The Horror of It All

Favorite documentary of all time. Includes scenes from the famous Long Branch Haunted Mansion.The Mansion was a three story Haunted Attraction in the 70's and 80's that burned down in 1987.It has a huge fan base,so this documentary's rare scenes of it's interior and exterior are widely sought out. I watched it so much my VHS tape fell apart.Luckily I had a duplicate that I found in my parents attic. The Horror of it All contains some of the view points of classic actors and directors who are no longer with us. Including Titanic's Gloria Stewart who talks about Boris Karloff in The Old Dark House.I believe the same company that produced this also made a great documentary on Bela Lugosi and which was narrated by the great Forrest Ackerman.

Directors and writers Gene Feldman and Suzette Winter make a great documentary for fans of horrors. Narrated by José Ferrer, the documentary shows highlights of scenes of horror films and archive footages along the cinema history, and interviews with cast (such as John Carradine, Dana Andrews, Gloria Stuart, Martine Beswick), crew (John Carl Buechler), producers (Herman Cohen), writers (Robert Bloch) and directors (Roger Corman, Rouben Mamoulian) among others. This documentary was recently released on DVD in Brazil as a bonus in a Bela Lugosi box set. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "The Horror of It All"

For the most part, this is a satisfactory overview of the horror genre. Movie clips included are everything from Fritz Lang's silent sci-fi classic METROPOLIS to Francis Ford Coppola's '60's slasher flick DEMENTIA 13. Also featured are interviews with actors and directors who have had a strong influence on the horror genre, including John Carradine, Roger Corman, Curtis Harrington, and many others. Recommended.

This is a great starting point for anyone looking to find an introduction to the horror genre. Though many of the clips included are to be expected there are several surprises throughout. The effective mind control scene from Svengali with John Barrymore is a standout.The footage of a Jersey shore spookhouse is dated and silly, but has it's charms, too. As a true horror film fan, I often find myself returning with nostalgia to the recorded from TV VHS copy I made a few years ago. It made quite an impression on me when it was first aired. It's well-scripted narration is brilliantly delivered by Jose Ferrer. It's a pity The Horror of It All has not been released on DVD or VHS.

The Horror of IT All (1983)

*** (out of 4)

Jose Ferrer narrates this documentary that takes a look at the history of horror films. We get interviews with John Carradine, Roger Corman, Gloria Stuart, Dana Andrews, Robert Bloch, Herman Cohen, Curtis Harrington and Rouben Mamoulian among others.

The documentary pretty much traces the horror films starting with the German movies from the 1920s and then moving through the American silent pictures, the Universal monsters, low-budget shockers from Monogram, the Val Lewton productions, the radioactive monsters and throughout all of this we get clips from the movies as well as comments from those involved in them.

Watching this film today, there's no question that the highlight are the interviews with the filmmakers who are no longer with us. Stuart shares some nice memories of working on THE OLD DARK HOUSE. Carradine talks about several of his horror films. You've got Mamoulian talking about DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE while Andrews talks about NIGHT OF THE DEMON. These interviews are rather priceless since these folks are no longer with us. The interview footage with Corman is also quite good as he discusses how special effects are changing things.

Of course, this here just covers the golden era of films and there's some bashing of overly graphic films. It seems everyone here isn't happy with the current trend of slashers and we get to hear why these aren't "real" horror films. With that being said, fans of the genre will certainly enjoy what is here.