Female Vampires of the Early 1970s- 100 Days to Halloween

La Vampire Nue (1970)

-Directed by Jean Rollin

-Caroline Cartier as The Vampire

La Vampire Nue Trailer (NSFW)

The Vampire Lovers (1970)

-Directed by Roy Ward Baker

-Kristen Lindholm as Vampire Woman

-Ingrid Pitt as Mircalla Karnstein 

The Vampire Lovers Trailer

Daughters of Darkness (1971)

-Directed by Harry Kumel

-Delphine Seyrig as Countess Elizabeth Bathory

Daughters of Darkness Trailer

Twins of Evil (1971)

-Directed by John Hough

-Mary and Madeleine Collinson as Maria and Freida Gellhorn 

Twins of Evil Trailer

Lets Scare Jessica to Death (1971)

-Directed by John Hancock

-Gretchen Corbett as The Girl

Lets Scare Jessica to Death Trailer

Lust For a Vampire (1971)

-Directed by Jimmy Sangster

-Yutte Stensgaard as Mircalla/Carmilla  Karnstein 

Lust For a Vampire Trailer

Countess Dracula (1971)

-Directed by Peter Sasdy

-Ingrid Pitt as Countess Elizabeth

Countess Dracula Trailer

Vampyros Lesbos (1971)

-Directed by Jess Franco

-Soledad Miranda as Countess Nadine Carody

Vampyros Lesbos Trailer

The Blood Splattered Bride (1972)

-Directed by Vicente Aranda

-Alexandra Bastedo as Mircalla Karnstein

The Blood Splattered Bride Trailer (NSFW)

Ganja and Hess (1973)

-Directed by Bill Gunn

-Marlene Clark as Ganja Meda

Ganja & Hess Trailer

Female Vampire (1973)

-Directed by Jess Franco

-Lina Romay as Countess Irina Karlstein

Female Vampire Trailer

Vampire Ecstasy (1973)

-Directed by Joseph W Sarno

-Ulrike Butz as Monika

Vampire Ecstasy Trailer

Vampyres (1974)

-Directed by Jose Ramon Larraz 

-Marianne Morris as Fran

-Anulka Dziubinska as Miriam 

Vampyres Trailer

The Vampires Night Orgy (1974)

-Leon Klimovsky

-Helga Line as La Senora

Lips of Blood (1975)

-Directed by Jean Rollin 

-Catherine and Marie-Pierre Castel as Jumelle Vampires

Lips of Blood Trailer

Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975)

-Directed by Juan Lopez Moctezuma

-Christina Ferrare as Mary

Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary Trailer

Lake of Death (2019)

Lake of Death (2019)

Dir- Nini Bull Robsahn

In many horror films, it is common to use isolated settings to set up events that will lead to a tragic outcome. A house on the lake offers a seemingly tranquil location, and quite a number of movies have made use of this setting. The Lake of Death is based on a 1942 novel titled De dødes tjern that inspired a 1958 Norweigian film Lake of the Dead. 

Twin siblings are shown making a pact with the young woman Lillian (Iben Akerlie), revealing she will be leaving to be with her boyfriend. Shortly afterward, her brother Bjorn (Patrick Walshe McBride) disappears with Lillian returning a year later with friends to spend one last weekend before selling the family cabin. The trip reveals her inner demons and the guilt that is felt when she learns of a diary hidden in the basement. Her friends' fate may be at risk as she encounters phantoms that may or may not be related to the lake and the cabin. 

Lake of Death is a slow-moving story with a predictable plot; the movie certainly does borrow from other horror films set in the woods with one of the characters even mentioning a few of them by name. The film does have beautiful scenery, and the setting is perfect for isolation-themed horror movies. Still, the script suffers from a lack of action and its derivative plot that tosses some promising ideas but fails to deliver on some of the mysteries.

Lake of Death isn't a total waste; the cast is believable with Ms. Akerlie portraying Lillian in a sympathetic, almost catatonic manner. The other character of note is the obsessed horror podcaster Bernard (Jakob Schøyen Andersen). He injects a bit of meta-humor that could have made it more interesting if it was a dark comedy. 

2.5 Stars Out of Five

The Beach House (2019)

The Beach House (2019)

Dir- Jeff Brown

It is not uncommon for a horror movie to occur in a location that would otherwise be seen as a vacation destination. In director Jeff Brown's The Beach House, a seemingly perfect vacation home becomes the setting for terror as four people encounter a mysterious series of events that seem to be coming from the sea. 

Emily (Liana Liberato) and Randall (Noah Le Gros) are a young college couple hoping to reignite their relationship by staying at his estranged father's remote beach house. Their seemingly perfect weekend is interrupted by another couple who are already using the house. They decide to make the best of the situation and enjoy food, wine, and recreational drugs. Yet a strange illness begins to affect each of them as they encounter some bizarre events that test their trust in each other as well as reality.     

The Beach House arrives on Shudder during a global pandemic with its plot that is all too relatable to many viewers who have had to socially isolate. The film blends several horror genres mixing a little Cronenberg with some Lovecraftian imagery. Liana Liberato is well cast as a scientifically minded young woman who has her whole world shaken. She witnesses her boyfriend and house guests, each falling ill to an unknown but seemingly natural threat. The shift in horror styles is carried out quite well and allows the movie to set its own path, giving viewers a terrifying journey as they are left little time to figure out what is going on. 

The Beach House makes effective use of isolation and the threat of an unknown illness to make it a surprisingly scary movie that makes use of bizarre visuals and some gory imagery that helps it stand well against more significant big budget horror films. 

Three and a Half Stars out of Five 

Metamorphosis (2019)

Metamorphosis (2019)

Dir- Hong-seon Kim

After losing a young woman in a failed exorcism, a young priest Joong-soo (Bae Seong-woo), begins to lose faith and considers leaving the priesthood. His faith is then challenged when the vengeful demon seeks out his brother's family and terrorizes them in their new home.

In recent years Korean horror movies have made quite an impact with films such as A Tale of Two Sisters, I Saw The Devil & The Wailing winning praise from critics and fans worldwide. Director Hong-seon Kim's film Metamorphosis pits a family of five against a vengeful demon that can change its appearance to mimic family members. The family first thinks the pranks are from their new neighbor. Still, it is soon shown that each family member's strange behavior may be the result of a demon targeting them due to the recent fight it had with the father's younger brother, who is the priest from the beginning. 

In some ways, Metamorphosis uses many of the same elements used in other possession movies, such as The Exorcist and The Wailing. Director Hong-seon Kim deviates from the usual possession trope by having the demon mimic one of the family to disrupt their daily routine and sow distrust in them as they are not sure who among them is possessed. This is aided by the great performances of the cast that include Sung Dong-il as the father Kang-goo, Young-nam Jang as the wife and mother Myeong-joo. Not only do they play themselves, but they also portray their demonic doppelgangers who, at times, are difficult for even the audience to determine if they are real or demonic influence. 

The film makes excellent use of practical special effects, especially the makeup prosthetics used to make each of their evil double look genuinely terrifying. The movie is frightening enough to recommend for older audiences as young children may be easily terrified by the imagery. Despite its Asian setting, the film should not seem too foreign as most horror fans will be familiar with the usual tropes found in possession movies. Metamorphosis should be appreciated for the great cast, frightening imagery, and the special effects that make the film worth checking out.  

Jaws 2 (1978)

Jaws 2 (1978)

Dir- Jeannot Szwarc

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water."

Things are going great for Amity Island as tourism is picking up, yet Officer Brody soon discovers that another shark is lurking the depths after a series of accidents occur. This time it's his two sons and their friends who are being stalked by ole Bruce the Shark, and with its nasty overbite, some of the teens are going to wish they stayed ashore. Sequels are often not as good as the source film, and with few exceptions, this film is pretty much the case. Jaws 2 is not the classic horror film that the first one is and has a slightly less dark feel to it. Still, the movie is entertaining, and when you compare it with the follow-up films, it is a decent movie 40 years after its release. Not as commercially or critically acclaimed as the 1975 classic, Jaws 2 still rates as an above-average sequel and is worth checking out if you avoid the other two movies.

Warning: Do Not Play (2019)

Warning: Do Not Play (2019)

Dir- Kim Jin-won

A young filmmaker struggling to make a horror movie is drawn to a legend of a student film that was banned after some people died when it premiered. The search for this movie and the obsession of the young director is the focus of the film Warning: Do Not Play. Directed by Kim Jin-won and starring Seo Ye-ji as Mi-Jung, Warning: Do Not Play is more mystery than horror but does borrow elements of popular Asian horror films such as Ringu and Lights Out. The movie appears to be told in a usual fashion. A series of flashbacks reveal that the story we see might be more than just a simple mystery as Mi-Jung discovers that her quest for the horror movie may be more hazardous mentally than physically. Director Jin-won's previous film The Butcher was a brutal found footage film, yet this film is less gory and a more traditional ghost story. The movie does have a great opening that sets up the events but loses steam until the end, which may confuse some viewers. With so many outstanding Korean horror films released in recent years, it is disappointing that Warning: Do Not Play does not have the impact of a movie such as Train to Busan or I Saw the Devil. It instead follows in the path of Japanese horror films with its ghost centered story. It certainly is a decent film in its own right, but it will not stand out too much compared to its contemporaries.         

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)- Joe Bob's Last Drive In

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Ever wonder what would happen if you shoved a piece of wrought iron into your leg. Ever wonder what would occur if you suddenly developed a metal fetish. Using some techniques that seem more suited for a rock video, Tetsuo starts and finishes as if the director was on speed, and maybe something stronger. The film starts with a shocking scene of a man who cuts open his leg and inserts a metal shaft into the skin. The pain notwithstanding, he then runs into the street and gets hit by a passing motorist. The man in the car then suddenly develops a strange personal affliction, while he is shaving a piece of metal sticks out of him. He then finds himself being stalked by an unknown woman who is not entirely human. Even though the movie is about an hour-long, Tetsuo has the pacing of a much longer film. The rapid sequences and nightmare-like imagery create an atmosphere that rivals something by David Lynch.