Sinister Cinema

This short made-for-TV British feature is only loosely based on the classic short story of the same title by M.R. James, but it is extremely eerie and chilling, just like you'd expect from an M.R. James work. A man is walking his dog when he is confronted with a supernatural horror that sends him stumbling and screaming into and open field. The authorities find him dead, nearly every bone in his body broken. Later, a beautiful young television producer is passed a slip of paper (slipped into...

Lange and her hubby inherit a farm Crowhaven Farm. But there is something strange about the aging country estate. Lange sees visions of ancient settlers doing odd things with rocks and wooden doors. The neighbors spin tales of witchcraft that all seem to point to Crowhaven. But why is it that all the villagers, all typical modern Americans, seem so kind? Soon Lange realizes that something is very amiss. Carradine has a great bit as a malevolent handyman. A wonderfully creepy film with an...

Mitchell is the evil Baron von Weser, who has a grim collection of carnivorous plants. When a group of people vacation on his island, they soon they find themselves having to deal with his monstrosities. Watch out for his blood-drinking tree, which soon becomes acquainted with several unfortunate guests. This is a fast-moving piece of Euro-schlock. Mitchell is great as he underplays his evil role. This film has had some awful video releases in the past, but this is probably the best video copy...

This is one of the most underrated British horror films of the 1970s, complete with a wonderful cast. Hardy plays the head of an asylum who has inherited an eerie old mansion from a deceased patient a patient who murdered his wife and kids on the premises! Legend has it that there is a hidden fortune somewhere in the walls of the house. Also searching for the loot, though, is Lee the mysterious local doctor along with his beautiful sister, played to the hilt by Collins. Both are wonderful in...

An unusual hull resembling an unexploded bomb is found in an English building site containing weird, insect-like creatures with faces like gargoyles. Inexplicable incidents occur and it's discovered that strange goings on have happened in the area for centuries. Top notch sci-fi from the original British, 6 part TV series, about 3 hours in length.

These are the only two surviving episodes of the famed British six-part mini-series. Professor Quatermass and his Experimental Rocket Group send a man into space. When the spacecraft returns to Earth they find, inexplicably, that only one of the crewmen is still on board. They can only wonder what has happened to the missing crewmen, because something "strange" has happened to the surviving astronaut. When the rocket is examined, it's found that something organic attached itself to the hull...

This is the original 6-part teleseries that was the follow-up to the earlier teleseries, The Quatermass Experiment (1953). There is something very wrong with a huge chemical factory out in the wilds of rural England. An alien horror is afoot! The scenes in this marvelous teleseries range from thought-provoking to downright terrifying. Wow... A terrific script, is complimented by great, believable performances. British science fiction doesn't get much better than this.

A grouchy college professor, who thinks that anything "supernatural" must have a logical explanation, goes on vacation to a lonely coastal village. When an old whistle is found on the beach one day, the professor blows through it. Little does he know that he has just awakened a supernatural terror beyond his comprehension. This excellent British horror gem is a must. Based on the chilling tale by M. R. James. Cool. From 35mm. ALSO: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (1928) Herbert Stern,...

In a small 1800s Massachusetts town, a student of theology becomes fascinated with a dilapidated old country mansion. He soon learns the place is haunted by the ghost of a beautiful young woman, whose father was responsible for her death. An arrangement has been made, though, between the ghost and the father whereby he is banned from the house in return for a ghost royalty, paid to him four times a year. This wonderful B&W gothic Euro-chiller is largely overlooked by horror film historians. It...

Renoir plays Reginald Malveneur, a research scientist and the last of his bloodline a bloodline that legend says is infected by werewolfry. He conducts experiments in the dungeon lab of his crumbling chateau in hopes of finding a "cell rejuvenation" cure for his ailing wife, who is too frail to care for their young daughter or give him the son he desperately wants. When the new governess arrives, it's learned that Malveneur has disappeared. A handsome local artist comes to the aid of the...

A girl comes home from an orphanage to live with her parents. Also living in the house are a nanny and older sister, both of whom dislike her. Soon the house is filled with supernatural terror as the jealous older sister (who can change into a snake-like creature!) stops at nothing to kill her younger sibling, all the while aided by a silver-haired hag. There are tense moments of terror in this modern-day-setting Japanese horror film. Several dream sequences are filled to the brim with...

McClure and his Coast Guard helicopter pal come upon a shipwreck in an area known as "the Devil's Triangle." When McClure is lowered to the ship he finds dead bodies all over the place. The only survivor is a beautiful blonde (Kim Novak), who's in a confused state of mind. Unfortunately, a cable snaps on the helicopter's rescue basket and McClure and Novak are stuck on the boat until the chopper can return. She tells a grisly tale of what happened. Little does McClure suspect that the evil...