It’s no secret that I love the Halloween season. I redecorate my office at work to reflect the season with plenty of classic movie themed items such as a Fright Night VHS tape, an original Die Monster Die one sheet from 1965 hanging on the wall and various action figures like Godzilla, Lugosi’s Dracula and Kurt Russell’s MacReady from The Thing, flame thrower in hand.

All of which brings us to a month long film fest of horror titles. Some well known among horror buffs, quite a few lesser known titles to those who don’t look too far back when it comes to movies from yesteryear. Plenty of rewatches with a few new to me thrills as well.

Here they are based on the year of their release. Hopefully I’ll offer up a title or two that brings back a fond memory urging a rewatch or maybe an oddity you yourself need to track down to see for the very first time.

Some I’ve left a picture with a comment, others I’ve just left an image.

The Cat and the Canary (1927)

Silent “old dark house” thriller with the classic reading of the will plot device. I’d seen images of this for years so felt I was long overdue to finally give it a go. I’m quite sure audiences nearly 100 years ago were experiencing nightmares with that creeping hand reaching for them in their darkened bedrooms. Redone as a Bob Hope comedy and as recently as 1978.

White Zombie (1932)

Outstanding follow up for Bela Lugosi to his career defining role as Dracula. Here he stars as a Murder Legendre who has the power to raise the dead as working zombies. When he sets his sights on Madge Bellamy he’ll enslave her as a member of the “undead” leaving it to her lover John Harron to rescue her. The castle sets in this Halperin Brothers film are a highlight. Easily one of Lugosi’s greatest.

The Return of Dr. X (1939)

A curio to be sure, this WB quickie is notable as the only horror themed film to star Humphrey Bogart. He’s a Karloff like ghoul who has returned from the grave thanks to mad scientist John Litel. All while contract players Wayne Morris and Dennis Morgan attempt to solve some mysterious killings that leave the victims drained of blood. Yeah it’s silly, fun and right out of the Karloff/Lugosi playbook. I suspect Bogie was not amused.

The Indestructible Man (1956)

I’d call this “The Greatest Horror/Gangster flick since 1940’s Black Friday.” I know, that’s not much of a recommendation. Career criminal, a very weathered looking Lon Chaney Jr. is sent to the electric chair but thanks to a wacky scientist and Disney fave Joe Flynn he’s brought back to life to go hunting down the three men who crossed him leaving him to take the fall and the death penalty. If it weren’t for the horror element you’d think you were watching a low budget revenge themed noir with the voice over narration to back it up. Lon even kills a man in the famed Bradbury building where dozens of famous movies have been shot.

Hercules In the Haunted World (1961)

Director Mario Bava lends his brilliance to make this one of the best of the Hercules flicks that were produced in numbers to great to count during the early 1960’s. Reg Park plays the title role and as the villain we get the legendary Christopher Lee which only ups the film’s credibility among all those other Peplum adventures.

Pyro … The Thing Without a Face (1964)

For some reason I was expecting a William Castle styled thriller from AIP. Instead all I found was boredom in this film that offers up only a scare or two. Barry Sullivan is having an affair with Martha Hyer but when he dumps her she sets his home on fire leaving him a charred mess. He wants his revenge and just when I think we’re going into House of Wax territory with a masked villain hiding a scarred face lurking in the dark it let’s us down. Of note Jess Franco’s so called Muse, Soledad Miranda, has a costarring role. Sadly she’d die at just 27 years of age in an automobile accident.

Queen of Blood (1966) Roger Corman production with John Saxon, Basil Rathbone and Dennis Hopper. I had taken a look at this one back in 2016. Follow the link ……

Eye of the Devil (1966)

Glossy black and white thriller with a cast to match. But it’s still kind of boring. J. Lee Thompson directs with Deborah Kerr and David Niven playing the leads. Niven can’t escape his ancestral past which includes devil worshipping and a bunch of hooded witches wandering thru the castle estate he Lords over. Notable for introducing Sharon Tate to audiences. Also stars Donald Pleasence, David Hemmings and John Le Mesurier. Ho hum.

Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

Boris Karloff + Christopher Lee + Barbara Steele + Witchcraft = “This works for me.”

Night of the Living Dead (1968) The Grand Daddy of the modern Zombie film. Could this George A. Romero classic be the most influential film of the past 56 years? I’m assuming you’ve seen it but if you haven’t …..

The Vampire Girls (1969)

I added this to my collection a few years ago mainly because it was another John Carradine flick that finds him sporting a Bela Lugosi Dracula suit. Sadly it’s in Spanish and John is dubbed. Thankfully it is subtitled. Here I thought it was a straight tale of vampires when in fact it’s a Lucha Libre flick that finds wrestler Mil Mascaras stepping in for Santo to battle a coven of Vampire Women and their God King, Carradine. Aiding Mascaras is Pedro Armendariz Jr. in the fight against evil. Love these Santo and company flicks.

The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals (1969)

John Carradine turns up for a quick paycheck in this long lost low budget tale that has resurfaced from obscurity thanks to Severin who have restored it and put it out in blu ray. No it’s not all that good and that werewolf outfit is laughable but what film buff isn’t interested in a movie that has slipped thru the cracks of time no matter the genre? And let’s not forget it’s a MUST for those who have to see each and every John Carradine performance.

Pufnstuf (1970)

Now this brought back some fond childhood memories. Children’s fantasy film part Muppets part Wizard Of Oz. Child actor Jack Wild tangles with a witch over the ownership of a golden flute that talks. I hadn’t seen this since my preteen years and it proved to be a welcome stroll back in time. Yeah I’ll be showing this one to grandkids if I am ever blessed with any.

Night of the Blood Monster (1970) aka The Bloody Judge.

Having a larger budget then normal director Jess Franco almost plays it straight and offers up a firmer hand behind the camera then usual. Like Vincent Price’s Witchfinder General this is more of a historical film than an outright horror effort. It’s Christopher Lee as The Bloody Judge of England having wenches put to death. Lee is clearly in one film while Franco is filling out the running time with scenes shot when Lee wasn’t around. Mainly torture chamber stuff and the suffering of attractive women at the hands of Franco regular, Howard Vernon playing it like Karloff in 1939’s Tower of London. Leo Genn and Maria Schell also star. Due to the violence and depravity inserted into the film in his absence Lee is on record stating he’s never seen the film.

The Beast In the Cellar (1970)

Twins of Evil (1971)

Hammer favorite finds witch hunter Peter Cushing roaming the English countryside in search of witches to burn at the stake. Vampires, nudity and the Collinson twins fresh from the pages of Playboy Magazine keep Cushing busy for 90 minutes. “The devil has sent me twins of evil!” The third film in Hammer’s Karnstein trilogy which upped the nudity and eroticism of the studios vampire flicks. Along with the lovely Collinson twins you’ll recognize Dennis Price who by this time was appearing in a slew of horror flicks including a number of Jess Franco’s cult titles.

Mephisto Waltz, The (1971)

A nifty thriller involving a coven of witches led by an aging Curt Jurgens. He’s a world famous pianist nearing death and looking for a younger host to transfer his soul into. Enter Alan Alda and his wife Jacqueline Bissett. Murder ensues in this eerie chiller that should appeal to Rosemary’s Baby fans from director Paul Wendkos with Bradford Dillman and Barbara Parkins along for the goosebumps.

Santo and The Vengeance of the Mummy (1971)

The Horrible Sexy Vampire (1971)

Vampire Circus (1972)

Lemora : A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural (1973)

I wish I’d seen this dreamy low budget thriller as a 10 year old on late night TV as I did Let’s Scare Jessica To Death. I have a strong feeling it would have stayed with me for the next 40 years. It’s a definite creeper with a vampire Queen, zombie like beings and a young girl trying to stay out of the clutches of evil beings. Worth tracking down if you can locate a copy. Ripe for rediscovery.

Barn of the Naked Dead (1974) aka Terror Circus.

Whack job Andrew Prine kidnaps women and keeps them locked up in the barn. His warped mind has him behaving like a Lion Tamer with the gals being victim to his whip wielding technique. A definite grindhouse appeal for the Chainsaw Massacre crowd and those of us who number themselves among Prine’s fanbase.

Shriek of the Mutilated (1974)

Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) Once again nature strikes back. This time it’s against William Shatner and his toupee.

Halloween III : Season of the Witch (1982)

Genre stalwart Tom Atkins stars in this Halloween “Sequel” that should have never been. After filming was completed they should have removed the Halloween tag and just released it as Season of the Witch. With no Michael Myers it seemed like the logical thing to do but then there’d be no franchise tag to draw in the public. The movie? Not bad. Just assuming all you Horror Hounds have seen it.

Children of the Corn (1984)

No I’ve never read the Stephen King story that this flick is based on but one things for sure, this movie is a mess. A bunch of kids murder all the adults in a small town and live in the middle of a corn field. Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton venture into the territory and things get a might laughable but not in a good way. About the only bright spot in this movie is seeing the great character actor R.G. Armstrong in the first few minutes. Too bad he had an early exit. I’m not sure all the sequels to this effort were warranted.

Blood Delirium (1988)

A demented tale that finds John Philip Law as a painter who is looking for the perfect shade of red to put on canvas. Blood red. To assist him he has Gordon Mitchell as a depraved practitioner of necrophilia. Yeah this is one warped, sleazy effort. Admittedly, both actors were better suited to the Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960’s or the many Peplum epics that Mitchell was often seen in.

Shocker (1989)

Wes Craven tries to double down on the success of Freddy Krueger but it just doesn’t work. When a mass murder is sent to the electric chair, a power failure somehow turns the killer into an evil spirit who occupies other beings and/or is some sort of spirit caught between our world and the next. Not much to recommend this and it’s far too long with too many plot holes. Then again, it’s get a real “shocker” of a film poster.

Mom (1990)

Thanks to Mom becoming the victim of vampire Brion James she develops a taste for very rare meat. Gore and hilarity ensues.

The Boneyard (1991) What the hell happened to Phyllis Diller in The Boneyard?

I Sell the Dead (2008)

An enjoyable cross between Burke and Hare and any number of zombie movies has The Tall Man himself Angus Scrimm hiring a pair of grave robbers, Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden, to do his bidding bringing him fresh corpses for his Peter Cushing styled experiments. Things get a bit sticky when corpses are rising from the dead and Ron Perlman’s Man of the Cloth isn’t quite what he seems as he listens to a ghoulish tale told by Monaghan as he awaits his fate on the gallows.

13 new to me titles / 18 rewatches. So how many of these have you seen?