcy ( as Geri )
Sex : Geri has a shower
Death : Survives
Patricia was a stage actress from Texas before her screen debut in 1974's Cockfighter. She effectively retired in 1984, becoming a private drama teacher in Austin though she took a few voice parts in the nineties. She is now 71.
Fran Higgins ( as Alma )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Fran's only film.
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
393 Savage Weekend ( 1976 )
If you can ignore the low production values- watch out for those low-flying boom mikes -this is a pretty good slasher film with the victims a dislikable bunch of wealthy friends on a weekend vacation.
Marie Pettis is a recent divorcee from Greg ( Jeff Pomerantz ) , a disgraced politician. She has a new boyfriend Robert ( Jim Doerr ) and goes off to his weekend retreat with her sister and other friends. There's a sinister yokel on hand , Otis ( William Sanderson ) but is he also the masked killer stalking them ?
Marilyn Hamlin ( as Marie )
Sex : Marie has sex with Robert but also teases Mac the lumberman and has erotic visions
Death : Survives
This was Marilyn's only substantial film role.
Caitlin O' Heaney ( as Shirley )
Sex : Shirley has sex with Robert's friend Jay
Death : Shirley is tied over an industrial saw which is eventually turned on.
This was Caitlin's film debut after studying at the famous Julliard School of Drama in New York. Unlike Marilyn, Caitlin has kept an acting career going while also dabbling in perfumery and environmentalism.
Monday, 18 June 2018
392 The Omen ( 1976 )
This was another of the year's horror classics benefiting enormously from the presence of Gregory Peck in the main role as the wealthy ambassador who is unknowingly bringing up the Antichrist in the form of Damian ( Harvey Stephens ). Director Richard Donner rose to the challenge of making a convincing horror film where the main villain is a cherubic infant with judicious use of music and still-impressive special effects. Billie Whitelaw impresses as the fiendish housekeeper Mrs Baylock.
Lee Remick ( as Katherine Thorn )
Sex : No
Death : Pushed out of a window by Mrs Baylock
Lee came to prominence in the late fifties and was Oscar-nominated for Days of Wine and Roses in 1962 . She was in the top rank of actresses through the sixties and this was a late triumph for her. In the eighties, she was mainly to be found in TV movies. She died of cancer in 1991 aged 55.
Holly Palance ( as Nanny )
Sex : No
Death : Publicly hangs herself at a garden party at the behest of a devil dog.
Holly is the eldest daughter of Hollywood legend Jack Palance. Holly's own acting career is a bit spotty and she retired to raise a family in 1989. She is now 68.
Saturday, 16 June 2018
391 Land of the Minotaur (1976 )
Donald Pleasance and Peter Cushing go head to head over a Satanic cult in Greece to a soundtrack provided by Brian Eno. Sounds good doesn't it ? Well it isn't. It's a plodding bore with cardboard characters largely played by unknown Greeks and laughable Dr Who special effects. You suspect Pete and Don signed up for a break in the Aegean without bothering to read the script.
Luan Peters ( as Laurie Gordon )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Luan has the main female role here.
Vanna Reville ( as Beth )
Sex : Beth has sex with her boyfriend ( offscreen )
Death : Stabbed by the grocerr's daughter
Vanna ( aka Gelsomina ) had a brief acting career in the late seventies.
Christina ( as Grocer's daughter )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Whoever Christina was, this is her only film.
Jane Lyle ( as Milo's girlfriend )
Sex : A brief glimpse of nipple
Death : Survives
Jane was in the Greek video nasty Island of Death the same year and one other film then was never heard of again.
Efi Cosma ( as First victim )
Sex : no
Death : Stabbed by the grocer's daughter
Efi starred in a number of Greek films then went behind the cameras as a production manager.
Luan Peters ( as Laurie Gordon )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Luan has the main female role here.
Vanna Reville ( as Beth )
Sex : Beth has sex with her boyfriend ( offscreen )
Death : Stabbed by the grocerr's daughter
Vanna ( aka Gelsomina ) had a brief acting career in the late seventies.
Christina ( as Grocer's daughter )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Whoever Christina was, this is her only film.
Jane Lyle ( as Milo's girlfriend )
Sex : A brief glimpse of nipple
Death : Survives
Jane was in the Greek video nasty Island of Death the same year and one other film then was never heard of again.
Efi Cosma ( as First victim )
Sex : no
Death : Stabbed by the grocer's daughter
Efi starred in a number of Greek films then went behind the cameras as a production manager.
Saturday, 9 June 2018
390 Grizzly ( 1976 )
This rip-off of Jaws is an early sighting of Christopher George who became the king of mediocre horror movies in the early seventies and eighties. This is an awful film with cheap effects, uninteresting characters and an unferocious-looking bear at its centre.
Joan McCall ( as Alison Corwin )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was only Joan's third film but she soon gave up acting to become a writer ( including the uncalled-for sequel Grizzly II ) and is now President of a film company. She is now 75.
Victoria Johnson ( as Gail )
Sex : Gail strips to her underwear for an impromptu swim
Death : Torn apart by the grizzly
Victoria , a Penthouse Pet, was only in a few films as herself but found work as a body double including for Angie Dickinson in Dressed to Kill.
Kathy Rickman ( as June )
Sex : No
Death : Torn apart by the grizzly
Kathy was in just three films although the third was in 2009.
Mary Ann Hearn ( as Margaret )
Sex : No
Death : Torn apart by the grizzly
Mary had a brief acting career in the seventies.
Saturday, 19 May 2018
389 God Told Me To ( 1976 )
This strange sci-fi/horror picture, written by Larry Cohen, has no big stars and feels surprisingly modern with similarities to recent offerings such as The Forgotten and The Adjustment Bureau.
Tony Lo Bianco plays Lt Peter Nichols , a cop investigating a spate of random killings, all linked by the killers' claims of divine inspiration. Devoutly religious himself, Nichols gets drawn into investigating his own past as he tracks down Bernard Phillips ( Richard Lynch ) the leonine link to all the killings.
Deborah Raffin ( as Casey )
Sex : Casey is Nichols' new girlfriend
Death : Survives
This was the gorgeous blonde's fourth film . Her career peaked in 1980 with a Golden Globe nomination for Touched By Love then declined rapidly in the latter half of the dcade. She later moved into audiobook publishing. She died of leukaemia in 2012 aged 59.
Sandy Dennis ( as Martha Nichols )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
The sixties starlet's film career was winding down by this point with Sandy unlikely to add to the Best Supporting Actress Oscar she won for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? in 1966. The mannered actress was still a big draw on Broadway though. After 1982 she worked mainly in TV before her death from ovarian cancer in 1992 aged 54.
Thursday, 17 May 2018
388 Eaten Alive ( 1976 )
Tobe Hooper's follow-up to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre isn't as bleak, with a bit more humour and a lot more sex.
Judd ( Neville Brand ) is another redneck maniac who attracts a lot of business to his hotel to say it's a) in the middle of nowhere b) falling to pieces c) run by a maniac who feeds most of his guests to his pet crocodile. Robert Englund makes his horror debut here as randy Buck and cameos from Mel Ferrer and Stuart Whitman testify to Hooper's rising status.
Marilyn Burns ( as Faye )
Sex : Faye is tied to the bed by Judd but it's not clear if he gets round to abusing her
Death : Survives
Marilyn teamed up with Hooper again and once more does a fair amount of screaming.
Roberta Collins ( as Clara Wood )
Sex : Clara is a prostitute but refuses to have anal sex with Buck
Death : Stabbed with a pitchfork then fed to the crocodile
Roberta was a former beauty contestant who became a regular in exploitation films notably Caged Heat. Her career petered out in the mid-eighties, partly due to substance abuse. She died of an overdose in 2008 aged 63.
Kyle Richards ( as Angie )
Sex : n/a
Death : Survives
Kyle made a big jump from appearing in Little House on the Prairie to this. Her career continued into adulthood but never in major roles. In recent years she's been more famous on reality TV. She is now 49.
Crystin Sinclaire ( as Libby Wood )
Sex : Libby strips for bed before hearing screams
Death : Survives
Crystin originally appeared in films as Lynda Gold including Caged Heat. Her career was finished by the end of the seventies. She is now 67.
Janus Blythe ( as Lynette )
Sex : Lynette has sex with Buck
Death : Survives
Janus appeared under her own name in this one.
Christine Schneider ( as Waitress )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Christine's only film role.
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
387 Dr Black and Mr Hyde ( 1976 )
This blaxploitation version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is passable but only that.
Dr Henry Pride ( Bernie Casey ) is a respected doctor but wants to take things further. When his prostitute friend Linda refuses to be experimented on, Pride uses the serum on himself and becomes a sort of albino Hulk taking out pimps and pros.
Rosalind Cash ( as Billie Worth )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Rosalind was a successful actress and singer perhaps best known as Charlton Heston's love interest in The Omega Man. From the mid-seventies onwards she was more often to be found on TV. She died of cancer in 1995 aged 56.
Marie O' Henry ( as Linda Monte )
Sex : Linda is a prostitute
Death : Survives
Marie had a brief film career in the seventies then disappeared.
Elizabeth Robinson ( as Cissy )
Sex : Cissy is a prostitute
Death : Killed by Hyde
This was Elizabeth's first film. She worked mainly in TV after this up to 1991.
Della Thomas ( as Bernice )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Della had a brief acting career in the seventies. She is now 75.
Judith Angeline ( as Nurse )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Judith's only film role.
Dr Henry Pride ( Bernie Casey ) is a respected doctor but wants to take things further. When his prostitute friend Linda refuses to be experimented on, Pride uses the serum on himself and becomes a sort of albino Hulk taking out pimps and pros.
Rosalind Cash ( as Billie Worth )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Rosalind was a successful actress and singer perhaps best known as Charlton Heston's love interest in The Omega Man. From the mid-seventies onwards she was more often to be found on TV. She died of cancer in 1995 aged 56.
Marie O' Henry ( as Linda Monte )
Sex : Linda is a prostitute
Death : Survives
Marie had a brief film career in the seventies then disappeared.
Elizabeth Robinson ( as Cissy )
Sex : Cissy is a prostitute
Death : Killed by Hyde
This was Elizabeth's first film. She worked mainly in TV after this up to 1991.
Della Thomas ( as Bernice )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Della had a brief acting career in the seventies. She is now 75.
Judith Angeline ( as Nurse )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Judith's only film role.
Thursday, 10 May 2018
386 Carrie ( 1976 )
Brian De Palma returned to horror with this first adaptation of a Stephen King novel justly celebrated for its special effects, a haunting central performance and a barnstorming climax.
Carrie White is an outcast at school due to her abusive upbringing by her mother Catherine ( Piper Laurie ) a religious fanatic. Carrie also has to deal with telekinetic powers not entirely under her control . After seeing Catherine in action, one of Carrie's tormentors Sue, has a change of heart and arranges for Carrie to attend the school prom with her boyfriend. However others ( including a young John Travolta ) plan to use the occasion to further humiliate her.
Sissy Spacek ( as Carrie )
Sex : Carrie has her first period in the school shower and isn't expecting it
Death : Carrie is stabbed by her mother then the house collapses on top of her
Mary Spacek ( nicknamed Sissy by her brothers ) had earned some notice in Prime Cut and Badlands but this made her a major star and won her an Oscar nomination. She won one for Coal-Miner's Daughter in 1980 and a number of other nominations before taking her foot off the gas in the mid-eighties.Since then she's a less busy character actress. She is now 68.
Amy Irving ( as Sue Snell )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Amy had made a few TV appearances but this was her film debut in which she appeared with her real-life mother Priscilla Pointer. She went on to marry Stephen Speilberg. She has gone on to a solid film career including an Oscar nomination for Yentl in 1993. She has also been recognised for performances on Broadway. She is now 64.
Nancy Allen ( as Christine )
Sex : Christine appears nude in the locker room. She later gives her boyfriend a blow job
Death : Burned alive when Carrie causes the car she's in to crash
Nancy was a policeman's daughter who started out as a child actress in commercials. She had made a couple of film appearances prior to this. She later married De Palma and starred in Dressed To Kill and Blow Out. Away from De Palma, she's best known for her recurring role in the RoboCop films. She is now 68.
Betty Buckley ( as Miss Collins )
Sex : No
Death : Killed when Carrie rams a table into her
Although an established star in musical theatre, this was actually Betty's first film role at 29. She has since kept a film and TV career going at the same time as her stage work.
P J Soles ( as Norma )
Sex : No
Death : Knocked unconscious by a water hydrant then perishes in the fire
Pamela Jayne Soles was born in Frankfurt. This was her first film. She later married Dennis Quaid. She has kept a career going but not at a high level. She is now 67.
Edie McLurg ( as Helen Shyres )
Sex : No
Death : Perishes in the fire
This was Edie's first film role but is atypical as the overweight actress went on to become a successful comedienne and voice actress. She is now 66 and still very busy.
Tuesday, 8 May 2018
385 Burnt Offerings ( 1976 )
This odd chiller has a strong cast but never quite delivers in the shocks department.
Ben ( Oliver Reed ) his wife Marian and son Davey move into an old mansion for a summer vacation , agreeing to one condition, to provide meals to a reclusive old lady Mrs Allardyce who lives in the attic. After a series of bizarre events Ben divines that the house itself is malevolent but Marian has fallen under its sway.
Karen Black ( as Marian )
Sex : Marian goes for a skinny dip but you can't see anything
Death : Survives but possessed
This was Karen's last horror outing for a few years.
Ben ( Oliver Reed ) his wife Marian and son Davey move into an old mansion for a summer vacation , agreeing to one condition, to provide meals to a reclusive old lady Mrs Allardyce who lives in the attic. After a series of bizarre events Ben divines that the house itself is malevolent but Marian has fallen under its sway.
Karen Black ( as Marian )
Sex : Marian goes for a skinny dip but you can't see anything
Death : Survives but possessed
This was Karen's last horror outing for a few years.
Monday, 7 May 2018
384 Alice Sweet Alice ( 1976 )
Catholicism takes another bashing in this unpleasant but not particularly scary film. The killer is revealed too soon but there's still a decent shock at the end.
Twelve-year old Alice is a difficult child, jealous of her attractive younger sister Karen. When the latter is murdered at her first Holy Communion ceremony suspicion falls on Alice. When her aunt is stabbed and fingers her as the culprit Alice is sent away but is she really the killer ?
Linda Miller ( as Catherine Spages )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Linda is the least known link in an acting dynasty as daughter of Jackie Gleason and mother of Jason Patric but she's had a decent career , mainly on TV. She is now 75.
Paula Sheppard ( as Alice )
Sex : Alice is sexually awakening
Death : Survives
Paula was actually eighteen when she starred in this. She only made one other film. She is now 60.
Jane Lowry ( as Aunt Alice )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Jane certainly earns the description "scream queen" in this but it was her only film. She is now 81.
Brooke Shields ( as Karen )
Sex : n/a
Death : Strangled by Mrs Turedi
Brooke is the first actress we've come across who's younger than me. Brooke has been a tabloid favourite for so long that it's overshadowed her acting skills though some would say she doesn't have any anyway. This was her first film before the following year's Pretty Baby thrust her into the spotlight. She is now 52 and still working whatever her critics might think.
Sunday, 6 May 2018
383 Shivers (1975 )
This was Canadian director David Cronenberg's first feature length film and pioneered a new sub-genre of body horror. His inexperience shows in the fragmented narrative and generally poor acting but it's still well worth catching.
A scientist living in a luxury Montreal tower block uses the resident whore as a guinea pig for a new parasite he's developing to liberate humanity from repressive civilisation. He then has a fit of conscience and tries to destroy it but by then it's too late and the parasite is intent on turning all the residents into sex maniacs.
Lynn Lowry ( as Nurse Forsythe )
Sex : Forsythe is saved from an attempted rape but once infected tries to seduce her boyfriend
Death : Survives
Lynn has the main female role in this one and does well considering that her screen boyfriend Paul Hampton has no discernible charisma whatsoever.
Susan Petrie ( as Janine Tudor )
Sex : Janine resists her infected husband's advances then has lesbian sex with her friend Betts
Death : Survives
Susan had a brief acting career in the seventies then disappeared.
Barbara Steele ( as Betts )
Sex : The parasite enters Betts through her vagina as she's in the bath then she has lesbian sex with Janine
Death : Survives
The horror veteran gave Cronenberg a fillip by agreeing to take a part in the film.
Silvie Debois ( as Benda Sviben )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Silvie's only film.
Cathy Graham ( as Annabelle )
Sex : Annabelle is the resident whore
Death : Strangled by Dr Hobbes
This was Cathy's only film.
A scientist living in a luxury Montreal tower block uses the resident whore as a guinea pig for a new parasite he's developing to liberate humanity from repressive civilisation. He then has a fit of conscience and tries to destroy it but by then it's too late and the parasite is intent on turning all the residents into sex maniacs.
Lynn Lowry ( as Nurse Forsythe )
Sex : Forsythe is saved from an attempted rape but once infected tries to seduce her boyfriend
Death : Survives
Lynn has the main female role in this one and does well considering that her screen boyfriend Paul Hampton has no discernible charisma whatsoever.
Susan Petrie ( as Janine Tudor )
Sex : Janine resists her infected husband's advances then has lesbian sex with her friend Betts
Death : Survives
Susan had a brief acting career in the seventies then disappeared.
Barbara Steele ( as Betts )
Sex : The parasite enters Betts through her vagina as she's in the bath then she has lesbian sex with Janine
Death : Survives
The horror veteran gave Cronenberg a fillip by agreeing to take a part in the film.
Silvie Debois ( as Benda Sviben )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Silvie's only film.
Cathy Graham ( as Annabelle )
Sex : Annabelle is the resident whore
Death : Strangled by Dr Hobbes
This was Cathy's only film.
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