cinema history class: tower of evil (1972)

The session: Odds and Sods
Four oddball Halloween-appropriate movies from different countries

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 3: Tower of Evil (1972)
Directed by Jim O'Connolly

My Level of Prior Knowledge
Never heard of it.

Plot:
A group of archaeologists investigates the grisly murders of several young people on a fog-shrouded island off the English coast. As they explore an ancient Phoenician temple beneath a lighthouse, they discover that something monstrous—and not entirely human—still lurks there, determined to kill again.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
It's not a masterpiece by any means, but Tower of Evil pretty much delivers what it promises: plenty of jump scares, a good amount of blood, and enough suspense and mystery to keep things moving. The plot—archaeologists investigating a creepy island murder scene—has that classic early-’70s British horror vibe, with fog, shadows, and lots of screaming.

That said, it’s hard not to notice that half the movie was clearly filmed on a soundstage. Every so often you can practically hear the echo off the studio walls, and there's just blackness all around. This kind of makes the “remote island” feel about as isolated as a BBC backlot. Still, there’s a weird charm to it all. At times it almost plays like a grown-up version of The Goonies—a group exploring tunnels, discovering treasures, and unleashing something best left buried.

When we meet the ancient Phoenician god, I had to stifle a laugh. The poor creature looks suspiciously like the squirrel from the Ice Age movies, if the squirrel had just crawled out of a vat of mud. And the fiery finale gave me flashbacks to Island of Lost Souls, with that same sense of wild, apocalyptic chaos. And, as we see the island in flames, I expected to hear someone say "Don't Look Back."

Joe missed this one, but I’m sure he would have given it a ten.

cinema history class: devil's nightmare (1971)

The session: Odds and Sods
Four oddball Halloween-appropriate movies from different countries

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 2: The Devil's Nightmare (1971)
Directed by Jean Brismee

My Level of Prior Knowledge
Never heard of it.

Plot:
A group of travelers takes shelter for the night in a gloomy castle, unaware that their host is a cursed baron whose daughter, a succubus, preys on the seven deadly sins. One by one, the guests fall victim to their own vices as the demonic daughter exacts her infernal revenge.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
The Devil’s Nightmare is an interesting little morality tale. Each of the guests in an old castle represents one of the seven deadly sins, and each meets a death that supposedly reflects their vice. The idea is clever, but the execution is uneven—some deaths, like those tied to gluttony and greed, make perfect sense, while others feel like a stretch and are therefore forgettable. Maybe the writers lost track of which sin was which after a while—easy enough to do after seven.

None of the characters are especially likeable, so it’s hard to feel much when they meet their fates. On the bright side, that does make it easier to watch them die. Still, you can see a seed of the slasher formula that would blossom later in the ’70s and ’80s: people trapped in a confined setting, getting picked off one by one. The makeup effects are actually impressive, though, and they give the film a little extra polish it otherwise lacks.

By that point, though, logic had packed its bags and left the castle. And I have to admit, it’s a bit sad when you realize near the end that they killed the wrong girl at the beginning. That twist almost makes you want to give the movie more credit than it probably deserves.

And, as always, Joe rated it a ten!

cinema history class: mad doctor of blood island (1969)

The session: Odds and Sods
Four oddball Halloween-appropriate movies from different countries

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 1: Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969)
Directed by Eddie Romero and Gerry DeLong

My Level of Prior Knowledge
Never heard of it.

Plot:
On remote Blood Island, an American doctor discovers a mad scientist turning villagers into green-skinned killers with a bizarre serum.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
Mad Doctor of Blood Island is a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, the scenery is gorgeous—lush jungles and tropical vistas that make you almost forgive the film for what comes next. Unfortunately, the camera work is a nightmare: the throbbing, rapid zooms during supposedly shocking moments are so relentless they’re genuinely nauseating.

The movie veers between silly and slightly impressive. The monster looks great in some shots but downright comical in others, and the comic book–like plotting makes it hard to care about any of the characters. At least the filmmakers bothered to give a plausible (if horror movie–plausible) explanation for the chaos, which is more than I was expecting early on.

There’s a surprising amount of explicit gore, which adds a curious touch of interest—even if I usually prefer the power of imagination over a flood of blood. Acting and dialogue are uniformly bad, but somehow, that fits the overall tone of absurdity.

At least Bobbo had fun watching it!

cinema history class: don't go to sleep (1982)

The session: Creepy Kids!
Four weeks of films featuring creepy kids. Or is it creepy films about kids?

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 4: Don't Go to Sleep (1982)
Directed by Richard Lang

My Level of Prior Knowledge
Never heard of it.

Plot:
Trying to get past the death of the eldest daughter, a grieving family move into a new home. But the daughter isn't quite ready to say goodbye.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
Don't Go To Sleep is one of those rare TV movies that makes you blink in disbelief at how far it pushes television boundaries. It's an endurance test—so relentlessly creepy and emotionally intense that you almost wonder how ABC signed off on airing this in prime time. It’s a slow-burn family horror story about ghostly revenge, full of nail-biting discomfort and well-earned chills.​

The story, at its core, is a revenge tale, with the vengeful ghost of daughter Jennifer wielding supernatural payback against her family—the very people she believes are responsible for her tragic death. What makes it smarter than the average TV shocker is how everyone clings to the refrain "It was an accident. It was nobody's fault." The denial and buried guilt hang over the family like a toxic fog, all while Jennifer picks them off one by one in ways that are quietly nightmarish. It's striking how each character feels some measure of responsibility, hinted at in their conversations and in the flashback reveal of the fateful prank in the car.​

In class, we had a lively discussion about the events of the movie are paranormal or psychological. My money's on the literal, ghostly interpretation; the evidence for Jennifer's actual supernatural revenge feels more compelling. But there's enough ambiguity, especially with Mary’s mental unraveling, that a "mass psychosis" reading is defensible, and that tension gives the movie extra depth.​

A particular strength is how Don't Go To Sleep skillfully suggests gore without ever crossing into explicit territory. That pizza-cutter scene is anxiety in its purest form—your mind fills in the horrors as Mary menaces the stairway, and the watermelon-smash moment is a classic metaphor for violence unseen. It’s a lesson in the power of suggestion, showing that a well-placed image or sound can provoke just as much terror as any graphic set-piece.​

The film always felt like it was operating far above the usual "TV movie" tier. A lot of that comes down to the tight, clever writing—dialogue crackles with resentment and suppressed guilt, and the plot manages to keep you guessing right up to the final chilling image. Even the opening credits use music pauses and ambient sound, like cars passing, to create palpable dread right from the start. And let’s not forget the sly touch with the house number: 13666, a string of bad luck capped by what every horror fan knows as "the mark of the beast."

Don't Go To Sleep proves that the right mix of writing, casting, and atmosphere can turn a made-for-TV movie into an unforgettable horror experience.

cinema history class: the others (2001)

The session: Creepy Kids!
Four weeks of films featuring creepy kids. Or is it creepy films about kids?

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 3: The Others (2001)
Directed by Alejandro Amenabar

My Level of Prior Knowledge
Never heard of it.

Plot:
World War II has just ended, and a scared woman is living with her photosensitive children in a darkened mansion. She is sure the place is haunted -- and, in a sense, she's right.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

The Others starts out slow, but it’s the kind of slow burn that makes every creak and whisper in that sprawling mansion feel like it matters. It’s a gothic, foggy setup—the classic sort where half the suspense is watching Nicole Kidman lock down every room, hiding her photosensitive kids from the sunlight like some paranoid Victorian ghost hunter. Honestly, for a while, I found myself wondering if anything huge was going to happen, but the tension ramps up beautifully until that big twist.

Now, about that twist—it’s cut from the same cloth as The Sixth Sense, and, like that movie, you know something supernatural and game-changing is coming. I figured out early on that the family’s relationship to the ghosts was off, but I couldn’t quite peg exactly what was going on. When they finally reveal that Grace and her kids are actually the ghosts haunting the place, it’s wild to realize you’ve been rooting for the haunting instead of the haunted the whole time.

If you’ve seen The Changeling (which we did a week earlier), the similarities can’t be ignored. Both films play with haunted house architecture—staircases and endless, shadowy hallways that feel right out of an Escher drawing. I noticed that off-kilter, looping quality while watching, but I didn’t realize that it was intentional until Keith pointed it out afterwards. It did a great job of messing with my perception of space. It’s almost like The Others is The Changeling flipped on its head: in one, the living confront a dead presence; in the other, the dead realize the living are the intruders.

Villains? Not really. The Others, just like The Changeling and The Sixth Sense doesn’t give you an evil monster or nefarious ghost to hate. Everyone in that gloomy house is a victim wrestling with loss and confusion. Even the infamous séance scene feels like an homage—pulled straight from The Changeling (and appropriately reversed), right down to the frantic pacing and eerie detachment from reality.

Honestly, this movie should have been a modern classic, and it’s a shame it never reached iconic status. It came out in August 2001, and the timing—it was right before the world changed with 9/11—meant it got overshadowed and lost in the shuffle. Some of the film’s mysteries get left hanging, but it didn’t bother me. The strange, claustrophobic mood and gradual revelation kept me hooked, and by the end, the twist on the classic ghost story trope left me utterly out of breath.

The Others is worth revisiting, especially for fans of chilly, intelligent horror with atmosphere galore and a satisfying, eerie payoff.