Richard Matheson

Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Rating: ★★★
Jul 17, 2012Edgar Allan Poe Adaptation/Deranged Nobleman
The second of Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe films with Vincent Price. This feels too much as though Corman was trying to make another House of Usher, nevertheless it creates its own thunderously overwrought atmosphere, even if it has little to do with the Poe story
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

The Comedy of Terrors (1963)

The Comedy of Terrors (1963)
Rating: ★★★
Apr 1, 2001Murderous Morticians Comedy
Droll black comedy with Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone as morticians who decide to drum up business by murdering people. This assembles much of the team behind the Roger Corman Edgar Allan Poe films
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

Duel (1971)

Duel (1971)
Rating: ★★★★★
Jun 28, 2002Murderous Truck
The first film from Steven Spielberg, a tv movie that was released to theatres. Spielberg demonstrates style to spare in the gripping tale of a lone man on the road who finds himself stalked and followed by a murderous truck
Director:
Actors:
Category:
by

The Omega Man (1971)

The Omega Man (1971)
Rating: ★★
Jun 29, 2012Last Man on Earth vs Mutants/I Am Legend Adaptation
The second film version of I Am Legend, this rewrites the book's vampires as mutants and abandons its mood of paranoia for a fantasy of hippie utopia and Charlton Heston in square-jawed action hero mode
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

The Night Strangler (1973)

The Night Strangler (1973)
Rating: ★★★★
Jan 3, 2013Journalist Tracks an Immortal Killer
Less famous sequel to the cult tv movie The Night Stalker but a far superior work. This repeats much of the first film but with Darren McGavin's Kolchak hunting an immortal killer. Much better script and featuring a superbly eerie climactic venture down into the Seattle Underground
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Trilogy of Terror (1975)
Rating: ★★★½
Sep 9, 2007Horror Anthology
Classic tv movie that is a horror anthology offering a trio of tales all featuring Karen Black. The first two items are okay but the one that made the film into a cult item was the third episode with Black being chased through her apartment by an evil doll
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977)

The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977)
Rating: ★★
Aug 4, 2016Possessed Housewife
An The Exorcist copy made as a tv movie – where The Exorcist shocked audiences with barf bag theatrics and obscenities, this merely has Karen Black shucking her staid fashion sense and buying a sexy red dress. Rather peculiarly, this becomes a possession story as women's self-actualisation drama
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

The Martian Chronicles (1980)

The Martian Chronicles (1980)
Rating: ★★
Aug 12, 2012Human Colonisation of Mars/Ray Bradbury Adaptation
Ray Bradbury's book about the human colonisation of Mars is an SF classic for its wistful, nostalgic poetry. This tv mini-series adaptation is killed by a lumbering director who over-explains Bradbury's imagery in the most literal ways
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)

The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)
Rating: ★★★½
Jun 9, 2003Miniaturised Housewife Comedy
An appealing comedy remake of The Incredible Shrinking Man with Lily Tomlin as a housewife who starts to shrink after exposure to household cleaning products. One of the better films from the usually terrible Joel Schumacher
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
Rating: ★★
Dec 16, 2000Fantasy Anthology/TV Series Remake
Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, John Landis and George Miller came together to make this homage to tv's The Twilight Zone. The episodes are variable but the standout is Miller's Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
Director: , , ,
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by

I Am Legend (2007)

I Am Legend (2007)
Rating: ★★
Jan 19, 2008Last Man on Earth vs Mutants
The third film version of Richard Matheson’s book is only a remake of the previous version The Omega Man. Crucially, this throws out the essence of the book for a far less interesting piece about Will Smith fighting mutants in the ruins
Director:
Actors: , , , , …
Category:
by