45 Years of THE EVIL DEAD: How Sam Raimi Redefined Independent Horror

THE EVIL DEAD (1981) d. Sam Raimi (USA)
EVIL DEAD II (1987) d. Sam Raimi (USA)
ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992) d. Sam Raimi (USA)
EVIL DEAD (2013) d. Fede Alvarez (USA)
EVIL DEAD RISE (2023) d. Lee Cronin (USA)

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Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise is a cornerstone of independent horror cinema, redefining what low-budget filmmaking could achieve. Beginning with The Evil Dead (1981), Raimi combined raw ingenuity, kinetic camerawork, and extreme gore to create a relentlessly inventive horror film that left a lasting impact on the genre. Shot on a shoestring budget with collaborators including star Bruce Campbell, the film’s manic energy and iconic “unseen force” camera movements distinguished it from the slower horror of the late 1970s.

THE THING (1951) vs. THE THING (1982) - Cold War Classic to Cosmic Horror Masterpiece

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) d. Christian Nyby (USA)
THE THING (1982) d. John Carpenter (USA)
THE THING (2011) d. Matthijs van Heijningen (USA)

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This week, we’re discussing Howard Hawks’ The Thing from Another World (1951) and John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), two science-fiction horror films that, despite sharing a source in John W. Campbell Jr.’s novella Who Goes There?, reflect very different eras in filmmaking and cultural anxiety and both represent landmark moments in genre cinema.

THE HOUSE WITH LAUGHING WINDOWS– 50 Years of Pupi Avati’s Italian Horror Masterpiece

THE HOUSE WITH LAUGHING WINDOWS (1976) d. Pupi Avati (Italy)

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Pupi Avati’s The House with Laughing Windows (1976) is one of the most quietly unsettling films in the history of Italian horror, a slow-burn nightmare that lingers long after its final moments. Set in the foggy, insular villages of rural Emilia-Romagna, the film follows Stefano, a young restorer hired to repair a disturbing fresco depicting the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. As Stefano settles into the community, he begins to sense that the artwork - and the people surrounding it - are tied to something deeply wrong.

THE BEST HORROR MOVIES OF 2025!! (and the ones we’re still fighting about)

We’re breaking down the best horror movies of 2025, from mainstream hits to indie standouts—and arguing about which ones actually deserve the title.

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AC joins his Streaming and Screaming co-hosts Chad the Bird and Lucy Ba'al as they count down their favorite fright flicks of 2025!



00:00 Episode Intro
03:40 Final Destinations: Bloodlines
07:55 The Ugly Stepsister
10:26 The Monkey
14:19 28 Years Later
23:38 El Conde
24:34 Bring Her Back
27:54 The Long Walk
33:22 Weapons
37:28 Good Boy
38:49 Sinners
44:57 The Rule of Jenny Pen
47:14 V/H/S/Halloween (part 1)
48:50 Clown in a Cornfield
50:11 V/H/S/Halloween (part 2)
54:06 Companion
54:21 Heart Eyes
55:02 Chad's Honorable Mentions
56:10 Together
57:30 AC's Honorable Mentions
1:00:16 Lucy's Honorable Mentions
1:03:20 Toxic Avenger remake
1:05:09 Deathstalker
1:05:35 Hell of a Summer
1:07:12 Frankenstein (GdT)
1:08:12 Jurassic World: Rebirth
1:08:59 Creep 2 / Creep Tapes / Ash vs. Evil Dead
1:10:05 The Mortuary Collection
1:10:42 That Came Out This Year?
1:14:58 AC's Netflix Catch-up
1:17:11 Final Thoughts

Civilian 2025 Wrap-Up and Year-End Stats!

And we’re back!

Having addressed the horror genre in a previous entry (hey, this is HORROR 101 after all), it’s now time to give the Civilian flicks a moment in the sun.

FOR PREVIOUS YEARS' RECAPS, CLICK HERE

Since my attentions remained focused primarily on the H101 YouTube channel throughout the year, that didn’t leave a ton of extra time. So, I watched my SAG-nominated films, enjoyed some random comfort food entries, and tried to stay abreast of the biggest and the brightest, but with only 20 of my 83 non-horror titles released in the last two years, I can’t say I’m all that well-informed outside the genre for 2025's output.

That said, let’s get on with the business at hand! As always, all the non-horror titles listed below were encountered for the first time from January 1 to December 31, 2025 (i.e. no repeat viewings were eligible), and there is the usual collection of random trends that appeared organically or by design. For example, I think it's fun - and a little surprising - that my top three most-watched directors this year were not technically horror directors! You just never know where these flights of fancy will take you. Hope you enjoy the read.

Stay strong, stay safe, stay tuned!

EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960) – The French Horror Classic Turns 65!!

EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960) d. Georges Franju (France)

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This week, we’re talking about a yet another haunting horror landmark from 1960, Georges Franju’s Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux sans visage). Adapted from the 1959 novel by Jean Redon, Franju and his vaunted team of collaborators transform the pulp thriller material into something strangely lyrical and tragic, resulting in a bona-fide art-horror classic.

REST IN PEACE - LAWRENCE P. RAFFEL & DOUG LONG

The HORROR 101 with Dr AC family lost a couple of cherished members this past year. Lawrence P. Raffel and Doug Long were excellent horror fans and incredible human beings. Both appeared on multiple episodes over the last few years and I'm sorry they never got to cross paths, although given their distinct loves of specific types of horror, that doesn't seem too surprising. Lawrence erred toward stranger, obscure Euro-horror titles whereas Doug loved the Hollywood classics of yesteryear. Not to say they didn't both appreciate a wide breadth of the genre, but those were the two areas they kept returning to time and again.

Dr. AC's 2025 Horror Wrap-Up Extravaganza!

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM

Howdy, folks,

I don’t know about you, but the only way I kept semi-sane this year with all of the madness going on outside our door (literally in some cases, living in Chicago) was to keep going back to the movies and spending time with like-minded people discussing them. If you’re reading this, that likely means you, and I’m thankful for your company. In a world as divisive as this one, we have to look for the common ground, and if that means we both like the same kinds of movies, that’s a start. (To be clear, it’s only a start and if that’s where our common ground ends, we’d probably better part ways now, because if we can’t agree on basic human rights and needs, then we have a problem.)

The HORROR 101 YouTube channel continues to chug along in its third year, and I’m really proud of the fact that we delivered 52 weeks of classic horror conversations, faithfully launched at 7:30pm CST every single Friday. Whether I was out of town or deeply involved in other projects or juggling everyone's schedules and time zones, the Friday Night Frights were something people could rely on in this wacky world. Special thanks to the over 100 participants who engaged in 2025’s horror chats, pounding our way through endless sequels, deeper cuts, special features, research books, documentaries, and in some cases, going back to the source. Prepping for their respective panels, I read the original novels for Psycho, Misery, The Shining, Clown in a Cornfield, The Midwich Cuckoos (Village of the Damned), Jaws, Jack Ketchum’s Red, and The Stepford Wives, which is more fiction than I’ve read in over a decade. I’m looking forward to continuing this trend into the future!

CLICK HERE FOR PREVIOUS YEARS' RECAPS

MAD LOVE (1935) at 90 | Peter Lorre Gives Colin Clive a Hand... or Two!!

MAD LOVE (1935) d. Karl Freund (USA)

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Based on Maurice Renard’s 1920 French serialized novel The Hands of Orlac, in which the hands of a murderer are transplanted onto an injured concert pianist, Mad Love is remembered above all for Peter Lorre’s stunning performance as Dr. Gogol, a brilliant surgeon driven mad by obsessive love.

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959) Blu-ray Review

House on Haunted Hill (1959) d. William Castle (USA) (75 min)

This classic fright-fest frivolity from producer/director Castle stars Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Frederick Loren, offering $10,000 to five diverse guests if they can spend the entire night in the titular haunted house; thrills and chills ensue.

Castle has never been more adept at creating straight-faced spooky atmosphere, and Robb White’s snaky screenplay provides characters and mystery adequate to hold our attention through the film’s zippy running time. Doors creak open and slam shut, decapitated heads appear and disappear, and vats of acid bubble deliciously in the cellar, with a wonderfully cheesy skeleton topping off the delightful buffet.

THE RED HOUSE (1947) Blu-ray Review

The Red House (1947) d. Delmer Daves (USA) (100 min)

Pete Morgan (Edward G. Robinson), a struggling one-legged farmer who dotes on his adopted daughter Meg (Allene Roberts) to the point of smothering her, and while he grants her wish to have a schoolmate Nath (Lon McCallister) come over and help out with chores, it’s clear that he’s aware of her more-than-friendly feelings toward the lad. Luckily, he’s dating the local hottie Tibby (Julie London), so there’s less to fear, but when Nath insists on taking a shortcut through Pete’s backwoods property, we realize that the patriarch has some serious hangups about the woods and the secrets hidden therein. (No surprise, they include a certain red house.)

HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS OF HORROR COLLECTION Blu-ray Review

After Universal exploded the box office not once but twice in 1931, with Dracula and Frankenstein, other movie studios wanted in on the action. And while none of these developed the same identity as Universal, horror fans were graced with a number of classic efforts that endure to this day. The good folks at Warner Archives have recently assembled a collection of six titles under the Warner/MGM banner, all lovingly restored and ready for rediscovery by enthusiasts everywhere! The Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection features Doctor X (1932), The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), Mad Love (1935), Mark of the Vampire (1935), The Devil-Doll (1936), and The Return of Doctor X (1939), all on Blu-ray with each film given the star treatment via audio commentary tracks and special documentary features, as well as an assortment of WB cartoons to help set the Saturday matinee mood.

THE DAY OF THE BEAST (1995): Alex de la Iglesia’s Groundbreaking Satanic Horror Comedy

THE DAY OF THE BEAST (El Dia de la Bestia) (1995) d. Alex de la Iglesia (Spain)

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Father Ángel (Alex Angulo) believes he has decoded the Book of Revelation and discovered that the Antichrist will be born in Madrid on Christmas Eve, 1995. Convinced that committing evil acts will help him commune with Satan and locate the child, Ángel does his best to descend into moral chaos, with hilariously mixed results.

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, DEVIL'S REJECTS & 3 FROM HELL: Rob Zombie’s Firefly Trilogy

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (2003) d. Rob Zombie (USA)
THE DEVIL'S REJECTS (2005) d. Rob Zombie (USA)
3 FROM HELL (2019) d. Rob Zombie (USA)

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Tonight we’re discussing writer/director Rob Zombie and his most beloved onscreen creation: The Firefly Family Trilogy, one of the most controversial and influential horror sagas of the 2000s. From the grindhouse chaos of House of 1000 Corpses (2003) to the brutal outlaw horror of The Devil’s Rejects (2005), and the divisive return of the Fireflies in 3 From Hell (2019).

35 Years of JACOB'S LADDER (1990): The Meaning Behind the Madness

JACOB'S LADDER (1990) d. Adrian Lyne (USA)

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Jacob’s Ladder follows Vietnam veteran Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins), who begins experiencing terrifying hallucinations and fragmented memories years after returning home from combat. As his visions intensify, Jacob uncovers hints of a possible government experiment linked to his unit. Reconnecting with his surviving comrades, his search for answers forces him to confront the trauma of his past, struggling to maintain stability and sanity in a world that seems to be crumbling around him.

THE REFLECTING SKIN, BABY BLOOD, & SINGAPORE SLING: Forgotten Horror Gems of 1990

THE REFLECTING SKIN (1990) d. Philip Ridley (UK)
BABY BLOOD (1990) d. Alain Robak (France)
SINGAPORE SLING (1990) d. Nikos Nikolaidis (Greece)

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After the excesses of the 1980s, the horror genre struggled to redefine itself, leaving the door open for a handful of international auteurs to collectively veer off the well-lit path, and plunge into something stranger, darker, and defiantly uncommercial. The year was 1990, and the filmmakers in question were less interested in cheap thrills and more committed to unsettling viewers on a deeper, more lingering level. Tonight, we’re celebrating the 35th anniversary of three such releases, Baby Blood, The Reflecting Skin, and Singapore Sling, movies that remain essential viewing for the modern horror fan who craves something bold, transgressive, and artfully off-kilter.

 

SANTO Y BLUE DEMON CONTRA LOS MONSTRUOS (1970) | The Wildest Lucha Libre Horror Movie Ever?

SANTO Y BLUE DEMON CONTRA LOS MONSTRUOS (1970) d. Gilberto Martínez Solares (Mexico)

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In 1970, Mexican cinema delivered one of its most delightfully chaotic spectacles with Santo y Blue Demon Contra Los Monstruos, a film that perfectly captures the wild, genre-blending energy of the lucha libre boom. Starring two of Mexico’s most iconic masked wrestlers, El Santo and Blue Demon, the movie drops its legendary heroes into a plot that’s equal parts classic horror, sci-fi pulp, and pure wrestling fantasy. It’s a world where monsters roam freely, mad scientists hatch improbable schemes, and every problem can be solved with a well-timed flying drop-kick.

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) 4K Blu-ray Review

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) d. Terence Fisher (UK)

Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), imprisoned and awaiting judgment, recounts to the local priest the dark path that led him to his fate. A brilliant, driven, amoral young scientist, Victor is obsessed with mastering life and death. With the reluctant assistance of his former mentor Paul (Robert Urquhart), he assembles a living creature from stolen body parts, convinced he is on the verge of a world-changing breakthrough. As Victor’s quest comes closer to fruition, his fiancée Elizabeth (Hazel Court) senses a disturbing shift in him, while the duplicitous maid Justine (Valerie Gaunt) grows increasingly frustrated with Victor’s waning attentions. Paul desperately tries to pull Victor back from the brink, but the reanimated being (Christopher Lee) proves far more dangerous and unpredictable than anyone could have expected.

CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980): The Most Controversial Found-Footage Movie Ever Made!

CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) d. Ruggero Deodato (Italy)

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Despite its reputation as one of the most controversial exploitation films ever made, Italian director Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust (1980) occupies an unexpectedly important place in cinema history. Its blend of documentary aesthetics, media-critique, and staged “found footage,” anticipated techniques that would later become mainstream, showing up in everything from reality television to modern horror franchises.

HAMMER IN 1960: BRIDES OF DRACULA, TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL, HELL IS A CITY, AND MORE!!

BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) d. Terence Fisher (UK)
THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL (1960) d. Terence Fisher (UK)
NEVER TAKE SWEETS FROM A STRANGER (1960) d. Cyril Frankel (UK)
HELL IS A CITY (1960) d. Val Guest (UK)

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Celebrated for its distinctive brand of horror and suspense, Hammer Films has left an indelible mark on British cinema and influencing filmmakers around the world. The year 1960 was especially significant for Hammer, as it was a time when the studio was solidifying its identity as a horror juggernaut, but also experimenting with genres, and pushing the boundaries of storytelling, atmosphere, and visual style. Tonight, we’ll focus on four films from that year: Brides of Dracula, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, and Hell is a City. Each representing a different facet of Hammer’s evolving approach, from Gothic horror and psychological thrillers to socially conscious drama and gritty crime narratives.