When crime rates and urban decay were peaking in the United States, the urban-crime thriller became a B-movie staple. Early 70s box office hit Death Wish proceeded a bevy of imitators. Movies like Fighting Back, The Exterminator, Bronx Warriors, Savage Streets, and Vigilante imagined major US cities as dystopian, crime-ridden hellholes. Even the relatively safe […]
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Though re-quels – or soft reboot sequels – have been the biggest horror trends over the last few years, a few others have lurked in the background. Yes, Cabin in the Woods hit theaters over a decade ago. Nonetheless, meta-slashers haven’t completely gone out of style. The occasional Giallo-inspired thriller still turns up. And the […]
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Sometimes a title tells you everything you need to know about a movie. Though For the Sake of Vicious saw a limited theatrical release in 2021, most horror fans will just be getting a look at it now as it pops up on streaming platforms. Both its tile and promotional material promise some old-fashioned Grindhouse […]
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Argentinian director Gaspar Noe doesn’t have an extensive filmography. But the controversial filmmaker’s penchant for pushing boundaries has made his movies ‘must see’ experiences for cinephiles. His brutal 2002 movie, Irreversible, and its fire extinguisher scene, was a defining entry in the New French Extremity movement. His latest movie, Climax, has been no less divisive. […]
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I Spit On Your Grave, or Day of the Woman, remains one of the most controversial horror movies ever made. Critics hated it, censors banned it. Make no mistake about it, director Meir Zarchi’s rape-revenge exploitation flick is ridiculously violent. Though Zarchi would claim it’s a feminist cry to power, the movie’s nearly 30-minute gang […]
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William Lustig’s splatter exploitation film, Maniac, remains one of the more controversial horror movies from the 1980’s. It never quite reached the levels of infamy of Silent Night, Deadly Night. Nevertheless, Maniac found its way onto the United Kingdom’s Video Nasties List. Critics have alternately labelled it as tasteless, misogynistic, or both. Among the vast […]
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