Tag Archives: Thriller

Dracula 2000 Or: Before Gerard Butler was a Meme

Posted on by

Dammit I love “Dracula 2000.”

I’m not too sure what the ultimate plan was for the Dracula character in the larger scheme of things, except the fact that everything had to be rebooted in the new millennium apparently. Everything had to press the reset button, including Dracula. This Dracula was a hunky vampire for the modern age where he would once again roam free to build his army, and do battle with Van Helsing. And he would do it set to rock music that ruled the radio, wreaking havoc to the tune of System of a Down, Linkin Park, and Disturbed, to name a simple few.

Continue reading →

New York Ninja (2021)

Posted on by

Officially on 4K and Blu-Ray from Vinegar Syndrome on November 1st; will be getting a 35mm release in various theaters and cinemas during the first quarter of 2022.

1984’s “New York Ninja” is that type of classic grindhouse picture where you can almost smell the stale cigarettes, and burnt popcorn wafting from the rows in the discount movie theater. It’s that kind of classic schlocky ninja picture that would have played in a double feature, and that’s a lot of the reason why it’s such a special film. I’d be hard pressed to call “New York Ninja” was good movie at the end of the day. As an experience, though, it’s that kind of silly, ridiculous, campy ninjasploitation soaked in New York City ephemera that you’re bound to fall in love with.

Continue reading →

Deadly Friend (1986): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]

Posted on by

Wes Craven was a man who managed to re-invent the horror genre at least three times during his entire career. Craven was a man who helped define a lot of the modern tropes we take for granted, and yes, even brought the nineties out of the drudges with his jolt of adrenaline known as “Scream.” However, sometimes Craven’s efforts didn’t always click, and while he had a knack for fascinating characters and complex situations, “Deadly Friend” is one of his more notable genre misfires.

Continue reading →

1981’s “Dark Night of the Scarecrow” is the Perfect Halloween Tale

Posted on by

You could pretty much build an entire library of horror films based on or around scarecrows and their tendencies to provoke or be involved in inherent horror or the supernatural. There’s just something so mystifying about the scarecrow where horror creators always go back to that same device, and most times it works. Take 1981’s “Dark Night of the Scarecrow.” The horror thriller by Director Frank De Felitta and writer J.D. Feigelson, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, was unleashed on the CBS Network and managed to build a pretty loyal cult following over the years.

Continue reading →

Night Teeth (2021) [Digital]

Posted on by

There’s a lot of world building in “Night Teeth” and that’s not always a good thing. What seems like a movie based around two vampires and their inadvertent victim driver, morphs in to a very layered (to a fault) crime thriller involving two warring factions of hunters and vampires, a vampire mob boss, struggles for power, and turf wars. It almost feels like they intended “Night Teeth” to be part one of a trilogy. But I doubt we’ll ever get the complete picture of it all.

Continue reading →

Slumber Party Massacre (2021)

Posted on by

Amy Holden Jones’ original 1982 “The Slumber Party Massacre” is considered one of the great trashy slasher classics of the 1980’s. It’s a movie that’s so irredeemably stupid but is still celebrated by many fans. I personally think the sequels are better, if infinitely stupider, but that’s neither here nor there. 2021’s “Slumber Party Massacre” is both a meta-satire and re-imagining that follows up on the original events of the premise of the original movie and turns it on its head.

Continue reading →

Halloween Kills (2021)

Posted on by

Director David Gordon Green simultaneously delivers a sequel that does something completely new with “Halloween” and also promises to divide horror fans down the middle. There is no horror movie in 2021 that promises to polarize horror fans more than “Halloween Kills.” Rather than a movie that features Michael Myers killing, killing, and killing some more, David Gordon Green goes a different route and explores the fall out from his murder spree in 1978 and 2018.

Continue reading →