Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark [Paperback]

o-SCARY-STORIES

“The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out. The worms play pinochle on your snout.”

When I was in fourth grade, my school had their yearly book fair. It was a time where kids could go to a large class room where Scholastic Books would litter the entire room with their merchandise for prices ranging anywhere from 25 cents to ten dollars. Of course when I spotted “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” I snatched it up and re-read it at least five times. Which is saying something for a kid who, at that age, took every possible excuse to not read. Alvin Schwartz’s book is one of the first introductions to horror and urban folklore. And judging by the many other nineties kids, Mr. Schwartz’s book was a source of horrific inspiration for them, as well.

Continue reading →

The Amityville Horror Trilogy [Blu-ray]

amityville-horror-trilogy

One of the most widely publicized and infamous hauntings in American history that ended up being one of the most widely publicized hoaxes of all time resulted in an acclaimed novel, and a cinematic adaptation. Said film ended up garnering nine sequels, and one remake, all of which are infamous for being either very bad, or immensely silly horror entries. However, there is a charm there for horror fans that love supernatural cinema, and for those that love the “Amityville” series, Scream Factory allows fans to pick up the first trilogy in a Blu-ray box set just in time for Halloween. Some horror fans prefer to think of the first three films as the true Amityville Horror arc, and it’s available with the original cover art for the films in tact.

Continue reading →

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Movie_poster_the_little_mermaid

Though it’s often thought of as the film that helped revive the animated film boom from Disney in the nineties, predating a string of hit films from the studio, “The Little Mermaid” is much like “Bambi.” It has amazing animation, and a wonderful soundtrack, but in the narrative frame, it’s unspectacular. While the former film garnered a nearly non-existent storyline with a simple resolution stretched in to ninety minutes, “The Little Mermaid” has almost nothing in the way of reasoning or logic for its heroine’s motives toward happiness.

Continue reading →

Prince Of Darkness (1987) (Collector’s Edition) [Blu-ray]

91zDzGy3maL._SL1500_John Carpenter’s “Prince of Darkness,” the second leg in the “Apocalypse Trilogy” is a horrifying film about the apocalypse and one of the many Carpenter films where good fights evil and evil wins. Again. And again. It’s interesting that “Prince of Darkness” is almost a precursor to the found footage film boom of the mid aughts, as director John Carpenter stages a series of dream sequences void of cinematic flare. Through fuzzy hand held cameras, he manages to stage numerous horrific dream sequences signaling the coming of the anti-god, and the anti-Christ, all the while using it as a means of expressing how imminent the apocalypse is. The thirty second dream sequences are much more horrifying than most found footage films I’ve ever seen.

Continue reading →

Scanners II: The New Order / Scanners III: The Takeover (Blu-Ray/DVD Combo)

ScannersDFThey may not be masterpieces, but the “Scanners”  sequels do a damn good job in taking the Cronenberg universe established in “Scanners” and expanding upon it. I was never big on the original “Scanners,” anyway, so the brunt of disappointment with the follow-ups aren’t as rough. The sequels aren’t continuations of the characters, but more the idea of the world filled with Scanners. Scream Factory makes the second and third sequel finally available in a Double Disc combo on DVD and Blu-Ray for the consuming.

Continue reading →

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

last-crusade-quad-poster-mIf anything, while “The Last Crusade” is considered the weakest film of the first three films, director Steven Spielberg teams up the world’s most popular James Bond actor, with the newest adventure hero Indiana Jones. Once considered the finale in the adventures of Indiana Jones, “The Last Crusade” takes another step back and examines the Indiana Jones from when he was a young man. Played by the late River Phoenix, director Spielberg chronicles many of the beats that turned Indiana Jones from a young daring man who cherished hallowed treasures, to an actual man who risked life and limb to return hallowed treasures back to their homes.

Continue reading →

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

temple-of-doom-third-sheet-“The Temple of Doom” is one of the few prequels ever made that works, and works well. Though it gets a bad rap by some fans of the series, “The Temple of Doom” follows in the Lucas tradition where the ante is upped, and the sequel garners a much darker atmosphere with a unique premise not centered on the Nazis and their quest for world domination. “The Temple of Doom” is a great change of pace, in the end. And it’s damn fun, to boot.

Continue reading →