A new restoration of the 1959 horror film on Blu-ray and DVD, and making its UK digital debut, Horrors Of The Black Museum, starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree (Fiend Without a Face), marked the first film in the “Sadian Trilogy”, followed by the Hammer favourite Circus of Horrors and Michael Powell’s infamous Peeping Tom – introducing cinema audiences to a more shocking and salacious brand of onscreen horror.
A series of grisly, macabre murders sweep London and leave Scotland Yard completely baffled. Bancroft, an evil crime journalist, is hypnotising his assistant to commit murders using items curated in his own personal “Black Museum” – inspired by the infamous real-life collection of weapons and torture instruments used by criminals. Using these murders to fuel his own crime stories, Bancroft delights in the Yard’s embarrassment.
Experience fear beyond belief in this gruesome British horror treat that features a splendid lead...
A series of grisly, macabre murders sweep London and leave Scotland Yard completely baffled. Bancroft, an evil crime journalist, is hypnotising his assistant to commit murders using items curated in his own personal “Black Museum” – inspired by the infamous real-life collection of weapons and torture instruments used by criminals. Using these murders to fuel his own crime stories, Bancroft delights in the Yard’s embarrassment.
Experience fear beyond belief in this gruesome British horror treat that features a splendid lead...
- 1/8/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
Fiend Without a Face, the surf punk/psychobilly side-project of Mastodon guitarist-singer Brent Hinds, are hitting the road for their first tour dates since 2016.
The Fall 2023 US trek kicks off Tuesday (September 26th) in Atlanta and routes across the South, wrapping up October 8th in San Antonio, Texas. Dirty B and The Boys will provide support. Pick up tickets to select dates via StubHub, where your purchase is 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s Fan Protect program.
Fiend Without a Face have origins that pre-date the formation of Mastodon. Their self-titled debut album was released on CD via the ShutEye imprint in 1998 (and subsequently reissued on vinyl by Volcom in 2012), and the single “Black Grass” was released in 2001. Eventually, Hinds enlisted Mastodon bandmate Brann Dailor on drums for another self-titled effort in 2017 — considered the proper debut album from the project.
Under the moniker Cleetus McFlapjack, Hinds (guitar/vocals) is joined in the...
The Fall 2023 US trek kicks off Tuesday (September 26th) in Atlanta and routes across the South, wrapping up October 8th in San Antonio, Texas. Dirty B and The Boys will provide support. Pick up tickets to select dates via StubHub, where your purchase is 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s Fan Protect program.
Fiend Without a Face have origins that pre-date the formation of Mastodon. Their self-titled debut album was released on CD via the ShutEye imprint in 1998 (and subsequently reissued on vinyl by Volcom in 2012), and the single “Black Grass” was released in 2001. Eventually, Hinds enlisted Mastodon bandmate Brann Dailor on drums for another self-titled effort in 2017 — considered the proper debut album from the project.
Under the moniker Cleetus McFlapjack, Hinds (guitar/vocals) is joined in the...
- 9/26/2023
- by Jon Hadusek
- Consequence - Music
If you were a kid or teenager in the ’50s or ’60s and dug horror and/or sci-fi, the chances were astronomically good that you were watching something from American International Pictures, aka Aip, home to hormonal werewolves, monsters, and other adolescent dilemmas. Add in British comedy makers Anglo-Amalgamated Productions (the Carry On series of films) to the mix, and you probably ended up watching Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), a wry and dry romp highlighted by Michael Gough's (Sleepy Hollow) delightful performance.
Released stateside at the end of April with a rollout in the UK the following month, Horrors of the Black Museum actually made some good coin; Aip added a 13-minute prologue featuring a hypnotist (filmed in Hypno-Vista, ooh) to the American release to draw people in (although completely disconnected from the narrative of the film), and it worked, gimmick and all. Hooray for showbiz! Despite the tacked-on hucksterism,...
Released stateside at the end of April with a rollout in the UK the following month, Horrors of the Black Museum actually made some good coin; Aip added a 13-minute prologue featuring a hypnotist (filmed in Hypno-Vista, ooh) to the American release to draw people in (although completely disconnected from the narrative of the film), and it worked, gimmick and all. Hooray for showbiz! Despite the tacked-on hucksterism,...
- 1/6/2018
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
You Axed for it, as Forry would say: the grade Z horror movie that launched a thousand bad puns is also an unbeatable party favorite. Idiotic island natives clash with condescending Anglo scientists, when a death curse initiates the hell- spawning of a horrifying, vengeance-seeking pagan demon-monster. Sounds great — but what we get is Tabonga, a walking rubber tree stump with knotholes for eyes and a permanent scowl on its teakwood face. The excellent, flawless scan allows us to appreciate the mighty Tabonga for what it is — absurd, lovable, awful.
From Hell it Came
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 71 min. / Street Date April 25, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins, John McNamara, Gregg Palmer, Suzanne Ridgeway.
Cinematography: Brydon Baker
Film Editor: Jack Milner
Original Music: Darrell Calker
Written by Richard Bernstein, Dan Milner
Produced by Jack Milner
Directed by Dan Milner
“You say Tomayto,...
From Hell it Came
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 71 min. / Street Date April 25, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins, John McNamara, Gregg Palmer, Suzanne Ridgeway.
Cinematography: Brydon Baker
Film Editor: Jack Milner
Original Music: Darrell Calker
Written by Richard Bernstein, Dan Milner
Produced by Jack Milner
Directed by Dan Milner
“You say Tomayto,...
- 4/15/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Wraiths of War hits shelves from Titan Books tomorrow, October 11th, so we encourage our readers to continue reading today's Highlights for an exclusive excerpt from Mark Morris' new novel. Also: a new trailer for The Shelter, IFC's "Wake Up and Smell the Evil" Marathon, 360 Degrees of Hell Vr experience, and photos / release details for the Slimer and Sloth pins.
Exclusive Excerpt from The Wraiths of War: Synopsis: "Alex Locke is desperately trying to hold onto the disparate threads of the complex web of time he has created. He travels to the First World War, living through the horrors of trench warfare in order to befriend a young soldier crucial to his story; then to the 1930s to uncover the secrets of a mysterious stage magician. He moves back and forth in time, always with the strange and terrifying Dark Man on his heels, gradually getting closer to...
Exclusive Excerpt from The Wraiths of War: Synopsis: "Alex Locke is desperately trying to hold onto the disparate threads of the complex web of time he has created. He travels to the First World War, living through the horrors of trench warfare in order to befriend a young soldier crucial to his story; then to the 1930s to uncover the secrets of a mysterious stage magician. He moves back and forth in time, always with the strange and terrifying Dark Man on his heels, gradually getting closer to...
- 10/10/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
In the 1950s, independent film was just as keen to stick its nose in the atomic blender as the Hollywood big boys. Of course, budget restrictions frequently left most of the monsters wanting, be they big or small. But sometimes a shot of quirk was enough to stand apart from the Tinseltown terrors. I give you Fiend Without a Face (1958), a low budget romp content with showing less until it has to show it all, with giddy results.
Produced by British company Amalgamated Productions and distributed by MGM (in the States), Fiend was sent out on a double bill with The Haunted Strangler, a Boris Karloff vehicle. With a combined budget of 130,000 pounds, the double feature brought in domestic and international receipts of over $ 650,000 dollars, filmic diplomacy at its finest.
Filmed in Britain but taking place in Winthrop (?), Manitoba, Canada (never heard of the town, and if I haven’t drank in it,...
Produced by British company Amalgamated Productions and distributed by MGM (in the States), Fiend was sent out on a double bill with The Haunted Strangler, a Boris Karloff vehicle. With a combined budget of 130,000 pounds, the double feature brought in domestic and international receipts of over $ 650,000 dollars, filmic diplomacy at its finest.
Filmed in Britain but taking place in Winthrop (?), Manitoba, Canada (never heard of the town, and if I haven’t drank in it,...
- 8/13/2016
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Ryan Lambie Jul 14, 2016
We take a look at some of the most memorable and freaky floating brains and flying heads in the history of cinema...
Nb: The following contains spoilers for The Brain From The Planet Arous and Prometheus.
For some reason we've yet to discover, cinema has, for decades, been home to all manner of sentient, disembodied heads and floating brains. Note that we’re not talking about decapitations here - though goodness knows that cinema is home to plenty of those, from Japanese samurai epics to modern slasher horrors.
No, we’re talking about movies where heads and brains remain sentient even when they’re stuffed into jars or colossal things made of stone. Sometimes used for comedic effect, at other times for shock value, they’re a surprisingly common phenomenon in the movies. Here, we celebrate a few of our absolute favourites - though you’re sure...
We take a look at some of the most memorable and freaky floating brains and flying heads in the history of cinema...
Nb: The following contains spoilers for The Brain From The Planet Arous and Prometheus.
For some reason we've yet to discover, cinema has, for decades, been home to all manner of sentient, disembodied heads and floating brains. Note that we’re not talking about decapitations here - though goodness knows that cinema is home to plenty of those, from Japanese samurai epics to modern slasher horrors.
No, we’re talking about movies where heads and brains remain sentient even when they’re stuffed into jars or colossal things made of stone. Sometimes used for comedic effect, at other times for shock value, they’re a surprisingly common phenomenon in the movies. Here, we celebrate a few of our absolute favourites - though you’re sure...
- 7/13/2016
- Den of Geek
What horrors will we find on the planet Yoo-rah-nuss? A cyclopean dinosaur? Nasty spider monsters? A megalomaniac cerebellum that can turn our X-rated sex fantasies into flesh and blood people? Let's go! Sid Pink's flashy and slightly idiotic adventure stars space cadet John Agar as an average guy willing to have sex with a phantom from his own imagination. Say, doesn't Woody Allen make dirty jokes about that? Journey to the Seventh Planet Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1962 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 77 min. / Street Date April 5, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring John Agar, Carl Ottosen, Ann Smyrner, Greta Thyssen, Peter Monch, Ove Sprogoe, Louis Miehe-Renard, Ulla Moritz, Mimi Heinrich, Annie Birgit Garde. Cinematography Aage Wiltrup Visual Effects Krogh, Wah Chang, Jim Danforth, Ronny Scheemmel. Art Director Otto Lund Editor Tove Palsbo Original Music Jerry Capeheart, Ib Glindemann, Mitchell Tableporte Written by Ib Melchior & Sid Pink Produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff & Sid Pink...
- 4/2/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ever wondered where Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn got the gumption to voice-cast Vin Diesel as a space-beast whose body contains surprise weapons, an unexpectedly potent soul, and a propensity to make the ultimate sacrifice to save his friends?
Then look no further than Diesel's emotional titular performance in The Iron Giant - an animated spectacular that, if it didn't set the template for tender tree Groot, we'll eat our machine-gunning raccoon. And, with helmer Brad Bird's science-fiction epic Tomorrowland firing into cinemas on May 22, there's no better time to search it out.
But, frankly, you shouldn't need an excuse. The Iron Giant is the greatest Pixar movie the studio never made, a vivid combination of genuinely funny comedy, wonderfully observed characters, and rich attention to detail. Oh, and it's got so much heart it'd make a Terminator cry.
Released in 1999 by Warner Brothers, it's rarely mentioned...
Then look no further than Diesel's emotional titular performance in The Iron Giant - an animated spectacular that, if it didn't set the template for tender tree Groot, we'll eat our machine-gunning raccoon. And, with helmer Brad Bird's science-fiction epic Tomorrowland firing into cinemas on May 22, there's no better time to search it out.
But, frankly, you shouldn't need an excuse. The Iron Giant is the greatest Pixar movie the studio never made, a vivid combination of genuinely funny comedy, wonderfully observed characters, and rich attention to detail. Oh, and it's got so much heart it'd make a Terminator cry.
Released in 1999 by Warner Brothers, it's rarely mentioned...
- 5/17/2015
- Digital Spy
There are monsters out there. Scary, big ones. And they’ll haunt our dreams and crawl on our bodies for eternity. Nothing will ever make us comfortable knowing they exist, even in fiction. Then, there are some that are just Goddamn ridiculous. Here are ten of such monsters.
The Fiend Without a Face (1958)
Though ultimately, they’re just crawling brains and spinal columns, the most interesting aspect of the fiends is their invisibility for the majority of the runtime as they slowly gain their terrifying form.
The Creeping Terror (1964)
A giant, moving rug. Due to the extremely low-budget, this largely-narrated alien invasion tale amounts to little more than a big, badly dilapidated wool rug laying on top of its victims.
Prophecy (1979)
John Frankenheimer’s nature-gone-wrong turns into more of a nature-film-gone-wrong and features a bizarre, giant fetus-like bear terrorizing a mountainside.
Murders in Rue Morgue (1932)
Robert Florey’s Universal picture...
The Fiend Without a Face (1958)
Though ultimately, they’re just crawling brains and spinal columns, the most interesting aspect of the fiends is their invisibility for the majority of the runtime as they slowly gain their terrifying form.
The Creeping Terror (1964)
A giant, moving rug. Due to the extremely low-budget, this largely-narrated alien invasion tale amounts to little more than a big, badly dilapidated wool rug laying on top of its victims.
Prophecy (1979)
John Frankenheimer’s nature-gone-wrong turns into more of a nature-film-gone-wrong and features a bizarre, giant fetus-like bear terrorizing a mountainside.
Murders in Rue Morgue (1932)
Robert Florey’s Universal picture...
- 6/26/2014
- by Kenny Hedges
- SoundOnSight
We reported that Roy Frumkes (Document of the Dead, Street Trash) owned the rights to Arthur Crabtree's 1958 creature feature Fiend Without a Face way back in 2010. Finally an update on it and more has come.
"I’ve wanted to do this film for 40 years, so I already had it all in my head, and it wasn’t hard to write. What I didn’t have was the technical information; I’m no science buff. Now I’m interviewing scientists, getting the technology straight,” Frumkes tells Fango. "It’s set in a think tank in the Berkshires, and it’s not about young people. It’s a mature film, but it has a Street Trash sensibility, so the people who like my work will not be disappointed.”
The site also scored a still from a fund-raising trailer Frumkes shot for his Fiend flick with director Franco Frassetti, which features Ursula...
"I’ve wanted to do this film for 40 years, so I already had it all in my head, and it wasn’t hard to write. What I didn’t have was the technical information; I’m no science buff. Now I’m interviewing scientists, getting the technology straight,” Frumkes tells Fango. "It’s set in a think tank in the Berkshires, and it’s not about young people. It’s a mature film, but it has a Street Trash sensibility, so the people who like my work will not be disappointed.”
The site also scored a still from a fund-raising trailer Frumkes shot for his Fiend flick with director Franco Frassetti, which features Ursula...
- 10/24/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Our new feature series continues with a look at the amazing work of Diy horror artist Rev. Chuck Jarman, whose eBay and Etsy stores feature an ever-changing inventory of horror movie replicas you won't find anywhere else. Every one of these one-of-a-kind pieces is hand-sculpted by Jarman, and the loving detail on these things will blow your mind.
Items in his Etsy “Little Shop of Horrors” this week include a full-size replica of Winslow's helmet from Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise, two bust variations on Jason Voorhees – young Jason from the end of Friday the 13th and adult Jason from Friday the 13th Part IV, with removable hockey mask – and a bust of the winged deadite from Army of Darkness. His eBay “Goblin's Closet” collection currently includes the Metropol demon mask from Dario Argento & Lamberto Bava's Demons, a brain-creature from the 1958 sci-fi/horror film Fiend Without a Face,...
Items in his Etsy “Little Shop of Horrors” this week include a full-size replica of Winslow's helmet from Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise, two bust variations on Jason Voorhees – young Jason from the end of Friday the 13th and adult Jason from Friday the 13th Part IV, with removable hockey mask – and a bust of the winged deadite from Army of Darkness. His eBay “Goblin's Closet” collection currently includes the Metropol demon mask from Dario Argento & Lamberto Bava's Demons, a brain-creature from the 1958 sci-fi/horror film Fiend Without a Face,...
- 3/7/2013
- by Gregory Burkart
- FEARnet
Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
Special Mention: Gremlins
Directed by Joe Dante
Written by Chris Columbus
1984, USA
Gremlins gets a special mention because I’ve always considered it more of a comedy and a wholesome Christmas flick than an actual horror film. This tribute the 1950s matinee genre stands the test of time from a time when parents would take their children to family films that pushed the boundaries of the MPAA. Joe Dante is...
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
Special Mention: Gremlins
Directed by Joe Dante
Written by Chris Columbus
1984, USA
Gremlins gets a special mention because I’ve always considered it more of a comedy and a wholesome Christmas flick than an actual horror film. This tribute the 1950s matinee genre stands the test of time from a time when parents would take their children to family films that pushed the boundaries of the MPAA. Joe Dante is...
- 10/15/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Catherine Grant's retweeted an intriguing find from Alternative Takes, the January/February 1980 issue of Radical America (Pdf). From the "Introduction": "Lynn Garafola's article, 'Hollywood and the Myth of the Working Class,' discusses such box office successes as Rocky, The Deer Hunter, Saturday Night Fever and Norma Rae, as well as some commercial productions that didn't do so well, such as Blue Collar and F.I.S.T. John Demeter's article, on the other hand, looks at two examples of a new class of technically advanced non-Hollywood left-wing movies: The Wobblies and Northern Lights. In a curious way, the Hollywood films that Garafola writes about are more political than the left-wing films."
For Bookforum, John Domini reviews Paolo Sorrentino's first novel, Everybody's Right, and finds that "this filmmaker's energetic wallow in prose does seem best appreciated as a cry for the beloved country, resonating off touchstones from...
For Bookforum, John Domini reviews Paolo Sorrentino's first novel, Everybody's Right, and finds that "this filmmaker's energetic wallow in prose does seem best appreciated as a cry for the beloved country, resonating off touchstones from...
- 11/12/2011
- MUBI
Canny film producer known for his horror and sci-fi classics
The producer Richard Gordon, who has died aged 85, was involved with several offbeat classics of horror and science-fiction cinema. These included Arthur Crabtree's Fiend Without a Face (1958), which climaxes with a still-astonishing siege of a power station by disembodied, tentacled, malicious human brains, and Antony Balch's Horror Hospital (1973), a lively and perverse mad-scientist satire featuring Michael Gough and Robin Askwith.
It may be that Gordon and his brother, Alex, so closely associated that many reference sources mistakenly say they were twins, were the first people to take the now-common route from movie-crazed kid to industry professional, later the path of film-makers as different as Jean-Luc Godard and Steven Spielberg. As schoolboys, the Gordons founded a film society, then wrote for fan magazines and performed menial roles on low-budget productions, always motivated by a boundless enthusiasm for the films...
The producer Richard Gordon, who has died aged 85, was involved with several offbeat classics of horror and science-fiction cinema. These included Arthur Crabtree's Fiend Without a Face (1958), which climaxes with a still-astonishing siege of a power station by disembodied, tentacled, malicious human brains, and Antony Balch's Horror Hospital (1973), a lively and perverse mad-scientist satire featuring Michael Gough and Robin Askwith.
It may be that Gordon and his brother, Alex, so closely associated that many reference sources mistakenly say they were twins, were the first people to take the now-common route from movie-crazed kid to industry professional, later the path of film-makers as different as Jean-Luc Godard and Steven Spielberg. As schoolboys, the Gordons founded a film society, then wrote for fan magazines and performed menial roles on low-budget productions, always motivated by a boundless enthusiasm for the films...
- 11/8/2011
- by Kim Newman
- The Guardian - Film News
Horror Producer Gordon Dies
British movie producer Richard Gordon has died at the age of 85.
He passed away in New York last Tuesday after suffering longterm heart trouble.
Gordon relocated to the Big Apple after a two-year stint in the Royal Navy and set up his own production firm, Gordon Films, despite having no experience in the industry.
He learned the tricks of the trade by working alongside movie crewmembers and went on to produce more than 20 films, including cult horror hit Fiend Without a Face in 1958.
He passed away in New York last Tuesday after suffering longterm heart trouble.
Gordon relocated to the Big Apple after a two-year stint in the Royal Navy and set up his own production firm, Gordon Films, despite having no experience in the industry.
He learned the tricks of the trade by working alongside movie crewmembers and went on to produce more than 20 films, including cult horror hit Fiend Without a Face in 1958.
- 11/7/2011
- WENN
With The Turin Horse opening in France on November 30 and the Béla Tarr retrospective at the Centre Pompidou running from December 3 through January 2, Capricci will be releasing Jacques Rancière's Béla Tarr, le temps d'après on November 29.
David Lynch's new album, Crazy Clown Time (which, again, you can listen to in full at NPR for the time being), has the Guardian building an annex to its special section on Lynch, "David Lynch's Film&Music," wherein you'll find Xan Brooks's interview, Cath Clarke on the newly rediscovered 50 minutes of never-before-seen footage from Blue Velvet (they'll be "re-edited — supervised by Lynch — into an extra on a new DVD celebrating the film's 25th anniversary (available early next year in the UK)," Michael Hann listening in while Lynch and Zz Top's Billy Gibbons discuss "the beauty and power of industry" and more. Related listening: Lynch and 'Big' Dean Hurley's mixtape at Pitchfork.
David Lynch's new album, Crazy Clown Time (which, again, you can listen to in full at NPR for the time being), has the Guardian building an annex to its special section on Lynch, "David Lynch's Film&Music," wherein you'll find Xan Brooks's interview, Cath Clarke on the newly rediscovered 50 minutes of never-before-seen footage from Blue Velvet (they'll be "re-edited — supervised by Lynch — into an extra on a new DVD celebrating the film's 25th anniversary (available early next year in the UK)," Michael Hann listening in while Lynch and Zz Top's Billy Gibbons discuss "the beauty and power of industry" and more. Related listening: Lynch and 'Big' Dean Hurley's mixtape at Pitchfork.
- 11/4/2011
- MUBI
With thoughts from Tom Weaver on the producer of Devil Doll.
Prolific author and legendary film buff Tom Weaver has been a friend of Tfh since before we existed, and his essential series of book-length interviews with horror/sci fi filmmakers, writers and actors has mirrored what we try to do here at the site, which is disseminate information and opinions on the movies we all love.
Tom’s latest book examines the career of Devil Doll producer Richard Gordon, friend of both Karloff and Lugosi, one of the first fans-turned-pro and whose long career has finally ended. Richard was 85.[More about The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon here.]
Here’s Tom:
As Tim Lucas of Video Watchdog once pointed out, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas (etc.) are called the first people to have grown up movie nuts and then become moviemakers themselves, but Years before them came Alex and Richard Gordon, who loved movies as kids in England, belonged to fan clubs,...
Prolific author and legendary film buff Tom Weaver has been a friend of Tfh since before we existed, and his essential series of book-length interviews with horror/sci fi filmmakers, writers and actors has mirrored what we try to do here at the site, which is disseminate information and opinions on the movies we all love.
Tom’s latest book examines the career of Devil Doll producer Richard Gordon, friend of both Karloff and Lugosi, one of the first fans-turned-pro and whose long career has finally ended. Richard was 85.[More about The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon here.]
Here’s Tom:
As Tim Lucas of Video Watchdog once pointed out, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas (etc.) are called the first people to have grown up movie nuts and then become moviemakers themselves, but Years before them came Alex and Richard Gordon, who loved movies as kids in England, belonged to fan clubs,...
- 11/3/2011
- by Joe
- Trailers from Hell
The man who teamed Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee together for the first time in 1958′s Corridors Of Blood and brought us the flying brains in Fiend Without A Face (1958) is gone. A great loss to the Horror Film community, Richard Gordon not only produced a string of beloved horror films in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, but was a staple at conventions and a huge supporter of those who wrote on the subject of film. He produced his last film 30 years ago but his always-informative ‘letters to the editor’ to a variety of publications from small-time fan magazines up to the New York Times, offering corrections, and recollections, remain an enduring legacy for film fans.
Born in England, Gordon moved to the U.S. in 1947, and two years later, at age 23, he set up his own company Gordon Films, distributing imported films in the United States. Joined by writer Tom Weaver,...
Born in England, Gordon moved to the U.S. in 1947, and two years later, at age 23, he set up his own company Gordon Films, distributing imported films in the United States. Joined by writer Tom Weaver,...
- 11/2/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here
Stars: Janice Fabian, Christian Lee, Larry Bagby, Dana Young | Written by Miller Drake | Directed by Robert Skotak
Aliens invade a small town invading the towns cinema where the patrons are watching a sci-fi marathon. Taking over the projection room, the aliens splice together footage of old sci-fi films from the 50s to try an “bore” the audience into losing their minds so that they can take them over. A couple of teenagers in the audience realise that the alien threat is real and set out to put an end to the aliens plans before it’s too late.
Only really notable for being the one and only directorial effort from Robert Skotak, a visual effects whiz who has worked on such films as Tremors, Darkman, Terminator 2 and more recently Joe Dante’s The Hole, Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here isn’t really a movie,...
Stars: Janice Fabian, Christian Lee, Larry Bagby, Dana Young | Written by Miller Drake | Directed by Robert Skotak
Aliens invade a small town invading the towns cinema where the patrons are watching a sci-fi marathon. Taking over the projection room, the aliens splice together footage of old sci-fi films from the 50s to try an “bore” the audience into losing their minds so that they can take them over. A couple of teenagers in the audience realise that the alien threat is real and set out to put an end to the aliens plans before it’s too late.
Only really notable for being the one and only directorial effort from Robert Skotak, a visual effects whiz who has worked on such films as Tremors, Darkman, Terminator 2 and more recently Joe Dante’s The Hole, Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here isn’t really a movie,...
- 10/10/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
We provide a rundown of ten of the most memorable and freaky floating brains and flying heads in the history of cinema...
For some reason I've yet to discover, cinema has, for decades, been home to all manner of sentient, disembodied heads and floating brains. From massive flying stone heads to telekinetic, evil brains from other planets, this list is devoted to the most memorable instances of this peculiar movie phenomenon...
The Brain From The Planet Arous (1957)
It's been several years since I've seen the sci-fi B-movie, The Brain From Planet Arous, but one thing is still clear in my mind: that it features a large disembodied alien brain, a criminal brain, no less, that comes to Earth to control the population with its psychic powers.
The brain, called Gor, seizes control of Steve, a nuclear scientist, who becomes a randy "regular caveman" under the alien's influence. With Steve as his puppet,...
For some reason I've yet to discover, cinema has, for decades, been home to all manner of sentient, disembodied heads and floating brains. From massive flying stone heads to telekinetic, evil brains from other planets, this list is devoted to the most memorable instances of this peculiar movie phenomenon...
The Brain From The Planet Arous (1957)
It's been several years since I've seen the sci-fi B-movie, The Brain From Planet Arous, but one thing is still clear in my mind: that it features a large disembodied alien brain, a criminal brain, no less, that comes to Earth to control the population with its psychic powers.
The brain, called Gor, seizes control of Steve, a nuclear scientist, who becomes a randy "regular caveman" under the alien's influence. With Steve as his puppet,...
- 6/23/2011
- Den of Geek
We provide a rundown of ten of the most memorable and freaky floating brains and flying heads in the history of cinema...
For some reason I've yet to discover, cinema has, for decades, been home to all manner of sentient, disembodied heads and floating brains. From massive flying stone heads to telekinetic, evil brains from other planets, this list is devoted to the most memorable instances of this peculiar movie phenomenon...
The Brain From The Planet Arous (1957)
It's been several years since I've seen the sci-fi B-movie, The Brain From Planet Arous, but one thing is still clear in my mind: that it features a large disembodied alien brain, a criminal brain, no less, that comes to Earth to control the population with its psychic powers.
The brain, called Gor, seizes control of Steve, a nuclear scientist, who becomes a randy "regular caveman" under the alien's influence. With Steve as his puppet,...
For some reason I've yet to discover, cinema has, for decades, been home to all manner of sentient, disembodied heads and floating brains. From massive flying stone heads to telekinetic, evil brains from other planets, this list is devoted to the most memorable instances of this peculiar movie phenomenon...
The Brain From The Planet Arous (1957)
It's been several years since I've seen the sci-fi B-movie, The Brain From Planet Arous, but one thing is still clear in my mind: that it features a large disembodied alien brain, a criminal brain, no less, that comes to Earth to control the population with its psychic powers.
The brain, called Gor, seizes control of Steve, a nuclear scientist, who becomes a randy "regular caveman" under the alien's influence. With Steve as his puppet,...
- 6/23/2011
- Den of Geek
Ryan salutes the BBC2 series Moviedrome, which for 12 years introduced a plethora of cult films to unsuspecting UK audiences…
For better or worse, I have Alex Cox to thank for my enduring appetite for film. In the late 80s and early 90s, when I was still at school and the Internet was still the preserve of the rich and the Us military, the BBC2 series Moviedrome introduced me, and I suspect a legion of other impressionable youngsters, into the fascinating alternate world of obscure or low-budget movies.
Beginning in 1988, director Alex Cox introduced a series of cult and exploitation movies, commencing with Robin Hardy's folk horror, The Wicker Man. Before long, Sunday nights became an oasis of the weird and the sensational, and as a youth still watching cartoons like Transformers and Thundercats, films like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and The Fly seemed like startling broadcasts from another universe.
For better or worse, I have Alex Cox to thank for my enduring appetite for film. In the late 80s and early 90s, when I was still at school and the Internet was still the preserve of the rich and the Us military, the BBC2 series Moviedrome introduced me, and I suspect a legion of other impressionable youngsters, into the fascinating alternate world of obscure or low-budget movies.
Beginning in 1988, director Alex Cox introduced a series of cult and exploitation movies, commencing with Robin Hardy's folk horror, The Wicker Man. Before long, Sunday nights became an oasis of the weird and the sensational, and as a youth still watching cartoons like Transformers and Thundercats, films like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and The Fly seemed like startling broadcasts from another universe.
- 4/21/2011
- Den of Geek
By Fred Burdsall
Fiend Without a Face first started out as a story that appeared in Weird Tales (possibly the best fantasy/horror fiction magazine ever) back in 1930 as “The Thought Monster” by Amelia Reynolds Long. The film’s director, Arthur Crabtree, also gave us Horrors of the Black Museum in 1959.
A lone sentry on patrol hears a crunching, slurping sound in the woods and goes to investigate. A farmer out checking on his cows in the early morning is attacked and the sentry arrives seconds later to find a dead man and no sign of the killer. Official cause of death: Heart Failure. The Air Force wants to do an autopsy but his daughter, Barbara (Kim Parker), won’t allow it and hands the body over to the local authorities.
The Adams farm comes under attack and the old couple die as horribly as Farmer Griselle did. The Air...
Fiend Without a Face first started out as a story that appeared in Weird Tales (possibly the best fantasy/horror fiction magazine ever) back in 1930 as “The Thought Monster” by Amelia Reynolds Long. The film’s director, Arthur Crabtree, also gave us Horrors of the Black Museum in 1959.
A lone sentry on patrol hears a crunching, slurping sound in the woods and goes to investigate. A farmer out checking on his cows in the early morning is attacked and the sentry arrives seconds later to find a dead man and no sign of the killer. Official cause of death: Heart Failure. The Air Force wants to do an autopsy but his daughter, Barbara (Kim Parker), won’t allow it and hands the body over to the local authorities.
The Adams farm comes under attack and the old couple die as horribly as Farmer Griselle did. The Air...
- 1/24/2011
- by Movies Unlimited
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Now this is what we're talking about, man! Long lost movies hitting home video in new pristine prints! The news of another never ceases to get us excited, and now that Horror Hospital is coming home, we're downright feverish!
From the Press Release
Before he played the mild-mannered butler Alfred in Tim Burton’s “Batman” movies, Michael Gough was an icon of horror, appearing in such classics as “Berserk,” “Trog,” and “Horrors of the Black Museum.” But none of his roles can compare to his performance as sadistic and deranged Dr. Christian Storm in Horror Hospital. Director Antony Balch’s legendary 1973 shocker has now been restored to its uncensored glory and will be released on DVD by genre masters Dark Sky Films, via Mpi Media Group, on June 15, 2010. The disc, carrying an Srp of $19.98, includes a new feature-length commentary.
As with many British fright flicks of the ’70s, Horror Hospital pours humor,...
From the Press Release
Before he played the mild-mannered butler Alfred in Tim Burton’s “Batman” movies, Michael Gough was an icon of horror, appearing in such classics as “Berserk,” “Trog,” and “Horrors of the Black Museum.” But none of his roles can compare to his performance as sadistic and deranged Dr. Christian Storm in Horror Hospital. Director Antony Balch’s legendary 1973 shocker has now been restored to its uncensored glory and will be released on DVD by genre masters Dark Sky Films, via Mpi Media Group, on June 15, 2010. The disc, carrying an Srp of $19.98, includes a new feature-length commentary.
As with many British fright flicks of the ’70s, Horror Hospital pours humor,...
- 4/12/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Nice! Dark Sky Films is releasing Antony Balch's Horror Hospital in a special edition on June 15, boasting a new feature-length commentary. The film has now been restored to its uncensored glory and you can check out the cover art below. Transferred in HD from the original 35mm camera negative, Horror Hospital 's commentary features producer Richard Gordon ( Fiend Without a Face ) and is moderated by Tom Weaver. The DVD also includes an extensive still gallery which features selects from the personal library of Mr. Gordon, as well as rare lobby cards from Germany. Synopsis: Exhausted young rock singer Jason (Robin Askwith) decides to visit a rural retreat for some rest and rejuvenating treatment. Along the way, Jason meets Judy (Vanessa Shaw), a pretty girl who is also...
- 4/12/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Filmmaker Roy Frumkes, who told us about his in-the-works remake of Fiend Without A Face here, also shared the latest news on a couple of reduxes of his own movies. He premiered “The Definitive Document Of The Dead” at this past weekend’s Saturday Nightmares event in New Jersey, and is continuing to develop a sequel to his cult-fave gross-out epic Street Trash.
- 3/24/2010
- by gingold@starloggroup.com (Michael Gingold)
- Fangoria
Remakes are something we as movie fans have come to expect from Hollywood. Why think up something original when you can use a tried and true story that has name recognition and an already built in audience? This time though, a classic Criterion release is getting the remake treatment. Arthur Crabtree’s Fiend Without a Face (Spine #92) is getting the chance to shine again on the big screen by none other than genre filmmaker Roy Frumkes, who made the fantastic documentary Document of the Dead, about the making of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.
Frumkes has been friends with the original producer of the classic sci-fi/horror hybrid, Richard Gordon and struck a deal with him to remake the film, but he isn’t going about it in the typical fashion. “…I set my own deadlines: The option started January 1, and I gave myself two months to...
Frumkes has been friends with the original producer of the classic sci-fi/horror hybrid, Richard Gordon and struck a deal with him to remake the film, but he isn’t going about it in the typical fashion. “…I set my own deadlines: The option started January 1, and I gave myself two months to...
- 3/24/2010
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
Those fans of the 1950s cult fave Fiend without a Face who've beem awaiting its long-in-development remake have reason to be cautiously optimistic. The current fellow behind the project -- Street Trash writer/producer Roy Frumkes -- just revealed some of his plans. Hit the jump for the details. At this weekend's Saturday Nightmares event in New Jersey, Fangoria spoke with Fumkes, who explained he's hoping to make a more cutting-edge, scientifically accurate version of Fiend: "'I optioned the rights from [original producer] Richard Gordon, who has optioned them several times before,' Frumkes tells us; he'd like to have the veteran fear filmmaker play a scientist in...
- 3/23/2010
- FEARnet
If you have never seen Arthur Crabtree's 1958 creature feature Fiend Without a Face, then, brothers and sisters, consider this homework for you: Track the flick down and love every second! How could you not? It has flying brain creatures with antennae arms and a spine that wraps around the neck and chokes the life out of its victims. This is the good stuff, and it looks as if a remake of this classic flick is now on the way.
According to Fangoria Dawn of the Dead documentarian and Street Trash writer/producer Roy Frumkes is getting set to bring us a remake of this truly classic slice of horror/sci-fi Americana.
“I optioned the rights from [original producer] Richard Gordon, who has optioned them several times before,” Frumkes tells Fango. “We’ve been friends for 10 years, and he brought it up one day over lunch and we reached an agreement. Then...
According to Fangoria Dawn of the Dead documentarian and Street Trash writer/producer Roy Frumkes is getting set to bring us a remake of this truly classic slice of horror/sci-fi Americana.
“I optioned the rights from [original producer] Richard Gordon, who has optioned them several times before,” Frumkes tells Fango. “We’ve been friends for 10 years, and he brought it up one day over lunch and we reached an agreement. Then...
- 3/22/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
A modern redux of the 1958 cult classic Fiend Without A Face (pictured) has been in the works for quite some time now, with filmmakers including Joe Dante, May’s Lucky McKee and Night Of The Demons’ Adam Gierasch involved at various stages. At this past weekend’s Saturday Nightmares event in New Jersey, Fango spoke to the man now holding the project’s reins: Street Trash writer/producer Roy Frumkes.
- 3/22/2010
- by gingold@starloggroup.com (Michael Gingold)
- Fangoria
Arthur Crabtree's 1958 creature feature Fiend Without a Face is such a film of its time, would a remake work today? Roy Frumkes thinks so. He tells Fangoria that he optioned the rights to the original. He's got a script almost ready to go and by the end of the year he'll possibly have interested investors. Right now, he says, it's all about researching the scientific aspect of the film which he goes into detail about here . Frumkes directed the Dawn of the Dead documentary, Document of the Dead , and penned Street Trash . The original film is set on an American base in Canada where an Army Major is tasked with investigating a series of deaths. He comes to discover that the murderous culprits are invisible brain creatures - the results of an experiment in telekinesis....
- 3/22/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
This month, AMC presents AMC Fearfest, the most highly anticipated horror movie marathon of the Halloween season. A celebration of the best in contemporary and classic horror films, AMC Fearfest features over 50 horror titles, three AMC Celebrates events, and interviews with some of Hollywood’s most renowned horror filmmakers. The eight-day marathon airs from October 23 until Halloween Day, October 31 from 7:30am-midnight.
Headlining AMC Fearfest is a star-studded lineup of acclaimed filmmakers, who will host and introduce the presented films and offer insight on what creates a great horror flick. Among the AMC Fearfest hosts are on-screen legend Cloris Leachman (Young Frankenstein), actress Margot Kidder (Amityville Horror), award-winning writer/director, George Romero (Night of the Living Dead), actor Lance Henriksen (Aliens and Aliens 3) and special effects producer, Shane Mahan (SFX Creature Effects Aliens).
AMC Fearfest will also feature three AMC Celebrates events, honoring the milestone anniversaries of some of horror...
Headlining AMC Fearfest is a star-studded lineup of acclaimed filmmakers, who will host and introduce the presented films and offer insight on what creates a great horror flick. Among the AMC Fearfest hosts are on-screen legend Cloris Leachman (Young Frankenstein), actress Margot Kidder (Amityville Horror), award-winning writer/director, George Romero (Night of the Living Dead), actor Lance Henriksen (Aliens and Aliens 3) and special effects producer, Shane Mahan (SFX Creature Effects Aliens).
AMC Fearfest will also feature three AMC Celebrates events, honoring the milestone anniversaries of some of horror...
- 10/13/2009
- by Leigh
- Latemag.com/film
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