Directed by Tom Shankland, 2008
Written by Tom Shankland based on a story by Paul Andrew Williams

More horror movies come out per month than I have numbers for.  Plot that out over a year and the number of titles becomes sheer cacophony.  There is so much mediocrity in the world that a film must be either [...]

Directed by Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel, 2008
Written by Trent Haaga

Before watching DEADGIRL I was reading a recap at EvilOnTwoLegs.com of Fangoria’s most recent Weekend of Horrors in NYC.  Jon was recounting actors and directors across multiple panels who all lamented America’s new remake fueled industry, an industry that leaves no room for risk taking.   [...]

F.E.A.R. 2: PROJECT ORIGIN
Developed by Monolith Productions
Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Being a fan of the original F.E.A.R. (and to a lesser extent, the two non-canon expansions) I was fairly excited for this sequel. The original F.E.A.R. accomplished a lot in terms of the tech, combat, and the level of terror, which sets the standards [...]

Written and Directed by Sopon Sukdapisit, 2008

It’s no secret that I am partial to Thai horror.   Because the US has no counterpart to it, I envy the genuine superstition for the afterlife found in Thai culture.  We have no nation spanning fears of spirits, which is precisely why American horror pales in the ghost department [...]

Directed by Sam Raimi, 2009
Written by Sam Raimi & Ivan Raimi
Better late than never.
Right?
DRAG ME TO HELL, in theory, is a good movie, but as with all theory, scrutiny, minimal it may be, is required before theory metabolizes into law.  In theory, this is Sam Raimi’s return to horror, a technically factual statement, yes, but [...]

Directed by Fred Olen Ray, 2009
Written by Mark Sanderson
I am a man of refined tastes possessing a palette more exacting than a green lazer straight from Laser Cove, but, alas, I am still just a man.  Soft bits wrapped around hard bits with chemistry connecting it all.  Who am I to resist a pitch as [...]

Lux Pain
Developed by Killaware
Published by Ignition Entertainment
Lux Pain is one of those games with a hollowed out and rotten trunk that has some fairly interesting aspects branch off. Unfortunately, it’s not bugs and execution that bog Lux Pain down; it is the simple fact that Lux should have not been a game; it should have [...]

Directed by Bruce McDonald, 2009
Written by Tony Burgess
Few works evoke a compliment as endearing as calling something Cronenbergian.  A comparison to the great director (my favorite director still working today, for disclosure purposes) is not one I make lightly, but even without a single element of body horror, early Cronenberg is precisely what Bruce McDonald [...]

Directed by Charles Guard and Thomas Guard, 2009
Written by Craig Rosenberg and Doug Miro based on A TALE OF TWO SISTERS
In an recent response to my original dismissal of Fox television show “FRINGE”, a reader pointed out that I should factor in the general population’s narrowed intake of Science Fiction instead of comparing the show [...]

Written and Directed by J.T. Petty, 2008
It took a movie about subterranean carnivores to dig me out of the sodding horror rut of spring.  I’m kind of geeking out right now, as a matter of record.
The past three or so weeks have found the playlist slogged with amateur productions possessing a death grip on the [...]

Written and Directed by David S. Goyer, 2009

You have nothing else to do.
] Watch movie
What movie would you like to watch?
] THE UNBORN
Are you sure?
] Yes.
I’ve heard it is pretty awful.
] Watch THE UNBORN
Okay, but remember, you did this to yourself.
…
You are an attractive 20 something jogging down a wintery road.  You see a green [...]

Published and Developed by Capcom, 2009
It has been about four years since the near-masterpiece RESIDENT EVIL 4 hit shelves and changed the series and the entire survival horror genre (for better or worse).  Leaps and bounds were made in terms of combat and pacing, replacing most of the puzzles and backtracking with faster paced gameplay [...]

Directed by Dennis Iliadis, 2009
Written by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth
Remakes are a funny thing.  No one asks for them.  In fact, we all complain about them.  When they’re at their worst, remakes inspire more vitriol from fans than any other breed of film within the genre.  When they’re at their best, we are struck [...]

Written and Directed by Pascal Laugier, 2008
Watching MARTYRS is like staring into a blast furnace.  Pascal Laugier’s film is a smoldering cell of anger and heat and hate and marvel.  It’s difficult to watch head on and downright painful to endure over time.  To be honest the experience is one I hesitate to recommend.  However, [...]

This review is brought to you by Randy Mull, whose not even one year old son is more metal than you are.  Previous reviews: Death Magnetic, The Crucible of Man.
Lamb of God
Wrath
Rating 6 of 10
Bonus Tracks Go to 11
It is official, with the release of Wrath, Virginia metal heavyweights Lamb of God have sold out [...]

Directed by Ben Rock, 2008
Written by Julia Fair, David Simkins
I suppose I could listen to the audio commentary that director Ben Rock posted online not too long ago and find an answer, but I wonder if the original script for ALIEN RAIDERS bore the same title.  Even if it was intentional, a moniker as generic [...]

Directed by Roar Uthaug, 2006
Written by Thomas Moldestad and Roar Uthaug
There is an implacable aura to COLD PREY other modern slashers may not find relief in purely because it is Norwegian.  Not that Roar Uthaug’s film (top that name, by the way; I feel manlier just saying it out loud) gains any particular insight by [...]

MY NAME IS BRUCE,
Directed by Bruce Campbell,
Written by Mark Verheiden, 2007
Quitting Time: 20 minutes?  Exactly when Bruce had a finger knuckle deep in his nose.
Can we all just agree that MY NAME IS BRUCE doesn’t exist?  I don’t want to live in a world where this is the directorial culmination of the genre’s most beloved, [...]

Directed by Toby Wilkins, 2008
Written by Kai Barry, Ian Shorr
SPLINTER is the most frustrating horror film of 2008.  Kair Barry and Ian Shorr’s script has interesting material, but it is Toby Wilkins direction of said sequences that makes SPLINTER borderline intolerable.
I love independent horror.  I love the resourcefulness of filmmakers who ebb the constraints of [...]

Directed by Marcus Nispel, 2009
Written by Damian Shannon & Mark Swift
Given its pedigree, a 2009 remake of FRIDAY THE 13TH need only succeed by not disrespecting the brand.  No Jason talking, no Jason made of metal, just Jason sticking a machete (or whatever he can find) into a batch of attractive college co-eds.  Having Jason [...]

Directed by Tony Giglio, 2007
Written by Daniel Kay
TIMBER FALLS is an overall decent City Folk Shouldn’t Go Hiking flick with the potential to have been better were it not bookended by arguably the most over exposed horror set-up there is.  An attractive couple chipper enough to take a weekend long hike in the hills of [...]

RED MIST, Directed by Paddy Breathnach, 2008
Quitting time: About 35 minutes in.
I set out to see RED MIST purely because I wanted to know if Paddy Breathnach’s bumbling of the potentially kick ass SHROOMS was a fluke.  A movie about twenty-something’s who go out into a swamp to chew down some brain magic only to [...]

Directed by Patrick Lussier, 2009
Written by Todd Farmer and Zane Smith
I’m not of the crowd that believes a movie – any movie, not just MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D – is campy or corny or popcorn or fluff and that it is a requirement of the viewer to turn off some theoretical switch in their brain [...]

Written and Directed by Eric Red, 2008
Having just been released from the pen for murdering her abusive husband Mike, Marnie (Famke Janssen) begins her final year of servitude by way of house arrest.  Should she stray more than the titular distance from her ankle monitor’s base unit in the center of her Brooklyn brownstone, said [...]

Not necessairly the most important headlines of 2008 (yes, the writer’s strike ended), rather the, “Oh, I remember that” variety.  Note there is no chronological order to the listing of these events, the majority of which are derived from the creation/cessation of various production houses with the potential to shape the horror flow for the [...]

Written and Directed by James Watkins, 2008
More and more I find myself musing, “Now normally I don’t like movies about a couple being tortured in the woods, but…” It has gotten to the point where I wonder if I do harbor some undeclared love for pieces of garbage.  Then along comes a film like EDEN [...]

Directed by Gregory Jacobs, 2007
Written by Joe Gangemi & Steven Katz
It has been so long since I’ve reviewed anything, I, for a second, forgot how to format these things.  One may have grown to expect the return would bring in hand an extraordinary, hidden horror elixir.  One is now disappointed.  Congratulations!  We have something in [...]

Not much to say other than enjoy Part Four of Horror’s Not Dead’s 2008 Retrospective.  Wasn’t a bad year, but now that all the major titles are in it, it wasn’t, as I like to say, good sex.
Part 1: January to March.
Part 2: April to June.
Part 3: July to September.
Part 4: October to December.
Part 5: [...]

July to September, always anemic pre-Halloween hump for horror to get over.  Two thousand and eight twas no different.
Part 1: January to March.
Part 2: April to June.
Part 3: July to September.
Part 4: October to December.
Part 5: Events.
Part 6: Awards. (coming)

Not much to say other than enjoy Part Two of Horror’s Not Dead’s 2008 Retrospective, Festivus celebrating extravaganza.
Oh, and Happy Kwanzaa.
Part 1: January to March.
Part 2: April to June.
Part 3: July to September.
Part 4: October to December.
Part 5: Events.
Part 6: Awards. (coming)

Part 1: January to March.
Part 2: April to June.
Part 3: July to September.
Part 4: October to December.
Part 5: Events.
Part 6: Awards. (coming)
This was fun.  I set off to do a roundup of 2008’s horror output, good and bad, and ended up with a rather nice guide, a work in progress to be broken into 6 [...]

Written and Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, 2007
Time travel is a hobby of mine.
Well, in theory.
Whether approaching it with the mind of a scientist or the mind of a storyteller, it is the ultimate logic puzzle.  The intricacies of cause and effect across multiple planes of existence, the construction (and, conversely, deconstruction) of it is is [...]

Directed by J.T. Petty, 2006
A documentary from director/fan J.T. Petty about the underground horror world and its seedy denizens, S&MAN is a sobering look under the toenails of the biggest elephant in our room:  There is a subset of horror, ‘the kind you can’t get at Best Buy’, that is nasty, mean spirited, pushy filmmaking.  [...]

Published by Valve, 2008
I realize there has been dearth of horror movie reviews on this site of late.  I could blame the onset of winter months, which are the weakest weeks of the year as far as horror is concerned, but that would be a scapegoat.  I was out of the country for a few [...]

LEFT 4 DEAD
Produced and Developed by Valve Corporation
Given my recent reviews and trailer impressions, it seems only fitting a zombie apocalypse game should come around that I get to review. Being a PC gamer, there is some bias in favor of Valve and everything they make. Ask any PC Gamer and they will agree that [...]

Directed by Danny Lerner, 2008
Written by Les Weldon
I cannot review SHARK IN VENICE so much as I can form sentences under a headline that categorizes said words as a review.  Danny Lerner’s 84 minutes of strung together visuals do not qualify as a film.  To be fair, I have no clue what they qualify as, [...]

Published and Developed by Capcom. 2005
I can remember when I first saw the E3 videos for RESIDENT EVIL 4. Leon Kennedy was walking in a mansion when a humanoid apparition appeared before him, chasing him out of the room. While the first videos had their freaky moments, I still sighed. The concept of ghosts just [...]

Created by Charlie Brooker, 2008
“DEAD SET” may be one of my favorite horror productions of 2008 if only because it would never exist in the United States.  Shot, cast and set largely in and around the “BIG BROTHER” house in England, “DEAD SET” is a five part miniseries chronicling a zombie apocalypse whose eve coincides [...]

Directed by Tomas Alfredson, 2008
Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist from his novel
Knowing what is left to come and what has come before, I can’t imagine any film this year better equipped to touch quickened hearts, arrest lungs and widen minds than LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.
There is a reason Tomas Alfredson’s film currently finds itself [...]

Directed by Ole Bornedal, 2007
Written by Ole Bornedal, Henrik Prip
There is a lot in this world I do not have a full grasp of.  Quantum computing, fluid dynamics, the undetermined arrival of The Singularity, chirality, and John McCain.  But the angry living dead aside, there is much I have taken the reins on, one area [...]

Directed by David Hackl, 2008
Written by Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan
Due to an obscene obligation to see every horror movie that comes out theatrically within the first week of release, SAW V has the honor of being the first of the SAW films I’ve seen in theater.
Due to the obscene awfulness of SAW V, it [...]

Developed and produced by Capcom 2006.
I have a confession.  If a game has zombies, odds are I am going to like it. If the game gives me the opportunity to shoot said zombies, odds are I am going to love it.  Thus I am lucky that Capcom loves killing zombies as much as I do, [...]

Directed by Patrik Syversen, 2008
Written by Patrik Syversen and Nini Bull Robsahm
I am not inclined to be a fan of backwoods, hillbilly horror.  I get it.  The villains don’t live in a city, so they must be inbred.  Hur, hur.  The only thing they know how to do is live in the filthiest conditions possible.  [...]

Directed by Gregg Bishop, 2008
Written by Joe Ballarini
DANCE OF THE DEAD will charm the zombie hell out of you.  That’s a one sentence, back-of-the-box review if I’ve ever seen one.  And for the record, I have.
See it, enjoy it.  ‘Tis a rather linear experiment, really.  If you do step one, you’ll arrive at step two.  [...]

No, that is not a typo in the title, for the first time ever HND has multiple reviews for the same item.  Today we talk DEAD SPACE, a survival horror video game on 360, PS3 and PC from Electronic Arts.  I’ve always wanted to have multiple perspectives on the same thing run at the same [...]

Directed by John Erick Dowdle, 2008
Written by John Erick Dowdle & Drew Dowdle, based on 2007’s [REC]
QUARANTINE is nothing to me but a surrogate for everything wrong with Hollywood horror.  Production began on it before [REC] had even left post-production in its native Spain, which may just be a world record for fastest Hollywood remake.  [...]

Review written by R. J. Sayer, a very angry, vulgar, perfunctory but damn insightful fellow.  I’m busy as hell and rushing off to the Renaissance Festival for the day, so I haven’t even read this raving endorsement yet, but I couldn’t wait.
Written and Directed by Michael Dougherty, 2008
I’m going to try and keep this short. [...]

I know, I know.  I was supposed to have MetalsNotDead.com up for Randy by the end of September.  I done got busy.  Enjoy:

Review: Metallica – Death Magnetic, by Randy Mull
Rating 8.5/10
I must preface the review of this album with the fact that I’ve been a fan of Metallica since the ripe old age of 13.  [...]

Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, 2008
Written by Jeff Buhler; shory story by Clive Barker
Theatrical delay after delay found Lionsgate dumping MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN first run in small town dollar theaters, a marketing move about as lucrative as rainbow insurance.  I’m told by Hal Masonberg, who still has a Clive Barker involved film languishing in producer intervention [...]

Directed by David Smith, 2005
Written by Phil O’Shea
If I’m going to keep watching such mediocre ninety-ish minutes of trapped time, I need to at least watch high concept mediocrity.  SPIRIT TRAP’s plot is as salient as a cobweb on a glass case of cobwebs nestled within a Cobweb Museum.  If that isn’t bad enough, performances [...]

Written and Directed by Matthew Leutwyler, 2007
There is nothing worse than a creature feature unfit to even be considered a Sci-Fi channel original film.  Or so I thought right up to 93 minutes ago, when I elected to watch UNEARTHED on FearNET HD On-Demand.  Turns out the pain from said creature feature stings all the [...]

Directed by Patrick Lussier, 2007
Written by Matt Venne
I’ve never seen the Michael Keaton starring WHITE NOISE nor do I know much about it other than his wife dies and then TVs start to yell at him.  Or maybe it was his radio.  I don’t know, I just heard it sucked so I never got around [...]

Directed by Pil-Sung Yim, 2007
Written Pil-Sung Yim, Min-sook Kim
I once suckled on the cinematic teet of Asia.  Dramas, romantic comedies, action, horror – I was all over it.  Three years later, I’m all but over it.  I wish I knew whether it was me or the movies that changed, but they just don’t wow me [...]

I’ve prefaced this before, but just in case we’ll go around again.  A one Randall Mull, a man whose office I visit often throughout the day when trying to avoid doing work of my own, happens to have dual hobbies of metal and writing.  One day we were joking about my site, as it is [...]

Created by Alan Ball, 2008
Pilot episode STRANGE LOVE Written and Directed by Alan Ball
HBO doesn’t make bad shows.  Mind you the bar may not always lock up a notch, but a bad show they’ve never put to series.  After the pilot episode, my personal jury is still out on whether they’ve raised the bar or [...]

The first, and possibly the only, guest review(s) submitted to the site while I am away in Qatar.  Dueling thoughts below from reader Brian on the 1999 flick RESURRECTION and 2000’s CRIMSON RIVERS.  So, enjoy his straight-to-the point thoughts while I’m away.
PS.  So far I’ve caught SEVERANCE and FEAST on Arabic TV, maybe the Middle [...]

Directed by Kôji Kawano, 2007
Written by Satoshi Ôwada
Do not be deceived by the title of the year: THE GIRLS REBEL FORCE OF COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS.  Do not be deceived by a cover featuring swimsuit clad girls holding baseball bats and chainsaws.  Do not be deceived when I say that GIRLS REBEL FORCE features a math teacher [...]

Directed by Alexandre Aja, 2008
Written by Alexandre Aja & Grégory Levasseur, based on INTO THE MIRROR
Looking into mirrors we tend to only see our flaws reflected back.  Not me of course.  I am a fucking Adonis, but I understand the effect self inspection has on normal people.  How appropriate, then, that when we all look [...]

Written by Chad Helder, 2008
Art by Daniel Crosier
BARTHOLOMEW OF THE SCISSORS is not your average off the shelf comic.  For one, and I suppose this should be a point of disclosure, its creator and writer is Chad Helder of Unspeakable Horror, a fellow blogging member of the League of Tana Tea Drinkers.  For two, the [...]

Created by Tim Haines, Adrian Hodges, 2007
No, this is not a series version of the passable giant crocodile film of the same name.  “PRIMEVAL” is a British Sci-Fi series from 2007 already in its second season across the pond.  Here in the colonies, however, BBC America is just now airing the first season.  Taking place [...]

Written and Directed by Edward Neumeier, 2008
I’m sure there is someone out there who is a greater STARSHIP TROOPERS fan than I, who has a replica ‘Death From Above’ tattoo on their right bicep, but this clay tablet remains; before undergoing eye surgery, I chose STARSHIP TROOPERS to be the last film I potentially would [...]

Directed by John Landis, 2008
Written by Victor Salva
Is it fair to say that John Landis has fallen from grace?  Judging from his episode of “FEAR ITSELF”, yes.  Yes. Far, far from grace.  Eons from grace.  Fallen through time, through space, to some twilit zone where Landis is a sleep walking, brain dead, unoriginal, talentless know [...]

Directed by John Flynn, 1994
Written by Andrew Kevin Walker, story by Brian Owens
Some jackass hack named Andrew Kevin Walker has been hounding me in the comment section to review BRAINSCAN, “his 1994 mind-bending masterpiece starring Eddie Furlong”.  I’d never heard of it until old Andy poked his persistent finger in my side again and again [...]

Directed by Gregory Hoblit, 2008
Written by Robert Fyvolent, Mark Brinker, Allison Burnett
UNTRACEABLE is 4th rate direction scattered with 2nd rate actors giving 3rd rate performances of a 5th rate script.  But until BRAINSCAN comes in from Netflix, I suppose it will suffice as something to review.
A horror movie in the most watered down, procedural sense, [...]

Directed by Jonathan Levine, 2006
Written by Jacob Forman
It is no secret that I’ve been tracking ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE for years now.  Literally years.  On multiple occasions I’ve lambasted Senator International for withholding the film from the US (it has not only played internationally, but is available elsewhere at retail before ever seeing [...]

Written and Directed by Greg Mclean, 2007
Giant crocodile movies are a dime a dozen and for a simple reason; they’re easy.  The nature of the animal covers the majority of elements for you.  It can go on land and can vanish in the water.  Long rows of jagged teeth, scaly skin and a realistic reputation [...]

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan 2003
Written by Lawrence Kasdan, William Goldman based on Stephen King’s novel
There are people who love this movie.  Fans  of it band together like outcasts.  There are also battalions more who despise it, who wish it cancer.  Of this hate I am not unsympathetic.  Not that I actively like the movie, that [...]

Directed by Vadim Jean, 1994
Written by Vadim Jean, based on the novel by John Brosnan
NIGHTSCARES opens with long pans of the exterior of an apartment building inter-cut with long holds on the faces of people sleeping. This sequence is followed immediately by Craig Fairbrass as the worst cop ever (which makes him the best [...]

Directed by Ronny Yu, 2008
Written by Daniel Knauf
Now here we go.  The early reviews of “FEAR ITSELF” all indicated that the show failed to kick off until episode three.  The early reviews were right.  FAMILY MAN, written by “CARNIVALE” creator and scribe Daniel Knauf, has an excellent script tailored specifically for the rise and fall [...]

Directed by Brad Anderson, 2008
Written by Matt Venne
Brad Anderson is a name that bodes much hook with me.  He is a director whose television stints on “THE WIRE” and “SURFACE” are work I’ll go out of my way to detour for, so I feel fortunate when his job falls in line with my (non)job.  Thus [...]

Directed by David Winkler, 2005
Written by Adam Gross, Seth Gross
The stuff found trawling through On Demand. The plot description spoke of a deadly online game. The cast list included Jensen Ackles, Shannyn Sossamon, Dominique Swain and “Bill Sadler”. The running time was 90 minutes, a perfect match for the 90 minutes I [...]

Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, 2008
Last week’s Science Friday on NPR featured an interview with M. Night regarding THE HAPPENING. It wasn’t a bad interview and Shyamalan was his usual enthusiastic self, that is until host Ira Flatow asked Shyamalan if he, and I’m paraphrasing here, ‘liked the ending of his movie’. [...]

Directed by Breck Eisner, 2008
Written by Mick Garris from a Del Howison short story
I am all about serialized, non-contiguous horror. I dig standalone storytelling and the familiar face bit casting, so I feel the ageless form always has a place on television. If we are judging from a first episode basis, however, that [...]

Written by Dan Simmons, 1991
There is an unexpected advantage to being my age. I’ve been around, sure, but there is still so much outside my footprint. I’ve got feelers out everywhere, normally yielding at least a geographical plotting of everything in the arena even if I never take he/she/it one on one, but [...]

Written and Directed by Bryan Bertino, 2008
Wrong people conducting a wrong focus group comprised of more wrong people. Why else would Rogue Pictures show zero confidence in their product, relegating it to some cobwebbed shelf in a warehouse for a year and a half, letting no less than two officially announced release dates slip [...]

Written and Directed by Steven Kostanski, 2008
Einstein is back from the dead again(!) in LAZER GHOSTS 2: RETURN TO LASER COVER, a timeless 2008 sequel to Canadian auteur Steven Kostanski’s own groundvaporizing subversive classic. Our unsung hero of heroes Trance (Matthew Kennedy) is still shaken up over the death of his best friend Bennedict [...]

I normally do not introduce Sayer’s reviews, but I must say that I recommend reading this one in full. It is long; like Dirk Diggler long, but much so worth it. And for that reason I am publishing it earlier than his other reviews. That and I’ll be vacationing in Austin this [...]

Written and Directed by George A. Romero, 2007
I cringe thinking it. I cringe. And yet the thought is no longer figurative, but empirical. A chain of words that have lost their requirement for a question mark at the end: George A. Romero is no longer relevant.
Cringe. I don’t think it is [...]

Written and Directed by Xavier Gens, 2007
Perfect timing for me to appear hypocritical over two superficially similar French flicks. I lauded the shallow film INSIDE despite being a gore show with nary a story to tell and I am now going to proceed to, um, non-laud FRONTIER(S) for being a gore show with nary [...]

Guest Review by R.J. Sayer
Directed by Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow, 1987
Written by Stephen Carpenter, Earl Ghaffari, Jeffrey Obrow, John Penney, Joseph Stefano
One of the biggest challenges to a horror geek, whether writing a review or simply describing a film to a friend who’s never seen it, is resisting the temptation to spoil shit. And [...]

Written and Directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein, 2007
It took three years for the world over to generate a peer to Edgar Wright’s unassailable masterpiece SHAUN OF THE DEAD. The time is finally upon us and it is with a wave of relief that I am honored to declare a heroic cohort in the horror comedy [...]

Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, 2007
Written by Alexandre Bustillo
Centerfold to French horror nu-waver-cum-2007-fest-favorite INSIDE is, well, a festival of gore the crimson of which you’ve likely not seen in a while. I am normally not wont to praise a film whose visual brutality takes precedent over story, but there is an adventurous [...]

Review by R. J. Sayer
Directed by Bigas Luna, 1987
Written by Eva Lesmes, Bigas Luna, Michael Berlin
Like many horror geeks, I practically grew up in Video Stores. And like many of the visitors to this site – I assume, anyway – I would spend eons in the horror section just gazing with awe at the cover [...]

Directed by Albert Pyun, 2005
Written by Cynthia Curnan
This INVASION film spent years under the title INFECTION before its US DVD release. I am not sure why the name was changed. I feel that INFECTION and INVASION are both capable of referring to extra terrestrial maladies, yet neither is any more original or any [...]

Directed by Danny Pang, Oxide Pang Chun, 2007
Written by Mark Wheaton, Todd Farmer
Several months ago I woke up in the middle of the night with an inexplicable (read: alcohol) sickness in my stomach that begged my digestive track to be free of its gastric prison. I awoke in that all too familiar breed of [...]

Directed by Matt Cooper, Martin Kunert, David Semel, 1997
Written by Martin Kunert, Eric Manes, Matt Cooper
How does one review a piece of horror best described as cute? I’ve got no problems with CAMPFIRE TALES, which may as well be the Showtime version of “ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?”. I’m sure they had [...]

Directed by Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza, 2007
Written by Jaume Balagueró, Luis Berdejo, Paco Plaza
There is a cold efficiency to [REC] that I never imagined I would admire from a film. It has no character development. None whatsoever. Zip. Zero. Nunca. [REC] is a conveyor belt horror film, a [...]

Directed by Nelson McCormick, 2008
Written by J.S. Cardone
Normally if I’m going to oblige my ‘review all theatrical releases’ rule for something I care nothing about, I’ll go early Saturday morning in order to reward the film as little of my dollar as possible. This time, however, Christine, my fiance, knew from my ranting and [...]

Directed by Larry Fessenden, 2006
Written by Larry Fessenden, Robert Leaver
It is only natural that out of the current political climate of buzz words and fought-over science a new niche would evolve; eco-horror. Not too much of it has hit film yet, but mark my words; it will. Unfortunately for director Larry Fessenden, THE [...]

Directed by Carter Smith, 2008
Written by Scott B. Smith
I hope with desperation that THE RUINS does well at the box office. DreamWorks, Red Hour Films and Spyglass Entertainment deserve the financial reward. Carter Smith, Scott B. Smith and the film’s five producers deserve the commercial approval, which is the only approval the [...]

Written and Directed by Michael Haneke, 2008
Michael Haneke is a difficult filmmaker for me to review.  The man is a dense master worthy of the Kubrick comparison ax.  He can cut a scene like no ones business and he can stretch a take to the limit and beyond.  His rapport with actors is boundless, coaxing [...]

Directed by Declan O’Brien, 2008Written by Berkeley Anderson, Ron Fernandez
I’ll never forget a quiz from a geology lesson in a sixth grade science class.  One question stands out to this day; "What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?"  Faced with such a diabolical question, the girl to my left – I’ve forgotten [...]

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, 2008Written by Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
I am writing this review on my cellphone*.  Why?  Well, because my computer is upstairs and I am downstairs, but I also find no evidence to believe the screenwriters of SAW IV used a real word processor, either, so it seems an appropriate fit.  For [...]

Directed by Jamie Blanks, 2007Written by Everett De Roche
I’ve been circling STORM WARNING for weeks now, always suggesting to watch it, always finding an excuse not to, often landing on the knowledge it was made by the guy who did URBAN LEGEND. The IMDb plot description did little more to muster interest, "A yuppie [...]

Written and Directed by Eli Roth, 2007
Are you or have you ever been a dog owner?  Has said dog ever had problems with diarrhea?  Were you relieved when he or she returned to depositing firm mounds?  If yes, Congratulations, you can now relate to what HOSTEL: PART 2 is!
Is it appropriate to commend someone for [...]

Written and Directed by David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry, Dan Bush 2007
THE SIGNAL is a janitor at MIT who spends evenings with a mop in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other, casually redoing mathematical formulas on blackboards.  Except THE SIGNAL is no wunderkind.  No Ivy Leaguer should be fooled, no matter how [...]

Written and Directed by Chris Gorak, 2007
I’ve always lamented that we Americans have no iconic cultural fears. Asian countries have cornered the market on ghost films because of genuine, widespread reservations about the after life and trapped spirits. Saying the word Chupacabra out loud in select Latin American countries is akin to inviting [...]

Directed by Stewart Raffill, 2007Written by Ken Solarz
Put a bullet in the brain pan of any standing objectives planned for today. Obtain Croc. Netflix it. Blockbuster it. Go to Best Buy and steal it. Obtain Croc. Also obtain a platitude of alcohol of choice as well as [...]

Directed by Jim Mickle, 2007Written by Nick Damici and Jim Mickle
Hand picked for last year’s After Dark Horrorfest, Mulberry Street – the epileptic feature film debut of  Jim Mickle – features rats in Manhattan biting people and, by process of an unaccountable plot, turning the infected into ‘roided up rat-esque creatures. Set in and [...]

Directed by David Moreau, Xavier Palud 2008Written by Sebastian Gutierrez; original screenplay by Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui & the Pang Brothers
I did not want to see The Eye, nor do I now particularly want to write about it. The whole thing is an issue of non-importance, like the election of School Board officials. [...]

I introduce to you, intrepid and sexy reader, the Mini-Review!  We pour through quite the volume of film each week and while I’d love to write a lengthy review for everything, truth is a lot of the time the magic don’t muster.  Times it be the dreaded block of the writer, other times I can’t [...]

Directed by James Oxford, 2008Written by (IMDB doesn’t even know)

I would like to pretend that I Tivo’ed this past Saturday’s Sci-Fi channel premiere film, Ghost Voyage, as a lark. Please, grant me that fantasy. Ignore the reality. Ignore that we watched this as it aired, which is to say we watched [...]

Written by Stephen King as Richard Bachman, 1979

Stephen King’s publishing pseudonym was created because, presumably, the public would not accept an author who published more than one novel per year. Thus Richard Bachman was created, an alter-ego that allowed King’s market output to keep pace with the author’s throughput. Bachman was [...]

Directed by S.S. Wilson, 2004Teleplay by Scott Buck

Tremors 4: The Legend begins, which is set in 1899 and still manages to star franchise stalwart Michael Gross as an ancestor of NRA loving Burt, is better than you’d expect from the third in a sporadic trickle of straight-to-DVD sequels. Take this not as [...]

Directed by Matt Reeves, 2007Written by Drew Goddard

The bittersweet truth of Cloverfield is that the fans were right and the filmmakers were wrong half-right. With the materialization of a vague teaser trailer before Transformers, JJ Abrams opened the gates to an empty amusement park and proceeded to tell no one what [...]

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, 2007Written by Sergio G. Sánchez

I lost a lot of money today. For me a hitherto unprecedented amount of money. Not quite, “I’ll put that in my mouth for $5 so I can eat tonight” kind of money, rather “Fuck Apple stock, shots all around!” kind of money. [...]

Directed by Francis LawrenceWritten by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman, based on the novel by Richard Matheson

The most offensive thing about the newest adaptation of Richard Matheson’s indelible classic is that it has the temerity to call itself I Am Legend. Maybe the producers considered the age of the original novel and thought no [...]

Directed by Richard Schenkman, 2007Written by Jerome Bixby

In my November DVD guide I said this of The Man From Earth:
Lastly what I’m going to go ahead and call the genre release of the month.  An indie film I’ve written about before: The Man From Earth.  It is a straight Sci-Fi story with classic sensibilities to [...]

Directed and Adapted for the Screen by Frank Darabont from Stephen King’s Novella, 2007

I have a tendency to be hyperbolic in immediate praise of any movie that really does something for me. As a type of critic, this is a sure flaw, but please understand that I am making a conscious effort to tone [...]

Written and Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom, 2007

I imported Shutter on a whim nearly three years ago.  This was when I was going to FSU, living by myself in a one-bedroom.  More specifically, it was during a period when I was watching Asian films almost exclusively — somewhere in the neighborhood of 12+ per [...]

Directed by David Arquette, 2006*Written by David Arquette & Joe Harris

The ingredients for The Tripper are indeed peculiar.  Peace loving hippies at a music festival in the deep woods, a man in a Ronald Reagan mask slaying festival goers, Thomas Jane as a police office, Paul Ruebens as the festival promoter, Jason Mewes as one [...]

Directed by Ryan Schifrin, 2006Written by Ryan Schifrin, Story by James Morrison

Abominable is an unstoppable good time, the single most admirable straight-to-DVD film in years and flatly the best cryptozoological horror ever made. Supremely ambitious, never compromising personality for cheap satisfaction, Ryan Schifrin’s ripped open the cabin bound terror tale with the same fervor [...]

Directed by Chukiat Sakweerakul, 2006Written by Chukiat Sakweerakul, based on the comic by Eakasit Thairatana

13 Beloved is not a horror movie.  It is a dark, brutal comedy with a plot that should fit snugly into the heart of any genre fan.  I’m not sure it has the international notoriety, yet, but I firmly believe that [...]

Directed by David Slade, 2007Written by Steve Niles and Stuart Beattie and Brian Nelson

Despite all of the sub-genres, all the crossovers and all the remakes, there are only two kinds of horror films, each defined within five minutes of its run time; 1) that which opens with a brutal slaying of a character unimportant to [...]

Directed by Víctor García, 2007Written by William Massa

The second viewer choice to be made during this experiment in story delivery comes when an Asian woman is trapped in a room with two nude female ghosts who stroke and surround her as if the decaying operating room they are in were nothing more than the VIP [...]

Directed by Stephen Hopkins, 2007Written by Carey Hayes & Chad Hayes, Story by Brian Rousso

Remember when The Reaping kept having its release pushed farther and farther back, the studio omen that they don’t have faith in what they just bank rolled?  And then when it finally came out, everyone hated it?  Well, technically not everyone, [...]

Directed by Tibor Takács, 2007Written by Eric Miller

Remember Patrick Muldoon, the douchebaggy pilot who tried to break up the star crossed love of Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards in Starship Troopers?  Ever wondered what he was up to these days?  Ice Spiders.  Yes, Ice Spiders.  Ice Fucking Spiders is what he is up to.
I [...]

Created by Tim Seeley

For the past week and a half I’ve been relatively immobilized by minor surgery.  It has been a pain in the ass, quite literally as that is where a doctor created the Mariana Trench out of my flesh, but one of the advantages of being couch bound is I get to catch [...]

Directed by Rob Green, 2001Written by Clive Dawson

Note: Despite that awesome cover, know there are no zombies anywhere in this film.  Unless you count the director, screenwriter and actors.
Is it law that any film with a group of people trapped in one locale must have Friedrich Nietzsche’s abyss quote as an opening title? That’s [...]

Directed by Scott Glosserman, 2007Written by Scott Glosserman, David J. Stieve

The horror genre can easily be imagined as a toy crane machine.  Optimists high on past successes slide in dollar bill after dollar bill in wishful attempts to grab hold of something once again worth time and money.  Anyone controlling that seductive tri-claw of fate [...]

Written and Directed by George Barry, 1977

On his new CD Werewolves and Lollipops Patton Oswalt confesses the pain Death Bed: The Bed That Eats causes him.  Not pain from watching it, but from knowing it exists.  Knowing someone not only finished a script about a bed that eats people, but that other people thought it [...]

Directed by Rob Zombie, 2007Written by Rob Zombie; original screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill

"Give them nothing!  But take from them everything!"
That line from 300 kept running through my sporadically idle mind while watching Rob Zombie’s Halloween.  Zombie took everything that makes Halloween work and gave nothing back.  He gave nothing to the fans [...]

Written by Joe Hill, 2007

The only reason Heart-Shaped Box caught my eye was because I know Joe Hill is Stephen King’s eldest son.  This is exactly why Joesph Hillstrom King writes under a pseudonym, but this is inevitably a burden he’ll just have to deal with.  I can think of far worse weights to shoulder.
I [...]

Directed by D.J. Caruso, 2007Written by Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth

There is no reason to do a song and dance around what you and I both expect Disturbia to be.  It is an unofficial Rear Window with teenagers for teenagers directed by a guy who thinks he is a teenager, using two letter abbreviations [...]

Directed by Michael Katleman, 2007Written by John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris

Nature run amok.  Crocodiles going ape shit.  You’ve seen Lake Placid.  Or Crocodile.  Or Crocodile 2: Death Swamp.  Or Lake Placid 2.  Or Dinocroc.  Or Krocodylus.  Or the upcoming, unrelated, duo of Rogue and Black Water…
Point is, it seems that all these misunderstood cuties [...]

In case anyone has escaped the unsolicited promotion of Indie artist Christopher Alan Broadstone’s new DVD, 3 Dead Girls, here is yet another run down: 3DG is the newly available compilation of Broadstone’s award winning short films; Scream For Me, My Skin, and Human No More.
Listed Features:

New Hi-Def Transfer of Scream for Me
11 Commentary Tracks [...]

Directed by Danny Boyle, 2007Written by Alex Garland

Confession: I like Sci-Fi more than I do Horror.  Considerably more, actually, but true Science Fiction, good or bad, is also considerably rarer.   Which is why it gives me great pleasure to write about Sunshine.  Not only do I get to  talk about something different for a change, [...]

Directed by James Wan, 2007Written by Leigh Whannell

Full of emptiness, Dead Silence’s script was surely scrapped together after the Saw duo decided they wanted to somehow make a movie about dummies.  They certainly didn’t set out to tell a morbid coming home story, a murder mystery or a quiet chiller.  All of those things make [...]

Written and Directed by Jonathan King, 2006

Genetically engineered sheep, released inadvertently by activists, not only overrun a small Kiwi town, but any human bitten turns into some insane kind of weresheep?  Self-aware limits with a no-shame script?  Early Peter Jackson aspirations with a contemporary, Oscar winning P. Jackson’s WETA workshop doing the makeup effects?  All [...]

Directed by Mikael Håfström, 2007Written by Matt Greenberg and Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski; from Stephen King’s short story

Two of 2007s most promising genre features take their cues from the short form of the Crimson King.  The Mist, directed by the proven Frank Darabont, and 1408, helmed by the relatively new Mikael Håfström.  The former [...]

Written by Mark Z. Danielewski, 2000*This is a long review, I know.  Read the book.

The best way to describe the experience of putting eyes to the pages of House of Leaves is to spoil the ending of my favorite Clive Barker story; "In the Hills, The Cities".  Barker’s great short concerns a couple [...]

Written and Directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, 2006

Clocking in at a very trim 77 minutes, featuring only two characters (not counting the opening pair, who exist only for an introductory jolt), and hailing from the land of Haute Tension, Ils is a near plot-less exercise in sustaining the slasheresque chase for as long [...]

Directed by William Friedkin, 2006Written for Stage and Screen by Tracy Letts

There is no point in delaying the inevitable conclusion.  Bug is a difficult film.  It is cinematic art at its narrowest.  This is the kind of movie that art house/Indie fundamentals are based on.  Under no circumstances will Bug ever find a wide audience.  [...]

Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2007Written by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Rowan Joffe & Jesús Olmo, Enrique López Lavigne

The torch has been passed.  Not just from original 28 Days director Danny Boyle to 28 Weeks director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, but from the apocalyptic consumer cannibalism of Romero’s Dead -ilogy to today’s Rage infected culture of [...]

Directed by David Koepp, 2004Written by David Koepp, Stephen King

Secret Window stings me.  I like David Koepp.  I think he is a fine studio writer and, whether it is embarrassing to admit or not, had a huge impact on both my life and my likes.  Jurassic Park, to a kid my age, was a mind [...]

Directed by Brian Yuzna, 1996Written by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon, Charles Finch

To me The Dentist is the straight-to-video movie.  I can’t tell if it was an actual STV release, but it is the one movie I remember seeing on video store shelves everywhere as a child and thinking to myself, "Wow, did they really make [...]

Directed by David Flores, 2007Written by Todd Hurvitz, Howie Miller

I am not going to bother wasting my time writing a formal review of Lake Placid 2.  I am simply going to transcribe the first 2 minutes of the script, anything else you need to know can be extrapolated from this inspired exchange:
"Man, this lake is [...]

Directed by Tony Krantz, 2007Written by Erik Jendresen

Make no mistake, Raw Feed jumped off to a forgettable start with Rest Stop.  That flick did practically nothing right (except remind that Joey Laurence was still alive) and if popular opinion is to be believed – here’s looking at you IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes – the production [...]

Directed by Jason Todd IpsonWritten by Jason Todd Ipson, Chris Billett (2006)

Perhaps the most appropriate real world testament to Unrest’s multiple strengths is the fact that even with the added distraction of a dozen or so progressively louder drunk people on Friday the 13th, it still managed to be a fascinating, well acted story of [...]

Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror) and Quentin Tarantino (Death Proof)

I’ll not begin to pretend that I have any palpable knowledge of Grindhouses.  They mean nothing to me.  They lived and died before I even lived.  Their movies are lost to me, their directors are lost to me, their style is lost to [...]

Directed by Nicholas Mastandrea, 2006Written by Robert Conte, Peter Martin Wortmann

Ah, yes, the veritable ‘college co-eds go on weekend retreat to remote cabin’ plot.  Oh how reliable you are.  Always there as a fall back when the brain is too stressed by character development to worry about setting or plot logic.
Or when you conveniently need [...]

Created and Written by Gerry Duggan & Brian Posehn, 2006

I love everything about the concept of The Last Christmas.  The earth’s inevitable zombie apocalypse hits, bringing death to every corner of the globe – including the North Pole.  When a band of marauders puts a bullet in Mrs. Claus’ brain, Santa loses it.  Christmas is [...]

Written and Directed by James Eaves, 2006

Glance at the above poster for The Witches Hammer and one would surely be convinced as to what kind of movie they’re getting into.  Let me further inform that it was made by a bunch of idealistic Brits who had a micro-budget.  Given these two pieces of evidence, one [...]

Directed by Simon West, 2006Written by Jake Wade Wall, from the 1979 screenplay by Steve Feke and Fred Walton

I have duel confessions to make.  I will watch anything in High Definition.  It is important to understand this is the only reason I began to watch the remake of When a Stranger Calls.  A follow up [...]

Written and Directed by Robert Parigi, 2003

Love Object is a movie you’re not likely to have heard of, written and directed by a guy you’ve definitely not heard of.  It is a movie that will have played best to its initial festival crowd and whose more realistic audience consists of bored people like me; too [...]

Directed by Robert Harmon, 1986Written by Eric Red

The original Hitcher has a damned die hard set of enthusiasts.  People love that movie in unbelievable ways.  Twenty or thirty minutes into it, I was considering joining them.  The opening act of Red’s script is the very definition of caged intensity.  It captures the spirit of an [...]

Directed by Dario Argento, 2006Written by Matt Venne, F. Paul Wilson

If you talk Italian horror you talk first and foremost of Argento and Fulici.  I confess that of the twenty odd films and television episodes that Dario Argento has directed, I’ve seen exactly 3 – and two of those are "Masters of Horror" episodes.  For [...]

Directed by Jim Sonzero, 2006Written by Wes Craven, Ray Wright, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Original film)

Pulse is dark. 
No, not morbid, but literally dark.  As in you can’t see a damned thing.  I mention this because it is the only thing you will remember about the movie.  How damned ugly it looks and how processings its 24 [...]

Directed by Patchanon Thammajira, 2006

I’ve had my eye on Colic ever since its original teaser poster popped up at the HK Filmmart.  And by popped up, I mean jumped off the screen and shoved its mutilated baby arm in your face.  That poster is the greatest teaser poster ever made.  End of discussion.
A slab of [...]

Directed by John D. Hancock, 1971Written by John D. Hancock, Lee Kalcheim

It is hardly a forgotten classic, thanks to its cult following, but Let’s Scare Jessica to Death never fully made its way into the popular vocabulary.  Not in the same way as some of its cohorts; Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, Last House on the [...]

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, 2006Written by James Wan, Leigh Whannell

It’s a pity that the Saw franchise is the number one name associated with media claims that American horror has turned into snuff films and torture porn.  I say this not in defense of Saw’s integrity, but rather the fact that such derisive, ultimately pussyfooted [...]

Directed by John Stockwell, 2006Written by Michael Ross

I’ll wander blindly out onto this lonely limb, but reflecting back on the eligible candidates Turistas is actually one of the best horror films of ‘06.  Worth note, however, is that ‘06 boiled down to a rather slim list of candidates.
Going into the flick, I didn’t think I’d [...]

Directed by Jaume Balagueró 2005Written by Jaume Balagueró, Jordi Galcerán

All the natural resources ghost films mine their goods from have been plundered for years now.  Every now and then a film like Shutter can tap into a familiar vein and uncover treasure in the process, but the law of averages says that most ghosties ride [...]

Written and Directed by Guillermo del Toro, 2006

Without question, Pan’s Labyrinth is the hitherto epoch of Guillermo del Toro’s objectively off-and-on filmography.  His personal tale about the innocence of a little girl amidst a world of pain is, to say the least, bursting with imagination.  Featuring not only the best makeup effects of 2006, but [...]

Directed by Tom Tykwer, 2006Written by Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger, Tom Tykwer, Patrick Süskind (Novel)

I hate to write an introductory paragraph like this.  I know there are still a crop of leftovers from 2006 I patiently await (here’s looking at you Mandy Lane, Leslie Vernon, and a Hatchet), but baring the aforementioned unseen(s), I feel [...]

Directed by Eduardo Sánchez, 2006
Written by Jamie Nash, Eduardo Sánchez

I don’t care what anyone says these days.  I don’t care if they pull the, “I knew it was fake” or, “You never even saw anything, just some guy standing in the corner” – The Blair Witch Project was and still is a damned crafty piece [...]

Directed by Gregory Dark, 2006Written by Dan Madigan

I like to think I have a knack for exaggeration.  And yet, no matter how hard I strain my brain, I cannot summon any hyperbole to properly relate just how bad WWE Films’ See No Evil is.  Every time I rest my fingers on the home keys, they [...]

Directed by Craig R. Baxley, Michael W. Watkins 2006Written by Laura Harkcom, Christopher Leone, Paul Workman

The Sci-Fi Channel has got heart and I love ‘em for it, but their track record on original productions is pretty spotty.  Which is why it brings me great, great joy to tell you, kind reader, that The Lost Room [...]

Written by Michael Crichton, 2006

You may be wondering why I’m reviewing a Michael Crichton book on a horror website.  The man writes almost exclusively in the vein of corporate thrillers based around some wacky, out of control, fringe science of the very near future.
Well, if you must know, I happen to like wacky, out of [...]

Directed by Christopher Smith, 2006Written by Christopher Smith and James Moran

Judging by how many people ask me where the image at the top of the site came from, Christopher Smith’s first film, Creep, never really reached the audience it deserved to.  However, The UK’ers sophomore film, Severance, undoubtedly will.  It is a simple and affable [...]

Written and Directed by Billy O’Brien, 2005

Isolation opens aptly with moody, mysterious circumstances surrounding the imminent delivery of a calf on a remote farm in Ireland.  Orla, the sole vet tending to the pregnancy, is performing one of what will prove to be several armful uterus probings, when there is a crunching sound prompting an [...]

Written and Directed by Nacho Cerda, 1994

Aftermath is art so rare, so exacting and so human that it will penetrate all who view it to their deepest core.  This is not theory, this is irrefutable fact.  It is gravity.  Nacho Cerda’s short film is a definition of gravity possessing such validity that had Newton seen [...]

Directed by John Carpenter, 2006Written by Drew McWeeny, Scott Swan

John Carpenter’s work on the ‘Masters of Horror" series has, from the producer and cast point of view, been applauded for his efficiency on set.  Call time is at a reasonable hour, shots are simple set ups, no late days.  After seeing his latest episode, I [...]

Directed by Brad Anderson (2006)Written by Brad Anderson based off Mike O’Driscoll’s short story

Brad Anderson – the guiding hand behind Session 9 and The Machinist – has seemingly developed a crush on showing middle aged men in increasing states of mental disrepair.  If it weren’t for his television work on shows with continuity linked episodes [...]

Written by Max Brooks, 2006

Determining the launching point for a review of Max Brooks’ newest zombie masterwork, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, is hard.  It’s an odd, but welcome challenge to chose where exactly the praise should be heaped first on this fictional journalistic recount of a global undead uprising.  [...]

Directed by Mike Mendez, 2006Written by Brad Keene, Chris Skinner

Finally a movie that reminds horror of the fact that ghosts don’t have to be Asian with long black hair to get your blood pumping.
Dominic Purcell plays Harris, the dull spearhead of a group of old college buddies reunited by a friend’s funeral.  With a few [...]

Directed by Nacho CerdàWritten by Nacho Cerdà, Karim Hussain, Richard Stanley

The Abandoned is a visceral, vein expanding experience.  Acclaimed short film director Nacho Cerdà’s feature length debut possesses qualities either extinct or seldom seen in American horror productions, especially those with studio backing.  Elaborate, cold visuals of isolation, decrepitude, murder, and undead doppelgangers.  The sound [...]

Written by Steve NilesArt by Ben Templesmith

When it comes to horror movies, I may not be the authority, but I like to imagine I can lay the law down with the best of ‘em.  When it comes to horror graphic novels, I’m a preschooler wearing a toy badge.  As nerdy as I am, I’ve no [...]

Directed by Stuart Gordon, 1986Written by Stuart Gordon, Dennis Paoli, Brian Yuzna, based off H. P. Lovecraft’s story

Of all H.P. Lovecraft adaptations – in and out of Stuart Gordon’s hand – From Beyond is perhaps the most successful.  However, first, a qualifier.  I don’t think any director has ever captured the true essence of Lovecraft.  [...]

Directed by John LandisWritten by Brent Hanley

John Landis’ sophomore "Masters" entry is, thus far, the best of the series.  I’d even go so far as to say that Family is the best thing the director has been involved with in excess of two decades.
The elegant opening shot planted a wicked smile on my face [...]

Directed by Christian James, 2004Written by Christian James, Dan Palmer

Christian James’ first feature film, Freak Out, is the closest you’ll get to a Troma film without the Troma label.  That is, perhaps, the best available litmus test for whether or not you’ll enjoy the film.  If you’re a fan of low budget schlock, you’ll love [...]

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, 2005Written by Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes, Charles Belden (story)

Pull the trigger, I accept the bullets openly. 
House of Wax taint half bad.  On a fair day, it may even be considered half good.  The combo weights of being an unnecessary remake at the height of remake hysteria and casting Paris Hilton [...]

Directed by Tobe Hooper, 2006Written by Richard Christian Matheson

The previous team up of R.C. Matheson and Tobe Hooper resulted in Dance of the Dead, what many (present company included) considered the worst episode of Masters’ first season.  I fell asleep during it.
It is with a clear conscious that I feel obligated to inform you that [...]

Directed by John Shiban, 2006

Straight-to-DVD films are an anomaly.  I can’t think of any other arena of filmmaking that so often inspires something along the line of, "I’ve seen a lot of bad movies lately, but X is the worst I’ve seen in quite some time".
I’ve seen a lot of bad movies recently, but Rest [...]

Directed by John Gulager, 2005

Feast sucks.  I’ve written and rewritten this introduction countless times now and regardless of how I try to word the drumroll, the punchline stays the same.  It sucks.  Period.  The end.
Project Greenlight’s editing would have led you to believe that the hapless John Gulager was to blame for the film’s stumbled [...]

Directed by Dave Payne, 2005

I chose a Spanish DVD copy of Dave Payne’s long overdue Reeker as the first film of last week’s Friday the 13th horrorthon.  Due to technical difficulties there wasn’t much of a thon going on, but in retrospect it wasn’t a complete bust because Reeker was, perhaps, the most fun I’ve [...]

Directed by Joon-ho Bong, 2006

Expectations. 
I’m the first to confess my excitement regarding a film before its release, especially when said excitement borders on delirium.  I’m also the first to confess my disappointment when expectations aren’t met – and typically when that happens, I cast my words into a river of sadness with anger tied [...]

Directed by Kevin VanHook, 2005

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."- Some guy named Jesus
It’s called the ethic of reciprocity.  If someone was nice enough to send me something, should I return the favor and kindly write a good review?  What if the movie wasn’t any good?  What if it was [...]

Directed by Lucky McKee, 2006

Notice that year above.  Do I put 2003, the year The Woods went into production and forced M. Night Shyamalan to re-title his then-new film to The Village?  Or do I put 2006, the year that the foolishly shelved film finally saw the light of release, albeit it at a thimble [...]

Directed by Hal Masonberg, 2006

First out of the gate from the newly launched, Clive Barker founded Midnight Picture Show production house is the The Plague, staring James Van Der Beek (hint).  And if this is what passes Midnight Picture Show’s quality control, then they need to close up shop right now.
Every child on earth below [...]

Directed by Sylvain White, 2006

Ten years after the events of the original I Know What You Did Last Summer, this Always Knowing sequel follows a group of friends who hear of the legend of the Fisherman, decide for some self-fulfilling reason to stage a mock killer attack at the county fair, except someone conveniently replaces [...]

Directed by William Brent Bell, 2006

Considering this site has gained an audience outside of my immediate circle of friends, my relationship with Stay Alive probably needs to be re-explained in order to fully understand the inferno of rage. 
Over two plus years ago I decided to make a horror movie.  A horror movie about genuine [...]

Directed by David R. Ellis, 2006

Snakes on a Plane delivers.  Period.
That’s the only question anyone wants answered after months and months of hype machine out of control.  So if that was all you wanted to know, you can stop reading now. 
It seemed there were only two possible outcomes.  Either Snakes on a Plane was [...]

Written by Christopher Alan Broadstone, 2003

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to the literary side of the genre, but irregardless if I can’t cite every dark fantasy culled up by Clive Barker (and I’ve no doubt the man has come up with [...]

Directed by Jake West, 2005

Take a look at Brit Jake West’s IMDB profile and you’ll notice he is the director and editor of over a dozen documentaries on horror film icons, so it should come as no surprise when I say that his latest film, Evil Aliens, is overloaded with what probably amounts to the [...]

Directed by Gil Kenan, 2006

Monster House was my first theatrical exposure to 3D and it was, frankly, one of the most memorable movie experiences I’ve ever had.  It doesn’t hurt that the movie hits all the right notes, but that third dimension…my god.  It’s not just a gimmick, it’s not just eye candy, it’s mind [...]

Directed by Robert J. Escandon, 2006

Strange Sunset is in little capacity a horror movie, but as a fan of the indie fare, Rob Escandon asked me to check out his film, so check it out I did.  I’ll admit that when I put it in, I was a little hesitant as to whether or not [...]

Directed by Claudio Fäh, 2006

I like the first Hollow Man.  You can stop trusting anything I say about movies from this point on and I would understand, but I’m a sucker for Verhoeven and his silly, but poker faced, blockbusters that don’t bust the block.
So what can you expect from Hollow Man 2, the straight-to-video [...]

Directed by Alexander Witt, 2004

I didn’t want to watch Resident Evil: Apocalypse.  I really didn’t.  But I needed something to review, was too lazy to get out of my bed, and it was the only ‘horror’ movie on HBO On-Demand.  So the remote won and my soul lost.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse is one of the stupidest [...]

Directed by Christopher Alan Broadstone

In my experience, short films are a very mixed bag.  They’re tough to write, they’re tough to direct and a good one is tough to find.  More often than not, short films – especially those from students just entering film school – are laden with pretentious imagery and utterly incoherent storytelling [...]

Directed by Paul Wynne, 2001

I watched Tail Sting with the guarantee that it was the worst film ever made.  This is bullshit.  Tail Sting rocks and rocks hard, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  Yes, it is a horrible movie, but it is a kick all the same.
Snakes on a Plane?  Fuck snakes!  Scorpions on [...]

Directed by Don Michael Paul, 2006

In the realm of direct-to-DVD horror, The Garden is a unique find for a multitude of reasons.  Lance Henriksen is the most obvious motivation for any genre fan to watch this contemporary but isolatory tale of good versus evil.  However, not only does the rest of the cast pull their [...]

Directed by James Wong, 2006

Every now and then you have to love a franchise.  The Final Destination series is certainly no Nightmare on Elm Street, but it is the only original horror franchise since the early ’90s.  The first film has already hit the back burner of praise for its generation, but I’d venture to [...]

Directed by Douglas Cheek, 1984

Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers.  That is all you need to know about the letters C.H.U.D. to know what kind of movie it is.
I understand some things age better than others.  Cheese can age well.  Milk cannot.  Night of the Comet aged well.  C.H.U.D. did not.
The U.S. government has been forced to [...]

Directed by Robert Hiltzik, 1983

I love the kids-stalked-at-summer-camp plot.  Maybe it’s because I spent several weeks of summer when I was younger at Camp Lakewood, a camp not too different from any of these cinematic cliches.  Or maybe I just like cabins.  Either way, my affinity for all that jazz wasn’t enough to save Sleepaway [...]

Written by Stephen King, 2006

Leave it to Stephen King to not only find a way to bring some originality back to zombies, but to also make cell phones threatening past those silly brain tumors.
King’s severely pessimistic tale opens on the day of the apocalypse and ends a few weeks later, giving the reader a very [...]

Directed by Mary Harron, 2005

I remember seeing American Psycho theatrically.  This may be embarrassing of my age, but I was 15 at the time and was dropped off at the movie theater with a group of friends in a minivan.  Grant’s mom, the driver, had no desire to see the movie, but we weren’t allowed [...]

Directed by Thom Eberhardt, 1984

I often dispel the idea that a golden age of horror where everything released was good has already come and gone (hence the name of this site).  While I hold true to that belief, for me the ’80s into the very early ’90s were the genre’s glory years.  There was an [...]

Directed by Jeff Wadlow, 2005

I hate to describe films as X meets Y, but Jeff Wadlow and Beau Bauman’s script for Cry_Wolf owes its family tree to too many films for it to go unmentioned.  This is Scream meets Mindhunters, as introduced to each other by Cruel Intentions, who was flirting with Wild Things, who [...]

Directed by Jeremy Haft, 2005

It’s a pity when writing a review for a movie becomes an obligatory chore.  I know Jeffrey Reddick and Jeremy Haft put a lot of love into Tamara.  It’s the only recent Indie teen "slasher" I can think of that was actually shot on film and recieved a small – very [...]

Directed by Greg McLean, 2005

I’ve been in a horror rut recently, hence the lack of reviews.  There’s nothing coming out that I want to see theatrically.  I’m a big supporter of direct-to-DVD stuff, but there’s little to offer there as well.  I never particularly had a good feeling about Wolf Creek, but given the buzz [...]

Directed by David Slade, 2005

Hard Candy is not strictly a horror film, but it will mess you up more than any genre movie you’ll see this year and is thus deserving of a spot on this here horror site.  If all you know about the film is what you’ve seen from the trailer, you’ll expect [...]

Directed by Michele Soavi, 1994

As an opening sentence there’s little I can do to make this seem less hyperbolic, and for that I make no attempt to apologize, but I shit you negative when I say Michele Soavi’s work on Dellamorte Dellamore is some of the best direction the celluloid art has ever seen – [...]

Directed by Matthew Leutwyler, 2004

It’s movies like this that remind me why I wade through so much crappy, straight-to-DVD, Indie horror.  The ratio may be low, but for every ten or fifteen Satan’s Little Helpers or Gingerdead Mans, there is at least one Dead & Breakfast.
In the interest of full disclosure, I was a little drunk [...]

Damn did Anchor Bay really pack these Masters of Horror DVDs with some very worth while features.  Counting the running time of the commentary tracks, of which there are two, there are over 3 hours of special features here:

Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
Commentary by Writer/Director Don Coscarelli [...]

Directed by Stuart Gordon, 2001

The only similarity between Stuart Gordon’s Dagon and H.P. Lovecraft’s short story it’s based on happens to be that they both involve fish people.  Stuart Gordon’s involves a small boat (or is it a yacht?  I’m not rich enough to know the difference) full of 4 people crashing off the shore [...]

Directed by Steve Miner, 1982

Why am I reviewing Friday the 13th Part III without having reviewed any of the other 9 films in the series (counting Freddy vs. Jason)?  First, because Christine and I have horror marathons whenever she comes down during which we try to watch all kinds of random movies we haven’t seen.  [...]

Directed by Takashi Miike, 1999

Even though it’s only seven or so years old, Audition is almost a legendary film already.  It doesn’t have a mainstream following yet, but it’s the kind of viral movie that one of your friends sees and then says, "Dude, you’ve GOT to see this one Japanese movie!  It’s so fucked [...]

Directed by Douglas McKeown, 1983

You know the drill by now.  Meteor meets Earth.  Slimy slugs with horrible teeth come out to say hello.  This time around, though, there’s no bodily possession (read: Night of the Creeps and Slither ), just plain body chomping carnage.
And as meteor smashing, alien creature features go, The Deadly [...]

Directed by Christophe Gans, 2006

I sit here staring at a picture of a beast of a man with a pyramid for a head, holding the biggest, rustiest knife in the world in one hand and a bloody corpse in the other and then I think back on what I saw tonight and wonder, “what the [...]

Directed by Philip Cruz, 2005

Andre the Butcher is a movie for people who just don’t care.
After the mandatory, unrelated-to-the-rest-of-the-movie opening death, it kicks off with a hillbilly narrator who introduces us to Andre, the film’s urban legend cannibal, and our unique little cast of good guys; a high school cheerleading squad (all four of ‘em…). [...]

Directed by Ken Russell, 1980

Altered States is one of the most unique ‘obsessed scientist’ horror films ever made. In fact, in that fun little subgenre it is second only to David Cronenberg’s flat-out masterpiece The Fly (which, for the record, I consider to be one of the top two horror films of all time). [...]

Directed by Dario Argento, 1977

Dario Argento is a mad man with a camera. I’m no psychologist, or psychiatrist, or scientist, or any kind of -ist for that matter, but I’m pretty sure that if you could record the world through the eyes of a crazy person it would look exactly like Suspiria.
If you do [...]

Directed by Takashii Miike, 2005

The wait is over. The UK branch of Bravo had the balls Showtime didn’t and aired Takashi Miike’s ‘banned-because-it-was-too-graphic’ episode of Masters of Horror, titled Imprint. So the main question is, “Did it deserve the controversy?”
Yes and no. I can understand why Showtime would want to preempt any [...]

Directed by Fred Dekker, 1986

Why did Fred Dekker stop making movies? Night of the Creeps was his first flick and while it isn’t as perfect as The Monster Squad, it is still a highly entertaining creature feature. It’s a bummer the last thing we’ve gotten from him as a director was Robocop 3… [...]

Directed by Fabrice Du Welz, 2004

I’m at a loss for words when it comes to properly describing the Belgian gem of filmmaking that is The Ordeal. Though the term is so generic these days, the best way to put it is simply to call it ‘art house horror’. Welz’s film is a remarkably surreal experience [...]

Directed by James Gunn, 2006

James Gunn’s directorial debut does not fail to live up to its own hype. It is a creature feature as only a Troma veteran can deliver. If you’re at this site, you don’t need me to sell you on Slither. You don’t need me to pitch the plot [...]

Directed by Peter Chan, Ji-woon Kim, Nonzee Nimibutr, 2002

Though shadowed by its more successful and more popular followup, Three.. Extremes, Three.. (to my knowledge) started the trend of the Asian omnibus horror film. At its barebones, I love the idea of a film being directed by multiple directors, even if its just going to [...]

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, 2005

In Soviet Russia, movie hates you!
In the interest of full disclosure, one should know my history with this film’s predecessor. When I first saw Night Watch over a year and a half ago, I thought it was one of the most insane fantasy films I’d ever seen. I watched [...]

Directed by Neil Marshall, 2005. Review originally written 11-07-05

What a freaking headache.
I’m not the worldest biggest fan of Dog Soldiers, I think it is a decent enough flick, but I thought buzz was very solid about The Descent…

Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom, 2004. Review originally written 5-23-05

Once I actually bought it, it took me a while to get around to watching it, but it’s worth the wait. I’m a huge fan of the new wave of Asian cinema, but admittedly my knowledge of the Thai scene is extremely limited so [...]

Directed by Alex Turner, 2004. Review originally written 3-30-05

I always check out the quotes they decide to put on the cover/back of a DVD. I had been looking forward to Dead Birds anyway, just because of what I read of it in Fangoria, but I was even more eager when I read on the [...]

Directed by Byeong-ki Ahn, 2002. Review originally written 3-30-05

I’ll make this brief because I wasn’t very impressed with it. I’m a huge fan of the Asian ghost film. These days they’re the only thing being produced that does actually scare me. It’s a mixture of the over use of negative space, harsh contrasts and [...]

Directed by Wes Craven, 2977

I’ll admit that I hadn’t seen the original before seeing the remake. You’d expect someone who has a horror site to have all the cult classics crossed off their list, but I guess I’m just a failure.
Having seen the remake it is a little redundant for me to praise the original [...]

Directed by Alexandre Aja, 2006

I remember a conversation from a few years ago between myself, my stepmom and a friend of hers. The topic was the Alien franchise and said friend was explaining that she liked all of the films except the second one because, "it put a child in danger and that is [...]

Directed by Su-chang Kong, 2004

The Tartan Asia Extreme (a company I truly respect, so you should too) R1 release of Korea’s R-Point touts on the cover, “The best military-guys-meet-supernatural-evil flick since Dog Soldiers.” That may be true, but it isn’t saying much. First off, there are only a handful of army v. supernatural [...]

Directed by Fruit Chan, 2004

I’d been waiting months for the R1 release of Three.. Extremes – as opposed to ‘importing’ the bootleg – because I knew the second disc was going to be the feature length cut of Fruit Chan’s Dumplings, which is easily the high tide line of the trilogy of shorts. It [...]

Directed by Tim Sullivan, 2005

A vapid, moronic attempt at a horror film if there ever was one. 2001 Maniacs is everything I hate about horror these days. I’ve heard good things about the original Two Thousand Maniacs!, but this remake is just trash.
Horny frat boys and sluty sorority girls fill out the principle [...]

Directed by Fred Dekker, 1987

In regards to childhood adventure flicks, The Monster Squad is second only to the Goonies. And, in some categories, The Monster Squad actually kicks The Goonies ass. Plus, if you don’t like either flick, you didn’t have a childhood. End of discussion.
Why does the Monster Squad kick so [...]

Directed by Jeff Lieberman, 2004

Bad. Bad. Bad.
The only reason I had even a barely passing interest in this movie was because I thought it was about something it wasn’t. I thought it was about a kid who, when trick or treating by himself, befriends a guy in a Satan costume with whom [...]

Directed by David Cronenberg, 1977

I’ll tell you right off the bat, if the name David Cronenberg is meaningless to you, this movie will be as well.
Cronenberg’s earliest entries to the genre have strange qualities to them that I really dig. He has a way of creating scenarios that are obscurely atypical, but never absurd. [...]

Directed by Dan Mintz, 2001

Addicts who set up a meth lab in a dilapidated house in the woods is, at least, unchartered territory in the genre. But Cookers shows why it probably is untred ground.
It’s really just not that interesting. Addicts are boring. They’re the same in every single movie and they’re [...]

Directed by Charles Band, 2005

Just look at that cover! How could anyone possibly resist such a siren’s seductive call? That cover means business. The Gingerdead Man doesn’t ask to be watched, it sticks a knife to your throat and demands that you watch it. When I first saw the full-page ad [...]

Directed by Clive Barker, 1990

The ’80s/early ’90s were easily the glory days of horror. It was a time when true imagination was on the screen. Material actual felt original back then. It didn’t feel processed. It didn’t feel engineered. It felt right.
Even the sequels felt original. I’ll take a [...]

Directed by David Cronenberg, 1983

David Cronenberg knows what the hell is up. Pound for pound he is the greatest American auteur working today. Several of his films are in my all time favorites and I’d even go so far as to list The Fly in my top 5 horror films of all time. [...]

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, 2005

I appreciate the original Saw for drawing enough crowds to turn Lions Gate a very solid profit, but that’s about it. I think it was a worthless movie which showed absolutely zero promise for James Wan as a filmmaker and exposed him as nothing more than a gimicky screenwriter. [...]

Directed by Michael Hurst, 2005

I’d just like to point out that I was right in my guess as to House of the Dead 2’s fate, since I just saw a commercial for it on Sci-Fi. Not much of a surprise…
I didn’t know anything about the production of this obvious disaster going into it, [...]

Directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa, 2003

Dead End is one of my favorite films of any genre of the last 5 years. I knew I wanted to write a review of something good for this site, for a change, so I knew Dead End had to be it. I wrote a review for [...]

Directed by Conor McMahon, 2004

There is a limit to how much handheld, homebrew horror I can take. I didn’t think I could quantify that limit, but after enduring this trash I can firmly tell you that even 30 minutes pushes it.
Because the opening shot is of a man being attacked and eaten by a [...]

Directed by Paul Fox, 2005

Where was I in the late 90’s when the law was passed that says, “If you are making a psychological horror film said film’s conclusion must be that all of the film’s events were in the protagonist’s head?” I don’t remember getting to vote on this, but apparently it must [...]

Directed by Christopher Smith, 2004

Our heroine, Kate, falls asleep waiting for a train on the London Underground while on her way to try to sleep with George Clooney. That really is how the plot kicks off. She wakes up alone and trapped in the sealed subway system. A train passes by (despite [...]

Directed by Stephen Bradley, 2005

Boy loves girl. Boy has misunderstanding, is devestated by girl. Boy kills himself. Mother raises boy from the dead. Such is Boy Eats Girl.
There is something about any high school horror movie that I am just a sucker for. Maybe it is the idea of an entire high school class – [...]

Directed by Eli Roth, 2006

Because this site was originally bought with the intention of turning it into an Eli Roth shrine, I think it is only fitting that the first review on it be for Hostel. Ever since the theatrical run of Cabin Fever I have relentlessly praised Roth and once he started making appearances [...]