Where Horror Lives
Timing is everything. And Canadian slasher Random Acts of Violence perfectly situates itself to address a divisive issue. Last year some critics accused Joker of celebrating toxic male rage and violence. Following George Floyd’s tragic murder, debate quickly turned to movies and television shows that glorified police officers. Now Canadian actor and director Jay Baruchel’s […]
Read More
Well, that didn’t take long. Not even a full year into the COVID-19 pandemic and we have our first Zoom-centric horror movie. Yes, Shudder’s newest original movie – filmed during the 2020 lockdown – one up’s Unfriended by setting its story entirely in the latest in cloud-based conferencing technology. Host, a supernatural techno-horror, shares a […]
Read More
What do you get when World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and a former adult filmmaker come together to make a slasher movie? The answer – See No Evil. Since its formation, WWE Studios has largely produced low-budget action and horror movies headlined by their own professional wrestling stars. Fun fact – WWE Studios has released six […]
Read More
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, […]
Read More
Everything may be bigger in Texas, but that’s little comfort to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. After 40 years, Tobe Hooper’s original low-budget horror movie remains a disturbing classic. Even Hooper’s belated sequel has earned a critical re-appraisal. And about that 2003 remake – it’s better than most fans are willing to admit. Nevertheless, most […]
Read More
Metal maestro Rob Zombie has a somewhat checkered history as a horror filmmaker. Critics complained that House of 1000 Corpses was too derivative. Fast forward several years and Zombie turned in a half a good movie with his Halloween remake. Though Zombie flashed some cool ideas with the sequel, his tendency towards ugliness overpowered the […]
Read More
When Jack Finney published his 1955 novel, The Body Snatchers, it touched a nerve. At the height of the McCarthy-era Communist witch-hunt, Finney’s story of emotionless aliens posing as family, friends, and neighbours was a powerful political allegory. Since its publication The Body Snatchers has inspired several film adaptations. Most critics consider Don Siegel’s 1956 […]
Read More
Aside from cooking reality shows and schmaltzy Christmas movies, Netflix seems to love nothing more than middle-of-the-road psychological thrillers. There’s Twinsanity, Bad Match, My Teacher, My Obsession, The Student, AMI. Occasionally, Netflix adds what might quality as a decent guilty-pleasure thriller. Count Fear, The Crush, and When The Bough Breaks among these selections. At present, […]
Read More
Who would have thought that a modestly budgeted home invasion thriller would spawn one of the decade’s more successful franchises? In retrospect, The Purge, which hit theaters in 2013, was exactly the kind of movie upon which Blumhouse Productions has built their success – big concept, small budget. Even if The Purge wasn’t a great […]
Read More
Maybe you’ve heard of the Slender Man urban legend. If you’re young and hip, then you likely first heard of the fictional character through a creepypasta Internet meme. Eric Knudsen, or “Victor Surge”, created the legend on the Something Awful forum. If you’re older, you likely don’t know a creepypasta from a seafood linguine. As such, […]
Read More