Retro Reviews

Ten years ago on April 30, 2010, a remake of a Wes Craven’s masterpiece, A Nightmare on Elm Street, released. Most people were anxious to see if someone else could carry the charm that Robert Englund brought to the character of Freddy Krueger. With a new director, Samuel Bayer (Alpha …

Perhaps encouraged by CBS’s success with The Twilight Zone, ABC launched The Outer Limits in 1963. Although it’s often overshadowed by Rod Serling’s version, it was successful enough to run for 2 seasons and is still considered an iconic sci-fi anthology series. Also, make no mistake about it: There are …

John Carpenter is my favorite director, and frankly, it’s not a particularly close race. Classics like The Thing (read our 35th anniversary tribute here), Halloween, and Escape From New York are firmly entrenched on my Top 10 Films of All Time List. In some way, just about every Carpenter film …

“I love dead. Hate living,” are the tortured words spoken by Frankenstein’s monster in the timeless 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein, which turns 85 on May 6, 2020. The legendary film was directed by James Whale (Frankenstein 1931, The Invisible Man 1933) and released by Universal in 1935, and depicts …

Something special happens when you mix horror and religion. The things we fear mix magically with the tenets of faith because both are steeped in the mysteries of the unknown. The Exorcist (1973) was one of the earliest films that scared the ever loving bejeezus out of me. It shook …

George C. Scott’s hidden ghost story, The Changeling, is a timeless classic that has inspired many filmmakers since its release on March 28, 1980, including the present horror master Guillermo del Toro. Martin Scorsese called The Changeling “one of my favorite horror films of all time.” Director Peter Medak, who …

If you were blessed enough to be alive during the video store golden age, you’ll remember New World Video’s Def-Con 4 VHS box. It had a space ship in the background and what looks like a skeleton in a space suit buried in the sand. Crazy stuff, and it worked …

On March 10, 2000, Director Roman Polanski (Rosemary’s Baby 1968) introduced the world to The Ninth Gate, a live action rendition of author Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s book, The Club Dumas. Here’s a list of 10 things I bet you didn’t know about this film. The Ninth Gate follows the story of …

On March 22, 2020, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning turned 35 years old. I’m pleased to be able to write about it today, as it has always been my fave of the series. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning is the 5th installment of the now essential Friday the …

On March 24, 1995, the Stephen King psychological thriller Dolores Claiborne was unleashed. Directed by Taylor Hackford, the film was fairly successful. Today, it’s considered among the best of Stephen King adaptations. Frankly, this is a difficult film to categorize, or even discuss, as its central theme is abuse. Kathy …