Sinister Cinema returns with another solid trailer collection chockfull of old school horror. Things kick off with a bunch of ‘50s horror trailers (The Zombies of Mora-Tau, Voodoo Woman, and The Bride and the Beast) before delving into the ‘70s (Don’t Look Now, The Exorcist, and The Devil’s Rain) and ‘80s (The Howling, Friday the 13th Part 2, and Ghost Story). Boris Karloff is well-represented as there are trailers for Corridors of Blood, The Haunted Strangler, and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. Fans of the lovely Hazel Court will enjoy seeing her pop up in the ads for Ghost Ship, Doctor Blood’s Coffin, and The Masque of the Red Death. There’s even a trio of trailers for films from Grade-Z schlockmeister Jerry Warren too (Terror of the Bloodhunters, Creature of the Walking Dead, and Curse of the Stone Hand).
Some of the best trailers are for flicks that feature great promotional gimmicks. Both The Screaming Skull and Castle of Evil have a fun gimmick where the producers offer free burial services if you die of fright while watching them. For The Embalmer, audience members must sign a "Certificate of Assurance” to prove they are of sound mind before entering the theater. Something tells me the producers never had to make a claim on either policy. At any rate, the gimmick alone is pretty amusing. (I wonder if anyone out there still has their Certificate of Assurance from The Embalmer.)
I especially loved the ads in which the narrator insists there’s something wrong with you if the movie doesn’t scare you. For They Came from Within, he says, “If this picture doesn’t make you scream and squirm, you better see a psychiatrist… QUICK!” In the ad for Phantasm, he insists, “If this one doesn’t scare you… You’re already dead!” There are also plenty of drive-in snipes, intermission ads, and countdown animations sprinkled throughout, which helps to make this one another winner from Sinister Cinema.
The complete line-up includes: The Zombies of Mora-Tau, Voodoo Woman, The Bride and the Beast, The Screaming Skull, Terror-Creatures from the Grave, She Freak, The Undertaker and His Pals, The Blood on Satan’s Claw, The Embalmer, a double feature of Night of the Witches and Dr. Frankenstein on Campus, Castle of Evil, Night of the Living Dead, Spirits of the Dead, Kiss or Kill (AKA: The Blood of Fu Manchu), The Thirsty Dead, Nightmare in Wax, Ben, Don’t Look Now, Tales That Witness Madness, The Exorcist, The Devil’s Rain, Burnt Offerings (two trailers), Nosferatu the Vampyre (which features a disclaimer stating there are English subtitles), The Howling, Friday the 13th Part 2, Ghost Story, Creepshow, Ghost Ship, Gorilla at Large, Curse of the Demon, Corridors of Blood, The Haunted Strangler, Doctor Blood’s Coffin, The Haunting, The Masque of the Red Death, Terror of the Bloodhunters, Creature of the Walking Dead, Curse of the Stone Hand, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs, The Bloody Pit of Horror, Blood Bath, The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, The Devil Doll, Mad Monster Party, The Legend of Hell House, Willard, They Came from Within (AKA: Shivers), Squirm, The Fog, Friday the 13th, Love at First Bite, The Evil, Phantasm, and Up from the Depths.
