I first watched The Monster Club years ago when I was a kid and I remembered how much I enjoyed it. I have been watching a lot of the older horrors and thrillers from the 60's, 70's and 80's so I thought I would give this one another viewing and I am glad I did.The Monster Club is a fun horror, not too bloody but with enough atmosphere to be quite spooky as the last segment, The Hum-Ghoul being the best one in my opinion.Both John Carradine as author R. Chetwynd-Hayes and Vincent Price as the vampire Eramus were great. Klaus Kinski, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were also approached to appear in the film but turned down the proffered roles. The only film where they finally all appeared together (except for Kinski) as far as I am aware of is House Of Long Shadows, a parody horror that by the way, is excellent.The movie was directed by Roy Ward Baker and was produced by Milton Subotsky who is best known for his work with Amicus Productions.The three segments are based on the stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes although he did not like the film and felt that they were not faithful to the original stories. Apparently, he did not like the casting of John Carradine as him because he felt that Carradine was too old.The film itself is fun, the three separate stories were well filmed and acted, with the last one being the best and most memorable. The musical segments were great, The Stripper being my personal favourite.If you enjoy the older, more tongue-in-cheek movies, check this one out.

This is one of the funnest films to watch - quite enjoyable. This is a Gothic comedy-horror for the most part and has a good message in the end about humans being the greatest monster of all.The Shadmock is the first story we are told and is not so comical - it's quite sad. This is my favorite story of the trilogy). The second story is of The Vampires and is funny. The Ghouls is not sad nor is it funny but it's a good story. The funniest parts of the film come from Eramus (Price) and R.Chetwynd-Hayes (Carradine) with their tongue-in-cheek humor.The music is not to bad - yes it is dated but then again the music in today's films will be considered "dated" too one day. I think the songs fit the film.I will admit that I would love to join this particular Monster Club.8/10

The Good bits are the individual tales of horror - some genuinely creepy and well made featurettes, a sort of Tales of the Unexpected but with more oomph.The Bad bits are the ridiculous 'Monster Club' "monsters". I suppose if you're eight, great, but then you shouldn't be watching the Good bits (above). The often seemingly irrelevant live music interludes bridge the two, but generally they look (& sound) even more dated than the rest of the movie!The Ugly; well, the truly awful disco dancing fancy dress (sorry, but it is!) at the end.There are some LONG reviews here on Amazon; I'm keeping it a lot shorter. For a start, I'm not an avid fan of horror, but enjoy the better flicks of the genre.However, it's good that it's got Vincent Price in it. He indelibly stamps authority and authenticity on any horror film, even if it's rubbish.I give four stars to the short portmanteau stories, one for the "Club" and two for the live music - averaging three. I watched it on The Horror Channel.

THE MONSTER CLUB is the final movie from the excellent British movie production company, Amicus.Although the movie is an anthology, opinion is divided as to whether or not it forms part of the Amicus anthology canon.I see THE MONSTER CLUB as a separate movie from the remainder of the Amicus anthologies. However, it is a highly entertaining final movie from Amicus. I'm truly puzzled as to why the movie was not successful financially.The single greatest idea behind THE MONSTER CLUB is the combination of three elements - traditional British horror Amicus is famous for, the darkest of dark humour and a collection of fine examples of 1980s disco music.There are only three stories in this compendium, rather than the usual four or five seen in Amicus movies. However the stories, along with the linking story, are so entertaining that this is easily overlooked.The linking story sees Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes, a character based on a real horror story author of the same name, who is attacked in the street by a sinister character named Eramus. When he wakes up after a vampire bite, the author discovers Eramus is a vampire. Ermaus promises to repay him by inviting him to a disco known as The Monster Club, where he assures him there will be plenty of material for a new book of horror stories. Vincent Price and John Carradine are on top form in their roles as Eramus and Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes respectively.The Monster Club is full of famous horror creations of various types including vampires, werewolves and ghouls. Disco music blends well with the setting, with almost all songs having a horror theme to them. The costumes are unbelievably cheesy but this is easily overlooked by the uplifting feeling of the disco atmosphere. As an added bonus, the movie brings something unique here - a monster genealogical chart.The first story sees Barbara Kellerman and Simon Ward as a pair of opportunists looking to take some rich person for all he or she is worth. Eventually Kellerman's character comes into contact with an eccentric man who lives in a large Gothic house. Without revealing spoilers, I can say that he turns out to be a shadmock, a hybrid of various creatures including vampires, werewolves and ghouls. James Laurenson gives a supreme performance as the shadmock, a kindly and gentle creature, who is simply uncomfortable with being outside his house. Predictably, the tale becomes a tragic love story that is so emotionally moving I was actually in tears when the ending came.The second story takes a different course to the first with more dark humour. Richard Johnson has a great time playing the vampire father of a young boy, Lintom. He goes out at night hunting for blood, whilst telling his son that he is "working". Britt Ekland plays Lintom's mother but she has very little to do here. Lintom finds himself being bullied at school because he is quiet and shy. He is rescued from torment by a priest, played by Donald Pleasance in another of his superb performances. I will give away no further details. But I'll say that this story was highly enjoyable due to its tongue-in-cheek approach not only to vampire clichés but to clichés of another genre as well. Look out for Anthony Valentine and Neil McCarthy having fun as a pair of vampire hunters dressed up as undertakers who carry violin cases! The final story is easily the darkest and best of the three. Stuart Whitman is cast perfectly as an impatient movie director looking for a remote location to make an atmospheric horror movie. His impatience with his crew leads him to seek out the location himself. We get to see some of the beautiful English countryside as he drives down a country lane hoping to find a remote village at the end. What he finds in reality is a very strange foggy place with only an old crumbling inn, a church and a graveyard. There is more to this atmospheric location than meets the eye. I will spoil no more of this story as this is one you'll want to see for yourself without warnings. But I will say a few things about the characters. The innkeeper is a very sinister character, played perfectly by the always great Patrick Magee. Lesley Dunlop deserves credit for her superb performance early in her career as the innkeeper's daughter, a hybrid of a human and a ghoul.Roy Ward Baker directs Amicus's final movie perfectly. He demonstrates a clear understanding of the various subject matters - Gothic horror, dark humour and 1980s disco entertainment, directing each element accordingly. As a result, he guarantees the three blend well enough to produce a highly entertaining piece of entertainment worthy of a final movie for such a great horror production company.Douglas Gamley, an Amicus veteran, produces some excellent background music to the movie including an excellent score. His choice of music in the first story blends perfectly with the Gothic setting and the tragic love story theme.As was the case with previous Amicus movies, this one makes excellent use of classical music. These blend perfectly with the settings.Kudos to the music bands - The Viewers, Night and The Pretty Things - whose catchy tunes make this movie worth watching by virtue of their presence alone. Special kudos as well to 1980s singer, B.A. Robertson, whose song - Sucker For Your Love - performed after the first story is easily the best of his career.Overall, THE MONSTER CLUB is a highly entertaining final movie from Amicus and a must-see for all fans of movies made by this great movie production company. I especially recommend it for fans of Vincent Price and John Carradine who have a superb time in this late stage of their careers.