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New month, new horror recommendations from Deep Cuts Rising. This installment features one random pick as well as four selections reflecting the month of May 2024.

Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.

This month’s offerings include a self-loathing serial killer, a violinist’s murderous ghost, and a postmodern vamp flick.

Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)

Pictured: Ted Bessell and Sian Barbara Allen in Scream, Pretty Peggy.

Directed by Gordon Hessler.

The TV-movie Scream, Pretty Peggy first aired as part of ABC Movie of the Week. Bette Davis plays the mother of a reclusive sculptor (Ted Bessell), and after the previous housekeeper goes missing, a local college student (Sian Barbara Allen) fills the position. Little does she know, though, the young employee’s predecessor was murdered — and the killer is still on the loose.

Admittedly,...

It’s no big deal these days when veteran film stars appear on the small screen such as Harrison Ford, who headlines two vastly different series this season, the hard-hitting Western “1923” on Paramount + and the Apple TV +’s comedy “Shrinking.” And two-time Oscar-winner Robert De Niro is set to star in his first TV series “Zero Day” on Netflix. But 50 years ago, it was major news when stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood took the plunge into the small screen waters.

Four-time Oscar-winning legend Katharine Hepburn made her TV debut in ABC’s acclaimed version of Tennessee Williams’ 1944 classi play “The Glass Menagerie.” The drama, which catapulted Williams to fame, reunited Kate with her “The Lion in Winter” director Anthony Harvey. She won an Oscar under his guidance for the 1968 “Lion,” and she earned an Emmy nomination for her haunting turn as Amanda in “Glass Menagerie.” The...

Some TV movies aim for originality, using the tools on hand to try and rise above constraints, be they financial or artistic; others are more than content to just entertain, with reliable craftsmen who deliver within the confines of the small screen format. In other words, sometimes comfort food tastes just as good as a five course meal, which brings us to Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973), a familiar yet entertaining romp through diseased minds and sharpened knives.

Originally airing on November 24th as an ABC Suspense Movie, Scream, Pretty Peggy had to settle for the rest of the audience that wasn’t engrossed in CBS’ M*A*S*H/The Mary Tyler Moore Show/The Bob Newhart Show. Slimmer pickings to be sure, but not everyone wants to laugh (those monsters), and Peggy certainly is bereft of any. What it does offer, however, is a solid thriller with a slasher bent...

By John M. Whalen

Ted Kotcheff’s “Billy Two Hats” (1974) is one of those off-beat kind of movies they made back in the mid-Seventies when studios still believed in small, realistic films that focused on character more than shoot-outs, believable story lines more than special effects and solid performances by seasoned actors who knew their craft more than flashy histrionics by shiny boys and girls who just stepped off the front pages of the supermarket tabloids. It’s not a great film by any means. It’s slow, and a bit heavy handed in getting across the themes contained in Alan Sharp’s (“Osterman Weekend,” “Ulzana’s Raid”) script, but it’s worth watching, if only so you can say you’ve seen the only “Kosher Western” ever made.

57-year-old Gregory Peck, speaking with a thick Scottish accent, stars as Arch Deans, a bank robber on the run with his...

Tuesday, May 10th looks to be a pretty big day in home entertainment, as we have over 20 different genre-related titles coming our way this week. Universal Studios is bringing home The Boy to both Blu-ray and DVD, and fans can finally get their hands all over Deadpool, which is also getting released on both formats this Tuesday courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

Scream Factory is resurrecting the Patty Duke thriller, You’ll Like My Mother, in HD on May 10th, and Raro Video will release the cult classic Giallo film The Perfume of the Lady in Black on Blu-ray as well. We also have several great indie genre efforts making their way home on May 10th, including Synchronicity, Regression and the Wnuf Halloween Special.

Other notable releases for May 10th include season one of MTV’s Scream: The TV Series, Arachnicide, Scars, Blood Lust, Symptoms, and Kino Lorber’s release of Solarbabies on Blu-ray.

Recently widowed and pregnant, Francesca (Patty Duke) hopes to find comfort and support through her mother-in-law, but encounters sinister intentions instead. You’ll Like My Mother comes out on Blu-ray tomorrow from Scream Factory, and we’ve been provided with three Blu-ray copies to give away.

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of You’ll Like My Mother.

How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “You’ll Like My Mother Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on May 15th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

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Blu-ray Synopsis and Bonus Features: “Why did they fear Francesca’s baby?

Oscar® winner* Patty Duke stars in the tense and claustrophobic psychological thriller,...

After her husband is killed in action in Vietnam, Francesca (Patty Duke) seeks solace with her mother-in-law, but you know what they say about mother-in-laws… Lamont Johnson’s You’ll Like My Mother debuts on Blu-ray, coincidentally, just two days after Mother’s Day on May 10th, with bonus features including cast interviews and the official trailer. Speaking of the film’s trailer, we have it to share with our readers today, as well as two Blu-ray clips.

“Why did they fear Francesca’s baby?

Oscar® winner* Patty Duke stars in the tense and claustrophobic psychological thriller, You’ll Like My Mother.

When her husband is killed in Vietnam, Francesca Kinsolving (Duke) finds herself alone… and pregnant. She makes her way to Minnesota in order to meet her late husband’s mother, certain that she’ll be greeted with open arms. But Francesca soon discovers that there may be more...