As both fan and critic, I have oft deliberated on how the definition of the British Horror movie can be stretched: this film, for those of you out there lucky enough to have seen it (I would hazard that totals less than a hundred) is as fine an example as any of the kind of title liable to provoke such debate. The years 1967 - 73, as we know, saw the breaking of many cinematic boundaries and genres, normally with a little help from our old friend Dr. Ugs, and the redefinition of the aims of both … [Read more...]

Those unfamiliar with David Leans 1948 version of the story of Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens in 1837, may ask what makes this version different from all other productions of the same name. The answer is that it is the most haunting of all versions with dark dingy lodgings as worn out as the characters themselves. It shows Victorian poverty at its worse, it emphasises a cut throat society through wretched characters that literally stand in the shadows, conniving and waiting for … [Read more...]

“Climbing High” is a delightful comedy by Carol Reed, made during the World War 2 years when audiences looked forward to viewing uplifting movies. While this is not one of Reed's better known films, it provides a vehicle for Jessie Matthews to display her talents on the screen. “Climbing High” explores mistaken identity in a love affair along with a critical look at social expectations of marriage in the 1930's. The film opens with a scene in Canada, with giant sequoias decorating the sky, a … [Read more...]

Somewhere between the Technicolor explosion of Hammer Gothic circa 1957 and the murkier, browner depths of ‘exploitation’ (a term not in common usage this side of the pond until at least 1966) lurks a half-forgotten monochrome netherworld. And in this financially constrained yet aesthetically striking place, ‘mongst scattered Butchers thrillers, lurid Poe adaptations and all sorts of unclassifiable nonsense (a lot of it starring Michael Gough) dwells The Hands of Orlac. Largely unseen, even … [Read more...]

Released two years after Satan’s Slave, this was Norman J Warren’s second horror film. In the opening scene, set in the darkness of a wood there is little to see at first, apart from some flickering torches viewed in the distance and the sound of angry voices. This soon changes; a group of three men are seen carefully setting a mantrap in a hole in the ground. When the trap is set they cover it with fallen leaves. The clothes the men are wearing tell us that we are in medieval times. The crowd … [Read more...]