Horror Movie ‘The Beast Within’ Channels Mississippi Murder
The specters of Mississippi murder, uncontrollable teens and much, much more American-generated anxiety haunt the freak-out horror movie The Beast Within.
Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett works in a public library. For more than 20 years, he wrote a monthly video column in the San Antonio Express News stressing classic and foreign films. His national publications include Video Watchdog, Nostalgia Digest and Retro Cinema. He's also written scripts that still await their destiny.
Silent Film ‘The Bat’ Begat Comics Dark Superhero Batman
Murder, secret rooms, and a man in a bat suit are among the shenanigans in silent film The Bat, a seminal work that begat comics dark superhero Batman.
B-Movie ‘Invasion of the Bee Girls’ Pollinates a Sexual Epidemic
Amid the spectre of a sexually transmitted epidemic, b-movie Invasion of the Bee Girls gives viewers an intoxicating buzz.
MoMA’s To Save and Project Film Restoration Fest Ranges from Classics to Avant-Garde
MoMA’s To Save and Project film restoration festival shows silents, exploitation films, avant-garde jokes, and the first Mexican film awarded at Cannes.
MoMA’s Film Restoration Fest To Save and Project Eyes Bad Behavior
MoMA’s film restoration fest To Save and Project eyes bad behavior with a Casanova, Western gunmen, pre-Code showgirls and drug addiction.
International Film Buffs Should Pounce on MoMA’s To Save and Project Festival
From silent classics to Thai melodrama, home movies to Brazilian sambas, MoMA’s To Save and Project festival is catnip for international film buffs.
Nazis and Racial and Sexual Subtexts in ‘Revenge of the Zombies’
Revenge of the Zombies stands at the axis of Nazis, race relations and feminism in a mishmash of wartime themes under an immigrant director.
When Sessue Hayakawa Took Hollywood by Smoldering Storm
Sessue Hayakawa was the first Asian male star in Hollywood, became a “foreign” silent film sex symbol, and ran his own company while the “natives” remained uptight.
Fascism Bares Its German Shepherd Teeth in Two Post-Franco Films
The Creature and A Dog Called Vengeance use German shepherds in allegories of fascist politics, revolution, violence and love.
Masahiro Shinoda’s ‘Demon Pond’ Ripples Through Japan’s New Wave
Fantastic colors, costumes, and effects ripple through Masahiro Shinoda’s New Wave-era Demon Pond, which is drenched in Kabuki romantic fantasy.
An Older Kind of Fear: Five Classic Halloween Horror Movies on Blu-Ray
From 1930 to 1980, these five horror movies offer masked maniacs, mad scientists, murder mysteries, mummies, and military cannibals for your Halloween freak-out.
Masculine Movie Icon Alan Ladd As the Wounded Outlaw Hero
Red Mountain and Botany Bay showcase masculine movie icon Alan Ladd in his glory, playing wounded heroes on the wrong side of the law.