Claws & Saucers

  • “Edward Scissorhands” (1990) Review

    EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (Tim Burton, 105 min, color, 1990) What’s Happening: An invented man is fated to have scissors for hands Famous For: Last feature film appearance for Vincent Price Writer-producer-director Burton’s first film, the six-minute “Vincent” (1982) had featured Vincent Price’s voice.  Now, after the success of Pee-wee, Batman, and Beetlejuice, the great Burton got…

  • “SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT” 1-3 Review

    Here’s a combo review of the first three (1980s) SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT Christmas horrors… SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (Charles E. Sellier Jr., 85 min uncut, color, 1984) What’s Happening: Traumatized on Christmas Eve, boy grows into Killer Santa Famous For: Most famous Killer Santa in horror film history I won’t argue that creating this…

  • Black & White & Shiny All Over: Robots in Classic SF Films

    BLACK & WHITE & SHINY ALL OVER: ROBOTS IN CLASSIC SF FILMS Robots (or “iron men” or “mechanical men”) occupy one of the most important positions in science fiction film history.  Some great classic robots appeared in color, like Robby from Forbidden Planet, 1956, or Gog and Magog from Gog, 1954.  But since most robots…

  • “Werewolf of Woodstock” (1975) Review

    “WEREWOLF OF WOODSTOCK” (1975) Review THE WEREWOLF OF WOODSTOCK (John Moffitt, 66 min, color, 1975) What’s Happening: Old werewolf attacks young hippies in Woodstock, NY Famous For: Obscure TV werewolf movie Six years after the Woodstock festival, Dick Clark’s TV production company concocted this guileless and half-decent combination of werewolf movie and hippie movie. Perhaps…

  • “Howling” Through the 80s

    “HOWLING” THROUGH THE 80s Have you read my rundown of “1980s Werewolf Movies” in Scary Monsters #131 (Summer 2023)?  Werewolf movies, like their close companions Jekyll/Hyde movies, tend to be a high quality bunch. Here, I post my review of the original The Howling, excerpted from the Claws & Saucers guidebook.  Below it, I add…