Here we are during the most superstitious time of year, looking back on the rough year behind us, and making a long list of plans and wishes for the new one just a few days away. John Carpenter’s awesome film adaptation of Stephen King’s Christine (1983) turned 40 this month. …
Read More »I Watched Ten Terrible Ouija Films So You Don’t Have To!
Of the many tropes in horror films, I have one that I will never, ever break: never use a Ouija Board. And while plenty of people have seen Ouija and Ouija 2: Origin of Evil, there exists an entire second string of films about summoning spirits – and I watched …
Read More »Peeping Behind the Shower Curtain: The Role of Voyeurism in ‘PSYCHO’ (1960)
Psycho is a classic psychological thriller and horror film that has become iconic in the history of cinema and has forever etched itself into horror and pop culture. Regarding the success of the film, Hitchcock said, “Thirty-three percent of the effect of Psycho was due to the music.” However, in …
Read More »Damien Leone’s ‘ALL HALLOWS’ EVE’ (2013) – 10 Years Later
After the unexpected, lucrative success of Terrifier 2, (read our review here) and the promise of Terrifier 3, it is important to recognize the significance of 2013’s All Hallows’ Eve, and its introduction of Art the Clown. Much like Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-on series, Art’s creative father, Damien Leone, nurtured this …
Read More »‘LAKE MUNGO’ (2008) 15 Years Later, and America’s True Crime Obsession
We may be moving past the peak of sensational documentaries put out on Netflix and other streaming services. Regardless, 2008’s Lake Mungo serves as a fitting precursor to the true crime wave that gripped the late 2010s. Written and directed by Joel Anderson, a man just as enigmatic as the …
Read More »Why ‘HELEN’S DEAD’ Breathes Life Into Mystery Movies – Review
Helen’s Dead isn’t a typical horror film. Directed by K. Asher Levin with a screenplay by Amy Brown Carver, it’s more of a horror whodunit, a modern-day Clue. Packed with ‘cringe’ moments that satirize today’s social media culture, this film offers a fresh and nuanced peek into the modern zeitgeist …
Read More »‘The Collingswood Story’ – The Long-Distance Breakup Tale Involving a Satanic Cult
There is a sense of dread and inevitability from the first frame of The Collingswood Story. This little-known Screenlife thriller from 2002 is perhaps the first of the sub-genre. Primarily taking place on a pre-Skype video chat platform based on a landline, the instability and unreliability of the platform perfectly …
Read More »Halloween – It Really Is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
From curmudgeons to Karens, there’s always someone trying to spoil the fun on that one day of the year that it’s okay to let our freak flags fly. Lets take a moment to sing the praises and give a big Halloween THANK YOU to the folks who keep the spirit …
Read More »My ‘Friday the 13th’ Journey — All The Films, All The Blood
I remember it fondly. My introduction into the franchise that just wouldn’t quit: Friday the 13th. When I was at the advanced age of 9, my late mother (who was also a fan of horror flicks) took me on her weekly trip to the local newsstand/soda counter (it was a …
Read More »Darth Vader: The Enigmatic Evolution of Cinema’s Greatest Villain
It’s been said that you can judge the quality of a story by its villain. Well, ladies and gentlemen, let’s talk about the Star Wars universe and the man who made the dark side look so relatable. Darth Vader, the Sith Lord extraordinaire, is, without a shadow of a doubt, …
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