Missed the Bloody Cut: 2026 (Part 1)

The first Missed the Bloody Cut horror selection of this 2026, here are some more horror movies that did not meet my strict criteria (a rating of 7.0 or higher)... but are still entertaining films (horror fanatics may enjoy) that do not deserve to be shrugged off like a slow walking group of mindless creatures – and that are definitely worth a watch (just maybe not several re-watches).

Sometimes a movie is born under a bad sign, and sometimes it just so happens to be a horror movie (ironic, as this one also has to do with the astronomical alignment of the stars – specifically the big dipper). In 1971, Hammer released Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb... which, during its production, lost icon Peter Cushing to his wife getting very ill, its director Seth Holt dying before completion, while Holt was also planning on editing the picture – meaning when he passed, he never left any idea of how the whole thing was going to be put together to create a finished product. After Holt’s passing, Michael Carreras stepped right into the project to finish the directing with Peter Weatherley tasked with editing it all together. All rewrites which were still being done while Holt was directing were cancelled upon his death, which also couldn’t have helped.

The third and final movie in The Creature from the Black Lagoon franchise, The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) was released just a year after the sequel and two after the original – clearly aiming to capitalize on the popularity of their horror creation... but sadly, it is better known as the last classic monster movie filmed by Universal. Directed by longtime assistant director John Sherwood (for the first time in the head chair thanks to some good words from Jack Arnold who directed the previous two), the story this time straddles the line between the original feature and a nature versus nurture premise that makes for a very different monster movie.

If you’re a huge fan of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, then this one will be a bit of a weird watch for you... as it is the only film the latter star appears in without his iconic straight man (the pair had dissolved their partnership in 1957). Also away from their typical Universal Studios, this one comes from Columbia. A clear take on 1958's Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, the director Sidney Miller promptly brought forward the sci-fi comedy parody The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959).

If you had to guess what would be the top grossing British made film in Great Britain in 1974, thoughts would immediately go to the most recent James Bond adventure, The Man with the Golden Gun, or perhaps Roger Moore’s other successful feature of that year – Gold; then your mind might circulate to some of the popular comedy franchises of the time like Carry On (74's being Carry On Dick), or On the Buses (though those were released in 1971, 72, and 73), but instead, it’s the lesser known outside the UK, Confessions of a Window Cleaner... which also spawned three sequels released the next three years – but more on those later.

With an idea of fusing a semi-futuristic, sexy gialli murder mystery plot into the world of the ever growing MTV music video era that kicked off in 1981, producer Jacques Goyard hired music video director Piccio Raffanini to co-write and direct these loose ideas into what became Obsession: A Taste for Fear (1987). Basically looking like an hour and thirty-two minute music video infused with a hint of a mystery thriller plot, the cinematography and camera work actually frequently looks great, but Raffanini’s talent at what he does best cannot properly translate into a cinematic language.