31 Days of Horror Day 27 The Night Walker

Title-The Night Walker
Source-Svengoolie airing on MeTV

I thought I had seen all the William Castle horror movies. So back in the summer when I saw Svengoolie was airing The Night Walker I set the DVR.And now after watching it I see why I hadn't heard of this film before.

The Night Walker is one of the very last b/w features made for Universal. And is one of the few William Castle horror films that doesn't have a gimmick. Seems now a days it is most remembered cause it is the last movie Barbara Stanwick made.

Barbara is married to a horrible man. Who is also blind. They live in this huge home. That is filled with cuckoo clocks. And he spends most of his time in his lab doing various experiments.

Then there is an explosion and the husband dies. So Barbara moves into the backroom apartment of the beauty shop she owns. And that is when the dreams start.

The film is constantly have dream sequences but you aren't suppose to know they are dreams until it is revealed. But sadly it is pretty easy to tell when it is a dream.

Really there isn't much to the film. It is slow and dull. With almost no scares. Kinda glad I caught this on Svengoolie. Cause his jokes before and after the commercials are way better than the film is.

The Night Walker gets a D-.

31 Days of Horror Day 09 Mr Sardonicus

Title-Mr Sardonicus
Source-MeTV Svengoolie airing

Last year I reviewed at least one film that Svengoolie was showing. But back then I didn't get MeTV. For some reason even though I get most of the Jackson channels on DISH,they didn't give us MeTV. Then back in March they added MeTV to our lineup. So each week I would go see what Svengoolie was airing and sometimes DVR it.

Since there is only one TV in the house with a DVR I am lucky if I get maybe 4 hours a week to watch what I have DVRed. I have built up a bunch of episodes of Svengoolie to watch. Was trying to decide which one to watch and realized while I have seen pieces of the film and read a decent amount about it I do not think I have ever seen all of Mr Sardonicus.

Released in 1961 Mr Sardonicus was directed by William Castle. Who was known for how most of his films had gimmicks. Like the skeletons that would fly around the theater on wires during House on Haunted Hill. Or 13 Ghosts ghost viewers. With Mr Sardonicus they had the punishment poll. As you entered the theater you were given a card. With a glow in the dark thumb on it. Near the end of the film Castle would appear and ask if the audience thought Mr Sardonicus should be punished. And you gave a thumbs up or thumbs down. Castle would pretend to count the votes then would show the ending the audience had voted for. Now Castle swore that he had filmed two endings. But so far the only one that has been proven to exist is the one were Sardonicus gets punished.

The plot is simple a doctor gets summoned to a remote castle. In a made up Eastern Euro country. And over the course of the 1 1/2 hours of the film odder and odder things happen. The owner of the castle,Mr Sardonicus,wears a full face mask at all times. There is two reasons for this. One is so when his face is revealed near the end it would shock the audience. The other is cause the actor playing Sardonicus,Guy Rolfe who is best known for being the Puppet Master in Puppet Master III,could only wear the makeup  for an hour without it causing him pain.

So what does Mr Sardonicus look like........ Well let me warn you he is pretty hideous.

Anyways it is a fun film. Svengoolie's bits are pretty funny. And if you get a chance catch this one when Sven reruns it.

Mr Sardonicus gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 15 Thir13en Ghosts

Title-Thir13en Ghosts
Source-Warner Brothers DVD

While the original William Castle 13 Ghosts isn't a great film,it is one that is well remembered cause of it's interesting Ghost viewer gimmick. So when I heard it was being remade I got curious. Sadly there was no Ghost Viewers handed out when you saw this remake in a theater.

Tony Shalhoub is a widowed father. Who is having money troubles,but somehow is still able to afford a live in nanny. He is told his uncle has passed and left him a house. So Tony and his family head to this house.

When they get there they find out the house was made to house 13 ghosts. There is 12 in there already. And by the end of the night one more will be added.

This film looks great. The FX work by the KNB studios is well done. The acting is hit or miss. Shaloub does a decent job with what appears to be a kind of crappy script. But Shannon Elizabeth as his daughter is horrible.

Another thing is I wish they had given us more details about the 12 ghosts. Sadly this isn't in the film. But there is an extra feature on the DVD that gives you plenty of history on each ghost.

Thir13en Ghosts gets a C+.