Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: After attempting to replicate Frankenstein's experiments, Dr. Gustave Niemann is sent to prison. Niemann, however, escapes with the help of another inmate, Daniel, a hunchback who is looking for a new body. The pair commit murder to take over a traveling horror exhibit and resurrect Dracula, whose body is one of the attractions, to get revenge on the man who sent Niemann to prison. Later, they meet the Wolf Man and come across the original Frankenstein's monster. Who's in it? The movie stars Boris Karloff , John Carradine , Glenn Strange , Lon Chaney, Jr . and Anne Gwynne. Review: I had some time yesterday evening while my wife was at her sewing studio so, since I recently re-watched Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man , I figured I would give House of Frankenstein another try as well. I didn't remember much about this movie, other than I recalled not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. After re-watching it, I now remember why I had that opinion. On the s...

Synopsis: With authorities hot on his trail in the Balkans, Dracula boards a train and flees to the United States. Assuming the identity of Bellac Gordal, a Czech artist he killed on his journey, Dracula moves in with the artist's California family while continuing his killing ways and pursuing Bellac's cousin, Rachel. Who's in it? The movie stars Francis Lederer, Norma Eberhardt, Ray Stricklyn, John Wengraf and Virginia Vincent. Review: I've had The Return of Dracula on my list for several years and finally had the opportunity to watch it this morning. While I had more than my fair share of doubts about a film that doesn't have Bela Lugosi in the title role, it ended up being a solid choice. Despite (like most Dracula movies) ignoring the fact Dracula was supposedly killed, the film stays mostly true to form in terms of the Dracula legend. Dracula/Bellac (Lederer) has a good mix of charm and mystery, creating questions about his quirky habits while, at the sa...

Synopsis: As a child, Ellen made a pledge to a mysterious creature in exchange for ending her loneliness, leaving her broken and "soiled" until she falls in love with and marries Thomas Hutter. Soon after their wedding, Thomas is given the task of traveling to Transylvania to complete a real estate transaction with Count Orlok. He accepts despite Ellen's pleas not to and soon discovers Orlok is both a vampire and the creature Ellen made her pledge to years earlier, a pledge Orlok does not intend to let Ellen break. Who's in it? The movie stars Lily-Rose Depp ,  Bill Skarsgård , Nicholas Hoult , Willem Dafoe and Emma Corrin .  Review: While I'm a big fan of the original silent film version of Nosferatu , I had some doubts about this remake when it came out in December. As a result, I decided not to see it in the theater and instead waited until I could watch it at home. My wife and I did that last night, and it turns out I enjoyed the movie a lot more than expec...

Synopsis: The merchant ship Demeter takes on cargo in Bulgaria and sets sail for London. At first, things seem to be going smoothly but a half-dead female stowaway is soon discovered in one of the crates and not long after that, crewmembers are brutally killed one-by-one whenever the sun goes down. The deaths are eventually blamed on a terrible evil known to many by the name Dracula. Who's in it? The movie stars Corey Hawkins ,  Aisling Franciosi ,  Liam Cunningham ,  David Dastmalchian and  Javier Botet . Review: My wife wanted to see this movie when it was out at theaters, but I had a lot of doubts about it. My biggest concern was, since it is a movie based off a chapter in the book Dracula,  and Demeter 's fate is fairly common knowledge, I thought it would end up being too predictable to be entertaining. We finally got around to watching the movie last night on Paramount Plus and it turns out I was wrong. The movie was much worse than I was expecting it t...