Retrospectives
Found Footage Films: A Brief and Twisted History
It’s July 17th, 1999 – 11:50 PM. It’s an oppressive summer night across the United States. The seasonal heat lays thick in the air, and somehow the July night has stuck to the flesh of movie-goe...
Why ‘Project: Metalbeast’ is Top-Notch Schlock (And Should be Remembered)
Most people reading this have probably never heard of Project: Metalbeast. That’s not a criticism of the horror community. There are so many forgotten gems. And plenty of people who have seen this fil...
Why ‘The Monster Squad’ is the Perfect Gateway Horror Movie
Most people who are fans of the genre started when they were young. Whether they began watching at that age or weren’t allowed to watch, but learned about them anyway, a fascination with horror was bo...
How ‘Tenebrae’ Explores a Writer’s Greatest Fear
Dario Argento is one of the all-time masters of horror. No matter how much the quality of work has fallen in recent years, when he was in his prime he was nigh unbeatable. While Suspiria and Deep Red ...
Can We Acknowledge That ‘Event Horizon’ is the Purest Space Horror Since ‘Alien’?
So, let’s be honest right out of the gate: Paul W.S. Anderson is not known for making great movies. He is, absolutely, known for making fun movies. The Resident Evil flicks are pure popcorn entertainm...
Why ‘Hellraiser II’ Is a Surrealist Nightmare
There was a lengthy period of time when Hellraiser II was considered one of the best horror sequels of all time. I’ll readily admit that I discovered it during that time and it probably colored my exp...
‘Terror Train’ is a Surprisingly Innovative Slasher
The slasher subgenre boomed after the release of John Carpenter’s Halloween. Where no one was even really sure that Halloween would work—at least not in the way that it did—once it proved to be a succ...
Why Jason Lives is a Near-Perfect Horror Comedy
Audiences were disappointed with Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning. They wanted Jason, doing what he does best. Despite the film’s other merits, they couldn’t get over the absence of the franchi...
‘A Nightmare On Elm Street 4’: How Freddy Became The Pop Culture Boogeyman
A Nightmare on Elm Street was a success that spread through word of mouth. It was made for very little money and was released on a limited number of screens. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 was a hit in c...