“It’s finger-lickin’ good!” Severen (Bill Paxton) gives an accurate description of how human blood tastes. Or so we assume. After being tossed to the side upon it’s initial release, Near Dark is basically a western with a horror sheen. Caleb Cotton (Adrian Pasdar) is a modern hombre who gets mixed up with a group of marauders with a thirst for blood. The Grue Crew talk about all this gem live from DragonCon with a very special guest: […]
“Sometimes, dead is better.” Jud (Fred Gwyne) tries to warn Louis (Dale Midkiff) of the dangers of bringing back what has been buried. Will Louis heed these warnings? Can he recover from a major blow to his family? Or will he succumb to the temptations of the Pet Sematary? Take a trip down the dirt road (as pronounced RA-ODD like Jud would) and find out for yourself! Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 115 – Pet Sematary […]
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“Choke on ’em. CHOKE ON ‘EM!” Rhodes (Joseph Pilato) tells those ghouls exactly what they can do with his own guts. It’s a terrifying example of zombie carnage. One that still stands as a special effects achievement for Tom Savini. Still, does that mean Day of the Dead holds a candle to what George A. Romero started in Night or Dawn? Some would say no. Others say it ratchets things up to the next level. Where does this crew stand? […]
“Uh oh, Brian. Now you’re REALLY losing your mind.” The mysterious creature Alymer (John Zacherle) is giving Brian (Rick Hearst) a pretty hard time. Acting like a real parasite on the back, you could say. Thus, the premise of Brain Damage comes to life. Just your average 80s “Say No To Drugs” special. You got it all; the young relatable protagonist, a drug pushing worm monster, and hallucinations that combine every drug imaginable. Frank Henenlotter’s anti-drug masterpiece […]
“I’d buy that for a dollar!” Despite 30 years of time passing, Robocop has satire that’s pretty on point. The innocuous entertainment. Tonally disproportionate news items. Commercials that hawk consumer products that do nothing for their customers. All of it speaks to the world we currently live in. Luckily, Paul Verhoeven manages to slip in some ultra violence, amazing special effects and strong character work in between to make us a bit less depressed. Robocop may not be a […]
“Every nightmare has a beginning… This one never ends.” The dream logic of Dressed to Kill is ever present. Director Brian De Palma isn’t nearly as interested in a coherent story as he is the visuals. So many elaborate split diopter shots. More than a few split screens. That weird soft focus that was a thing in the 1970s. But none of this answers the question. Is Dressed to Kill more than just a technical exercise? Tune in to […]
“Whoa, whoa. You better watch what you say about my car. She’s real sensitive.” Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) is rather protective of his 1957 Plymouth Fury named Christine. He worked hard to restore it, pretty much rebuilding it from the ground up. Arnie doesn’t appreciate when people mince words in front of her. Or worse, lay an unprovoked finger on her person. Then again, Arnie doesn’t need to do a thing. Christine speaks for herself. And her words […]
“Welcome to Fright Night. For Real!” Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) welcomes a few guests into his home. Shame they welcomed him into their own. Fright Night is one of the more beloved examples of vampire films in the 1980s. Respecting the older examples while adding more than a few hallmarks that entered vampire lexicon in the years that followed. Fright Night was an auspicious debut for director/writer Tom Holland. How does this film-of-its-era hold up to modern scrutiny? There’s […]
“See you in the movies!” Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher) loves movies. The classic black and white films of old. Gangsters. Dashing cowboys. Universal Monsters. All are welcome in his escapist fantasies of the theater or his own memorability filled room to hide from reality. Sound a bit familiar? Yes, the protagonist of Fade to Black is a bit too close to home in certain ways to the average movie buff. But there’s one line of his […]
“Obey me! Or I will return you to the diseased state I found you in… and then I will slay BOTH of you!” Radu Molasar (Michael Carter) warns Dr. Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellan) not to question his judgement. Or else! Why he’s suggesting he’s going to return him to his earlier state and then kill him instead of just doing the latter is up for debate. One of many things that will make you scratch […]
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“They’re Here.” Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O’Rourke) becomes an iconic character in the history of horror. Poltergeist sent shockwaves through audiences when it premiered 35 years ago. Taking the traditional suburban landscape and sending ghosts through it. Giving a whole generation fears of trees, TV sets and clowns. The nightmare fuel is palpable to this day, as Poltergeist still has the type of imagery that resonates. Now, Poltergeist is getting the Decades of Horror treatment, as the show celebrates its one-year anniversary with another […]
“Damn! Come back from the grave and ran out of ammunition.” Big Ben (Richard Moll) laments his inability to hunt down prey. Specifically, the curly locks of Roger Cobb (William Katt). A successful writer trying to get past his recent divorce, missing child and Vietnam PTSD. Where could he possibly seek refuge from his inner demons? Why, in the House where his aunt killed herself, of course! Nothing too ominous or spooky about that. The Decades […]
“You wanna see something really scary?” Submitted for your approval, a podcast looking back at an anthology film that’s a remake of a classic TV show. Four segments. Four directors. Analyzed by four men. Attempting to figure out which is better. What caused the infamous tragedy on the film’s set? Which one makes the most lasting impression? Who can possibly remember that Bill Mumy isn’t Ron Howard? All these questions lay linger… in The Twilight Zone… The […]
“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass… and I’m all out of bubblegum.” Nada (Rowdy Roddy Piper) comes out of his consumer coma and is ready to blow some aliens away. The satirical sci-fi actioner from horror master John Carpenter is a schlocky example of 80s cheese… with an actual brain behind it? Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 103 – They Live (1988) They Live is a bit of a departure for […]
“This is it, Jennifer: your big break in TV. Welcome to prime time, bitch!” Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) literally breaks Jennifer (Penelope Sudrow) through the fourth wall. Signaling Kruger’s break away hit into pop culture icon status. What better way to celebrate its 30th anniversary than with a whole Decades of Horror 1980s episode dedicated to it? Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 102 – A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) After his […]