Italian cinema of the early ’60s had a flair for grand horror melodrama. Still, Mill of the Stone Women (Il mulino delle donne di pietra) might be its most baroquely unhinged example. It’s beautiful, bizarre, and far too committed to its premise to be brushed off as just another knockoff. This is a film that…
Tag: mad scientist
Nightmare Castle (1965) – Review
When it comes to 1960s Italian gothic horror, Nightmare Castle isn’t exactly in the top tier with Mario Bava’s Black Sunday or Riccardo Freda’s The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, but it holds a special place in the Barbara Steele canon. Directed by Mario Caiano, the film mixes science, sadism, and supernatural revenge in a way that’s…
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962) – Review
Some movies are classics because they’re brilliant. Others are classics because they’re accidents. And then there’s The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, a film so dedicated to proving “science has gone too far” that it basically becomes a PSA for never letting your boyfriend operate on you in a basement. It’s a Frankenstein riff, a medical…
The Black Sleep (1956) – Review
The horror genre is rife with mad scientists – it’s the most popular occupation to hold in this genre – and today we will be looking at another macabre gem from the golden age of horror cinema. But what is surprising about this entry is that with a cast that includes Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi,…
The Bat Woman (1968) – Review
By 1968 the Adam West-led Batman television series was already coming to a close, with Batmania fading as fast as it had exploded, but down in Mexico director René Cardona decided to bring to life his own version of “The Caped Crusader” only this offering would have a bit of a twist and some nice…