Chopping Mall: Cheap Thrills and Exploding Heads in Aisle 4

By the mid-1980’s, the slasher film craze was running out of steam. Though some series – A Nightmare on Elm Street and Child’s Play – were just beginning, the subgenre suffered from an excess of indistinguishable releases. Take a stroll through later ‘80’s releases and what you’ll find are more self-aware horror movies. Perhaps sensing […]

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Humanoids From The Deep: Genetically Modified Turkey of a Movie

As a director and producer, Roger Corman has amassed a massive filmography over his career. He was a master of low-budget, independent B-movie’s. Corman also kickstarted the careers of quite a few famous filmmakers and actors. But when you trade in low budget, exploitative fare, occasionally, you miss the mark. Exhibit A – the 1980 […]

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Final Exam: Early slasher Gets an “F”

Not every slasher movie released in the ‘Golden Era’ of the 1980’s was ‘golden’. For every ‘hidden gem’ like a Just Before Dawn there’s a genuine trash bin offering – a Don’t Go in the Woods or Offerings. While some filmmakers took advantage of low-budgets to innovate, others had lower budgets and less imagination. As […]

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Slugs: They’re Coming to Get You … Very Slowly

Don’t be surprised there’s a movie about killer slugs. After all, 1970s eco-horror gave us killer frogs, killer worms and, yes, giant killer rabbits. Though it was nearly a decade behind the eco-horror craze, Slugs faithfully follows the well-established playbook for the subgenre. Audiences all but ignored Slugs when it was released, but horror fans […]

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Death House: Ambitious But Flawed Horror Homage

Death House has been one of the more talked about indie horror movies in recent memory. This is no small part due to the sheer number of horror alumni in the cast. Fans have described Death House as ‘The Expendables’ of horror movies. It’s a virtual ‘who’s who’ of horror wrapped up in vintage 80’s […]

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Halloween III Season of the Witch: Halloween Sequel Has More Treats Than Tricks

Every long-running movie franchise or television series has one. It’s that sequel or season that disappointed its fanbase. Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans hated on the fourth season. When Friday the 13th tried to move on without Jason Voorhees, Paramount immediately course-corrected with their next sequel. After two successful Halloween movies, John Carpenter decided it […]

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The Howling II: Horror Sequel May Have You Howling for All the Wrong Reasons

Joe Dante’s The Howling is a classic horror movie. Aside from An American Werewolf in London, it’s one of the best werewolf movies of all time. Interestingly, however, The Howling has produced one of the more bizarre horror franchises. To date, studios have churned out seven sequels over four decades. Most of these sequels were […]

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They’re Here: Poltergeist A Perfect Suburban Nightmare

The ‘haunted house’ movie is a staple of the horror genre. From The Uninvited and The Haunting to the more recent Insidious, each generation of horror fans can claim their own classic. For 80’s kids, Poltergeist was our haunted house classic. The 1982 movie brought together an impressive collection of talent. Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw […]

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