It's Lon Chaney Jr's birthday today -- a great excuse to watch Spider Bay. It's my favorite of his films. I love him in sympathetic roles. This is an excellent print of the film for free from Archive.

https://archive.org/details/geckos-sb1080p

I finally watched Asteroid City (2023). If you like Wes Anderson, I don't see how you can go wrong with this one. I'm no longer in that group and found it painful to sit through.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/a/#asteroid-city

I only just say Westworld (1973). I remember people being crazy for the film then. My expectations were high so it isn't surprising I didn't especially like it. But it's well produced. I suspect people revisiting it will enjoy it.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/w/#westworld

I just watched When Worlds Collide (1951) for the first time since I was a kid. The model work is impressive but mostly, it's kind of dull -- not nearly as fun as It Came From Outer Space. But definitely well-made!

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/w/#when-worlds-collide

The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). I just discovered this. It is as bizarre as the legend has it. Here is a great (free) print!

https://archive.org/details/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial

I'm watching City on Fire (1979). It's not as bad as I'd been led to think. But the main thing about it is that Shelley Winters had so much charisma. She puts everyone else to shame!

Here's a good and free copy:

https://ia800508.us.archive.org/6/items/01-leslie-nielsen/City%20on%20Fire%20%281979%29.ia.mp4

I watched X (2022). More heartbreaking than horror. But a very well-crafted film.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/x/#x

Frightmare (1974) starts off great but loses it at the end. Still, there's easily a half hour here very much worth watching!

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/f/#frightmare

Horrors of the Black Museum (1959) is a nice combination of 1950s style and a dark and grizzly inside. Features Alfred from the 1980s Batman movies.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/h/#horrors-of-the-black-museum

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981) is one of the greatest horror films ever made. It's just shockingly good -- and made for TV!

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/d/#dark-night-of-the-scarecrow

Cheeky little kill-fest Jack Frost (1997) is hated by professional film critics!

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/j/#jack-frost-1997

Capsule review Resurrection (2022). I spent about an hour discussing just what's going on in this film with my writing partner. We can up with way too many ideas. The film is good and worth a look.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/r/#resurrection

I watched the two filmed versions of Blithe Spirit. My thoughts here:

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/b/#blithe-spirit-1945

The best thing is that I discovered a TV version starring Noel Coward, Claudette Colbert, and Lauren Bacall! Copy here:

https://archive.org/details/blithe-spirit-1956

Spectre (1977) was another horror TV pilot that kind of sucked. But you'd think it would be a bigger deal given it was created by Gene Roddenberry. Again: the show might have been good but the pilot wasn't.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/s/#spectre

My constant efforts to find unusual films have recently led me to failed TV pilots. Good Against Evil (1977) is the worst so far. Too bad! Although the pilot was hard to get through, I think the series would have been good. Kind of "Have Exorcist, Will Travel"!

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/g/#good-against-evil

Ghost Stories (2017) presents a strong reveal but the denouement is disappointing. Still worth watching.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/g/#ghost-stories

I Trapped the Devil (2019) is one of these modest-budget single-location films that feature great script, production, and acting. If you have AMC+ you should definitely check it out!

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/i/#i-trapped-the-devil

I watch an enormous number of low-budget films each year and I'm extremely forgiving. But there are limits. The Wizard of Mars is still better than Bad Teacher. But it's hard to get through.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/w/#wizard-of-mars

Cyborg 2087 is an anti-communist science fiction film from 1966 starring Michael Rennie. Sounds better than it is. It's fine. But pretty boring...

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/c/#cyborg-2087

I finally watched Porky's (1981). I can't say I especially enjoyed it but I'm not in its target audience. It works on its own terms and is a wonderfully made film.

https://psychotronicreview.com/short-takes/p/#porkys