In 1960, MGM British Studios first introduced us to a pack of blond-haired, candescent-eyed children in Village of the Damned (starring Barbara Shelley, a Hammer regular). Four years later, the frightening and murderous youth would return in Children of the Damned. In the interim, Hammer Film Productions would produce and release its own film about... Continue Reading →
Wake Wood: Three Days in Dismay
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 →
The Men Who Should Have Cheated Death
From 1935 until 1979, Hammer Film Productions released some 166 feature films. A phrase commonly used when referring to many of these pictures is ‘lesser known’. Even if you restrict yourself to the horror and thriller genres for which Hammer is best remembered, there is still a large number of ‘lesser known’ works. Of course,... Continue Reading →
Howling II: Your Sister is…a Werewolf?
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 →
Dynasty of Fear
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 →
Creature Features: A Good Way To Watch A Bad Movie
Hosted movie shows have long been a staple for fans of the horror and sci-fi genres. These series date back to the 50s and 60s when notable hosts such as Vampira and Ghoulardi kept horror fans company while they watched genre films of the time. In the 80s and 90s, Elvira and Joe Bob Briggs... Continue Reading →
Roger Corman, The Cinematic Cheese Doctor
Let’s get one thing out of the way up front. Producer/Director Roger Corman is responsible for some great movies. His many films starring Vincent Price and based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe immediately come to mind. But Corman knew he was in the B-movie business and took pride in making films with next... Continue Reading →
Crimson Peak: This House is Not a Home
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 →
The Lodge: A Slow-Burning Chiller
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 →
Virtual Blood in the Snow
Attending film festivals really hasn’t been an option for most of this year due to…well you know. Film makers have had to find other ways to bring their work to the masses such as streaming services or VOD. I was pleased to hear that one of my favourite annual events, Blood in the Snow Film... Continue Reading →
October Fast Cuts: The Final Slash
Another Halloween season has come and gone and, despite everyone wearing masks, it was not as festive as we would have liked. I hope you all still managed to sneak in a little ghoulish fun…at a safe social distance of course. For me, while I missed being able to attend the horror conventions and film... Continue Reading →
October Fast Cuts: The Middle Slice
Welcome to the second part of my October horror movie extravaganza (part one can be found here). I, along with nearly every other horror fan in the world, have decided to ring in the Halloween season by watching a horror movie every night this month. Unlike about 20% of those other fans, I have a... Continue Reading →
October Fast Cuts: The Initial Hack
We horror aficionados have always claimed October as our own. Unfortunately, the state of the world has put a definite damper on all horror and Halloween related festivities. But, if we cannot go out to haunt the land, we can use the opportunity to shutter ourselves away in a dank dungeon and watch as much... Continue Reading →
Deadball: Take Me Out in the Ballgame
Major League Baseball is officially returning later this month (I am personally counting the days) so I thought this would be the perfect time to review Deadball, perhaps the finest Japanese baseball-horror film ever made. Released in 2011, Deadball is as much a comedy as a horror film. The "story" centres on Jubeh (Tak Sakaguchi),... Continue Reading →
Greasy Magic: An Interview with Author Scott S. Phillips
Regular readers of this site (are there such a thing?) will have noticed that I occasionally make mention of Cheese-Magnet.com. It was on Cheese Magnet that I weaseled my way into my first blogging opportunity. I was in a bit over my head writing alongside real, published authors but was welcomed into the fold nonetheless. ... Continue Reading →