Art Stolnitz Movies

Most TV movies about obscene phone callers concentrate on the reactions of the victims--and the subsequent dangers they're exposed to. The Secret Night Caller takes a different tack, telling its story from the point of view of the caller. What makes the film doubly disturbing is that the dirty-mouthed phoner is played by Brady Bunch star and TV icon Robert Reed. Reed portrays an IRS agent (and seemingly contented family man) who is overtaken by his compulsion to phone strangers and whisper profanities. Even worse, Reed's access to tax-office records enables him to ring up people all over the country. The drama concentrates on Reed's mounting realization that he has to stop himself before someone else does. Though seedy and manipulative at times, The Secret Night Caller is elevated by the multifaceted performance of Robert Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This speculative horror film details the tribulations endured by a specially-selected test group of 11 people who are informed that they will be the only occupants of a nuclear fallout shelter built half a mile below the Earth's surface. Chosen by project coordinator Peter Macomber (Bradford Dillman) as a fair cross-section of humanity, the group includes a politician, a businessman, an athlete and an author. As it turns out, the "survivors" are unwitting participants in one of those contrived psychological experiments featured so often on programs like The Twilight Zone. To make matters worse, someone's left a vent open, releasing thousands of ravenous vampire bats. Produced in Mexico, this tepid psycho-thriller plays out like the aforementioned TV drama, albeit padded out to 100 minutes. Said padding seems comprised of equal parts dull dialogue and interminable battles with the winged foes -- which are admittedly quite realistic and make for some genuine creep-out scenes. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

The phenomenon of Tales from the Crypt seems to have no endings, only changes. This successful pun-filled style of presenting ironic horror tales had its beginnings in William Gaine's E.C. comic series. At one time, outlandish E.C. Comics were at the heart of a national furor over the "evils" of comic books, which were thought to lead to moral degeneracy. The big comic-book publishers were frightened into freezing E.C. out of their distribution network, which killed the business. This British movie was based on the Tales from the Crypt series, which spawned several subsequent movies (and many imitators), at least one television series, and a whole new wave of comic books. Released in 1972, this movie has five episodes based on Gaines' stories, each introduced by Sir Ralph Richardson as the eerily cheery Crypt Keeper. His comedic approach to the role was misunderstood at the time, as reviewers expected a more solemn approach to horror. In "All Through the House," Santa Claus is someone to avoid. In "Reflection of Death" it takes some people a while to realize the truth about themselves. In "Poetic Justice" death cannot prevent one man's revenge. The episode "Blind Alley" demonstrates a new use for razor blades. "Wish You Were Here" cautions against taking native artifacts lightly (among other things). Among the stars featured are Peter Cushing, Joan Collins and Patrick Magee. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi