I’ve been a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro since the first film of his that I saw, which was either The Devil’s Backbone from 2001, or Pan’s Labyrinth from 2006. There’s just something about his particular vision of the beautiful grotesque, his sense of wonder that comes across in his stories even when they’re … More Movies: Cronos (1993)
I had been itching to get around to seeing Ghostwatch for ages, since I had long noticed it on so many “Best Haunted House Movie” lists and since I had heard a little bit about the uproar it caused when it was aired. If you don’t know, Ghostwatch was broadcast by the BBC on Halloween night 1992, and it … More Movies: Ghostwatch (1992)
Like many of the movies I end up watching and covering on this series, I can’t remember exactly how I first heard of 2017’s Super Dark Times, an independent movie that not only marked the directorial debut of cinematographer Kevin Phillips, but managed to scoop up the H.R. Giger Award for Best Feature Film at … More Movies: Super Dark Times (2017)
Stir of Echoes is one of those horror movies I always bring up when someone asks me what I think some of the most underrated horror films of all time are; directed by David Koepp and starring Kevin Bacon, the 1999 movie is based pretty loosely on Richard Matheson’s short novel, which came out in … More Book vs. Movie: Stir of Echoes
Released in 1896 (!!!), directed by the über-famous George Méliès, and considered the first horror film ever made (even though it’s more funny than scary), The Haunted Castle (French title Le Manoir du diable, ooh la la) was a massive influence on early horror films, particularly the German expressionist classics and the subsequent Universal films in the 1930’s. … More Silent Movie Watchalong: The Haunted Castle (1896)
The so-called “rape-revenge” subgenre reached its peak in the 1970s and early 1980s, and the two films I want to talk about are probably the most cited and controversial examples of this type of cinema. I have to say right out of the gate that rape is one of the most stomach-turning things for me … More Rape-Revenge Double Feature: I Spit On Your Grave (1978) and Ms .45 (1981)
In the annals of serial killer-dom, John Reginald Christie might not be all that familiar a name to Americans, but he’s absolutely notorious in the UK. The seemingly mild-mannered fellow, known to friends and family as Reg, killed at least eight people in the 1940s—stashing their bodies in and around his Notting Hill, London flat—and … More Movies: 10 Rillington Place (1971)
Most horror and suspense aficionados of a certain age (ahem) fondly remember classic spooky and suspenseful television shows from the 1960s, such as The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents; all of those programs still have ardent fans to this day, and rightly so. I had seen and loved most episodes of … More Revisiting Thriller with Boris Karloff: Season 1, Episodes 1-6
I’m sure I’ve mentioned once or twice (or several times) how much I love made-for-TV horror movies from the 1970s. I’m not entirely sure what it is about them; it might just be that they take me back to my childhood and give me a warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia, or it could be that … More Movies: The Norliss Tapes (1973)
We’re back once again on this potentially endless series, as I break down my five favorite horror films released every year since I was born, and I have to say that even though we’re only three posts in, I’ve already hit something of a snag. While 1974 featured at least two iconic classics that will … More My Favorite Horror Movies from Every Year Since I Was Born: 1974
The Scare Salon 