The Invitation Promises Gothic Horror, Delivers Tepid Scares

You’d be forgiven if you thought The Invitation was another quiet attempt at re-booting a ‘Dark Universe’ of classic monsters. The premise sounds like a contemporary spin on a ‘Brides of Dracula’ concept complete with its Gothic British manor setting. But this is a Sony Pictures release, not Universal Pictures, so if there’s vampires no […]

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House of Darkness a Dialogue-Driven Game of Cat-and-Mouse

Over 10 years later, Neil LaBute is still probably apologizing for his remake of The Wicker Man. Now he’s back in the horror genre – including some intentional dark comedy – with the ‘date gone wrong’ House of Darkness. Before The Wicker Man, LaBute has explored themes of misogyny, which looks pretty central to House […]

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The Lost Boys – Sleep All Day, Party All Night After 35 Years

Few better ‘gateway’ horror movies exist than The Lost Boys. By ‘gateway horror’, of course, The Lost Boys was the perfect introduction to horror for early teens. It’s also a nearly perfect time capsule, warts and all, for the decade in which it was released. From its ‘Brat Pack’ casting to its MTV rock-infused soundtrack, […]

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V/H/S/94 Rewinds the Franchise and Finds New Scares

Nearly a decade has passed since horror anthology V/H/S saw a limited theatrical release. Both its unique wraparound story and roster of up-and-coming directors set the anthology movie apart. In spite of tepid reviews, V/H/S generated enough box office receipts and audience buzz to warrant two sequels and a spin-off. That first sequel, V/H/S 2, […]

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Interview with the Vampire a Visually Stunning, Narratively Dour Tale

Today, prestige (or elevated) horror is synonymous with A24 (Green Knight, Midsommar, Saint Maud). When someone mentions an A24 horror movie, we think of quiet, understated psychological horror. But in the 1990s, Interview with the Vampire was prestige horror. And horror didn’t get any bigger than Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s best-selling novel. With […]

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Midnight Mass Delivers a Horrifying Sermon to Horror Fans

Over the last decade, Mike Flanagan has assembled an impressive horror résumé. Alongside James Wan (Malignant, Saw), he’ll likely find his name mentioned next to all-time greats like Carpenter and Craven. He’s moved from small thrillers (Oculus, Hush) to big-screen scares (Ouija: Origin of Evil) to marque Stephen King adaptations (Doctor Sleep). Both his Netflix […]

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Blood Red Sky … Or Vampires On A Plane

For the fourth straight week, Netflix premieres a new horror movie on Friday. And it’s not some throwaway movie dug up from several years past. On the heels of the Fear Street trilogy, Blood Red Sky queues up on Netflix’s runway with a vampire battling hijackers on a plane. It’s been awhile since horror fans […]

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