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1974 remains a banner year for horror movies. This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Black Christmas, as well as smaller films like Abby, The Perfume of the Lady in Black, and Sugar Hill. Buried in that year’s releases, Frightmare stands as a unique relic, a gloriously bloody proto-slasher transmitting a macabre tale about cannibalism. Once described as a “morally repellent British horror film, without an ounce of humour” by The Times critic Philip French, the Pete Walker-directed cult classic carries the essence of 1963’s Blood Feast with its own curiously deranged skin. With the holidays in full swing, it’s time to give thanks for one of the most underrated ‘70s slashers with more going for it than meets the eye.

The film, written by David McGillivray (Satan’s Slave), tells the tale of Edmund (Rupert Davies) and his murderous wife Dorothy (Sheila Keith...

Stars: Penny Irving, Robert Tayman, Barbara Markham, Patrick Barr, Ray Brooks, Sheila Keith, Dorothy Gordon, Ann Michelle, Ivor Salter | Written by Pete Walker, David McGillivray | Directed by Pete Walker

Directed by Pete Walker, House of Whipcord is an unsettling yet engaging example of British exploitation cinema, blending horror and social commentary into a dark and disturbing narrative. It’s a film that’s both of its time and oddly timeless, as it critiques moral authoritarianism through the lens of a sadistic prison system masquerading as a reformatory for wayward young women.

Plot Overview

The story centres around a young French model, Anne-Marie (Penny Irving), who, after a string of rebellious behavior, is lured into a twisted correctional institution by her seemingly charming new boyfriend, Mark E. Desade (played with eerie charm by Robert Tayman). The institution is run by Mark’s fanatical mother, Mrs. Wakehurst (Barbara Markham), and her sadistic staff,...

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By Tim Greaves

In the early 1980s, Israeli cousins and co-producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus – the men behind then-thriving outfit The Cannon Group – decided that they would like to add an old-fashioned style horror film to their burgeoning library of titles. They approached director Peter Walker, renowned for a slew of successful exploitation pictures throughout the 1970s, suggesting he create something for the likes of Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff, blissfully unaware the three actors were dead. Regardless, Walker took the baton and ran with it, the result being 1983’s rather splendid House of the Long Shadows.

Probably best remembered for assembling icons of horror cinema Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and John Carradine under one roof, House of the Long Shadows didn’t wow critics at the time and with hindsight it’s easy to see why. Times...

Special Mention: Gojira (Godzilla)

Written and directed by Ishirô Honda

Japan, 1954

Ishiro Honda’s grim, black-and-white post-Hiroshima nightmare stands the test of time. This allegory for the devastation wrought on Japan by the atomic bomb is quite simply a powerful statement about mankind’s insistence to continue to destroy everyone and everything the surrounds us. With just one shot (a single pan across the ruins of Tokyo), Honda manages to express the devastation that Godzilla represents. Since its debut, Godzilla has become a worldwide cultural icon, but very little is said about actor Takashi Shimura, who adds great depth as Dr. Yamane; his performance is stunning. Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya originally wanted to use classic stop-motion animation to portray Godzilla, but time and budget limitations forced him to dress actors up in monster suits. Despite this minor setback, Tsuburaya’s scale sets of Tokyo are crafted with such great attention to detail,...

Boasting a legendary cast comprising Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, John Carradine and more, Pete Walker's House of the Long Shadows will be released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in time for Halloween. Our latest round-up also includes the trailer and release details for Russell Friedenberg's Everglades-set horror film, Wind Walkers, and news on who will score the sophomore season of Syfy's Dominion.

House of the Long Shadows Blu-ray: According to Blu-ray.com, Kino Lorber will release House of the Long Shadows on Blu-ray this September.

Synopsis: "An American writer goes to a remote Welsh manor on a $20,000 bet: can he write a classic novel like "Wuthering Heights" in twenty-four hours? Upon his arrival, however, the writer discovers that the manor, thought empty, actually has several, rather odd, inhabitants."

Directed by Pete Walker from a screenplay by Michael Armstrong (which, in turn, is based on the novel,...

Reviewed by Kevin Scott, MoreHorror.com

House of the Long Shadows (1983)

Directed by Pete Walker

Written by Michael Armstrong, Earl Derr Biggers (novel), George M. Cohan (play)

Cast: Desi Arnaz Jr. (Kenneth Magee), Vincent Price (Lionel Grisbane), Peter Cushing (Sebastian Grisbane), John Carradine (Lord Elijah Grisbane), Christopher Lee (Corrigan), Sheila Keith (Victoria Grisbane), Julie Peasgood (Mary Norton), Richard Todd (Sam Allyson), Louise English (Diane Caulder), Richard Hunter (Andrew Caulder)

I like to think of “House of the Long Shadows” as kind of the super group of horror films. What I mean is that typically that term is reserved for the music field for example, Damn Yankees, Asia, Velvet Revolver, Audioslave. Hopefully, you get the point. It’s professionals who have already made their own fame and fortune alone or with another group, but band together for a second helping of notoriety. I don’t know if anyone in this film...

As the undisputed king of American gothic, Vincent Price holds a unique position regarding his association with British horror. From the mid sixties, nearly all his films were made in the UK, and while not as distinguished as The House of Usher (1960), Tales of Terror (1962) and The Raven (1963), they are not without interest. As an actor perfectly suited to English gothic, Price’s output includes two career-defining performances. In a nutshell, he had the best of both worlds.

Masque of the Red Death (1964)

The British phase of his career began with a bang. After directing all of Price’s Poe chillers for American International Pictures, Roger Corman wanted to give the formula a fresh approach by making his next film in England. Aip’s Samuel Z Arkoff and James H Nicholson had already produced several European films, so the next step was to establish a London base with Louis M Heyward in charge.

Here's a Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre DVD releases for the months of February and March 2013.

The Blob (1958) Criterion Collection Blu-ray & DVD Available Now

This entertaining low-budget favorite gets some well-deserved respect from the folks at Criterion. A gelatinous creature from outer space begins to devour the inhabitants of a small town. Each time it consumes a new body, it grows bigger. A couple of teens (including the wooden Steve McQueen) attempt to warn the town and save the population from certain blech! Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. directs the mayhem with a sure hand while Bart Sloane's great special effects still pack a punch. Followed by the bizarre comedy sequel, Son of Blob, in the early ’70s (directed by Larry Hagman!) and a great, underrated remake in 1988 by Chuck Russell.

Special Features:

* New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

* Two audio commentaries: one by producer Jack H. Harris...

by Nick Schager

[This week's "Retro Active" pick is inspired by the Jessica Chastain-headlined scary- mother thriller Mama.]

Psychosis is inherited in Frightmare, as is a hunger for human flesh. Pete Walker's under-sung 1974 gem (also known as Cover Up) is a Hammer Horror-ish like- mother/like-daughter tale of madness and murder, detailing the strange case of Edmund (Rupert Davies) and Dorothy Yates (Sheila Keith), a couple who in 1957 London is sentenced by a judge to a mental hospital for six killings. The ruling is that they shall remain locked up until they're fit to re-enter society—which they supposedly are fifteen years later, thanks to a mental health system that appears to have absolutely no ability to differentiate sanity from insanity. Free to roam again, they hole up in a remote cottage, where they're regularly visited by grown daughter Jackie (Deborah Fairfax), who brings Dorothy strange parcels that leak on the table, and who covertly discusses with Edmund whether mother has caught onto the...

The definition of a slasher film varies depending on who you ask, but in general, it contains several specific traits that feed into the genre’s formula. Author Vera Dika rather strictly defines the sub-genre in her book Games of Terror by only including films made between 1978 and 1984. In other words, she saw it as a movement. When someone describes Brick, they don’t define it as a noir, but instead neo-noir . In other words, it’s a modern motion picture that prominently utilizes elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in those from the 1940s and 1950s. So does one consider Scream a slasher film or a neo-slasher, or simply put, a modern slasher?

Some consider Thirteen Women to be the earliest slasher – released all the way back in 1932. Personally I think that is rubbish. Thirteen Women is more like Desperate Housewives on sedatives.

Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.

As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.

****

124: (Tie) Inside (À l’intérieur)

Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury

Written by Alexandre Bustillo

2007, France

Four months after the death of her husband, a pregnant woman is tormented by a strange woman who invades her home with the intent on killing her and taking her unborn baby. This movie is not recommended for women on the brink of motherhood. Inside is one of the most vicious and...

For the horror buff, Fall is the best time of the year. The air is crisp, the leaves are falling and a feeling of death hangs on the air. Here at Sound on Sight we have some of the biggest horror fans you can find. We are continually showcasing the best of genre cinema, so we’ve decided to put our horror knowledge and passion to the test in a horror watching contest. Each week in October, Ricky D, James Merolla and Justine Smith will post a list of the horror films they have watched. By the end of the month, the person who has seen the most films wins. Prize Tbd.

Justine Smith (9 viewings) Total of 40 viewings

Purchase

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Directed by Tobe Hooper

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the best horror films ever made, in competition with Possession, The Exorcist, The Birds and Suspiria.