Mad Love (dir. Karl Freund, 1935) The second adaptation of Maurice Renard’s Les Mains d’Orlac, a 1920 novel about a disfigured pianist who receives a hand transplant from a murderer and begins killing against his will, Mad Love is likely best known for two things: Peter Lorre as the bald, sinister surgeon Dr. Gogol and … Continue reading Mad Love (1935)

Die, Monster, Die! (dir. Daniel Haller, 1965) The second H.P. Lovecraft film adaptation, Die, Monster, Die! is very loosely based on his 1927 short story “The Colour Out of Space” and like The Haunted Palace (1963) was released by American International Pictures. “The Colour Out of Space” is one of Lovecraft’s most highly regarded stories. … Continue reading Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

The Haunted Palace (dir. Roger Corman, 1963) Between 1960 and 1965 Roger Corman would direct eight films in what would be termed his Poe Cycle. Seven of them were adaptations of varying faithfulness. The Raven for instance became about dueling wizards. The Haunted Palace could perhaps be considered the least faithful to Poe given that … Continue reading The Haunted Palace (1963)

Suspiria (dir. Luca Guadagnino, 2018) There’s an audacity in any attempt to adapt an established work, let alone a canonical classic like Dario Argento’s Suspiria, and there’s an even greater audacity still in how director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich decided to make Suspiria their own. They ditched every distinctive thing about it. The … Continue reading Suspiria (2018)

Suspiria (dir. Dario Argento, 1977) An American dancer Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) enrolls at the Freiburg Dance Academy in Germany, arriving shortly after the horrific and inexplicable deaths of two students. Other bizarre events occur at the academy: maggots in the ceiling and in the food, a blind pianist employed there killed by his seeing … Continue reading Suspiria (1977)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (dir. Tobe Hooper, 1986) After the release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1973, Tobe Hooper continued in the horror genre, releasing the murder-motel-and-crocodile themed Eaten Alive in 1977, directing a television miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot in 1979 and then The Funhouse in 1981 before achieving … Continue reading The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (dir. Tobe Hooper, 1974) It has been a couple of years since I have seen The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Ask anyone what they remember about the film, chances are good they will bring up the scene with the hitchhiker in the van, or the first appearance of Leatherface with … Continue reading The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

The Haunting (dir. Robert Wise, 1963) The Haunting (dir. Jan De Bont, 1999) We Have Always Lived in the Castle (dir. Stacie Passon, 2018) Shirley Jackson is best known for her short story, ‘The Lottery,’ which is probably among the most read pieces of literature in America due to its ubiquity in the classroom. It’s … Continue reading A Shirley Jackson Triple Feature