The Craft: Still A Bewitching Teen Horror

April 30, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

Released on May 3rd, 1996, The Craft was a minor box office success grossing just $25 million dollars in theaters. On Rotten Tomatoes, the teen witches film has a ‘Rotten’ rating of just 50% from 32 reviewers. Yet the teen-centric horror film has built a sizable cult following among fans, particularly horror buffs who grew […]

Seven in Heaven: Worse Than a Game of ‘Spin the Bottle’

October 8, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

Blumhouse Productions must have its own version of ‘Santa’s Workshop’ hidden away somewhere. I can almost see a secret army of filmmakers and writers toiling around the clock to produce an endless stream of cheap horror films. Case in point – new teen horror film, Seven in Heaven. Blumhouse unceremoniously dumped Seven in Heaven today […]

Summer’s End: Back to School Horror Films

September 3, 2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

Fall may not officially begin until Saturday, September 2, but for horror fans and parents, summer is over. Tomorrow schools re-open their doors for the start of a new year. The days of parents listening to their kids complain about being bored ends. Colleges and universities will be welcoming thousands of first-year students into residences […]

Youth Gone Wild: Super Dark Times A Sombre Thriller

July 19, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

Super Dark Times received a lot of buzz on horror critics’ ‘end-of-year’ lists. Less a horror film and more of a psychological character study, Super Dark Times marks the directorial debut of Kevin Phillips and certainly highlights him as a filmmaker to watch in the future. Available now on Netflix, Super Dark Times has been […]

It … Will Get Under Your Skin

April 26, 2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

While the remake of Stephen King’s It saw a lot of obstacles it was inevitably a critical and financial success. Released last fall, It grossed just over $327 million on a $35 production budget (Box Office Mojo, n.d.). The final box office totals are particularly impressive when you that R-rating and retention of the source […]

The ‘Social Outcast’ and the Bully Revenge Film

March 2, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

This past Wednesday was Anti-Bullying Day, so for this edition of The Chopping Block, we’ll take a look at some of the best of a smaller subgenre in horror, the ‘bully revenge’ horror film. The horror narrative of the ‘social outcast’ who discovers supernatural powers and uses them to exact burial revenge has enjoyed some […]