David Cronenberg was born on 15 March 1943.

Cronenberg is one of the Big Five horror directors. But he almost doesn’t belong. Sure, he makes horror films. But they are more just Cronenberg films.

What do I mean? Well, what do we make of a film like Dead Ringers? I know. People call it a thriller. But it really isn’t. Thriller is just a word people use when they can’t figure out what else to call a film.

Or Crash? That’s an “erotic thriller”! I’m on board with the erotic in that phrase. But it isn’t a thriller. Nor are most of his films. He simply has too unusual an artistic vision to be crammed into any one genre.

Consider The Fly. It is a great film and you can certainly call it horror. But it doesn’t fit either all that well. Cronenberg isn’t really trying to scare or disgust the audience. The horror that is there is about Brundle and what he is doing to himself. We generally aren’t afraid for anyone else. I would say the same for Videodrome. Other than the conspiracy subplot, it’s pretty much the same story!

Then, of course, there are David Cronenberg’s normal films. First, there is Fast Company. Admittedly, he was more or less a director for hire on that one. Then there is The Dead Zone, which is based on a Stephen King novel, but is one of Cronenberg’s most straightforward efforts.

But 2005 came. And this was the start of a disappointing decade. Cronenberg made A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method, Cosmopolis, and Maps to the Stars. Don’t get me wrong. Each of these is a good film. And I adore the last act of Cosmopolis. But, as weird as they all are, they just aren’t at the level of weird that I expect from Cronenberg.

But he came back with some classic body horror in Crimes of the Future. (Not to be confused with his early and deeply disturbing short film of the same name.) Then he made another body horror film, The Shrouds. We all return to our authentic selves — as long as something strange isn’t growing inside us.

Let’s watch one of the best David Cronenberg films that few have seen, Spider. It isn’t terribly psychotronic. But it is very disturbing!

---

Image cropped from David Cronenberg by Colleen Sturtevant under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Kevin Williamson is 61 years old today. He was born on 14 March 1965.

If you know Williamson at all, it is likely because he wrote Scream. He also wrote Scream 2 and Scream 4. And he co-wrote and directed Scream 7. But don’t misunderstand. Williamson is no one-trick pony. He’s done a lot of varied work.

And as much as I love Wes Craven, Scream works because of the script. Yes, the producers could have messed up the film. But it is the screenplay that made it iconic. And in 1996, it was quite something!

Now? I don’t know. I’m well past meta horror. Screenwriters commonly use it to cover over bad writing. Hell! GEICO used meta horror in an ad back in 2014! So we find ourselves in an environment where horror fans would prefer we just get on with the story and stop with the cuteness.

I don’t blame Kevin Williamson. He wrote Scream for the kind of people who read this website. But long-term, it has made us all have to put up with regular people making jokes about the rules of horror films. And as with someone talking about a book they’ve only read about on Wikipedia, they don’t understand it very deeply.

Narrative writing is very interesting. Any writer is negotiating with all the writing that has gone before. A keen observer will see the same set-up entirely differently for a film made in 1970 versus one made in 2010. Anyone who sees this comes to an uncomfortable conclusion: all writing is ephemeral. And so is all reading and viewing!

Regardless, Scream is a wonderful film that is tons of fun to watch. But today, I’d rather highlight another of Kevin Williamson’s meta horror films, The Faculty. I think it is even more fun than Scream. Plus, we get to watch Jon Stewart being stabbed in the eye. (BTW: I think Stewart is great in the film; it’s too bad he didn’t do more acting!)

Unfortunately, I can’t find The Faculty online. So here’s Scream:

---

Image cropped from Kevin Williamson by Gage Skidmore/ under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Universal Pictures released The Funhouse on 13 March 1981.

Critics wanted Tobe Hooper to become a great mainstream director after he burst on the scene. There is a history of this. George Lucas made THX 1138 only to go on and make big budget films. More recently, Sam Raimi has done the same. But thankfully, Tobe Hooper disappointed those critics!

After The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Hooper made Eaten Alive. It’s a fantastic film but critics hated it. The problem was not the quality of the film. The problem was that he made the film at all. After all, shouldn’t he be making a big-budget space opera? Or a big-budget superhero film?!

Hooper next made The Funhouse. Critics didn’t hate it quite as much. But critics had figured out that he was never going to make the kind of films they wanted. But it was hardly fair. The critics pretended that they had liked Chain Saw. But they didn’t! They showed grudging respect for the production but they did not like the film.

All this led to Poltergeist. At long last, Tobe Hooper got a big budget. Their reaction? It was all Steven Spielberg!

Of all Tobe Hooper’s films, I like The Funhouse the most. This is surprising. I am not keen on teenagers as protagonists. But these teens seem more real to me. They aren’t the usual idiots who populate slasher films. But here, before the horror starts, it’s fun to hang out with the group as they go around the carnival.

Chain Saw is a masterpiece. But it obscures the rest of Tobe Hooper’s work. And I get it. Eaten Alive is dreary. Spontaneous Combustion is bizarre, Crocodile is generic, and Night Terrors is just bad. But The Funhouse? It’s pure fun. And everyone who enjoys even a little horror will enjoy it!

---

The Funhouse (1981) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Sony Pictures released The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra on 12 March 2004. It had been making the film festival rounds for the previous two and a half years.

This was the first of Larry Blamire’s feature film parodies. It shows a keen understanding of low-budget 1950s science fiction films. In particular, it lampoons the thoughtlessly rigid gender stereotypes of that period. And it makes great fun of the scientific illiteracy of such films. The main character doesn’t do physics or geology. No, he does “science!” (The exclamation mark is critical!)

You can see why the film took a while to find an audience. It isn’t heavy-handed. Much of the humor is pretty subtle. He is similar to Christopher R Mihm in generally staying inside the constraints of genre rather than going for a joke all the time. And that makes this film, in particular, a treat for psychotronic fans. It really is a film by psychotronic fans for psychotronic fans.

Blamire made a few other films like The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. The most important is the sequel, The Lost Skeleton Returns Again. If anything, it is better. It uses a bunch of forced perspective, which really makes the film look like it has a notably bigger budget. But the main thing is, the script is simply better with way better pacing.

He also made Trail of the Screaming Forehead. I don’t like it as much but it is well made. And then there is Dark and Stormy Night. It is my favorite of Blamire’s work. But it isn’t science fiction. It is a parody of an Old Dark House film. And it features some amazing dialogue along with some great miniature work and a man in a gorilla suit!

But let’s watch the film that started it all, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra!

---

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Warner Bros first released THX 1138 in the United States on 11 March 1971.

The film is well-known. It was George Lucas’ first feature-length film. But American Zoetrope produced it with backing from Warner Bros. So it has a notably larger budget than you would think. The film cost about three-quarters of a million dollars. That’s roughly $6 million today.

THX 1138 is probably my favorite of Lucas’ films. Of course, I’m not a huge fan of his. He’s a good producer and director but I find his ideas pretty limited. That has worked out really well for his career. He never gets too far ahead of his audience.

But in this film, he shows off his excellent visual sense. Even if you aren’t that into the story, this film is enjoyable to look at.

The film tells a very typical dystopian story for its time. It reminds me of John Christopher’s young adult books The Tripods.

THX lives in an emotionless world. The society drugs everyone to keep them working. His roommate changes his medications so that his sex drive comes back. She gets pregnant and they go to prison. She is killed. And he escapes.

All psychotronic fans should see this film. It isn’t as good as Phase IV. But George Lucas could have been killed on his way to the premiere. And this film would still be a little gem that genre fans love.

---

THX 1138 (1971) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Jerry Warren was born on 10 March 1925.

Warren is a unique filmmaker — even by psychotronic standards. He produced and directed a small number of films. But mostly, he purchased foreign-language films and edited them for American audiences.

La Momia Azteca — better known here as The Aztec Mummy — is a great example of this. He created Attack of the Mayan Mummy. As usual when he did this, he did not simply dub the film. He shot new scenes with American actors and added voice-over to explain the significantly different plot. The original Godzilla was the same. This is why you really need to see the Japanese- and English-language versions. I don’t think the same about The Aztec Mummy.

The Wild World of Batwoman got the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. I’m sure I’ve seen it since it was during the Comedy Central days and I’ve seen all of those. It isn’t one of Warren’s better outings despite (or because of) his writing the screenplay.

Some other titles are worth a look. But they can be hard to get through. The Incredible Petrified World is pretty boring. But it does show that you can make a film in which almost nothing happens. Terror of the Bloodhunters is a more interesting specimen. It features two men and a woman escaping from an island prison. You’d think it would be exciting! It’s really not.

My directing is what is adequate for the type of films I wanted to put together.

–Jerry Warren

And then there is Teenage Zombies. I think it is one of Warren’s better films. There’s nothing in it that stands out. But it works. Warren’s wife that that time was Brianne Murphy. She had a small role in this film. But she would go on to be an important cinematographer. She was the first woman to join the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Guild. They divorced around the time that film was released.

But I am currently writing a book about Frankenstein on film. So we have to watch Jerry Warren’s last film, Frankenstein Island. Well… It is dorky in a charming way. And it has a surprisingly good cast. The sets are terrible. And for the husband of one of the most important cinematographers of the late 20th century, it is shot in a strikingly dull way. But it’s fun — especially if you know what you are getting into!

---

Jerry Warren image cropped from a larger picture in Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers under Fair Use.

Cinerama Releasing Corporation put out Tales From the Crypt in the United States on 9 March 1972. Despite it being a British (Amicus) production, it was first release there. It didn’t appear in the UK until 28 September 1972.

When I was a kid, EC Comics were just about the only comic books that I liked. I was, for obvious reasons, focused mostly on the horror titles. But I liked the rest — even the war and crime titles. This is probably due to the moral clarity of all their stories and their heavy use of revenge for their denouements.

It may surprise some readers to learn that I have generally been unhappy with filmed versions of these titles. I mentioned this in my capsule review of Tales From the Crypt. The three main horror titles featured jokey narrators who presented the stories. It was not high-brow humor. But it worked really well. It took the edge off the horror.

But we’ve learned a lesson about this just as we learned it about Stephen King’s novels. Things that work well on the page don’t necessarily work well on the screen. And horror puppets spitting out puns to introduce horror shorts don’t work!

And that’s why Tales From the Crypt works well. It’s all done straight. The Crypt-Keeper is here but he’s serious. And Ralph Richardson! It was followed with The Vault of Horror, which was produced the same way. No jokey puppets!

Interestingly, this was the first film based on the EC horror titles. It was only later that producers tried to make the connective bits humorous. These two Amicus films were co-produced and written by Milton Subotsky. Like me, he was a fan of the comics. And I think he understood that the jokes wouldn’t work. Later producers and writers were not as wise!

---

Tales From the Crypt (1972) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Lewis Teague turns 88 today. He was born on 8 March 1938.

Teague is YACD — Yet Another Corrman Director. I don’t think Corman should get a lot of credit. He was just around at the right time to hand out small amounts of money to make films. It’s not like he was developing talent. He was just using the talent that was available.

This all shows that there is a lot of talent in the world. It just needs the opportunity to express it. I think this is why Canada produces so many great artists. But that’s a subject for another time.

Lew Teague has made a number of fun films. That’s what he’s known for. No one makes a big deal of his style. I love that! I’ve come to see directors known for their style as directors with tics. Like Stanley Kubrick and his overuse of symmetrical composition. You may consider it brilliant, but I consider it boring.

Teague is known for being an efficient director. But I think of he more like Clint Eastwood: someone who was focused on telling a compelling story. But in Teague’s case, those stories can be bizarre like sewer alligators!

He is perhaps most notable for making two films based on the work of Stephen King that were actually good! This has been a big problem over the years. King’s writing doesn’t lend itself to film. But Cujo and the anthology film Cat’s Eye are both great.

He also made two excellent films with John Sayles. First was the crime drama The Lady in Red. And then the monster movie Alligator. (They also worked together on the TV pilot Shannon’s Deal.)

So let’s watch The Lady in Red. It’s a remarkable film with a remarkable screenplay. And Quentin Tarantino called it a “miracle.” And given the budget, I think that’s accurate.

---

Image cropped from Lewis Teague by Rodleen Getsic under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Universal-International released Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man on 7 March 1951.

Abbott and Costello made a number of “horror” films for Universal. And these started in 1949 with Hold That Ghost. But they quickly followed it with Who Done It? Then came five “meet” films:

• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1953)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)

What are we to make of these films? Should we be grateful because they kept the Universal monsters alive in the public mind? Or should we hate them because they trivialized these horror icons?

I think this is a question that honest people can answer differently. If you love these films, that’s great! Films are meant to be enjoyed, not criticized. But obviously, I disagree. I’m not interested in them. I think they take away from the earlier great films.

There are two competing interests with regard to film. On the one side, there is what I will call art. This is the effort to make something that is good. On the other side, there is commerce. But I don’t place one above the other. I understand that films need to make money. And the fact is that in the 1940s and 1950s, Abbott and Costello made money! And they were also masters of their art.

I have a different problem. The Universal monsters were a cash grab. Bela Lugosi recieved a payday for Frankenstein. So that’s good! (He was also on The Abbott and Costello Show.) But otherwise, I wish they didn’t exist.

It doesn’t help that I am just not that fond of Abbott and Costello. Even as a kid, I didn’t find them very funny. So I’m clearly not the target audience. But these films are quite watchable. Here is Invisible Man.

---

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Allison Hayes was born on 6 March 1930.

I am talking about her today because she starred in one of my very favorite films, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. In terms of 1950s science fiction, it is the best film — only Them! comes close. And no, The Thing from Another World, as good as it is, is nowhere near as good.

And what makes this film great is Allison Hayes because of the fragility of her performance. That’s what sells it. If you don’t love her, you don’t love this film. I think the rest of the cast is great too. In particular, Yvette Vickers is fantastic as the woman you love to hate. But that means nothing without Hayes.

In 1957, Hayes starred in a number of low-budget films:

• The Undead: A Roger Corman film about a woman (Pamela Duncan) sent back to the Middle Ages via hypnosis, Hayes plays a witch in that time who can change into a cat.
• Zombies of Mora Tau: Edward L Cahn directed this B-picture about divers looking for treasure. Unfortunatey, it is guarded by zombies. Hayes plays the “bad” woman who sides with the zombies.
• The Unearthly: Boris Petroff directed and produced this film featuring John Carradine as a mad scientist and Tor Johnson as his assistant. Hayes plays the beautiful woman who must be saved.
• The Disembodied: Walter Grauman (Lady in a Cage) directed this jungle voodoo film. Hayes plays a native woman (in dark make-up) who married a western doctor. It’s the kind of role that Yvette Vickers would have been great in!

And the following year, Allison Hayes made 50 Foot Woman. But she didn’t even work for another decade. She suffered from an undiagnosed illness. Doctors dismissed it, as was typical for the time — and still pretty common. She ultimately developed leukemia and died at the age of 46.

Let’s watch Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. I’m always up for it!

---

Allison Hayes via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.