Horror and Sci-Fi Stuff
After watching Grizzly II: Revenge, I can confidently say that good things do not always come to those who wait. Filmed in 1983 but not released until almost 40 years later due to financial issues, Grizzly II: Revenge is a bizarre mess. The film was intended to be a sequel to the 1976 film Grizzly,... Continue Reading →
There is a prevalent opinion that slashers besmirch the reputation of the horror genre and are an embarrassment to those involved. Maniacs and Monsters vehemently disagrees. We are slasher movie fans. Black Christmas (1974) and Halloween (1978), the two films credited with kicking off the slasher subgenre, are among our favourite films of any category. ... Continue Reading →
My favourite horror films fall into one of two categories: dark thrillers that slowly build to an intentional satisfying climax, and cliched, low-budget b-movies that inspire unintentional laughter throughout. In between these two ends of the horror spectrum lies The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, a film that suffers from the most fatal flaw... Continue Reading →
With the start of Major League Baseball this week, I thought it would be another opportunity to delve into the very obscure genre of baseball-horror. A few years back I reviewed the crazy, Japanese gorefest, Deadball. This time, I’m tackling (apologies for mixing sports metaphors) the little known 1989 “thriller”, Night Game starring Roy Scheider.... Continue Reading →
95 years. That’s how much time must elapse before a published story or film becomes public domain, allowing it to be shared, adapted or corrupted by anyone who chooses to do so. On January 1st, 2022, the beloved childhood character, Winnie The Pooh, celebrated his 95th birthday, opening the door for one of the most... Continue Reading →
Released in 1983, The Devonsville Terror tells the tale of three women murdered 300 years ago after they were suspected of being witches. The film was directed by Uli Lommel, best known for the early 80s slashic The Boogeyman, and was originally intended as a theatrical release but ended up going straight to video. After... Continue Reading →
Having seen many film versions of the the classic Frankenstein story over the years, I can safely say that Roger Corman’s 1990 interpretation, Frankenstein Unbound, is the most…ummm…unique. A science fiction film as much as horror, the story begins in the far distant year of 2031, where a scientist named Buchanan (played by John Hurt)... Continue Reading →
There is an old Hollywood adage attributed to W. C. Fields (although probably not originating from him) that states, “Never work with children or animals.” When at their best, children and animals command the spotlight and steal scenes from the rest of the cast. When at their worst, they are unpredictable creatures that don’t behave... Continue Reading →
Film franchises are a staple of the horror genre. Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street are just a few modern examples, producing a myriad of sequels attempting to emulate the success of the original film. But if you measure the success of a franchise based on quantity over quality (please don’t do... Continue Reading →
At first glance, Antlers (2021) may appear to be just another standard monster movie but scratch below the surface and you'll find a dark complexity that is rare in modern horror. Set in a small, impoverished town in Oregon (but filmed in British Columbia, Canada), the film begins with a man and his young son being... Continue Reading →
Released in 2009, Wake Wood was one of the first films produced by Hammer Films after it was relaunched following a decades long hiatus in 2007. Like the other recent Hammer projects, such as The Resident and The Lodge (which I reviewed last year), it varies considerably in style and subject from the early Hammer... Continue Reading →
Sequels often fall short of the original and never has this been more true than with Howling II. The original Howling, released in 1981 and directed by Joe Dante, achieved box office success and helped reinvigorate the werewolf genre in the early 80s. The sequel was released in 1985 and has only a thin tie-in... Continue Reading →
In 1972, Hammer Film Productions released a double bill titled Women in Terror. With some influence from the giallo all'italiana film genre popular at the time, both films were psychological horrors including mystery elements. As the title of the double feature implied, the films focused on terrorized women and how a lack of comprehension about... Continue Reading →
Guillermo del Toro, director and co-writer of Crimson Peak (2015) would be the first to tell you it is not a horror film. Actually I take that back. The first person to emphatically state what Crimson Peak is not, is the film’s protagonist, Edith Cushing. In an early scene, when Edith’s manuscript is dismissed by... Continue Reading →
Released in 2019, shortly before the start of the pandemic, The Lodge is a movie for our times. Co-directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, the film centres around a broken family who travel for a holiday at an isolated lodge to try to regain some semblance of normalcy after the mother's sudden suicide. After... Continue Reading →
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