Who's the Best...Christopher Lee Role?

Karen: Last week the world lost a giant of the entertainment industry -particularly the horror/fantasy/science fiction genres - when the great Christopher Lee passed away. Mr. Lee was a prolific actor, appearing in some 250 films in his 93 years. He is best known for his horror roles, although this was only one part of his vast career (and indeed, amazing life). 

The role he is most strongly associated with continues to be Dracula -or does it? It may depend on one's age and interests. Some might think of Lee as the traitorous wizard Saruman from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The youngsters unfortunately are stuck with "Count Dooku" (Dooku? really? sigh...) from the Star Wars prequels. But this is the tip of the iceberg. Lee left his mark on so many roles, particularly genre ones; James Bond's foe Scaramanga, the one-eyed Rochefort from The Three Musketeers, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft, Rasputin the Mad Monk, and other monsters for Hammer -Frankenstein's Monster and the Mummy. He had other memorable roles in films like The Wicker Man and The Devil Rides Out to name a couple.

So here's your task today: Tell us what you think is Lee's very best role, the one we will ultimately remember him for above all others.

Halloween Horrors, 70s Style

Karen: Halloween is almost upon us, and once again, the cable TV stations are showing primarily slasher flicks and other dreck on Halloween. As usual  we're left to our own devices to entertain ourselves during this scary season. Now you can't go wrong with the classics - but if you're a monster fan, I know you've seen the Universal films a zillion times. And there's a good chance you've gone through Hammer's catalog as well. So what's left for a monster fan to watch on Halloween?

Well, you're in luck. I have a couple of suggestions for you, some solid 70s fare that is a little more obscure but still good creepy fun. First up: Horror Express, a gem from 1972. You'd think it's a Hammer film, since it stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, but it's not. It's a Spanish/British production set in 1906, with almost all of the action taking place on a train, the Tran-Siberian Express (indeed, the alternate title was Panic on the Trans-Siberian Express!). Lee is an anthropologist who has brought aboard the corpse of what he believes to be the Missing Link, which he discovered frozen in China. His rival, Cushing, is also on the train, and anxious to discover what Lee has in his crate. But what neither of them knows is that the specimen is not as harmless as it seems. The creature returns to life and begins killing people on the train. It is possessed by a strange force that makes its eyes glow and it is soon discovered that it can transfer from body to body. Soon enough there's a mad Rasputin-like priest, a buxom countess,  drunken Cossack Telly Savalas, dead men coming back to life, and lots of bleeding from the eyes. The filmmakers do a good job building suspense and there's a feeling of genuine menace created by the situation of being trapped on the moving train with the creature.

For pure creepiness, this next film is one of my favorites. It's also a great entry in the ranks of zombie-dom, as it features amphibious Nazi zombies. Yes, roll that around in your head. I'm talking about Shock Waves (1977). Now as a zombie movie goes, it is light on gore. That's not what this film is about. This film is all about mood, and it has plenty of it. The way it's filmed, likely due to the low budget, there's a starkness to it that lends it that strange, quasi-documentary feel, sort of like the original Night of the Living Dead. A small group of vacationers head out on a yacht, experience odd phenomena that mess up their navigational instruments, and then have a near-miss with a huge ship at night. The next day, they discover that their boat is sinking, so they head for a nearby island. They also see the wreck of a large, old ship not far away. On the island they discover Peter Cushing -yes, he's in this one too -doing his best German accent. Not long after the castaways meet him, the amphibious Nazi zombies rise from the ocean floor and begin attacking the living. It seems they were part of 'The Death Corps', a Nazi unit composed of unkillable, undead assassins. The rest of the film plays out like one would expect, with the zombies attempting to murder everyone on the island in typical efficient German fashion. For good measure, it also has the ever-entertaining John Carradine as the captain of the yacht.

Horror Express was released on Blu-Ray last year and can be had relatively cheaply if you look around. Shock Waves is on DVD, no Blu Ray yet. Both are well worth seeing if you haven't caught them yet. They will certainly evoke that Bronze-Age flavor!

Who's the Best... Mummy?

Karen: This one might not be as easy or as fun as some of the others. Let's face it, of all the classic monsters, the Mummy probably has the least personality. Now, admittedly, Karloff's Imhotep/ Ardath Bey actually spoke, so he gets a few more points I guess. And the most recent remake also invested the reborn Mummy with some little personality, in between all the obvious CGI and stunts. Personally, I always found Christopher Lee's Kharis physically impressive. The Tom Tyler Mummy (also named Kharis) was kind of menacing too. And then there's the shambling Lon Chaney Jr. version (Kharis again)...and the Aztec Mummy...OK, who ya got?

Who's the Best...Dracula?

Karen: Who's your pick for the best film/TV  Dracula? There have been a lot to choose from....Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, John Carradine, Gary Oldman, Frank Langella. Let's hash it out.

Who's The Best...Frankenstein Monster?

Karen: Cinematically speaking, which is your favorite version of the Frankenstein Monster? I've added some images to prompt you, but feel free to choose any movie (or even TV version) you like.