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As the nights grow longer and the air turns crisp, it’s the perfect time to settle in with some of the best spooky films ever made. From eerie silent classics to modern horror hits, spooky cinema has evolved across decades, yet each era has its own spine-tingling gems. Whether you love atmospheric terror or heart-pounding scares, here’s a journey through the best films from the 1920s to today that will give you chills. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal, by combining entertainment, education, and philanthropy. 1920s - 1980s ‘The Haunting’ (1963) Cast: Julie Harris,...

The iconically seductive silent film star Clara Bow is being further immortalized courtesy of a festival at New York City’s Film Forum.

1920s superstar Bow, who recently inspired a track named after her on Taylor Swift’s “Tortured Poets Department” album, is at the center of a career retrospective screening series at the New York City indie theater. Deemed the very first “It Girl,” Bow starred in films such as “Wings,” “The Saturday Night Kid,” and short “The Pill Pounder” which was recently rediscovered and subsequently restored after 101 years.

Bow’s turn in silent comedy “It” also inspired the very term “It Girl,” which refers to “sex appeal” as coined by British author Elinor Glyn, who also appears in the feature as well as a young Gary Cooper.

The festival will run on most Mondays at Film Forum from October 7 to December 30, with an additional screening on Thursday, October...

After merging his Atomic Monster film and TV production company with Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions earlier this year, James Wan looks to have finally set his next movie to direct, a remake of the 1954 monster horror film Creature From the Black Lagoon. More on this upcoming movie and Wan's potential involvement below.

Many people might recognize Wan as the creator of the highly successful The Conjuring Universe. He's also the co-creator of other successful horror franchises, such as the Saw franchise and the Insidious film series. But while he's been signed on as producer or executive producer on recent projects, he hasn't sat in the director's chair since 2023's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Now, it's been reported that he's in early talks to direct a Creature From the Black Lagoon remake for Atomic Monster and Universal Pictures. He will reportedly produce the film through his Atomic Monster production company,...

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan is set to return to the ocean for his next feature.

Universal has been trying to get a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon off the ground for a few years at this stage, and the project is finally moving forward with the horror maestro at the helm.

According to THR, Wan is in early talks to direct a reimagining of the black-and-white '50s classic, which was helmed by Jack Arnold.

The original focused on a group of scientists attempting to study an ancient prehistoric monster known as the Gill-Man, who soon becomes dangerous and begins to pick them off after taking a shine to Julia Adams' character. It's still viewed by many as one of the most influential horror films of all time.

This take is described as being "a grounded, modernized retelling that will lean into visceral horror,...

James Wan has been at the helm of several horror films, and he might have his take on a popular horror remake. Wan is currently in talks to helm a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon.

James Wan is a very complex director with a preference for horror. He has created, co-created, and directed many popular horror franchises, including Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring, but he's also had his shot at 2015's Furious 7 and the two Aquaman films. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Wan is currently in talks to have a new take on the classic Universal monster.

Related The Conjuring 4 Sets Theatrical Release Date, Confirmed as Final Mainline Entry

New Line announces when the final mainline installment in The Conjuring Universe will be released in theaters.

Wan and his collaborators reportedly presented Universe with a pitch for a remake of the classic horror film: Creature from the Black Lagoon.

James Wan is now in talks to remake The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Creature from the Black Lagoon was originally a 1954 monster horror film that told the story of a strange Amazonian beast that scientists are attempting to capture and bring back to study. Creature from the Black Lagoon was directed by Jack Arnold and featured a leading cast including Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Nestor Paiva.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Wan is now in talks to helm a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon.

More to come...

Source: THR...

It’s been 100 years since ink first flowed through Montblanc’s Meisterstück, the fountain pen wielded by the likes of Nelson Mandela, Yoko Ono, Presidents Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy, and others.

To mark the luxe instrument‘s centennial, the German luxury house took over Los Angeles’ Paramour Estate (once the home of silent movie star Antonio Moreno) for a starry soirée to launch a new global campaign conceived by Wes Anderson — complete with a red carpet inspired by the short film’s alpine setting.

Though the Oscar-winning filmmaker was absent (he was busy filming in Berlin), campaign co-stars Jason Schwartzman and Rupert Friend were on hand for a seated dinner alongside guests Adrien Brody, Maude Apatow, Emma Roberts (who requested a custom sketch from on-site artist Kevin Zych), Simu Liu (who was seen sneaking a peek inside the hilltop manse’s speakeasy), Kiernan Shipka, Waris Ahluwalia, Dylan Sprouse,...

All hail Blu-ray 3-D … a format still hanging on as one of the best features of home theater. Budd Boetticher’s trim action meller gives us Van Heflin (good) and Julie Adams (respectable) in a Mexican rebellion mini-epic with a backlot feel but rather good 3-D. The 3-D Film Archive’s experts have optimized the depth effect and included a colorful, very depth-y Woody Woodpecker cartoon. And Boetticher advocate Jeremy Arnold provides the audio commentary.

Wings of the Hawk

3-D Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1953 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 81 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date February 9, 2021 / 29.95

Starring: Van Heflin, Julie Adams, Abbe Lane, George Dolenz, Noah Beery Jr., Rodolfo Acosta, Antonio Moreno, Pedro González González, Paul Fierro, Mario Siletti, Rico Alaníz, Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., Rosa Turich, Lyle Talbot.

Cinematography: Clifford Stine

Film Editor: Russel Schoengarth

Original Music: Frank Skinner

Written by James E. Moser, Kay Lenard from the novel by Gerald Drayson Adams...

Gearing up for the release of his new album Unfollow the Rules, Rufus Wainwright will perform the record in its entirety at a livestream concert on Saturday.

The performance will take place in the ballroom at Paramour Mansion in Los Angeles, previously owned by the silent film star Antonio Moreno. Wainwright will perform on acoustic guitar — similar to his recent In My Room segment — accompanied by piano, guitar and a string section.

The livestream will premiere in Germany and France here, later to be available on demand for 90 days. A...

It’s controversy in the Black Lagoon! Universal releases a much-desired box of all three Gill Man epics — but goes cheap on the encoding and hands us a 3-D rendering of Revenge of the Creature at half-resolution. When is a Blu-ray not a Blu-ray? When it’s not even full HD. And all that after commissioning a state-of-the-art 4k 3-D video remaster!

Creature From the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection

Creature from the Black Lagoon (3-D + 2-D), Revenge of the Creature (3-D) + 2-D, The Creature Walks Among Us (2-D)

Blu-ray

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

1954-1956 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 79, 82, 78 min. / Street Date August 28, 2018 / 39.98

Starring: Julie Adams, Lori Nelson, Leigh Snowden, Nestor Paiva, Richard Carlson, Jeff Morrow, John Agar, Rex Reason, Richard Denning, John Bromfield, Jeff Morrow, Greg Palmer…

and as the Gill Man: Ricou Browning, Ben Chapman, Don Megowan, others.

Cinematography: William E. Snyder; Charles S. Welbourne; Maury Gertsman

Film...

One of my favorite classic Universal monster movies is The Creature From the Black Lagoon. There is just something about the setting, the characters, the story and the monster design that sucked me right in. 

The film was actually supposed to be part of Universal Pictures' Dark Universe, but we don't know exactly where that whole plan currently stands at the moment. Regardless, if the studio ever does decide to move forward with a remake of The Creature of the Black Lagoon, Rob Zombie is interested in taking it on.

During an interview with HDNet that was uncovered by JoBlo, the director expressed his interest in the film saying:

"One thing I always thought was possible was to remake the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Because the creature itself, in that phenomenal suit they constructed, could be exactly the same. So I think Creature from the Black Lagoon could be a cool one.

One of the best Hollywood historical epics takes Technicolor to Mexico for a Production Code version of La conquista: the Inquisition is still bad, but the Church is exonerated. Likewise with the invasion — Cesar Romero embodies a marvelous Hernán Cortés, substantially less murderous than the one we now know from accurate history books. Tyrone Power is the heartthrob hero and newcomer Jean Peters the lowborn girl who loves him. The magnificent scenery is matched by the music score of Alfred Newman.

Captain from Castile

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1947 / Color / 137 Academy / 141 min. / Street Date October 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring: Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Lee J. Cobb, John Sutton, Antonio Moreno, Thomas Gomez, Alan Mowbray, Barbara Lawrence, George Zucco, Roy Roberts, Marc Lawrence, Reed Hadley, Robert Karnes, Estela Inda, Chris-Pin Martin, Jay Silverheels, Gilberto González.

Cinematography: Arthur Arling, Charles G. Clarke, Joseph Lashelle

Film Editor: Barbara McLean...

'Sorrell and Son' with H.B. Warner and Alice Joyce. 'Sorrell and Son' 1927 movie: Long thought lost, surprisingly effective father-love melodrama stars a superlative H.B. Warner Partially shot on location in England and produced independently by director Herbert Brenon at Joseph M. Schenck's United Artists, the 1927 Sorrell and Son is a skillful melodrama about paternal devotion in the face of both personal and social adversity. This long-thought-lost version of Warwick Deeping's 1925 bestseller benefits greatly from the veteran Brenon's assured direction, deservedly shortlisted in the first year of the Academy Awards.* Crucial to the film's effectiveness, however, is the portrayal of its central character, a war-scarred Englishman who sacrifices it all for the happiness of his son. Luckily, the London-born H.B. Warner, best remembered for playing Jesus Christ in another 1927 release, Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings, is the embodiment of honesty, selflessness, and devotion. Less is...

Greta Garbo movie 'The Kiss.' Greta Garbo movies on TCM Greta Garbo, a rarity among silent era movie stars, is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” performer today, Aug. 26, '15. Now, why would Garbo be considered a silent era rarity? Well, certainly not because she easily made the transition to sound, remaining a major star for another decade. Think Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, William Powell, Fay Wray, Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, John Barrymore, Warner Baxter, Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett, etc. And so much for all the stories about actors with foreign accents being unable to maintain their Hollywood stardom following the advent of sound motion pictures. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer star, Garbo was no major exception to the supposed rule. Mexican Ramon Novarro, another MGM star, also made an easy transition to sound, and so did fellow Mexicans Lupe Velez and Dolores del Rio, in addition to the very British...

Rex Ingram in 'The Thief of Bagdad' 1940 with tiny Sabu. Actor Rex Ingram movies on TCM: Early black film performer in 'Cabin in the Sky,' 'Anna Lucasta' It's somewhat unusual for two well-known film celebrities, whether past or present, to share the same name.* One such rarity is – or rather, are – the two movie people known as Rex Ingram;† one an Irish-born white director, the other an Illinois-born black actor. Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” continues today, Aug. 11, '15, with a day dedicated to the latter. Right now, TCM is showing Cabin in the Sky (1943), an all-black musical adaptation of the Faust tale that is notable as the first full-fledged feature film directed by another Illinois-born movie person, Vincente Minnelli. Also worth mentioning, the movie marked Lena Horne's first important appearance in a mainstream motion picture.§ A financial disappointment on the...

Cary Grant films on TCM: Gender-bending 'I Was a Male War Bride' (photo: Cary Grant not gay at all in 'I Was a Male War Bride') More Cary Grant films will be shown tonight, as Turner Classic Movies continues with its Star of the Month presentations. On TCM right now is the World War II action-drama Destination Tokyo (1943), in which Grant finds himself aboard a U.S. submarine, alongside John Garfield, Dane Clark, Robert Hutton, and Tom Tully, among others. The directorial debut of screenwriter Delmer Daves (The Petrified Forest, Love Affair) -- who, in the following decade, would direct a series of classy Westerns, e.g., 3:10 to Yuma, The Hanging Tree -- Destination Tokyo is pure flag-waving propaganda, plodding its way through the dangerous waters of Hollywood war-movie stereotypes and speechifying banalities. The film's key point of interest, in fact, is Grant himself -- not because he's any good,...

On Feb. 24, 1954, Universal's 79-minute monster thriller Creature From the Black Lagoon opened at the Vogue and Ritz theaters in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter's review, originally headlined, "Black Lagoon Diverting Science-Fiction Meller," is below:

Creature From the Black Lagoon is a good piece of science-fiction of the beauty and the beast school, the beast in this case being a monstrous combination of man and fish. It makes for solid horror-thrill entertainment.

Story starts when scientist Antonio Moreno discovers a huge web-fingered skeleton hand along the Amazon River. When he reports his find an expedition is ...

On Feb. 24, 1954, Universal's 79-minute monster thriller Creature From the Black Lagoon opened at the Vogue and Ritz theaters in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter's review, originally headlined, "Black Lagoon Diverting Science-Fiction Meller," is below:

Creature From the Black Lagoon is a good piece of science-fiction of the beauty and the beast school, the beast in this case being a monstrous combination of man and fish. It makes for solid horror-thrill entertainment.

Story starts when scientist Antonio Moreno discovers a huge web-fingered skeleton hand along the Amazon River. When he reports his find an expedition is ...

Ramon Novarro and Greta Garbo in ‘Mata Hari’: The wrath of the censors (See previous post: "Ramon Novarro in One of the Best Silent Movies.") George Fitzmaurice’s romantic spy melodrama Mata Hari (1931) was well received by critics and enthusiastically embraced by moviegoers. The Greta Garbo / Ramon Novarro combo — the first time Novarro took second billing since becoming a star — turned Mata Hari into a major worldwide blockbuster, with $2.22 million in worldwide rentals. The film became Garbo’s biggest international success to date, and Novarro’s highest-grossing picture after Ben-Hur. (Photo: Ramon Novarro and Greta Garbo in Mata Hari.) Among MGM’s 1932 releases — Mata Hari opened on December 31, 1931 — only W.S. Van Dyke’s Tarzan, the Ape Man, featuring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan, and Edmund Goulding’s all-star Best Picture Academy Award winner Grand Hotel (also with Garbo, in addition to Joan Crawford, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, and...

Lupita Tovar turns 103: Actress starred in Spanish-language ‘Dracula’ and in the first Mexican talkie, ‘Santa’ (photo: Lupita Tovar in ‘Santa’) Mexican actress Lupita Tovar, best remembered for the Spanish-language version of Dracula and for starring in the first Mexican talkie, Santa, turned 103 years old on Sunday, July 27, 2013. Tovar was born in 1910 in the city of Oaxaca, the capital of the Mexican state of the same name. In an interview with author Michael G. Ankerich (Mae Murray: The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips) published on Ankerich’s site Close-ups and Long Shots, Tovar recalled her brief foray as a silent film actress at Fox (several years before it became 20th Century Fox): "Silent films were wonderful because you didn’t have to worry about your dialogue. You could say whatever you felt. We had music on the set all the time. It was absolutely wonderful." Unfortunately for Tovar, whose English was quite poor,...

Paul Henreid: From lighting two cigarettes and blowing smoke onto Bette Davis’ face to lighting two cigarettes while directing twin Bette Davises Paul Henreid is back as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. TCM will be showing four movies featuring Henreid (Now, Voyager; Deception; The Madwoman of Chaillot; The Spanish Main) and one directed by him (Dead Ringer). (Photo: Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes on the set of Dead Ringer, while Bette Davis remembers the good old days.) (See also: “Paul Henreid Actor.”) Irving Rapper’s Now, Voyager (1942) was one of Bette Davis’ biggest hits, and it remains one of the best-remembered romantic movies of the studio era — a favorite among numerous women and some gay men. But why? Personally, I find Now, Voyager a major bore, made (barely) watchable only by a few of the supporting performances (Claude Rains, Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nominee...

In 2011, Michel Hazanavicius' revived the black and white silent film, earned ten Oscar nominations, winning five awards. Among the film's actors nominated for a golden statuette: Argentine-born actress Bérénice Bejo.

But long before Bejo could grace Hazanavicius' homage to old Hollywood, Myrtle Gonzalez and Beatriz Michelena would forge the way for Latinas onto the silver screen. The Silent Film era also opened doors for Hispanic actors like Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno, men often typecast as the "Latin Lover."

Like modern Hollywood, early Hollywood often trafficked in Latino stereotypes. Still, a small group of Hispanic artists thrived in the silent film industry. Some later transitioned to the, "talkies," becoming stars long before Jennifer Lopez and Andy Garcia, before Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro.

Pola Negri, The Spanish Dancer Silent-film lovers in The Netherlands will be able to enjoy a new restoration of the 1923 Pola Negri period comedy The Spanish Dancer. Screening with live musical accompaniment, the film will be presented at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, April 6, and at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 8, at the Eye Film Institute Netherlands in Amsterdam. On the Eye Film Institute website, The Spanish Dancer is described as a "comical costume drama." Set in early 17th-century Spain, the story follows gypsy singer Maritana (Negri) and her lover, penniless nobleman Don César de Bazan (Antonio Moreno), as they become enmeshed in court intrigue. The screenplay is based on Adolphe d'Ennery and Philippe Dumanoir's play Don César de Bazan, itself taken from a Victor Hugo novella. Beulah Marie Dix and powerhouse producer-screenwriter June Mathis adapted the tale. Directed by future Academy Award nominee Herbert Brenon (Sorrell and Son...

Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films being made available by Netflix for instant streaming. Important Note: There may be some films that do not become available on the specified dates. This is merely a report of the most accurate release dates I can find, but is not directly confirmed by Netflix themselves.

American: The Bill Hicks Story (2010)

Streaming Available: 06/29/2011

Synopsis: Since his tragic death from cancer at age 32, comedian Bill Hicks’s legend and stature have only grown, and this unique documentary tells his story, blending live footage, interviews and animation to fill in the details of a life cut short. A comic’s comic and unflagging critic of hypocrisy and cultural emptiness, Hicks was one of a kind, a Lenny Bruce for the late 20th century,...

Van Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor in Richard Brooks' The Last Time I Saw Paris (top); Alice Terry, Antonio Moreno in Rex Ingram's Mare Nostrum (middle); Gina Lollobrigida (bottom) F. Scott Fitzgerald, Rex Ingram, and Gina Lollobrigida. No, not together again — or ever, for that matter. But samples of their individual works can all be found this evening on Turner Classic Movies. Right now, TCM is showing Henry King's Tender Is the Night (1962), Jennifer Jones' swan song as a major movie star. Jones was criticized for being too old to play the film's young heroine Nicole Diver — and at 42 or so she surely was. Having said that, let me add that I enjoyed her performance all the same. Coincidentally, I'm currently reading Richard Buller's biography of silent-film actress Lois Moran (the young daughter in the 1925 version of Stella Dallas), who befriended F. Scott Fitzgerald in the late 1920s...

Jessica Simpson serenaded her beau Tony Romo at his birthday bash on Saturday night in Dallas – and fed him some cake. The affectionate pair showed up at Suite, an exclusive nightspot, to celebrate Romo's 28th birthday a few days early. (His actual birthday is Monday, April 21.) The get-together included a blue, star-shaped, No. 9 birthday cake – a nod to the Dallas Cowboys star's jersey number – champagne, and lots of dancing at the crowded club. At one point in the evening, Simpson got on the mic and sang "Happy Birthday" to her beau – then they started feeding each other cake. (See more pics from the feeding here.

Whether it was a $1,100 tip at an L.A. restaurant or a $2,000 tip at a Vegas strip club, Kevin Federline's 2007 spending – detailed in recently released financial documents – has critics buzzing over his lavish lifestyle. But his lawyer says they need to look at the bigger picture before passing judgment. "He's totally getting a bad rap here," according to Federline attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan, who says the "court of public opinion" is focusing on a few outstanding expenditures. "It seems like an unnecessary attempt to knock him when there's really no basis to do that." Kaplan claims that even the...