Starring: Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Michael Ansara, Burgess Meredith

“Possession marked The Exorcist. Demonic Pregnancy erupted Rosemary’s Baby. Warnings followed The Omen. And The Manitou has it all combined!”

When Karen Tandy (Susan Strasberg) finds she has a rapidly growing tumor on the back of her neck that perplexes even the best San Francisco surgeon, she seeks guidance from her sometimes-lover Harry Erskine (a delightfully flamboyant Tony Curtis), a hack mystic with a specialty of forecasting the gastrointestinal futures of wealthy older women. Consulting a variety of experts in black magic and anthropology, Harry can’t ignore all the signs point to one thing – a Native American shaman is attempting rebirth through Karen’s body! Launching off of this insane premise, The Manitou never lets up, building to a wild psychedelic climax and peppered with unhinged performances including a confused-but-committed Burgess Meredith.

Starring: Vincent Price, Jane Asher, Hazel Court, David Weston

Out of the eight film adaptations he did, The Masque of the Red Death is one of Roger Corman’s more faithful renderings of an Edgar Allen Poe story.

Based on the 1842 short story of the same name with a slight incorporation of a sub-plot on Poe’s other tale, “Hop Frog,” the film is a vivid visual odyssey into madness, sadism, and death. Starring Vincent Price, The Masque of the Red Death takes place during the 12th century when a plague known as “The Red Death” was spreading across Europe, decimating the population. In the midst of this, Prince Prospero (Price) has cloistered himself with a select group of aristocrats in his castle fortress where he worships Satan. To pass the time, they play decadent parlor games which usually involve the victimization and torture of some unfortunate peasants. Prospero’s most recent act of cruelty involves forcing a local villager Francesca to choose between sparing the life of her father or her fiance. Meanwhile, a mysterious cloaked figure journeys toward Prospero’s castle for a fateful meeting.

For November, THE DEUCE serves up a feast of freaky fun with Mike and Roberta Findlay’s bonkers “Bigfoot” bonanza: SHRIEK OF THEMUTILATED!

A gung-ho group of grad students and their professor take a fearful field trip to the far-off regions of… upstate New York (Croton-on-Hudson) for a yuck-filled Yeti hunt! Heart-felt Yeti songs are sung, and heart-felt discussions… until  the horrible heart-beat of the beast is heard!

When the students start dropping faster than their GPAs – will anyone survive the wrath of the wooly’s rampage?? A wacky, wholly WTF brain-drain of a Bigfoot (make that Yeti) yarn, chock-full of weirdness!…

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NEW RESTORATION! 

In the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the Dr. Eswai is called by Inspector Kruger to a small village to perform an autopsy on a woman who has died under suspicious circumstances. Despite help from Ruth, the village witch, Kruger is killed and it is revealed that the dead woman, as well as other villagers, have been killed by the ghost of Melissa, a young girl who, fed by the hatred of her grieving mother, Baroness Graps, exacts her revenge on them. Dr. Eswai, along with Monica, a local nurse, are lured into a fateful confrontation at the Villa Graps…

One of the great horror anthology films of all time hosted by the great Boris Karloff, and Mario Bava’s personal favorite of his works, Black Sabbath solidified the director’s reputation as Europe’s maestro of the macabre. In The Telephone! a woman is haunted by menacing phone calls from a former lover. The Wurdulak stars Karloff as a vampire hunter whose family is stalked by the wandering spirit of an undead ghoul. A Drop Of Water involves a nurse who steals a ring from a corpse – not realizing the curse that is carried with it.

One of the most influential horror films of all time, Mario Bava’s A BAY OF BLOOD (1971, aka Twitch of the Death Nerve) is the spurting artery from which all future slasher films would flow.

When crippled Countess Federica is murdered at her isolated mansion, a gruesome battle ensues to secure the rights to her valuable property around the bay. Everyone, from illegitimate children to shady real estate agents, stakes a claim, only to be killed in increasingly bizarre ways, from simple shootings to impalement by fishing spear. The makeup effects are by Carlo Rambaldi, who would later earn Oscars for his work in Alien (1979) and E.T. (1982).

Initially scorned upon its original release because of its graphic violence, A BAY OF BLOOD eventually became a trendsetter, the model slasher film that Friday the 13th would emulate nearly a decade later.

Steeped in sadomasochism and lushly photographed in the vivid hues for which the director is known, Mario Bava’s THE WHIP AND THE BODY is a Gothic thriller that far surpasses the API Edgar Allan Poe films that it was intended to emulate.

Christopher Lee (Dracula: Prince of Darkness) stars as Kurt Menliff, the sadistic son of a wealthy Count, who returns to the family castle, much to the dismay of his family, their servants, and the beautiful woman with whom he shares a fondness for the lash (Daliah Lavi). When Kurt is found murdered, it brings no peace to those who had feared him, as his vengeful spirit cannot be contained by the grave, and he returns to torment those unfortunate enough to remain within Menliff Manor.

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks

Evil Dead 2 is a comedic take on a lone survivor (the estimable Bruce Campbell) and a group of strangers who fight the undead released after reading the Necronomicon (aka “Book of the Dead”). A parody sequel to director Sam Raimi’s original feature Evil Dead (when does THAT ever happen?) this version heavily features the handsome hero Ash who must fight squirly, soaring and scary demons as well as his very own hand and a flying eyeball. Cue the chainsaw and shotgun accessories. One of the best!

Starring: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarlath Conroy, Sherman Howard

In George A. Romero’s third installment of his “Dead” series, he makes commentary on the militarization of the United States and the dangers of free-range scientific experiment. In Day of the Dead, the zombies have been raging for quite some time and it should be apparent that humans are in a brave new world of the dead. Still, there’s a hold out group of soldiers, scientists, and workers in a Florida underground military base who are still clinging to the idea things will return to normal. Most go crazy in the process and the abuses of power manifest in many different, gruesome ways. Day is vivid, neon gore with heart…and an evolved zombie named Bud.