Retro Reviews

The thing I loved the most about 80s horror films is that there were no rules. Writers could take their movie anywhere, even the horrible movies got attention. For some reason, today’s horror fans started way back in time, when there was a wild west feel. There were still icons, …

In my years of experience with the horror genre, I will always hold the Universal Monsters very close. When I was growing up, our school library held these orangebooks with all their monsters on each cover, and a short story version of each. I constantly rented these books. However, the …

Released in 1986, Troll is a low-budget fantasy horror film that has endured not because it succeeds, but because it fails in such a distinctive, oddly committed way. Directed by John Carl Buechler and produced by Charles Band under Empire Pictures, the movie has become a cult favorite for its …

Warlock is a supernatural horror film best known today as a late-80s cult favorite. You will sometimes see it dated as 1991 due to international releases or television airings, but its original United States theatrical release was in 1989. Over time, it has earned a reputation as something slightly smarter …

Filmed in 1995 and released in 1996, Christian Duguay’s Screamers is celebrating its 30th anniversary. With its exceptional writing pedigree, a haunting soundtrack, and a cast headed by a genre icon, Screamers has all the ingredients of a top tier sci-fi recipe. Unfortunately, this dark, futuristic sci-fi/horror effort didn’t fare well …

20 years ago this month, one of the most influential horror films of all time opened: director Eli Roth’s Hostel. Drawing from urban legends of “dark tourism,” Roth created a film where the price of cheap sex tourism could be your very life. But it goes even farther than that: …

Thanks to Buffy the Vampire Slayer I had a HUGE crush on Eliza Dushku back in the day and had to see everything she was in (I even have the same tattoo that she had when she was Faith on my arm, and I am not sure if she would …

One reason I love eighties horror is that there were no rules; it was a “wild west” scenario. There were a lot of stories to be told. Sadly, most movies that attracted a great deal of attention often had to resort to making ten installments, driving us into boredom. We …

Alan Ormsby’s Popcorn takes you back to the golden age of horror. The film never made it, and in my opinion, that’s a tragic loss in horror. Popcorn is a movie that I watch at least once a month. Popcorn takes the crown of all those 80s horror films. Being …

“Everybody be cool….YOU…be cool” ~Seth Gecko. Welcome back to The Black Box Chronicles where we take a look at some of the best and most memorable movies from my childhood. As the calendar turned to 1996, a new vampire movie was coming out directed by Desperado’s Robert Rodriguez and written …