Tag Archives: Jill Haworth

Horror On The Lens: Haunted House of Horror (dir by Michael Armstrong)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

First released in 1969, The Haunted House of Horror features a group of 20-somethings who, bored with the usual parties, decide to that it might be a kick to hang out in a supposedly haunted mansion.  Once they’re in the mansion, they decide that it might be even more fun to hold a seance!

(Seriously, what is the deal with people holding séances in haunted mansions?  That really seems like the last place where you would want to mess with potentially malevolent spirits!)

The party becomes much less fun once someone starts killing off the group, one-by-one.

This film is notable for two reasons.  First off, it features Frankie Avalon in one of his attempts to break free of his Beach Party typecasting.  Secondly, the role of Richard, who is played by Julian Barnes, was originally offered to a young singer named David Bowie.  Reportedly, Bowie was quite excited about doing the film but, in the end, the producers worries that he and Frankie Avalon would not get along.  I’m not sure why.  David Bowie had a sense of humor and, judging from his Casino cameo, so does Frankie.

Killer Christmas: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (ABC-TV Movie 1972)

Posted on by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

Four daughters reunite at the old family homestead during Christmas to visit their estranged, dying father. Sounds like the perfect recipe for one of those sticky-sweet Hallmark movies, right? Wrong, my little elves! HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, originally broadcast as part of ABC-TV’s “Movie of the Week” series (1969-1975) is part proto-slasher, part psycho-biddie shocker, and a whole lot of fun! It plays kind of like a 70’s exploitation film, only with a high-powered cast that includes Sally Field, Eleanor Parker, Julie Harris , and Walter Brennan, a script by Joseph (PSYCHO) Stefano, and direction courtesy of John Llwellyn Moxey (HORROR HOTEL, THE NIGHT STALKER).

Rich old Benjamin Morgan (Brennan) has summoned his daughters home on a dark and stormy Christmas Eve, claiming his second wife Elizabeth (Harris) is slowly poisoning him to death. Elizabeth was once ‘suspected’ of poisoning her first husband (though never proven) and spent some time…

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Horror On The Lens: It! (dir by Herbert J. Leder)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s Horror on the Lens, we are happy to present It!, a Hammer-style British horror film from 1966.

In It!, Roddy McDowall plays Arthur Pimm.  Arthur works as an assistant at a museum and, needless to say, he’s eager to move up in his profession.  There’s nothing unusual about that.  And I guess you could argue that, while it’s certainly not ideal, it’s not necessarily unusual that Arthur still lives with his mother.  What is unusual is that Arthur’s mother happens to be dead.

That right — Arthur is totally and completely insane.

As you can probably guess, Arthur is probably the last person who should have control of the immortal and indestructible Golem.  But that’s exactly what happens!  Soon, Arthur is using the Golem to kill his enemies and kidnap the woman that he loves.

Needless to say, things end with a bang.

Along with being a time capsule of 1966, It! is worth watching for Roddy McDowall’s memorably unhinged lead performance.