Retro Reviews

18 years ago, I sat in a packed movie theater. The anticipation for the much-hyped found footage movie was palpable. The feature started and the crowd settled in.  No opening credits. No music to set the scene. A dedication appeared on the screen, thanking the families of the two leads …

Tim Burton’s Pee Wee’s Big Adventure sits high on my film totem pole. I have loved this film since I was first able to put two and two together. I eventually came to understand its importance in my life. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure is, I guess, what you could call …

I was born in the early 1980s, so in a way, I wasn’t caught up as much as my GenX family. I knew of movies; however, I wasn’t quite the movie fan until I was about 5 or 6. I started watching movies like Teen Wolf, and I turned into …

When I was a kid, my dad was on swing shift at the water plant, so that meant he worked weird hours. He always worked until Midnight on Monday and Tuesday, so that meant it was just me, my sister, and my mom at home on those nights. The three …

Disney has a dark past from the 80s that no one really talks about. They created horror-themed children’s classic movies during that time that I am sure they would like sealed in a vault. One of these films was The Black Cauldron (1985). PopHorror is here to open that vault …

Frank Marshall’s Arachnophobia isn’t just about spiders — it’s about fear itself, and what happens when that fear crawls out of the shadows and into your everyday life. Blending horror and comedy with surprising finesse, this directorial debut from Marshall — backed by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment — struck a …

There are certain moments in my life that I will always remember clearly. One of those memories was the first time I saw Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects. It doesn’t matter that I’ve watched this film a hundred thousand times; I am still in awe every time I check it …

In the summer of 1987 we were introduced to one of the most iconic villains in film: extraterrestrials that were strategic, ritualistic trophy hunters given the name ‘Predator.’ The film of the same name is considered by many to be the ultimate action movie of the 80s. It has an …

In 1980, director Robert Zemeckis (Death Becomes Her – 1992) and writer Bob Gale (Bordello of Blood – 1996) teamed up to make a fun science fiction movie involving time travel. Only problem was, raunchy comedy was in at the time. Films such as The Hollywood Knights, Animal House, Meatballs, …

As a kid, George A. Romero was instrumental in cultivating my love of horror. Dawn of the Dead (1978) was the first zombie film I ever watched. It was also among the first VHS tapes I ever owned: a double VHS at that! Zombies were niche back in the ’80s. …