Creepy Classics

CREEPY CLASSICS begins with a psychologist talking about 1959's HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM, informing us it was filmed in "Hypno Vista...the most fantastic advance ever to be made in motion picture entertainment!" Then it cuts to everyone's favorite campy charmer Vincent Price as he sits in a old movie theater making comments about a compilation of clips from classic vintage horror and science fiction movies of the 50s and 60s. There are over two minutes worth of clips apiece from INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956), I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957) and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) and a running gag is made out of Christopher Lee's battle with the disembodied hand in DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965). We also get the trailer for, and some funny scenes from, THE RAVEN (1963), the great pendulum scene from THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961), and trailers for ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE (1958), THE BLOB (1958), THE SCREAMING SKULL (1958), WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST (1958), DINOSAURUS! (1960), GORGO (1961) and THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1962). And that's about it in this harmless enough half hour view. Not much ground is actually covered here, and die-hard horror fans have seen most - if not all - of these trailers and clips before, though when this was released back in 1987 that probably wasn't the case as I'm sure many of these movies were difficult to find. Price being the host, of course, helps considerably and makes this of more interest than it otherwise would be. He's full of his usual enthusiasm, makes some hilarious facial expressions and gets plenty of cheesy one-liners. After watching a zombie eating a bug he comments "Kind of makes you want to go to the refreshment stand, doesn't it?" After seeing the triffids in action; "Kind of makes you want to start watering your rhododendrons, doesn't it?" So if you're a Price fan, this'll be a half hour well spent.

Creepy Classics (1987)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

If you were around in the 1980s then I'm sure you remember several compilations that got a big horror star to introduce film clips or trailers. Some examples were THE BEST OF SEX AND VIOLENE, COMING SOON and HORRIBLE HORROR. This one here clocks in at just thirty minutes and features Vincent Price sitting in a theater and saying a few words while we also see clips from a few movies.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, THE BLOB, DINOSAURUS!, HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM, WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, THE SCREAMING SKULL, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF, GORGO, THE RAVEN, THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD are just a few of the films that have clips or their trailers shown.

There's obviously nothing ground-breaking about any of these compilation movies but they are a bit nostalgic if you grew up watching them. Price is only on screen for a matter of minutes but it's still nice seeing him. It's too bad he didn't have more to do in the film but oh well. If you're a fan of these movies then you'll enjoy seeing the clips.

What fun! Excerpts from classic horror films, some starring Vincent Price, himself ( He is the narrator of this film)--"Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors", out-of-print, is a special "kick" as a detached hand crawls around haunting Christopher Lee. You'll view snippits of "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" (the original), "The Blob", "I Was A Teenage Werewolf",' Day Of The Triffids", "Pit And The Pendulum","The Raven", etc.etc., and all the screaming headline hype from the coming attractions. ( Really a bunch of ballyhoo of eras gone by. Good eras of classic horror before computer graphics.) I cannot imagine anyone that would not enjoy this peek into the past with Vincent Price as our guide.

Vincent Price has to be one of the all time best presenters of all things scary and spooky. In this 30 minute direct to video, Price presents, in his special style, a small collection of science fiction and horror movie clips and trailers. Although it is hard to say why each of these clips where selected, most of them are very well known and enjoyable to watch. Throughout the video, there are also various clips from "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" showing Christopher Lee being pursued by a crawling hand. All in all, not a bad 30 minute video.

My sister loves to watch this, which may be the reason that I don't often watch it. I don't care for horror movies, but this is a listing or review of many different classic horror movies. Vincent Price is good as the narrator. I like to laugh at the plot lines and the phony science. My family owns it. I watch it, but I wouldn't cry if it was lost. That doesn't mean I want to toss it.