Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on June 18, 2020

(1980) Directed by Barbara Peeters; Written by Frederick James (aka: William Martin); Story by Frank Arnold and Martin B. Cohen; Starring: Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, Vic Morrow, Cindy Weintraub, Anthony Peña and Breck Costin; Available on Blu-ray, DVD, Shudder and Amazon Prime Rating: ** &#8220   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on June 10, 2020

(1955) Directed by Robert Gordon; Written by George Worthing Yates and Harold Jacob Smith; Starring: Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, Donald Curtis and Ian Keith Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***½ “It’s just like the basic concept of Mickey Mouse. He only has four finger   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on June 1, 2020

The Alligator People (1959) Beverly Garland plays Joyce Webster, a woman searching for her missing husband Paul (Richard Crane). Her search ends up at an estate in bayou country, where Paul is part of an experiment to restore bodies that have been horribly injured. It’s too bad the process (us   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on May 28, 2020

(1940) Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack; Written by Tom Kilpatrick; Starring: Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, Charles Halton, Victor Kilian and Frank Yaconelli; Available on Blue-ray and DVD Rating: *** “Are we then country doctors? You do not realize what we have here. In our   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on May 20, 2020

(1995) Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro; Written by Gilles Adrien, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro; Starring: Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, and Mireille Mossé; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating ****½ “This film is a   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on May 11, 2020

(1932) Directed by Michael Curtiz; Written by Robert Tasker and Earl Baldwin; Based on a play by Howard W. Comstock and Allen C. Miller; Starring: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy, Preston Foster, John Wray, Harry Beresford and Dr. Rowitz; Available on DVD (in the “Hollywood Legends of Horro   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on April 30, 2020

The Strangler (1964) This overlooked little thriller is worthy of rediscovery, thanks to Victor Buono’s gloriously unhinged performance as Leo Kroll, a man frozen in a stage of arrested development. The standard police procedural plot is nothing special, hampered by wooden acting from David Mc   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on April 28, 2020

(1981) Written and directed by John Waters; Starring: Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, David Samson and Mink Stole; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***½ “If Polyester is suburban hell, then I don’t think… I think people could be happy in suburbia. I’m not say   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on April 19, 2020

It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached the end of the Vincent Price Blogathon, after months of planning. The call for submissions went out in February, and participants rose to the challenge with multiple reviews, a podcast, videos, a cocktail recipe, and another fabulous word puzzle, c   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on April 18, 2020

(1946) Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz; Based on the novel by Anya Seton; Starring: Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, Walter Huston, Glenn Langan, Anne Revere and Vivienne Osborne; Available on Blu-ray (Region B) and DVD Rating: ****½ “I didn’t expect you to understan   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on April 18, 2020

Day Two of the Vincent Prince Blogathon is upon us, and we have another bumper crop of posts, with Edgar Allan Poe, creepy houses, flying mammals, gothic romance, the silly side of Mr. Price, a double dose of biopics, TV, radio drama, and Vincent singing! If you plan to participate...   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on April 17, 2020

Gill Jacob of Realweegiemidget Reviews and I proudly present the first day of The Vincent Price Blogathon! To say that response to this three-day blogging extravaganza has been tremendous would be an understatement. Our talented bloggers have risen to the challenge, doing what they do best, to show   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on April 4, 2020

(1963) Written and directed by Peter Brook; Based on the novel by William Golding; James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Roger Elwin and Tom Gaman; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***½ “All I wanted was a small sum of money, no script; just kids, a camera, and a beach.&#8221   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 31, 2020

Danger: Diabolik! (1968) Director/co-writer Mario Bava’s delicious artifact from the swinging ‘60s, based on an Italian comic, oozes style and sex from every pore. Bava and crew make the modestly budgeted production look like it cost millions of dollars, thanks to an endless parade of co   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 26, 2020

(1961) Directed by Cy Endfield; Written by John Prebble, Daniel B. Ullman and Crane Wilbur; Based on the novel by Jules Verne; Starring: Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Gary Merrill, Beth Rogan and Herbert Lom Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***½ “The original s   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 21, 2020

I don’t typically do endorsements here at Cinematic Catharsis, but I couldn’t keep a lid on something that truly represents my sensibilities (Or is that senselessness? I get these two confused.). Westgate Gallery is an online store by a movie fan for movie fans, stocked with thousands of   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 14, 2020

(1976) Directed by Nicolas Roeg; Written by Paul Mayersberg; Based on the novel by Walter Tevis; Starring: David Bowie, Buck Henry, Candy Clark, Rip Torn and Bernie Casey; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** “I think that probably one of the things that Nick (Roeg) identified with m   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 7, 2020

(1985) Directed by Michael Rubbo; Written by Michael Rubbo, Vojtech Jasný, Andrée Pelletier and Louise Pelletier; Starring: Mathew Mackay, Siluck Saysanasy, Alison Darcy, Michael Hogan and Michel Maillot; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***½ “I wanted to say something: Life is   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 2, 2020

The Uninvited (1944) Ray Milland stars as music critic Roderick Fitzgerald, who travels to the English coast to escape the hustle and bustle of London. Along with his sister Pamela (Ruth Hussey), they purchase a 200-year-old seaside mansion from a retired Navy captain (Donald Crisp). Instead of peac   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on February 25, 2020

(1980) Directed by Peter Medak; Written by William Gray and Diana Maddox; Story by Russell Hunter; Starring: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, Barry Morse and Madeleine Sherwood; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** “There’s nothing more creep   read more