Here we go... We all know tropes can be really tiresome and that every genre has them. There are times, however, when tropes don't feel like tropes, even in B-movies, and 1963's The Haunted Palace is one of those times. Directed by Roger Corman, it's at once a typical American International Pictures low-budget horror movie and … Continue reading When Tropes Feel New-ish
Service With A Smile
Well, hello, Mr. Kaye... It's no secret that during the Second World War the public were to never quite forget the current situation, and movies that promoted everyone getting in on the fight were especially welcome by the Office of War Information, but I have to wonder how prepared they were for 1944's Up In … Continue reading Service With A Smile
Somewhere Over the Film Noir
Betty Grable and Carole Landis don't really come to mind when one thinks of film noir. They're fun and nice and pretty and hardly the type for dark and stormy nights, but dark and stormy is exactly what they get in 1941's I Wake Up Screaming, a murder mystery based on the Steve Fisher novel, Hot Spot. Well, … Continue reading Somewhere Over the Film Noir
Home Sweet Haunt
Mwahahaha... Even the dark house subgenre has its cliches. The jumpscare. The dark and stormy night. The literal skeletons (and maybe various body parts) falling out of closets. Lots of screaming. Oh, and let's not forget the Spend-the-Night-In-the-House-And-Win-Something trope. 1958's House On Haunted Hill ticks all these boxes, adding in a bit of camp and the … Continue reading Home Sweet Haunt
Taking Up Room 