Recap period: 1950s

 We finally got through the 1950s! Because we had been struggling with the recap of this period, we are kind of working on recap alongside moving forward. So soon there should be a 1980 blog post!!!! But yeah, 1950s recap was all right. Some Poe films. Some sci fi films. It's a mixed bag.

1950

Fall of the House of Usher: This was definitely worth the skip. Was not that compelling really.

1951

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man: Just like the previous two, this one was a treat. It was fun seeing the ways the invisible man could be the source of comic relief. Arguably my favorite Invisible Man film!

The Thing from Another World: This was fun! It was cool seeing the original version of "The Thing." And I always like arctic horror anyway.

The Man from Planet X: This was one of those so-bad-it's-good films. If it had been a bit shorter, I'd almost recommend it. But I definitely won't forget the alien costume in this one.

The Strange Door: This one was a treat. I love Charles Laughton's performance here, and I would watch it again just to see that performance. The plot isn't super complex, but it has enough moments of cruelty to remind you of a Shakespearean villain.

1953

Dracula Istanbul'da: A Turkish Dracula. It's okay. The music made it compelling. But not really worth the watch.

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: More fun adventures from this duo. The Jekyll and Hyde aspect could have been played with a bit more, but it was still enjoyable.

It Came from Outer Space: This was a fun alien invasion film. I actually enjoyed the plot of this one. And it had decent body-snatching elements. A bit predictable of course.

The Tell-Tale Heart: As a short animated film, this was very compelling! I actually enjoyed it and would watch it again. It felt a little closer to the original story than some other film versions we've seen.

1954 

Phantom of the Rue Morgue: It's a pretty straight re-telling. It didn't too much interesting with the premise unfortunately.

1955

Revenge of the Creature: It was cool seeing a somewhat different take on the Creature from the Black Lagoon. It felt very natural seeing him captured in the sequel. Kind of like the Universal Mummy sequels, having the Other moved to the home setting as opposed to the native setting. But the plot was considerably drier (pun intended).

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy: This one was really good! I actually loved this one and would put it in my top A&C films.

Dementia: This was a trippy experimental film. It's the kind of film to put on when you've been up to late at night, the lights are out, and you're so tired you could almost hallucinate. That's when this film is perfect to watch.

1956

The Creature Walks Among Us: The last of the Creature films. This one kind of shocked me. I didn't expect the original last film to actually try to "civilize" the Creature. It was so surreal.

The Bad Seed: Oh, I love shitty children horror films. This one was no exception. I am glad I watched this missed film. The young actress was a treat; she was so chilling, and I hated her lol.

Manfish: More of an adventure film than a horror film, it still had plenty of Poe references, and it was fun! Wouldn't recommend for horror lovers necessarily, but it was a grand ol' time if you're looking for a Poe-inspired treasure hunt.

1957

Blood of Dracula: Despite the name, not much about Dracula! But it had a fun hypnosis style premise, and the music was....hilarious. Just look up the song Puppy Love from the movie. It's something else!

Daughter of Dr. Jekyll: This was all right. You know from the get-go that it's a whodunnit, and you know it's not the main character. So figuring it out from there was kind of fun.

El Castillo de los Monstruos: This was hilarious just in how bad the acting was. If you want to see the worst ever performance of Dracula, for example, this is the film for you. Good fun though!

The Deadly Mantis: Can't go wrong with that! Giant insect films are a treat on their own.

The Living Idol: Not worth the watch honestly.

The Cyclops: This one was fun albeit predictable. I laughed a lot at the bad film effects. One of those so-bad-it's-good films.

The Invisible Man vs. the Human Fly: Another so-bad-it's-good! It was a rare take on the Fly that came from Japan. Worth the watch!

The Mysterians: This was a tokusastsu film. Okay but definitely needed more kaiju!

1958

Return of Dracula: This one envisions Dracula coming to America after escaping hunters in Europe. I actually really liked the plot here, and the characterization of the vampire was rather unique too. I'd watch this one again for sure.

How to Make a Monster: This was a great meta-horror movie. I always like the horror movies that are about horror fans or horror actors. And this one is about a horror costume designer! It really serves as a good benchmark to the "I Was a Teenage ____" films. The effects were a joy here anyway, and we had some fun deaths.

Frankenstein 1970: This was a fun Karloff film and is an interesting take on the Frankenstein story. I don't think the plot worked for me, but it was a unique way to go about it.

Earth vs. the Spider: It certainly does not meet the scope of its own name, but it was still a fun giant spider film!

The Blood of the Vampire: This film was odd in that it really pushes for a scientific Dracula, a man who is conducting blood experiments on prison inmates to keep himself alive. I really liked this, and it had some creative cruelty, too.

Varan: A gliding kaiju this time. Why not? I liked it, but I like kaiju films anyway.

1959

Return of the Fly: The sequel did a lot wrong for me. We had a crueler antagonist. But the ending was too happy, and the costume design didn't work for me.

Bucket of Blood: The first of the Corman-Griffith trilogy. This just had so many wonderful comedy elements. I would totally watch this a second or third time. 

Invasion of the Animal People: Despite the name, not many animal people. Quite boring. And way too long.

Angry Red Planet: Was glad to finally see this classic! Still felt too long. I enjoyed the creature effects and the film effects.

So for me, my favorites from this recap decade were....Bucket of Blood, How to Make a Monster, and The Bad Seed. On the whole, yeah....I see why we hadn't watched most of these films in our first run of the decade. But I'm glad we got through them anyway.

As for Weasel..."I liked the Strange Door. That was a good one. I liked The Bad Seed. OOO Blood of the Vampire. That was a good one! And the animated Poe film. That was kind of neat. Definitely Bucket of Blood. It was such a stupid movie. Good but stupid. That is all."

Our next post will likely be a review of just 1980's films. I think we have like....40 horror films from just that year! So that'll be fun.