Tales from the Hood (1995)
Pittsburgh born Rusty Cundieff co-wrote and directed this portmanteau film, which takes the structure of an Amicus film and positions it against the problems of African-Americans circa 1995 (sadly, these problems haven’t changed all that much in the past 22 years). During the framing sequence, Welcome to My Mortuary, the drug dealing team of Stack (Joe Torry), […]
Brigsby Bear (2017)
James Pope never left home, content to live with his parents. His only concern in the world is his obsession with a children’s television program titled Brigsby Bear Adventures, writing detailed recaps of the show and debating each episode online with other fans. But what if the world he lives in isn’t reality? James (Kyle Mooney, SNL) […]
The Void (2016)
Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie, who also worked on Manborg, created this ode to all that is wonderful and slimy and bloody and gross about 80’s horror. Seriously, this film feels like a spiritual cousin to Prince of Darkness by way of Halloween 2, with an army of cultists surrounding an understaffed hospital which becomes a gateway to […]
The Monster Squad Challenge!
I placed a challenge to my social media friends: Who would be in your perfect Monster Squad? The rules: You get one of each of the following: a vampire, a Frankenstein’s Monster, a wolfman, a mummy and the creature of your choice (I know there’s an amphibian in the original). You can pick any one […]
Too Beautiful to Die (1988)
I came across this film on YouTube and had no idea what I’d be watching. I’d give it five minutes and then be done with it, I said. And then I realized that the film was nearly over and I’d been quite interested in the proceedings. Life’s funny like that. Written and directed by Dario […]
We Are Still Here (2015)
Anne (Barbara Crampton, Chopping Mall) and Paul are getting over the death of their son Bobby, so they decide to move to quiet, rural New England. But the moment they enter their new house, Anne claims that Bobby is there and Cat, their neighbor, tells them to leave. Turns out that their house was once […]
Abby (1974)
Warner Brothers’ lawyers must have had the best holiday season ever in 1974, thanks to all of the work they were getting shutting down ripoffs of The Exorcist. The success of Abby — $4 million in a month for its distributor, American International Pictures — led to the lawsuit that pulled all prints of the film. That’s probably […]
CHRISTMAS CINEMA: Tales from the Crypt (1972)
To finish out this season of movies, allow me to give you the gift of my favorite film ever. There’s nothing better than a portmanteau and there was no studio better at making them than Amicus. This is a monument to that studio, their main director Freddie Francis and British horror royalty Peter Cushing all in […]
CHRISTMAS CINEMA: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
This is the absolute bottom of the holiday barrel, a trip through hell that one can never prepare themselves for. You think you’ve known pain? You’ve known nothing, to quote Samhain. On Mars, Momar and Kimar are worried that their children, Girmar (Pia Zadora, who also sang the horrifying song “Hooray for Santa Claus,” but let’s forgive […]
CHRISTMAS CINEMA: Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
At one point in this movie, Santa Claus gets shoved down by Billy, our hero, and he yells, “What the hell is wrong with that kid?” And I yelled in defense, “Santa raped his mom, you fucking asshole!” Merry Christmas, everyone, it’s time to descend into the absolute nadir of scummy movies and watch something […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.