Blood Fest: Theme Park Slasher Offers a Familiar Ride

When Wes Craven made Scream he kickstarted a more self-aware approach to horror. It was a self-reflective work Craven had tried previously with New Nightmare. Initially, Scream begot a wave of slasher-lite knockoffs that kind of missed Craven’s point. But the meta-slasher would eventually gain traction. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, Tucker […]

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Devil: Thriller Overcomes Story ‘Ups and Downs’

Before M Night Shyamalan rehabilitated his image with back-to-back successes in The Visit and Split, he hit rock-bottom with 2010’s The Last Airbender. Oh, Shyamalan would still drop one more bomb called After Earth. But the divisive filmmaker took a small step in the right direction by stepping back. Though the story wasn’t necessarily original, […]

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Dead & Buried: The Best 80’s Horror Movie You Haven’t Seen

Sometimes movies just fall through the cracks. When it hit theaters in 1981, Dead & Buried barely made a ripple at the box office. One can even forgive older horror fans for missing this one in the VHS years. Despite making the UK’s ‘Video Nasty’ list, Dead & Buried went against the grain for 80’s […]

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Happy Birthday to Me: Canadian Slasher Wants To Have Its Cake and Eat It, Too

Happy Canada Day! To celebrate the nation’s birthday, we’re re-visiting The Great White North’s contribution to the ‘Golden Era’ of slasher horror. Most horror fans know the original My Bloody Valentine was a Canadian export. Shortly after My Bloody Valentine scared horror fans, another Canadian slasher made its way to theaters – Happy Birthday To […]

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Frailty: Southern Gothic Horror A Disturbing Study of Religious Fever

Over the course of his career, the late Bill Paxton put together an impressive list of credits. A small, but memorable appearance in Terminator, led to star-making supporting roles in Aliens and Near Dark. By the 1990s, Paxton scored roles in several blockbusters including Apollo 13, Twister, and Titanic. But Paxton only got behind the […]

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Behind The Mask The Rise of Leslie Vernon: Slasher Homage Finds the Fun in the Sub-Genre

By the mid-2000’s, audiences were wise to horror rules and conventions. Wes Craven’s Scream pulled the curtain on tired tropes and re-invigorated the genre. But Hollywood was slow to change and the slasher-lite renaissance that followed recycled the same narratives without Craven’s self-awareness. And remakes and ‘Torture Porn’ characterized horror for most of the aughts. […]

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The Grudge 2: J-Horror “Re-Quel” Recycles Tired Scares

For a brief period of time, Hollywood studios were obsessed with Japanese horror. What followed was a glut of J-horror remakes that quickly saw diminishing returns. Things started off promising with the successful, and very scary, The Ring remake in 2002. Though The Grudge remake made money at the box office, critics were less impressed […]

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Orphan: Creepy Kid Thriller Adopts a Fun Twist on Familiar Story

Kids are evil. Anyone who has stepped on a random LEGO piece or been forced to watch Paw Patrol knows this to be true. Okay, kids aren’t really evil but there’s certainly something creepy about children doing terrible things. This in part reflects our attributing innocence to childhood. As such, the corruption of innocence is, […]

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