In my career as a horror journalist, I’ve spent a good deal of time writing about grindhouse movies—what they were, what they weren’t, and what contemporary films aping the style get it right and which are simply pedestrian imitations of what filmmakers think a grindhouse movie was. For the uninitiated, grindhouse films were a peculiar subgenre that cropped up between the 1960s and 1980s, aimed nominally towards those who frequented the theaters along 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York. Most often horror oriented but also including dark dramas, action movies, and straight-up smut flicks, they were loud, nasty, violent, and amoral—gritty tales with their roots in the pulp magazines of the 40s and 50s, catering to the audience’s basest desires and most misanthropic beliefs.
Read MoreThe Witch (2016)
Once in a while, a horror film comes along that transcends both the genre and audience expectations to become not just a classic fright flick, but a classic in its' own right. The Shining. Rosemary's Baby.
Read MoreThe Visit (2015)
Why hasn't anyone done this before? Grandparents are the killers. It just makes sense, and with M. Night at the helm, the concept is simple and weird enough to actually work.
Read MoreManiac! (1977) #RetroReview
Anyone and everyone who’s ever browsed a DVD section knows about the mockbuster: The ultra-low budget, dubiously constructed ripoff of whatever is big at the movies at a given moment. In the wake of Snakes on a Plane there was Snakes on a Train; when Transformers hit big screens, Transmorphers hit the Redbox. For hardcore aficionados of the rental store or the bargain bin, they’re sort of the comic relief for long, dry, browsing periods, something to give you a chuckle when you’ve grown frustrated that the special-edition Blu-ray 25th Anniversary widescreen edition of Hellraiser really is out of stock.
Read MoreJurassic World (2015)
A couple of decades after the events of Jurassic Park, the world has inexplicably grown bored with the concept of dinosaurs in a theme park. Having seen attendance steadily decline over the last ten years, the park’s operators create a bigger, badder dinosaur in hopes of reinvigorating public interest and increasing revenues. Almost immediately, however, the dinosaur poop hits the fan and potential repeat customers start dying off.
Read MoreRoad to Paloma (2014)
Let me be the first to say that I don't know shit about motorcycles. Hell, I don't know shit about most vehicles. That being said, there's always been something about the rumble of a wheeled machine that's fascinated me.
Read MoreGreyhawk (2014)
Greyhawk is one of those movies where something happens, then a bunch of other stuff happens and then it ends just the way it started. While normally I wouldn't be too fond of this formula there is still something that can be said about this one. The movie opens up with a man and a woman getting dressed.
Read MoreHome Sweet Hell (2015)
You know what? Home Sweet Hell pissed me off. The name alone is annoying.
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