Happy Anniversary, Horror Blog!

Both John & Warren must be kindred spirits or long long relations or something ’cause they’ve listed a half dozen of my all time favs amoung them in their two posts. Six that rank VERY high up in my personal top ten or so.

While THE HAUNTING has been considered a genre classic ever since it’s theatrical release back in 1999 … WHOA, just kidding of course! … back in the early ’60s, Carpenter’s PRINCE OF DARKNESS has very rarely gotten it’s just due as a classic in it’s own right. It’s easily his most under-appreciated work IMHO.
I consider it an integral part of the director’s unofficial Lovecraft trilogy bookended by THE THING & IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS.

As for the Argento films mentioned, I LOVE me some DEEP RED & PHENOMENA. As much as I adore his other giallos, DEEP RED has always been my favorite. Going all the way back to when the only way I got to watch it was on that old muddy, edited, pan & scanned VHS tape that I wore out.
PHENOMENA? An awesome mix of giallo elements & the supernatural thriller. An all time favorite ever since I first saw it on tape in truncated form as CREEPERS.

What can I say about TCM that hasn’t already been said about it?
My first exposure to it was when it was released in my area on a double bill with the Bruce Lee classic RETURN OF THE DRAGON in 1974. I was only 12 or 13 at the time & it left an indelible impression on me by seeing it that young. Though I was a lifelong horror/monster movie fan, I wasn’t quite ready for TCM at that time. It REALLY fucked me up! I had a had a difficult time sleeping for a solid week or two after seeing it.
Of course I eventually “grew into it” & by the time I saw it again during a subsequent re-release further into my teens, I loved it. And it still stands as the most intense, unrelenting horror film in history in my book.

Onto what I often call my personal all time favorite film of all ( I sometimes bestow that honor on THE EXORCIST too though, it’s just too close to call really, but for tonight it’s ) HORROR HOTEL. Another all too often overlooked & under-appreciated gem that I never tire of ( though I now save my annual viewing of it for on or around Halloween, a treat that further adds to my enjoyment of what is my favorite holiday season ).
I’m an absolute sucker for atmospheric horror films, of the sub-genre of films that deals with horrific happenings in isolated, backwoods little towns, as well as centuries old curses & evil sects. ALL of which HORROR HOTEL ( aka CITY OF THE DEAD ) has in spades!