Though we may never get to see director Guillermo Del Toro’s vision of “At the Mountains of Madness,” that doesn’t mean “Pacific Rim” isn’t without its Lovecraftian influences. There’s the deep sea monsters, the beings from another dimension, giant tentacled beings, and the implications of something bigger to come. “Pacific Rim” is set in a world where kaiju are a natural phenomenon and the world is built around the constant threat of attacks from giant beasts that didn’t come from the sky, but instead the bottom of the sea through an inter dimensional rift.
Tag Archives: Fantasy
The Goonies (1985)
If you want a pure unadulterated ride in to the middle of the eighties, “The Goonies” is an inadvertent trip in to the complete mindset of the decade. Cyndi Lauper, adventure, escapism, work out obsession, coming of age, nostalgia for the sixties, a humongous Steven Spielberg influenced narrative, Corey Feldman, Richard Donner, Jonathan Ke Quan, if it was in the eighties, it’s likely here. That doesn’t act as a caveat, thankfully, as “The Goonies” is a very decade relevant film that still manages to work as an excellent child oriented fantasy adventure in the vein of “The Hardy Boys.”
Deadtime Stories
I wish I had a nanny like Jennifer Stone when I was a kid. Not just because she’s hot, but also because she’s prone to delivering some scary stories for her charges before bed time. “Deadtime Stories” is the latest efforts by Nick (formerly Nickelodeon) to offer fans a horror show. While it’s no competitor for “Are you Afraid of the Dark?” the newest anthology does a good job of delivering “Goosebumps” level scares, and interesting stories. Sticking to the small budget, gone are the narrators of the undead or demonic variety and now most of the stories are told by Stone’s character, a devilish and somewhat enigmatic babysitter.
From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter (2000)
There is still no explanation as to the origin of the strip club/temple. Not that I really cared, mind you. In the final shot of “From Dusk Till Dawn,” it was a great final blow to the audience to show how these vampires have likely been committing these slaughters since the mid-1800’s. I didn’t need to know how they got together and devised this idea to lure bikers and truckers to feast on them, but I assume if they’re going to continue the series with a prequel, you might as well give it a shot and explain how the temple came to be. Maybe an 80’s montage set to “Our House” with the vampires building the club and painting it at night or something.
20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
In the fifties, many horror and science fiction films spoke of two things. The nuclear age, and the potential dangers of space exploration. While the US tested radiation, and strived to bring their men to space to explore other planets, Hollywood explored such ideas and its negative effects through filmmaking in films like “Godzilla”, “The Day The Earth Stood Still”, “Them”, and another film that would come in 1968 changing the face of filmmaking and horror for decades to come, a much more grim grotesque exploration in to the potential consequences of bringing a foreign chemical home with us and eventually spell doom for the rest of the world through a familiar foe.
Scarecrow (2013)
You assume a movie about a killer scarecrow would be loads of fun, but “Scarecrow” starring Robin Dunne from the slightly entertaining Syfy series “Sanctuary” is only a passable bit of horror fare. It places little emphasis on the scarecrow, and more time on the characters. The scarecrow is a very stock horror character with no personality or real memorable moments. It takes a great talent to sap the frights from a scarecrow, and Sheldon Wilson’s film accomplishes just that.
Creature Crypt, Week Two: The Gargoyles; Darkness
“Creature Crypt” is a four part weekly column that spotlights two creatures from our childhood that made us in to rabid horror fans. These are the creatures that scared us, wowed us, made us cry, and made us hope they weren’t under our bed.







