With the fate of the movie series still up in the air, the likelihood of “Friday the 13th” fans getting a new film within the next three years seems like pipe dreams. The fan community has managed to keep the franchise alive, though, including Vincente DiSanti. After his incredibly popular 2017 fan film “Never Hike Alone,” DiSanti continues his take on the series, this time giving fans what we’ve been asking for, since “The New Blood”: Jason Voorhees slashing his way through the snowy terrain of Crystal Lake.
Tag Archives: Action
Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo! (2020)
Who better to celebrate Halloween than the Scooby Gang? “Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo!” is the thirty first animated movie in the long running franchise. It’s a long running franchise that, to its credit, doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. This installment is firmly a Halloween oriented movie, revolving around the idea of fear, and Velma trying to ignore her emotional response to fear in favor of rationality. What she ultimately comes to realize is that fear can be a good thing; it can even help us survive in perilous situations.
Five Favorite Monster Movies of the 1990’s
Thirty years later and “Tremors” has become one of the longest lasting horror comedy franchises out there. From its cult classic original to endless sequels, short lived series, and notable attempt to reboot it with original star Kevin Bacon, “Tremors” promises to keep powering through for a long time. This year Arrow Video unleashed a special edition of the 1990 monster movie classic on Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD, and it compelled me to list five of my favorite monster movies of the 1990’s.
Feel free to let us know what some of your favorites are below!
Vampires vs. The Bronx (2020)
While many of the influences for SNL are apparent, director-writer Oz Rodriguez has a great eye for unfolding some great horror that’s absolutely entertaining but also socially conscious (like his contemporary Jordan Peele). “Vampires vs. The Bronx” is a surefire amalgam of “The Lost Boys” and “Attack the Block.” It’s a creepy, fun, horror flick with an all Latinx and African American cast that’s also very clear cut condemnation of gentrification.
The Goonies (1985) [4K Ultra HD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
Even though I was born in the eighties, I don’t have a particular connection with “The Goonies” as while it’s mostly considered a masterpiece, I’ve only ever considered it just pretty good. Director Richard Donner’s adventure film is the Hardy Boys Meets Indiana Jones and for the most part it’s an entertaining call back to fodder like “The East Side Kids,” which keeps in line with Spielberg’s ode to his childhood cinema.
For The Sake of Vicious (2019) [Fantasia Festival 2020]
The visceral raw energy and violence of Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen’s “For the sake of Vicious” is bound to be compared to the masterpieces like “The Green Room” very soon. The set up at least conjures up memories of “Assault on Precinct 13” except in a smaller scale. In either case, it’s a classic white knuckle home invasion siege thriller that spares no one, even when it successfully builds on empathetic and fascinating protagonists.
The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)
I am one of the folks that loved McG’s 2018 horror comedy “The Babysitter.” It was a weird, gory, and funny horror comedy with an excellent cast, including Samara Weaving, who could take any role and turn it in to gold. When I heard of the sequel coming up shortly after, I was skeptical, if only because there didn’t seem to be anywhere else to go. Oddly enough the writers go in a completely new direction and for the most part it’s a raucous and fun follow up.