Sinister Cinema

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...

Harry Andrews, Yutte Stensgaard, Glyn Edwards, Kerry Nesbitt, Derrin Nesbitt. Wow! This terrific body-snatching thriller is a grisly horror film, yet also a marvelous, sexy black comedy. The best Burke and Hare film? Could be. Unashamed. Yutte is gorgeous, clothed or disrobed. Rated R for nudity and violence. Aka "Horrors of Burke & Hare." Color, 35mm.

Although Tarkan Vs. the Vikings is filled with the cheapest costumes imaginable, cardboard sets, inept special effects, and cheesy monsters, it's the best Turkish movie we've ever seen from the '60s or '70s. It really does have that kind of "big epic-spectacle film" feel to it. And it's great fun in spite of all its obvious (sometimes really obvious) weaknesses. The story centers around a vicious Viking miscreant who wants to rule all of Vikingdom and get his lustful hands on a Hun ruler's...

Anna Magnani, Giulietta Masina. A harsh study about the grim realities of life in a non-coed, totally female prison environment. Story concerns a young girl who comes to prison and experiences the entire prison subculture. The inmates she befriends vary from big tough dangerous dames to smaller submissive ladies who are totally lost in prison life. Very exploitive, yet still a fascinating look at women's prison life. This is a damn good movie. Three stars by Leonard Maltin. 16mm.

A young, sexually free-spirited drifter falls in love for an older man, who she claims is her long-lost father. She comes to live with him and causes no end of trouble, especially when she's not dressed which is often. Later, though, a murder plot is hatched leading to a suspenseful climax and showdown with the killer. Rated R for lots of full nudity. Letterboxed in widescreen. English subtitles. 35mm.

A beautiful Chinese maiden (who could easily pass for white) enters into a more or less "arranged" marriage with an older, wealthy Dutch businessman. The marriage was set up by a sinister Chinese racketeer, who is to receive half the inheritance after the murder of her husband. She also helps kidnap a sailor's fiancee, whom the Chinaman lusts for; while, conversely, she lusts to have the sailor for herself. Unfortunately, the sailor has found out that the Chinaman is a contraband smuggler and...

Arlene Farber, Fred Riccio, Julie Ange. Campy teen pregnancy pic with real birth footage, which frankly is pretty raw. Not for the squeamish. Cool scene at a vintage drive-in movie. Color, From 35mm.

Henry Kendall, Elizabeth Allan, Sam Livesey. An old dark house on a gloomy night is the setting for this British horror thriller about a mad killer, dressed completely in black, who bumps off the inhabitants one by one. A very unusual and very rare film. From 16mm.

aka PIRANHA, PIRANHA -William Smith, Peter Brown, Ahna Capri. A grisly little jungle thriller that shows Smith's talent for playing badass heavies. A trio sets out to photograph wildlife in the Amazon jungle. To their horror, they end up becoming prey of a mad, cold-blooded hunter. Color, 16mm

Lee, in his last screen performance as Dracula, is fantastic as he swings between serious moments of horror and outright comedy. Dracula takes a mortal woman to bear his son. After he's born, the Count turns mom into a vampire. However, when she can't make it back to her coffin before sunrise, the Count finds himself stuck with raising the young tyke, which isn't easy since the young vampire balks at putting the bite on people. Eventually the son decides he wants to "make it on his own" in the...

The setting is a 19th century castle. Lee plays a sadistic nobleman who whips the wife of his brother. Chris is later found dead, but his ghost comes back to haunt the castle, hoping to reignite through death his sadistic relationship with the beautiful Daliah Lavi. This top-notch Italian horror thriller features director Mario Bava's (aka Jon M. Old) cinematic handywork at its best, with an endless array of atmospheric scenes filled with somber hues that amplify a latent feeling of impending...

Conrad Veidt, Anna Lee. A wonderful, ultra rare British fantasy. The setting is an old boardinghouse filled with a variety of people, all with different problems. They're lorded over by an evil, mephisto-like slum lord. The tenants' lives are changed forever by the arrival of a Christ-like stranger who aids them with their problems. Our DVD master was taken from an older Euro PAL video source that has a few minor gliches, but is still very watchable. Nice contrast. A fantasy masterpiece. ...