Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is an unparalleled masterpiece. As a franchise, however, Jaws may offer the best illustration of diminishing returns. Three years after Jaws scared people away from the beach, Jaws 2 reminded it us it still wasn’t safe to go back in the water. Though it never came close to approaching the original’s quality, […]
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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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Like the killers that populate them, horror franchises just will not die. In the last 20 years, few horror franchises have enjoyed quite as much success as the Saw movies. Once an October tradition, Leigh Whannell (Upgrade) and James Wan’s Saw introduced the world to ‘Torture Porn’, leading to seven sequels over a 13 year […]
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Spain has given us some memorable horror movies. In just the last few years, Veronica, The Platform, La Llorona and Tigers Are Not Afraid how impressed critics and audiences alike. Legendary director Guillermo del Toro is responsible for genre classics Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, and Pan’s Labyrinth. As the found-footage subgenre was gaining traction, Spanish […]
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As we roll into October, what better way to kick off the Halloween season then with one of the genre’s classics. Believe it or not, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre premiered 46 years ago on October 1st, 1974. With all the sequels and remakes, it’s hard to believe that several countries outright banned Tobe Hooper’s original […]
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Two years removed and 2018 still remains the ‘Year of Blumhouse Productions’. While Insidious: The Last Key and Truth or Dare were critical duds, both films were box office successes. And the studio’s re-invigoration of Halloween in October of 2018 marked a major course correction for the dormant franchise. Somewhere in between, Jason Blum tided […]
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If there’s a horror franchise that needs to die, it’s the Amityville series. But Children of the Corn and the Hellraiser movies aren’t far behind. At present, there’s possibly at least 20 movies that have some – albeit loose – connection to The Amityville Horror. Though opinions may vary, the original 1979 movie is the […]
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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 […]
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