Sleepstalker May Be The Quintessential 1990s Straight-to-Video Horror Movie

January 11, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

Traditionally, horror movies, particularly the slasher genre, have played fast and loose with rules the serial killer that populate their movies. Neither Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers are supernatural killers. Yet that hasn’t stopped the Friday the 13th and Halloween series from bringing their respective killers back from sequel to sequel. Other horror movies skirted […]

Q the Winged Serpent an Early 80s Monster Movie That May Defy Expectations

January 10, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

Following the box office success of Conan the Barbarian, the early 80s saw a slew of low-budget action movies that mixed ‘sword-and-sandal’ epic with weird science fiction vibes. If you grew up in the 80s, you probably remember cult movies like Krull, The Sword and the Sorcerer, or The Ice Pirates. If you look at […]

The Menu Prepares a Full Course of Deliciously Fun and Dark Satire

January 7, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

Cooking shows have been all the rage for the last several years. Whether it’s MasterChef, Chef’s Table, Iron Chef, or Cake Wars, everyone’s a foodie these days. Not surprisingly then, horror has finally jumped on the bandwagon. In fact, the only thing that’s surprising is that it’s taken this long for the genre to bake […]

Candy Land an Unflinching Grindhouse Look at Religious Extremism

January 6, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

In the opening week of 2023, M3gan looks to kick off the year for horror at the box office. Meanwhile a handful of indie horror movies have made their way to streaming and VOD platforms. On Vudu and Apple TV, an indie mix of slasher, Grindhouse, and religious horror, Candy Land became available today to […]

Possession – The Obscure Cult Classic Finally Arrives on Shudder

January 5, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

In the first week of 2023, Shudder surprised horror fans by adding Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski’s cult classic, Possession. Starring a young Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani, Possession’s story of a marriage dissolving set against the backdrop of Cold War West Berlin was met with an initially lukewarm critical response and backlash. It quickly found […]

Burial a Serviceable, If Not Forgettable, War Thriller

January 4, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

At the end of 2022, one of the last original releases platformed on Shudder was Ben Parker’s period mix WWII genre mash-up, Burial. Just based on the synopsis, it’s a little hard to tell what to expect from this one. The premise – Soviet soldiers ferreting Hitler’s corpse back to Stalin hunted by Nazi ‘werewolves’ […]

The Retaliators Makes The Familiar Revenge-Thriller Formula a Bloody Good Time

January 1, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve seen the premise before, there’s just something about a good revenge movie. And as much fun as A-list revenge thrillers, like Taken, are for audiences, the format seems tailor-made for B-movies. From Massacre at Central High to The Toxic Avenger to Mandy, the Grindhouse format and themes around […]

New Year’s Evil Fails On Its Resolution To Be a Decent 80s Slasher

December 31, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

Black Christmas and Halloween didn’t just kick off the slasher subgenre – they turned filmmakers on to holiday-themed horror movies. Following on the heels of Halloween, Friday the 13th, My Bloody Valentine, April Fool’s Day, Graduation Day, and Uncle Sam all capitalized on the calendar. Despite the extent to which it’s celebrated, New Year’s Eve […]