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The Devil’s Triangle (1974) / Till Death (1978)





The first flick I watched was this 1974 documentary about the Bermuda Triangle that was narrated by horror icon Vincent Price.













The doc began by covering the most famous Bermuda Triangle story, the disappearance of Flight 19. Interviewed was Alan Costner, the one pilot who was supposed to be on that mission but missed it. He went over the general information known about the case. There were also dramatized voice overs of the alleged pilots saying that they were off course, couldn't see land, didn't know which way was west, etc. The doc then went and covered other stories, including the vanishing of the Cyclops and its alleged crazed captain, an account of a mysterious ship found sailing with no crew, and various other boat and plane vanishings. They offered a few hypothesis of what might have happened to these missing ships and aircraft.













The doc was watchable, albeit a bit goofy and overdramatic. The few interviews it featured were quite dull, the individuals speaking with little enthusiasm. Vincent Price's narration is what made it most enjoyable, with him putting spooky emphasis on certain words and phrases, such as every time he said "The Devil's Triangle". They also included creepy music, unexpectedly funny artistic renderings, and those voice overs from what the captain of Flight 19 allegedly said, which I'm sure was exaggerated to make things seem more dramatic. They even briefly discussed sightings of UFOs in the area, and even a brief interview with a clairvoyant (?!?) talking about some visions he saw. With a runtime of less than an hour, everything zipped by quickly. Like most of these older docs, I'm sure it was probably inaccurate as hell. Still, it was a curious slice of retro cinema, though not as entertaining as Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle (1977) or the even wackier Charles Berlitz's The Bermuda Triangle (1979). All of these can be streamed for free on YouTube.






The next one was a weird late 70's horror flick about a man whose dead wife inexplicably returns to life.







Upon waking up from a nightmare, Paul answers his phone and is soothed by the voice of Anne, his fiance and bride to be whom he marries later that afternoon. While driving to their honeymoon destination, he pulls over the car to wait for the thick night fog to clear. Thinking he hears his voice, he steps outside to investigate, but sees nothing. Once the fog lifts, they continue on their drive, but get into an accident, with their car going over a cliff and Anne getting killed. Later, after having recovered in the hospital, Paul drives to the cemetery to visit the final resting place of his bride. While kneeling in front of her plot in the crypt, he's overcome by memories of their time together and the accident and passes out. The cemetery workers, who are closing down for the night, lock the crypt gate, unaware that Paul is still inside. He awakens to discover that he's trapped, and when he hears Anne's voice calling him, he breaks open the crypt and pulls out the casket. She opens her eyes, and he's beyond thrilled that she's somehow alive. Together, they wait until morning for the crypt gates to be unlocked, but as the night progresses, strange things begin to occur.
















The movie is one of those lurid cheese fests, with corny music (including the ridiculous, saccharine romantic theme song), overdramatic acting, and heavy use of slow motion and fog to build suspense. The story plays like something you'd see in an old Tales From the Crypt comic, or an episode of that British anthology series Hammer's House of Horror. I found it unexpectedly hilarious and laughed out loud several times, including the over the top car crash scene, some ridiculous dialogue and bad acting (a flamboyant funeral director was particularly entertaining), and the predictable but funny ending. This is the type of movie that would've done great if it received the MST3K treatment. With a runtime of 70 minutes, it's just enough time to tell its story without getting over padded with a bunch of unnecessary, pointless scenes. If you have a soft spot for these obscure horror flicks of the 70's and 80's, you may enjoy this one. I streamed it on YouTube, and while the VHS quality isn't the best, it's still watchable. 















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