Doc Rotten's Halls of Horror: Anthologies Part 1

In 1964, American producers Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg team up to create Amicus Productions, a small independent film company based in Shepperton Studios, England. Among the first films they release is Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, a portmanteau horror film starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. They quickly become closely associated and compared to Hammer Films to which their films share many similarities: directors such as Freddie Francis, stars such as Lee and Cushing, and stories that cover gothic, horrific content (even though Hammer Films at that time were mostly based in Victorian England and Amicus films were mostly based in the present). For most of the next two decades, Amicus would specialize in anthologies, producing some of the best, most entertaining films of that type. What follows is a general overview of seven such gems from Amicus Productions. 

Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965)
Director Freddie Francis is hired to helm Amicus first and signature anthology film, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. Producer Milton Subotsky handles the writing chores. Unlike many of the anthologies that preceded it, would utilize a framing sequence to bind the five short stories together; a technique Amicus would employ in all the anthologies that follow. The framing story for Dr. Terror is staged within a train’s cabin confining five strangers and a fortune teller going by the name Dr. W. F.  Schreck (Doctor of Metaphysics) on a trip from London to Bradley. One by one, the good doctor tells each passenger’s fortune revealing the horror of their future. A bearded Peter Cushing, sporting bushy eyebrows, strikes an impressive visage as Dr. Schreck in a reserved, yet campy, performance.

The first of the five stories is Werewolf in which an architect is hired to remodel an old family home; however, he soon uncovers the family secret and unleashes a feral nightmare buried in the cellar. The second tale is Creeping Vine where a vacationing family returns home to find their home invaded by a vicious plant with a mind of its own. Next up is Voodoo where a jazz musician traveling in the Caribbean where he unwisely steals the music played at a voodoo ceremony, music the voodoo spirits are not willing to share. In the most memorable tale, Disembodied Hand, a famous art critic runs over a painter who has repeatedly humiliated him, only to find the artist’s disembodied hand returns from the grave to seek revenge. The final story, Vampire, tells the tale of a doctor who discovers his new wife is one of the undead.

Along with Peter Cushing as Dr. Schreck, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors has a large cast of horror icons and Hollywood and UK film stars. Christopher Lee stars opposite Michael Gough in the Disembodied Hand. A very young Donald Sutherland stars in Vampire with Jennifer Jayne and Max Adrian. Musician Roy Castle headlines Voodoo. Werewolf stars Neil McCallum, Ursula Howells and Katy Wild. Alan Freedman, Ann Bell and Bernard Lee star in Creeping Vine. 

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Doc Rotten's 666 Revelations: Movie Monsters of 1973

1973 is the year everything changed. The genre has been toying with “maturing” over the recent years with entries such as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and Night of the Living Dead (1968). But with The Exorcist, horror shakes the world with its mature themes and creates a blockbuster. There are plenty of movie monsters this year; some cash in on the craze, others become adolescent and get looked over. The bar is raised. Along with the devil himself, possessing young, innocent Regan MacNeil, 1973 sees the return of a few Seventies fiends such as Blacula in Scream, Blacula, Scream, the Knights Templar in Return of the Blind Dead, Paul Nachy’s Waldermar Daninsky in Curse of the Devil and Christopher Lee’s Count Dracula in Satanic Rites of Dracula. Yul Brynner shows up as the robotic gunslinger in Westworld and Peter Cushing faces the Creeping Flesh. Along with Blacula, blaxploitation unleashes Blackenstein. Frightening killers sharpen their knives in Don’t Look Now, Sisters and Horror Hospital. Strother Martin turns into Dirk Benedict a ssssnake in SSSSSSS and Vincent Price chews up the scenery in Theater of Blood. Here are 6 of the Movie Monsters that scare up box office receipts (or TV ratings) in 1973. 

POSSESSED REGAN MACNEIL in EXORCIST

Suddenly there was a face to the old saying “The devil made me do it” when a demon possesses a Georgetown pre-teen in director William Friedkin’s adaptation of William Blatty’s Exorcist. Audiences find themselves subjected to unthinkable visuals: Regan levitates above her bed, her head spins completely around, she vomits green bile, and she stages unspeakable acts with a crucifix. The demon spouts foul obscenities to Regan’s mother and the priests who perform the exorcism in order to cast the creature out. The soundtrack only amplifies the audible fear with booming sound effects and Tubular Bells. Perhaps the greatest movie monster of the decade comes to life in the face of a child and the movie going public and the future of horror cinema will never, ever be the same.  

CREEPING FLESH in CREEPING FLESH

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are the go-to team for UK horror films. Starting with Hammer film’s Curse of Frankenstein in 1957, the duo makes classic gothic chiller after another, such as Horror of Dracula (1958), the Mummy (1959), Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965) and more. They manage to elevate themselves to the highest of horror icons status alongside the likes of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Vincent Price. Hammer and Amicus commonly snatch the two up to star in horror outings. One such pairing is Creeping Flesh in 1973, directed by Freddie Francis, where Cushing’s scientist Emmanual Hildern returns from New Guinea with a large humanoid skeleton. He soon discovers, while cleaning the specimen, that when the bones come in contact with water flesh begins to grow on its surface. Fearing the being is evil, Hildern keeps the skeleton dry and hidden safely in his laboratory, until his corrupt half-brother, James (Christopher Lee), steals it on a dark, stormy night. The rain regenerates the creature into the creeping flesh and it begins to wreak havoc. 

GUNSLINGER in WESTWORLD

In an early example of technology gone wild, Westworld is a popular adult attraction where lifelike robots co-inhabiting the park for entertainment begin to malfunction, go against their programming and kill off the patrons. Famous author Michael Crichton writes and directs the feature starring Richard (Love at First Bite) Benjamin and James (The Car, Amityville Horror) Brolin as two of the park’s guests. When all hell breaks loose, the pair must face the most fearsome of the renegade robots, the Gunslinger, played by the legendary western actor Yul Brynner. Stoic, silent, slow moving, and unstoppable, the malfunctioning maniac continues to pursue Benjamin from park to park, rising after each defeat in actions similar to but predating Halloween’s Michael Myers from John Carpenter and Terminator’s T-800 from James Cameron. Even after being destroyed during the conclusion of Westworld, the Gunslinger returns briefly in the sequel Futureworld in 1976. 

BLACKENSTEIN in BLACKENSTEIN

Hoping to recapture the success they had with Blacula, AIP hires director William A. Levey to helm a twist on the Mary Shelley classic Frankenstein under the title Blackenstein. The end result, unfortunately, is a bit silly and ineffective. Much like Blacula, the title monster appears very much like its Universal Monster cousin, but with an Afro. In the story, a Vietnam vet, Eddie Turner, returns from the war horribly disfigured having lost all his limbs. His fiancée, Doctor Winifred Walker, takes him to Dr. Stein, volunteering him for experimental procedures that may return him to his former self. Instead, they create a monster that goes on a rampage. Where William Marshall at least challenges Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee in their similar roles, John De Su does little more that stumbling around, becoming a parody of the Universal Monster played by Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Glenn Strange. 

CREATURES in DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

In John Newland’s TV horror movie of the week, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Kim Darby and Jim Hutton inherit a creepy two-story Victorian house that they soon discover has menacing creatures hidden in the dark. Sally (Darby) Farnham uncovers a bricked up fireplace in a locked up study and unwittingly unleashes a gaggle of miniature monsters terrorizing her night after night. Makeup man, Mike Hancock, gives the little beasts a frightening visage with shriveled up little heads. They hide in the shadows and whisper at Sally from the dark and threaten to drag her into the pit below the fireplace from whence they came. A minor success when it came out in 1973, as a TV movie, it became all but forgotten afterwards until Guillermo Del Toro recently announce that he was producing a theatrical remake for 2011. 

THE MAD DOCTOR STORM in HORROR HOSPITAL

Michael Gough stars as Doctor Christian Storm in Antony Balch’s Horror Hospital. Doctor Storm runs a “health clinic” where he cures degenerates by lobotomizing them into brain-dead zombies. He also drives around in a limousine equipped with a retractable blade and basket for decapitating his victims. He also pals around with a creepy dwarf, Skip Martin from Vampire Circus, who assists him in tracking down new candidates for his experiments. In Horror Hospital, Doctor Storm is a campy, dark humored, gore-infused take on the mad doctor theme, on science gone mad. Things turn sour for Storm when he targets the niece of his assistant (Aunt Judy) and her friends when they arrive at the clinic in search of missing friends. Doctor Storm, in the capable hands of Michael Gough (Trog, Horrors of the Black Museum, Konga), is a prime example of Seventies evil scientist looking to save the world in his own twisted, disturbed, maniacal way.

Doc Rotten's Halls of Horror: Haunted Houses

During the Seventies and early Eighties, around the same time every evil child or expectant mother was becoming possessed by the Devil and slashers of every type were coming out of the woodwork to slaughter teens and campers on every given holiday, real estate was having a rough time dealing with ghosts and evil entities. While many these features are memorable, most end up as footnotes in the horror history. Classics like Amityville Horror (1979), The Shining (1980) and Poltergeist (1982) are highlights of their time, but most today still remember Exorcist (1973), Halloween (1978) or Friday the 13th (1980) instead. Buying a house can be a frightening proposition all by itself, image how terrifying it is when there’s a spirit involved. Here are few of the haunted houses that were on the market between 1977 and 1986.

There have always been haunted house movies sprinkled among the classic monsters throughout the ages. During the golden age of Universal Monsters, movies like The Cat and the Canary (1927) and James (Frankenstein) Whale’s Old Dark House (1932). In the Forties, Ray Milland faces The Univited (1944) and Bob Hope stars in The Ghost Breakers (1940). William Castle produces some of the most enjoyable haunted house flicks in the late Fifties and early Sixties with The House on Haunted Hill (1959) and 13 Ghosts (1960). Jack Clayton directs The Innocents (1961) and Robert Wise directs The Haunting (1963), two of the more frightening haunted house horrors to date. Then, starting in the mid-to-late Seventies ghosts began to increase their haunts, sometimes the being evil houses themselves, sometimes housing malicious spirits and sometimes guarding a pathway to hell itself.

In 1973, director John Hough and writer Richard Matheson invite Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill and Gayle Hunnicutt to spend the weekend in Hell House to investigate life after death in the feature Legend of Hell House. The house, really a mansion, is huge and reminiscent of many of the classics predating it. They must discover if the house is truly evil or haunted by the spirit of Michael Gough. Items fly across the room, noises terrorize the investigators during the night and spirits possess the weakest of the group as the face their fears and run for the lives.

A few years later, Karen Black and Oliver Reed move into the Allardyce Mansion as summer caretakers along with their son, Lee Montgomery, and Black’s mother, Bette Davis, in the Dan Curtis directed feature Burnt Offerings (1976). The family faces horrific visions (a hearse driven by a menacing driver), attacking vegetation, possession and the attacks from the house itself as it revives its appearance with each death. Some of the more frightening set pieces involve the ghostly chauffeur breaking into the grandmother's room with a coffin ready for her and when the father (Reed) lies frozen in fear while his son is drowning in a pool with it water in turmoil from some unseen force.

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Doc Rotten’s Halls of Horror: Seventies Frankenstein Monster

One of the most recognizable movie monsters in horror cinema is the Frankenstein Monster. Beginning with Frankenstein (1910) and, more famously, Frankenstein (1931) from Universal, Mary Shelley’s man-made monster has taken many forms. In 1957, Hammer Films jettisoned the creature into the Technicolor age with Curse of Frankenstein. Throughout the Sixties, Hammer Films would produce a variety of Monsters created by the same Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) and Japan unleashes their own version with Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965). As horror in the Seventies struggles to find its way, the Frankenstein Monster makes its way to the screen in no less than thirteen different forms from Hammer’s Horror of Frankenstein in 1970 to Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein in 1974.

Horror of Frankenstein (1970) played by David Prowse.
In the UK, Hammer decides to reboot their Frankenstein franchise in 1970, replacing Peter Cushing’s Baron with Ralph Bates and Christopher Lee’s creature with David Prowse in Horror of Frankenstein. While Lee’s makeup was original and frightening in 1957, Prowse’s makeup is sparse, reminiscent of the monster in Jesse James meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966). Director Jimmy Sangster relies too heavily on Prowse’s physical presence to elicit fear. While the production values are strong, the script is weak and the monster forgettable.

Assignment Terror (1970) played by Fernando Murolo.
In Spain, Paul Naschy’s Waldermar Daninsky returns in Assignment Terror, a monster mash writen by Naschy and directed by Tulio Demicheli. Michael Rennie, as Dr. Odo Warnoff, is at the center of the fright fest featuring Dracula, the Monster, the Wolfman and the Mummy. Playing like a sci-fi laden spin on the old Universal creature features from the Forties, Assignment Terror’s monster appears very similar to the creature originated by Boris Karloff and makeup man Jack Pierce; however, he has the bushiest eye-brows this side of Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks (1979). At least Naschy’s werewolf realizes what a snooze he is and trounces him during the finale.

Santo y Blue Demon contra los Monstruos (1970) played by Manuel Leal.
In Mexico, the world famous wrestlers, Santo and the Blue Demon, are around to save the day and, in 1970, they do battle with a variety of movie monsters in Santo y Blue Demon contra los Monstruos. Again the monster mash features Dracula, the Monster, the Wolfman and the Mummy; this time played for laughs and light-hearted fun. The monster resembles the classic Universal look once again except this time he has a splendid, comical goatee. Never too threatening, this silly entry is easily bashed by Santo and the Blue Demon.

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Doc Rotten's 666 Revelations: Horror Icons of 1971

The early Seventies, the second wave of horror legends are in full swing: Cushing, Lee and Price. In 1971, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee star in The House That Dripped Blood and I, Monster for Amicus and Cushing also appears in Twins of Evil for Hammer films. Vincent Price creates his most famous role for his 100th picture, The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Newer stars return to the screen as well; Paul Naschy returns as Waldermar Daninsky in Werewolf Shadow and Robert Quarry reprises his vampire role in Return of Count Yorga. Bruce Davidson and Ernest Borgnine face rats in Willard, the legendary Charlton Heston faces vampire mutants in The Omega Man and Malcolm McDowell becomes Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange. Andrew Keir (Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb), Nigel Green (Countess Dracula), Ralph Bates (Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde), Eric Porter (Hands of the Ripper) and Mike Raven (Twins of Evil) star in the numerous Hammer horror films this year alone. On TV, Darren McGavin creates a legend, Karl Kolchak, the Night Stalker, and Dennis Weaver faces a killer tractor-trailer in Stephen Spielberg’s Duel. Here are six of these talented actors who are the Horror Icons of 1971.

VINCENT PRICE as DR. ANTON PHIBES in THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES

After spending most of the Sixties playing various roles in adaptations of the works Edgar Allen Poe (House of Usher in 1960, Pit and the Pendulum in 1961 and The Tomb of Ligeia in 1964 among others) and becoming a horror icon to rival Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Vincent Price teams up with director Robert Fuest to create the imaginative, charming and villainous Dr. Anton Phibes. Visually, the horror beneath the mask would appear much like Prof. Henry Jerrod in one of Price’s earliest horror films, The House of Wax (1953); however, here, his face is even more skull-like, lacking lips, a nose and ears. Ironically, the character of Phibes would not utilize Vincent Price’s most recognizable trait: his voice. Much like Boris Karloff, Vincent Price can frighten the weak of heart with just narration (The Raven) or an evil laugh (Thriller); but, in the Phibes movies, he is forces to speak through a voice-box device that muffles and disguises his true voice. Still, a testament to his charismatic presence, Price makes Phibes an entertaining and memorable character as he masterminds elaborate traps to capture, torture and dispatch the doctors he holds responsible for the death of his wife. Vincent Price returns as Dr. Anton Phibes in Dr. Phibes Rises Again in 1972, facing off against Robert Quarry.

DARREN MCGAVIN as CARL KOLCHAK in THE NIGHT STALKER

Known more for comedic roles, No Deposit, No Return (1974), Hot Lead, Cold Feet (1978) and A Christmas Story (1981), Darren McGavin teams up with producer Dan Curtis and writer Richard Matheson to create one of televisions premiere monster hunters and horror iconic characters, Carl Kolchak, the Night Stalker. Kolchak, an abrasive newspaper reporter, believes a recent string of murders in Las Vegas were committed by a European vampire. Darren McGavin returns as Kolchak in The Night Strangler in 1973 followed by the television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974-1975). The series would influence television horror for decades, X-Files and Supernatural both incorporate key elements in their serial plot structures.

CHARLTON HESTON as ROBERT NEVILLE in THE OMEGA MAN

From 1968 with Planet of the Apes throughout the Seventies, Charlton Heston starred in a number of genre-related sci-fi, disaster flicks: Soylent Green (1973), Earthquake (1974), Airport 1975 (1974) and The Awakening (1980). In 1971, he brought Richard Matheson’s Robert Neville to the screen for The Omega Man, a version of I Am Legend. In the post-apocalyptic world, Heston’s Neville faces the threat of mutated vampire-like survivors; he’s a man on the edge of sanity trying desperately to find a cure to the horror all around him. His larger-than-life persona goes a long way in giving Neville the presence needed to convey the solitude and magnitude of the situation. Much like Planet of the Apes, he carries much of the picture by himself, facing the surrounding threats alone until finally teaming up with others in similar despair.

MALCOLM MCDOWELL as ALEX DELARGE in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Directed by Stanley Kubrick in A Clockwork Orange, Malcolm McDowell would rise to stardom and horrify audiences as the ultra-violent UK youth, Alex DeLarge. It is a career defining role and screen persona that reaches cinema lexicon still today. Whether it be the chorus of “Singing in the Rain” or the indelible fashion statement, the passion for milk laced with narcotics or the histrionic reactions to the experimental and shocking treatments Alex receives in prison, Alex’s journey is filled with tragic, frightening, and disturbing visuals many in 1971 were unprepared for. Malcolm McDowell reinvents the psychotic protagonist for many generations to come.

ERIC PORTER as DR. JOHN PRITCHARD in HANDS OF THE RIPPER

In Hammer’s Jack the Ripper horror outing, Hands of the Ripper, Eric Porter plays Dr. John Pritchard. Set 15 years after the infamous Ripper killings, Jack the Ripper’s daughter may be possessed by the killer’s spirit and begins to rack up her own murderous body count. Noted psychiatrist, Dr. John Pritchard believes he can cure the young lass. He soon find he regrets that decision. As with many horror scripts in the early Seventies, Hammer twists the plot to make the female the villain (much like Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde). Eric Porter as the protagonist almost becomes secondary to the plot, but that doesn’t stop the respected Shakespearean actor from adding class to the role and the movie. He would only star in a few genre flicks, both for Hammer films, this and The Lost Continent (1968). He later stars as Professor Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock Holmes in 1985.


DENNIS WEAVER as DAVID MANN in DUEL

As David Mann in Stephen Spielberg's Duel, Dennis Weaver is the everyman, unsure of his future, struggling to rise to the occasion and lacking the confidence to deal with the challenges ahead of him, large or small. However, when confronted with a mysterious and menacing tractor-trailer on a lonely two-lane highway, he eventually musters the courage and strength to confront the threats before him. In the face of danger and possible death, he becomes the man he wasn’t sure he could be. Duel would be one of the very rare genre roles for Dennis Weaver, who is best known as Sam McCloud on the McCloud television series.

Doc Rotten's 666 Revelations: Scream Queens of 1971

Thanks to recent pivotal roles portrayed by Ingrid (Vampire Lovers 1970) Pitt and Mia (Rosemary’s Baby 1968) Farrow and the changing times, actresses begin to find stronger and more important roles in genre movies of 1971. At times these roles would be more meaningful, such as Zohra Lampert in Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, but many, while given more screen time, would be more sensational, such as Hammer’s leading ladies Yutte Stengaard in Lust for a Vampire and Madeline and Mary Collison in Twins of Evil. Others would balance the extremes, such as Ingrid Pitt in Countess Dracula and Martine Beswick in Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (in which she would take half the leading role from Ralph Bates). Even in supporting roles, screen sirens find meatier material, such as Mariette Hartley in Return of Count Yorga, Rosalind Cash in The Omega Man and Jacqueline Bisset in Mephisto Waltz. Below are six scream queens from 1971 that made an impact on the face of horror.

INGRID PITT as COUNTESS ELIZABETH BATHORY in COUNTESS DRACULA

After reinventing the femme fatale with Vampire Lovers in 1970, Ingrid Pitt returns to Hammer studios to film Countess Dracula. Again, she would take the lead role and the lead monster. Female leading monsters have been few and far between; even the bride (Elsa Lancaster), in The Bride of Frankenstein, wasn’t the lead in her own film. Hammer is no stranger to bringing female monsters to the screen with such beasts as The Reptile (1966), The Gorgon (1964) and Frankenstein Created Woman (1967); but, even then, Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee would be the leading actor. Not so with Ingrid Pitt, in Countess Dracula the picture is all hers; she is the lead, the monster and the story. Ingid Pitt, as Countess Elizabeth Bathory, is villainous, vivacious and voluptuous. She would also appear in The House That Dripped Blood (1971) and The Wicker Man (1973).

ZOHRA LAMPERT as JESSICA in LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH

As Jessica in Let’s Scare Jessica To Death, Zohra Lampert commands the screen, not only with her performance but with her haunting narration provided throughout the movie. The film is entirely hers; it’s her story and her mental deterioration that is explored. The audience is also viewing the events through her eyes, seeing and experiencing what she sees and experiences. Throughout the movie, it is unclear if what is seen is fact or hallucination. In this, her role is very much like Mia Farrow’s role in Rosemary’s Baby (1968). As Jessica, Zohra Lampert makes a rare appearance in a genre movie, her next would be in the underrated Exorcist III (1990) playing the wife to George C. Scott’s portrayal of Lt. Kinderman.

JESSICA WALKER as EVELYN DRAPER in PLAY MISTY FOR ME

As Evelyn Draper in Play Misty For Me, Jessica Walker is the antagonist opposite Clint Eastwood as Dave Garver. Evelyn is obsessed with Garver, the famous disc jockey, continually calling in requesting he play the song Misty for her. Dave and Evelyn meet resulting in a one-night stand. Not satisfied with casual outcome of the affair, Evelyn becomes a psychotic stalker causing havoc on Garver’s career and home life. She ruins his business lunch, attacks his maid, invades his house and destroys his belongings, and finally threatens to brutalize his girlfriend Tobie (Donna Mills) Williams. The Golden Globe nominated role of Evelyn Draper would be the model for such deranged femme fatales in such features as (most notably) Fatal Attraction (1987), Basic Instinct (1992) and Single White Female (1992).

MARTINE BESWICK as SISTER HYDE in DR. JEKYLL & SISTER HYDE

Hammer films puts a bizarre spin on Robert Louis Stephenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by changing Mr. Hyde’s gender creating Sister Hyde. Ralph Bates’ Dr. Jekyll creates a toxin that supposedly cures all common diseases but instead transforms him into Sister Hyde, portrayed by Martine Beswick. Much like Countess Dracula and Play Misty For Me discussed above, the female is again the villain. Here, Director Roy Ward Baker and writer Brian Clemens make Sister Hyde the evil side of the male protagonist, Dr. Henry Jekyll. Throughout the Seventies, woman would either be the instrument of evil or just evil itself in many features such as Exorcist (1973), Beyond the Door (1974) and Carrie (1976).

ROSALIND CASH as LISA in THE OMEGA MAN

Director Boris Sagal and writers John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington cast Rosalind Cash as Lisa, one of the non-mutated survivors in The Omega Man, based on I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Rosalind Cash stars opposite, and holds her own against, the legendary Charlton Heston as Dr. Robert Neville. She starts off as a leader of a small team of survivors who encounter Neville, who is struggling to discover a cure, as they both fight off the mutated, vampire-like, survivors of an apocalyptic virus. Unfortunately, she would mysteriously and unexpectedly mutate and become one of “The Family” revealing Neville's hideout and sabotaging his safety. However, even in the end, having declared her allegiance to “The Family,” she revolts to stand by Neville, watching over him as he succumbs to his wounds.
   
MARIETTE HARTLEY as CYNTHIA NELSON in RETURN OF COUNT YORGA

In 1971, Robert Quarry’s Count Yorga would return to find Mariette Hartley as Cynthia Nelson the object of his affection and the instrument of his demise. Mariette Hartley, who would rise to fame playing in a series of Polaroid TV commercials opposite James Garner, portrays as the attractive, desirable lead, the damsel in distress and, finally, the victorious heroine. In a rarity for vampire features, there is no “Van Helsing” character to destroy the Count, Hartley’s Cynthia Nelson steps up during the finale and stakes Count Yorga with an axe. While the typical “Van Helsing” character is a loner, driven, with nothing to lose, Cynthia has to tragically sacrifice much of what she loved, her sister, her little brother and her fiancée.

Doc Rotten's 666 Revelations: Movie Monsters of 1971

Horror movies in 1971 get busy. A remarkable number of horror flicks make their way to screens and drive-ins in the U.S., England, Japan and across Europe. Werewolves, Frankenstein Monsters and Vampires are everywhere. Hammer continues their Karnstein trilogy with Lust for a Vampire and Twins of Evil, they introduce Countess Dracula, shake up Dr. Jekyll's world with a cross-gender twist in Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, and tackle Jack the Ripper with Hands of the Ripper. Godzilla returns in a flick that reflects current ecological issues in a way only the Seventies could produce with Godzilla vs. Hedora. Count Yorga returns and Vincent Price delivers Dr. Phibes. From Spain, Amando de Ossoria unleashes the Knights Templar in Tombs of the Blind Dead. Also from Spain, Paul Naschy returns as Waldermar Daninsky, the werewolf and battles Countess Wandesa Darvula de Nadasdy. Witches, zombies, ghosts and talking apes, 1971 has them all. Below are six of these monsters that made an impact on horror cinema.

DR. ANTON PHIBES in THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES

For his 100th film, Vincent Price creates his greatest horror character, the abominable Dr. Anton Phibes. Spectacular make up, a delightful campy and smart script, and a series of Grand Guignol style deaths combine to make a modern classic. Dr. Phibes, horribly scarred in an car crash, plots revenge on those responsible for the death of this wife. Dr. Phibes takes inspiration from the ten plagues of Egypt to eliminate the doctors he deems incompetent: boils, bats, frogs, blood, hail, rats, beats, locust, first born and darkness. The design for the scarred organ player is inspired, his face is burned and scarred beyond recognition, with no lips to hide his teeth, no nose and no ears, he is very skull like. Creatively, he fashions a mask to restore his appearance near to his old self, and must use a device to speak through. His character is as much his actions and surroundings as the scars he bears, the odd decor, the costumes and even the music define what makes Dr. Phibes an impressive and lasting monster. Dr. Phibes would return in 1973 with Dr. Phibes Rises Again.

COUNTESS ELIZABETH BATHORY in COUNTESS DRACULA

The historical equivalent to Vlad Dracula, Countess Elizabeth Bathory bathes in the blood of virgins instead of drinking their blood. Not a vampire by definition, but still very much a similar monster, Bathory kidnaps and murders local girls to retain her youth and beauty - to become immortal. The Countess tricks the castle steward, Captain Dobi, to do her bidding and takes her daughter's identity when her youth is restored. As she continues to seduce Lt. Imre Toth, her appetite for blood increases. Soon she must face a monstrous decision when her daughter finally returns home. Countess Dracula is a very different type of monster, much different than Hammer's vampires, or even their other female creatures, the Gorgon and the Reptile. She is equally as villainous, and deadly, as the aged Countess as she is as the youthful imposter.

THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR in TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD

In the early Seventies, the modern flesh eating zombies have yet to catch on and wouldn't in earnest until 1978 with Dawn of the Dead and 1979 with Zombi. Romero's Night of the Living Dead would introduce the modern age zombie to horror fans across the globe. In 1971, Spain and director, Amando de Ossorio, would introduce a variant to the theme with Tombs of the Blind Dead and the Knights Templar, referred to in the titles as the Blind Dead. Ossorio's zombies are more mummy-like, slow, and blind and hunt by sound. They are also more cognizant than traditional Romero or Italian flesh-eating creatures, and they seem to drink the blood of their victims more than savagely devour them. Their cadaver-like visage sets them apart from all other zombies prior and since and Ossorio presents them in glorious slow-motion giving them much needed mood and atmosphere. The Blind Dead would return in three more films: Return of the Blind Dead, The Ghost Galleon and the oddly titled Night of the Seagulls.

HEDORA, THE SMOG MONSTER in GODZILLA vs. HEDORA

A product of its time, but no less relevant today, Hedora is a alien creature nurtured by sludge and pollution and as it grows it feeds on smog, sucking on smoke pouring from factory chimneys across Japan. Hedora's eating habits may have to change slightly if it were unleashed today, but it would still have little trouble finding sustenance to devour. One of the more charismatic characteristics of Hedora is its many shapes. Since it is a composite of millions of smaller organisms, Hedora shifts its appearance as necessary: in the ocean, it resembles a giant tadpole; walking on land, it is a four-legged pile of sludge; for flying, it looked like a round bat; and to battle Godzilla, Hedora takes a humanoid shape. In each incarnation, it has large red eyes turned on their side; it could vomit sludge balls, spray surfuric acid and fire crimson energy beams. Hedora is one of the most formable foes to ever face Godzilla.

WALDEMAR DANINSKY, THE WEREWOLF in WEREWOLF SHADOW

First introduced in Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror (1968), Paul Naschy’s Waldemar Daninsky returns in Werewolf Shadow, also known under the more colorful title Werewolf vs the Vampire Woman. Daninsky appears in over a dozen loosely related films. In Werewolf Shadow, arguably the most famous and accessible of these films, the werewolf is revived when a mortician removes a silver bullet from Daninsky’s dead chest. Once he becomes the beast again, he encounters and battles the Countess Wandesa Darvula de Nadasdy, the Vampire Woman from the U.S. title.

TRUCK in DUEL

Director Stephen Spielberg and writer Richard Matheson introduce the Killer Machine to the lexicon of horror movie monsters only hinted at in terrors past. In Duel, a massive tractor-trailer truck terrorizes David (Dennis Weaver) Mann while he travels on a long, lonely stretch of two-lane highway. The driver of the truck is never truly seen and only implied; the truck becomes the monster. Loud, overpowering and menacing, the truck embodies evil just as much as Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster or the Wolfman ever could, perhaps more-so as the threat was more real, more possible. In future machine driven horrors, such as The Car (1977) and Christine (1983), the monstrous vehicles would lose the driver altogether, no longer needing even a hint of a human behind the wheel.

Doc Rotten's 666 Revelations: Horror Icons of 1970

In 1970, the horror icons of the sixties were firmly in place and getting prime roles, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. Horror studios, however, were hungry to find eager young stars to take their place. Some would be successful (Robert Quarry) and most would make little (but not unimportant) impact on horror history (Ralph Bates). Even TV horror stars (Jonathan Frid) would get an opportunity to shine. Below are six of the horror icon male performances of 1970.

ROBERT QUARRY as COUNT YORGA in COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE

Count Yorga is Robert Quarry's breakout role, the drive-in hit would establish him as a horror icon and AIP would begin to steer him to replace Vincent Price in their string of horror hits. An overnight success after working in the business for over twenty years. Quarry's performance as Yorga would lay the foundation for the modern vampire. No longer trapped in Victorian England, his vampire could walk the walk and talk the talk of 1970's Los Angeles. He was perfect for the role. He would follow the role up with The Return of Count Yorga (1971), Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), Deathmaster (1972), Madhouse (1974) and Sugar Hill (1974). AIP's plans for his rise to stardom would fall apart in the late 70's and Quarry would never get his chance to shine. He would quietly disappear from acting in the early 80's, but would return by 1990. He would star in low budget horror fare such as Evil Spirits (1990), Teenage Exorcist (1991) and Evil Toons (voice 1992), mostly for director Fred Olen Ray.

RALPH BATES as VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN in HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN

Throughout the Sixties Hammer had been capitalizing on the horror icon status of it principal stars, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. During the Seventies, they would try to forge new stars with younger casts. Ralph Bates found himself as one of those stars-to-be. In 1970, they cast him as Lord Countley in Taste the Blood of Dracula (opposite Christopher Lee) and as Victor Frankenstein in Horror of Frankenstein, an attempt to reboot their successful Frankenstein series. With Horror of Frankenstein, he was obviously positioned to be the replacement for Peter Cushing and was even photographed with the legend on the film's Elstree set with Cushing 'handing over' the title role. The film did not perform as well as Hammer had hoped and Bates star never quite reached icon status. However, he would continue to star in Hammer films such as Lust for a Vampire (1971), Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) and Fear in the Night (1972).

DAVID PROWSE as THE MONSTER in HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN

As much as Ralph Bates was designed to replace Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein in Horror of Frankenstein, David Prowse was set to step into the shoes of Christopher Lee as the monster. Cast primarily on his muscular build and physical presence, he certainly looks the part. The special effects artists and designers for Horror of Frankenstein would not create an indelible creature design as Christopher Lee received for The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and would find himself struggling to leave a mark on the role. Threatening only in size and strength, Prowse's monster lacks the repulsion and terror necessary to frighten audiences. David Prowse would continue to make films for Hammer studios in movies like Vampire Circus and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, neither of which would give him any lines of dialog. In 1977, he would rise to international fame portraying the greatest villain in film history, Darth Vader in Star Wars, even if the character was not voiced by Prowse himself (instead voiced by James Earl Jones).

JONATHAN FRID as BARNABAS COLLINS in HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS

Jonathan Frid would rise to fame portraying Barnabas Collins on the gothic cult television soap opera Dark Shadows beginning in the mid-sixties. In 1970, he would bring the role to the screen with House of Dark Shadows directed by the show's creator, Dan Curtis. The feature's story focuses on Barnabas' story alone and his persuit of a cure with the help of Doctor Juila Hoffman. A cure is found, but it only works for a short while. In one scene, Barnabas is aged to 175 and Frid wears the same makeup created by Dick Smith and worn by Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man earlier that same year. By 1971, times would change and the TV series would get canceled. When a sequel to House of Dark Shadows is filmed, Barnabas is nowhere to be found, replaced by Quentin Collins (David Shelby). Following House of Dark Shadows, Jonathan Frid would act primarily in theater but would get the opportunity to star opposite Shelly Winters in the TV movie of the week The Devil's Daughter (1973) directed by Jeannot (Bug and Jaws 2) Szwarc and to star in Oliver Stone's first feature film, Seizure (1974).

CHRISTOPHER LEE as COUNT DRACULA in TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA

1970 was a busy year for Christopher Lee, who would star in no less than 10 motion pictures, most of which would be horror films. Remarkably, the man many still consider the Count Dracula would star as the vampire king in three different releases: Taste the Blood of Dracula and Scars of Dracula for Hammer studios and Count Dracula for Jesus Franco. Frustrated with Hammer's take on Dracula he stars in Franco's attempt at a "faithful" interpretation of the Bram Stoker classic. In Scars of Dracula, Dracula was presented in a more heinous light, more cruel and sadistic that previous Hammer films. Taste the Blood of Dracula would be the last "classic" Hammer Dracula portrayal to the screen. After Scars of Dracula, Hammer would bring the vampire to the present to compete with Count Yorga and other modern vampires with Dracula A.D. 1972. Hammer quickly follows it up with The Satanic Rites of Dracula, with the Count still set firmly in the present and still facing his enemy Van Helsing (or at least Van Helsing's decedents). Lee would refuse to play Dracula after that and for Hammer's final Dracula picture, the Count would be played by John Forbes-Robertson in The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires. But, in 1970, Christopher Lee WAS Count Dracula; he owned the role, so much so that even today he is still closely associated to the role and anyone who plays the Count is compared to Lee.

PETER CUSHING as GENERAL VON SPEILSDORF in VAMPIRE LOVERS

Beginning in 1970, Hammer would transition the focus of their scripts more toward the titillating features of their horror films, making stars of their female leads (such as Igrid Pitt and Caroline Munroe). This would not keep their primary horror icon out of work however; someone had to chase the monsters down, stake them and behead them. And no one could do it better than Peter Cushing. Vampire Lovers is the first of the Karnstein Trilogy and would focus more on the female vampires than previous hammer blood sucking classics. As General von Spielsdorf, Peter Cushing uncovers Carmilla's plans and confronts her, stakes her and then cuts off her head in glorious Hammer gory fashion. He would return in Twins of Evil (1971), the third in the trilogy, in a similar role as Gustav Weil. Mostly known as Professor Van Helsing or Baron Frankenstein (and as Grand Moff Tarken to many), Peter Cushing would only continue to cement his role as one of the greatest horror stars with roles such as General von Speilsdorf.

Doc Rotten's 666 Revelations: Scream Queens of 1970

Scream Queens from horror movies of 1970 introduce us to a few stars of the decade and close the chapter on few stars from decades before. They must face murderers, mad magicians, vampires, Frankenstein Monsters and cavemen. Important female roles are few and far between. Below are six female scream queens who made an impact on horror film history.

PAMELA FRANKLIN as JANE in AND SOON THE DARKNESS

While not her first horror movie, previous featured in both The Innocents (1961) - at the age of 11 - and The Nanny (1965), Pamela Franklin would begin her adult horror career with And Soon the Darkness and would follow this role up with films like Necromancy (1972), The Legend of Hell House (1973) and The Food of the Gods (1976) before leaving acting altogether in the early 1980s. With this movie, the actress, now in her early 20s, stars as Jane bicycling across the Paris countryside with her flirty friend, Cathy (Michele Dotrice). When Cathy disappears, Jane must uncover the whereabouts or, perhaps, the demise of her friend.

SANDRA DEE as NANCY WAGNER in THE DUNWICH HORROR

The H. P. Lovecraft classic tale, The Dunwich Horror, is adapted by Curtis Hanson and is directed by Daniel (Die, Monster Die!) Haller. Sixties teen actress and star Sandra Dee stars as Nancy Wagner who is entranced by the strange powers of the warlock Wilber (Dean Stockwell) Whateley. The Dunwich Horror is one of Sandra Dee's final film appearances as she was suffering in both public opinion (recently divorced from star husband, Bobby Darin) and in personal health (suffering from anorexia nervosa, depression and alcoholism). Dee know more for her earlier roles (Gidgit and The Reluctant Debutante) never took too many genre roles, besides The Dunwich Horror, she would guest star in some TV supernatural thrillers such as The Sixth Sense (1972) and Night Gallery (1971-1972).

VERONICA CARLSON as ELIZABETH HEISS in HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN

Previously starring in two other Hammer horror films, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), Veronica Carlson starred as Elizabeth Heiss in Hammer's attempt at a Frankenstein reboot, The Horror of Frankenstein. In this version she found herself being chased by David (Darth Vader from the Star Wars trilogy) Prowse and pursued by a new Baron Victor Frankenstein played by Ralph Bates. After two more genre roles in Old Dracula (1974) and The Ghoul (1975), she would all but retire from acting.

JOAN CRAWFORD as DR. BROCKTON in TROG

In her last on screen appearance, the legendary Joan Crawford takes another dive into the horror halls of fame. Her previous efforts include Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Straight-Jacket (1964), Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965) and Beserk! (1967). Mrs. Crawford stars in Trog as Dr. Brockton, an anthropologist who believes she has found the missing link. She continues to defend the creature after it escapes and wreaks havok across the countryside. The reception to Trog was so poor, by critics and Crawford alike, that she publicly trounced the film many times and retired from making feature films.

INGRID PITT as CARMILLA KARNSTEIN in VAMPIRE LOVERS

In her first horror film for Hammer Films, Ingrid Pitt plays Carmilla Karnstein in the first of the Karnstein trilogy of films, Vampire Lovers. It would make her an instand horror icon, the Queen of Horror. She would bring the role a sexuality little seen in mainstream horror prior, but would become the staple of Hammer horror films since. This is her defining role and she holds her own along side of horror legend Peter Cushing. She would continue making horror films in the early Seventies, including Countess Dracula (1971), The House That Dripped Blood (1971) and The Wicker Man (1973). Today, she is a successful writer, has a large International fan club (Ingrid Pitt Fan Club) and continues to make appearances at horror conventions.

MADELINE SMITH as EMMA MORTON in VAMPIRE LOVERS

In 1970, young and beautiful Madline Smith would make a quick and lasting mark on horror scream queens as one of Hammer films leading ladies in both Vampire Lovers as Emma Morton and Taste the Blood of Dracula as Dolly. Later she would appear in Theatre of Blood (1973) with Vincent Price and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974). She would also become a Bond girl in Live and Let Die (1973). In Vampire Lovers she works opposite the legendary Ingrid Pitt, she would be the heroine to Pitt's antagonistic Karnstein.

Doc Rotten's 666 Revelations: Movie Monsters of 1970

Movie monsters in 1970 are still living off the creatures dominating films of the sixties, Dracula and Frankenstein from Hammer films or Toho's Godzilla and giant monster films. The zombie from Night of the Living Dead has yet made an impact as the film is still making rounds in drive-ins across the US. Films based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe are gasping their last breathe. Planet of the Apes has made a big impression on the movie goers (and makers) of the time and special effects makeup would begin to make its mark. Below are six monsters from 1970 that made an impact (some large, some small) on horror movie history, from vampires (Count Yorga) to kaiju rubber suited beasties (Yog, the Space monster).

COUNT YORGA
In 1970, director Bob Kelljan introduced the world to a new vampire named Count Yorga, played by Robert Quarry. At the time, there weren't too many named vampires besides Dracula or vampires related to Dracula: sons (Count Alucard - Son of Dracula), daughters (Countess Marya Zaleska - Dracula's Daughter) or look-a-likes (Count Mora - Mark of the Vampire). Even Nosferatu is a version of Dracula (although decidedly different visually from the US Dracula). Only Barnabas Collins, the lead from the gothic TV soap Dark Shadows, would be in the public's mind during this time. Also, Count Yorga would be placed in modern Los Angeles and not restricted to the confines of Victorian history, although he still dons the "classic" attire. Count Yorga's reception was strong enough to warrant a sequel in 1971 and would propel it's star Robert Quarry to become a genre star of the 70's.

FORBIDDEN ZONE MUTANTS
The sequel to Planet of the Apes would bring with it the human mutant monster with the survivors of the Forbidden Zone. Removing their masks to reveal hideously scarred flesh and possessing powers of the mind strong enough to cast illusions and instill pain in the minds of both the Astronauts (James Fransiscus and Charlton Heston) and Apes alike. If that wasn't enough, they also worship the Doomsday Bomb, which they have propped up inside their subterranian church. In a world inhabited by talking apes that hunt, cage and dissect humans, only mutant human monsters can become more frightening and destructive.

BARNABAS COLLINS
Television in the Sixties would create some household monster franschises, The Addams Family, The Munsters and Scooby-Doo. In 1970, one franchise would leap to the theaters, the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, with the film House of Dark Shadows. The Dan Curtis directed feature spotlights its vampire star, Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid. Like most vampires of the time, Barnabas doesn't stray too far from the gothic Victorian vampire stereotypes or Dracula's visual influences. Legendary makeup artist Dick Smith would provide a frightening aged, old-man version of Barnabas even using the same skull cap placed on Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man earlier the same year. This would prove to be Barnabas' only film appearance as the sequel would spotlight other creatures from the series.

TROG
When a primitive troglodyte is found living in a cave, an anthropologist (Joan Crawford) attempts to domesticate the beast. A trouble-making land developer (Michael Gough) sets him free and introduces the world to Trog. The Z-grade monster of the year, Trog's makeup pales in comparison to effects found in Planet of the Apes. In fact, only the headpiece is makeup with the rest being a rather unconvincing costume. However, the whole concept is deliciously oversimplified and silly making for an unforgettable creature, perhaps for the wrong reasons, of a different time both in his own sense and movie monster history.

CARMILLA KARNSTEIN
In 1970, much like today (2010), vampires were huge. We've already discussed Count Yorga and Barnabas Collins. Christopher Lee's Count Dracula for Hammer Films would make two appearances this year with Taste the Blood of Dracula and Scars of Dracula. Christopher Lee would also play a mustachioed version in Jesus Franco's Count Dracula. However, Hammer Films would bring the first of its Karnstein Trilogy films, Vampire Lovers and introduce the world to Ingrid Pitt as Carmilla Karnstein. No more vampire bride for this vampire, she's the king in her kingdom. Carmilla is Dracula's equal, just as threatening, just as enchanting and just as tragic. The female vampire finally has a name and a face.

YOG, THE SPACE MONSTER
A mostly forgotten kaiju creation would appear this year, Yog, the Space Monster also known as the Space Amoeba, but also simply named Gezora. Yog resembles a giant walking squid with a highly imaginative design, perhaps too innovative for its own good. Yog would never reach the audiences or fame of its cousins Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan or Gamera. However, Yog benefits from having some equally imaginative foes: Ganimes, a gigantic crab and Kamoebas a gigantic water turtle. While still obviously a man in a rubber suit, who can forget a upright walking squid with large bulging eyes. While never appearing in another film, unlike many of his Toho Studios counterparts, Yog would at least gain cult status over the years.