Category Archives: Flashback Friday Frights

Some directors have one movie that they can’t seem to break free of. When he was planning to do a music video for “Thriller,” Michael Jackson seeked out John Landis following the success of An American Werewolf in London. Jackson hadn’t seen The Blues Brothers, National Lampoon’s Animal House or Kentucky Fried Movie, his previousContinue reading “‘Innocent Blood’ French Vampire Hunting Mafia Goons? Fuggetaboutit!”

By the time The Silence of the Lambs hit theaters in mid-February of 1991, horror movies had pretty much been reduced to the bottom of the barrel. Thanks to the, for lack of a better word, overkill of slasher movies in the 1980s, it seemed most horror movies were just pure schlock. They would featureContinue reading “How ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’ Saved Horror And Shook Up The Oscars”

Caligula is a horror movie. It’s a lot of things, but good is not one of them. It’s pornography and by that I mean, it’s the textbook definition. I’m not talking about all the scenes of nudity or unsimulated sexual scenes are meant to be arousing. It’s the definition of pornography as having no artisticContinue reading “‘Caligula’ A Pornographic Biopic Of Epic Awfulness, Filth And Horror”

The original 1981 My Bloody Valentine is a slasher that is so notorious for pushing the envelope, rumors have persisted for decades that some original footage that had to cut is lost forever. To capitalize on the slasher craze as movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th had become popular, Canadian movie producers scooped upContinue reading “‘My Bloody Valentine’ Original Is For Those Who Have A Love For Slashers”

They say the best way to criticize a movie is to make a better movie. No one was calling for a remake of the 1981 horror/slasher classic My Bloody Valentine. But as the old saying goes, “What’s old is new again.” The 3-D format had become popular again around the end of the 2000s andContinue reading “‘Bloody’ Good Remake Of Valentine Horror/Slasher Classic”

Every now and again, a movie is made for a perculiar reason. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was made by the Quaker Oats Company because they had obtained the rights to the use of Willy Wonka for a candybar line. As it turned out, the candybars melted too quickly and the line flopped. ButContinue reading “‘Transylvania 6-5000’ May Not Be The Best To Phone Home About”

Clint Eastwood’s Lothario ways have been known throughout Hollywood for years. The fact that he worked as a lifeguard at Fort Ord when he was in the Army just adds to his manly man tough attitude that he portrayed on screen early in his career. He appeared as The Man With No Name in SergioContinue reading “Eastwood’s Directorial Debut ‘Play Misty For Me’ Still Great Decades Later”

There’s a golden rule in franchises – you never stray from the formula, even though the Friday the 13th franchise did that almost when it started. To continue, I’m going to warn you all that this post has many spoilers, so don’t read any further if you haven’t seen any or all movies in theContinue reading “‘Friday The 13th’ Attempted ‘A New Beginning’ But Did It Fail?”

By now, people like Danny Boyle, Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston are all household names. But 30 years ago during the height of the independent movie’s golden era, they made Shallow Grave, a psychological thriller/black comedy that is most impressive when you consider all that had to be done to complete funding. When the movieContinue reading “‘Shallow Grave’ Exposes 1990s Generation X Nihilism In Films”

Terror Train was the third horror movie released in 1980 featuring Jamie Lee Curtis solidifying her stature as a scream queen. About 90 percent of the movie is set on a train that has been rented by a college fraternity who attend a college in the Midwest but soon find out there is a killerContinue reading “‘Terror Train’ Makes New Year’s Evil And Deadly For College Kids”