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 …

One of the most talked about films of 2016 has been the critically acclaimed M. Night Shyamalan’ spectacle ‘Split’, a horror/thriller crossover which tells the story of Kevin, a man with 23 personalities who abducts 3 teenage girls and holds them captive in a small room in what appears to be an apartment complex. Gradually throughout the film, we start …

Ok, you found your way here looking for some clarity on the whole demon possession thing. Well I’m hear to tell ya…… I don’t type haphazardly (and rather consider the details) . The subject has been analyzed and evaluated to qualify and disqualify common misconceptions. First let’s be clear…demon possession is exactly that. That doesn’t mean possession if you “ARE” …

War! What is it good for? An action-packed evening on the couch, that’s what! When I asked Horror News readers and Facebook friends to tell me their favourite war movies, the response was terrific. While I can’t deny the quality of films like Gone With The Wind (1939), Lawrence Of Arabia (1962), Battle Of Britain (1969), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), Tora! …

In most genres of cinema, the sequel is almost inherently worse than the original. However, horror is not like most genres. Sequels can sometimes match the quality of the original or surpass it. The reason could be related to a higher budget, more attention from studios, less attention from studios, or just the result of taking scares and creativity to …

My old friend Sigmund Freud claimed that most children fantasise about dolls coming to life, and psychologist Ernst Jentsch theorised that uncanny feelings arise when there is an intellectual uncertainty about whether an object is alive or not, and also when an object that one knows to be inanimate resembles a living being enough to generate confusion about its nature. …

For this chapter in Horrifying History we’re focusing on the groundbreaking, but sadly overlooked, 1931 film M and the devil’s brigade of real life monsters that inspired it.  Fritz Lang’s M is a remarkable accomplishment on multiple levels, and, like all those we’ve featured, it’s inspired by grisly real-life events. This time we’re traveling back to Germany’s post World War …

In recent years it appears to have almost become a trend to release purposely bad low-budget horror films that are bordering on the hysterically funny and unwatchable just for the fun of it, but as we all know, there are many films that don’t purposely set out to be bad (here’s to you, unofficial straight-to-DVD horror classic sequels) and the …

When I asked Horror News readers and Facebook friends to tell me their favourite feature films by first-time directors, I received a fantastic response. The suggestions poured in and all kinds of weird and wonderful titles fronted up for selection. While I can’t deny the quality or appeal of some nominations – Play Misty For Me (1971) by Clint Eastwood, …

It’s Oscar season once again. That special time of year when Hollywood pats itself on the back for producing countless drab and forgettable dramas while offering breadcrumbs to far more interesting fare that doesn’t match up with whatever message they want to communicate. Unique cinema if often overlooked by the academy and no genre has suffered that treatment as much …

Heroes Who Were Big Screen Zeroes Come little lambs and listen at my knee once more because I have returned. I will show you the way back home just follow me. This week I decided it was an opportune time to give you another compilation, but this one will revolve around the worst superhero movies we’ve seen. Because there are …

Let’s admit to a simple truth; when it comes to home video, we horror fans have been spoiled the last few years. Companies like Vinegar Syndrome, Synapse, and Code Red have brought as all manner of classics in outstanding editions. Few of these labels have quite the massive array of titles as Scream Factory, a group that has been treating …

The forties got off to a cracking start with Paramount’s Technicolor production of Doctor Cyclops (1940) starring Albert Dekker as a crazed scientist who discovers the secret of miniaturisation deep in the South American jungles. The film contains superb special effects sequences which required the construction of gigantic sets and props of everyday articles, including books, chairs, pot-plants and scientific …