I have to say that I quite love “Return to Horror High.” Yes it’s convoluted and mostly a nonsensical meta horror comedy about the horror genre, but a lot of the ideas it lays out during the duration of its story are so ahead of their time. “Return to Horror High” (not a sequel, by the way) has the distinction of being cited as one of the precursors to “Scream,” but it really only holds that distinction in how it takes a step back and analyzes horror. Beyond that Bill Froehlich’s film is only really connected in that it’s a slasher with a whodunit twist. The rest of the movie is a pretty nonsensical meshing of storytelling styles, and twists that make no sense. Nonsensical is the key word to “Return to Horror High,” but that’s also what makes it so good.
Tag Archives: Mystery
Pumpkin Man (2021)
There’s nothing like a really good feature film about Halloween, but sometimes there’s also nothing wrong with short but sweet Halloween tales. “Pumpkin Man” from Director and Writer Alex Magaňa is a simple and short horror tale that works wonderfully as a treat for the holiday.
Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham (2023)
It’s crazy that I’d never actually read 2001’s “The Doom that Came to Gotham” despite hearing about most of Batman’s stories. This re-imagining of the Batman lore is fantastic in that it meshes Batman with Old Century Gothic, and HP Lovecraft. This is about as close to HP Lovecraft as Batman’s ever gotten with a story that really is relentless in its bleak tone and vicious implementation of Lovecraftian monsters and beings. This is a threat that not even Batman is fully capable of handling.
Lily C.A.T. (1987)
It’s pretty astonishing how “Lily C.A.T.” manages to be such a blatant copy of some classic eighties films, and yet still comes out looking pretty shiny when all is said and done. The 1987 science fiction deep space horror film heavily borrows (or rips off, depending on how kind you are) material from the likes of Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror film “Alien,” as well as John Carpenter’s 1981 masterpiece “The Thing” with even the crew brandishing flame throwers to ward off the monster. It’s a prerequisite for a movie that pretty much has fun with its premise, delivering so much in such a short time.
The CW’s “The Spencer Sisters” is a Promising Mystery
I’ve been looking forward to “The Spencer Sisters” for a long time. I’m a fan of Stacey Farber, and she’s been one of my celebrity crushes since “Degrassi.” Coming off of her fun stint on “Superman and Lois,” her new crime caper series is a breath of fresh air. In a TV space where a lot of series’ are so dark and grim, it’s fun to see a crime series a lot more lighter and less focused on death. A mix of “The Gilmore Girls” and “Nancy Drew,” “The Spencer Sisters” is an entertaining mystery drama series that teams an actual retired police officer with a mystery novelist. Both happen to be estranged mother and daughter.
On Fire (2023)
A family living in the woods is faced with doing all they can for survival when a wildfire cuts them off from the road as it closes in on their home. Escape looks unlikely, but they forge forward.
Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! (2023) (DVD)
Warner Bros. killed it and decided to throw it away, never to really be seen. Then thanks to uproar from the hardcore comic, Superman, and Scooby-Doo fan bases, “Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!” was thankfully saved and thrown in to the already massive library of “Scooby-Doo” movies. This was of course put over in to the straight to home media market where Hanna Barbera’s cash cow rests comfortably. But that’s not at all a slight, as “Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!” is a very good mixing of the crime fighting mutt, and Superman’s poochy pal.