Note: Since June is Pride Month, I’m focusing on horrors/thrillers with a LGBTQIA connection. By the summer of 2000, In Living Color had been off the air for six years. And The Wayans Brothers had been off the air for one year. The last time, Shawn, Marlon and their older brother, Keenan Ivory, had releasedContinue reading “‘Scary Movie’ Slashes Horror Genre”
Category Archives: Flashback Friday Frights
‘The Mummy’ At 25 Still One Helluva Fun-Filled Ride
When The Mummy was released in 1999, I didn’t think much of it. I felt it was trying to hard to be an Indiana Jones-style adventure that didn’t find its right style. However, when I watched The Mummy Returns a few years later, I actually liked the original more because I understood what director StephenContinue reading “‘The Mummy’ At 25 Still One Helluva Fun-Filled Ride”
Why ‘Grindhouse’ Failed (And Maybe That Was Its Intention)
Quentin Tarantino seems to be one of the few directors who almost escapes unscathed whenever he makes a movie. I say “almost” because no one is perfect and even though he can come off as pompous and arrogant, I think Tarantino would say he’s not perfect. For a man who’s won two Oscars for writing,Continue reading “Why ‘Grindhouse’ Failed (And Maybe That Was Its Intention)”
‘The Stand’ Doesn’t Deliver As Well 30 Years Later
The Stand may be Stephen King’s best novel according to all of his fans and critics. The novel was published so early in his career as a published novelist that such a massive book could’ve very easily ended his career if it wasn’t so well-received. Set mostly in an apocalyptic world where a superflu calledContinue reading “‘The Stand’ Doesn’t Deliver As Well 30 Years Later”
‘Dawn’ Good Remake Of Dead Horror Classic Released 20 Years Ago
Twenty years ago when I first saw the commercials for the Dawn of the Dead remake, I groaned. The original by George A. Romero isn’t perfect but its few flaws are easy to dismiss for how great it’s made. Set mostly at a shopping mall in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, it was social commentary onContinue reading “‘Dawn’ Good Remake Of Dead Horror Classic Released 20 Years Ago”
‘Joy Ride’ Is One Helluva Trip
Back in 1971, a young up-and-coming TV director named Steven Spielberg was given the opportunity to direct a TV movie in which Dennis Weaver played a businessman harassed by the driver of a tanker semi on desolate Southwestern highways. The movie was called Duel. There was such critical acclaim for it that the movie thatContinue reading “‘Joy Ride’ Is One Helluva Trip”
‘Lake Placid’ Takes The Plunge
Lake Placid is one of those horror movies where once you’re introduced to the main cast, you can tell that there is no threat to any of them. Normally, that would take some of the thrills out of the plot. But the movie remains one of my guilty pleasures of a creature feature/when nature attacksContinue reading “‘Lake Placid’ Takes The Plunge”
‘Leviathan’ Is A Hodgepodge Of Terror Under The Sea
Picture it, 1989. George H.W. Bush had just been sworn in as President becoming only the second incumbent Vice-President to be elected to the Oval Office. Batman mania was spreading across the nation. The Berlin Wall was going to be torn down by year’s end. And everyone was dancing to “Walk the Dinosaur.” It wasContinue reading “‘Leviathan’ Is A Hodgepodge Of Terror Under The Sea”
‘Sleepwalkers’ Is The Stuff Lucid Dreams Are Made Of
A movie like Sleepwalkers was advertised as the first movie Stephen King had written for the movies that wasn’t based on a previous body of work. And it shows why King is better at writing novels than he is at writing scripts. I don’t know what it is but his scripts aren’t the best. I’mContinue reading “‘Sleepwalkers’ Is The Stuff Lucid Dreams Are Made Of”
‘Heathers’ At 35, How Very
In any market, there can be an oversaturation, which tires the public out. There have been teen movies around for decades. Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello danced on the beach angering the stiff shirts of the time. Then, James Dean and Natalie Woods up the drama on teen angst in Rebel Without a Cause. ButContinue reading “‘Heathers’ At 35, How Very”
Zane Says 