Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Drive-In That Dripped Blood by Robert Freese The Drive-In That Dripped Blood by Robert Freese. Robert Freese sold his first short story in 1995. Since then, nearly one hundred of his short stories have been published in various print and electronic publications. Two previous collections of his short stories have been published. The first, A Place of Dreams and Nightmares was published in 2004. The second, 13 Frights, was published in 2006. Also released in 2006 was his chapbook The Drive-in that Dripped Blood. Summer 2007 saw the release of his first novel, Bijou of the Dead. Robert describes the novel as, “Your standard horror shocker about zombies attacking an old grindhouse movie theater.” (It will be reprinted by a new publisher in 2010.) The exhaustive book of movie trivia, Lights, Camera, Trivia Volume One, which Robert co-authored, was released in mid-2008. Late 2008 or early 2009 should also see the release of CD Publications In Laymon’s Terms, the tribute anthology dedicated to horror author Richard Laymon, to which he contributed. Fall 2009 will see the release of his science-fiction/monster/horror/Christmas story The Santa Thing. Currently, he is working on numerous projects, including two new novels and a non-fiction book about ghost hunting. In addition to his fiction writing, Robert also contributes regularly to a number of film magazines including The Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope Magazine and Scary Monsters Magazine, among others. When he is not writing Robert enjoys reading and watching drive-in movies on TV until his eyeballs ache. He lives in Huntsville, Alabama with his wife Frances. Shivers. Can your mind withstand SHOCK after SHOCK? Before reading SHIVERS, the publisher asks that you complete this short psychiatric evaluation to determine the capacity of shock and horror which your mind will resist before crumbling under the fright assault of the ten terror tales presented. 1) I get queasy around sharp objects. 2) Insects frighten me. 3) I truly believe strangers are watching me and want to hurt me. 4) Things I cannot see terrify me. 5) The sight of blood makes me want to faint. 6) I am deathly afraid of hospitals. If you answered “Yes” to any of the above statements, it may be dangerous to your fragile, mental well being to attempt reading SHIVERS. These stories may very well drive you to the brink of insanity. You have been warned. SHIVERS: Those tiny trembles of fright that make your skin crawl moments before being consumed by absolute terror! The Drive-In That Dripped Blood by Robert Freese. The British company Amicus (ran by American-born producers Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg) found a niche with omnibus horror films that started in the mid 1960s with DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS and TORTURE GARDEN. The latter was comprised of stories by author Robert Bloch (“Psycho”), who also supplied the literary source and screenplay for 1971's THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. By this time, the series had found the look and feel that made them so appealing, and it became a notable drive-in hit in the U.S. and it helped spawn the rediscovered trend of terror-filled “House” movies In the 1970s. Amicus was now churning anthologies out one after the other for a good five years. “The House” that the exploitive title refers to is a creaky old gothic residence that links four yarns together – all renters face a gloomy fate. All of the previous inhabitants have met death while residing there, as the real estate agent, A.J. Stoker (John Bryans, HENRY VIII AND HIS SIX WIVES), will tell you. While investigating the disappearance of an actor, a Scotland Yard police inspector named Holloway (John Bennett, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF) is told of the aforementioned grisly happenings by a feeble police sergeant (John Malcolm, THE RECKONING). First, in "Method For Murder," a horror novelist (Denholm Elliott, VAULT OF HORROR) believes one of his literary creations, a madman called Dominick (Tom Adams, FATHOM), is alive and well and stalking him in and around the house. Nobody else sees Dominick, who constantly lurks from the shadows and dark corners of the abode, and the writer's young wife (Joanna Dunham, THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD) is in harm's way as she is nearly strangled to death. But who is Dominick, and is he real or fictitious? In "Waxworks" the great Peter Cushing (FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL) plays a lonely retired bachelor who visits a wax museum and discovers a figure of Salome that resembles an old flame. A friend/rival (Joss Ackland, RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK) comes to visit and since he shared romantic interest in the same woman, he too is lured to the exhibit. The figure is more than it’s cracked up to be, and so is the museum's strange owner (Wolfe Morris, THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN), who carries around a medieval hatchet. In "Sweets To The Sweet," the legendary Christopher Lee (THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA) plays a stern father who fears his own daughter (genre child actress Chloe Franks in probably her best role), as her late mother had rather supernatural, bewitching habits. The child fears fire, and he won't let her play with dolls or interact with other children. An understanding live-in nanny (Nyree Dawn Porter, FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE) comes to the aid, but black magic has already entered the picture. The last segment, "The Cloak," is a comic spoof that cleverly and amusingly sends up the genre. Veteran screen actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee, who around the same time was the third TV "Doctor Who" for the BBC) Is tired of playing in horror films below his standard. Fed up with his inadequate wardrobe supplied by the studio, he buys a cloak from an oddball curiosity shop owner named Von Hartmann (Geoffrey Bayldon, FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED) that transforms him into a real vampire when he dons it. Sultry Hammer starlet Ingrid Pitt (THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, COUNTESS DRACULA) plays Carla, a vampire film starlet who has a nasty habit of spawning fangs and flapping about the house, and she initiates Henderson into her nocturnal world (Pitt reportedly turned down the lead in Hammer’s LUST FOR A VAMPIRE to do this film). This segment also brings everything full circle with the wraparound story (when Holloway breaks into the dark cellar holding an oversized candelabra as a torch, only to uncover the undead), and when it's all over, the curse of “The House” lives on. THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD could be the best of the Amicus anthologies. Its first-time feature director, Peter Duffell, was a stranger to the genre and had been so ever since, but that hardly shows here. The film can be disturbing (the little girl throwing a wax image of her father onto the fire as he screams in agony), sentimental (the retired man strolling happily through the small English town while the strains of classical violin music play in the background), and intense (the tormented writer being haunted as a result of his own imagination). The last segment works great as a spoof, and it seems a wise choice to cast Lee elsewhere in the film. As the stuck-up horror actor, Pertwee (with a passing resemblance to Ferdy Mayne in THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS) prances around the studio insulting the inexperienced director (Richard Coe), he criticizes the set for being too unrealistic, and he raves about how horror films aren’t made like they used to be:"Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera, Dracula - the one with Bela Lugosi of course, not the new fella (in reference to Christopher Lee).” Similar in-jokes and references to the genre are abound, and the film is constructed with colorful flair, as well as atmospheric scares and style rather than gory shock effects, and the music by Michael Dress is hauntingly unique. The cast of mostly British TV veterans is superb, handling the fun material so well, and it's great to see Lee and Cushing here as vulnerable everyday types, rather than murderous mad doctors or larger-than-life monsters. When released in the U.S. in 1971 by Cinerama, it was a popular feature at drive-in theaters for years, playing on double bills with Cinerama’s monster hit WILLARD and later with subsequent Amicus favorites such as TALES FROM THE CRYPT and ASYLUM. Lion's Gate Films first released THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD on DVD in 2003, and Hen's Tooth Video reissued it again on DVD (with an improved transfer) a full ten years later. Shout! Factory’s ever impressive Scream Factory arm did very well with their Amicus double feature Blu-ray of TALES FROM THE CRYPT/VAULT OF HORROR, so it was inevitable that they’d be the ones to get THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD out on the format, and we’re so glad they did. The film is presented in 1080p HD in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is a visual delight in its bold and distinct colors, crisp detail, rich textures (especially of the facial kind, as the revealing monster make-up on cameo player Roy Evans will prove) and impressive skin tones. Black levels are solid and grain is consistent and filmic. Unlike the previous DVD releases, the clean Blu-ray presentation of THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD is largely free of speckling and other debris, and this is another definitive winner from Scream Factory. The English Original Mono 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track has good balance between the film’s music score, the sound effects and the dialogue. Optional English SDH subtitles are included. Drive-In Dust Offs: THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1971) From the mid sixties to the mid seventies, omnibus (or anthology, or portmanteau if you’re really fancy) horror films were big business. And Amicus Productions ruled the roost. Between ’65 and ’74 they released seven such films, starting with Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (not to be confused with Dr. Tongue’s Evil House of Pancakes ) and culminating with From Beyond the Grave . Today’s film lands in the middle, The House that Dripped Blood (1971) showcasing a company just starting to hit their stride with anthologies. Popularity of the omnibus format has ebbed and flowed throughout the last 50 years; after Amicus stopped making them, George Romero and Stephen King collaborated on one of the finest, Creepshow (1982), which didn’t so much kick start a revival as have everyone afraid to compete. Throughout the late ‘80s and ‘90s there were pockets of inspiration, Tales from the Hood (1995) and of course HBO’s Tales from the Crypt (1989-96) mining the rich vein of dark humor prevalent in the old EC Comics. Now we have another renaissance upon us with the surprise success of V/H/S (2012) and its sequels, through last year’s Tales of Halloween , Southbound , and presently, Holidays . Maybe the portmanteau will stick around this time? Well, that depends. Quality control is job one with an anthology film and today’s crop usually bring in different talent to lay down the four color vengeance for each segment. It’s a dice roll to be sure, and the results are usually mixed. But the very idea is ensconced in the horror lexicon, and when a truncated tale works, it really works. Which brings us to today’s feature, and Blood certainly seemed to resonate with audiences when released in the spring of ’71. Let’s take a trip to the house and see what we can find, yes? Our wraparound story involves a Scotland Yard inspector (John Bennett – The Fifth Element ) looking for a missing horror movie actor, last seen residing at the titular house. He meets up with realtor A.J. Stoker (John Bryans – Henry VIII and his Six Wives ) to discuss the matter, and is told that the house has a macabre history with former tenants. Of course he wants examples, which leads us into our stories: Method For Murder – A horror author (Denholm Elliott - To the Devil a Daughter ) is suffering from writer’s block, so him and his wife (Joanna Dunham – The Greatest Story Ever Told ) move into the house looking for inspiration, and boy does he find it – he conjures up a hideous serial killer named Dominick. The only problem is Dominick starts showing up around the property. For real . Waxworks – A recent retiree (Peter Cushing – Horror Express ) rents the house to while away his time gardening and reading. Upon a visit to town, he comes across a wax museum that displays a figurine of a woman he thinks he knows. When his friend (Joss Ackland – Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey ) pays a visit, they return to the museum, with deathly results. Sweets to the Sweet – A widower (Christopher Lee – The Wicker Man ) and his withdrawn daughter (Chloe Franks – Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? ) rent the house, and soon thereafter hires a tutor/nanny (Nyree Dawn Porter – From Beyond the Grave ) while he does business in the city. He comes across as tyrannical towards his daughter, but is there a reason for his all consuming control? The Cloak – The missing actor (Jon Pertwee – in the middle of his run on BBC as Dr. Who ) from the wraparound tale rents the house with his co-star (Ingrid Pitt – The Vampire Lovers ) as they film his latest vampire film nearby. Underwhelmed with the authenticity of the production, he procures an ancient cloak from a sketchy proprietor to add some realism to the film. Little does he know that the cloak possesses the power to make his performance really fly off the screen. Once he has heard the stories, our intrepid inspector decides to visit the house (by himself, naturally) in an attempt to uncover the truth behind the disappearance. Will he like what he finds? Writer Robert Bloch (the Psycho novel) had a longstanding relationship with Amicus producers Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg, starting with The Skull (’65) and ending with Asylum (’72), and I think the reason people tend to remember the Amicus anthologies he didn’t write ( Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror ) with more fondness is because those were based on old EC Comics stories. Those films were more cartoonish by their very nature; with broadly drawn characters and narratives that emphasized the twist, the end game. Bloch’s stories were of his own creation, and his emphasis was on the characters. So with the other films, the impact arrived with the destination; with Bloch’s, the journey held the pleasures. There is only one tale here whose ending you won’t see coming from a mile down the road, and that’s okay. There’s certainly plenty to take in before the next episode appears. Director Peter Duffell had a lot of British television experience before this, and he would do more after, including two episodes of Tales of the Unexpected . He does a nice job here, creating a different mood for each tenant and story, and draws strong performances out of a first rate cast. Of course, Lee and Cushing deliver, as they were accustomed to this sort of heightened melodrama. Lee in particular, gives a great turn in the finest story ( Sweets to the Sweet ), a tale intriguing enough that it could easily be expanded to feature length, emphasizing Bloch’s strength – I really wanted to know more about the widower, his daughter, the nanny, and the mystery of the mother. And Pertwee is hilarious in the final story ( The Cloak ) as the pompous B actor who even manages a couple of digs at the then current actor who famously donned the cape and fangs (hint: he’s in this movie). Ironically, this story is played for ghoulish laughs more in line with the non Bloch anthologies. When all is said and done, what’s the final tally? That depends on the viewer. My favorite episode may not be yours (I know someone who thought my least liked was the best), and that’s part of what makes these portmanteaus so much fun. And probably why audiences are embracing them again – the chance to invest a little time in a short blast of terror, or a well turned tale. So while we can all enjoy the current crop of omnibuses, let’s not forget to pop over to Amicus’ House (and other properties) for a visit. The furniture may be antique, but it’s just as comfortable. The House that Dripped Blood is available on DVD from Henstooth Video. The House that Dripped Blood. Here’s another installment featuring Joe Dante’s reviews from his stint as a critic for Film Bulletin circa 1969-1974. Our thanks to Video Watchdog and Tim Lucas for his editorial embellishments! Four horror tales centering on haunted house. Well made and acted, an exploitable entry for general dualler markets, but rather mild for more bloodthirsty horror audience. Could have had class potential except for the title. OK boxoffice future overall. Rating: GP. Its sanguine title notwithstanding, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD aims at quiet chills rather than boisterous thrills, taking the form of four horror stories of varying quality centering on an accursed country house. Production, direction and acting are of a high standard, although the stories written by PSYCHO’s Robert Bloch lack the sensational aspects to wholly satisfy the present blood‑and‑guts horror market. In fact, were it not for the title, this could be a fairly good prospect for better‑class audiences, since its horrors are on a somewhat higher DEAD OF NIGHT level than might be expected. The British‑made Cinerama release is nevertheless quite exploitable, with cast presence of horror vets Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing a plus for any type of audience. Director Peter Duffell helms the proceedings intelligently, but the film lacks the force and charm of TORTURE GARDEN , a 1968 omnibus chiller from the same writer and producers (Amicus Productions). The stories are told to detective John Bennett, investigating the disappearance of the house’s last tenant. In the first, horror writer Denholm Elliott is terrified by apparitions of a mad strangler from one of his own novels. The grinning killer’s appearances get pretty scary until, alas, it all turns out to be a plot to drive Elliott insane—always a bit of a cheat, and no less so here. Next, lonely retired broker Peter Cushing becomes fascinated by a wax figure of Salome which resembles his lost love. Eventually his own head ends up on Salome’s platter, severed and covered with wax by the museum proprietor. Drawn out and full of loose ends, it’s the weakest story despite Cushing’s excellent performance, and it doesn’t even take place in the house. The best story has Christopher Lee as the strict father of angelic 8 year‑old Chloe Franks, whom he considers supernaturally evil. Governess Nyree Dawn Porter soon discovers the child is a witch and like her late mother, is given to torturing her father by voodoo. Strongly played and intriguingly plotted, it ends with the child throwing a wax doll of Lee into the fireplace to the accompaniment of offscreen agony. The last one is a neat comedy spoof with Jon Pertwee as a horror actor who yearns for the good old days of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and DRACULA (“the one with Bela Lugosi, not this new fellow”). Whenever he dons the vampire cape he bought from a strange old man, he turns into a real vampire. This causes problems on the set—he’s invisible in his make‑up mirror and bites leading lady Ingrid Pitt in the midst of filming. At midnight he even flies off the ground like a bat. He’s finally done in by Miss Pitt, a vampire herself, who explains, “we loved your movies so much we just had to make you one of us!” A few well‑deserved digs at Amicus’ chief competitor, Hammer Films, are also in evidence. Detective Bennett is vampirized at the end by Pertwee and Miss Pitt while searching the house, and the real estate agent notifies the audience that it’s open for new tenants. 1971. Cinerama (An Amicus Production). Eastman Color. 97 minutes. Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing. Produced by Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky. Directed by Peter Duffell. THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD is available for streaming at Amazon Instant Video. Halloween Drive-in Double Features #1. October is here and what better excuse than to watch a horror movie a day than saying it is for Halloween? I trust you have your snacks and beverages ready to go. Let’s get on with the haunted festivities. (This list is comprised of titles from both the HMCPL collection, which can easily be put on hold and picked up at any branch through HMCPL, or available instantly from Hoopla.) The Big “Night He Came Home” Show. Halloween (1978) & Halloween II (1981) (HMCPL & Hoopla) Is there a better movie to start this Halloween Hootenanny? It the original modern classic, the story of the night Michael The Shape Myers came home after spending fifteen years in the State Hospital for the Terminally Twitchy to reenact the murder of his sister on a couple of bubble headed high school babysitters. It is one of the classiest horror films of all time, and it’s opening scene of lil’ Mike doing the old slice and dice on his older sister Judith is as iconic a scene as Marion Crane’s murder in the shower in Psycho. Match it up with Halloween II , which picks up at the exact moment the original film ends, for the best of all the various storylines. This is all the Michael Myers you need. When using Halloween as the starting off film, this series is flexible enough to add different sequels for different storylines that also create triple, quadruple and a Dusk to Dawn all night marathon, depending on the storyline you pick. Here are the other storylines: Halloween (1978) & Halloween (2018) The 2018 sequel to the original also works as a remake, discounting every Halloween sequel made, except to make reference to them. It was one of the biggest horror movies of 2018. The next sequel, Halloween Kills , will be released in October of 2021, continuing this new storyline. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers & Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1996) In this storyline, branching off of Halloween and Halloween II , Michael The Shape Myers is still alive and spends the next couple Halloweens in a real bad mood. The focus is on Big Mike’s little niece Jamie Lloyd, the daughter of the Jamie Lee Curtis character from the original. (While many fans love the Jamie Lloyd saga, this is my least favorite storyline.) Halloween: H20 (1998) & Halloween: Resurrection (2002) This storyline continues after the end of Halloween II and sees the Jamie Lee Curtis character living under a different name in California, and Michael The Shape Myers comes looking for her on the 20 th anniversary of their first Halloween together. H20 is a great continuation from Halloween II and the storyline I enjoy the most after the original two films. Unfortunately, this storyline bleeds into Resurrection , a hot mess of a movie that is hard to sit through and probably seems worse than it really is coming after H20 . Halloween (2007) & Halloween II (2009) Finally, Rob Zombie made the first remake. He definitely put his own twist on the material. While I have enjoyed a couple of Zombie’s films, I really do not like his Halloween , but some fans feel it is a great film. On the other hand, everyone hated his Halloween II , but I really enjoyed what he did with that one. You can pick them both up and decide for yourself. The only Halloween movie we do not have offer is the one I consider the best of the bunch, 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch . It is the only installment of the entire series that does not include Michael The Shape Myers. In this installment, meant to initiate an annual anthology of Halloween themed films, Conal Cochran, a 2,000 year old warlock, just wants to play a joke on all the children of the world. If you see it playing, give it a watch. Vampires Run Amok! Fright Night (1985) & The Lost Boys (1987) Vampires just want to have fun! In Fright Night , a vampire moves next door and Charlie Brewster hires local horror host Peter Vincent to help him exterminate the blood-sucker. In The Lost Boys , a gang of super-hip vampires looking like a lost 80’s hair band terrorize the residents of Santa Carla. Both are extremely entertaining vamp-flicks. Ghosts Run Loose! The Changeling (1980) & The Orphanage (2007) Two excellent haunted house films sure to make the little hairs on your arms stand up. In The Changeling , the ghost of a young boy reveals a decades old secret and in The Orphanage , a young woman looks for her missing child. (You’ll probably want to sleep with the lights on if you watch them both, one after the other.)