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Film Masters is back with an important entry in their Special Edition blu-ray series, remastering the works of Roger Corman. Monster From The Ocean Floor is the first film produced by Roger Corman and released here in a wonderful presentation. My personal viewing of the film took pace at 2am, the perfect time to experience a black and white monster movie of this style. After all, that’s the hour at which it got the most play on broadcast TV over the years since it’s brief theatrical run in the 1950’s. A Classic Resurfaces in Stunning Quality Just as with their previous release of Corman classics, Night of the Blood Beast and Attack of the Giant Leeches (which I reviewed for PopGeeks here), this blu-ray package is more than a bare bones disc for an old film, it’s packed with extras that provide fantastic context for this 1954 b-movie...

Jan Shepard, who acted opposite Elvis Presley in 1958’s King Creole and 1966’s Paradise, Hawaiian Style, and appeared in more than 30 TV Westerns, died Jan. 17 at a hospital in Burbank, Calif. of pneumonia brought on by respiratory failure. She was 96.

In King Creole, noted as Presley’s favorite of his films, she portrayed his on-screen sister Mimi. Eight years later, Shepard played Presley’s business partner’s wife in the ’60s buddy musical comedy. In an interview from last year, Shepard said she wasn’t a fan of Presley’s ahead of working with him, but “once I met him, I just adored him.”

Per an official obituary, Presley and Shepard got on well and went to off-set lunches (where Marlon Brando once made a chance appearance). Describing him as a “big teddy bear,” Shepard once recalled that he gave her a pair of 10-cent earrings as a joke before...

Jan Shepard, who guest-starred on Rawhide, The Virginian, Gunsmoke and two dozen other TV Westerns and played opposite Elvis Presley in movies eight years apart, has died. She was 96.

Shepard died Jan. 17 at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank of pneumonia brought on by respiratory failure, her son, Hollywood prop master, Brandon Boyle, told The Hollywood Reporter. “She was a good one and will be dearly missed,” he said.

Shepard portrayed Mimi, the sister of Presley’s Danny Fisher, in the Michael Curtiz-directed King Creole (1958) and the wife of Danny Kohana (James Shigeta), who partners with Presley’s Rick Richards in a helicopter business, in Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966).

“The first time, I found him to be just the cutest kid around, a big teddy bear, a lot of fun,” she said in an interview for Boyd Magers and Michael G. Fitzgerald’s 1999 book, Westerns Women. But on their next movie,...

Double feature movie bills were once a staple of 50’s cinema. They could be seen at the drive-in movie theaters that once dotted the American landscape. Godzilla sized movie stars were projected onto a giant rectangle. Film Masters is looking to bring back the excitement of those days with their 2-disc set. This Roger Corman set contains a 4K restoration of Night of the Blood Beast and an HD remaster of Attack of the Giant Leeches on blu-ray. While these B-movie creature features were originally shown on the big screen, they are probably best remembered by children of the 60’s. These kids caught television broadcasts on local horror host programs. The movies might have been filling time in the local TV station schedules for a Saturday afternoon. This Special Edition Collector’s Set from Film Masters delivers on the nostalgia for both types of viewers. For those who aren’t familiar with Roger Corman,...

A mutant stalks the Earth when the body of a dead astronaut is used as an alien incubator … Meanwhile, people are being attacked by giant leeches … It doesn’t get any more revolting (or entertaining) than that in this ‘50s creature double feature from producer Roger Corman and Emmy-nominated director Bernard Kowalski (Hot Car Girl).

Night of the Blood Beast (1958)—with an extensive restoration, a new 4K scan from original 35mm archival elements—and Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)—newly restored in HD—will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on 12th November 2024, in a special collector’s two-disc edition from Film Masters.

Night Of The Blood Beast (1958)

Astronaut John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) dies upon returning to Earth following a space mission, but mysteriously comes back to life! As the scientists at a remote space research station investigate Corcoran’s revival, they discover that a parasitic, alien lifeform is utilizing...

Film Masters, a group of historians and enthusiasts who seek to keep old films from falling into disrepair, have repaired another one. Night Of The Blood Beast, one of director Roger Corman’s many, many schlocky B-movie bills, has been remastered in 4K and will be available on Blu-Ray this November. If you’ve heard of this at all, it’s because it has its own MST3K episode — well, that’s actually on the disc, along with the restored original, a full commentary track by Tom Weaver and The Weaver Players, and even the silent 8Mm cut for home projectors (that was once a thing!) Astronaut John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) dies upon returning to Earth following a space mission, but mysteriously comes back to life! As the scientists at a remote space research station investigate Corcoran’s revival, they discover that a parasitic, alien lifeform is utilizing his body...

Who doesn't love a big killer bug movie? Unlike many other subgenres, this particular brand of science-fiction horror hybrid took a good while to come along. Any time a giant monster movie was released in the first half of the 20th century, it was a big deal. The Lost World, King Kong, and Mighty Joe Young stunned and inspired audiences with their groundbreaking special effects. For years, these types of movies were considered too demanding to make on a regular basis. Then, along with the nuclear 1950s, came a complete and utter fascination with turning everyday animals into gargantuan killers! The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was the first of this age, released in 1953. Hollywood began to churn these movies out left and right, innovating these special effects and making them easier to pull off, and making the gap between these films much shorter. From there, classics like Them!, Tarantula, and...

The 1950s were a significant decade for the genres of science-fiction and horror, and the two were often blended together in creative ways. The sci-fi horror of this time was largely dominated by creature features that often revolved around mutated animals or alien entities that would wreak havoc. Tarantula, The Giant Leeches, and The Blob are some significant examples in this regard.

Related: 10 Brilliant, But Forgotten, Sci-Fi Films For Your Watchlist

Films like The Fly and The Thing From Another World eventually led to significant remakes and reboots that revolutionized commercial sci-fi. While most of these films might look goofy in present-day-standards, their reliance on practical effects and atmospheric terror is worth-noting, providing audiences scares that might stun audiences even today.

If I was a producer, I too would have changed the title of my movie from The Creature from Galaxy 27 to Night of the Blood Beast (1958); of course, Roger Corman being that producer means there’s a good chance that the dollar is stretched a little thinner even as the talent is recognized. And this one doesn’t disappoint; Night of the Blood Beast is similar to many of the other Cold War paranoia thrillers of the day in all ways but one: as far as I can tell, this is the first sci-fi film to deal with male impregnation. Take that, O’Bannon and Cronenberg.

Released by American International Pictures (home of Corman and his co-producer brother Gene) in December, Night went out on a double bill with She Gods of Shark Reef, stretching that buck even further. And of course it worked, making back its bones through drive-ins...

‘Things Blowing Up Good’ has been surefire entertainment since the beginning of cinema, but this ill-fated Cinerama extravaganza about the biggest explosion in recorded human history limps along despite some pretty darned impressive volcanic effects. It’s quite an entertaining spectacle, with various good performers in three soap opera plots, either overacting or loitering about with nothing to do. And don’t forget the from-left-field musical striptease.

Krakatoa East of Java

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Barbara Werle, Sal Mineo, Rossano Brazzi, John Leyton, J.D. Cannon, Jacqueline (Jacqui) Chan, Victoria Young, Marc Lawrence, Geoffrey Holder, Niall MacGinnis, Sumi Haru.

Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer

Film Editors: Walter Hannemann, Warren Low, Maurice Rootes

Production Design: Eugèné Lourié

Costumes: Laure Lourié

Special Effects: Eugèné Lourié, Alex Weldon, Francisco Prósper

Original Music: Frank De Vol

Written by Clifford Newton Gould,...

"So you met someone and now you know how it feels. Goody, goody." Starring Shelley Winters and the great Debbie Reynolds, What's the Matter with Helen (1971) is coming to Blu-ray on March 28th from Scream Factory, and we've been provided with three Blu-ray copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of What's the Matter with Helen?

How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:

1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:

https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/

2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “What's the Matter with Helen Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on April 2nd.

All that glitters is not gold in Curtis Harrington's What's the Matter with Helen, starring Shelley Winters and the late Debbie Reynolds, and you can heck out high-def Blu-ray clips and the original trailer for the film ahead of its new home media release on March 28th from Scream Factory.

What's the Matter with Helen Blu-ray: "Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters star in this stylish shocker set in 1930s Hollywood about two women who come to Tinseltown to start an idyllic new life and end up in a terrifying nightmare. Directed by Curtis Harrington (Queen Of Blood, Games), this relentlessly frightening film also stars Dennis Weaver (McCloud), Agnes Moorehead (Bewitched, Dear Dead Delilah) and Yvette Vickers (Attack of the Giant Leeches, Attack of the 50ft Woman).

Bonus Features

New High-Definition Transfer From The Interpositive Original Theatrical Trailer Original Radio Spot Still Gallery"

The post What’S The Matter With Helen?...

Truth be told, I’ve never been too big on Westerns. I don’t know why; I just don’t connect with most of them, or maybe I feel that there’s something missing. Perhaps…Satan?!? Yes, of course we’re heading back to the ‘70s where the Behooved One thrived, even on the small screen. Saddle up for Black Noon (1971), a long forgotten horror/western TV movie that laid the groundwork for some well-regarded horror films.

First airing on The New CBS Friday Night Movies on November 5th, Black Noon had no real competition from the NBC World Premiere Movie or ABC’s Love, American Style, with audiences taking to this insidiously laid back demon oater.

Let’s crack open our telegrammed copy of TV Guide and have a look see:

Black Noon (Friday, 9:30pm, CBS)

A preacher and his wife deal with mysterious forces in a small western town.

Two mothers seeking an escape from the murderous deeds of their sons settle down in Hollywood, but the horrors they left behind soon follow them to their new home in Curtis Harrington's What's the Matter with Helen? This past Halloween, Scream Factory announced that they would release the 1971 horror thriller on Blu-ray, and they've now revealed a March release date and cover art for the film.

From Scream Factory: "We are now taking pre-orders for our upcoming release of the 1971 psychological What’S The Matter With Helen? which makes its Blu-ray format debut in the U.S. & Canada! Release date is planned for March 28th.

Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters star in this stylish shocker set in 1930s Hollywood about two women who come to Tinseltown to start an idyllic new life and end up in a terrifying nightmare. Directed by Curtis Harrington (Queen Of Blood, Games), this...

Scream Factory will release slithering scares on home media tomorrow with their Blu-ray release of the 1973 snake-centric horror film Sssssss, and we’ve been provided with three copies to give away to Daily Dead readers.

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of Sssssss.

How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Sssssss Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on May 1st. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

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From the Press Release: “Before Venom, Anaconda, Python, or Snakes on a Plane, there was the seminal snake-centric horror film, Sssssss. The story of a mad scientist hell bent on turning humans into snakes and using these hybrids...

Back in February, it was announced that Bernard L. Kowalski’s Sssssss would be coming to Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory on April 26th. With just four days to go, two Blu-ray clips—one featuring an interview with Dirk Benedict—and the film’s official trailer have been released, and we have them for Daily Dead readers to enjoy. “Don’t say it, hiss it.”

From the Press Release: “Before Venom, Anaconda, Python, or Snakes on a Plane, there was the seminal snake-centric horror film, Sssssss. The story of a mad scientist hell bent on turning humans into snakes and using these hybrids to get revenge on those who have wronged him, Sssssss is every Ophidiophobe’s nightmare. Making its Blu-ray debut April 26th, 2016 from Scream Factory, Sssssss comes loaded with bonus features, including a new interview with actor Dirk Benedict, a new interview with actor Heather Menzies-Urich, a photo gallery,...

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s snakes! This time, Scream Factory has passed the Blu-ray torch to Bernard L. Kowalski’s Sssssss. Packed with bonus features that include but are not limited to new interviews with the cast, Sssssss is available for pre-order now.

Press Release: Before Venom, Anaconda, Python, or Snakes on a Plane, there was the seminal snake-centric horror film Sssssss. The story of a mad scientist hell bent on turning humans into snakes and using these hybrids to get revenge on those who have wronged him, Sssssss is every ophidiophobe’s nightmare. Making its Blu-ray debut April 26th, 2016 from Scream Factory, Sssssss comes loaded with bonus features, including a new interview with actor Dirk Benedict, a new interview with actor Heather Menzies-Urich, a photo gallery, theatrical trailers and more! Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com

In Sssssss, Strother Martin...

Movies from the “golden age” of black and white films (approximately the 1930’s through the 1950’s) almost invariably contain well-written dialogue and strikingly subtle humor, making them a favorite among many fans of cinema. The horror movies of this more subtle period in film history are therefore of a cerebral nature, primarily relying on the viewer’s imagination to generate the true sense of horror that modern movies generate through more visual means. It is these oft-ignored horror movies that will be the focus of a series of articles detailing the reasons why true fans of horror movies should rediscover these films.

With this 8th installment in the Forgotten B&W Horror series, we begin looking at a few movies that blur the line between horror and science fiction – a blurring that occurred with many sci-fi movies of the 1950′s.

Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) tells the story of a...

"TCM Remembers 2011" is out. Remembered by Turner Classic Movies are many of those in the film world who left us this past year. As always, this latest "TCM Remembers" entry is a classy, immensely moving compilation. The haunting background song is "Before You Go," by Ok Sweetheart.

Among those featured in "TCM Remembers 2011" are Farley Granger, the star of Luchino Visconti's Senso and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and Strangers on a Train; Oscar-nominated Australian actress Diane Cilento (Tom Jones, Hombre), formerly married to Sean Connery; and two-time Oscar nominee Peter Falk (Murder, Inc., Pocketful of Miracles, The Great Race), best remembered as television's Columbo. Or, for those into arthouse fare, for playing an angel in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire.

Also, Jane Russell, whose cleavage and sensuous lips in Howard Hughes' The Outlaw left the puritans of the Production Code Association apoplectic; another Australian performer, Googie Withers, among...

There are few horror icons who are instantly recognizable. Karloff, Lugosi, Price, Cushing, Lee ... but there are even less who are women. Arguably the most recognizable of these is the luscious Elvira - Mistress of the Dark and her creator, Cassandra Peterson.

Elvira came into the public eye in the late spring of 1981 when Peterson auditioned for a horror movie host role at Khj-tv when the powers-that-be there sent out a casting all for someone to host their weekly horror show. The sultry Elvira - clad in a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown - soon became a cultural phenomenon. With her dark, Morticia Addams-like makeup, a towering black beehive wig, and wickedly vampish appearance, her comical character was offset by a quirky, quick-witted personality and valley girl-type speech. Soon, her influence was seen on everything from beverage ads to pinball games to major motion pictures.

On June 14th, 2011, Entertainment One (eOne...

Directed by: Declan O'Brien

Produced by: Roger Corman, Julie Corman

Written by: Mike MacLean

Cast: Eric Roberts, Kerem Bursin, Sara Malakul Lane, Héctor Jiménez

In my review of Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurous (Feb. 23 of this year), I suggested the folks in charge of The Asylum watch some of Roger Corman's older films and take a few notes on how to make a great monster flick. I hope they had pen and paper handy when Sharktopus hit the Syfy Network, as their chief competition just showed them how it's done. A gleeful mix of one part monster, one part bathing suit clad victims, and a lot of "how can we top the last scene" effort shaken into the mix, the film became one of Syfy's biggest successes. All I can say is, I told you so, The Asylum.

The film opens in California, with a young swimmer about to become a white shark snack.

Star of quirky horror films such as Attack of the Giant Leeches

Yvette Vickers, who has died aged 82, found a niche in the world of psychotronic movies, the film genre made up of low-budget horror and quirky exploitation films, which could be described as "bad enough to be good". These movies attract obsessive devotion from fans who revel in films with ludicrous titles such as Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958) and Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), both of which starred Vickers as a victim of the titu- lar monsters.

In the former film, Vickers is carrying on with the hubby of the wealthy woman who is turned into a giantess. In the latter, it is Vickers's husband who wreaks revenge on his wife and her boyfriend, by forcing them at gunpoint into the swamp inhabited by the massive bloodthirsty leeches. (Actually, the "leeches" were men in suction-cup-covered suits that did...

Yvette Vickers, the 1950s actress and pinup whose decomposed body was discovered in her home by a neighbor last month, died of heart disease, an autopsy found. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter says he didn't know when Vickers died, but her neighbors say it could have been anywhere from six months to a year ago. Vickers, 82, who starred in such B-movies as Attack of the Giant Leeches, had a number of health issues in recent years. She was overweight and had a drinking problem, as well as what appeared to severe paranoia, friends and neighbors said. - Dahvi Shira...

Authorities in Los Angeles have determined tragic model and actress Yvette Vickers died from heart disease.

Police found the mummified remains of the one-time Playboy Playmate in her Los Angeles home last month, after a curious neighbour stumbled upon her decomposed body.

Ed Winter, the county coroner's assistant, officially identified the body and revealed the cause of death on Friday. The time of death remains unknown.

Forensics experts have suggested Vickers, who appeared in classic B-movies Attack of the 50-Foot Woman and Attack of the Giant Leeches, may have died alone a year before her remains were found.

The actress was 82 years old.

Hollywood is notoriously fickle in its favours, but the macabre demise of a former B-movie queen was an especially cruel twist

The concerned neighbour suspected something amiss. She came to check on the old lady and saw the mailbox covered with cobwebs. The only letters in it were yellowing, untouched bills. Forcing open the barricaded front gate and peering through a broken window, she saw lights illuminating a formerly beautiful interior now in total disrepair, filthy clothes, junk mail and boxes strewn everywhere.

Once inside, the only sound she heard was the low hum of a space heater still running. Evidently, the utility company never turned off the power. In the bedroom, she noticed a dead cordless phone on the floor … before she made the grisly discovery of a mummified, unrecognizable corpse. She knew instinctively it was the old lady.

The police said the woman, in her eighties, may have been dead for months.

Playboy magazine was a 6-year-old scandalous sensation when Hugh Hefner chose Yvette Vickers to appear as Miss July 1959, with a centerfold photo of her lying on a sofa flashing her bare behind. "Our lawyer thought that photo was going to get us into trouble," recalls Hefner with a laugh. "He literally wanted to stop the presses and change the Playmate. I said, 'Forget it.' " More than 50 years later, Hefner received another message about Vickers, this time a Tweet. The former Playmate and one-time B-movie queen had been found dead in a mummified state in her home. She had died...

Yvette Vickers, star of cult films Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958) and Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), has passed away at the age of 74.  The discovery of her body last week adds a grisly, haunting footnote to the life and career of this actress and model. Vickers was born August 26, 1936 in Kansas City, Missouri.  Daughter of professional jazz musicians, Vickers was a singer in addition to her modeling and acting, which she was doing professionally by her mid teens.  Her first film appearance (uncredited) was in Sunset Boulevard (1950), directed by Billy Wilder.  Vickers's first credited film appearance was in Short Cut to Hell (1957), directed by James Cagney.  Vickers also worked as a...

This a strange and sad story, perhaps the strangest and saddest you.ll read this week. Yvette Vickers the star of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and many other notable, ridiculous, and fun B-movies from the 50s was found dead last week in her home. She was 82 and the circumstances of her death sound like something out of one of the B-movies she was once famous for. Vickers was a blonde bombshell and a Playboy Playmate before making a career in the movies. She appeared in more than 40 different films and television programs, the last one in 1990. She worked most in the 50s doing edgy, tawdry cult films like 50 Foot Woman or Attack of the Giant Leeches, which in their own way shaped the modern film era but were mostly a lot of completely trashy fun. Even if you.ve never seen any of her films, you.ve almost...

Some sad news in the world of horror today. Yvette Vickers was found dead in her Los Angeles home on April 27th. Vickers starred in such legendary films as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Attack of the Giant Leeches. She was also the Playboy Playmate of the Month back in 1959. The legendary B-movie starlet was discovered by a neighbor who noticed her mail had been piling up. DNA tests may take up to a week to confirm her identity. Unfortunately,…...

In what is absolutely the strangest, and saddest, story I've reported lately, the mummified body of actress, singer and pinup model Yvette Vickers has been found in her Benedict Canyon home. It is expected she died of natural causes.

Apparently, Vickers, who appeared in 1950s cult faves such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Attack of the Giant Leeches, died a year ago at age 82, but no one realized it until a concerned neighbor, Susan Savage, noticed her mail piling up last week. Savage then forced open a barricaded front gate, scaled a hillside, climbed through a broken window and pushed past piles of "clothes, junk mail and letters" to reach her, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Vickers was discovered by filmmaker Billy Wilder, who gave her a small role in the classic Sunset Boulevard. She snagged a few decent films such as Hud, opposite Paul Newman,...

Well this is beyond creepy. The Los Angeles Times reports that Yvette Vickers, star of the schlock sci-fi (schli-fi?) classic "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" (1958) was found dead in her Los Angeles home last Wednesday. But not just any kind of dead: mummified dead.

Vickers, who was 82, became a recluse after her Hollywood career, which ended in the early 1990s. According to a friend quoted in the Times, she was convinced she was being stalked, and became increasingly paranoid. With no immediate survivors -- she was married and divorced twice -- Vickers had no one looking in on her. So when neighbors finally became suspicious of the mail piling up outside her house, they were the ones who discovered her body, which was "so decomposed that it was unrecognizable," according to People. Police say that the condition of Vickers' body indicates she was dead for nearly a year when she was found.

"It's not uncommon for movies to drop out of circulation and simply disappear, as fans of Deep End will attest," begins Ryan Gilbey in the Guardian. "Barely seen since its release in 1971, the film concerns Mike (played by John Moulder-Brown), a floppy-fringed 15-year-old who becomes dangerously infatuated with Susan (Jane Asher), his co-worker at the public baths. What's unusual about this prolonged absence is that it should have befallen a film so passionately admired. The influential critic Andrew Sarris thought it measured up to the best of Godard, Truffaut and Polanski. The New Yorker's Penelope Gilliatt called it 'a work of peculiar, cock-a-hoop gifts.' If something as venerated as Deep End can sink, what hope for the rest of cinema?"

Some, at least. After all, Jerzy Skolimowski's film, kept off screens for decades due to rights issues, has been restored and will screen tomorrow night at London's BFI Southbank,...

She caused guys at the drive-in movies of the '50s and the readers of Playboy to swoon, counted Cary Grant and the actor Jim Hutton (father of Timothy Hutton) among her lovers, and even appeared - briefly - opposite Paul Newman in the Oscar-winning Hud. But when it came to Hollywood endings, pinup model and actress Yvette Vickers reached a heartbreaking fadeout. As her uncollected mail gathered cobwebs outside, inside Vickers's dilapidated Los Angeles home last Wednesday, police, acting on a concerned neighbor's tip, discovered the mummified remains of the onetime 36"-24"-36" cult star of the space-alien B-movies...

Apparently she’d been dead in her apartment for many months and they just discovered her mummified remains. The sultry B-movie starlet was known for her sexy sneer and was often cast as bad girls in 50′s schlock such as Reform School Girl (1957) and Attack Of The Giant Leeches (1958). The vivacious blonde was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in July 1959. I met her at a Fangoria convention years back and she was a great, fun broad. Listen to her commentary on the Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman DVD and you’ll hear a woman with a lot of stories to tell.

From Yahoo News:

Los Angeles . Los Angeles County coroners are trying to confirm that a badly decomposed body found in the home of former Playboy Playmate and B-movie actress Yvette Vickers is hers.

A neighbor discovered the body in a mummified state last week, police told the Los Angeles Times.

Yvette Vickers, former Playboy Playmate and star of classic B-movies such as Attack of the Giant Leeches and Attack of the 50-Foot Woman was found in a "mummified state" in her California home last week, and according to authorities may have passed away up to a year ago. Vickers was found by Susan Savage, a neighbor who noticed cobwebs and yellowing mail, and told the La Times she "just had a bad feeling." Unfortunately upon entering Vickers' home, she was proven right: The inside of the home was in disrepair and it was hard to move through the rooms because boxes containing what appeared to be clothes, junk mail and letters formed barriers, Savage said. Eventually, she made her way upstairs and found a room with a small space heater still on. She was looking at a cordless phone that appeared to have been knocked [...]...

Another star from Hollywood's heyday has passed on, albeit in a very curious fashion. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman co-star Yvette Vickers was found dead in her home under some really odd and extremely sad circumstances.

According to the Los Angeles Times Vickers (pictured right), a B-movie actress whose credits include Attack of the Giant Leeches, was found dead last week at her home in L.A.'s Benedict Canyon area. She was 82.

Based on the mummified state of her body, police believe that she could have been dead for nearly a year, the Los Angeles Times reported. Police don't suspect foul play, but the Los Angeles county coroner's office will determine the official cause of death.

Her body was discovered by a neighbor, who had gone to check on Vickers after noticing old letters and spiderwebs in her mailbox. The neighbor said Vickers was unrecognizable when she found her.

The mummified remains of model-turned-actress Yvette Vickers has been found in her Los Angeles home. Police experts suggest the one-time Playboy Playmate may have died alone a year ago. Her body was discovered by a curious neighbor on Wednesday, April 27.

The 82-year-old appeared in classic B-movies "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches". Susan Savage, the neighbor who found Vickers' corpse, tells the Los Angeles Times the actress was in an upstairs room of her dilapidated Benedict Canyon home.

To the publication, Susan reveals she went to check on Yvette after she noticed letters and spiderwebs in the actress' mailbox. "The letters seemed untouched and were starting to yellow," she says. "I just had a bad feeling."

Police believe there is no sign of foul play, but Yvette's official cause of death will be determined by the Los Angeles county coroner's office.

Sad news hit the web tonight, as police are reporting they found the body of actress Yvette Vickers in her L.A.'s Benedict Canyon home last week. The B-movie actress, known for her roles in Attack Of The 50-Foot Woman and Attack Of The Giant Leeches (both of which I saw more times than I can remember during my childhood), was discovered in a mummified state (the body suggests she has been dead for nearly a year. Yikes!) by a neighbor "after noticing old letters and spiderwebs in her mailbox." Although the cause of her death is unknown, police don't suspect foul play. She was 82. Check past the break for trailers of the aforementioned flicks.

The mummified remains of model-turned-actress Yvette Vickers has been found in her Los Angeles home.

Police experts suggest the one-time Playboy Playmate may have died alone a year ago. Her body was discovered by a curious neighbour last week.

The 82 year old appeared in classic B-movies Attack of the 50-Foot Woman and Attack of the Giant Leeches.

The neighbour who found Vickers' corpse tells the Los Angeles Times the actress was in an upstairs room of her dilapidated Benedict Canyon home.

It was the opening day of the Disney-mgm studios in Orlando. The stars were there with their children. There was an official luncheon at the Brown Derby, modeled after the legendary Hollywood eatery. I was beside myself. I was in a booth sitting next to Jack Brickhouse, the voice of the Chicago Cubs. A man walked over and introduced himself. "Bob Elliott." Oh. My. God. Bob, of Bob and Ray.

For me he was the biggest star in the room. Who, after all, compared to even one half of Bob and Ray, was Tom Hanks? Whoopi Goldberg? Art Linkletter? "Gosh all whillikers, Mr. Science!" I said, "What's that long brown object???" Bob didn't miss a beat: "That's known as a board, Roger."

Another man was steaming toward us through the throng. A middle-aged man, well-dressed, tanned, with a pleasant smile. "Hi, Jack!" he said. "Say, I hear Ernie Banks is invited.

The great Italian horror director Mario Bava isn't as well-known today as he should be; perhaps it's because his films relied more on mood and atmosphere than on plot and character, and very often his plots and characters were a little pathetic. But in terms of crafting a moody, moving picture with a genuine sense of nightmarish dread, he was practically unequaled. He had worked as a cinematographer in Italy for nearly 20 years when he made Black Sunday (1960), his official directorial debut. It was low budget, but considered rather sophisticated -- and even violent -- for its day (at least compared to things like Attack of the Giant Leeches). Today it's Bava's best known film and considered to be his masterpiece, which is ironic given that his greatest strength is his mysterious, majestic use of color, and that Black Sunday is in black-and-white.

Apparently based on a story by Nikolai Gogol,...

Curious to know what frightful films and devilish discs will be available to view in the privacy of your own digital dungeon this week? Fango's got you covered.

It's a stellar week for fright-fare in the home market, especially for those that prefer Blu-ray, with some pretty big titles hitting the format for the first time.

Below the jump you'll find the full list of titles arriving in-stores this Tuesday, September 15, 2009 in our weekly version of the famous Fangoria Chopping List - updated with all the last-minute additions and deletions.

Note: Clickable links lead to Amazon.com An American Werewolf In London (Full Moon Edition, DVD & Bd)

Re-discover one of the most gripping horror films of all-time with the cult classic An American Werewolf in London. Blending the macabre with a wicked sense of humor, director John Landis (National Lampoon’s Animal House) delivers a contemporary take on the classic...