Category Archives: Flashback Friday Frights

The Indiana Jones franchise can best be described as a casserole of genres all thrown together. They’re all set decades in the past making them period pieces with mixes of historical drama. They include action-adventure with elements of comedy thrown in sprinkled with some romance. And there are hints of the supernatural, fantasy and horror.Continue reading “‘Temple Of Doom’ Takes Indiana Jones Down Into The Depths Of True Horror”

By the time Tales from the Darkside: The Movie hit theaters in early May of 1990, the anthology show had been off the air for almost two years. So, it’s no surprise that the movie only had a modest success. Much of the series which ran for four years in syndication aired at such oddContinue reading “‘Tales From The Darkside’ Movie Takes TV Show To A Darker Realm”

The best way to describe Vampire’s Kiss, or more to the point, Nicolas Cage’s performance is by paraphasing that line from This is Spinal Tap that it’s a fine line between stupid and clever. Cage is currently playing Dracula in Renfield, which has underperformed both with credits and at the box office. I haven’t seenContinue reading “‘Vampire’s Kiss’ Is Nic Cage’s Masterpiece Of Extreme Overacting”

I have a confession to make. I’ve never seen a single episode of Succession. But I do admire Brian Cox. It’s surprising he was younger than I when he first appeared as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor in the 1986 horror thriller Manhunter. (The mispelling is listed in the credits differently than what Thomas Harris had wroteContinue reading “‘Manhunter’ Inadvertently Started A Horror Franchise Four Decades Ago”

By the time, Once Bitten opened in theaters in mid-November 1985 (two weeks after Halloween for some reason!), Rock Hudson had been dead for about six weeks. The HIV/AIDS crisis had entered into the homes of Middle Americans (aka conservative Christian WASPs). Charlatans like Jerry Falwell was still calling it a plague for gay peopleContinue reading “‘Once Bitten’ An Allgory Of The HIV/AIDS Crisis In The 1980s”

The first Critters movie was a surprise. Despite being considered a rip-off of Gremlins (which it isn’t), the movie about these furry little aliens with a huge appetite who crash land on Earth, was a hit with critics and audiences. Roger Ebert gave it three stars in a positive review and it scored over $13Continue reading “‘Critters 2’ Takes A Bite Out Of Easter”

Warning: This contains spoilers A movie like One Cut of the Dead could easily be one of the best and worst zombie movies depending on how you view it. It begins with a 37-minute long poorly made and filmed movie within in a movie as a low-budget Japanese horror production is plagued by real zombies.Continue reading “‘One Cut Of The Dead’ Is A Zomcom Of Slapstick Madness”

For a while, John Carpenter seemed to be on fire. After a small start in the 1970s with Dark Star and Assault on Precinct 13, he made Halloween in 1978 and spent the next 10 years banging out a movie almost every year, as well as the 1979 Elvis television movie, the first collaboration withContinue reading “‘In The Mouth Of Madness’ Spins A Tale Of Hallucinations, Monsters And Murder”

It’s hard to believe Warwick Davis was just a wee lad when he first appeared as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi. He was 12 during the filming of the movie and went he finally got the lead in Willow, he was only 18. Unfortunately, there weren’t that many roles for dwarves inContinue reading “Warwick Davis Has A Lot Of Electric Boogaloo As Evil Lead In ‘Leprechaun 2’”

Scream VI premieres this weekend in theaters. After the surprisingly well made fifth movie, it seemed that no one but Wes Craven could helm the franchise that rejuvenated the slasher genre in the mid-1990s for better or for worse. And early reviews for the sixth one are very favorable. Craven, along with screenwriter Kevin Williamson,Continue reading “Why ‘Scream 3’ Deserves A Second Chance”