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Showing posts from September 9, 2012

The Monster (1925) - Rowland West

Rowland West is a veteran director of film noir from the 20's and 30's. The Monster is still pretty early on in his career, but it packs the same punch as other movies that he would be responsible for. This horror/comedy was one of the first films to be advertised as such and one of the first that I am reviewing starring horror extraordinaire Lon Chaney.  Lon Chaney takes the lead in this film as a mad scientist that has recently overthrown the staff at a local sanitarium. He enslaves some of the inmates and locks away the remaining staff. Now running the sanitarium he can begin his journey to find the secrets of life. He would, however, need a female to complete the "experiment". Our hero is a comedic one. Donned with the handle Johnny Goodlittle. Goodlittle runs the general store and becomes a detective of sorts. He and a curious couple stumble upon the sanitarium and unravel its secrets.  The movie hasn't received many positive reviews and I found

Waxworks (1924) - Paul Leni

Waxwork is a movie about a young man and woman that are hired by a local wax sculptor to create terrifying stories about his sculptures. This of course leads to a series of chilling tales being told. Each one unique in its own right.  The first is the tale of Harun al-Rashid and how he lost his arm. The arm having fell off of the wax sculpture in the previous scene. The story isn't very terrifying. Harun al-Rashid (The sultan or something) wants this Bakers wife. He tries to seduce her but it doesn't go right. Its kind of a comedy and not really a horror bit. Weird.  The second is about Ivan the Terrible wanting a girl that is about to get married. Much like the above, but less comedic.  The last, however, is the best one. The last wax figure, actually comes to life and attacks the writers. Spring-heeled Jack is a version of Jack the Ripper. This is more of an early slasher feature. The ending to this one is pretty creepy, however, cliche.  This movie is