Where Horror Lives
Following the success of Unfriended, Blumhouse Productions wasted no time announcing a sequel. Writer and director Stephen Susco has some horror credentials. Previously, Susco worked on screenplays for The Grudge and Texas Chainsaw 3D. Though the sequel uses the same laptop and smartphone format, it’s a standalone film with no narrative connection to its predecessor. […]
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Episode 2 of The Haunting of Hill House, entitled Open Casket, is a Shirley-centric episode. As its title suggests, both the flashbacks and present timeline revolve around an open casket funeral. More specifically, Open Casket explores how the oldest sister, Shirley, deals with trauma or ‘fixes’ things around her. The Past The past flashbacks open […]
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The wait is almost over. In less than two days, ‘The Shape’ comes home … again. It’s been over nine years since a Halloween movie was in theatres. But this time feels different. With the return of Jamie Lee Curtis and positioning itself as a direct sequel to the original, it can’t help but feel […]
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Netflix finally debuted its hotly anticipated horror series, The Haunting of Hill House, this past Friday. Acclaimed horror director Mike Flanagan serves as the series creator. To date, Flanagan has helmed several well-regarded horror films including Oculus, Hush, and Gerald’s Game. Hill House is loosely inspired by the 1959 Shirley Jackson novel, which has already spawned a […]
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In 2003, writer, director, and producer Stevan Mena released his indie slasher homage, Malevolence. While it didn’t reach a large audience, Malevolence made enough of an impression to get a belated prequel, Bereavement. Now eight years later, series fans may finally get a resolution to Mena’s story. Though critics lambasted Malevolence as derivative, Mena showed […]
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Empathy, Inc marks the second collaboration between director Yedidya Gorsetman, writer Mark Leidner, and producer Josh Itzkowitz. It’s a clever ‘tech noir’ thriller that blends elements of science fiction, psychological thriller, and film noir. The film made its east coast premiere earlier tonight at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to […]
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On October 12, Netflix continued its efforts at producing its own original horror content. To date, it feels like they have more misses in 2018 (The Cloverfield Paradox, Malevolent) than hits (The Ritual). But their latest effort, Apostle, looks to have a few strong selling points. Gareth Evans (The Raid) is behind the camera, and […]
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Universal Studios and the Universal monsters of the 1930’s and 1940’s are the template for our Halloween. Mad scientists and hunchback assistants. Angry villagers with pitchforks and torches. Shuffling monsters with electrodes their neck. Full moons and werewolves. An aristocratic vampire. Much of the iconography we associate with movie monsters was created by Universal. Recently, […]
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Legendary director and producer William Castle was the master of gimmicks. Most of his work was cheesy, low budget B-films. But Castle filmed and marketed his productions with a childlike enthusiasm. As a result, Castle’s movies have retained much of their charms in spite of the passing years. One of Castle’s best movies was The […]
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Before Blumhouse was adapting teen party games like Truth or Dare and Seven in Heaven, IFC Films released Would You Rather in 2012. At the time of its release, the low-budget indie horror film didn’t make much of an impact. It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of relevancy. The movie’s story about a millionaire […]
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