Bride of the Monster (1955)

The second – and most successful – of Ed Wood’s Bela Lugosi films, Bride of the Monster is the closest the infamous director came to making a ‘conventional’ B-movie and, despite the flaws you come to expect in his works, is well worth having a look at. Read more

Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)

This is a really difficult film to review, mainly because several weeks after watching it I still have absolutely no idea what to make of it all. Another of Roger Corman’s spare-change affairs, made this time in one week, it’s a knockabout comedy of errors which also has a few occasional pretensions at being a serious horror film. The plot goes something like this: crook Sparks Moran sees an opportunity to make a fortune when revolution breaks out on a Caribbean island by helping loyalists escape on his boat, killing them and then blaming their deaths on a legendary sea monster supposed to inhabit the area. Unfortunately for Moran, the monster exists, and sets about attacking his boat. Read more

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977)

It’s nothing new for horror to borrow from other styles of film-making, but even by the genre’s own mix-and-match standards Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals is a real curio. As the title suggests, it’s one of the Em(m)anuelle films, a long running series of soft-core porn films the began in France in 1969. By the late 70s, the series was being helmed by Italian director Joe d’Amato, who saw fit to try and incorporate the character into that other late 70s Italian staple, the cannibal movie. The results are odd in the extreme. Laura Gemser plays roving reporter Emanuelle, working undercover at a New York lunatic asylum, where a young female patient has bitten a nurse’s breast off. It transpires that the girl was raised by a tribe of cannibals, and intrigued by the story, Emanuelle puts together an expedition to track down the tribe - only to find that her team are top of the menu… Read more

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

When I was thinking of how good Alien was my mind turned to a film which might be placed somewhat closer towards the other end of the science-fiction/horror quality spectrum. With its premise readily apparent from the title I have to confess that I do hold Killer Klowns in something approaching genuine affection. It’s probably because it’s one of the first films I can remember watching as a child (I had very negligent parents) but with a few years growth under my belt I can still identify one or two redeeming features for any Black Lagoon readers who might happen across a copy to look out for. Read more

Re-Animator (1985)

Given that 1985 saw the release of both Re-Animator and Dan O’Bannon’s The Return Of The Living Dead, it’s a shame to reflect that the splatter horror has never really enjoyed a sustained level of output. Periodic stops and starts have whetted the appetite but have usually been followed by a series of sequels of decreasing quality and all too infrequent original output. I think this is a real shame, as splatter horror as a sub-genre naturally lends itself to a cross between the niche and general viewer. As well as being great for horror output in itself, this realisation of a duel market is also why splatter horrors, when done properly, can be among the most original, inventive and damned well enjoyable films going. Read more