This article follows three fundamental questions: What makes special effects in media good? What makes them bad? Also, what makes some effects so bad that they’re good? To help answer the questions, I’m going to analyze two scenes from two very different movies: (1) Birdemic: Shock and Terror (usually considered …

You Like Head Cheese? It’s Tobe Hooper’s 75th birthday on January 25th, so it’s a great time to look at his huge impact on horror. First, I feel a preface is in order: although horror fans are often quite cheerful, they’ve had plenty of reasons to be sad lately. How …

Directed by Lewis Teague (who went on to direct Cat’s Eye) and originally written by Stephen King, Cujo (read our interview with Dee Wallace – here) is most impressive for its realism. Rather than being cursed by magic or something inexplicable, a St. Bernard named Cujo contracts rabies after getting bit …

What would a former Catholic Church basement, theoretical physics, a swirling green liquid, Alice Cooper and Satan all have in common? Why, Prince of Darkness, of course! Warning:  This trailer itself contains a spoiler! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKI2kI6Flw0 Welcome to the world of Prince of Darkness, where all your dreams come true — …

Every vampire story is a little bit different. Werner Herzog’s 1979 classic Nosferatu the Vampyre is no exception. For one thing, it doesn’t take place in Transylvania, but in Wismar, Germany, and Herzog’s Dracula (Klaus Kinski) somehow comes across not as mythical but as an inevitable force of nature — …

Christopher Butler’s The Scopia Effect is a unique reincarnation-themed horror story. What makes it unique? It blends concepts of hypnosis, reincarnation, mind, body and soul, and suggests that delicate minds shape the violence of the past, present and the future. Starring Joanna Ignaczewska, Akira Koieyama, and Julian Seager, The Scopia …

What does the robot arm represent in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master? What is it? Where does it come from?  I have some theories on that! It’s not a question people seem eager to ask. Still, when Sheila (Toy Newkirk) gets grabbed at by it, it’s …

Though not all would agree, I believe the first 3 episodes of Breaking Bad could function as a self-contained, dramatic, topical horror movie. And no, I’m not saying this because I’m high on meth (I swear that I’m not). Pilot Episode To begin with, Breaking Bad is about what many …

You’re stranded on a desert island. Assuming electricity and equipment aren’t a problem, which five horror movies would you want with you? Such a tough question, and I can’t consider the list permanent until the island vacation occurs, but…. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Evil Dead 2: …

Revenge is a tried and true theme in the arts, and horror cinema is no exception. Enter the world of Creepshow (1982). Written by Stephen King, directed by George A. Romero, and with practical effects by Tom Savini, Creepshow illustrates what can happen when horror icons unite. Seriously, a team like …