Category Archives: Monster Movies

A Month of Horror, Monster Movies

Month of Horror (XXVI) – The Brain Eaters

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A strange cone appears near the town of Riverdale, Illinois. Wanting to impress Veronica and Betty, Archie Andrews goes to the cone and…

Wait. Not that Riverdale?

Huh.

Actually this is a sneaky adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters, And, like Ruby, this is a disappointment. You have alien creatures that hang off the victims neck and not once, not once, do our heroes think to, I dunno, check people’s necks?

Unlike Ruby, though, this film knows what it wants to be. An American International Picture, it’s cheap but well made.

Except for the silly aliens, which we see too much of.

But that said, I enjoyed it, it develops a certain amount of tension despite its flaws. Not bad at all.

A Month of Horror, Monster Movies, Review Site, Short Film

Month of Horror (I) – Chainsaw Bunny

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I was, and still am, a big fan of the short Chainsaw Maid. It’s the classic tale of a young maid defending the family she works for from invading zombies with some weapon or tool or another, I don’t know, I can’t remember everything. Short, about six minutes in length. Perfect for a Month of Horrors series.

I should know.

I’ve used it before.

And I was going to use it again to start of this years attempt. Buuut I saw this sequel, Chainsaw Bunny. And as I hadn’t watched it before, I went with it instead.

Spoilers from here on.

The short starts with a young Bunny Girl (waitress type) out on the street trying to lure in custom to her bar. She runs into one man, a smiling, friendly sort, whom seems interested.

Unfortunately this guy has a tentacle for a tongue. We’ll call him Hentai from here on out.

The Bunny girl leads Hentai inside. There we find behind the bar but Chainsaw Maid herself (from here Chainsaw Bunny).

It’s not clear if this really is the same girl as from the earlier short, as the clay model they use isn’t identical. Let’s just go with it, as it explains later events.

Hentai doesn’t waste much time with romance. He tries to eat our favorite Chainsaw lady, first by grabbing her with a tentacle then pulling her into a fanged mouth. Her friend manages to help Our Hero escape and between the two of them they brutally kill their attacker.

Except it doesn’t stick.

Tentacles spring from Hentai’s remains. In short order they reform into multiple Hentais.

Multiple naked Hentais. Which we see on full display.

Gee.

Thanks.

The two Bunnies run into the backroom with the world’s nastiest streakers in full pursuit. There, for reasons known only to the writer, Chainsaw Bunny keeps her chainsaw.

Doesn’t bar?

Chainsaw Bunny goes to work and is as efficient as ever with her weapon of choice. But the Hentais are still able to attack even chopped up. Before she knows it, Our Hero is on the ground, about to die. Or worse.

That’s when the other Bunny returns to the fray. With an Ax.

Call her Ax Bunny.

Between the two of them, the Hentais are defeated. But oh no! There’s a cop at the front door! The two of them are covered in blood with no way of explaining themselves!

Fear not, for the cop turns out to be another Hentai.

Relieved, Ax Bunny and Chainsaw Bunny attack!

Which is how the short ends.

It’s not a bad short. It’s rather entertaining.

It’s just not as good as Chainsaw Maid. That worthy had a better, more coherent story. More personality for the characters, which leads to caring more about what happens to them.

In fairness Chainsaw Maid runs is about a minute longer. Still, it’s compelling in ways this short can’t even hope for.

That said I still found Chainsaw Bunny a gory, fun little romp. Worth a watch, even with all the plot points revealed.

A Month of Horror, Monster Movies

[MOH – XI] The Sound of Horror

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Treasurer hunters unleash an invisible prehistoric horror.

Hey, I’ve been watching. Just haven’t been posting.

Anyways, this was a pleasant surprise. It’s no worse than most B-Science Fiction films. A little too talky in the beginning, a trifle slow here and there. I felt, though, it picked up nice towards the end, despite a rather silly attempt to fight the monster. Most of the Special Effects come in at the end and are so-so.

Honestly, a tighter script, bigger budget, and you’d really might have something.

I’d say a low good. I liked it and will watch it again in future.

This was a part of a Horror Movie collection I’ve had for years. Never watched it till now. Kind of sorry I waited.

Oh! This is also this was the first film for Ingrid Pitt, Vampire Lover extraordinaire. She made a place for herself in Doctor Who history as the only person to try karate on a dinosaur.

It wasn’t super effective.

3 out of 4

A Month of Horror, Monster Movies

[A MONTH OF MONSTERS – IX] The She Creature

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A hypnotist has access to a prehistoric monster.

Not a bad way to start the week. This is a nice little B-Picture about past life regression and all the harm it can do if you metally regress a beautiful woman back to prehistoric times.

Or something.

Well acted with a decent monster suit and decent acting. It ain’t scary, but it works as entertainment (1.5 points). I liked it and wouldn’t mind seeing it again (1.5 points).

Oh, I’ve been using AI to create the headers to various effects. The above image? Nothing like the real monster.

3 out of 4 points

A Month of Horror, Monster Movies, Short Film, Summation

[A MONTH OF HORROR – VII] Francis and a Summation of the First Week

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A girl rows out to the middle of the wrong lake.

Thought I watched this for a Month of Horror. The second one, in fact. As that’s in the archives and not easily gotten to, I’m reprinting what I said here about the short:

So I’m looking for an animated Horror short to watch on YouTube. This one looked interesting to me for whatever reason, and I clicked on it. As it loaded up, I thought I’d look for another one after I was done here. A cartoon about a young woman going to the center of a lake, where something knocks at the bottom of her boat. Thought it was called Knock, Knock.

It wasn’t. It was called Francis.

Well I thought it was a funny coincidence.

That out of the way, this is a nice little feature, with only one or two missteps along the way. These are Cullen Carps, though, and we can ignore them safely.

(Well, no, let’s hit one: we see the underside of the boat when the knocker should be there and see nothing. Shouldn’t have done that.)

Everything else, though, works. It’s narrated, and the narrator does a hell of a job selling the story. Even without the animation, just listening to it, you’d have a nice chill going for you.

No points given in that golden oldie. So here’s what I thought about tonight’s viewing:

4 out of 4

Summation of Week One

This is what was watched:

  • House on Haunted Hill (1959)
  • The White Reindeer (1952)
  • House on Eden (2025)
  • Suspiria (1977)
  • The Vampire (1957)
  • Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory (1961)
  • Francis [SHORT] (2013)

Best Movie of the Week

This was a great week for Horror, with only one stumbling block out of the bunch. I’m going to give the nod to Suspiria, as that never fails to delight me. Honestly, though? It could easy be a six way tie as far as I’m concerned here and now.

Worst Movie of the Week

Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory. Hands down. Not a chill to be found. The Vampire is a better werewolf movie.

Unintended Themes 

Three werewolf movies and three movies out of the Fifties. I don’t care, just noting something interesting

Biggest Surprise

 House on Haunted Hill. That one was creepy, and I’d seen it before. Most interesting.

Newest Film Watched

House on Eden at 2025.

Oldest Film Watched

The White Reindeer at 1952.

Best Monster Flick

Francis.

One week down, three more to go!

A Month of Horror, Monster Movies

[A MONTH OF HORROR – VI] Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory

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A werewolf stalks around a girl’s dormitory

The title makes it sound more interesting than it is. It’s dubbed, so I couldn’t tell about the acting. The story… meanders. The werewolf looks awful.

It’s a movie I’ve seen. Though I kind of liked it…

God, my taste is horrible.

I’ve been using AI for the headers in this series. The above one? Not only is it scarier than the flick in question, it doesn’t even remotely look like the werewolf in this picture.

2.5 out of 4

A Month of Horror, Monster Movies

[A MONTH OF HORROR – V] The Vampire

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Taking the wrong pill changes a small town doctor.

I picked this because of its short run time. I got plenty of bonuses to go with it.

First off, this stars Kenneth Tobey, star of The Thing from Another World. He brings a lot to a flick, and this one is no exception. Though, frankly, he’s underused.

Then there was the movie itself. I’d avoided it for years because it’s more Sci Fi than Horror. That was a mistake. This is a entertain film, well made, if questionable in its science (which, thankfully, it doesn’t go into much.) The protagonist (not Tobey) probably should have acted sooner in handling the matter, but I’ll let that slide.

I’ll also let the FX slide. They ain’t primo, just enough to get the job done. But I’ve seen worse.

All in all, I had fun with this one.

Amusingly enough, this is about as much a Werewolf flick as a Vampire one.

3 out of 4

A Month of Horror, Monster Movies

[A Month of Horror – II] The White Reindeer

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A herder’s wife transforms into a white reindeer that leads hunters to their doom.

This is a 1952 Finnish Horror flick that frankly makes no sense to me. This young woman seems happily married to a reindeer herder. One day, though, while her husband is away, she heads off to a local wizard. She wants him to make her a love potion that makes her irresistible to men. What happens instead is she periodically transforms into a white reindeer, then leads men off to their doom.

Why she wants this potion is never explained. Why she now transforms into a reindeer is never explained.

You’d think she’d kill the men as a reindeer. Not the case. Instead, she changes into her real form, only with vampire teeth. Which is not explained.

I dunno. Maybe it’s a cultural thing I’m not getting.

What I am getting is a creepy vibe from the proceedings. There’s a expressionistic silent movie vibe to the proceedings. Long shots of empty snowy wilderness. Not a lot of talking–this film made me realize how chatty American movies are.

There’s no special effects to speak of. The murders all take place off screen. This is only noted in passing, and not a note passing judgment.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. Not a bad little flick. I rather liked it.

3 out of 4