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28 Days Later…:Not Zombies but Better
Within the first minute, 28 Days Later makes its point. The first scenes of extreme violence are not caused by a virus, plague, or infection. It’s normal, human-on-human violence, the kind we see every day on the news or online. Zombie and zombie-adjacent movies are so often used as commentary on the extreme situations that…
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Vampire Hunter D: Retro Review
I watched Vampire Hunter D as a young teen and it shaped a lot of my anime preferences. They released it in the US around 1992, so I’d guess I first saw it in 1993. While I’m still not sure all the media I consumed as a kid was age-appropriate, rewatching D as an adult…
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Death Parade: Retro Review
For an anime that examines the brutal reality of the afterlife, Death Parade has the catchiest opening. So much so that it’s been stuck in my head since the anime originally aired in 2015, as have the questions and themes the series raises about humanity, judgement, and empathy. The first episode focuses on the setting,…
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The Blob (1958): Maybe the Kids Were Right
Lately, I’ve been in the mood for classic horror, and it doesn’t get much more retro than The Blob. From the campy opening theme, to the fear of things from beyond, and the focus on youth, The Blob is a perfect sci-fi/horror time capsule. But how well does this 66-year-old vintage film hold up? Production History: Originally titled “The Molten…
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Blacula: Revisiting a Legend
Released in 1972, Blacula was my first experience with Black horror, horror written and/or directed by Black people from their perspective. Directed by William Crain, the lasting impression that this movie leaves is largely due to his influence. Most avid film watchers have a moment when they encounter a movie that, regardless of how they feel about it, they…
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The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh: Happy Giallo-Days #3
The Giallo-days continue with one of my favorite leading ladies, Edwige Fenech, in The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh; the “h” was added after a lawsuit from a deeply offended, real life Mrs. Ward. In this week’s movie, a sex fiend is killing women in Vienna, while an unfaithful diplomat’s wife becomes more unbalanced due…
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Happy Friday the 13th: Jason Lives Retro Review
Friday the 13th has long been a nostalgic favorite for me. I have an older brother, close in age, so as we grew up, we tended to split things. For example, we both were into Star Wars; he got Luke-themed things, it was Darth Vader for me. Yes, Leia would have made more sense, but…
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Bird with Crystal Plumage: Happy Giallo-Days #2
Today, we are celebrating with the directorial debut of Dario Argento and the first widely acclaimed and financially successful Giallo: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Plenty of Giallo were released between The Girl who Knew Too Much and Argento’s entry into the genre. Why did Bird resonate with audiences when earlier films failed to?…
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YuYu Hakusho: Retro Review #4
I’m not sure why I put off watching YuYu Hakusho for so long. It’s one of the best-selling manga of all time, and the ratings of the anime was just below that of Dragonball Z. It’s not some obscure hidden gem. However, my first encounter with it’s creator, Yoshihiro Togashi was Hunter x Hunter, his…
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Retro Review #2 : Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden
After starting You Are Ms. Servant this season, and finding it delightfully sweet so far, I was in the mood for maid-inspired mayhem and had heard good things about Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden, so I thought I’d give it a try. Even with my limited exposure to Ms. Servant, I have a hard time comparing the two, not that that’s entirely a bad…