The Horror of IT All (1983)
*** (out of 4)
Jose Ferrer narrates this documentary that takes a look at the history of horror films. We get interviews with John Carradine, Roger Corman, Gloria Stuart, Dana Andrews, Robert Bloch, Herman Cohen, Curtis Harrington and Rouben Mamoulian among others.
The documentary pretty much traces the horror films starting with the German movies from the 1920s and then moving through the American silent pictures, the Universal monsters, low-budget shockers from Monogram, the Val Lewton productions, the radioactive monsters and throughout all of this we get clips from the movies as well as comments from those involved in them.
Watching this film today, there's no question that the highlight are the interviews with the filmmakers who are no longer with us. Stuart shares some nice memories of working on THE OLD DARK HOUSE. Carradine talks about several of his horror films. You've got Mamoulian talking about DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE while Andrews talks about NIGHT OF THE DEMON. These interviews are rather priceless since these folks are no longer with us. The interview footage with Corman is also quite good as he discusses how special effects are changing things.
Of course, this here just covers the golden era of films and there's some bashing of overly graphic films. It seems everyone here isn't happy with the current trend of slashers and we get to hear why these aren't "real" horror films. With that being said, fans of the genre will certainly enjoy what is here.
*** (out of 4)
Jose Ferrer narrates this documentary that takes a look at the history of horror films. We get interviews with John Carradine, Roger Corman, Gloria Stuart, Dana Andrews, Robert Bloch, Herman Cohen, Curtis Harrington and Rouben Mamoulian among others.
The documentary pretty much traces the horror films starting with the German movies from the 1920s and then moving through the American silent pictures, the Universal monsters, low-budget shockers from Monogram, the Val Lewton productions, the radioactive monsters and throughout all of this we get clips from the movies as well as comments from those involved in them.
Watching this film today, there's no question that the highlight are the interviews with the filmmakers who are no longer with us. Stuart shares some nice memories of working on THE OLD DARK HOUSE. Carradine talks about several of his horror films. You've got Mamoulian talking about DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE while Andrews talks about NIGHT OF THE DEMON. These interviews are rather priceless since these folks are no longer with us. The interview footage with Corman is also quite good as he discusses how special effects are changing things.
Of course, this here just covers the golden era of films and there's some bashing of overly graphic films. It seems everyone here isn't happy with the current trend of slashers and we get to hear why these aren't "real" horror films. With that being said, fans of the genre will certainly enjoy what is here.