Sinister Cinema

A diamond merchant is found dead, murdered, inside a car near a gloomy, muddy, foggy French crossroads. Nearby lays a villa, a broken down garage & gas station, and a house next to it. A one-eyed Dane and his slatternly sister are the initial suspects, but with the arrival of the great French inspector Maigret, it becomes clear that far more is going on than a simple case of murder. Incredibly atmospheric, with much of the footage shot at night. You can almost feel the fog seeping in. French,...

This is one of the most haunting Japanese horror films you will ever see engaging, gripping, and absolutely chilling. During the Obon festival of the dead, a samurai is visited by two beautiful women, one of whom he falls deeply in love with. During the next few nights he comes to discover that his new lover and her older companion are ghosts, both of whom died by their own hand. When he confronts his ghostly lover she begs him to return to the underworld with her at the end of the festival....

The sister of a famous, but as yet uncaught, criminal named The Hexer is murdered. Inspector Higgins of Scotland Yard believes that The Hexer will surface to take his revenge on his sister's killers, and plans to set a trap to finally capture him. However, soon bodies start piling up, and it looks as if The Hexer may get away yet again. Aka Mysterious Magician. Dubbed in English. From a gorgeous 35mm print. PLUS: DER HEXER (1932) Paul Richter, Maria Matray, Carl Meyer, Wera Engels, Fritz Rasp....

A young actress finds a strange woman playing solitaire in her apartment. What are the sinister, supernatural implications of this? At first she is angry, then a feeling of unexplainable fear begins to set in. Wisbar directs with flare as Field and Michael go toe to toe with some extremely poignant yet chilling dialogue as Field slowly begins to realize the horrible fate that is now hers. Wow! Brilliant performances highlight this chilling episode from the largely forgotten Royal Playhouse...

Johnson went to England to film this story of a military doctor who's falsely accused of illegal drug dealing. He's soon on the run from the MPs who are out to throw him in jail. Help soon comes when he falls in with a nightclub singer, to whom his wife has sublet his flat. Is his wife loyal and faithful, or is there something sinister afoot? From 35mm.

The setting is Manila, where pretty young girls are kidnapped off the streets. They are thrown into a cave deep in the wilds of the Philippines where they await their terrible fate: a death cult needs their blood so its members can retain their eternal youth! This is a real '70s drive-in schlockfest. Look for the disembodied head living in a glass box! Great color, 35mm.

Vadis' first film as Hercules. Cressoy is a ruthless prince who teams up with an evil but beautiful witch (played by the stunning Moira Orfei). She sends his squad of golden warriors to unleash havoc. Can Hercules stop them? There is a TON of action in this largely forgotten Peplum epic. Watch for the great climax where Hercules is fooled by Orfei's hypnotic powers as his beloved hangs perilously from an ocean cliff. Aka Hercules and the Giant Warriors. Great color, from 35mm.

A gold shipment is stolen! Tex goes after the thieves. The gang is led by Taylor, but can Tex prove he is guilty? Murphy, as Tex's sidekick, provides a clue, then with the help of a posse and a Boy Scout Troop they bring the crooks to justice. From a top 16mm print.

A teenage school girl is raped on her way home. Years later, she and her newlywed husband move into a new house in the country. They soon begin to realize the house is haunted by the ghost of a strange man. Yet, somehow she finds herself strangely drawn to the ghost, while depriving her husband of any semblance of a romantic sex life. When a paranormal expert is called in, it's discovered there's more to the ghost than first suspected. This made-for-TV British film is well-played and genuinely...

This has become kind of a cult classic over the years. Leroy, who was wonderfully delightful in the Seven Golden Men films, plays, with much conviction, a sadistic millionaire with a penchant for degrading women. It's all part of his elaborate S&M fantasies, in which he abducts beautiful young women. In this case it's a female journalist. Slowly but surely, though, it becomes obvious she has something far more sinister in mind. The perverted on-screen chemistry between Leroy and Lassander is...