During this Christmas period, I watched the 1975 adaptation of The Ash Tree. Although only about half an hour in duration, it was the scariest adaptation of an M R James story that I have ever seen, although I am a fan of other adaptations such as Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You (1968). No Lewton Bus here - you do see and hear the monsters in brief clips. It was actually scarier than M R James' original story.
Many years ago, I saw another TV adaptation, the 1973 feature length version of Dracula scripted by Richard Matheson and starring Jack Palance. His portrayal of Dracula is by far my favourite of any in the Dracula movies I have seen, and I have probably seen all of them, including both versions of Nosferatu and Shadow of the Vampire. In an interview, Christopher Lee, who probably played Dracula in movies more than anyone else, also named Jack Palance as the best.
I liked Shadow of the Vampire partly because I was always intrigued by the fact that the actor who played Dracula in Murnau's Nosferatu was called, appropriately, Max Schreck. Shadow of the Vampire explores that coincidence further.
If creature features are appropriate for Halloween, Anaconda is a fine example. As in many monster movies, the real monster is one of the humans, and the wonderful Jon Voight is scary even after he has been eaten.
