When worlds collide (1951)

"Your salvation doesn't interest me; mine does."
David Randall (Richard Derr) is a pilot who finds out that the earth is on collision course with two other planets, dooming earth and all life upon it. Many dispute the findings but two millionaires have faith enough to invest in a project to build a space ship that will take a limited number of people, animals and plants to start a new life on the one planet that will survive. But can they build it in time and will the other planet sustain human life?
Another space bound production from George Pal. This early disaster movie makes the most of its apocalyptic theme and the good versus evil debate.

attack of the fifty foot woman (1958)

"She may have been contaminated, there is evidence of some sort of radiation."
Nancy Archer (Allison Hayes) is a wealthy but neurotic woman, who has the misfortune to be married to cheating husband Harry (William Hudson). Then on her way home one night she encounters an alien, but no one believes her. She persuades her husband to go out into the desert to look for it, and he goes along to placate her, bur when they find it Harry runs off, leaving her to her fate. Then she starts growing and she's more than a little annoyed with Harry, his cowardly ways and his blatant cheating!
Cheap and cheerful atomic age mutant horror. A classic of the genre, right down to the terrible special effects, but these only serve to add to the fun.

two way stretch (1960)

"Blimey! Sour Crout!"
Dodge (Peter Sellers) plans a diamond heist, where they have the perfect alibi - the gang are in prison. They plan to break out, steal the diamonds, then break back in before anyone notices. Then the soft touch chief prison officer retires and is replaced by the most evil man in the prison system, Sour Crout, or Chief Prison Officer Sidney Crout (Lionel Jeffries) to you!
A classic British comedy, with everyone playing their part perfectly.

island of terror (1966)

Night of the Silicates. The Creepers. The Night the Creatures Came. The Night the Silicates Came.
"There was no face. Just a horrible mush with the eyes sittin' in it."
cancer specialist Dr. Philips (Peter Forbes-Robertson), is undertaking his research on a remote island. When a man is found dead, the corpse being nothing more than a lump of jelly, Dr. Brian Stanley (Peter Cushing) and Dr. David West (Edward Judd) are brought in. They quickly realise that Philips may have created a living being and it has broke free of the lab.
An interesting little film, that entertains more for the inclusion of Peter Cushing in the cast than for the creatures.

the flesh and the fiends (1960)

AKA Mania. Psycho Killers. The Fiendish Ghouls.
"Ain't that what we all want, to end our days in peace."
Edinburgh in 1828 and the respected anatomist, lecturer and surgeon Dr Knox (Peter Cushing) needs bodies to dissect. He comes to employ Burke and Hare (George Rose and Donald Pleasence), who seem to have an unending supply, no questions asked.
Pleasence and Cushing give their usually great performances, in this adaption of the true story, that evokes the grim atmosphere of an 19th Century Edinburgh.

this island earth (1955)

"It is indeed typical that you Earth people refuse to believe in the superiority of any world but your own."
Nuclear scientist Dr. Meacham (Rex Reason) is chosen with some others, including Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue), by the inhabitants of a dying planet to try and help save it. Exeter (Jeff Morrow), an alien from the planet Metaluna takes them there and tries to convince them to help his people, but whilst there Meacham discovers the aliens are developing a plan b - to relocate to Earth.

the undying monster (1942)

AKA The Hammond Mystery.
"We have to think about something with ferocious strength..."
Oliver Hammond (John Howard), the local aristocrat landowner is attacked by a wild beast, a creature that is supposed to have preyed on the family for generations. Robert Curtis (James Ellison), a criminal lab scientist with Scotland Yard and his assistant Christy (Heather Thatcher) are given the task of getting to the bottom of the mystery. They first question Oliver's sister Helga (Heather Angel) and the family doctor Colbert (Bramwell Fletcher), who are both skeptical about the legend and all concerned seem overly keen to end the investigation as soon as possible.
An atmospheric murder mystery, that is effectively played out by all concerned.

comedy of terrors (1963)

"I'm afraid, madam, he has made his final journey, across the stygian shore."
Trumbull (Vincent Price) has many problems to attend to as he runs a funeral parlour. From a senile father in law (Boris Karloff) to incompetent employees (Peter Lorre), but his biggest problem is his lack of customers. A problem that jumps to the top of the list when he is sent a demand for his back rent. Trumbull has to find some customers to pay his bills and quick. Then he hits on the perfect way...why wait till they die of old age, when he can help them get there quicker!
Tourneur visits the Poe genre that Corman and AIP had been plundering, this time to ham it up and parody them. A job well done by the wonderful cast.

son of frankenstein (1939)

"His name has become synonymous with horror! Monsters! Why nine out of ten people call that misshapen creature of my father's experiments..."
Wolf Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) arrives to claim his father's estate, determined to rehabilitate the name of Frankenstein. Whilst exploring his new home Frankenstein finds Ygor (Bela Lugosi) and the monster (Boris Karloff) hidden away. Ygor pleads with Wolf to revive the monster. He tries but seemingly fails, but soon after people start being killed. People who were on the jury that convicted Ygor
The third in the Universal Frankenstein series sees Karloff don the make up one last time, in the last of the great Frankenstein films. Director, Lee moves from the Gothic look, to one that plays with large sets and long shadows, and gets some fine performances out of his cast.

Vamp (1986)

"I've had a bad day..."
Three suburban college kids go to the city to partake of the bright lights and find some strippers for their fraternity. They visit a strip club, where AJ (Robert Rusler) ends up as a vampire's lunch, chomped on by head vamp Katrina (Grace Jones). Therein Keith (Chris Makepeace) tries to find out what happened to his friend, with help from over eager waitress Amaretto (Dedee Pfeiffer). Meanwhile comedy stooge Duncan (Gedde Watanabe) does his Long Duk Dong impression in the club, oblivious of the events unfolding around him.
The campy son of the Lost Boys, this screams 80's, and in a good way. Jones is perfect as the nasty as anything Vamp, preying on the unloved and unmissed dregs that wash up in her club.

dracula: Spanish version (1931)

AKA Dracula, Spanish Version. Spanish Dracula.
"Blood is life Mr Renfield."
Renfield (Pablo Álvarez Rubio) arrives at Count Dracula's (Carlos Villarías) castle in the Carpathian Mountains on Walpurgis night. He soon falls under the spell of Dracula and arranges the purchase of a rundown abbey in London and to transport him to it. The abbey is near an asylum, where Renfield is taken as he is considered mad. Dracula wastes no time in getting acquainted with Dr Seward (José Soriano Viosca), who runs the hospital, and that of his daughter(Lupita Tovar). The daughter soon becomes ill, an illness that is recognised by a visiting doctor, one Van Helsing (Eduardo Arozamena).
A Spanish version of Dracula, filmed at the same time as the Lugosi version, using the same script, but with a different director and direction. Considered by some to be a superior version of the story, due to the more confident direction, and less static camerawork, but it suffers from a lesser cast, who do not match that of the English language version.

dracula's daughter (1936)

AKA Daughter of Dracula.
"Free to live as a woman. Free to take my place in the bright world of the living, instead of among the shadows of the dead."
Prof. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) is being held by the police for the murder of Dracula. Then the body disappears, taken by a mysterious woman, who burns it. The woman is countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden), daughter of Dracula. She had hoped to free herself from her father's influence once he had been destroyed, but now seemed more under his spell than ever before. To break herself of this curse she seeks out the help of psychiatrist Jeffrey Garth (Otto Kruger), a friend of Van Helsing.
An interesting take on the Dracula story, with much discussion about the loneliness of the vampire existence. Its one downfall is the lack of Dracula, and the charisma that this character brings.