Hill Street Blues (1981) – Double Jeopardy, and Film at Eleven

Double Jeopardy, known in some markets as Dressed to Kill first aired on 31 January, 1981. Written by series creators Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, the episode puts Operation Duckling into action. It seems the serial rapist they’ve been trying to apprehend since the beginning of the series is still out there, and the precinct…

Mother Riley Meets The Vampire (1952) – John Gilling

This comedic title which features the next machine menace in DK Books’ Monsters in the Movies is a film that could have been filed under vampires or robots (though the vampire is definitely in it a lot longer than the robot). Apparently Mother Riley films were a thing in the UK, the character is played…

In Conversation with John Landis

Today is my birthday, so it seems like the perfect moment to share this wonderful gift DK Canada gave me. Director John Landis has overseen the compilation of a new anthology, Haunted Houses, and it is perfect reading for the Halloween season. It’s a fantastic collection, and DK Canada arranged for me to speak with…

The Monster Squad (1987) – Fred Dekker

The next werewolf title that DK Canada’s very enjoyable Monsters in the Movies recommends doesn’t only feature a Wolfman (Carl Thibault), but also includes Dracula (Duncan Regehr), the Mummy (Micheal Reid MacKay), Frankenstein’s Monster (Tom Noonan) and the Creature From the Black Lagoon known as Gillman (Tom Woodruff, jr.) in this version. This cult favorite…

Rumble Fish (1983) -Francis Ford Coppola

The next title on the What Else to Watch list following DK Canada’s The Movie Book’s recommendation of The Godfather is Coppola’s adaption of S.E. Hinton’s classic novel. Boasting an all-star cast, Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Dennis Hopper, Diane Lane (one of my first ever crushes that continues to this day), Laurence Fishburne, Vincent Spano,…

Lifeforce (1985) – Tobe Hooper

Special effects wizard John Dykstra, legendary composer Henry Mancini, Alien scribe Dan O’Bannon, Sir Patrick Stewart, and the lovely Mathilda May are all part of Tobe Hooper’s sci-fi vampire movie. And you’d think that with credits like that, including Steve Railsback and Peter Firth would make this a solid entry in the Monsters in the…

Van Helsing (2004) – Stephen Sommers

After his fairly positive success with two Mummy movies, and the cult favorite Deep Rising, Stephen Sommers looked to do an homage to the Universal Monsters and hopefully launch a new tentpole franchise with the Hugh Jackman led Van Helsing. This is the next recommendation from DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies by John Landis,…

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) – Mel Brooks

It was going to happen sooner or later. I was going to come across the first of the parody/comedy films that sprang up around vampires as I continue to work my way through the highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies written by John Landis, and released through DK Canada. So it’s time to let Mel…

The Return of Dracula (1958) – Paul Landres

Dracula does California! And it’s gonna be an entertaining (and pretty bad ride) as I dig into the next Vampire title in DK Books’ Monsters in the Movies by director John Landis. A Dracula (Francis Lederer) with some strange powers – like apparating (and not a glimpse of fangs) comes to smalltown California, USA after…