October Retro Horror Marathon 2023: The Prequel

Diving into classic horror movies available on streaming

Ah, the spooky season is upon us once again. Cold breezes, rustling leaves in shades of orange and red — it’s all fast approaching. So are all the classic, kitsch, and terrifying horror movies I intend to explore this year. Many of them have approached faster than I thought.

I like to build my list of horror classics as early as possible. There were some great titles that hit Tubi in August, but the downfall of access is that it is often limited. Many great horror titles are set to expire at the end of September, so I had to get my marathon started early. Here are some of the movies that I’ve been enjoying in these last two weeks of September:

The Cat Creature (1973)

This is a movie that, depending on your opinion of cats, you could love or hate. I’m right there in the middle. The story is about an ancient mummy that is part of a collection, but once pieces of that collection are stolen, chaos ensues for everyone that touches a specific amulet.

There are cats in this movie. Tons of cats. Meredith Baxter’s character is inundated with cats (and for good reason, you find out eventually). A specific cat decides it wants to be a homicidal maniac, but does its deeds through hypnosis, so everyone looks like they are getting rid of themselves. The ancient Egyptian-theme is old hat, especially with some of the other movies I’ll be watching this year, so it’s one of the few horror themes that just don’t find that frightening.

The Mad Magician (1954)

There is no October retro horror marathon for me without at least one Vincent Price movie. This one is more on the thriller/crime side of the spectrum than the horror side. Price plays a fledgling magician Gallico whose new trick is commandeered by the person that he works for, per his contract, and is given to another more prominent magician. In return, Gallico leaves a trail of murder and does an exceptional job at masking his identity to play the different characters that he kills.

The makeup and prosthetics in this movie are pretty good, especially given that the movie is from 1954. The magic tricks they are doing throughout seem to rely on…