THE BLOB (1958) / THE BLOB (1988) - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

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By the 1950s, sci-fi had taken Hollywood by storm, with all manner of tales involving Man exploring the galaxy, or various intergalactic neighbors swinging down to our neck of the woods for a visit. Meanwhile, juvenile delinquent pics became all the rage following the 1955 smash Rebel Without a Cause. Misunderstood teenagers already flocking to the drive-ins to see their onscreen counterparts and giant monster flicks, so entrepreneur Jack H. Harris hit upon the idea of combining the two elements. The resulting film, THE BLOB (1958), became an instant sensation, making back its modest budget many times over, as well as generating a Top 40 hit on the radio with its catchy title tune, and launching a young upcoming actor, Steve McQueen to superstardom.

MARIO BAVA'S BLACK SABBATH (1963) TURNS 60!!!

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Following the success of Roger Corman’s comic exploration of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven in 1963, Boris Karloff found himself in high demand with American International Pictures. In addition to The Terror, notoriously shot in two days on the Raven’s sets, the horror icon appeared in The Comedy of Terrors for Jacques Tourneur (alongside Raven co-stars Vincent Price and Peter Lorre), and tonight’s selection, the masterful anthology Three Faces of Fear, or, as it was better known for its Stateside release, BLACK SABBATH.

BELGIAN HORROR: LEFT BANK (LINKEROEVER) (2008) and CUB (WELP) (2014)

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Tonight’s double feature takes us across the ocean to Belgium, a land renowned for lace, beer, chocolate, waffles, and a small but notable number of horror titles, including two films we’re going to be discussing tonight: Pieter Van Hees’ LEFT BANK from 2008 and Jonas Govaerts’ CUB (aka WELP) from 2014.

PONTYPOOL (2008) Movie Review Round Table!

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Tonight's selection, PONTYPOOL (2008), celebrating its 15th anniversary, is a fiercely intelligent variation on the “zombie/infected hordes” theme, indelibly anchored by film/TV veteran Stephen McHattie’s charismatic central performance.

1988 DOUBLE FEATURE: DEAD HEAT / NIGHT OF THE DEMONS

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In the heady days of the late 1980s, VHS stores were on every corner, in every strip mall, with new horror films hitting the shelves seemingly every week. Tonight’s episode is entitled THE CLASS OF 1988, even if “class” may not be the first word that springs to mind when describing these two horror/comedy titles. Both enjoyed limited theatrical releases, but by and large, home video was where most fans encountered them for the first time.

THE EXORCIST (1973) 50TH ANNIVERSARY ROUND TABLE

The Exorcist (1973) turns 50 this year. Is it still "the scariest movie ever made"?

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It’s amazing to believe that THE EXORCIST has been in our lives for a half century, because for many fans, it’s hard to imagine the horror landscape without it. Its release in the final days of December 1973 triggered a seismic shift in popular culture and the world has literally never been the same.

KING ON SCREEN (2022) Movie Review

King on Screen (2022) d. Daphne Baiwir (France/Belgium) (105 min)

Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie, first landed on book stands in 1974 and was a relatively modest success. By the time Brian De Palma’s film version hit screens in 1976, King’s follow-up, ’Salem’s Lot had already been published, with The Shining just around the corner. Over the following 45 years, King continued to churn out tome after tome, oftentimes two (or more) in a single year. As of this writing, he has signed his name to 65 novels, over 200 short stories, and five non-fiction books, making him one of the most (if not THE most) successful living authors. It is therefore no surprise that the man’s work has been adapted time and again; over 80 feature films and TV projects (movies, miniseries, series) have their roots in King’s brainwaves, with many of them deemed modern classics.

SISTERS (1973) Movie Review

Sisters (1973) d. Brian De Palma (USA) (93 min)

 

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Following a stint together on a game show called Peeping Toms, aspiring model/actress Danielle (Margot Kidder) and the handsome and chivalrous Philip (Lisle Wilson) strike up a romance and end up back at her apartment. Across the alley, reporter Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt) witnesses a brutal murder through Danielle’s window, but when she arrives with the cops in tow, the body is gone and there is no trace of the crime. Undeterred, Grace hires a private detective (Charles Durning) to help her solve the mystery, which leads her down a twisty, tangled path that may cost her life, her mind, or both.

CREEPSHOW (1982) UHD Blu-ray Review

Creepshow (1982) d. George A. Romero (USA) (120 min)

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“It’s the most fun you’ll have being scared!” So trumpeted the ads for George A. Romero’s CREEPSHOW, a live-action anthology film that echoed the pleasures found within the pages of such E.C. Comics titles as Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear, which pre-dated HBO’s series Tales from the Crypt and Romero’s own Tales from the Darkside, which premiered the following year.

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988) Blu-ray Review

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Tonight we’ll be celebrating the 35th anniversary of one of the true cult hits of home video, KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE. I say home video, because even though it had a brief theatrical release, the hallowed halls of VHS are where most fans initially discovered it and where generations of subsequent aficionados have grown to love it.

THE QUATERMASS LEGACY/HAMMER FILMS

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Tonight, we’re going to be discussing the exploits of the most influential characters from one of the most influential writers, neither of which are talked about nearly as much as one would think: Professor Bernard Quatermass, sprung from the talented pen of British author Nigel Kneale.

FINAL CUT (aka COUPEZ!) (2022) Movie Review

Final Cut (aka Coupez!) (2022) d. Michel Hazanavicius (France) 112 min.

Both a literal and spiritual remake of Shinishiro Ueda’s One Cut of the Dead, Final Cut (aka Coupez!) is a love letter to independent filmmaking and the endless list of wackadoodle compromises that go along with it. Romain Duri plays a French filmmaker who has been given the impossible assignment of shooting a 30-minute zombie movie for live television, meaning it’s all to be recorded in one take. As to be expected, mayhem ensues, but the show must go on, and viewers are given backstage passes to watch it all unfold.

40 YEARS OF SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983)!!

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Join us for a round table discussion celebrating SLEEPAWAY CAMP's 40th anniversary! AC and his intrepid team of happy campers (none of whom blow dead dogs) dive deep into the legacy of Angela, Ricky, Camp Arawak, and THE FINAL MOMENT TO END ALL FINAL MOMENTS.

TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE (1983) TURNS 40!!!

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Tonight we’re going to be entering a dimension of sight, of sound, of mind, as we cross over into The Twilight Zone. From 1959 to 1964, Rod Serling’s groundbreaking anthology television series held sway over the airwaves, dazzling viewers with an array of supernatural morality tales, often served up with a wingding twist ending.

SPOORLOOS (aka THE VANISHING) (1988) Movie Review

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Writer/director George Sluizer's astonishing adaptation of Tim Krabbe's novel The Golden Egg continues to enchant audiences 35 years after it first hit theater screens around the world, spinning a stunning yarn of obsession and the disquieting presence of what we call "evil."

JURASSIC PARK (1993) 30TH ANNIVERSARY EXTRAVAGANZA!!

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When Michael Crichton’s novel JURASSIC PARK debuted in 1990, it read on the page like the greatest Steven Spielberg film that had never been made. Soon afterwards, it was announced that Spielberg would indeed be helming the screen adaptation.

 

When JURASSIC PARK debuted on June 11, 1993, it was an instant smash hit worldwide, the highest grossing film in history up to that point (dethroning Spielberg's own E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial from 1982), basically defining “summertime tentpole event” from that time forward. Tonight, 30 years later, we’ll discuss the original film, and its five, count ‘em FIVE sequels, as well as its enduring place in popular culture.

HOLLYWOOD DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES: THE ROBERT ENGLUND STORY (2022) Movie Review

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Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story (2022) d. Christopher Griffiths / Gary Smart (USA) (130 min)

With over 150 TV and film credits to his name, Robert Englund is the prototypical working actor, but his name will always be synonymous with that of the child murderer Fred Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Horror documentarians Christopher Griffiths and Gary Smart deliver a smart and in-depth view of the man behind the makeup, an artist who thousands of fans have come to regard as one of the few modern day horror icons.

PHENOMENA (aka CREEPERS) (1985) UHD BLU-RAY REVIEW

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Perhaps the only “insect detective” movie out there on the shelves, featuring a very young Jennifer Connelly (released one year before Labyrinth) as the daughter of a famous American movie star sent away to study at an exclusive Swiss girl’s academy, whose students just happen to be falling victim to a homicidal killer. But as this is an Argento movie, things are hardly what they seem.

PLAY DEAD (aka SATAN'S DOG) (1983) / DEVIL DOG: HOUND OF HELL (1978) MOVIE REVIEWS

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Following the worldwide success of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, theaters were flooded with “animals attack” films, featuring everything from terror bears (Grizzly) to killer whales (Orca) to giant rats (Food of the Gods) and even voracious worms (Squirm). Unsurprisingly, there was also a wave of titles featuring crazed carnivorous canines, everything from Dogs (1976), The Pack, Zoltan: Hound of Dracula, and Day of the Animals (all 1977).

THE RINGU COLLECTION BLU-RAY REVIEW

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Ringu (1998) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, so it's a great time to dive into Arrow Video's three-disc box set, packed with all four original Ring films, as well as commentaries, featurettes, interviews, and much more!