The Silent Scream 1979
Published May 24, 2013 | 
THE SILENT SCREAM: TERROR SO LETHARGIC YOU HAVE ALL DAY TO SCREAM
The Silent Scream was released in 1979, only 1 year after the release of John Carpenter’s incredible Halloween. Friday the 13th would follow in 1980 so it would be safe to say that in 1979 the Slasher film wave was on like Donkey Kong. We remember the iconic films like Halloween, Friday the 13th and others but there were a lot of films that tried to cash in on the popularity of the Slasher film generated by the aforementioned iconic films. A lot of films… Continue reading
Star Trek Into Darkness 2013
Published May 22, 2013 | STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS: AWESOME!
In 2009 we saw a much needed reboot of the Star Trek film franchise. Gone were the Star Trek TNG cast and in its place were a batch of young faces and talent. Most notably Zachary Quinto who was born to play Spock. J. J. Abrams directing a Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman screenplay gave us a worthy science fiction spectacle that did justice to a much beloved Sci Fi property. It is easy to say that Abrams reboot reignited an interest in Star Trek which was in danger of being relegated… Continue reading
The House on Sorority Row 1983
Published May 17, 2013 | THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW: TWISTY 80′s SLASHER
The last time and the only time I had watched The House on Sorority Row was when I was a kid who scoured the video rental shelves for new Horror titles to watch. I had rented the film, on VHS mind you, and to tell you the truth I was not that impressed with the film which is why I never returned for a second viewing. I’m going to play the pretentious cine file for a second and say that VHS was not good for movies because the films were always… Continue reading
Iron Man 3
Published May 10, 2013 | IRON MAN 3: SHANE BLACK AND HIS CAST BRING THE FUN
It is interesting now to look back at the history of live-action superhero content. Let’s face it, 40+ years ago superheroes could not be brought to a small (TV) screen without a gimmick like “camp” and have audiences buy into it. I’m talking about the Batman television series with Adam West. The cape crusader was brought to life with a silly black rayon cape and grey tights. It looked silly on screen but adding the camp aspect to the series made it all digestible. Don’t get me… Continue reading
Texas Chainsaw 3D 2013
Published May 6, 2013 | TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D: “DO YOUR THING CUZ… WTF?
Having been around a while and having the opportunity to grow up with the Horror genre as a kid, a teen, a young adult and now as an adult I find myself wondering why I like these silly much maligned movies. The answer is simple and straight forward… I enjoy a story attempting to scare me. The question then becomes what is scary? This becomes a much trickier question to answer which may send one down the path of revisiting films that we can all agree are scary. One of these… Continue reading
Manborg 2013
Published May 3, 2013 | MANBORG: 80′s CHEESE AGED TO PERFECTION
In order to understand Manborg we must first discuss the Canadian film production company Astron-6. Astron-6 was founded in 2007 by Adam Brooks and Jeremy Gillespie. Matt Kennedy, Connor Sweeney and Steven Kostanski later joined making Astron-6 what it is now, a five man film making team that creates low-budget films that have a 1980′s vibe. The films combine Horror, Sci Fi and Comedy. Basically its a bunch of talented guys that have the same love of genre films from the 80′s. Astron-6 makes the films they want on the cheap. This may… Continue reading
The Asphyx 1973
Published May 1, 2013 | THE ASPHYX: CAPTURE A PUPPET AND BECOME IMMORTAL
I grew up watching Hammer films and films of the 1970′s on television. I really enjoy the weirdness of the Horror films of the 1070′s. Sometimes those great tastes come together in one package. Such is the case with The Asphyx (1973). The Asphyx could easily be mistaken for a Hammer production but the production design, IMO, seemed a hair above what we would see in the majority of Hammer productions. In terms of its Gothic period tale of the supernatural, The Asphyx is well within the Hammer wheel house. The… Continue reading
The Lords of Salem 2013
Published April 29, 2013 | THE LORDS OF SALEM: ZOMBIE BRINGS THE OLD SCHOOL VIBE… BIG TIME!
I was first introduced to Rob Zombie in 1992 through the music of Zombie’s band White Zombie. Being a fan of the Universal monster films and the subsequent black and white Horror films of the 1940′s and 1950′s it was obvious that Rob Zombie and I were kindred spirits (with respect to cinematic taste). We shared an admiration of classic Horror especially since his band was named White Zombie. His follow up album Astro Creep: 2000 continued the Horror themes and were paired with similarly themed videos… Continue reading
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death 1971
Published April 26, 2013 | LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH: ATMOSPHERIC CHILLER
As I grow older and have the benefit of going back and looking at the Horror genre decade by decade, I have come to feel that the 1970′s was a really unique time for the genre. I could argue that it was a transitional period as color became the norm and it was post the social revolution of the sixties. Both these things are true but I think that it was more than that. Coming out of the tumultuous sixties I think that everything had matured to the next level and American… Continue reading
Oblivion 2013
Published April 24, 2013 | OBLIVION: WELCOMED SCI FI ALBEIT FAMILIAR
Tom Cruise has been making films since he was nineteen first appearing 1981′s Endless Love starring Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt. It was a small part most likely not remembered by most even myself. Yes, I have seen Endless Love. The CouchZombie needs a little romance too you know. This allows Cruise to be discussed as a teen star who went on to be a successful actor which we all know is tricky business considering the pitfalls that many young people people in the business have to navigate, many without success. Not… Continue reading
Ticks 1993
Published April 15, 2013 | TICKS: “THEY CALL ME PANIC CAUSE I NEVER DO”
I love the mutated animal monster sub-genre because it tends to straddle Horror and Science Fiction. In the late 1980′s and early 1990′s we saw a lot of it. Maybe it was because of the maturity of the special effects industry that had developed during the eighties that could deliver more effective monsters cheaply or maybe it was just something that happened. These movies existed before the late 80′s and early 90′s. I would cite one my favorites Prophecy (1979). The thing is that the movies from late 80′s and… Continue reading
Evil Dead 2013
Published April 12, 2013 | EVIL DEAD: MAKING THE TERROR OF THE UNKNOWN LESS SCARY WITH SPECIFICITY
I’ve been around long enough and have seen enough movies now that I can look back and see without a doubt movies that were truly special Horror experiences. Movies that I say to myself, “I don’t care who remakes this film, it will never be as special an experience as the original”. We don’t even have to be talking within the context of remakes some films were and remain such special experiences that it is hard to imagine anyone producing anything better. I would cite Psycho (1960),… Continue reading
