DEAD & BURIED (1981) Review: Grotesque SFX & Unjustified Moral Panic
Yes, it’s grotesque but Gary Sherman’s direction remains effectively creepy, Stan Winston’s SFX is impressive 40+ years later – and Joe Renzetti’s soundtrack is to die for!
Horror
To avoid fainting, keep repeating: “It’s only a movie, only a movie, only a movie…”
Stephen King’s CAT’S EYE (1985) Review: A Different Animal Altogether
Directed by Lewis Teague, and written by acclaimed horror novelist Stephen King, Cat’s Eye is a horror anthology film comprising three segments: “Quitters, Inc.”, “The Ledge”, and “General”.
“Through the eye of the cat, a twisted tail of macabre suspense from the author of Carrie, The Shining and The Dead Zone.”
No Mere Mortal Can Resist the Evil of the Thriller: Why VINCENT PRICE Is a Cinematic Icon of the Macabre!
Widely regarded as a cinematic icon of the horror genre, Vincent Price’s first foray into the world of the macabre was working alongside Boris Karloff in 1939’s Tower of London for Universal Pictures. However, it was 1953’s House of Wax that would elevate Price into the pantheon of horror stardom.
“One raise of his eyebrow and you knew you were about to be thrilled by a debonair, evil, yet sympathetic villain…”
The Artistic Flair of Low-Budget Auteur Albert Pyun
Since his debut in 1982 with the light-hearted sword and sorcery fantasy, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Albert Pyun has directed over fifty feature-length genre films. So to say that Pyun, as a director, was prolific is an understatement… Just like his cybernetic creations, Albert Pyun was a machine!
“We’re trying to save humankind, and you, you protect the machines… Well, no wonder you protect them, you’re mostly machine, you’re not really human anymore are you?”
Octaman (1971) Review: Mexican Horror Heap from the Nuclear Trash!
Who doesn’t adore Mexican sci-fi/horror cinema? Whilst consuming everything from 1968’s The Batwoman to 1970’s Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters, I stumbled upon the poster for Harry Essex’s Octaman and I knew I had to track down a copy of this 1971 creature feature! There was something reminiscent about the humanoid octopus… As it turns out, I was already quite familiar with Essex’s monstrous creation! Even if you haven’t seen this movie, you’ve likely seen the titular creature.
“Horror heap from the nuclear trash!”
5 Essential Italian Cannibal Movies
If you are looking for a subgenre of horror that emphasized graphic violence and shock value above all else, look no further than the Italian cannibal movies of the 1970s and 1980s.
“Better to rest in peace in the warm body of a friend than in the cold ground.”
Ghostly Imaginings: Sexual Repression and Reliable Narratives in Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961) and Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls (1962)
Set in both stunning and imposing locations with tenacious female leads, Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961) and Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls (1962) offer an intimate and highly psychological examination of the female mind whilst ruminating heavily and hauntingly on the age-old themes of sex and death.
“A story so unusual it will burn itself into your mind.”
Verotika versus Rabid ’77
Ladies and gentlemen, in this corner we have the classic 1977 David Cronenberg film, Rabid. In the opposite corner, we have the Glenn Danzig opus, Verotika. Is one a better film than the other? Will the cult classic crush the newcomer or will the Master Misfit cut new horror film ground based on his comic book kingdom?
If you’re like me, your interest in anything Danzig related was piqued the moment it was announced he was working on a movie. Unfortunately, the promise faded with ever passing time…
“Pray it doesn’t happen to you.”
You Ain’t Got to Pull That Blacula Shit With Me. Black Vampires in: Vampire in Brooklyn and Blacula
“You ain’t got to pull that Blacula shit with me.” The line is an attempt to link what seems to be a half-hearted star-vehicle with something else: blaxploitation. By simultaneously comparing Murphy’s ’90s effort with its ’70s predecessor, whilst slyly digging at the older genre’s foibles, the gag it is a somewhat noble, if pithy, effort to give Vampire in Brooklyn more heft.
“Interesting. I’ve been stabbed, and I’ve been hanged, and I’ve been burned. Even broken on the rack once, but I’ve never been shot before. Kind of itches a little!”
Dead 7 (2016, USA)
“Larger than Life!”
Wow, if there ever was a less promising tagline for a zombie Twistern, I can’t recall it. Hopefully, whoever came up with it will work on expanding their creative writing skills. BTW, I know that’s a reference to a Backstreet Boys song, but still. How do I know? Well, I didn’t; I looked it up and I’m choosing to take the word of the Interwebz. It’s right 100% of the time, isn’t it?
“Everybody’s gotta die someday…”
The Vineyard (1989, USA / Canada)
I can’t even begin to discuss 1989’s The Vineyard without first discussing the undisputed talent of James Hong. With a filmography that has spanned over six decades, it is Hong’s portrayal of the legendary sorcerer Lo Pan in John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China (1986) that has become the most iconic. Yet, those of us that have seen Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) will also remember Hong as Hannibal Chew, the genetic (eye) engineer hired by the Tyrell Corporation. That being said, James Hong is truly a force to be reckoned with…
“An island of death fueled by the blood of its victims.”
Cube (1997, Canada)
Directed and co-written by Vincenzo Natali, Cube is a Canadian science fiction horror released in 1997. Significant for being the Canadian Film Centre’s (CFC) first feature film, and Natali’s feature length directional debut, Cube has polarised audiences since release due in part to it’s ‘kafkaesque’ setting; a surreal, industrial cube-shaped design.
Cube is one of the greatest, and unfortunately most underrated horror movies from the 1990s.
