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Blood Fest: This Was Better the First Time
Blood Fest is one of my favorite concepts: horror fans are caught in a deadly live action haunt where the actors are trying to kill the attendees. The set-up for this horror comedy does so much right. I even enjoyed it the first time I watched it. So how does a movie with so much…
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Fear Street Trilogy: Nostalgia Fueled Teen Horror
Okay, I’ll admit, I didn’t read the Fear Street books as a teen. Although I was aware of R. L Stine’s famous series, my friends and I were more fans of Christopher Pike. Pre-teen loyalty runs strong, no matter if you’re talking about boy bands or YA Horror writers. My interest in the Netflix trilogy…
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The Slasher M.O.: Why Kills Matter
H3 (Horror Hating Husband) asked me the other day why it mattered if in a slasher movie the kills happened mostly off screen. He was genuinely interested, and it got me thinking about all the different reasons why we want to see killers kill. Like everything with entertainment why we love what we love is complex. Impact for…
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Sinners: Real Elevated Horror
With Sinners, Ryan Coogler proves you don’t have to reinvent a classic monster to make it compelling. All you need to do is surround it with a stellar story, cast, and themes. Oh, and a breathtakingly gorgeous soundtrack doesn’t hurt either. Sinners has all these elements and more. So much so that it’s one of the few movies that…
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Silver Bullet: Underrated or Past its Prime
Silver Bullet is one of the less frequently discussed Stephen King adaptations. It’s also one of my favorite stories from him. In 1983, Stephen King released a novella illustrated by Bernie Wrightson called Cycle of the Werewolf. It was a different format from King, combining short stories revolving around a small town dealing with werewolf preying on its residents…
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I Know What You Did Last Summer: Pretty People in Peril.
I feel a certain sense of loyalty to I Know What You Did Last Summer; after all, much of it was filmed in my current home state. While there are quite a few horror movies that filmed scenes in the area—some of those locations I’ve visited already—I Know What You Did Last Summer takes place in a…
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Jason and Friday the 13th: Loving the Imperfect
Friday the 13th is my favorite slasher franchise. It’s the perfect combination of homemade horror and nostalgia. For reasons I can’t fully remember, Freddy was my older brother’s favorite movie monster. Since I’m the little sister, I had to pick a different killer. 10-year-old me went with Jason. A choice I’ve stuck with for over 30 years.…
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Go Away: A Slasher Made with Love
I met some of the team behind Go Away at Mad Monster Party. Slasher 15 specializes in a homegrown brand of slasher-based, horror comedy. They were fantastic to talk to and what they’ve accomplished with their micro-budget productions is impressive. I’ve written before about how I fully admit to having different standards for reviewing true indie horror and Go…
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Werewolves: How Bad Could It Be
I’ll admit, I had heard not-so-glowing reviews of Werewolves before renting it. Then I saw Lou Diamond Phillips was in it and hit the “rent now” button anyway. Nostalgia is a hell of a thing. It’s always interesting watching a movie that others have been so hard on. Most of the time I can find something to love,…
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April Fool’s Day: The Slasher That Isn’t
On paper, April Fool’s Day seems like a fantastic idea. It’s an early deconstruction of the slasher genre inspired by Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”. While the murders and motivation may be different, the movie does focus on a group trapped on an island only accessible by ferry. Where it falls apart is in the final moments…