The Screaming Skull (1958) Review

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(More customer reviews)You know, I like this little shocker and don't understand why there isn't a better print of it around. It's rather spooky and quite effective. The story concerns a husband bringing his new bride home to his family estate. She's recently out of a mental hospital due to the shock of her parents' accidental drownings. He's a widower and the shadow of his former wife {whom he's killed) hangs over everything. The bride (Peggy Webber, later a "Dragnet" regular on TV) is now rich from her inheritance and the husband tries to drive her insane and/or to suicide to get the money. He plants a skull everywhere trying to scare her and the screeching of his late wife's peacocks that still roam the grounds of the estate add to the spookiness. The screeching of the peacocks is used to emulate screams that Webber thinks is the skull screaming. But the estates' looney gardner (who loved the late wife) is on to everything and has a skull of his own that he keeps hidden in a murky fountain. Just as Webber has screamed herself into a near catatonic state from fright, the ghost of the late wife shows up to exact revenge. This sequence is handled very well as the specter is dressed in a flowing gardening dress and big hat with a skull for a face. It floats out of the greenhouse (her favorite place as she loved flowers) and chases Webber down the garden path and into the house---at night of course and very effective. It's all very low budget but well done in b&w with creepy music and a good performance from Webber. The estate is properly run down and gothic looking and shadows are used to good effect. I hope to see a decent print of this one day. I'd love to own it.

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Orson Welles in "The Hitch Hiker" (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Not recognizing the story by it's title, and not particularly a huge fan of animation, I plugged this DVD into my machine with only mild interest and little expectation. And within the first three minutes I was hooked! The feature itself is a mere half an hour length, and it ended way before I was ready for it to finish. The presentation evoked feelings I haven't experienced in years, with Orson Welle's commanding voice bringing me back to long car rides home from my grandparents house, sitting next to my father in the front seat, and listening to recordings of the old radio shows on the powerhouse "WJR Detroit - The Great Voice of the Great Lakes." There is a quality in the animation of this version of "The Hitch Hiker" which makes the story seem bigger and more important, like wonderful illustrations in a classic book. And there is an absolute intrigue in this production that will appeal to old and young alike. This story has been captured in various productions throughout the years, but none like this. This is a fresh and unique concept, combining the vocal performance of a master story teller with the visual allure of a gallery of wonderful renderings. I haven't finished watching all of the extras on this DVD, and I don't that I will. But the feature presentation was well worth the price, and I've shared it with many of my family and friends who are anticipating the next installment in this series as much as I am. Bravo!

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Theater of Horror (The Boy from Hell / Dead Girl Walking / Lizard Baby / The Ravaged House / The Doll Cemetery / Death Train) (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hideshi Hino's Theater of Horror (Various directors, 2004)
Those who are familiar with Hideshi Hino's groundbreaking films in the Guinea Pig series-- Flower of Flesh and Blood is one of those few releases that can truly be said to have forever changed the face of film as we know it today-- are going to be somewhat surprised, and probably let down, by the six short movies in the Hideshi Hino's Theater of Horror box. Hino steps out from behind the cameras and lets other directors work with his world-famous manga, and the result looks more like a low-budget TV series than the ultra-gory Guinea Pig films.
The ultimate result of this, however, is to point out even more starkly the differences between the American and Japanese cultures of film. The six films here are almost alarmingly low-budget, the kind of thing that in America would be relegated to independent channels at 2:30 on Saturday morning, and would have the appropriate quality. In these six films, however, the bargain-basement quality of the filming, and the microbudget special effects, couch rich, complex scripts with interesting characters and interesting situations in which they can perform. Some of the films are straightforward morality plays of the type one expects from Hino manga (assuming, of course, one has read Hino manga), while others are labyrinthine pieces of ambiguity (Death Train stands out here, as diffuse as any four-hour Soviet epic, but concentrated and horrific). None of them requires a great amount of time or attention, stretching from forty-three to sixty-one minutes each, but while each is on the screen, it will demand both from you.
All in all, a fine little box, both less and more than I was expecting. I'll be watching these almost as much as I watch Hino's contributions to the Guinea Pig series. *** ½

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