Day 14: Rosemary's Baby

14. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Dir: Roman Polanski
Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer...

Today's post regards a tense and dark thriller based off Ira Levin's 1967 novel of the same name and brought to life by who else but film auteur Roman Polanski. Where some films may initially scare you there others that tend to hit you on a deeper, more psychological level I definitely felt this after seeing the dark Horror/Drama that is Rosemary's Baby,

Originally a project pursued by notable horror director William Castle, who instead ended up producing and having a cameo, Paramount executive Robert Evans decided upon on hiring European director Roman Polanski to make his American film debut. Casting a young Mia Farrow in one of her first roles, John Cassavetes as her husband and an ensemble cast of veteran actors, Rosemary's Baby would become an instant success, even leading to an academy award for best supporting actress for Ruth Gordon and most importantly would be a classic entry into the timeline of horror movies.

Set in New York City, Rosemary's Baby is about a young couple; Rosemary Woodhouse and her actor husband Guy moving into the Bramford apartment complex, a building with somewhat of an unsavory past of tenants and events. Meeting their somewhat strange neighbors, an elderly couple Minnie Castevet (Ruth Gordon) and Roman (Sidney Blackmer), things already seem a bit off. Soon enough Guy lands a role in a play and the couple decides to have a baby. The night the decide to conceive they are visited by Minnie bringing Rosemary a strange tasting chocolate mousse. That night Rosemary has a bizarre dream about being raped by a demonic creature and the next thing you know she's pregnant... Only this is no ordinary pregnancy.



Rosemary's Baby isn't necessarily about the scares, rather it's more concentrated on building an atmosphere. The film is shot beautifully and excellently directed by Roman Polanski but as well made all the creepier by it's magnificent score by Krysztof Komeda, a frequent collaborator of Polanski in the 60s. The somewhat slow pacing only adds to the building tension and the film ends on quite a disturbing note.

Rosemary's Baby is definitely one of the finer examples of horror and drama blending to make a strong compelling piece of cinema and entertaining whether you're a horror fan or not.

Fright Fact: Mia Farrow does the vocals on the title-sequence lullaby.

Horror Highlight: The end is pretty eerie, but I wouldn't recommend watching this if you haven't seen the movie.

Day 13: The Haunting

13. The Haunting (1963)
Dir: Robert Wise
Cast: Julie Harris, Richard Johnson, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn

Based off one of the finest ghosts stories in the literary world, Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" written in 1959. This faithful adaptation is one of the most unique horror film's of it's time or any time for the matter in that you really don't see any ghosts. This film instead takes a much more psychological angle to create it's atmosphere and surprisingly it's still effective to this day. WIth heavy use of disturbing sound effects, quick camera movements and clever visual tricks, The Haunting builds up an ever present tension and really hits you where the best horror movies always should, in your mind.

Excellently adapted to the screen by frequent Wise collaborator Nelson Gidding, this eerily shot ghost story pits a research group of four people spending a few days in the infamous "Hill House". Eleanor Lance is the main focus of the film as were often put into her mind with a frequent inner monologue that over time slowly descends into a kind of madness. That really sums up the basic idea which although may sound simple is played upon with some very heavy themes and a very unsettling tone.



If anything this shows that acclaimed director Robert Wise could basically slip into any genre without any difficulties. Whether he was doing a musical, western, sci-fi or horror movie, where he got his start doing Val Lewton productions, he always managed to do any genre proud with strong production and crisp direction. The performances are definitely worth mention, as though feelings between them may get a little hectic and wear on the nerves, everyone gives their all. I am sure Shirley Jackson would of been proud of this movie but not of that terrible remake made in 1999.

Fright Fact: How about the fact that it was remade, that was pretty terrible

Horror Highlight:
Here's one of the many bizarre scenes in the movie that builds tension

Day 12: The Birds

12. The Birds (1963)
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright

What better film to follow up Hitchcock's infamous Psycho than with another legendary Hitchcock thriller The Birds. A front runner in the "revenge of nature" theme that would later influence the disaster films of the 70s, The Birds was at the time one of the most unconventional thrillers ever made. WIth a unique minimal score, fantastic cinematography from Robert Burks and strange

Starting out in San Francisco, The Birds tells the tale of wealthy socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) who while visiting the area to pick up a myna bird for her aunt meets a charming lawyer named Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). Leaving the shop with Mitch's address, Melanie drives to Mitch's home in Bodega Bay but is then mysteriously attacked by a vicious seagull. Soon enough an unexplained large scale avian attack occurs pitting Melanie, Mitch and other resident's of Bodega against the relentless force of nature that is The Birds!



A highly unique, stylish and entertaining thriller Hitchcock new how to grab an audience and this thrilling popcorn flick was a nice addition to his already impressive filmography.

Fright Fact: A remake starring Naomi Watts is set for release on July 3, 2009.

Horror Highlight: Any scene with those pesky birds

Day 11: Psycho

11. Psycho (1960)
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam

With the shower that shocked the world, today's post may have been the birth of the slasher but also a landmark film regarding style, story and especially violence. Possibly the greatest or at least most memorable film from film auteur Alfred Hitchcock Psycho, based off the novel by Robert Bloch, is a flawless piece of suspense with a timeless feel, still pulsating with plenty of scares and edge of your seat moments.

Inspired by a handful of 50s B-movies by Roger Corman and William Castle, that despite poor reviews had become hits, Hitch decided it was time to reinvent himself by making a low budget, black and white, suspense thriller that would prove to be his darkest film yet.

Hiring a rookie screenwriter Joseph Stefano to pen the controversial novel, the studio folks were skeptical about Hitch's risky venture into low budget violence with Paramount even refusing to finance the picture. So Hitch went to Universal studios, assembled a small crew from his show Alfred Hitchcock Presents and went out to make movie magic.. I'll bet Paramount were kicking themselves later.



Following the story of Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who after stealing $40,000 from her office flees to California, we are submerged into a stylish and tense world of dishonest people and devious deeds. Then while traveling one night through a heavy rain, Marion decides to take a detour at the Bates Motel where nothing is quite as it seems. Owned by a young innocent man by the name of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who claims to live at the motel with his mother, there's just something a bit off about young Norman and the mood at Bates Motel and that's when everything gets out of control. With one of the most shocking twists in film set surprisingly in the middle, this is a creepy unpredictable suspense story. Not to mention the great supporting cast that pops in here and there including; Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire and Simon Oakland who are memorable additions to this disturbing story.

The score by frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann is a terrifying piece of orchestral stings and screeching while the cinematography is artistic perfection. How could we go without mentioning the legendary shower scene, one of the most unique sequences in film history. Story-boarded by graphic designer Saul Bass with a little bit of mystery behind who directed it, the shower scene, which contains an impressive 50 cuts, is one of the most inventive scenes you'll ever see in a movie and is to this day is still highly effective.

I could talk about Psycho all day but I got to draw the line somewhere. If you like psychological thrillers and haven't seen this than your probably a psycho yourself, so you should definitely check this out you wont regret it.

Fright Fact: First American film ever to show a toilet flushing on screen

Horror Highlight: I think you guess what I'm gonna post here

Day 10: House on Haunted Hill

10. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Dir William Castle
Cast: Vincent Price, Carolyn Craig, Elisha Cook Jr, Carol Ohmart...

One of the only movies that I own a shirt of depicting the film's poster, this off the wall 50s cult classic is probably just as notable as the film's legendary director William Castle, the king of the gimmick. Whether it was handing out life insurance policies to audiences before seeing his 1958 film Macabre or floating inflatable skeleton's above audiences seeing the film we speak of today, the eccentric Castle loved to spook people with a great enthusiasm and left behind some pretty entertaining horror flicks, especially with this 1959 film.

Set around the scenario of a small group of people being challenged to stay in a haunted house to receive $10,000. House on Haunted Hill is more or less a big excuse to set up all sorts of scares involving; ghosts, murders and other terrors, but hey I ain't complaining. This movie is just good old fashioned fun and highly entertaining for fans of vintage horror. The highly talented Vincent Price leads a fun ensemble cast into plenty of twists and turns leaving for a surprisingly unpredictable viewing experience.



William Castle's low budget B-movies weren't great cinematic achievements but he did what he loved and it really rubs off an the audience. There's been some pretty crappy remakes of some of his films such as this one and 13 Ghosts (1960) but no way are those films half as memorable as an campy Castle outing. And even if these films were somewhat cheesy it was always a treat to see a talent like Vincent Price capture us with his serio-comic attitude and classic eerie speaking voice. SImply put this is what effective B-movie horror is all about.

Fright Fact: Inspired Alfred Hitchcock to make Psycho

Horror Highlight:All I could find were 10 minutes scenes from the movie, so I'll just give you the trailer.

Day 9: The Creature from the Black Lagoon

9. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Dir: Jack Arnold
Cast: Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno

Now I often given this film a pretty hard time. I think it's cheesy, melodramatic and somewhat dry, but you just can't deny it's importance in the genre and for it's showcase of another classic Universal Monster.

Directed by veteran horror/sci-fi director Jack Arnold, this 50s Universal monster movie made quite a splash scaring audiences back in 1954 due do it's terrifying title creature known as "The Creature" or sometimes "Gill Man". With a fantastically crafted monster suit I guess this film didn't need much else to win over the heart's of horror fans.

Set in the Amazon this film tells the story of a group expedition looking for a supposed "missing link" after an unidentifiable skeletal hand is discovered. Sailing aboard a tramp steamer, the group discovers the remains of an earlier research team and soon enough fall prey to the clutches of the lagoon's creepiest inhabitant "The Creature".



Now as cheesy or so-so as I may say this film is, I think a lot of classic horror fans could at least find some suitable entertainment here. Like I said the costume is fantastic so I guess you could say this film looks pretty good, as that was always an important aspect to Universal's monster movies. Why even Universal's worst were far better than most other horror movies of the time. So just because I don't really like it doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out, it was probably one of the last notable monster movies before sci-fi took over the rest of the decade.

Fright Fact: There's supposedly been a remake in the works for a while with a script penned by none other than Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) whose father was a co-writer on the original film.

Horror Highlight: any scene with that slimy creature, this was the best I could find.

Day 8: The Thing from Another World

9. The Thing from Another World (1951)
Dir: Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks (Uncredited)
Cast: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Douglas Spencer, James Arness

With an almost ten year gap between this post and my last I thought I should explain myself. Seeing as there were so many films I wanted concentrate on further decades I decided to cut back significantly on the 40s, but I'd still like to pay my respects to some other films finishing off that decade, most notably a handful of the films produced by Val Lewton such as; Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and The Body Snatcher (1941), which was one of Robert Wise's first films. Anyways let's get on to our next frightening feature.

Breaking into the 50s we have one of the most influential sci-fi/monster movies to come out of the Atomic Age of film The Thing from Another World, produced, co-written and co-directed by veteran filmmaker Howard Hawks. Based off the 1948 short story by John W. Campbell Jr. The Thing from Another World tells the story of an Alaskan research group who after discovering a frozen extraterrestrial played by the intimidating 6'8ft tall James Arness, later of Gunsmoke fame, become pitted against this deadly vegetable man in some somewhat sticky situations.



A well produced film, The Thing from Another World is a finely crafted and sharp sci-fi thriller. Where as many other film's to come out of this blossoming genre were often cheesy and cheap looking pictures, this film was as fine as any other Hollywood project. With a large talented ensemble cast and some pretty creepy sequences this was pretty good considering all it aimed to be was a suitable monster movie.

Though probably overshadowed today by the fantastic 80s remake, there's still a lot to like in this vintage piece of sci-fi spookiness and worth a peek if your a fan of the remake.

Fright Fact:The scene in which The Thing is doused with kerosene and set ablaze is believed to be the first full body burn accomplished by a stunt man.

Horror Highlight: The final confrontation