First, let’s set aside that old movie fan trope about the novel being better than the book, or vice versa, that gets dusted off every time the “Based on a Novel by Stephen King” card gets flashed in the opening credits. It may be a fun way to pass the time waiting for the next […]
The idea, at least on paper, is terrifying. A woman, Marla Mae (Lisa van Dam-Bates), who has always wanted an IUD (intrauterine device) but for some reason has never gone to a clinic or seen a doctor, decides to let an old friend whose nickname is “Doc.” but who seems to have no other credentials, […]
It must have sounded great in the pitch meeting: It’s about an app you download to your phone that tells you how long you have to live. For most people it’s good news — “I’m gonna live to be 98!” – but one girl finds out she’s going to die in 2 days and so […]
It’s easy to see why a horror movie maker might want to set his story in a carnival haunted house: The jump scares come virtually prepackaged. If it’s a gag in the house designed to scare visitors in the film then it can also be used to scare the movie audience. As experience will tell […]
Sequels can be such a crapshoot. The good ones take a story you already love and advance it in new and interesting ways. The bad ones simply rehash the original in unoriginal ways, leaving the audience cheated of both their money and their memories of what made the first movie so good. Although there are […]
Directed by Maria Lee Metheringham, Pumpkins is a fun little movie. It’s not very scary, mind you, but there’s something special about it, something in the DIY ethics you feel in every frame, that makes you want to root for it despite its shortcomings. Set in the pasturelands of the north of England, Pumpkins tells […]
Maybe if it had a different title such as “Smile” or “The Tears of a Clown” and the main character that wasn’t tied in, however clumsily, with the DC Universe then director Todd Phillips and actor Joaquin Phoenix might have made something special with their tale of a troubled soul’s descent into madness. Because Joker […]
In terms of squirm, Replace easily gets a 10 out of 10. Watching this creepy tale of a woman who “cures” her extreme-dry-skin condition by replacing her flesh with the skin of others is deeply unnerving. You may find yourself hitting the pause button every time she murders a young woman and starts to harvest […]
“Unleash the horde!” It may not be the greatest line in cinematic history — or even the best line in Big Top Evil — but it sure does put a smile on your face when you hear it shouted out and then watch as the abandoned factory doors open to release a horde of murderous […]
There’s a great scene in the Tim Burton movie Ed Wood where the fledgling director meets with a sleazy Hollywood producer about a new project. “Is there a script,” Wood asks. “(Expletive) no,” the producer says. “But. there’s a poster.” It’s impossible to say if a similar conversation happened when the idea for Clownado first […]
There are a lot of words used to describe horror movies: Scary, thrilling, terrifying, gruesome and gory just to name a few. But when was the last time you described a horror movie as “joyous?” Watching One Cut of the Dead is a joyous experience, one that will make you hit play as soon as […]
There is always a temptation to prepare for a movie sequel, or in the case of It Chapter Two a continuation, to watch the last film in the franchise and refresh your memory of what happened before. Well, don’t. Part of the thrill of watching It Chapter Two is experiencing the way director Andy Muschietti […]
A rich and ruthless business tycoon, Cyrus DeKalb (Ray Wise), informed that he only has so long to live, gathers together his estranged children for a final family meeting, but instead of making amends he tries to murder each of them using complicated deathtraps worthy of a Saw movie. Sounds interesting, right? Now, what if […]
As Wikipedia explains, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour was an American hour-long, packaged television variety program featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four funny animal characters: Fleegle (guitar, vocals), Bingo (drums, vocals), Drooper (bass, vocals) and Snorky (keyboards, effects). If you remember watching it back in the early 70s, the show’s […]
An evil presence possesses an inanimate object –or several hundred inanimate objects — and forces them to terrorize, torture and tear apart the residents of a small town. It’s a story that’s been told so many times before, in franchises ranging from the Chucky films to the Puppet Master movies, that it could almost be […]