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In 1928, Carl Laemmle Senior made his son, Carl Laemmle Junior, head of Universal Pictures as a 21st birthday present. Woo hoo! Universal already had a reputation for nepotism – at one point, seventy of Carl Senior’s relatives were supposedly on the payroll. Many of them were nephews, resulting in Carl Senior being known around the studios as Uncle Carl. …

Hello again children, today I’ll be giving you the benefit of something many take for granted, the gift of family. We’ll be diving into the top families in the horror industry, but before we begin, I’d like to preface this list with a quick caveat. This list will specifically list the top horror families in terms of characters in film, …

In the current climate of rampant digital effects, ultra-real prosthetics and virtual 3-D cinematography, audiences are being spoiled. Special effects have become commonplace and of such a high standard that jaws are no longer dropping. This wasn’t always so. Special effects have come a long way since the invention of cinema and the path they have walked is fascinating. Arguably, …

Critters The success of 1984s Gremlins, with its unique blend of horror and sardonic humour seemingly inspired a number of other “little monster” films of that decade. Critters is one of the best. Although its makers deny any influence it shares with Gremlins a sense of mischievous glee but also possesses its own brand of charm. This is family-friendly horror …

Must Watch List of 2018 Independent Horror Movies It’s time to review 2018 and what we saw and more important, maybe what we didn’t see.  I would say overall the it was pretty solid year for the horror industry.  Of course, we all know about those high profile movies that made it into the theater system.  It was the year …

Most people that know me know that I love slasher films. I was lucky enough to grow up in the 1980s, and I consider that decade to be the Golden Age of the slasher film. As I was growing up I spent most of my weekends at the local Mom and Pop video store renting every single slasher flick I …

It’s becoming more and more evident to me that our time on this planet is limited. It’s a strange thing, this 2012 rhetoric. I’m not one to easily buy into doomsday theories, but the last couple of months have been un-relentless with signs of the apocalypse. You need only look to the skies to see thousands of dead birds dropping …

Comedy and horror have been kissing cousins since the early days of cinema. Moments of humor have been the go-to safety valve that horror filmmakers have used consistently to relieve audience tension and to provide a break from the suspense and terror of the moment. Over time, the approach may have changed, but the general idea has remained remarkably consistent …

This edition of Unexplained Confidential is dedicated to Michele Gosciniak. Happy Birthday from Michael Joy and Horrornews.net ! It’s my favorite time of the year and it’s custom made for everything scary and spooky. Where did September go? I blinked my eyes and that month is history. I guess I’ll just have to put in some horrornews overtime this month. …

There are few names as synonymous with horror as author Stephen King. The man has created some of the most original, cerebral, bizarre, and creepy horror stories in history and its no surprise a good many of them have been adapted into films. But with so many to choose from, which of King’s beasties reigns supreme? Check it out. 10- …

Film makers have always used stand-ins for locations and props to save money, time. and labor. Some film makers, though, like to aim for authenticity above all, and this was especially true in the days before CGI, and also before cheaper, non-union states started to become the preferred choice for shoots. Of all the anecdotes I researched for this article, …

Scientific knowledge was never one of the requirements needed for a successful Hollywood scriptwriter. At least science fiction authors are usually aware of scientific flaws and try to disguise them with pseudo-science. For instance, they’ve long got around Einstein’s law regarding the impossibility of faster-than-light travel by taking a short-cut through ‘hyper-space’. My old friend H.G. Wells was well aware …

One of the most recognizable movie monsters in horror cinema is the Frankenstein Monster. Beginning with Frankenstein (1910) and, more famously, Frankenstein (1931) from Universal, Mary Shelley’s man-made monster has taken many forms. In 1957, Hammer Films jettisoned the creature into the Technicolor age with Curse of Frankenstein. Throughout the Sixties, Hammer Films would produce a variety of Monsters created …

Yes, you have voiced your opinion over and over about how remakes and sequels should shut the hell up and you could make the best horror movie ever if you only had the budget that was wasted on these current, needless continuations and resurrections, right? Well, you smug little asshole, every sequel or remake has been based upon impressions of …

For decades now, there has been speculation within the horror movie industry as to what makes a movie ‘disturbing’ and what makes a truly horrifying horror movie. From Cannibal Holocaust to Audition, it’s rather clear that there are a select few directors who know how to properly capture this, often with brutal results. With spoilers following, this is a list …