The Eyes of My Mother (2016) A day of shocking and brutal acts of violence lead a young girl down the path of madness. Story spans several years and is given a placid treatment so that the horror feels mundane. I'm not a fan of pulseless horror which seems to be a recent trend, but it's the right touch to balance out what happens in the story. It's a far more brutal movie to recall, while being borderline dull to watch.
Rating: * * ½ - Slightly Scary
We Are Still Here (2015) For the entire first half of this haunted house film, I thought I had selected another glacially-paced minimalist horror. Then, at almost literally the halfway point, this thing takes a From Dusk Till Dawn sized switch into shocks and scares and blood. Featuring cult icons Barbara Crampton (Re-animator), Lisa Marie (Ed Wood, Mars Attacks) and horror director Larry Fessenden (Wendigo, The Last Winter), who gets one of the best acting showcases of this month
Rating: * * ½/
- Starts tame. Ends Wild.
The Mad Magician (1954) Playing the title character, Vincent Price does not disappoint. Very reliable formula of illusions, disguises and revenge whipped up by director John Brahm (The Lodger, Hanover Square) and originally filmed in 3D. (The effects here look more fun than those in Price's more famous House of Wax.)
Rating: * * * - Okay - Safe for Sandy
The Walking Dead (1936) The plot sounds similar to The Man They Could Not Hang, with Boris Karloff once again returning from the dead to kill those who framed him for murder, but this is quite different. Directed by Michael Curtiz, the film also stars Edmund Gwenn (Santa in Miracle on 34th Street) as the brilliant scientist and the supporting cast are all faces familiar from any number of 1930s Warner Bros. gangster films. Even though it's better cast and better directed than TMTCNH, it's not nearly as much fun. Curtiz is a fine director, but he gives the film too much class when he should've played up the zombie vs. gangsters angle.
Rating: * * * - Okay - Safe for Sandy
The Clairvoyant (1934) There's a better film here just waiting to be remade. Claude Rains plays a fake mind reader whose powers become real whenever he's near a mysterious woman. I don't mind the spooky predictions, but for me the real story is Rains being caught between his wife and this other woman who literally completes and legitimizes him. I would love to see a version of this story where everyone learns of this connection early, putting the relationship dynamics right up front. Much as I love Rains, I'm starting to think he works better in supporting roles than as a leading man, where he often lets the story and other characters push him around.
Rating: * * ½ - Safe for Sandy