THEM!

Joan Weldon about to face a humongous man-eating ant!

THEM! (1954). Director: Gordon Douglas. Colorized. 

Gigantic mutant ants, due to radiation from the first atomic test, have come into being in the deserts of New Mexico. These creatures are not only humongous, but are man-eaters. Sgt. Ben Peterson (James Whitmore), who came across a traumatized little girl (Sandy Drescher), and FBI agent Robert Graham (James Arness), team up with two professors from the Department of Agriculture: Dr. Medford (Edmund Gwenn); and his daughter, Pat (Joan Weldon). They find the nest in New Mexico but then discover that two flying queens have escaped and may have started new nests -- but where? Humankind is facing extinction if they don't find out -- and soon!

Edmund Gwenn and James Whitmore

Despite the fact that their previous monster movie, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, was a tremendous hit, Warner Brothers was nervous about Them! and canceled plans to have it released in color and 3-D. It is still an extremely effective picture, and nowadays it's easy to forget that this was a completely fresh idea back in the day -- Them! ushered in a flood of movies about outsized insects and arachnids of varying quality. The film is bolstered by the performances of James Whitmore and Edmund Gwenn, and Arness and Weldon are professional enough, if a cut below. Other cast members include Onslow Stevens [The Couch], Ann Doran [It, The Terror from Beyond Space], Leonard Nimoy (in a bit), Olin Howland [The Blob], and Sean McClory [Valley of the Dragons]. 

Stevens, Gwenn, Weldon, Arness

When Whitmore notes at the opening that the walls of both a trailer and general store were not pushed inward, a viewer might wonder how the giant ants could get inside these places to push the walls outward. But Whitmore says that the walls were pulled out -- by the giant ants' pincers. However, it's less easy to explain why it's made clear in New Mexico that the ants leave the nest at night to forage, but are inside the storm drains of Los Angeles at night during the climax. One could explain the inconsistencies away by saying these big bugs are mutations, so who knows what they may be up to. One has to assume there were lots of missing persons in L.A. after the ants moved in. The citizenry of Los Angeles certainly take it comparatively calmly -- and accept much too readily -- that the ants exist and are on the loose. No mass exodus? In any case, the Internet Archive has a beautifully  colorized print of Them! As usual, the color adds a new and exciting dimension to the picture. The second half of the film seems a little dragged out, but the climax is eerie and suspenseful. NOTE: You can read more about this movie and others in my book Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Excellent big bug movie is chilling and very effective as both horror and science fiction. ***1/2. 

THE SURVIVOR

Peter Sumner and Robert Powell

THE SURVIVOR (1981). Director: David Hemmings.  

A pilot named Keller (Robert Powell of Asylum) is the only survivor of a devastating airline disaster that kills over 300 people. As Keller tries to find out what the investigators know about what caused the tragedy, he is contacted by a lady psychic named Hobbs (Jenny Agutter of Child's Play 2), who claims he is the only one who can help the souls of the dead passengers find peace. Keller also asks for the help of a priest (Joseph Cotten). Meanwhile there are odd incidents in the town near the airfield where the remains of the plane are scattered. Eventually Keller will have a confrontation with the man responsible for the crash and the deaths of so many innocent people.

Powell with Jenny Agutter

The Survivor is based on an excellent, pulpy horror novel by prolific British author James Herbert. David Ambrose's screenplay throws out most of the book aside from the basic premise. In the novel Keller was the co-pilot, his girlfriend was a stewardess on the plane, and he had a one-night-stand with the pilot's wife, which he fears might have led to something bad happening on the plane before the crash. There is a lot of suspense worked up over who might have destroyed the plane, suspense that is entirely lacking in the film adaptation. Hobbs is not a young female in the novel but a middle-aged man. Most of the horrifying incidents that Herbert describes so well in the book are completely scrapped in the screenplay. The neo-Nazi who was on the plane in the novel and influences some of the passengers to do evil is abandoned. Even director Hemmings -- one of the actor's few directorial assignments -- felt it was a mistake to go for subtle tension instead of the out and out horror of Herbert's book. Reportedly Herbert claimed the film put him to sleep.

Powell with Joseph Cotten

No wonder. Because The Survivor is confusing and slow, and poorly directed with few exceptions. There is a disquieting scene on railroad tracks where a photographer who made a killing taking photos of the accident encounters the ghost of a dead little girl, and there is a well-staged finale where the perpetrator is revealed. But otherwise, The Survivor is a major disappointment. Powell acts throughout the film as if he's merely perturbed, Agutter seems confused, and the audience gets bored long before the conclusion. Joseph Cotten is completely wasted.

Verdict: Read the book instead. **.

ROAR OF THE IRON HORSE - Rail-Blazer of the Apache Trail

Jock Mahoney and Rick Vallin

ROAR OF THE IRON HORSE - Rail-Blazer of the Apache Trail (15-chapter Columbia serial/1951). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Thomas Carr. Colorized.

In 1867 there are forces who are opposing the building of a transcontinental railroad. On one side is railroad agent (and secret Deputy  Marshall) Jim Grant (Jock Mahoney) and his allies -- including crusty old Rocky (William Fawcett) and brother and sister Carol and Tom Lane (Virginia Herrick and Harold Landon) -- and on the other side is a man called the Baron (George Eldredge), and his allies, including Homer Lathrop (Jack Ingram), who runs the railroad but is working against it, and the nasty Scully (Rusty Westcoatt). The baron also has many Indians on his side, with the exception of White Eagle (Rick Vallin). 

Mahoney visits with a U.S. Marshall (uncredited)

Throughout the serial's fifteen chapters Jim and his allies are nearly burned at the stake, trapped in a box canyon with explosives being lobbed at them; caught in a variety of gun battles; and Carol nearly goes over a cliff in a runaway wagon. Mahoney -- billed as Jock O'Mahoney -- handles all of this with aplomb, and the rest of the cast, including Fawcett and Myron Healey as Ace, provide good support. A rousing musical score by John Leipold helps a lot. 

Verdict: If you like western cliffhanger serials, this one is a good bet. ***. 

THE BLACK PHONE / BLACK PHONE 2

The Grabber (Ethan Hawke)

THE BLACK PHONE (2021). Director: Scott Derrickson.

BLACK PHONE 2 (2025). Director: Derrickson.

In a small town in the 70's a series of high school boys have been abducted by an unknown creep known as the "Grabber" (Ethan Hawke). The latest victim is 13-year-old Finney (Mason Thames). Finney finds himself in a  locked sound-proofed basement where the Grabber -- wearing a hideous mask (modeled, I suspect, on Batman's Joker) -- visits him from time to time. Things turn especially strange when a disconnected phone in the basement begins to ring -- and Finney finds himself talking to the ghosts of the previous victims. Can one of these dead boys tell him how to escape, and will it be in time? In the meantime Finney's psychic and potty-mouthed sister, (Madeleine McGraw), tries to find him.

Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke

I had mixed emotions while watching The Black Phone. I admit I'm not overly fond of stories in which children are in danger and are physically or psychologically tortured. At least Phone is not overly graphic and can not be considered "torture porn." If the Grabber has a sexual interest in the boys it is not explored, although one imagines he does. The storyline borders on the pretentious at times and actually gets a little silly. But after awhile the efforts of Finney to escape and of the police, Gwen and others to find him, become compelling. Thames and Hawke give excellent performances, and there are also notable supporting performances from the victims and others. 

Verdict: A bit overlong but creepy. **3/4. 

BLACK PHONE 2 shows us Finn and Gwen four years later, where they decide to try to get jobs as counselors at a Christian winter camp where their late mother had worked. Snowbound, they come across another phone that is disconnected but somehow rings, and both brother and sister have conversations with people from the afterlife, including their mother and the Grabber. Seems the maniac killed three young boys but their bodies have never been found, and until they are, for some reason, the Grabber will have power in the real world -- he does his best to kill the teens and others. Black Phone 2 is a mostly unoriginal combination of a grainy found footage movie, the Blair Witch, and especially the Nightmare on Elm Street films with its surfeit of dream sequences. The Grabber is revealed to have been "Wild Bill," a maintenance worker at the camp. The acting is generally good -- Miguel Mora gets major points for his versatility by playing both the shy Ernesto in this film and his brash, rough brother Robin in the first movie -- but the picture is too tricky for its own good. There are some well-handled and moderately exciting sequences, but after awhile I just wanted the damn thing to be over. There's more gore in this film than in the first but nothing over the top. Way too long! 

Verdict: Where's Freddy Krueger when you need him? **. 

SMOOTH AS SILK

Milburn Stone, Kent Taylor, Virginia Grey

SMOOTH AS SILK (1946). Director: Charles Barton. Colorized.

Defense attorney Mark Fenton (Kent Taylor) and prosecutor John Kimble (Milburn Stone) have been friendly enemies for years, but there are complications when Fenton becomes engaged to actress Paula Marlowe (Virginia Grey). She desperately hopes that producer Stephen Elliott (John Litel) will star her in his next production, which seems a given after Fenton successfully defends Elliott's nephew, Don (Danny Morton), in a vehicular manslaughter case; Don is guilty as sin. However, Elliott has other plans for the role until Paula begins to work her wiles on him, igniting intense jealousy in Fenton. He concocts a scheme to take out his rival, but will he get away with it ...?

John Litel and Danny Morton

Smooth as Silk is a short, fast-paced crime melodrama that boasts some fine performances, with Taylor [The Crimson Key] on top of things as the reptilian lawyer; Litel [Runaway Daughters] effective as the lustful producer; Milburn Stone [Swing It Professor] lending solid support; and Grey [Black Zoo] practically stealing the show as the bitch Paula who uses men right and left in one career move after another. Danny Morton was also in The Mysterious Mr. M. 

Verdict: Absorbing if minor meller. **1/2. 

LOVE SLAVES OF THE AMAZONS

Don Taylor surrounded by green-painted Amazons

LOVE SLAVES OF THE AMAZONS (1957). Writer/Producer/Director: Curt Siodmak.

Dr. Crespi (Eduardo Ciannelli of Mysterious Dr. Satan) tries to convince Dr. Peter Masters (Don Taylor) that he not only knows where there are a race of women living near the Amazon, but that they guard a fabulous treasure that is theirs for the taking. The two men set sail but are beset by Fernando (Wilson Viana), who takes over the ship. Fleeing into the jungle, Peter just happens to run into the Amazon women, and is taken to their camp. Many of the women, including the queen (Ana Maria Nabuco), take a liking to Peter, and hope to use him as replacement for Mario (Tom Payne) who has sort of been forced into stud service. Along with Mario, Gina (Gianna Segale) is being held captive by the Amazons. Peter hopes to charm the queen and the others until he can figure out a way to escape ...

Eduardo Ciannelli and Don Taylor

Filmed in Brazil, Love Slaves of the Amazon doesn't quite deliver what the title promises, although it tries. In one scene a dozen or more amazons force Peter into a bathtub with his pants on. The music, contributed by no less than six composers (probably lifted from earlier films), does most of the work, although the performances are generally good. Crespi and Peter are determined to protect the secret of this lost civilization even though the amazons keep people captive and slaughter all male babies at birth! Who cares if modern society destroys these monsters? Siodmak also directed The Magnetic Monster. 

Verdict: Not one of Siodmak's better movies despite moments of interest. **1/4. 

THE PRIMEVALS

The Yeti on the rampage!

THE PRIMEVALS (1994/2023). Director: David Allen. 

A team which includes Matt Connor (Richard Joseph Paul), guide Siku (Tai Thai), and Dr. Claire Collier (Juliet Mills) goes to the Himalayas to see if they can catch a living yeti (or abominable snowman) after a dead one is exhibited on a college campus. They eventually find themselves in a lush hidden valley where there is not only an alien spaceship, but a race of lizard men who try to pit intruders against the yeti in an arena. The yeti, who is the size of King Kong, seems to be controlled by the nasty lizards ... 

Juliet Mills and Richard Joseph Paul

Most of The Primevals was actually shot in 1994 but not completed for decades. The director, a stop-motion specialist named David Allen, died in 1999 and the rest of the animated footage was done years later. The problem with the movie is that despite all of the fantastic elements, it has no real atmosphere and comes off like a cheap made-for-cable production. The FX work is good, however, the performances are more than adequate, and Richard Band's musical score is a plus. 

Verdict: For fans of stop-motion animation who have always wanted to see this film. **1/2.

HYSTERIA

HYSTERIA (1965). Director: Freddie Francis.

One of Jimmy Sangster's worst scripts is the main problem of this silly pseudo-thriller in which an American (Robert Webber) traveling from France to England winds up losing his memory in an auto crash. The dead driver's widow, Denise (Lelia Goldoni), arranges for his treatment in a clinic and for him to stay in her luxury apartment. Trying to summon up comparisons with Psycho, there's some business with a bloodied knife and then a corpse being found in or near a shower stall with the water running and so on -- but this is no Psycho and doesn't even come close. The film never works up more than the mildest of suspense as it tries to make you wonder who Webber really is and how he fits in with Denise, the dead body, and Dr. Keller (Anthony Newlands), the doctor who's been treating him. Jennifer Jayne from The Crawling Eye plays Gina, a nurse and romantic interest. A riot of loose ends and stupid contrived murder "plots," Hysteria is simply tedious and terrible and never makes much sense. Goldoni had a better role in Theatre of Death a couple of years later. Sue Lloyd of Corruption briefly plays a zesty French hooker. Dan Banks' jazzy score is pretty bad.

Verdict: Unmemorable British thriller. *1/2. 

THE MAD EXECUTIONERS

The sinister court convenes

THE MAD EXECUTIONERS (aka Der Henker von London/1963). Director: Edwin Zbonek. Colorized.

In London a secret court convenes periodically, kidnaps people who have gotten away with assorted crimes, and pronounces a sentence of death -- with hanging corpses discovered in the morning. The same rope is used each time and continues to disappear from police HQ no matter what precautions are taken! Inspector John Hillier (Hansjorg Felmy) is determined to uncover the identity of the leader of this court. He is equally desperate to find out who murdered his sister, one of the victims of a sex maniac targeting young women who rapes and beheads them. One of the suspects in the former case is a retired judge, Sir Francis Elliott (Rudolf Forster), which is awkward as he is the father of Hillier's girlfriend, Ann (Maria Perschy of The Castle of Fu Manchu). Ann sets out to find the killer of Hillier's sister, and runs into a man named Dr. Ferguson (Dieter Borsche) ...

Felmy and Wolfgang Preiss

The Mad Executioners is based on the story "White Carpet" by Bryan Edgar Wallace, the son of Edgar Wallace, who clearly followed in his father's footsteps. The movie has a lot of rich atmosphere, although at times it becomes confusing, especially as it pertains to Ann's father. When the head of the tribunal is unmasked, we remember this same character watching the court from a distance (there may well be an explanation for his anomaly, but the audience never learns it). Wolfgang Preiss [Die Slowly, You'll Enjoy It More] plays another inspector and Felmy's boss. Chris Howland plays reporter Tom Jenkins, who is a master of disguise and lends a hand to the inspector. (It is a mercy that Eddi Arent wasn't given this role!)

Verdict: Two puzzles for the price of one. ***. 

BORN TO BE BAD

Joan Fontaine and Robert Ryan

BORN TO BE BAD (1950). Director: Nicholas Ray. Colorized. 

As a child Christabel (Joan Fontaine of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) was sent to live with her maiden aunt (Virginia Farmer) -- a woman of modest means -- instead of with her wealthy uncle, so she has grown up wanting what others have. This includes Curtis (Zachary Scott), the rich fiance of her uncle's secretary, Donna (Joan Leslie),  with whom she moves in to work her wiles. Christabel, who seems sweet, shy and innocent, sets her cap for Curtis, subtly dissuading him away from "mercenary" Donna, but also can't keep her hands off the more virile author, Nick (Robert Ryan), who also falls under her spell. One of these men she will snare and bring to the altar, but that won't stop her from wanting the other man as well ... 

Zachary Scott and Joan Leslie

With Born to be Bad, Fontaine enters Bette Davis-Joan Crawford territory, but as she plays a character who employs a more sinister, shady technique instead of sharp, vitriolic bombast, she may seem less vivid than those other actresses. But Fontaine is nevertheless excellent in the role, and her almost constant smiling -- no matter what she's saying or thinking -- makes her seem like the most hideous of sociopaths. The other cast members are all top-notch, and this includes Mel Ferrer as painter and observer Gobby, who is both amused and appalled by Christabel and makes funny and sardonic comments. The trouble with this very entertaining soap opera is that the wind-up is rather flat. This movie was spoofed on The Carol Burnett Show as "Raised to Be Rotten!"

Verdict: Joan schemes, wins, and loses in grand style. *** 

STAY TUNED, TOO!

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE is on temporary hiatus while I finish up a new book project. Work, work, work!

We will be back in the new year if not before!

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN

Karloff and Lugosi

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939). Director: Rowland V. Lee. Colorized.

Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone of Hillbillies in a Haunted House) arrives in the town where his father created his monster with his wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchinson) and little boy, Peter (Donnie Dunagan), in tow. No one in the village is pleased to see this new Frankenstein, but at least the Inspector (Lionel Atwill of Captain America). whose arm was torn off by the monster, is willing to provide protection for him. Wolf learns that not only is the monster still alive, but that the malevolent Ygor (Bela Lugosi of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein) has been using him to kill off those who sentenced him to die for graverobbing. (Instead he just wound up with a broken neck.) The monster has been inactive since being struck by lightning, but Wolf stupidly decides to revive him. Naturally havoc ensues ...

Rathbone and Hutchinson

Son of Frankenstein is a fun and absorbing picture with weird art deco sets and some terrific performances. Lugosi arguably gives the best performance of his career as the gleefully conniving and cackling Ygor. Rathbone, Hutchinson and Atwill are also excellent, and little Dunagan gets by on sheer adorableness. Karloff is basically mute in this but still quite effective. The film has genuine suspense and moves at a swift pace. If there's any problem with the movie it's that Wolf Frankenstein is essentially an asshole, endangering his wife and child, and never really gets his comeuppance for this. The film also has a very interesting score by Frank Skinner. 

Verdict: Wonderful old Universal horror flick. ***1/4. 

THE OUTER LIMITS: THE INVISIBLE ENEMY

Adam West watches Martian monster approach

THE OUTER LIMITS: The Invisible Enemy. Season 2, episode 7/1964. Director: Byron Haskin. Colorized. 

When the two astronauts sent on the first expedition to Mars vanish without a trace, a second expedition is sent, with strict instructions that the members must remain in sight at all times. Unfortunately, when one man ducks down to inspect a piece of wreckage, he screams and disappears! Another man vanishes, and crew member Buckley (Rudy Solari) figures out that there's something out there in the Martian sand. That something is a huge, flesh-eating reptilian creature that swims through sand like a shark swims through water. Eventually Major Merritt (Adam West) winds up cornered on a small piece of rock as one of the creatures tries to make a meal out of him. 

Rudy Solari and Adam West

The Invisible Enemy has a great and creepy idea going for it, although the execution isn't entirely satisfactory. Buckley is a stupid character, and he lowers the whole tone of the enterprise. At least Solari's performance is acceptable, which is not the case for Adam West. The future Batman shows his obvious contempt for the material by barely working up a sweat. An implausible aspect of the script is that none of the astronauts have the slightest reaction when their colleagues are gobbled up, as if they barely knew them when they've obviously been working together for months. It almost doesn't make sense that the second expedition finds the first rocket ship in pieces as if it crashed on landing, when the prologue makes it clear that this is not the case.

Joe Maross and Ted Knight at Earth Control

However, The Invisible Enemy, directed by sci fi specialist Byron Haskin (The War of the Worlds; The Power; Robinson Crusoe on Mars), is still quite eerie, with an effective musical score. While the creature itself -- it turns out to be only one of many, of course -- may not have the greatest design, it is still a fearsome-looking thing with rather large teeth and claws. (Decades later, more than one low-budget filmmaker has stolen the premise and come up with actual "sand sharks" to bedevil people on Earth's beaches.) Joe Maross and Ted Knight play worried people waiting miles away in "Earth Control" -- Maross, in particular, plays with far more passion than West. His character has to make a difficult decision to possibly leave the surviving astronauts behind on Mars. Byron Haskin also directed Captain Sindbad. This episode may have influenced the Tremors movies even as it may have been influenced by the sand monsters in Dune. 

Verdict: Although nearly done in by dumb elements, Invisible Enemy is a noteworthy episode of the series. ***. 

13 GHOSTS

Rosemary DeCamp, Donald Woods, Martin Milner

13 GHOSTS (1960). Produced and directed by William Castle. Colorized. 

Cyrus Zorba (Donald Woods of The Black Doll), who works in a museum, inherits a house from his late uncle, a researcher in spirits. Cyrus movies his wife and two children into the spooky manor, then learns that his uncle actually collected ghosts and they are haunting the place! A special viewer that resembles weird binoculars enables Cyrus to see the ghosts, which include a headless lion tamer, the lion, an axe murderer, and others. But Cyrus may have more problems besides ghosts -- the uncle left a fortune in the house and a certain individual will stop at nothing to get his hands on it, including murder!

Martin Milner and Jo Morrow

13 Ghosts is a fun movie that may, at times, be sillier than it needs to be even if it occasionally has a darker tone to it as well. Woods is fine as the hapless Cyrus, and he gets good support from Rosemary DeCamp as his wife, Jo Morrow as his daughter, and Charles Herbert as his little boy, Buck, not to mention Martin Milner as an amiable lawyer who dates Morrow and befriends her brother. John Van Dreelen (of The Leech Woman) is Wood's boss -- smooth as ever -- and Margaret Hamilton is adequate as the crusty housekeeper.  Jo Morrow, a very appealing actress, also co-starred in The Three Worlds of Gulliver. 

Verdict: One of Castle's better movies. ***. 

MANIAC (1963)

MANIAC (1963). Director: Michael Carreras. 

Jeff Farrell (Kerwin Mathews, of 7th Voyage of Sinbad fame), is vacationing in France when he comes across an inn run by a pretty young woman, Annette (Liliane Brousse), and her stepmother, Eve (Nadia Gray). Jeff romances both but winds up falling for Eve, who tells him how her husband Georges (Donald Houston of The Flaw) was institutionalized after taking a blow torch to the man who raped his daughter four years before (this is detailed in the prologue). Eve has fallen in love with Jeff and hopes to free the hopefully cured Georges so he can get his life and daughter back, at least, while she goes off with her new love, Jeff. Jeff agrees to help Eve break her husband out of prison, but things go awry when Georges apparently murders the asylum employee who aids him in his escape. Now what do they do? Maniac holds the attention but it has absolutely no style or atmosphere and veteran cinematographer Wilkie Cooper's work is unimpressive. Just about everything about the movie is unconvincing, including the mostly flat acting (especially from Mathews and Gray, who generate little heat) and especially the twist ending, which comes as a surprise but seems to make everything a bit pointless. Jimmy Sangster's [Fear in the Night]  typically convoluted screenplay is not one of his better ones. Like other films, the title was supposed to create an identification with Psycho, but this is nowhere in the same league as Hitchcock's thriller.

Verdict: Watch once and then forget it! **1/4. 

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER

Dracula!

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (2023). Director: Andre Ovredal.

Taking its cue from references in Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula," Demeter examines what happens on that ship when Dracula, inside a box filled with Transylvanian dirt, is transported to London, feeding on the crew all the while. This is certainly a neat idea for a movie, but the execution is something else again. What could have worked as a 30 or 60 minute TV show is stretched out to two hours, and the movie is s l o w www. 

Corey Hawkins

This is unfortunate, as Last Voyage of the Demeter boasts impressive scenic design and some excellent performances, especially from lead Corey Hawkins as the black ship's doctor (no, this character does not appear in Stoker's novel), Liam Cunningham as the captain planning on retirement, and little Woody Norman as the ill-fated cabin boy, Toby, although the entire cast is effective. Dracula himself is depicted in his half-human, half-bat stage with wings and grinning maw. He shows up way too late in the game. The film is on occasion illogical and often underlit. The closing theme music by Bear McCreary has the energy that is completely lacking from the movie itself. 

Verdict: Good idea pretty much frittered away. **1/2. 

THUNDERBOLTS

Thunderbolts prepare for action

THUNDERBOLTS (2025). Director: Jake Schreier. 

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) runs black ops for the government -- her group is called Oxe -- but is coming under scrutiny from Congress. She decides to eliminate several of her operatives by unknowingly pitting them against one another in a warehouse where each has been told to "take out' whoever is there. These include Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh); John Walker or U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), who briefly filled in for Captain America; Yelena's father, formerly the Russian hero the Red Guardian (David Harbour); Bucky Barnes or the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Captain America's one-time partner; Ava Starr, a woman who can dematerialize and is also known as the Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen); and Robert Reynolds, an "experiment" in creating super-heroes that resulted in both Sentry and his evil alter ego, the Void (Lewis Pullman). Instead of destroying one another, these six second stringers decide to team up as the Thunderbolts to take down Valentina. But it won't be easy when the Void takes over Robert and has him apparently vaporizing most of Manhattan ... 

Louis-Dreyfus and Wendell Pierce

Most of the above characters originally appeared in Marvel comic books decades ago and their cinematic counterparts are alternate versions of them. Thunderbolts was also a comic about a group of villains pretending to be heroes for their own gain, but eventually metamorphosing into genuine good guys. Sentry was a member of the Avengers for a time as well. Valentina was not a ruthless villainess (pretending to be a good guy) in the comics as she is in this and other Marvel movies, but she is very well played by Louis-Dreyfus. The other cast members, including Wendell Pierce as Congressman Gary, are also notable. People who are completely unfamiliar with the comics will wonder who the hell some of these people are -- I certainly did!

Sentry (Lewis Pullman) goes after Val

Thunderbolts only really gets going late in the movie when Sentry, under the influence of Valentina, goes on the rampage, with some effective action and FX work. Unfortunately, this sequence is much too brief, and dissipates into some tiresome dream-type sequences with the members of the Tbolts encountering images from their pasts. Thunderbolts is also much too long, considering how little of the film is really memorable. At the end of the film Val pulls a fast one and rechristens the team the New Avengers, but it is highly debatable if this team will have any staying power. Florence Pugh also appeared in Don't Worry Darling, and is so different (and versatile) that you will hardly recognize her. 

Verdict: Fair to middling Marvel movie will probably disappoint most fans. **1/2. 

THE PSYCHOPATH

THE PSYCHOPATH (1966). Director: Freddie Francis.

Despite its title and the fact that it was written by Robert Bloch (who wrote the novel Hitchcock's Psycho was based upon), The Psychopath is not quite a psycho-shocker with an emphasis on gruesome deaths (although there are some of those, of course, but they're not too graphic). Rather it's a comparatively tasteful mystery about a series of murders of men who may have wrongly accused a German man of being a war criminal. The man's widow, Mrs. Von Sturm (Margaret Johnston) and son Mark (John Standing) are suspects, but there are other possibilities as well. The killer leaves dolls that resemble the victims at the scene of each murder. The mystery deepens when people who have no connection to the Von Sturm's start being targeted. Absorbing, well-acted thriller (Johnston is particularly good if slightly hammy at times) is no Psycho but it has its moments (including some awkward, stilted ones). There's a good climactic fight in a shipyard (with classical music in the background) and an effective credit sequence with evocative music by Elisabeth Lutyens. Patrick Wymark is the inspector on the case; he's bland but more than competent. The epilogue when the killer is finally revealed is nicely chilling and disturbing. 

Verdict: This is suspenseful stuff in a minor key. ***. 

M3GAN 2.0

Gemma and M3gan

M3GAN 2.0 (2025). Director: Gerard Johnstone. 

In this sequel to the unremarkable M3gan, the robot's inventor, Gemma (Allison Williams), discovers -- when FBI agents knock on her door -- that there is a rogue government android, Amelia (Ovanna Sakhno), who seems to have developed her own agenda. Gemma is accused of being behind this, and even of being a traitor. Then she learns that M3gan's consciousness might still be active -- could she be of help or only cause more trouble? This all leads to the complicated unraveling of a terrible conspiracy ... 

Ovanna Sakhno and Jemaine Clemont

M3gan 2.0 is one of the only movies that I found entertaining and yet boring at the same time! For one thing, at two hours it is way too long. There is a lot of messy, often dull and silly running around to what seems like little purpose. The snippets of humor are sometimes genuinely amusing, however. Jemaine Clemont is quite funny and adept as shady tech billionaire Alton Appleton and Aristotle Athari scores as Gemma's friend and colleague, Christian. Jenna Davis and Sakhno are perfect as the wily robots. The frequent discussions of artificial intelligence, especially its dangers, are often interesting. The large supporting cast is game. But this is nothing that I would ever want to sit through again. 

Verdict: Both savvy and dumb. **1/4. 

PRETTY POISON

PRETTY POISON (1968). Director: Noel Black.

A twisted romance develops between a disturbed young man named Dennis Pitt (Anthony Perkins of Chillers) and an even more disturbed young woman named Sue Ann Stepanek (Tuesday Weld). Pitt, who was institutionalized for a time, draws Sue Ann into games in which he pretends he's a CIA agent involving her in his dangerous assignments. This leads to more than one murder and a plot by Pitt to get even with the man who fired him. Reasonably entertaining film holds the attention and features some good performances -- especially from Beverly Garland as Sue Ann's unpleasant mother -- and is very well photographed by David Quaid. Good supporting performances from John Randolph and Dick O'Neill (of Gammera, the Invincible). Screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr. Noel Black also directed Prime Suspect. 

Verdict: Some good moments but nothing really special. **1/2.

GHOST OF ZORRO

Clayton Moore as grandson of Zorro

GHOST OF ZORRO (12-chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon. Colorized version. 

Ken Mason (Clayton Moore), grandson of Don Diego Vega, the original Zorro, is in New Mexico after the Civil War where Rita White (Pamela Blake) hopes to build a telegraph line beginning in Twin Bluffs. Bad guys George Crane (Gene Roth) and Hank Kilgore (Roy Barcroft), along with a host of other desperadoes, fear that the telegraph will help bring law and order to the territory. Ken is importuned by his buddy, Moccasin (George J. Lewis), to ride as Zorro to combat the various schemes of Crane and the others, and this he does. Explosions, attacks by Indians working with Crane, wagons flying over cliffsides, and more will not keep Zorro and Rita from completing that telegraph line. 

George J. Lewis and Pamela Blake

A sort of sequel to Son of Zorro, this is a cut below that serial but still entertaining and frequently exciting. Marshall Reed and Tom Steele are two of the nasty gunsels, and the latter gets a bit more to do than usual. George J. Lewis proves his versatility, as he often played bad guys as he did in Federal Operator 99 and many others. Pamela Blake was in a number of serials as well as Daltons' Women with Lash LaRue, but in this production she is competent but lacks enough oomph. Cliffhanger serials aren't always logical, but I'm still scratching my head over a scene in chapter two in which Mason/Zorro, riding behind Rita in a wagon, jumps off his horse, climbs a cliff, and somehow manages to jump into said wagon which is now, impossibly, behind him. (If the wagon went around some kind of curve, the logistics of this aren't shown.) Still, Ghost of Zorro is fun.

Verdict: Probably not the last gasp for Zorro. **3/4. 

RING-A-DING RHYTHM

Craig Douglas and Helen Shapiro

RING-A-DING RHYTHM (aka It's Trad, Dad/1962). Director: Richard Lester.  

The mayor (Felix Felton) of a small British town is convinced that the new music the kids are playing is not only disturbing the peace, but lowering moral values. Craig (Craig Douglas) and Helen (Helen Shapiro) think the answer is to organize a jazz festival to show that the music is not that bad, but who can they get to host it? They travel to a studio to try to find a host, and encounter a large number of both British and American musical acts. But can they convince the mayor of the rightness of their cause?

"Another Tear Falls:" Gene McDaniels

Douglas and Shapiro were minor singers in the UK who were tapped to essentially host this concert movie, which makes use of such acts as The Paris Sisters, Gary (U.S.) Bonds, Gene Vincent, the Brook Brothers, Del Shannon, Chubby Checker, and others, most of whom (with the exception of Checker) are forgotten today. The musical highlight is the very talented Gene McDaniels singing "Another Tear Falls." Douglas has a pleasant voice and appealing manner, but Shapiro's voice is very odd and too deep. John Leyton (of The Idol) is billed as a special guest star, but he only shows up to sing one number. The final segment features some excellent Dixieland jazz bands, and the mayor finally gets to shaking his booty! Director Richard Lester assures that the movie is visually inventive, although producer Milton Subotsky's "script" doesn't amount to much. Lester later directed two films starring the Beatles as well as Superman III. From Amicus studios. 

Verdict: Musically interesting, but not much of a movie. **. 

AN UNLOCKED WINDOW: ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR

T. C. Jones, Louise Latham, Dana Wynter

AN UNLOCKED WINDOW: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. (Season 3, episode 17/1965).  Directed by Joseph M. Newman. 

In the middle of a thunder storm, two nurses, Stella (Dana Wynter of The View from Pompey's Head) and Betty (T. C. Jones), and a cook/housekeeper (Louise Latham of Marnie), are alone in the house with their patient, Glendon (John Kerr), who is in bed in an oxygen tent. The caretaker has been sent off to get another tank of oxygen, and the ladies are nervous because several nurses in the area have been murdered by an unknown maniac. Stella is determined to make certain that every door and window in the house is locked, but down in the basement she is startled by a mouse, and forgets to lock a window swinging in the wind ... Something nags at Stella, who does seem forgetful at times, as Betty reminds her.

Nurses in the bedroom with John Kerr

Based on a story by Ethel Lina White, and with a script by James Bridges, An Unlocked Window is one of the most memorable episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. The big reveal at the end is not as shocking as it was back in the sixties, and if you know anything about the actors you will be clued in early on, but the program is still quite suspenseful and well-acted (even if in some scenes Wynter doesn't act quite as terrified as she should). The show is well-directed by Joseph M. Newman for maximum tension. Admittedly there is one scene that is a bit of a cheat, rather impossible in fact -- people simply can't be in two places at once -- but this doesn't completely ruin things (blame it on the editing).  Busy director Newman's most famous film is probably This Island Earth. Writer James Bridges later directed such films as The China Syndrome and Urban Cowboy. 

Verdict: Very creepy, with a chilling finale -- you just can't trust anyone, can you? ***. 

VIOLENT BLOOD BATH

 VIOLENT BLOOD BATH (aka Pena de Muerte/Penalty of Death/1974). Director: Jorge Grau. 

Oscar Bataille (Fernando Rey of The French Connection and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) is a French prosecutor who is married to the younger Patricia (Marisa Mell), whom he neglects. At a resort hotel, Patricia runs into an old flame, Wilson (Espartaco Santoni), who -- unlike Oscar -- objects to the death penalty and wants to interview and debate him on the subject. He also wants to renew his romantic relationship with Patricia, although she insists that she loves her husband and resists Wilson's entreaties. When a family is slaughtered in the town, Oscar realizes that the murder scene recreates one of the terrible crimes he prosecuted. Oscar is afraid that more copycat murders will follow, and on this he is right. As Wilson and Patricia become closer, Inspector Navarro (Julian Navarro) investigates two unlikely suspects in the form of plain would-be actress Laura (Elisa Laguna) and her temporary boyfriend, actor Javier Duran (Maximo Valverde). One of these people will also become a victim. Then Patricia finds a certain scarf draped over a dead body and begins to wonder if her husband is losing his mind ... 

Fernando Rey falls asleep watching Violent Blood Bath

Violent Blood Bath is the lurid English title of a Spanish thriller that contains very few thrills. While the movie doesn't quite go in the direction you think it will, once it makes up its mind it doesn't deviate, meaning there is no final twist and nothing of much interest happening on the screen. If you're a gore geek hoping for a literal "blood bath," be advised that all of the murders occur off-screen. When the scene comes along in which Fernando Rey is napping in his bed, you may think your time would be better spent doing the same (without Rey) instead of sitting through this movie. 

Verdict: Pretty much a waste of ninety minutes. *1/2. 

SON OF ZORRO

Zorro in action!

SON OF ZORRO (13-chapter Republic serial/1947). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Fred C. Brannon. Colorized version. 

In a post-Civil War period rancher Jeffrey Stewart (George Turner) returns to Box County and discovers that crooked politicians and their cronies have taken over. These include Judge Hyde (Ernie Adams), Sheriff Moody (Ed Cassidy), a desperado named Boyd (Roy Barcroft of Manhunt of Mystery Island), and others, all of whom report to a mysterious "Chief" behind the scenes. Jeff has two main allies: his foreman Pancho (Stanley Price of The Invisible Monster), and the post-mistress, Kate Wells (Peggy Stewart of When the Clock Strikes). These and others who are opposed to the plans of the Chief will have a tough time fighting off his sinister schemes. Pancho gives Jeff the idea of dressing up as his ancestor, the famous Zorro!

George Turner as Jeff Stewart

Son of Zorro is an exciting, well-made Republic serial with lots of action, lively well-choreographed fist fights, and a snappy musical score. George Turner is fine and appealing in the actor's only starring role, and the other cast members add some zest as well.  Memorable cliffhangers include a huge ore crusher that threatens to smush Kate; an avalanche caused by dynamite; our hero and Kate trapped by rushing water inside a cave; a wagon that hurtles off a cliff during a landslide; an inferno in the jail where Kate and Jeff are trapped; and others. Other familiar players in the serial include Ken Terrell and Tom Steele as bad guys. Price isn't entirely convincing as the Hispanic foreman, and the identity of the Chief comes as no great surprise. 

Verdict: Highly entertaining and fast-paced western serial. ***.