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Legendary actor Harrison Ford’s storied filmography includes eighty five acting credits. Do you know how many of those eighty five performances came from horror films? Two. For the sake of comparison, he’ll be playing Indiana Jones for the Fifth time this week! One of these horror rarities came in 2000’s What Lies Beneath starring Ford opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and directed by Robert Zemeckis. The other? A made for TV, The Exorcist inspired 1977 film called The Possessed. The last film Ford would make before Star Wars, which would of course turn him into one of the world’s biggest movie stars that very same year.

Available on DVD, The Possessed isn’t terribly difficult to locate for a forty something year old TV movie. The quality is a little shaky and grainy but it only serves to add to the whole “church with carpets haunted by cigarette smoke” vibe...

Claudette Nevins has died. She was 82.

The Hollywood star’s family confirmed in a statement and announced she died in hospice on Feb. 20 at her home in Los Angeles.

“Claudette’s acting career spanned six decades and included roles on Broadway, regional theater, national companies, numerous television shows, voiceovers and commercials,” the family’s statement reads. “Competent in everything she touched, Claudette was funny, strong-willed, awesomely disciplined, relentless in her pursuit of excellence. Starting from very humble origins, Claudette grew herself into an elegant, articulate, gorgeous woman who was universally admired. She was dazzling. She will be endlessly missed.”

Nevins...

Claudette Nevins, who starred in the original production of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite on Broadway and in a national tour of The Great White Hope, has died. She was 82.

Nevins died Feb. 20 in hospice care at her home in Los Angeles, her family announced.

In recurring roles for television, Nevins portrayed Constance Fielding, the mother of Doug Savant's Matt, on Melrose Place and played Special Agent Clayton Webb's (Steven Culp) mom on Jag.

Years earlier, she portrayed Andy Griffith's wife in 1970-71 on the short-lived CBS show Headmaster, the actor's first series after he quit The Andy Griffith Show.

The ...

Claudette Nevins, who starred in the original production of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite on Broadway and in a national tour of The Great White Hope, has died. She was 82.

Nevins died Feb. 20 in hospice care at her home in Los Angeles, her family announced.

In recurring roles for television, Nevins portrayed Constance Fielding, the mother of Doug Savant's Matt, on Melrose Place and played Special Agent Clayton Webb's (Steven Culp) mom on Jag.

Years earlier, she portrayed Andy Griffith's wife in 1970-71 on the short-lived CBS show Headmaster, the actor's first series after he quit The Andy Griffith Show.

The ...

I’d stop reviewing possession flicks if they had ever stopped making them; well, I’m sure I’ll run out of good ones eventually, but today is not that day. The Possessed (1977) hit the small screen in the wake of demonic giants as a pilot for a series that never took off. What a shame - imagine if we had a Devil of the Week show terrorizing the youth of North America? But TV is littered with the also-rans, and this one is top notch hellfire.

Originally broadcast Sunday, May 1st as a segment of NBC’s The Big Event, The Possessed was up against ABC’s Sunday Night Movie and CBS’ Switch/Delvecchio. Obviously it didn’t generate enough interest to go to series, which is a damn shame because it’s teed up in very intriguing ways.

Let’s open up our faux TV Guide for some...

After a restored print played for the first time at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival, Kino Lorber presents Julian Roffman’s 1961 vintage horror film The Mask on 3D Blu-ray. Collectors of vintage 3D technology and classic horror cinema should take note, especially for the film’s expressive, nightmarish sequences. Hailed as ‘psychedlic’ and repackaged as a psychotronic classic, the title is a fun throwback to event cinema.

Owning several notable distinctions, not only was it the first Canadian film widely distributed in the United States, but it was also the only 3D feature from the country to play here, as well as the Canada’s first foray into the genre. It’s the last of only two titles directed by Roffman, who would eventually produce a small handful of films (including the obscure early 70s delight The Pyx).

The Toronto International Film Festival’s sole surviving 35mm print was deemed too brittle after an initial screening,...

Circus of the Face: A Delectable Restoration of Obscure Canadian Horror Film

The 1961 horror film The Mask owns several notable distinctions. Not only was it the first Canadian film widely distributed in the United States, but it was also the only 3D feature from the country to play here, as well as the Canada’s first foray into the genre. It’s the last of only two titles directed by Julian Roffman, who would eventually produce a small handful of films (including the obscure early 70s delight The Pyx).

The Toronto International Film Festival’s sole surviving 35mm print was deemed too brittle after an initial screening, but thanks to a recent collaboration between Tiff and the 3D Film Archive, it’s been restored to former glory and screened as part of the 2015 Tiff Cinematheque program. Though noticeably spare on plot, Roffman’s film does feature a delightful trio of...

Don't Wait!  Put on the mask, Now!   The legendary 1961 spook-show classic has been restored and adapted to a better 3-D system than used for its original release.  A psychiatrist possessed by a Mayan ritual mask is compelled to enter a fantastic hell zone each time he wears the scary thing.  Kino packs the deluxe disc with extras, including a 2014 3-D short subject with its own "Let's go to Hell" story concept. We see Hell, all right. But where are the trailers from it? The Mask 3-D Blu-ray Kino Classics 1961 / B&W /1:66 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date November 24, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Paul Stevens, Claudette Nevins, Bill Walker, Anne Collings, Martin Lavut, Leo Leyden, Norman Ettlinger. Cinematography Herbert S. Alpert Film Editor Stephen Timar Original Music Myron Schaeffer, Louis Applebaum Written by Frank Taubes, Sandy Haver, Franklin Delessert Produced by Julian Roffman, Nat Taylor Directed by Julian Roffman

Reviewed...