Retro Reviews

The Funhouse is one of my top horror movies, and that’s because it combines two of my favorite things… the campiness and life of a carnival and gooooooore. Released on March 13, 1981, this slasher classic packs a wallop of both. Teenager Amy (Elizabeth Berridge: Results 2015), her boyfriend, Buzz …

The mid-2000s were an interesting time for the horror genre—outside of the ’90s boom, but not quite into the resurgence of the next decade. Creators and studios were looking for something different as they wanted new ways to cash in on the movie-going audience. That led us to Stay Alive, …

As a kid, I remember seeing Corey Wolfe’s awesome VHS box art for director Jim Wynorski’s 1986 film, Chopping Mall, at the numerous visits my family paid to various mom and pop rental shops. Along with Maniac (1980), it’s the art I remember most from that timeframe as I was …

What do you get when you mix one-part Evil Dead 2 with two part The ‘Burbs then add a pinch of Platoon? Well, boys and ghouls, you get the recipe to the insanely fun and one-of-a-kind ’80s gem of a haunted house flick, House, which released February 28, 1986. Synopsis  …

The vampire is one of Hollywood’s favorite monsters and has been played by countless actors over the decades, although none could reach the influence and magnitude of Bela Lugosi’s (The Wolfman 1941) performance in Dracula (1931). Released on February 14, 1931, Dracula has made our hearts yearn and bleed for …

Created by comic book gods Len Wein (who also co-created Marvel’s Wolverine) and Bernie Wrightson (illustrator of Stephen King’s Cycle of the Werewolf 1983), horror icon Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing (1982) loosely adapts the early part of their published run. Finding a balance between camp and horror, Craven (A Nightmare on …

Like most horror films I’ve seen, my first viewing was as a child. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) was no exception. Like Jaws (1975), I could tell you exactly where I was and who I was with when I first saw it. Based on the 1955 novel, The Body …

My Bloody Valentine is a Canadian slasher directed by George Mihalka (Da Vinci’s Inquest TV series) and written by John Beaird (My Bloody Valentine 3-D 2009 – read our retro review here), released on February 11, 1981. The story involves a group of miners who decide to throw their own Valentine’s …

When it comes to vampire movies, there are none better than Nosferatu (1922). In fact, Nosferatu is my favorite vampire film. It’s dark and gothic, and Max Schreck (The Street 1923) is absolutely fantastic. But not much was known about the production of the film. Rumors circulated about Schreck really …

In the late 1970s, fledgling Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg introduced the world to his unique brand of horror. After completing three features—the first, which focused on parasitic psychosexual mania in Shivers (1975), then on to the uncommon, aggressive outbreak of Rabid (1977), and eventually, to mutant offspring in The Brood …