Night of the Devils
November 26, 2012
Italian horror really came into its own during the 1960s with the rise of Mario Bava’s atmospheric gothic horror films. He paved the way for a new generation of filmmakers in the 1970s, chief among them Dario Argento. Giorgio Ferroni was a contemporary...
Vamps
November 16, 2012
For awhile director Amy Heckerling had a good run of films in the 1980s and 1990s, responsible for two stone cold classics – Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and Clueless (1995) – and several popular comedies – National Lampoon’s European Vacation...
Rosemary’s Baby: Criterion Collection
October 24, 2012
In the 1970s, films about demonic possession and Satan were all the rage thanks to films like The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976). This trend was actually kick-started on a mainstream level in the late 1960s with Roman Polanski’s Hollywood debut,...
Chillerama
December 5, 2011
One of the staples of the horror genre is the anthology film, comprised of several stories, often linked together by a common thread. The 1980’s was the last time a good crop of these kinds of films were harvested with the likes of Heavy Metal (1981),...
Island of Lost Souls: Criterion Collection
November 21, 2011
Based on H.G. Wells’ 1896 novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Island of Lost Souls (1932) was a controversial film for its time being banned in 12 countries, including England, for its blatant references to vivisection and a blasphemous reference to God....
The Quatermass Xperiment
November 4, 2011
Based on the popular 1953 BBC television serial The Quatermass Experiment, written by the legendary Nigel Kneale, Hammer films adapted it into a feature film known as The Quatermass Xperiment (1955). Director Val Guest condensed the serial and changed...
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
July 27, 2011
It isn’t easy successfully blending comedy with horror. Aside from a few notable exceptions (like Re-Animator, Evil Dead II, Braindead, and Slither), most efforts tend to have too many laughs and not enough scares so that the end result has only the...
Insidious
July 12, 2011
Every so often a low budget horror film comes out and against all odds strikes a chord with mainstream audiences to become a breakout success. This happened with Halloween (1978), The Blair Witch Project (1999), and Paranormal Activity (2007). These films...
BloodRayne: The Third Reich: Unrated Director’s Cut
July 5, 2011
Loosely based on the video game series of the same name, BloodRayne: The Third Reich (2010) is the latest installment in the film franchise about the titular character who is half human and half vampire, hunting and killing bloodsuckers through the 1800’s...
Season of the Witch
June 27, 2011
Season of the Witch (2011) saw Nicolas Cage reunited with director Dominic Sena who he had previous collaborated with on the commercial hit, Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). Both men were hoping lightning would strike twice with this period action fantasy film...
