HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS 1984 (KINO)

I sadly ignored this film for over 40 years.

I never gave this movie much thought and over the years I have been curious about it, but never got around to seeing it until recently, and I confess I enjoyed it very much.

This Pete Walker film is based on the story "Seven Keys To Baldpate" which has been filmed many times before. Desi Arnez, Jr, stars as a writer named Ken Magee, who bets his publisher $20,000 that he can get an entire story written in 24 hours.

The publisher, Sam Allyson (Richard Todd) tells Magee he has a deserted mansion in the country and he can go there and write. Magee is soon on his way and when he finally arrives at the mansion during a raging thunderstorm he finds the unexpected.

A man and woman (John Carradine and Sheila Keith) claim to be the caretakers of the place, but then a young woman named Mary Norton (Julie Peasgood) shows up and warns Magee to leave.

Other people show up including Lionel Grisbane (Vincent Price), Sebastian Grisbane (Peter Cushing) and Corrigan (Christopher Lee) and that's when the mysterious murders start.

This was a very entertaining film in my opinion, and to have a cast like this assembled for one film makes it all the better for fans of the above mentioned actors. Why the hell I ignored this for so long is beyond me. Stupid I guess.

It was nice to see Sheila Keith as well as she was a mainstay in anything Pete Walker did and always turned in great performances. She really holds her own with the horror icons in the film.

The climax of the film is a good one and all I can say is check this out for yourself if you're curious.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Claudia Cardinale is 87, Lois Chiles is 78, and Samantha Fox is 59.

ALIEN OUTLAW 1985 (VCI)

This was a lot of fun.

Gunslinger aliens arrive on Earth from space and go in a hunting spree for humans.

These aliens think they have it easy as they begin killing people left and right. They soon run into a beautiful woman named Jesse Jamison (Kari Anderson) and she has a gun show and is an excellent shot.

The entire movie works its way to a climax where Jesse fights it out with the monsters. I know this is a threadbare plot, but it works so well. A lot of people tear this film apart, but to me it was fun....91 minutes of enjoyment.

The cast also includes old cowboy stars Sunset Carson and Lash LaRue which made the film even better for me. Kimberly Mauldin is gorgeous as the girlfriend of Jesse's manager who is killed early on.

Before I wrap this up, I have to mention that Kari Anderson is one of the most beautiful women to ever appear in a sci-fi film. It's a shame this is her only fim role. She later went into make-up for a few feature films and after that I don't know.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this shot in North Carolina gem, and as I always say, don't listen to all the negative stuff. See it for yourself and decide.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sarah Michelle Geller is 48, and Amy Dumas is 50.

RIP JEAN MARSH 1934-2025

The English actress has passed away.

A renowned actress, Marsh appeared in hundreds of TV shows and movies in her long career.

For about 75 years Marsh has graced both large and small screens. Some of her notable TV appearances included "The Third Man", "Upstairs, Downstairs" "Twilight Zone", "Danger Man", "Hawaii 5-0", "Doctor Who" and "Tales From The Darkside".

Her movie roles included "Willow", "The Changeling", "The Eagle Has Landed", "Dark Places" and "Unearthly Stranger".

Jean Marsh passed away on April 12, 2025 from dementia at the age of 90.

BLOOD STALKERS 1976 (FROLIC)

Now this is very good low budget movie making!

Two couples travel to the Everglades to stay at a deserted cabin owned by one of the men, Mike (Jerry Albert). They stop at a small gas station and meet the owner who refuses to help them get directions to the cabin.

He warns them about "Bloodstalkers" that roam the land at night. Of couse they think he is crazy and they finally find the cabin. As soon as night falls they are attacked by huge hairy monsters.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this movie and it kind of reminded me of "Shriek Of The Mutilated" in it's climax. All is not what it seems in this gory thriller directed by Robert W. Morgan.

The ending is very downbeat and it works oh so well. Robert W. Morgan is one of the worlds best known Bigfoot hunters and I think this made the movie even more bizarre.

The small cast really plays their parts well. The rest of the cast includes Ken Miller (who I first saw in the 1957 classic "I Was A Teenage Werewolf), Toni Crabtree, Cisse Cameron and Robert W. Morgan. The women in the movie are very easy on the eyes and do not act like anything but regular women, which is rare in horror films.

It was nice to see Ken Miller again as this brought back memories of the 1950's AIP monster movies I love so much. This is a very rare movie and sadly it isn't shown much, but if you get a chance, watch it. I think you'll like it. I saw VHS ads for this movie many, many years ago and I thought it was just another silly slasher film. Boy was I wrong.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Joyce Meadows is 92, and Agostina Belli is 78.

THE FIFTH CORD 1971 (BLUE UNDERGROUND) BLU-RAY

Very well done Giallo.

Franco Nero stars as a hard drinking reporter named Andrea Bild, who is assigned a story about an assault in a tunnel in which the victim survived, but then things begin to get weird.

A mysterious masked killer begins killing people Bild knows and this makes him a suspect in the eyes of a Police Inspector played by Wolfgang Priess.

Bild begins to play detective himself and discovers a pattern to the killings and this really puts his life in danger. The film looks beautiful and really moves at a good pace.

Nero is great in the lead role, and he is surrounded by beautiful women, of course. The climax may suprise you and it may not, but it ends with a dandy fight between Bild and the killer.

If you're a fan of Italian Giallo, then this is for you. The rest of the cast includes Silvia Monti, Ira Von Furstenberg, Edmund Purdom, Agostina Belli, and Pamela Tiffin.

I suspect most of you have seen this fillm since it has been out for a while, but in case you're a late comer like me, I really recommend it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ed O'Neill is 79.

HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN 1976 (KINO) BLU-RAY

Disturbing film from Pete Walker.

The movie opens with a young woman killing herself without explanation. Then we cut to a beautiful young woman named Jenny Welch (Susan Penhaligon) who happens upon an old friend named Bernard Cutler (Norman Eshley) who has become a priest.

One night Jenny goes to the church and confesses her sins to another priest named Xavier Meldrum (Anthony Sharp) who acts strange around her.

Meldrum takes it upon himself to help Jenny and that is where the terror begins. He kills two men that she knows as well as others. He also terrifies Jenny to the point where she thinks she is losing her mind.

When watching this film I noticed how all of the characters are naive and totally helpless in any situation. This makes Meldrum's job of killing so easy. The police, doctors, friends, family...none of them believe that a priest could be a killer and when he almost kills Jenny in a hospital, it's her that is removed as a problem, not Meldrum.

The movie works on many levels and it really worked with me when I saw how stupid the characters were in turning a blind eye to Meldrum and his insanity.

It's a good movie and one that horror fans should like. The Blu-ray presentation is stunning indeed. The rest of the cast includes the gorgeous Stephanie Beacham, Sheila Keith, Hilda Barry, and Mervyn Johns.

Check out this film and I think you'll like it. The ending is a shocker.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Dustin Rhodes is 56.

RAMBLINGS...

Thought I'd take time to spotlight whom I consider to be a very underrated actress...the one and only Ziva Rodann. One of the sexiest women to ever grace the big and small screen.

I was first introduced to the actress when I was very young and saw her in "Pharaoh's Curse" which has, since then, always been a favorite.

Of course, as a child I was more interested in the monster, but over the years as I watched more movies and TV shows I became very enamoured with this dynamic and talented woman.

During the VHS boom I managed to catch Ziva in many films such as "Private Lives Of Adam and Eve", "College Confidential", "3 Nuts In Search Of A Bolt" and many others.

By this time I was a 20 something movie addicted guy and I just really fell in love with her. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something about Ziva that rings my bell so to speak.

Over the years I have managed to collect a lot of the films and TV shows she has appeared in such as "Batman", "World Of Giants", "Perry Mason", "Have Gun, Will Travel", and many more.

Ziva Rodann was born on March 2, 1933 in Haifa Palestine, now known as Haifa Israel. She worked in a lot of what people call "B" pictures such as the aforementioned "Pharaoh's Curse", "Tattered Dress", "Macumba Love" and so much more. She even made a handfull of films for Albert Zigsmith thanks to her contract with Universal.

Sadly for fans like myself she moved back to Israel and retired in the late 60's.

I am much older now, but she still gets my engine running when I see her smouldering good looks and hear her wonderful accent. So underrated and yet so damn sexy. They simply don't make women like Ziva anymore.

As far as I have been able to determine, the lovely Ziva is still with us at the age of 92.

WRONGFULLY ACCUSED 1998 (WARNER) BLU-RAY

This is a great spoof of "The Fugitive".

Leslie Nielsen stars as a violinist named Ryan Harrison who is framed for murder. He finds himself hunting a one armed, one legged, one eyed man whom he saw do the killing.

This is the usual slapstick which Nielsen became famous for in his later acting career and there are too many scenes to describe here that made me laugh out loud, but you just gotta see the hospital scene with the gun.

Of course it reminds the viewer of "Airplane", "Naked Gun" and such, but it is hilarious and well worth a watch. I must also mention that Richard Crenna play a sheriff named Fergus Falls and is extremely funny.

Of course there are beautiful women in abundance here and in this film we have Kelly LeBrock and Melinda McGraw, both of whom are very easy on the eyes.

If you want a good laugh see this film. I'd never watched it until now and it came as a very pleasent suprise. The rest of the cast includes Michael York, Sandra Bernhard, John Walsh, Chick Hearn and Lamb Chop.

As with all of these kinds of movies...once seen not forgotten

EFFECTS 1979 (SYNAPSE)

Strange little film shot in Pittsburgh.

Dusty Nelson directed this effort whcih surrounds a small film crew that is making a horror movie.

Lacey Bickel (John Harrison) is the brains behind the film and the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur as the horror film slowly becomes a snuff movie.

There are a lot of very familiar faces in this film such as Tom Savini, Joe Pilato, and others you may recognise from the Pittsburgh movie scene of the late 70's and early 80's.

It's a slow movie, but the story is very well done and it takes the viewer into territory never explored in movies up until this time. Harrison's character of Bickel is a bit creepy, especially the scene where he shows other crew members what may be a real snuff movie.

Effects works on many levels and is a must see for horror fans. It's rare because of a bad distribution deal, but at least it's been put out by Synapse and is also available on streaming.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lisa Todd is 78.