Cast:
Colin Clive - Dr. Henry Frankenstein
Mae Clarke - Elizabeth
John Boles - Victor Moritz
Boris Karloff - The Monster
Edward Van Sloan - Dr. Waldman

The classic and definitive monster/horror film of all time, director James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) is the screen version of Mary Shelley’s Gothic 1818 nightmarish novel of the same name (Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus). The film, with Victorian undertones, was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal Pictures, the same year that Dracula (1931), another classic horror film, was produced within the same studio - both films helped to save the beleaguered studio. [The sequel to this Monster story is found in director James Whale’s even greater film, Bride of Frankenstein (1935).]

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Cast:
Boris Karloff - The Monster (as Karloff)
Colin Clive - Dr. Henry Frankenstein
Valerie Hobson - Elizabeth Frankenstein
Ernest Thesiger - Dr. Pretorius
Elsa Lanchester  - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley/The Monster’s Mate
Gavin Gordon - Lord Byron

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), a classic masterpiece of 1930s horror films, appeared as a superior sequel to the original prototype Frankenstein (1931). [There are so few sequels that are superior to their predecessors - another example would be The Godfather, Part II (1974).] While the film was in production, it was titled The Return of Frankenstein until it was released. The film’s title is actually a misnomer - the ‘bride’ of Frankenstein was not the Monster’s bride but Elizabeth (played by seventeen year old Valerie Hobson), Dr. Frankenstein’s wife. [Mention of the film often drops the “The” from the film’s title.]

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Cast:
Mia Farrow - Rosemary Woodhouse
John Cassavetes - Guy Woodhouse
Ruth Gordon - Minnie Castevet
Sidney Blackmer - Roman Castevet
Maurice Evans - Edward ‘Hutch’ Hutchins
Ralph Bellamy - Dr. Abraham Sapirstein

“Rosemary’s Baby” is one of the best horror films ever made. This isn’t because it’s going to scare the pants off you with a series of sensational jolts. This isn’t the shallow, gimmicky kind of horror movie we mostly get these days, and it isn’t the traditional old-fashioned horror film of an earlier era. This is a movie that came out during a period of transition in Hollywood.

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Cast:
Kurt Russell - R.J. MacReady
Wilford Brimley - Dr. Blair (as A. Wilford Brimley)
T.K. Carter - Nauls
David Clennon - Palmer
Keith David - Childs
Richard A. Dysart - Dr. Copper (as Richard Dysart)

The Thing  is a film that has developed a sizable cult subsequent to its release. Although the surprise about it is that the film was not at all a success when it came out. The Thing ’s problem was really its timing – it came out three weeks after Spielberg’s E.T– The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). E.T.  and its warm-fuzzy view of intergalactic relations was well and truly on its way to becoming the then No. 1 box-office film of all-time and The Thing  ended up being forgotten in all the excitement. Moreover it received a surprising number of hostile mainstream reviews that dismissed it as no more than an effects and gore showcase.

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Cast:
Simon Pegg - Shaun
Kate Ashfield - Liz
Nick Frost - Ed
Lucy Davis - Dianne
Dylan Moran - David
Nicola Cunningham - Mary

A sleeper hit in the UK earlier this year that is now being released stateside, “Shaun of the Dead” is a spoof of the zombie genre as only the British could make. Unlike American parodies, which are usually filled with obvious puns and broad slapstick, the comedy found in “Shaun of the Dead” is as bitingly dry as a straight shot of gin but without the bitter aftertaste. Writer-director Edgar Wright and co-writer Simon Pegg (both known in their country for the TV series, “Spaced”) are exceedingly droll jokester whose humor is of the subtle, quick-witted variety, and they do not miss a beat at also making a statement about the more mundane sides of modern living. Indeed, if the viewer does not pay adamant attention, they may be in danger of missing some of the biggest laughs.

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