As far back as I can recall, going to the drive-in was a real treat as a little kid back in the late '60s and early '70s. And 1968's "The Ghastly Ones" was the first horror flick I remember: Of course, I was only 6 years old. So the plot was really lost on me, but I do remember three scenes that have been ingrained in my head all these years later even as I'm closing in on 61 years of age:
1. The murderous simpleton hunchback was carrying a large trunk and dropped it when he saw a fluffy white bunny in the snow, picked it up, and bit into its belly - blood all over his face; 2. A woman's severed head was discovered in a pot at the dinner table; 3. The estranged and murderous older woman wielding a meat cleaver.
It's not as if my parents only took us to horror movies: There was "Planet of the Apes," "Escape From Planet of the Apes," "Easy Rider," "CC & Company," "Herbie The Love Bug," "The Apple Dumpling Gang," the Poseidon Adventure," "The Laughing Policeman," and "The French Connection" among the lot that readily come to mind.
After 54 years since seeing it for the first time as an impressionable little boy, I finally came across "The Ghastly Ones" on a streaming service online recently. It was dreadful to watch - terrible dialogue and a plot that was weak and predictable, though the three memorable scenes were as clear as day (hunchback biting into the bunny, the severed head in the pothead in the pot, and the meat cleaver-wielding murderous old woman).
I found myself fast-forwarding through much of it. What a major letdown after all these years of searching for it (without the benefit of remembering the title and only recalling the three ghastly scenes)!
It's not as if my parents only took us to horror movies: There was "Planet of the Apes," "Escape From Planet of the Apes," "Easy Rider," "CC & Company," "Herbie The Love Bug," "The Apple Dumpling Gang," the Poseidon Adventure," "The Laughing Policeman," and "The French Connection" among the lot that readily come to mind.
After 54 years since seeing it for the first time as an impressionable little boy, I finally came across "The Ghastly Ones" on a streaming service online recently. It was dreadful to watch - terrible dialogue and a plot that was weak and predictable, though the three memorable scenes were as clear as day (hunchback biting into the bunny, the severed head in the pothead in the pot, and the meat cleaver-wielding murderous old woman).
I found myself fast-forwarding through much of it. What a major letdown after all these years of searching for it (without the benefit of remembering the title and only recalling the three ghastly scenes)!