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Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
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1873. New Mexico Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town...
Devious Dungeon 2
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Devious Dungeon 2 is a medieval action platforming game by the creators of Random Heroes and League...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated House of Frankenstein (1944) in Movies
Jun 18, 2020 (Updated Jun 18, 2020)
Get The Gang All Together: The Crossover
House of Frankenstein- is the ultimate monster crossover. It has Frankenstein, Dracula played by John Carradine, the Hunchback and the Wolf-Man played by Lon Chaney Jr. and a mad scientist played by Boris Karloff.
This "monster rally" approach would continue in the following film, House of Dracula, as well as the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
The plot: After escaping from prison, the evil Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his hunchbacked assistant, Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), plot their revenge against those who imprisoned them. For this, they recruit the powerful Wolf Man (Lon Chaney), Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and even Dracula himself (John Carradine). Niemann pursues those who wrong him, sending each monster out to do his dirty work. But his control on the monsters is weak at best and may prove to be his downfall.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) had been the first on-screen pairing of two Universal Studios monsters, but The House of Frankenstein was the first multi-monster movie. Early drafts of the story reportedly involved more characters from the Universal stable, including the Mummy, the Ape Woman, the Mad Ghoul, and possibly the Invisible Man. Working titles—which included Chamber of Horrors (a reference to Lampini's travelling horror show) and The Devil's Brood—emphasized the multi-monster nature of the story.
The multi-monster approach, which emphasized box office appeal over continuity, was used in House of Dracula the following year and later in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The House of Frankenstein marked Glenn Strange's debut as the monster. Strange, a former cowboy, had been a minor supporting player in dozens of low-budget Westerns over the preceding 15 years. He reprised the role in House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and cemented the popular image of the monster as shambling, clumsy, and inarticulate. Boris Karloff, who had moved on from playing the monster to playing the mad scientist, reportedly coached Strange on how to play the role.
Some continuity errors are evident in the finished film. After Dracula is thrown from the carriage, he looks over to where his coffin has landed; in a close-up, part of his mustache is gone. Also, when Talbot transforms into the Wolf Man for the final time, his hands lack fur.
Karloff's performance in this film is his last in Universal's classic horror cycle.
Its a fun entertaining movie starring the uninversal monsters.
This "monster rally" approach would continue in the following film, House of Dracula, as well as the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
The plot: After escaping from prison, the evil Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his hunchbacked assistant, Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), plot their revenge against those who imprisoned them. For this, they recruit the powerful Wolf Man (Lon Chaney), Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and even Dracula himself (John Carradine). Niemann pursues those who wrong him, sending each monster out to do his dirty work. But his control on the monsters is weak at best and may prove to be his downfall.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) had been the first on-screen pairing of two Universal Studios monsters, but The House of Frankenstein was the first multi-monster movie. Early drafts of the story reportedly involved more characters from the Universal stable, including the Mummy, the Ape Woman, the Mad Ghoul, and possibly the Invisible Man. Working titles—which included Chamber of Horrors (a reference to Lampini's travelling horror show) and The Devil's Brood—emphasized the multi-monster nature of the story.
The multi-monster approach, which emphasized box office appeal over continuity, was used in House of Dracula the following year and later in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The House of Frankenstein marked Glenn Strange's debut as the monster. Strange, a former cowboy, had been a minor supporting player in dozens of low-budget Westerns over the preceding 15 years. He reprised the role in House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and cemented the popular image of the monster as shambling, clumsy, and inarticulate. Boris Karloff, who had moved on from playing the monster to playing the mad scientist, reportedly coached Strange on how to play the role.
Some continuity errors are evident in the finished film. After Dracula is thrown from the carriage, he looks over to where his coffin has landed; in a close-up, part of his mustache is gone. Also, when Talbot transforms into the Wolf Man for the final time, his hands lack fur.
Karloff's performance in this film is his last in Universal's classic horror cycle.
Its a fun entertaining movie starring the uninversal monsters.
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated The Wolf Man (1941) in Movies
May 25, 2017
A classic Universal Monster Movie (2 more)
Lon Chaney Jr
Claude Rains
Even a Man who is pure of heart....
Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms, and the Autumn moon is bright.
Heard that before in other werewolf movies, well this was it's origin. Created purely for the film, this poem even had some people believing it was an original folklore saying. If you have watched a handful of werewolf movies, then you will have noticed a lot of similarities;
- Silver bullets
- Wolfsbane
- Full Moon
- Not being able to retreat their acts from their loved ones
- Pentagrams
- Gypsies
- Gypsy Curses
- A Bite or scratch from the werewolf turns you
Some of these were originally created by the writers working on this film, and have become stereotypes that inspire many other werewolf films, TV Shows, Books, and Games etc.
The portrayal of Lawrence Talbot, by Lon Chaney Jr. is one that makes the classic Universal Monsters so special. Just like Frankenstein's Monster, the audiences of the 40's would have been frightened and horrified by these creatures, enough so that they wouldn't realise that they are in actual fact, suppose to sympathize with them, because when you watch the creatures being chased and hunted,the angry mobs fail to understand that these creatures never wanted this. Frankenstein's Monster never asked to be created, or to have the brain of a criminal mistakenly placed into his head instead of that of a civilized man. Larry Talbot never asked for the Wolf Man's curse, which he encountered whilst trying to save the life of a young female friend of his love interest.
With a great story and, at the time, revolutionary stop motion effects for the wolf man transformation, but of course the most important aspect, the beautifully crafted practical effects, the makeup that brings the creature to life, is incredible. My favourite of the classic Universal Monster Movies and one of my favourite movies of all time.
Heard that before in other werewolf movies, well this was it's origin. Created purely for the film, this poem even had some people believing it was an original folklore saying. If you have watched a handful of werewolf movies, then you will have noticed a lot of similarities;
- Silver bullets
- Wolfsbane
- Full Moon
- Not being able to retreat their acts from their loved ones
- Pentagrams
- Gypsies
- Gypsy Curses
- A Bite or scratch from the werewolf turns you
Some of these were originally created by the writers working on this film, and have become stereotypes that inspire many other werewolf films, TV Shows, Books, and Games etc.
The portrayal of Lawrence Talbot, by Lon Chaney Jr. is one that makes the classic Universal Monsters so special. Just like Frankenstein's Monster, the audiences of the 40's would have been frightened and horrified by these creatures, enough so that they wouldn't realise that they are in actual fact, suppose to sympathize with them, because when you watch the creatures being chased and hunted,the angry mobs fail to understand that these creatures never wanted this. Frankenstein's Monster never asked to be created, or to have the brain of a criminal mistakenly placed into his head instead of that of a civilized man. Larry Talbot never asked for the Wolf Man's curse, which he encountered whilst trying to save the life of a young female friend of his love interest.
With a great story and, at the time, revolutionary stop motion effects for the wolf man transformation, but of course the most important aspect, the beautifully crafted practical effects, the makeup that brings the creature to life, is incredible. My favourite of the classic Universal Monster Movies and one of my favourite movies of all time.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Horrified: Universal Monsters Strategy Board Game in Tabletop Games
Oct 31, 2020
Horrified is a co-op board game based on the beloved Universal Monsters properties, and it's pretty damn fun.
First off, I love this series of movies. I recently bought a Blu-Ray boxset of them that I've been slowly working through, and they are still as entertaining now as they were when I was a kid.
Horrified pits 2-5 players against a selection of these horror icons, requiring them to complete character specific tasks before ultimately attempting to defeat whichever beast chosen, saving villagers along the way.
The roster is made up of Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and his Bride, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Each monster brings different objectives to the table in order to slay them, adding a large amount of variety to multiple games.
You can also play around with the amount of monsters you take on at once, adding different levels of difficulty to proceedings.
At first glance, the rules and many game pieces can seen overwhelming, but once the understanding sets in (there's an extremely handy tutorial video on the games official YouTube channel), it's a fun and sometimes tense experience, that is easy enough for any player to grasp.
It really does rely heavily on co-op and strategy to secure a victory, if you don't work together, then death is all but guaranteed!
I would happily recommend Horrified to any board game fan, especially those who like a bit of horror thrown in for good measure.
A huge thank you to @Smashbomb for sending me this via a giveaway (seriously go and apply to them!). Nice one!
First off, I love this series of movies. I recently bought a Blu-Ray boxset of them that I've been slowly working through, and they are still as entertaining now as they were when I was a kid.
Horrified pits 2-5 players against a selection of these horror icons, requiring them to complete character specific tasks before ultimately attempting to defeat whichever beast chosen, saving villagers along the way.
The roster is made up of Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and his Bride, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Each monster brings different objectives to the table in order to slay them, adding a large amount of variety to multiple games.
You can also play around with the amount of monsters you take on at once, adding different levels of difficulty to proceedings.
At first glance, the rules and many game pieces can seen overwhelming, but once the understanding sets in (there's an extremely handy tutorial video on the games official YouTube channel), it's a fun and sometimes tense experience, that is easy enough for any player to grasp.
It really does rely heavily on co-op and strategy to secure a victory, if you don't work together, then death is all but guaranteed!
I would happily recommend Horrified to any board game fan, especially those who like a bit of horror thrown in for good measure.
A huge thank you to @Smashbomb for sending me this via a giveaway (seriously go and apply to them!). Nice one!
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) in Movies
Dec 21, 2020
I've reviewed a few musicals here and there, and always feel I need to make a comment about how I don't really like musicals in general... The Rocky Horror Picture Show is of course a huge tight wearing exception to this stubborn rule of thumb I have.
TRHPS is just a blast from start to finish. Richard O'brien's song writing is top notch - it's clever, catchy, cheesy when it needs to be, funny, and classy.
Pretty much every character is iconic, none more so than Tim Curry's Frank-N-Furter, easily the most sympathetic, enthralling, occasionally psychopathic mad transvestite scientist to ever grace a cinema screen - definitely in my top 10 movie characters of all time.
Beneath all of the absurdity is a solid narrative, that is equal parts weird and tragic, and manages to meld together B-Movie schlock, Universal Monsters vibes, dark comedy, rock n' roll, and cheesy horror, and does it all phenomenally well. It's a joy to watch all these years later.
Rocky Horror was ahead of its time in many ways, and is the ultimate cult movie. It's a damn masterpiece.
TRHPS is just a blast from start to finish. Richard O'brien's song writing is top notch - it's clever, catchy, cheesy when it needs to be, funny, and classy.
Pretty much every character is iconic, none more so than Tim Curry's Frank-N-Furter, easily the most sympathetic, enthralling, occasionally psychopathic mad transvestite scientist to ever grace a cinema screen - definitely in my top 10 movie characters of all time.
Beneath all of the absurdity is a solid narrative, that is equal parts weird and tragic, and manages to meld together B-Movie schlock, Universal Monsters vibes, dark comedy, rock n' roll, and cheesy horror, and does it all phenomenally well. It's a joy to watch all these years later.
Rocky Horror was ahead of its time in many ways, and is the ultimate cult movie. It's a damn masterpiece.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Mummy (2017) in Movies
Feb 11, 2018 (Updated Feb 11, 2018)
Oh, Mummy.
Laborious attempt by Universal to grab a slice of Marvel's meta-franchise pie by launching a series of fantasy blockbusters based on their stable of famous monster characters. Tom Cruise plays an annoying mercenary who catches the eye of an ancient and evil supernatural creature unearthed in Iraq.
There's a good reason why sensible studios don't try to make horror blockbusters, and especially horror blockbusters starring Tom Cruise - every time the film starts to be effectively creepy or atmospheric, along comes a CGI-enhanced chase sequence, or Tom Cruise doing that smirk, or some other manifestation of corporate blandness. Isn't Tom Cruise too old for this sort of thing? Watching him flirting with a considerably younger actress is by far the creepiest thing in the movie, and he seems quite incapable of the moral ambiguity the part probably requires - Russell Crowe, in the Samuel L Jackson plot-device-character role, acts him off the screen.
You scratch your head wondering how this thing is supposed to work - are all the monsters going to team up together? And do what, exactly? No-one seems to have thought this through. It's much more of a zombie movie than one about an actual mummy, anyway. The depiction of the one-way system in Oxford City Centre is also very misleading; I nearly knocked off a point because of it.
There's a good reason why sensible studios don't try to make horror blockbusters, and especially horror blockbusters starring Tom Cruise - every time the film starts to be effectively creepy or atmospheric, along comes a CGI-enhanced chase sequence, or Tom Cruise doing that smirk, or some other manifestation of corporate blandness. Isn't Tom Cruise too old for this sort of thing? Watching him flirting with a considerably younger actress is by far the creepiest thing in the movie, and he seems quite incapable of the moral ambiguity the part probably requires - Russell Crowe, in the Samuel L Jackson plot-device-character role, acts him off the screen.
You scratch your head wondering how this thing is supposed to work - are all the monsters going to team up together? And do what, exactly? No-one seems to have thought this through. It's much more of a zombie movie than one about an actual mummy, anyway. The depiction of the one-way system in Oxford City Centre is also very misleading; I nearly knocked off a point because of it.
The Sky Is Yours
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A sprawling, genre-defying epic set in a dystopian metropolis plagued by dragons, this debut about...
science fiction fantasy
Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated The Great Wall (2016) in Movies
Jul 12, 2019
Universal Studios and Legendary’s latest monster film is from the brilliant mind of Zhang Yimou. I must say that though this was a Yimou film I was not really intrigued with the trailer and almost skipped it however I’m glad that I didn’t!
William (Matt Damon) and Toval (Pedro Pascal) are mercenaries trying to make it rich. They are on a mission in China on the lookout for legendary exploding black powder. Instead they find a huge Great Wall and are mystified as to why it was built and what it is trying to keep out. The Tao Tei, are prehistoric looking monsters who are a danger to all of humanity and the only thing stopping them is the wall. William is a skilled archer and Toval a witty fighter. With their help they might be able to save humanity from the onslaught of the Tao Tei.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and found it extremely entertaining. The action and unexpected humor is what sold it for me. The casting of Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal was brilliantly thought out and kept the audience laughing with the duos chemistry and how well they played off of each other.
Despite all of the controversy about having Matt Damon as the lead in a Chinese film is crazy and I think Zhang has made the right choice in doing so. To be successful in the American film industry sometimes you have to use a big star to bring in big results. Though the story and script are basic and easy to follow the action, scenery, costumes and humor are fantastic and what makes the film great. This film should definitely be viewed with the 3D option as it fully immerses the audience into and becomes a part of the story. A lot of CGI was used and though normally I am not a fan of a lot of CGI, it works with the film rather than against it. I would definitely recommend this film but the monsters might be too much for kids to handle in 3D.
William (Matt Damon) and Toval (Pedro Pascal) are mercenaries trying to make it rich. They are on a mission in China on the lookout for legendary exploding black powder. Instead they find a huge Great Wall and are mystified as to why it was built and what it is trying to keep out. The Tao Tei, are prehistoric looking monsters who are a danger to all of humanity and the only thing stopping them is the wall. William is a skilled archer and Toval a witty fighter. With their help they might be able to save humanity from the onslaught of the Tao Tei.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and found it extremely entertaining. The action and unexpected humor is what sold it for me. The casting of Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal was brilliantly thought out and kept the audience laughing with the duos chemistry and how well they played off of each other.
Despite all of the controversy about having Matt Damon as the lead in a Chinese film is crazy and I think Zhang has made the right choice in doing so. To be successful in the American film industry sometimes you have to use a big star to bring in big results. Though the story and script are basic and easy to follow the action, scenery, costumes and humor are fantastic and what makes the film great. This film should definitely be viewed with the 3D option as it fully immerses the audience into and becomes a part of the story. A lot of CGI was used and though normally I am not a fan of a lot of CGI, it works with the film rather than against it. I would definitely recommend this film but the monsters might be too much for kids to handle in 3D.