The Campy Years of Horror - 1963-65

 Sin and I just finished watching the horror movies on our list from the years 1963-65. So now let me talk about what all we saw, and we'll put our favs at the end!

1963

Dementia 13: This was a good one. Felt like one of the first "true" slashers ever, and it definitely had some Hitchcock elements. I love the axe murderer in this. It was a pretty good serious horror film. I'd recommend it.

The Haunting: Bleh. I found this boring personally. Even with its hints of lesbianism, it just wasn't that interesting to me. Such good source material, but they butchered it beyond belief.

The Birds: This one was a blast. I didn't know what to expect going in to it. It was my first time seeing it. I had seen other Hitchcock films. But I had only ever seen horror birds in Birdemic! I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this film.

Black Sabbath: This was a fun Italian anthology film! I'd recommend watching it just for The Telephone. It was a pretty fun film and reminded me of Tales from the Crypt a good bit.

Black Zoo: Omg, I loved this film. The horror of the animals here, the soundtrack, and the sheer twists in the plot. Wow, it was just so well written despite its out-there premise, and it would be fun to study even from just a race level, too.

Comedy of Terrors: Ha, this was such a funny film. With Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and Peter Lorre, it was just so delightful. I laughed at all the Shakespeare jokes and the slapstick elements of it. One of my favorite horror comedies so far, but granted, I've always loved Lorre and Price together.

Matango: A very cool Japanese plant horror film. It was definitely campy, in the way that LOST is. Worth the watch.

At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul: A Brazilian horror film. It was mediocre. Had some good gore moments though.

Old, Dark House: Such a different film and shouldn't be compared to the original. But it's good. It's quirky as all hell, including an ark the family hopes to use to survive the Flood. Not sure if it wanted to be taken completely seriously at times or if it was going full comedy all the time. But not too bad!

The Damned: The fuck? This was such a pessimistic, dark dystopian film. It is easily the most depressing film we've seen so far up to this point. Wow.

Kiss of the Vampire: This was an okay vampire film from Hammer. Not the greatest, but it had its fun moments, like the swarm of bats at the end.

The Raven: Another Lorre and Price mashup, and it was so hilarious. It's a fantasy horror movie, and I was just in love with the final magic duel at the end. And Lorre as the raven just killed me. Wow.

Blood Feast: Definitely the bloodiest movie so far! Definitely! Plot was okay albeit racist. But it was cool to see gore handled so well this early.

1964 

Last Man on Earth: This was Vincent Price in the I Am Legend story. It was okay. I loved Price in it of course, but I think Will Smith did it a lot better. The zombies were so odd in this film though. They just felt...kinda unrealistic?

Kwaidan: Holy fuck what a long movie. It was like three hours as an anthology film. Some of the stories were okay. A hair story. A snow story. A samurai story. They were all right. They're such classic stories for Japanese horror, and it didn't do much with them. But it was a beautiful film aesthetically.

Castle of Blood: I loved this Italian horror film. It had all the charm of the House on Haunted Hill. Basically, try to survive the night. And the ending just got me so much by surprise. Wonder if it partially inspired Final Destination?

Horror of Party Beach: Such a campy movie. The music was horrible, and I just couldn't believe this thing exists. Such a bad movie that you have to watch.

Mothra vs Godzilla: Mothra is an okay baddie. But it wasn't a super strong pairing for me. I wasn't that convinced by it. Godzilla movies have been getting crazier around this time, too lol.

Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster: Another Godzilla movie. I did love Ghidorah, and this gave Mothra some much needed backstory. Probably my favorite Godzilla movie so far.

Evil of Frankenstein: This one retconned the other Frankensteins. For me, it was a step back. They worked with Universal on this one and tried to remake that original. While I liked the better actors, I just didn't like the three steps back. I loved the second Hammer Frankenstein because it was unique. The third one kinda ruined that. Granted, I think it did the original Frankenstein better than Universal, but that doesn't mean much.

Curse of the Mummy's Tomb: I think this was my favorite Mummy film so far. It gave a fairly unique plot, stayed mostly in London, and it had some interesting race issues that are great for a larger discussion about representation.

The Gorgon: This is a first! Medusa in a horror film. It had so many twists, and I had no idea where it was going or how it would end.

Nightmare: This was such a twisty film. Reminded me a lot of Diaboliques. I absolutely loved this one!

1965

Curse of Simba: Racist af. Don't watch.

Frankenstein Conquers the World: Godzilla meets Frankenstein's monster. Just...why?

Incubus: William Shatner....Esperanto....demons...Just...why?

Orgy of the Dead: Ed Wood...boring strip dances...racism...randomly perfectly cut screams...just...why?

The She Wolf: A pretty good Mexican horror film with werewolves. I dig.

Invasion of Astro-Monster: An okay Godzilla film with a lot of monsters. Don't have too many thoughts about it.

Fanatic: This movie is like Misery on crack. Crazy religious zealots, house arrest, and lots of stabbing. I loved this movie.

So, let's talk favorites! Black Zoo, Comedy of Terrors, The Raven, Nightmare, Orgy of the Dead, and Fanatic. If I had to pick three....I'd say Black Zoo, The Raven, and the Fanatic. These were ones that caught me off guard in some form or fashion, and I recommend!

Sin says, "Dementia 13. The Haunting. The Raven definitely. Are you typing everything I say verbatim? Are you serious? That's not right; you shouldn't be typing everything I say verbatim. How about this? How about you fucking suck my dick? Do not fucking post that...bow. Bow. Anyways....bow bow bow. Bow. Ghidorah. Gotta have a monster movie in there. And Last Man on Earth. I'm gonna jizz on your face. So mean to me."

Comment question of the day: what's the campiest movie you've ever seen?