The Last Shark May Be The ‘Best’ Worst Jaws Ripoff

They say ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’. If that’s the case, you can consider 1981 Italian horror movie The Last Shark to be a love letter to Jaws. Too bad Universal Studios responded with a ‘return to sender’. Apparently, following its initial release, Universal was unimpressed enough with the overlap between their classic […]

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Amityville II: The Possession Substitutes Slow Burn for Sleazy, Exploitative Haunts

Even after nearly 50 years, the Amityville Haunting may be one of the most instantly recognizable ghost stories and urban legends in America. In November of 1974, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr., shot and murdered his mother, father, and four siblings at 112 Ocean Ave in Amityville, Long Island. Shortly thereafter, George and Kathy Lutz moved […]

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The Haunting Remake Substitutes Loud Noises For Atmosphere and Scares

Sixty years after its release, Robert Wise’s 1963 adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House remains a horror classic. In addition to Wise’s haunted house chiller, author Shirley Jackson’s Gothic novel provided the source material for the critically acclaimed Netflix series. Somewhere in between those two interpretations, action director Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister) delivered […]

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Bless the Child a Belated, Flat End-of-the-Millennium Thriller

If you’re a Gen-X horror fan, you’ll likely remember the hysteria that accompanied the dawn of the new millennium. Fears about the ‘Y2K bug’ had people believing that planes would fall from the sky. Experts warned that entire infrastructures may collapse. Never one to miss a panic the horror genre responded with a handful of […]

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Bunnyman Massacre Should Have Kept Hopping Down The Bunny Trail

Not surprisingly, Halloween makes logical sense for holiday-themed horror movies. And juxtaposing Christmas with horror marks the kind of transgression for which the genre strives. Other holidays make less sense. But we still have Fourth of July slasher Uncle Sam, Troma Entertainment’s Mother’s Day, an entire Leprechaun series, and New Year’s Evil. Later this year, […]

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Tentacles Can’t Quite Get Its Arms Wrapped Around Its Jaws-Inspired Scares

Even before Jaws changes the box office rules forever, eco-horror was a somewhat popular horror subgenre in the 1970s. Frogs, Phase IV, and Night of the Lepus found nature in a foul mood with humanity. And technically, Jaws isn’t really an eco-horror in its narrative design. But Spielberg’s classic killer shark movie inspired a host […]

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