The Devil Bat, Bela Lugosi as a Mad Scientist

A mad scientist as a lead chemist at a cosmetics company?  Brilliant!  Perhaps a story for our time as the cosmetics industry is solidly cemented into the fabric of women's daily routines throughout the world. The market doubles when men are involved, and some use aftershave lotion like Hai Karate or Brut.  In our film today, Bela Lugosi exploits human vanity and uses it as a means for murder.  Our feature today is 1940's "The Devil Bat," directed by Jean Yarbrough.

Dr. Paul Carruthers (Lugosi) is the chemist for the Martin Heath Cosmetics Company.  The founding partners, Martin heath (Edmund Mortimer) and Henry Morton (Guy Usher) made millions on a cold cream invented by Paul, but only gave him a measly few thousand dollars.  Feeling cheated, Paul invents an aftershave that attracts monster bats.  Monster bats?  Yep, Paul does other experiments.  Using electricity he stimulates the growth glands of bats making them 10 times their usual size.  He also makes them behave viciously when smelling the aftershave. At risk is the entire Heath and Morton families.  Paul gives several members of those families the aftershave as a gift, and they all get their necks torn out by the monster bat.  A reporter, Johnny (Dave O'Brien), arrives to investigate the murders and immediately falls for the Heath daughter, Mary (Suzanne Kaaren).  Of more importance is Johnny's photographer, One-Shot (Donald Kerr) who falls for the Heath's French maid, Maxine (Yolande Donlan).

Maxine is quite a sultry dame, especially in her French maid's costume.  One-Shot takes some alluring pics of her.  Back to the story.  The cops are mystified as no one wants to believe a monster bat is committing the murders even though Mary witnessed one of them.  Even worse, everyone in town trusts Dr. Carruthers .  Johnny isn't from town, however, and is immediately suspicious of the doctor.  As Dr. Carruthers continues giving out his version of Hai Karate more and more people end up with their necks ripped out.  Johnny and One-Shot seek to protect Mary and the nubile and sultry Maxine.  Now Dr. Carruthers understands that Johnny is a threat to him, and that Mary, being a Heath, must be murdered. Dr. Carruthers makes more giant bats, and Johnny comes up with a plan.

Will Maxine and Mary, the servant and the lady of the house, end up in a catfight which will serve as a metaphor for class struggle? No, of course not, this is a Bela Lugosi horror film!  Will Johnny be able to save Mary from the fangs of the giant bat?  Will Dr. Carruthers escape justice and finish his quest for revenge against the two wealthy families?  This is a good one and often overshadowed by more well known films done by Bela Lugosi.  For some nice horror, allure, and creepy sets, see "The Devil Bat." 

Return to Horror High, George Clooney and Maureen McCormick Covered in Blood

Back when this film was released in 1987, audiences may have been annoyed by it. Today, however, it is so much fun. For one, we look back at Marcia-Marcia-Marcia, Maureen McCormick, with fondness and now get to see her as a babe nymphomaniac-sadistic policewoman in uniform covered in blood. I know, we always hoped she would chop up Alice and bathe in her blood, but that old TV show never gave us that. Oh, George Clooney, also clad as a uniformed policeman, before he was George Clooney, is fun to see. Buckets of blood, dozens of severed limbs and heads, and much disembowelment highlight our feature today, "Return to Horror High," directed by Bill Froehlich.

A few years ago a massacre at Crippin High left many a sultry and hunk highschooler in pieces. A few years later, producer Harry Sleerik (Alex Rocco) brings a crew to the site to film a movie about it. The killer was never caught. Josh (Scott Jacoby), the director, wants to make a Stanley Kubrick-type film, but the budget just isn't there for that. The film will star Oliver (Clooney) as the cop who responded to this mess. He'll be chopped up pretty quickly leaving the actual cop, Steve (Brendan Hughes) as a fill-in. Now it should be mentioned the film actually opens with all the film crew in pieces on the front lawn of the school as the police chief (Pepper Martin) and Officer Tyler (McCormick) put the pieces together, limb by limb. Tyler is fantastic as she tries to seduce the chief in all her movement, even covered in blood.

Back to the previous day...what happened?  The female lead is Callie (Lori Lethin) and she will don three roles here.  She plays a nubile high school babe who has many locker room, seduction, and rape scenes. She objects to this and producer Harry muses, "Damn actresses, I shoulda made an animated horror film!" During filming Steve and Callie get close as members of the cast and crew start getting shredded or cut up.  Callie and Steve will have pre-marital sex, figure out the killer is back, and try to find out who it is. Suspects are numerous and all signs point to the killer being a member of the crew or cast. As Callie is put in great peril, in the movie, and in the movie within the movie, sometimes it is hard to figure out which one is which. Nudity, gore, and an alluring Maureen McCormick as a frisky cop in uniform will keep us guessing and interested.

Could either Steve or Callie be the killer?  Will the blood-crazed Marcia Brady, I mean Officer Tyler emerge as the killer?  Are every member of the crew and cast really dead or is there something else going on here?  Fans of 1980s horror and slasher films will love this one, though probably would not have back in the day.  For a different way to look at Marcia Brady, see "Return to Horror High" and then binge-watch "The Brady Bunch" with a different mindset.

Slow Burn, A 100% AI Horror Film by B. Harrison Smith

Here! Now!  Not at the end of the decade.  Not by 2025's end.  Not by Christmas. Now...or maybe in the next 4-6 weeks, to be exact.  So what is here? Maybe the biggest labor/collective bargaining  issue to hit the film industry ever.  The Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) better smarten up. A full length AI movie is the subject of this blog today. It also just happens to be a terrifying horror film.  I know...no need for actors anymore! That is the first thing, I'm sure, moviemaker B. Harrison Smith hears.  Then he has to deal with the criticism that all the human element of this art form is taken out.  Yep, the HAL 9000 will make all our movies. Today we are going to look at "Slow Burn" and answer the myths and fears, mostly voiced by those comfortable in today's status quo. 

To quote Mr. Smith, "This is not about replacing human creativity or 'stealing' art.  It's about exploring what happens when you merge human vision with machine capability. I wrote the original script, and AI is the brush I'm painting with to direct it. People once feared CGI, color and talking films, too."  How many of you remember the 1952 musical "Singin' in the Rain"?  The Gene Kelly musical is set in 1925 and explores Hollywood's fears when the first talkie was released, "The Jazz Singer." An entire industry of silent film makers and actors knew they would all be out of work.  Initially, however, the thought was we did not need talkies and no one would pay to see them. The years went by and Hollywood stayed put. Actors stayed put, or most of them. Musical scores were enhanced and composers were elevated in status on the movie set.  Over all, the introduction of talkies in 1927 did so much good for what we call Hollywood.

"Slow Burn," is less festive and cheerful than "Singin' in the Rain," but Mr. Smith makes horror films. Bob Fosse isn't around anymore to do this with a musical.  This grim and ominous story features a hunk 22-yaer old named Michael, and a sultry college dame named Riley (I maintain she looks just like Denise Richards of the early 1990s).  The director has describe it as "The Last American Virgin" as a horror film.  I saw elements of "Twin Peaks," some Stephen King plot devices, a "John Carpenter's Halloween" type setting, and a contemporary horror element that could spell the doom for many a young person. Irony, satire, and some sweet homages are all blended in to get under your skin.  I also saw the brutal train crash when the America from 10 or 20 years ago crashes into the reality of a 22 year old community college kid with little hope at success and fame in a world steeped in its own versions of castes.  Madness!  Sexual frustration, and or satisfaction!  Edgar Allan Poe views toward the female sex! Throw in motifs from those old Boris Karloff films, and we actually have a creepy and disturbing horror film... AI or no AI.

"Slow Burn" will not be the feel-good-film of 2025.  There are no humorous moments to relieve the tension.  In viewing this film you will fall into an abyss that has you plunging into more and more terror the longer you fall. I will say, from the slasher films I was raised on in the early 80s, "Slow Burn" also may be a morality tale.  No spoilers here, you'll see...eventually.

Oh, remember Lauren-Marie Taylor, the babe from "Friday the 13th: Part 2"?  She's in this.  So all of you that say actors and actresses will be forced out...just ask Ms. Taylor.  As Mr. Smith fine tunes this film, the ability to recognize it as AI diminishes.  I do have to say, does anything about Gary Busey look real when he is in a film?  Do the laser blasts at the end of the original "Star Wars" film look anywhere near real? Just saying.

To not neglect the human element, let's chat about some of the great actors and actresses we love seeing when we go to the movies.  Are they going to be gone?  Fair question. If they are, the filmmakers will do that exclusion at their own peril. B. Harrison Smith has been able to cast some of our favorite actors and actresses in his past films.  Here are just some of them: Sarah French, Barbara Crampton, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, Cloris Leachman, Tara Reid, Dee Wallace, Sid Haig, Gunnar Hansen, and Debbie Rochon to name just a few.  You will see the likes of Mr. Smith still using this talent, as if they didn't, they would not continue in this industry.  By the way, the pics interlaced in this entry are all from Mr. Smith's AI creation "Slow Burn." 

So what has to happen to make the entry into the AI world of filmmaking nice and smooth? The Union (Screen Actor's Guild and a few others) and the execs need a smart discussion of Name, Image, and Likeness agreements.  Unlike what is going on in college football, there is so much opportunity here for so many to flourish, not just the 120 actors and actresses on the so-called "A-List."  Greed will be a killer, however learning from the mistakes of those who went before you will be a great teacher.  Also, the geeks who do code or bring in the AI technology cannot be unsupervised or let loose to their own devices. The writer, the player (actor or actress), the guy who does the score and music, all have to bring this tech guy along.  The right brain will need a synergy with the left brain.  Remember the scene in "The Right Stuff" when the astronauts insisted the German scientists put a window in the space-capsule?

In 1969 we were all glued in front of our television sets watching man land on the moon, not dogs or monkeys.  There was discussion about just keeping space travel for dogs and monkeys...even President Kennedy said "no way" to that. In the realm of AI, the types of films made will run the spectrum. In either case, to make the film palatable to moviegoers, we do need the Debbie Rochon not an almost perfect facsimile of her.  This is not a plea decrying AI, but rather a plea to continue the improvements and enhancements made with it.

Trying to keep this entry fairly brief, I will end by saying AI is more than what you imagine it is.  Will this be the type of AI that helps cure pediatric cancer, or the Type of AI that has cashiers, and waitresses laid off?  This film, "Slow Burn," took great human effort by a filmmaker, writer, actors and actresses, and yes, a guy to grade the color, etc.  I'm leaving out a lot.  More jobs!  More movies!  More talent being able to make livings in the movies, not just the top 1%.  When "Slow Burn" is available to you, see it!  It is scary and gritty, and an example of how the horror experience can be enhanced by inevitable technology. 

The Brighton Strangler, Sultry British Dame in Uniform in Peril

A play within a movie!  No, not an Irving Berlin spectacular, but a gritty horror film conjuring images of the Jack the Ripper legends.  The setting is a very foggy London and the quiet coastal town of Brighton. This gem, which came out in the final year of World War 2 mixes the classic killer in the fog theme with the horror of air raids and fire bombings which the Germans inflicted on London.  The two will be directly blended and what follows is our film, 1945's "The Brighton Strangler," directed by Max Nosseck.

The play, The Brighton Strangler, has wrapped up.  The stars are giddy, yet exhausted from this drama that has enthralled a besieged city. Besieged by air raids.  The horror of a mysterious strangler seems pale in comparison. Now that the curtains have lowered for the final time, hunk star, Reginald Parker (John Loder), who portrayed the strangler, is set to marry the writer/producer Dorothy (Rose Hobart). Just before Reginald departs the theater, the Germans bomb London and the theater.  Knocked out, Reginald wakes up with some form of Amnesia and believes he is Edward Gray, aka The Brighton Strangler.  He even finds his murder weapon in the pocket of his coat. Now, as Edward Gray, Reginald will take a train to Brighton and kill the people which the strangler murdered in the play.  He's charming and well schooled, thus a sultry dame in uniform, the lovely April (June Duprez) befriends him.

June looks marvelous in the uniform of a WAC (Women's Army Corps).  She is engaged to an American officer, the hunk Bob (Michael St. Angel). When the two depart the train in Brighton, April introduces Edward to her mom and dad who are also taken by his charm. Just like the script calls for, Edward Gray, the strangler, seeks the beloved mayor of Brighton and strangles him to death.  Uh oh...the script calls for several more murders, which also include the wise old police detective (Miles Mandor) on the case. Continuing his charm, April feels a closeness to Edward and confides in him for guidance and help.  The sultry uniformed dame has no idea that the drama, which just closed in London, ends with her own murder. Trickery and deceit enable Edward with alibis and set up a perfect plan for April's murder.  

Will the hunk Bob, American soldier, get wise and flee to Brighton to save his girl?  Did the screening boards in the U.K. use this film as an example of how violence on the stage can influence the youth to do naughty things? Will the sultry and smart appearance of April in a military uniform help with military recruiting in Britain?  This is a scary and suspenseful and Ms. Duprez performs the damsel in peril with allure and perkiness.  Mr. Loder's charm and refinement makes his strangler character just so much more terrifying.  For a foggy and vicious thriller, see "The Brighton Strangler."

Phantom Fun-World, A Real Slasher Film

How many times do we see slasher films when the killer...slashes?  Yep, he has a big knife and instead of jabbing, or poking...he slashes.  Slashes up, slashes down, slashes from one side, slashes from the other side...then turn her around and do all this slashing again.  Real slashing! We have it here...at least on one of the myriad of kills.  The astronomical death count in this film by a really big knife are all gorier than the last.  Remember, knives don't kill people...slashers kill people.  Our feature today is 2023's "Phantom Fun-World," directed by Tory Jones.

17 years ago six employees of Fun-World were slashed...the killer?  Well, eventually you will see exactly what happened all those years ago.  Present day the lovely Andi (Celeste Blandon) is desperate to find a job so she can support her teen-age brother, Cole (Jace Carson). Their mom (Kira L. Wilson)? Well, she has had her problems and now is in  rehab and in a 12-strep program. Andi's bestie, Collins (Spooky Madison) gets her a job at Fun-World on the graveyard shift. On her first night of work, the murders start again.  Before Andi can find her way around, four employees are graphically murdered.  The slasher (L.C. Holt) is just getting started.  He'll go through the graveyard shift and the security guards like crap through a goose.

Soon Cole is dropped off by their mom so he can have fun on his birthday. Andi, Cole, and a very sweet security guard, Noah (Wes Robinson) tour the park. Noah and Andi are hot for one another, so cute. Now the slasher keeps finding employees and murdering them with his knife.  Then he finds Collins and the elongated scene that follows will cause you to turn your head and wince.  Uh oh...our fiend has his sights on Cole, Andi, and Noah.  Surprises ensue and so do some extremely heartbreaking and taboo scenes.

Just who is this killer and does he have plans for Andi?  Now that Andi and Cole's mom is out of rehab, what bearing will she have on the bloody plot?  Will Noah be able to swap spit with Andi or will the slasher pour cold water on that idea?  Gory, ominous, and heartbreaking are three words that sum up this slasher film which will deliver more deaths than a Mariah Carey concert.  See "Phantom Fun-World" and don't be surprised to find yourself averting your eyes from the screen.

The Barn, Demons vs. Teen Age Landscapers

Filmmaker, Justin M. Seaman set his 2016 film in 1989.  Intentionally, this one has the feel of a 1980s slasher offering.  Harping back to the Golden Age of slashers, we have an extremely gory one today with spikes, sickles, hedge clippers, pruning shears, spades, and holy weed killer.  As the Fall is just about here, we will look at one set in pumpkin fields, corn fields, and an old barn.  Our feature today is "The Barn."

30 years ago a really cute 10-year-old girl goes to a barn for trick-or-treating.  She gets a pick-axe in the head and demons will haul her corpse into the barn. Shocking and perhaps just a bit taboo. Present day, Sam (Mitchell Musolino) and Josh (Will Stout) are two low ambition high school seniors who have a landscaping business. The duo love Halloween and Sam has a crush on the virgin Michelle (Lexi Dripps). The trio will collect young lovers Nikki (Nikki Howell) and Chris (Cortland Woodard).  Also, the fifth wheel Russell (Nickolaus Joshua) and head to a Halloween concert.  On the way they stop at a closed down town and find the barn the little girl was pick-axed.  Now the teens have a Halloween party and Sam tells them the legend of that barn.  In a game of Truth or Dare, the demons are summoned and the gore returns.

Joshua will be cut up into little pieces and have his innards eaten. The culprits, a pumpkin head guy, a scarecrow guy, and a miner demon.  The trio hit the town and cut everyone up into little pieces.  They find Nikki and Chris having pre-marital sex and...well, you can figure that one out.  Now Josh and Sam realize they have let the demons loose and feel obliged to go to war with them.  At stake is the virgin Michelle.  You can imagine what a trio of demons want to do with a virgin.  The landscaping duo, armed with holy weed killer, hedge clippers, and other bladed implements go on the offensive against the demons.  Sadly, the demons have the virgin Michelle strung up and are ready to...well, you can figure it out.

Will Michelle be de-virginized by Sam or the demons?  Will our two young landscapers have enough holy weed killer to disintegrate the demons?  If Sam can de-virginize Michelle, will the demonic rite be ruined?  This is an incredibly gory one and the death count is in the dozens.  For a bloody homage to 1980s horror, see "The Barn."  

Face of the Frog, Sequel to The Third Man

Wait!  There was no sequel to 1949's "The Third Man."  Harry Lime (Orson Welles) dies at the end.  Au contraire! If Patrick Duffy can come back from dead, just by taking a shower, Harry Lime can come back... or can he?  From West Germany we have a film set in London...1959's "Face of the Frog," directed by Harold Reinl and starring a whole bunch of krauts!  Wait, is "krauts' a derogatory term? 

The Frog is a mystery.  A crime lord who wears a frog mask and commands a gang of 300 loyal and ruthless followers. For the past four years he has spread his wrath of murder, robbery, terrorism, and more murder all throughout England. On his tail is American playboy, Richard (Joachim Fuchsberger) and Detective Inspector Hedge (Siegrfied Lowitz). Fair is fair, if the Germans can culturally appropriate English and Americans, I can call them krauts.  So there.  Richard figures out the ultimate target of The Frog is the Bennet family...more specifically, he wants the lovely Bennet daughter Ella (Elfie von Kalckreuth) as his bride or lover. Too bad for this reptile wannabe, Richard has fallen in love with Ella and now sees it as his divine duty to protect her.

A lot happens in this film, but the theory is posed by Richard that Harry Lime did not die five years ago, but survived and moved to London.  Is Harry Lime The Frog?  The creep gets everywhere and corrupts every institution of the government.  Who else works for The Frog? Lolita (Eva Pflug).  Lolita is a nightclub songstress and is all seduction.  What happens to her at the hands of The Frog will shock you and give us one of the most vicious scenes in film history.  Richard seems to be outsmarted, as does the good inspector, at every turn.  The Frog takes and murders at will and now he makes his move on Ella.  He does this by seemingly annihilating any effort to stop him.  After a couple of sultry and seductive numbers by Lolita, she too will be grabbed.  What happens next is shocking and all loose ends will be tied up.

Just what will The Frog do to the two babes, Lolita and Ella?  Will Richard shake off his failures and regroup with the inspector to track down The Frog and save a couple of damsels?  Will Richard or The Frog end up with Ella?  This is a quirky one, as was "The Third Man."  For some neat West German cultural appropriation of England and America, see "Face of the Frog."