Today, genre fans have an abundance of dark, intelligent television at their fingertips. Series like Black Mirror, Stranger Things and Lovecraft Country that would once have been labeled niche or cult have found huge audiences—but that wasn’t always the case. In the pre-streaming era highly regarded shows like Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner (1967) or Joss Whedon’s Firefly (2002) couldn’t gain …

My novel Scorpius Rex is an homage to all those spectacular films that successfully combined classic science fiction concepts with slam bang action adventure. Being a genre aficionado, I wanted to share a list of my favorites. These are NOT presented in order of merit. Trust me, you’re guaranteed a great evening with any of these adrenaline-fueled classics.

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: Over a montage of mushroom cloud explosions a solemn voiceover proclaims, “They had talked and argued for years, trying to prevent it. But they failed. Nobody can be sure who started it, and really that is unimportant. It did happen, the atomic war.” That war kills 92.4% of the Earth’s population, leaving the survivors struggling to …

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS In the year 1560 a group of Spanish conquistadors, fresh from conquering the Inca empire, descend the Andes mountains to the Amazon River. Their leader Gonzalo Pizarro has been charged with finding the mythical city of El Dorado. With supplies running low he orders a small band, led by Don Pedro de Ursua, to traverse the …

Welcome back for Part 2 of The Road to Jurassic Park. This time we’re covering the second golden age of dinosaur cinema. There’s an old Hollywood adage—make a movie for the kids, but always throw in something for Dad. That pretty much sums up this 1966 remake of 1940’s ode to animal cruelty. Special effects master Ray Harryhausen had begun …

Welcome to Part Two of The Road to Jurassic Park. This time we’ll spotlight King Kong—one of cinema’s most ground breaking technical and creative achievements. We’ll also meet the men and, very importantly, the women who brought it to life.

In June 1993, Jurassic Park celebrated its twenty-seventh birthday—that’s an entire lifetime for an actual T-Rex. Despite huge advances in CGI technology, a slew of imitators and a parade of sequels, Jurassic still stands tall as the quintessential modern dinosaur movie, unmatched in terms of unbridled fun and excitement. But, in truth, Jurassic Park’s Dino-DNA contains a few notable filmic …

Meet Robert (Eigh8t The Chosen One). Robert has a little problem that just won’t go away. He’s a lonely guy looking for love in all the wrong places. He can’t figure out what he wants but he wants what he can never have. Follow Robert as he goes through some of the most painful experiences of his life. Will he …

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: The Congo is deep in the throes of the post-colonial Simba Rebellion. American mercenary Bruce Curry (Rod Taylor) is ordered to take a train load of Congolese soldiers to an isolated town before its overrun by the rebels. On paper he’s going there to rescue the citizens, but his real mission is to retrieve millions in …

SYNOPSIS: After a near fatal car accident a young woman exhibits signs of demonic possession. Her terrified mother calls in an exorcist in hopes of saving her daughter’s life and her soul.  REVIEW: Let me admit right up front that I’m a huge fan of filmmaker Jacinto Molina, better known by his screen name— Paul Naschy. For those unfamiliar with …

SYNOPSIS After a paranormal encounter, a Chicago barber develops uncontrollable telekinetic powers. In a fit of psychotronic rage, he kills an elderly man, becoming the target of a citywide manhunt. REVIEW: I’m a huge admirer of independent horror films, particularly regional ones by the likes of Don Dohler (The Alien Factor) or Charles B. Pierce (Legend of Boggy Creek). These …

SYNOPSIS: Ippolita is a young woman paralyzed by a childhood accident and confined to a wheelchair ever since. Struggling with a crisis of religious faith, she consults a psychiatrist who hypnotizes her as part of past life regression therapy. The treatment temporarily cures her paralysis, but also awakens a demon that has haunted the family for generations. The demon possesses …

Horror film history is filled with imaginary psychopaths whose exploits are based on real life maniacs. Classics like Psycho (1960), Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), M (1931), and Targets (1968) were all fictionalized versions of genuine human monsters who had fascinating stories well-worth revisiting. To kick things off, we’ll focus on the inspirations behind the late Tobe Hooper’s …

Have you noticed how every brilliant, well educated, pillar of the community type of person seems to have an idiot sibling with nine DUIs, and a collection of eviction notices from local trailer parks? These two people may look alike and be organ donor compatible, but that’s where the resemblance ends. Well, movies are kind of like that too—for every …

Originally this installment was going to cover 1968’s TARGETS and 1931’s M. But these were too hefty for one piece so we’ll just stick with Targets—an overlooked film that you must see, inspired by a nightmarish event we shouldn’t forget. In 1966, Peter Bogdanovich was a film critic and cinema junkie with visions of directing. A chance meeting with producer/director …