1990’s “Tales from the Darkside: The Movie” has a lot in its corner with me. It’s a childhood favorite, has a ton of sentimental value, and it’s a damn good anthology horror film. It almost feels like the lost “Creepshow” movie that we never got in theaters, which is a shame as the movie is very well produced and directed. It’s creepy, darkly humorous, and has a great pair of wraparound segments that hearkens back to the vicious violence of the Brothers Grimm.
Tag Archives: Fantasy
Dawn of the Living Dead (Evil Grave: Curse of the Maya) (2004)
“Dawn of the Living Dead” is such a blatant attempt to garner the Romero fan’s attention, especially with the tagline “In the tradition of “Night of the Living Dead…” If we’re splitting hairs here, pretty much all of these zombie movies that copy Romero are in the tradition of “Night of the Living Dead.” David Heavener’s “Dawn of the Living Dead” (or “Evil Grave: Curse of the Maya”) induced my optimism and I pleaded that perhaps this movie would be a so bad its good little independent foreign horror comedy. Instead it’s just a film that revels in tedium, padding, and glacial pacing.
Frank & Zed (2020)
I wish there were more movies like Jesse Blanchard’s “Frank & Zed” in theaters and midnight movie showings. It’s a movie that promises to become a cult classic and for good reason. Not only is it wildly inventive, and absolutely charming, but I was completely sucked in to everything from the story, the gruesome gore, and the shockingly incredible production values (40 Handmade puppets!). While the movie is low budget, Blanchard’s ability to make every single element of his film feel epic in scope, keeps “Frank & Zed” consistently brilliant and absolutely entertaining.
In the Tall Grass (2019)
The problem with Vincenzo Natali’s “In the Tall Grass” is that it sets up so many questions and ideas, but never executes them well enough. “In the Tall Grass” feels very much in the vein of Stephen King’s “Children of the Corn” where a massive field of innocuous grass becomes the sight of a supernatural gathering. King and Joe Hill are very good about creating terror out of domesticity, and for the first thirty minutes Vincenzo Natali’s film had me hooked. Then it just about runs out of steam with too many undercooked concepts and never quite won me back.
The Terror of Hallow’s Eve (2017)
Beneath the surface of Todd Tucker’s, there’s a fantastic Halloween themed horror movie. “The Terror of Hallow’s Eve” is a movie with so much flab and filler that it ultimately loses sight of what it’s trying to accomplish, not to mention it distracts from the utterly fantastic special effects and supporting performances. You’ll have a hard time appreciating those elements since Zack Ward’s script’s pacing is so glacial. “The Terror of Hallow’s Eve” is a mix of “976-Evil,” “Halloween,” and “Cellar Dweller,” with a lot of spirit, but none of the sinister tone or deep rooted menace.
Five of the Scariest Villains of the 90’s
The 90’s had some of my favorite animated movies and TV series of all time, and suffice to say it also had some bang up villains. I thought it’d be great to list five of the scariest villains of the 90’s that tormented heroes on TV and in the movies.
What were some of your favorites?
The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot about Halloween! (2016)
I had absolutely no idea that the Cat in the Hat had his own animated series on television in America. He was always my favorite troublemaker in the Seuss universe.. The studios have been mining Seuss tales for years for new material and have given us is that wretched live action movie. This time around the animated adventure of the cast and his pals learn about the meaning of Halloween.