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 MoreGun Woman (2014) #BluRay
I’ve long lamented the dilution of the term “grindhouse” in the modern horror era. Thanks to the rampant reissuing of a very specific type of grindhouse film, modern filmmakers have come to the conclusion that everything showcased on 42nd Street was an over-the-top, endless bloodbath filled with gallows humor and devoid of any subtext, resulting in a slew of modern “grindhouse” movies built on precisely that formula. Thankfully, we have filmmakers like Kurando Mitsutake, whose Gun Woman—available from Scream Factory on Blu-ray—may be one of the finest true grindhouse offerings of the decade.
Read MoreThe Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985) #BluRay
When someone with a resume like Christopher Lee is able to single out one of his films as being among the worst, you know you’ve got to take a look. Such is the case with 1985’s The Howling II, out from Scream Factory on Blu-ray. After reporter Karen White turns into a werewolf on live television, her brother Ben and coworker Jenny are contacted by Crosscoe, a sort of werewolf Van Helsing, who tells them that Karen’s transformation has cosmic implications.
Read MoreToolbox Murders 2 (2013) #BluRay
The saying goes “Ask and ye shall receive.” Toolbox Murders 2, out on Blu-ray from Scream Factory, woefully demonstrates that, unfortunately, sometimes you’ll receive even if you don’t ask. A re-imagining of the 70s proto-slasher, 2004’s Toolbox was perhaps one of the biggest disappointments of that decade, due to the unforeseen budget crunch that crippled it mid-production.
Read MoreThe Guardian (1990) #BluRay
Sometimes, lightning strikes twice. It happened for Coppola with Godfather I and II; it happened for James Cameron with Terminator I and II. For Martin Scorsese, it’s happened so many times that he spends his off-season working as an electrical conductor for Yellowstone.
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 MoreBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Trailer (2015)
It had to happen. The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer has now leaked online in its entirety, and while it is cam quality, you won't struggle to see Superman, Bruce Wayne, or the Batmobile. I think I'll let the trailer speak for itself this time, but I will say that its definitely effective.
Read MoreSleepaway Camp (1983) #BluRay
At their heart, the best horror movies aren’t really horror movies at all. It may sound like an odd assessment, but, even a cursory glance of the classics of the genre will turn up films that are, both literally and figuratively, about child abuse and neglect, infidelity and betrayal, post-traumatic stress disorder, the urban/rural culture clash, and the role of violent media in modern society. Horror is merely the medium in which these unsavory topics can be openly addressed and discussed; there’s only so much that polite society wants to acknowledge about itself, at least within the confines of normal, everyday, human interactions.
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