My Top 5 Karloff Films For The Boris Karloff Blogothon!

Well if you haven't heard by now, Dollar Bin Horror is participating in the 2009 Boris Karloff Blogothon run by the amazing blog, Frankensteinia, in celebration of his birthday. I thought I would post my top 5 favorite Karloff films in his honor. Enjoy! You can check out other Blogothon posts by clicking the picture to your left.

#5 The Comedy of Terrors
An undertaker who hasn't had any 'customers' in a long time is forced the pay one year's back-rent. To get money he starts to kill people in order to get new clients. Ok so Karloff had a supporting role in this film,l but he was just so damn great at it! He played the ill, senile father-in-law to Vincent Price and was so damn funny! And this movie is PACKED with classic horror legends! Karloff, Price, Lorre, Rathbone...i mean what more could you ask for!





#4 Black Sabbath
A trilogy of three horror stories. "The Drop of Water" concerns a nurse who steals a ring off a dead spiritualist, only to have the corpse seek revenge. "The Telephone" features a prostitute who is terrorized by phone calls from a dead client. "The Wurdalak" stars Boris Karloff as a vampire who feeds on the blood of his loved ones. Now I'm a big fan of movies with multiple stories in them, makes me feel like I'm watching three films in one. This is definitely on of the best. Narrated by and staring Karloff, this is a must have for any horror fan's collection of classic films.




#3 The Mummy
During an archaeological expedition to Egypt the recently discovered mummy of a high priest, Im-ho-tep, comes to life and walks away into the desert night. Ten years later a new expedition find the tomb of Princess Anck-es-en-Amon, Im-ho-tep's long lost love. In order to revive her completely, Im-ho-tep requires a sacrifice to die so he can revive her and make her a living mummy like himself. One of his most famous performances, this Karloff treasure is simply amazing. His acting is superb and the overall feel of this film is pure awesomeness. What else is there to say?

#2 Frankenstein

Horror classic in which an obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses. The original, the classic, the everlasting film. This is the film that Karloff is best known for and one of his best performances ever. He barely even had to speak in this movie, but the motions he showed shone through like a crystal clear diamond. The loneliness and sorrow he felt made you feel for the monster. This film is the closest thing to perfection there is in my book.





#1 Bride of Frankenstein
Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived and that Dr. Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate. Now I'm not sure how many people will agree with me on this, but to me, this is the greatest Karloff film ever. Period. The ending is so moving. When the Bride is revealed, she doesn't even need to speak to put o a perfect performance (I love Elsa Lanchester) and when she is introduced to Frankenstein and rejects him, I almost cry every time. My favorite line is the famous "We Belong Dead". The emotion in this film puts it at the top of my list.



And we have an Honorable Mention people!...How the Grinch Stole Christmas
A cold hearted cave dweller takes matters into his own hands to try and put an end to the noisy celebration of Christmas, only to learn it's true meaning. Ok so it's not a horror movie...but it makes Christmas awesome people! And Karloff was the perfect voice for the green Grinch!

Well there is is. The list of my favorite films from the legendary Master of Terror, Boris Karloff. Happy Birthday, We all love you!

Sending Deadly Kisses,
Rhonny Reaper