The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)

Reviewed on July 11, 2005 by Carl

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is undoubtedly one of the finest films of the silent era, as well as standing out as a landmark in the development of cinema in general. Though it might appear a little rough around the edges for the general viewer looking for some quick frights, for those who are willing to persevere it offers up a stunning mixture of revolutionary design and style, genuinely gripping plot and pace and surreally beautiful performances from the leading actors. Read more

The Invisible Man (1933)

Reviewed on July 8, 2005 by Matt

Somewhere along the line, director James Whale decided to start incorporating comedy into his horror movies. Many people consider 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein to be the high-point of his genre-mixing, but as far as I’m concerned it’s his earlier film The Invisible Man, based on HG Wells’ novel, that’s the most successful. Whilst Bride is obviously a great film, the camp comedy doesn’t sit too well with the tragic elements of Mary Shelley’s story and Karloff’s doleful performance. The fact that the Invisible Man’s central protagonist is, erm, an invisible man, gives a greater opportunity for the comedy to arise organically out of scenario, especially with the script’s bumbling policemen, hysterical barmaids and angry mobs. Read more

The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)

Reviewed on July 3, 2005 by Carl

There’s no getting around the fact that this is a bad film. It uses its meagre resources badly, manages to wring any entertainment out of what is a naturally engaging premise and draws together a cast of pretty ropey actors. It’s a real shame too, as there are one or two points in ‘The Amazing Transparent Man’ where you can detect faint hints of the larger story the producers were trying to tell but came nowhere near to doing justice. Read more

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Reviewed on July 2, 2005 by Carl

Carnival of Souls represents Herk Harvey’s solitary departure from making educational and industrial films and, intriguingly, he really manages to pull it off. Though the plot is really nothing more advanced than an average episode of The Outer Limits, it is to Harvey manages to mould everything together and churns out a little gem. Read more

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