The Vampire Bat (1933) - Frank R. Strayer

The Vampire Bat is not at all scary. Not by any sense of the word. It is, however, actually pretty boring. I've seen a lot of horror movies from the thirties now and this one is the bottom of the heap. There are very few positives about this movie, one of them being Dwight Frye. This man is a horror legend from the 30's. He single-handedly makes this movie bearable. I thought the inclusion of Fay Wray and Lionel Atwill would help things out but they actually came off as pretty bland and basic. Not really one of THEIR best movies. The copy that I watched was very well preserved. I had an easy time understanding it and the picture is pretty decent, albeit from the thirties.

The story is pretty straightforward. People in a small town start showing up with their blood being drained from their bodies. No one knows what's going on, so they instinctively attack the one that is different. They go after the dimwitted town pitty case Glieb. Glieb being portrayed to perfection by Dwight Frye. They throw in some mystery and then slap it in front of you. Is it Glieb? Is it something more sinister?

Director: Frank R. Strayer

Producer: Phil Goldstone and Larry Darmour

Starring: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Dwight Frye and Maude Eburne

Studio: Majestic Pictures

Release date: January 10, 1933

Country: USA

Did ya Know: Film is one of many made during the American Great Depression. Filmed at night on Universal's European village set. The interior of Lionel Atwill's house is the set from The Old Dark House.

Comments

The Human Monster (1939) - Walter Summers

Bela Lugosi turns in a fantastic performance. It is right on par with the exact same films that had made him famous like Dracula . My personal favorite being The Black Cat . Like the latter, this film suffered from poor circulation and lack of advertisement. Either that or the public wasn't interested in seeing Lugosi in anything else other than his famous bloodsucker. This film has a broad and well acted plot that was rich with detail. Lugosi has two sides in this picture. His well loved and compassionate side. The other is a strict, brutal lone shark that acts as a sinister villain to blind and handicapped people. He really brutalizes his victims. It's a macabre message to pay your bills. The film is slow moving and plagued by the usual setbacks from its time. Most of the nation wasn't really that concerned with horror at the time. But studios knew that they would always have an audience. This film is a prime example of that. It's sad because it's

Not scared yet? »

Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t

Not scared yet? »

Inseminoid (1981) - Norman J. Warren

What can be said for mindless schlock pictures like this one. They were pumped out in droves during the eighties. Inseminoid !? give me a break! It sounds like some pre-pubescent teenage boys came up with the title. On the plus side the movie isn't horrible to look at and it has a decent amount of gore. If you can separate yourself from the political incorrectness, then you might have a perfectly decent Sci-Fi Monster Feature. A research team exploring caves on Jupiter accidentally awakens an ancient alien that rapes and impregnates one of the team members. She suffers from terrible shock and trauma, leading to a complete mental breakdown as her pregnancy accelerates faster and faster. Feeling threatened she decides to kill anyone she deems a threat. Can the rest of the research team survive or will they all become victims of INSEMINOID! Apparently this movie had a million dollar budget. That's really shocking considering the outcome of the picture. The acting

Not scared yet? »

Horror Movie Project

Search This Blog