Another year, another Batman reboot. I kid, of course. It’s been five years since we’ve seen the Bat on the big screen, with Ben Affleck’s version appearing in the disastrous 2017 Justice League movie that I think we’d all just like to forget. Since that particular outing left a bad taste in the mouth (and with previous appearances not faring much better), it’s safe to … Continue reading Darkness, Hope, and ‘The Batman’
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is… a mess. In 1974, with the release of Tobe Hooper’s now-classic original entry, the series hit the ground running stronger than pretty much any of its contemporaries, save maybe John Carpenter’s OG Halloween. Yet despite this strong start, and the status of its mascot killer Leatherface as a genuine pop culture icon, the Texas Chainsaw sequels have crashed and … Continue reading Someone Please Just Put ‘Texas Chainsaw’ Out of Its Misery
I will defend Nicholas Cage until my dying breath. Sure, he’s a little eccentric. And okay yes, maybe he doesn’t exactly always make the smartest career choices. There’s The Wicker Man, of course. And Ghost Rider. Knowing. The second Ghost Rider. You get the idea. Some real stinkers. And sadly, because of that, there seems to be a consensus within the public, pop-culture consciousness that … Continue reading ‘Pig,’ and Why We Should All Worship the Ground Nic Cage Walks On
Meta commentary is, for better or for worse, everywhere in film these days. Movies are increasingly self-aware, self-referential, and self-deprecating, to varying degrees of success. When done well, a movie written in this fashion can be witty and intelligent, savvy in its own genre tropes enough to lampshade and subvert them. When done poorly, however, a movie that tries too hard to be cleverer than … Continue reading ‘Scream’ is the Best ‘Scream’ Since ‘Scream’
Ouija is a godawful movie. And this is coming from a guy that likes most of the Leprechaun films. Trying to cash in on the Ouija board IP that Hasbro currently holds trademark over isn’t an inherently and idea. In fact, the Ouija board as a piece of horror iconography is so ingrained in the spirit of the supernatural that, frankly, it’s a no-brainer. And … Continue reading How ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’ Taught Me to Never Count a Franchise Out Too Soon
Stephen King is perhaps the most prolific and pop-culture-influencing author alive today, particularly within the horror genre. No one else has produced as many iconic, fan-favorite scary stories as the Maine native has throughout his decades-long career. From Carrie all the way up through to The Outsider, King has been steadily cranking out gruesome hits since the early 1970s, and shows no signs of stopping … Continue reading ‘Maximum Overdrive’: Stephen King’s Brain on Drugs
I hate H.P. Lovecraft. Sure, I love the meme-ry of his work in pop culture, all the references to Cthulu, Elder Gods, and Old Ones, all that fun stuff. I know the Shoggoths and the city of R’lyeh, and I’m pretty well-versed in all the horrors of Dunwich and the madness in the mountains. But man, his writing is just… no fun. At all. Lovecraft … Continue reading ‘Re-Animator:’ Lovecraftian Horror in it’s Most Delicious, Digestible Form
It’s a fun experience, revisiting a film you haven’t seen in a long time. Especially one that you haven’t seen since you were younger. When you’re a kid, everything seems to hit harder. Comedy is funnier, horror is scarier, you get the full range of emotions in a much stronger way than I think we do as adults. Granted, we’re also idiots at that age, … Continue reading ‘The Strangers:’ Why a Consistent Atmosphere Matters
Try to think of a goofier monster than Bigfoot. I dare you. Despite being a mysterious, enigmatic cryptid, a creature that could possibly really exist somewhere out there in the forests of the American Pacific northwest, it’s been pretty much rendered a hokey joke by pop culture. The name Sasquatch doesn’t so much conjure the image of an elusive, majestic mythological beast so much as … Continue reading Willow Creek, and the Dangers of Finding Bigfoot
I used to hate westerns. My great-grandfather was obsessed with them, and as I kid I never understood why. They bored me to tears. It seemed like every single film in the genre had the exact same plot, the exact same characters, and the exact same showdown at the climax. To younger me, if it didn’t have lasers, aliens, or explosions, then it wasn’t worth … Continue reading It’s Cowboys vs Cannibals in ‘Bone Tomahawk’
The Blogger Under the Stairs 