Contemporary Horror

Extremities Takes a Relevant Look at Rape and Revenge [The Rabid Dog’s House]

The Rabid Dog’s House is a recurring feature at Wicked Horror where contributor Justin Steele uncovers hidden gems, lost classics, and overlooked indie offerings with a little bite. Flying solo or wit...

Turistas characters get a drink at the bar

Turistas is…a Film [Quarantine Retrospective]

While we’re on lockdown, I’ll be working on a series of retrospectives as I watch through my library. Many will be films I love but I may veer into less favorable territory from time to time to keep t...

House of Wax.

Fifteen Years Later, House of Wax Still Boasts Impressive Set Design and Great FX

House of Wax (2005) turns fifteen in April. So, what better time to take a look back at the oft-maligned slasher redux to determine if it deserves the hate that is so often thrown its way. For th...

Chastity Bites Horror Movie

‘Chastity Bites’ Slays the Patriarchy With it’s Sex-Positive Narrative [Editorial]

Thankfully, feminist horror films and sex-positive cinema are becoming more and more commonplace of late. And we owe a debt of gratitude for the shifting paradigm to movements like Me Too and TimeR...

The Intensity of High Tension: A Look at Plagiarism in Horror

In a time of remakes, reboots, re-imaginings and so forth, the genre fan has a narrowed selection in terms of originality. This debatable lack of creativity divides audiences on a regular basis. Wheth...

hostel-hostage

Fifteen Years Later Hostel is Still Plagued by Awful Characters and Cringeworthy Dialogue [Editorial]

Hostel marks Eli Roth’s second feature film directorial effort, with Cabin Fever being his first. Roth amped up the gore for his sophomore outing. Following in the footsteps of films like Saw, Hostel ...

Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) in the 2007 Robert Rodriguez grindhouse throwback Planet Terror.

Planet Terror is a Neo-Grindhouse Classic [Retrospective]

This homage to the grindhouse cinema of the ‘70s is set in the present but it has plenty of throwbacks to the days of the drive-in cinema. The crackling picture, the exploitative nature of the film, m...

Dracula (Gerard Butler) is awake and ready to raise hell in Patrick Lussier's 2000 vampire film Dracula 2000.

Dracula 2000 is a Noticeably Flawed but Often Enjoyable Update [Retrospective]

Upon its initial release, the majority of critics panned Dracula 2000. The film was accused of being a shameless rip-off of superior material and not brining anything new or noteworthy to the table. T...

The masked killer (Lee Main) in Jack Messitt's 2008 slasher Midnight Movie.

Midnight Movie is Tragically Flawed [Retrospective]

Midnight Movie follows the employees and patrons of a rundown theater on the night the cinema is screening Ted Radford’s The Dark Beneath. Though it was never a major hit, The Dark Beneath is the sour...