Storyline: N/A
Date: VHS Release Date September 1, 1998
Price: Various
Director:Todd Browning
Actor: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Roscoe Ates, Henry Victory

Synopsis: Tod Browning, who directed Bela Lugosi in the original Dracula, stepped into even eerier territory with this 1932 story of betrayal and retribution in the circus.

Opinion: Ah, Those scary Bumps in the night
The bumps in the night. Those sounds you hear when you are almost asleep,the slight movements that are seen from the corners of your eyes. The what if’s that enter your mind as you venture out into the darken path,things that quicken your breath, heighten your senses, and give you goosebumps. We all get them and we all enjoy them, as long as we are tucked into bed, or on the couch watching our favorite old spooky movie, what could be more fun then being all alone in your house watching “The Blob,” or “The Leech Woman,” or “Earth versus the Flying Saucers.”

Read the rest of my review after the jump.

Growing up in the 50’s I saw these movies on the big screen. My sister would take me to see them,when I was too young to go by myself. So much fun sitting there holding onto her arm when the giant ants attacked,or the flying saucers landed,and adults would disappear only to come back, well… different. Scary and safe. The best of both worlds.

As a teen, my friends and I would go Saturday nights to watch zombies and flying brains from outer space, huge blobs trying to engulf the world,we would scream and giggle and hid our eyes in our boyfriends shoulders.

I loved being scared, knowing I was safe. I enjoyed the Horror as well as the Sci Fi and as I grew older I enjoyed and truly appreciated the classics the forerunners of the B movies for without the mummy, the wolf man, vampires and ghouls we would have no B movies.

I am going to discuss some of my old time favorites; The B’s as well as the classic and the sci fi. I hope you enjoy reading about these movie gems,and if you haven’t already seen these, I hope you will rent them and enjoy them, and even add them to your movie collection.

This week I am going to talk about two of my favorites: The 1932 classic, Freaks, directed by Tod Browning,and the 1954 Sci Fi/horror flick Them! starring James Whitmore.

Freaks

I first saw this on tv late one night several years ago. The quality of the film was poor and there were way too many commercial interruptions. So I searched around and managed to find in a video store a VHS of this movie that was a lot better than the one I had seen on tv.

This is truly a classic horror movie. Made in 1932 and featuring real circus people it was not released to the public for many years as it was deemed to horrific. No computers back then,and while even in the early 30’s there were some special effects,the special people were played by real circus folks.

It is the story of a side show attraction called “Feathered Hen,” and how she came to be. It is a tawdry tale of love and lust and greed and murder. Of how Tiny Hans forsakes his true love Freida to chase and woo full bodied Cleopatra whose only interest in him is his fortune,which she wants so she can run away with her lover Hercules the strong man. All this becomes very clear on their wedding night when she shows her true colors to Hans and his deformed friends, who try and accept her in spite of her actions.

Don’t let the soap opera story line fool you; there are some of the most creepiest and frightening scenes ever in this movie. And talk about getting what you deserve!There has never been revenge like this.And if these scenes don’t scare you The wedding banquet and the acceptance chant for Cleopatra ought to creep you out pretty good. Great movie to watch on a dark,rainy night.

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