Steve Murphy – Google

What can you say about Boris Karloff? He was a legendary performer who was, way back in 1931, the movies' first Frankenstein monster. He was still hanging in in 1958 when he starred in this pretty well done rendition of the Frankenstein legacy. This time he portrays a "mad" scientist attempting to fulfill his ancestors' dream of resurrecting the dead. Well directed with a spooky setting and has some scary moments.

Another classic sci-fi romp from iconic producer/director Roger Corman. This time we have a creature, resembling an oversize cucumber, that comes to Earth from Venus to wreak havoc upon humankind. It has a notable cast including the incomparable Beverly Garland (who did more cheap "B" films than any other actress), James Arness' brother Peter Graves (a decade before he made a name starring in TV'S "Mission Impossible") and Lee Van Cleef who would later become a legend in "spaghetti" westerns. I thought it was "cool" when I was a kid and I still watch it occasionally on DVD.

This is a pretty good sci-fi/horror flick from the "Golden Age" of such films that occupied the screen of "B" theaters in the late 1950s. In that era we experienced many giant mutated monsters threatening civilization. As ridiculous as it may sound, this time we have overgrown snails attacking folks in the environs of California's Saltan Sea. Thank goodness we have former western movie star Tim Holt and the incomparable Hans Conreid to save us from annihilation.

This is a pretty good low budget horror flick from the 50s which scared me as a kid when I saw it on late night TV. The creature is ominous and well conceived and has the propensity to decapitate its victims when it's hungry for a good meal. Iconic character actor Les Tremayne ("War of the Worlds," "Angry Red Planet" and countless others) stars as a doctor in a small oceanside community who tries to unravel the mystery of why the creature haunts the town and a nearby lighthouse.

This is the third in a trilogy (the others being "The Magnetic Monster" and "Riders to the Stars") of sci-fi films featuring the ficticious "Office of Scientific Investigation" and independently produced by well known film maker Ivan Tors ("Sea Hunt," "Science Fiction Theater" and "Flipper"). This is the only one of the trio filmed in color and has good set design and cinematography. When murders and sabotage occur at a top secret underground installation, OSI agent (Richard Egan) is sent to investigate. Egan and installation director (the iconic British actor Herbert Marshall) wind up having to fend off a duo of killer robots.

This is the first of a trilogy (the others being "Riders to the Stars" and "Gog") of sci-fi films featuring the ficticious "Office of Scientific Investigation" and independently produced by well known film maker Ivan Tors. It's a bit off the mainstream of 50's sci-fi as it features a newly discovered highly radioactive isotope which continues to grow into increasingly dangerous proportions, threatening civilization. Richard Carlson (who would go on to make a career in sci-fi films) and the indomitable King Donovan star as two OSI nuclear scientists charged with stopping this "monstrous" creation. Suspenseful with pretty good special effects.

I first saw this very low budget B picture when it first came out as half of a double feature and I was just a kid. I thought it was "cool" at that time, being oblivious to the racial stereotyping and poorly conceived plot line. As a fan of all things horror and sci-fi, I was quite familiar with the stars Gloria Talbot (who made as many such films as her contemporaries Beverly Garland and Susan Cabot) and handsome actor Grant Williams ("The Incredible Shrinking Man"). Collene Gray takes her role seriously as the title character. The middle of the film is dragged down by what amounts to a stock footage travel tour of Africa. I still watch it once and a while on DVD just for a couple of "chills."

I've just been catching up with "The Conjuring" franchise. In the beginning of the first Conjuring movie, Mr. and Mrs. Warren, documented demonoligists and recognized paranormal investigators, explain how they took possession of a doll named Annabelle, which had been used as a "conduit" for demonic possession of an unexpecting family. The doll has now been safely locked away in Ed Warren's collection of cursed objects. This film shows us the origin of Annabelle, a doll made by a toy maker and named after his recently deceased daughter. When the grieving parents invite the spirit of their late daughter to "live" in the doll, they are deceived into bringing a demon into their lives. This film never drags and smoothly moves from one glimpse of horror to another. The cast, especially the kids, is uniformly excellent. It has very impressive special horror effects which greatly contribute to a well written and scary story. There are a few scenes that are too graphic for younger viewers.