Supposedly as Hammer’s Dracula films progressed, Christopher Lee began to detest them more and more. The scripts, as he claimed, never stood up to Bram Stoker’s novel. You get then why the idea of being in Jess Franco’s Count Dracula would appeal to him. Here, a filmmaker wanted to faithfully and finally adapt Stoker’s text... Continue Reading →
Being Film #13 for Hooptober 2022 Another reason to adhere to rules as much as possible when participating in Hooptober: I don't think I ever would have seen the (or even been aware of) some of the regional low budget horror that was prevalent throughout the 70s. Is that a blessing or a curse when... Continue Reading →
Charles B. Pierce’s The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a platypus of a horror film. Trying to describe this movie sounds schizophrenic. In the most memorable parts of the film, it mimics The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in intensity. For most of the running time, the film functions like a docudrama with law enforcement trying... Continue Reading →
Being Film #12 for Hooptober 2022 There are certain things we come to expect when we sit down with a giallo, named for the yellow color adorning lurid tales of sex and murder popular in Italy as far back as the 30s: twisted violence and garish colors. Point of view kills. Hands covered in black... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago, when Chris reviewed Eaten Alive for Hooptober 2015, he asked two good questions. Why do we praise Tobe Hooper and what makes a film uniquely one by him? Out of the Four Horsemen of 70s horror (the other three being George Romero, John Carpenter, and Wes Craven), Hooper’s work might... Continue Reading →
Hammer Horror holds a very special place in the hearts of genre fans. Hell, Kate Bush wrote a song about it. There isn’t anything else like these period horror films shot in glorious technicolor with that gorgeous bright red blood. These films aimed for a kind of “respectability”. The British actors in these may have... Continue Reading →
Being Film #3 for Hooptober 2022 Mako: The Jaws of Death is the prefect example of why something like Hooptober is great, and why adhering to the rules is so necessary. There's no other way I would have watched this crazy riff on Jaws where, far from the shark being the terror, it's the man... Continue Reading →
This film from 1977 starts out with a declaration that just recently it was discovered fluorocarbons created a hole in the ozone layer. This film proposes that what follows is a potential consequence of this. What is that consequence you ask? Folks, the higher exposure to ultraviolet rays will cause animals to attack mankind en... Continue Reading →
Being Bonus Film #1 for Hooptober 2021 We've hit the bonus rounds for Hooptober 2021! These will be a little more brief - just general impression of the three "extra credit" films assigned for those who can get through the marathon. First up is J.D.'s Revenge, a blaxploitation horror film that is better than you... Continue Reading →
Being Film #30 for Hooptober 2021 As we start to wind down the marathon, I decided to call another audible on my list. I had been on a kick with Hammer's films, so why hit that particular well again? Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell was Peter Cushing's last go-round as Victor Frankenstein, and Terence... Continue Reading →
Cinema Dual 