Where Horror Lives
Looking to cash in on the low-budget grindhouse aesthetic that Rob Zombie and Eli Roth perfected, Anthony Leone’s 2020 indie horror, Hacksaw, hits VOD platforms this week. To his credit, first-time director Leone is almost a one-man show, taking on writing, producing, and cinematography credits. Though Leone demonstrates ambition, Hacksaw follows a familiar blueprint. Based […]
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There’s an undeniably appealing connection between heavy metal, Satanism, and horror. And no, there is in fact no connection between heavy metal and the Devil. But there’s a reason Black Sabbath and Motely Crüe were able to so successfully exploit Satanic references to the tune of millions. Though it’s not a horror movie, Lords of […]
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At the end of the 2000’s, the ‘torture porn’ sub-genre was almost out of steam. Paranormal Activity had supplanted the Saw franchise as the new ‘king of the Halloween’ movie season. After a handful of high-profile box office failures (e.g., Captivity, I Know Know Who Killed Me), the writing was on the wall. Dark Castle […]
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Italian-Canadian film director Panos Cosmatos waited awhile before following up his debut feature, Beyond the Black Rainbow. Based on the buzz his latest release, Mandy, generated at the Sundance Film Festival, it was worth the wait. Considered a mix of surrealist horror and action, Mandy has steadily built anticipation based on its trailers and word-of-mouth. […]
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Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but in Hollywood, it’s a dish best re-heated and re-served. Jason Blum continues to tighten his grasp over the horror corner of the box office in 2018. While Truth or Dare received tepid reviews, it still grossed just north of $40 million on a tiny $3.5 million production […]
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The term ‘downrange’ is a military term referring to a combat zone. It’s an apt title for the Ryuhei Kitamura horror-thriller that merges survival horror with slasher film sensibilities. Downrange debuted last September at the Midnight Madness event of the Toronto International Film Festival. Earlier this week, the horror-streaming platform, Shudder, made Downrange available for […]
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