I'm going to go see Little Shop of Horrors with the restored original ending tonight!

The new ending is probably one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen, all the giant Audrey II's just terrorizing New York was a sight to behold. My favorite part was when they swarmed over the Statue of Liberty and one of the soldiers mounting the defense obviously mouths, "What the F@#$%!", the whole cinema just burst out laughing. 

And the best news is that if you couldn't make it to this limited release they are releasing Frank Oz's directors cut on DVD so you can see the crazy ending too.

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)



The fifth film in the Hammer series and the forth to feature Christopher Lee picks up at the end of the previous film when a sleazy salesman stumbles across a dying impaled Count Dracula and preserves his blood covered possessions. Some time later a disgraced socialite and devil worshiper convinces others to perform a ceremony in order to resurrect him. I'm not sure why this sequel isn't more highly regarded because it's actually quite good for what it is. The mood is sufficiently eerie throughout and there are plenty of cool looking visuals some gory and disturbing. Once again the supporting cast really carry the film and keep it interesting. Ralph Bates gives a particularly good performance especially during the ceremony when he drinks Dracula's blood. Linda Hayden also gives a creepy performance while she's under Dracula's influence. Plus another exciting and climactic confrontation with the title character ends the film.

Jesse - About your write up on Dracula A.D. (This is my 1st time, I seen this film) and I didn't think of Stephanie Beacham very much in this movie and to be honest she didn't have much to work on that's bothers me a lot. But, she did do a good job in it. I thought the ending was too dramatic and it's kind of bothers me to extent. That's why I had a hard time enjoying it because there were no build up here and like you said it was too brutal.

Your Blood of Dracula write up is very excellent and I can understand why you wrote it. Of the two films - I prefer Blood over A.D. Ralph Bates and Linda Hayden did a good job in this film. Remember, this is the first time that I've seen these two films and I wasn't expecting these two films to go the direction it's headed. I probably would watch Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) again and not Dracula A.D. because of the dramatic ending that it's too brutal and not enough screen time for both Lee and Cushing of which I expected more from them.

The A.D. Film is the 1st and last time that I ever see it.

I watched/rewatched a few more horror/horroresque films, making my list

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Suspiria (1977)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Invisible Woman (1940)
Friday the 13th (1980)
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Extraordinary Tales (2015)
Happy Death Day (2017)
Jaws (1975)

Friday the 13th Part 2 made even less effort to create atmosphere than the original. And largely seemed beat-by-beat identical to the first one to the point I wondered if they actually wrote a new script, or just took the first one and changed some names. It's also tricky to reconcile the film's very premise with the premise of the first film. I decided to watch it to see a proper Jason film as pop culture knows him, but this wasn't it either. Still no hockey mask! Gave it 1.5 stars. Would have given an extra half star for a hockey mask.

Jurassic Park is not a film I usually refer to as a horror movie, but it has giant creatures that eat people and people are scared. If it pads my total, I'll take it. It's pretty close to my favorite movie ever, but I hadn't seen it in theatres since it first came out. It was pretty cool to see it on the big screen again. 5 stars

Extraordinary Tales is an anthology of animated Poe adaptations. It's more of a cool thing than a great thing, but I think it's something comic fans should check out. Narrators include Roger Corman, Christopher Lee, just before his death, and Bela Lugosi, long after his death. And each film is made in a different animation style. It's an attempt to explore what 3d computer animation is capable of. They were often inspired by different types of art, including oil paintings and comics. One story is an homage to the work of Alberto Breccia. Another is made to look like a generic 1950s horror comic. 3 stars.

Happy Death Day is currently in theatres. It combines a film trope I tend to love, Groundhog Day-style time loops, with a film trope I tend to hate, the slasher film. But it seemed a clever enough premise. A girl lives the same day over and over again, and is murdered every day. Each new day brings her closer to solving her own murder. It seemed worth a short, and wasn't. The girl in question is something of a stereotype, a vain and bitchy sorority girl, who is rude to everybody. The mystery isn't why someone wants to kill her, but why there is anybody who doesn't. And then it needs to take the stupidity-in-horror trope to new heights with the premise that somehow complete foreknowledge cannot save her from a killer, even after dozens of attempts. You know exactly where and when the killer will be hiding! It's a pretty dumb movie. 1.5 stars.

Jaws Again, not quite what I call a horror film. But creature eats people and people get scared. And it was showing in theatres as part of horror movie month, so we'll take it. I think this is a great film. I generally like the work of Spielberg, particularly his blockbusters. I think he at once captures the simple dynamics of home life and the extraordinary thing that has intruded on that life. Great characters and conflicts and drama. A great action finale. The John Williams score ain't half bad. 4.5 stars.

@mechagodzilla There's a film that occurs between Blood and A.D. called Scars of Dracula (1970) that TCM didn't show this month for whatever reason. If they did show it sadly I missed it. I'm pretty sure that is the one where a random bat pukes blood onto Dracula's remains resurrecting him from the spot he died in Blood. Couldn't find it to watch for free online unfortunately.