Feature Article

The one thing that can make or break a horror movie before it’s even been released is the trailer. The all-important trailer is crucial in not only garnering interest for a movie, but also loosely outlining the plot of a movie without giving too much away. In recent years, many trailers have been accused of giving too much of the …

Horror cinema is riff with franchises. It’s both a burden and something of a joy to shift through the countless series based on anything from child-cults to murderous cookies. What isn’t so fun is when a promising set of films goes unfinished leaving fans wondering what might have been. Those are the sort of films we’re talking about today as …

There’s a rule that there are some movies which should just be left alone. Some remakes are quite enjoyable, but there are also others which just hit the mark entirely. With seemingly more remakes, reboots and re imaginings of classics being made, it seems appropriate to make a list of the horror movies which didn’t need remakes.

In 1924 the first major theatrical production of Bram Stoker’s Dracula opened on stage in England. Starring writer-actor Hamilton Deane, the play was such a success that it was transferred to London’s West End. In 1927 the production opened on Broadway starring a young Hungarian actor named Bela Lugosi. Universal pictures purchased the screen rights that same year for US$40,000, …

My last post was about the most famous male actors and their very first horror film roles. Well now I present to you the female edition of that very same list. Most of the women on this list were sex icons in the horror films they debuted in, and others just get naked. So be sure to check out these movies and …

We have all been touched by fictitious persons at numerous points in our lives. They have moved or amused, horrified or inspired us since early childhood. Story-telling is one of the most fundamental of human activities, probably as necessary to our mental health as eating, drinking and breathing are to our physical well-being. Story-telling is almost inconceivable without villains. In …

Scream queens: those beautiful, blood-spattered actresses who build a career and fanbase in horror. These ladies appear in film after film, becoming as iconic as actors as Jason or Freddy are as actors. Everyone knows the scream queens of yesteryear; Jamie Lee Curtis, Linnea Quiqley, Langenkamp, etc. But how many of you know names like Tristan Risk or Jessica Cameron? …

What makes horror such a great genre for movies, television, literature, and anything else you can think of? In a word: versatility. Horror isn’t always defined by gore and death, but rather the feeling of doom, gloom, and dread. It can be funny just as well as terrifying. Our little niche of cinematic and media bliss has given us great …

  Greetings my fellow creatures of the evening, this week I decided to bless your little eyes with a story. The story of an iconic film series that is considered by many to be one of the great kick starters for the supernatural horror genre and the curse that’s long been associated with the series of films known as The …

While researching this list, I came to the wholly unscientific conclusion that the most dangerous movie sets for performers and crew members are those for sword-and-sandals movies, followed by aviation flicks. Strangely, not a lot of search hits came up for accidents and deaths associated with horror movies, unless the comic VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN (see below) qualifies. This is by …

He may not have been a great producer – the case is arguable – but he certainly was a smart operator. In partnership with Harry Saltzman for fifteen years, Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli (1909-1996) revolutionised genre cinema by showing the major studios that it could actually be profitable. He thus opened the door to the multi-million-dollar financing of fantastic films, …

During the Golden Age of Horror, Universal Studios was the undisputed king of horror cinema, and its Big Three monsters—Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and the Wolf Man—remain definitive horror icons nearly a century later. Not coincidentally, the three actors most associated with those iconic Universal monsters—Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney, Jr., respectively—also remain the biggest names in classic horror …

(as stated in a 1992 interview): LADY IN A CAGE (1964) Lady in a Cage is a classic film that few people in the modern generations are aware of. It was one of the few actual films directed by Walter Garuman, who spent the vast majority of his career doing television work. The film was not a major hit, but …

As a young actor just starting out—years before STAR TREK (TOS)—William Shatner seemed to have a taste for roles that veered into the otherworldly or the macabre. His early filmography includes one episode of ONE STEP BEYOND, two episodes of the original TWILIGHT ZONE, one episode of the original OUTER LIMITS, and two episodes of Boris Karloff’s early 60s anthology …

The Anguished Man, an oil painting, is known to be one of the most haunted objects in the world alongside the Annabelle doll and the Dybbuk Box. According to legend, The Anguished Man was created by an unknown artist, who mixed the paint with his own blood. Shortly, after his work was completed, the artist committed suicide. It is currently …