The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) Movie Review

The midnight showing was sold out and electricity rocketed through the air from the excitement. It was as if a viewer was attending a midnight mass for a Goth Christmas, and when everyone got home, Edward and Jacob would have visited and left presents under the posters bearing their likeness. BOOYAH!!...

November 20th, 2009 | Read More

The St. Francisville Experiment (2000) Movie Review

As with any massively profitable film, “The Blair Witch Project” quickly became the foster parent to a legion of parodies and imitations trying to cash in on the hype. It didn’t matter that the franchise quickly had its’ wings cut and was buried in a shallow grave under tons of...

November 15th, 2009 | Read More

Whispering Corridors 5: A Blood Pledge (2009) Movie Review

The landmark Korean ghost series “Whispering Corridors” returns for its fifth instalment with “A Blood Pledge”, marking the debut of director Lee Jong Yong, an interesting choice for the helm, given his previous work under Park Chan Wook on the likes of “JSA” and “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance”....

November 7th, 2009 | Read More

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) Movie Review

Originally unleashed back in 1984, “Silent Night, Deadly Night” was the subject of great controversy due to its premise of a serial killer dressed as Santa Claus, with outraged authorities and parents protesting its US release. The film encountered similar moral panic in the UK, where the ever-wise...

November 7th, 2009 | Read More

Lake Placid 2 (2007) Movie Review

FADE IN: INT: Sony Pictures offices. A studio head sits at his desk and ushers in another man Man: I’ve got a pitch for a new horror film. Sony Man: Go for it. Man: It’s about crocodiles! Sony Man: Next. Man: Killer crocodiles. Sony Man: Been there, done that. Man: Umm, it’s a...

November 3rd, 2009 | Read More

Palisades Tartan’s Asian Horror: Essential Collection Review

Just in time for Halloween, Palisades Tartan has grouped together three of the most successful Asian horror films of recent years in one region 2 DVD collection. Although terms such as ‘essential’ are woefully overused when it comes to such compilations, in this case it certainly rings true, as the...

October 30th, 2009 | Read More

Paranormal Activity (2007) Movie Review

The buzz surrounding writer/director Oren Peli’s popular 2007 “found footage” horror outing “Paranormal Activity,” has been, in a word, astronomical. In addition to the countless testimonials I’ve read on message boards and entertainment websites alike, scores of people...

October 28th, 2009 | Read More

Staunton Hill (2009) Movie Review

As his father continues to attempt to rejuvenate his seemingly never-ending “Dead” series, Cameron Romero follows up his debut “The Screening” with another slice of familiar horror in “Staunton Hill”. Although this may sound a little cynical, the film really is pretty basic stuff, being a...

October 24th, 2009 | Read More

Knife Edge (2008) Movie Review

“Knife Edge” sees the return to the horror genre of director Anthony Hickox, who back in the late 1980s and early 1990s turned out a string of popular, offbeat favourites including “Waxwork”, its sequel “Lost in Time”, and “Sundown: the Vampire in Retreat”, the latter two featuring the...

October 24th, 2009 | Read More

7eventy 5ive (aka Dead Tone, 2007) Movie Review

“Se7en”, “s1m0ne”, “Thr3e”, “Thir13n Ghosts”, and now “7eventy 5ive”. All movies bafflingly fond of placing needless numbers in place of letters in their titles. A moot point yes, but an important one, for apart from “Se7en” (also...

October 20th, 2009 | Read More

Dying Breed (2008) Movie Review

The ‘Afterdark Horrorfest’ doesn’t register on most of the minds of people in Britain, so the films that fall under this banner most often appear in the U.K with little fanfare. It’s certainly a shame though, for gems such as “Autopsy” and “Dark Ride” end up hitting the...

October 14th, 2009 | Read More

Blood: The Last Vampire (2009) Movie Review #2

“Blood: the last Vampire” is an interesting proposition, not only because it sees Jeon Ji Hyun (“My Sassy Girl”), one of Korea’s most popular actresses, making her English language debut, but also since it represents one of the few Hollywood Japanese anime adaptations to make a real effort...

October 9th, 2009 | Read More

I Sell the Dead (2008) Movie Review

“I Sell the Dead” marks the debut outing for writer director Glenn McQuaid, and boasts a great offbeat cast, including Dominic Monaghan of “Lord of the Rings” fame, cult director Larry Fessenden (“Habit”, “The Last Winter”), Angus Schrimm (“Phantasm”) and “Hellboy” himself, Ron...

October 6th, 2009 | Read More

Automaton Transfusion (aka Zombie Transfusion, 2006) Movie Review

Originally released back in 2006 under the slightly more interesting, if nonsensical title “Automation Transfusion”, writer director Steven C. Miller’s debut feature now arrives on region 2 DVD via Momentum Pictures as “Zombie Transfusion”. The film is a low budget slice of independent horror,...

October 4th, 2009 | Read More

Zombieland (2009) Movie Review

To be clear, Ruben Fleischer’s “Zombieland” is less a zombie movie than it is a road movie/comedy. Just to get that out of the way first, because if you’re going into “Zombieland” demanding decent zombie action, I have to tell you, you’ll find the film to be lacking. But if you can put...

October 2nd, 2009 | Read More

Infestation (2009) Movie Review

You know the worst thing about sitting through a horror/creature movie where a group of disparate characters are trapped in one locale and forced to put aside their differences and team up in order to survive the menace outside? You can pretty much count on at least one (sometimes more) asshole in the...

September 14th, 2009 | Read More

Book Review: Draculas, Vampires, and Other Undead Forms – Essays on Gender, Race, and Culture

Not yet another book on vampires! You may be excused for reacting like this upon seeing this title: vampires have been done to death – in movies, in comics, in fiction, in non-fiction, in criticism… The only trouble is, there’s no real ‘death’ when you’re talking about...

September 12th, 2009 | Read More

H2: Halloween II (2009) Movie Review

IRS auditors and repo men have encountered cheerier faces than those seen leaving a screening of Rob Zombie’s latest magnum opus. Where is Michael Myers, and what has Zombie done with him? Instead of a horror icon, we’re given a shambling hulk who looks like a homeless man with a pituitary...

September 2nd, 2009 | Read More

Sexy Killer: You’ll Die for Her (2008) Movie Review

Spanish horror has been prominent on the international scream scene of late, with the likes of “REC” and “The Orphanage” offering another alternative to the increasingly bland tide of remakes flowing sluggishly from Hollywood. “Sexy Killer”, from director Miguel Martí (previously responsible...

August 16th, 2009 | Read More

From Within (2008) Movie Review

“From Within” is the first film from Phedon Papamichael as a director for nearly 15 years, following his forgettable early 1990s thrillers “Dark Side of Genius” and “Sketch Artist”. The time since has certainly been well spent, with Papamichael honing his craft as one of the top cinematographers...

August 13th, 2009 | Read More