Cereal At Midnight

  In this Members Exclusive episode, I chronicle the final days of a book store that's closing its doors forever.  You can also watch this video on Patreon.

The new Blu-ray release of THE CAT AND THE CANARY from Eureka is the first time that the highly-influential proto-horror masterpiece has been given a serious restoration and reassessment in the HD age. Let's explore how it not only helped create Universal Horror as we know it, but remains an important icon of dark cinema.   Thanks for using this Amazon link to support Cereal At Midnight: https://amzn.to/3vLMM2P Further viewing:  The Eureka Interview https://youtu.be/PMKO2KXSIKY Icons of Horror: Universal Monsters https://youtu.be/sXnpCe0tMI4 Antonia Carlotta on Universal and The Laemmle Legacy https://youtu.be/_Ke9rkcc8qQ A Pre-Code Movie Primer https://youtu.be/VjbrjJ4LPDE Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Shop: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight Facebook.com/CerealMidnight Twitter: CerealMidnight Instagram: CerealMidnight TikTok: OfficialCerealAtMidnight Letterboxd: CerealAtMidnite ********************...

Max Allan Collins joins Cereal At Midnight to discuss the films included in Kino Lorber's FILM NOIR: THE DARK SIDE OF CINEMA XVI Blu-ray box set!  More with Max: https://youtu.be/Kf1uMJdgOl4 More Kino Lorber coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfFCws4M_gg&list=PLms82QIo-B9m3xP_xBoKvqUSYQcUMsFdc Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Shop: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight Facebook.com/CerealMidnight Twitter: CerealMidnight Instagram: CerealMidnight TikTok: OfficialCerealAtMidnight Letterboxd: CerealAtMidnite **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt

What is real and what is false? 1998's The Last Broadcast  is a found footage film that asks this question and holds a microscope up to the then-nascent World Wide Web and the burgeoning internet technology that was just starting to trickle down to the average consumer. Told in a documentary, true crime style, The Last Broadcast recounts the mysterious deaths of local public access TV show hosts as they go in search of the mythical Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Of the group that went into the woods on that fateful day, only one came back out, covered in the blood of his companions. Was it murder, or something far more sinister? The film seeks to uncover the truth of what really happened and separate fact from fiction. The Last Broadcast  is a horror film, but those expecting true terror are going to be disappointed. It's a slow burn with a focus on investigation and forensics that feels more like an episode of  Dateline . The film is really about...

Turhan Bey has never been more charming than he is in 1948's The Amazing Mr. X , aka The Spiritualist , a gorgeously-shot atmospheric chiller from Poverty Row .  The plot concerns Alexis (Bey), a con artist who operates under the guise of a spiritualist, seeking to separate wealthy customers from their riches with the promise of communion with deceased loved ones, or glimpses of the future. Not unlike a stage magician, he employs sleight-of-hand and more than a few tricks of the trade in his profession, which we're allowed to see fairly early in the film. He's a charlatan, but he's also played with such ageless European charm by Turhan Bey, an Austrian-born actor of Turkish and Czech-Jewish descent (he was nicknamed "Turkish Delight" because of his smooth qualities) that we can't help but find ourselves rooting for a character that would, in any other movie, be the villain.  Alexis seeks to work his unique magic on a widow (played by Lynn Bari, a curvy act...

At its core, 1933's  The Secret of the Blue Room is a chamber murder mystery in the rich tradition of the "old dark house" subgenre. In fact, some of the sets used in the film itself come from 1932's The Old Dark House , a stellar Universal chiller. The formula for these films rarely strays: throw a group of people with lots secrets into a house, find a reason for them to spend the night, and then let the murder begin--and with it, the suspicion as trust erodes and they begin to turn on one another.  The Secret of the Blue Room  successfully trades out horror for more of a mystery atmosphere. This is a film of antique tapestries, long hallways, dark shadows, and secret passages. While other movies would later do a very similar thing (many come to mind, ranging from The Cat and the Canary to Clue , and more recently, Knives Out ), this film is elevated by it's pre-Code status and the elegance of the sets themselves. Films from the early thirties have a distinct fe...

What would you do if YOU were a clone and didn't know what happened to your original self? In our latest book review, we're talking about Constance by author Matthew Fitzsimmons, a new sci-fi/rock and roll/whodunnit mystery that's just arrived on shelves!  Order Constance HERE We are viewer supported! To unlock this and over 100 (!!!) exclusive episodes of Cereal At Midnight PLUS access to our secret Facebook group, live streams, and more, visit Patreon.com/cerealatmidnight Thanks to those who make what we do possible by their support!

Cereal At Midnight is joined by classic film aficionado Vanessa Buttino for a discussion on the life and mysterious death of Thelma Todd, one of the bright stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood! Put on your detective hat as we talk about the mob, the mystery, and what really happened on that cold December night in 1935! Follow Vanessa on Twitter @vanessabuttino Superveebs.com

In her latest novel,  Automat , author Stephanie Kane returns readers to the world of art, investigation, and murder. Automat  is the second novel featuring Kane's Lily Sparks character, the Conservator of Paintings at the Denver Art Museum. Lily has a unique gift: a perfect eye. Her area of expertise has served her well at the museum, as she's able to visually dissect paintings almost instantaneously, dividing what is original from what has been touched up, embellished, and outright added to works of art.  In the first Lily Sparks novel, A Perfect Eye , these skills serve the character well in an area that she never could have expected or prepared for: murder. When a killer begins recreating famous works of art through real life homicide, our conservator protagonist is able to use all of her mental acumen and discernment to determine motive, influence, and ultimately identify the killer.  The second novel, Automat , returns readers once again to the world of high ar...

In this Five Minute Review, we talk about Ready Or Not, a new horror/comedy/thriller starring Samara Weaving from Fox Searchlight Pictures!

In this video, we roll the dice with some blind box mystery mini figures from Funko! We got our hands on four Looney Tunes and Warner Brothers animated cartoon character mini figs and decided to open them on camera. The results are...well, let's just say they're "interesting!"

You thought you were alone. You were wrong.