[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Shadow of the Cat (1961)

For all their Gothic leanings Hammer never really ventured or even strayed down two paths - The classic old dark house chiller and the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Of course many Hammer films featured old dark houses but never really the 'old dark house' traits of 'expected inheritances', 'weird and wonderful freaky families', 'storm swept nights' and murder.

However Shadow of the Cat would change all that. It's a refined mixture of Poe's The Black Cat and classic old dark house horror with a classy cast including Andre Morell, Freda Jackson, William Lucas, Conrad Phillips and best of all Barbara Shelley.

There's tight direction from John Gilling and cool black and white photography which is both beautiful and innovative especially in the way we see the cat's point of view.

Shadow of the Cat isn't absolute top level Hammer, but for fans of 'old dark house' thrillers it's a must see.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Always enjoyable and very creepy. Featuring some delightful fear inducing sounds from the dark woods at night. The sounds of stones clattering and children screaming as well as the final exploration of the old witch's house is still the essence of all things creepy, and if you invest yourself in proceedings, still find it all rather disturbing.