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Mini-review: “Brain Dead” (1990)
I was recently drawn to watch “Brain Dead”, a 1990 offering that includes both Bills e.g. Pullman and Paxton. (Together at last!) It was billed as a thriller, but I could tell from the promo material that was like calling “Natural Born Killers” a romcom. I was immediately guarded when the intro credits were rendered…
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Mini-Review: “Nightfall” (1956)
I recently reviewed “Nightwish.” Now I turn to another movie with a nocturnally themed title, this one a film noir feature from the 50s. “Nightfall” is quite entertaining. Aldo Ray, an actor I was unfamiliar with (a quick wiki search reveals he was an incorrigible drunk), plays the classic noir loner who wanders the streets…
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Mini-Review: Nightwish (1989)
The two big questions I had while watching 1989’s Nightwish were “where is the night” (it’s one of those rare horror films that mostly takes place during the day) and “where is the wish”. The night eventually comes, but I never understood what the wish was. The movie starts with an elaborate horror sequence which…
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Mini-Review: “Humanoids of the Deep”
When you watch schlocko-horror cinema, it’s a bit like playing the slots in Vegas. You take a chance with every viewing, hoping you might get a big payoff. With “Humanoids of the Deep” we hit the jackpot. It is fantastic!!! The film starts a bit slow. Fishermen and denizens of a small coastal town start…
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Mini-review of “Necromancer “(1989)
I’ve always been a sucker for revenge stories: tales where a character is wronged and then given a chance to even the odds. This is doubtless driven by my inner desire to seek revenge on the many, many, many people who have wronged me. Oh, how I would love to see them suffer! But in…
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“Fall for Horror” 99 cent book sale (including my novel) runs until Sept 13th.
As autumn approaches, a collection of horror authors, including myself, have gathered to offer their novels and collections at the bare price of 99 cents! This is a good opportunity to stock up on affordable horror ebooks. Click the link below or on the logo for a look at the titles. You’ll see my debut…
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Mini-review of “Mortuary” (1982)
What does one do with a movie like 1982’s “Mortuary”? It’s kind of like an NBC Movie of the Week from the same era albeit with more violence and nudity. (There’s actually a bordering-on-pornographic love scene.) Like those TV projects, “Mortuary” has the same flat camera work, the same dubious plot construction, and the same…
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Mini-review of “The Hitcher”
I first saw “The Hitcher” when it came out in the 80s. As a teenager, it stuck in my brain as a curious film: grim, gritty, nihilistic (though I probably didn’t know the meaning of the word back then. I’m still not totally clear about it.) I rewatched the film a few nights ago as…
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Mini-review of “The Prowler”
There’s an age old truism in reviewing horror movies: an exploding head will always improve a movie by one grade level. So a C becomes a B, a B+ become and A+ and so on. 1981’s The Prowler, which I watched yesterday, has an exploding head, so how does it rank? Pretty high actually, because…
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Mini-review of “House on Haunted Hill”
So I neglected to mention that a couple weeks ago I saw “House on Haunted Hill.” This should not be confused with the Mike Flanagan directed Netflix mini series called “The Haunting of Hill House” from several years ago. (I did watch that as well, and it was good, though I think Flanagan’s “Midnight Mass”…
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The Bait and Switch of Horror Films
After finishing my foray into watching the entire “Friday the 13th” movies, I’ve now delved into the “Saw” films. I saw (ha ha – get it?) the first one when it came out, and then stared in slack-jawed amazement as it wracked up something like ten sequels. I decided there must be something to the…
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The Fear of Strangers (in “Fear” and “Greta”)
If you’re a highly successful horror author loved by millions, it’s good to be aware of the different fears that percolate through the human psyche. Or, if you’re me, an author who’s royalties from today paid for about a third of my cup of coffee (and this is a good day), well, it’s still a…
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Black Mass: Film Noir Classic “Storm Warning” and the Grim Fate of Steve Cochran
Years ago, I developed an interest in film noir movies and viewed many classics of the genre like “Double Indemnity”, “Touch of Evil”, “Notorious” and even neo-noirs like “Chinatown” and Brian De Palma’s “Sisters” (fun and kooky with gorgeous Margo Kidder!) More recently, I’ve been seeking some lesser known noirs and so, a few months…
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Review of 1988 TV remake of “I Saw What You Did”
Some of my first viewings of classic horror movies of the 50s and 60s (I’m talking about flicks like “Them” and “The Blob”) occurred because of a TV show that played on Sunday evenings in Honolulu where I grew up. I can’t remember the program’s name, but it was hosted by a talking skull (that…