Cannibal Holocaust introduced grindhouse fans to the found-footage format. Two decades later, The Blair Witch Project took the format mainstream with its pre-viral marketing campaign and pseudo-documentary approach. A handful of found-footage horror movies would surface in the early 2000’s. Yet Paranormal Activity was the true follow-up box office hit that cemented the approach as […]
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Though it’s hard to believe, nearly 15 years have passed since Paranormal Activity rode a brilliant marketing plan en route to massive box office success. If The Blair Witch Project introduced mainstream audiences to the found-footage format, Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity solidified it as a bankable horror subgenre. Five sequels follow over the next eight […]
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Arguably, the 1970s was one of the best decades for horror. As censorship and content standards relaxed, the horror genre – and movies in general – experimented with style and subject. It was also a decade where public interest in the occult hit a peak. Following on the heels of 1960s counterculture, new age movements […]
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Here we go, another demonic possession movie. So far 2021 has already given us The Unholy, The Seventh Day, The Conjuring III: The Devil Made Me Do It, and Separation. There truly is no rest for the wicked. But when the subgenre is done well it’s given us some of horror’s most memorable classics. And […]
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Since The Conjuring haunted theatres in 2013, its shared universe of sequels and spin-offs has carved out a lucrative box office franchise. While Annabelle: Creation and Annabelle Comes Homes nearly approached the main movies’ quality, the spin-offs have been mixed. Neither The Nun nor The Curse of La Llorona impressed critics or audiences. But The […]
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With nearly $650 million dollars in box office receipts, The Conjuring Universe is an unqualified success. Outside of Marvel, James Wan and company have accomplished something pretty noteworthy. The fact that this is a horror universe just makes its success even sweeter for genre fans. Yes, critical reaction to the movies have varied widely. Nonetheless, […]
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Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. If you grew up in the ‘80’s, there’s a good chance you saw it for the first time at a sleepover party. This is a cult classic whose reputation literally grew out of basements. Simply put, it’s a testament to […]
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For his feature-length debut, writer and director Kerry Harris mashes several subgenres together. After a limited release in 2020, Dreamkatcher is widely available now on VOD streaming services. There’s bits of ‘creepy kids‘ horror along with ‘haunted objects‘ and a ‘terrible place‘ in the form of … yes, an isolated cabin. Personally, I’d like to […]
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