the Shamrock masks

HALLOWEEN 3 (1982) and the Appeal of the Standalone Sequel

The first time my young, horror adverse mind even considered the Halloween franchise was over a decade before I would ever see even a frame of it. I was with a friend at a video...
Laurie vs Michael

Michael Myers Loses His Head in HALLOWEEN H20 (1998)

The young woman at the ticket counter smiled politely as my mom handed over the money for the tickets. She didn’t ask questions— she didn’t ask to see an ID. No, she seemed perfectly content...
the predator grabs dutch

The Hunted Challenges the Hunter in PREDATOR (1987)

The teenager at the register gave my friends and I a decidedly inquisitive look as he held the clear box containing the R-rated cassette tape against the counter. His fingers drummed against the dull...
Ultraman Z

Toku Forgiveness

One of the greatest recurring themes in Tokusatsu is the act of forgiving oneself after contemplating your own actions or upon discovering a sin you never knew you were being complicit in. Various Ultra...
terminator examines his eye

An Eye for Detail in THE TERMINATOR (1984)

I suppose I knew Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) was a sequel, but for all intents and purposes in my eight-year-old mind, that was definitively the only entry in the killer robot from the post-apocalyptic...
Notzilla belches fire

NOTZILLA (2019): King of the Kaiju Spoofs

Kaiju parody has been done a lot. Whether it is minor snippets of other spoof movies such as the truly dreadful ‘Spermzilla’ from Chillerama or the lovingly-crafted works of Minoru Kawasaki, their effectiveness varies...
Angry Princess

THIRTEEN GHOSTS (2001) and a Lawyer Split in Two

As the decade shifted and the 90s became the 2000s, my taste in movies was shifting too. I was in high school then, taking in movies every weekend and contributing to the box office...
Dan and the puppets

An Interview with Puppets Who Kill’s John Pattison

Do you remember how you discovered your favorite TV show? I do. https://youtu.be/w7mefwmxkwQ Friday nights growing up were special. I would go with Dad into town to get groceries, which in and of itself was not...

The Mystical Revenge of the Mighty ORCA (1977)

Humans have the capacity for great evil. Oftentimes the public is complicit in this cruelty without their knowledge. One of the cruelest things we do as a species is cage animals and put them...
the queen bites at casey

The Queen Attacks in THE FACULTY (1998)

As a high school student in the late 90s and early 2000s who was only peripherally aware of horror, even I knew the name Kevin Williamson. Not only had he helped to usher in...
monsters are attacking tokyo (with frame)

Recommendations from the Non-Fiction Godzilla Library

Getting accurate information and history for giant monster films is difficult. There are a lot of voices out there and many of those voices are spouting the same five facts reported on ages ago...
Holly Horror The Bible and Fear in Movies

Fear Academy – Holy Horror: The Bible and Fear in Movies by Steve A....

Welcome back to another session of Fear Academy. This time around is going to be a little different, in that the book we’re looking at today is quite similar to the last one we...
the bloody body of Christ

Holy Horror: More isn’t Always Better in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST (2004)

The story is over two thousand years old and important to people all over the world.  It is an integral part of several religions. Even non-believers can be fond of him. So of course...
KAIJU CONLINE

Kaiju Con-Line

The virus is for now here to stay and with that all of the common summer hobbies we’ve all grown to love have been completely altered. One of the biggest life changes for us...
mother and daughter in Relic 2020

RELIC (2020) film review

A haze of red and purple light fades in and out of the blackness, their source becoming more and more distinct as the hues continue to retreat and then reappear from the originating void....
the kids in bed covered in blood

The Butchered Remains of CHERRY FALLS (2000)

Much like the seemingly indestructible nature of their antagonists, the slasher sub-genre has a way of resurrecting itself every generation to terrorize a new batch of teenagers who just want to drink, have sex...
behind the scenes of the stop motion

The Special Effects Mastery of THE LOST WORLD (1925)

The Lost World from 1925 is arguably the most important Dinosaur film of all time. While not as famous as say, King Kong (1933), all of the elements that make Kong so iconic were pioneered...
the shark takes the chopper

Finding the Killer Shark Slasher Movie in JAWS 2 (1978)

I avoided the Jaws sequels for many years before I finally succumbed to the inevitable franchise marathon that lies in wait for all horror completists. Admittedly, my mindset was somewhat condemning from the start....
a still from Wim Wenders' Tokyo-ga

Scream Writing Fiction: Research Foreign Cities Through YouTube Walks

Sometimes we can discover fantastic resources for writing while just kicking back and relaxing. That's what happened to me when I can up with the idea for this article. I've been going through some...
a model of the relic's monster

The Horror of Evolution from Script to Screen in THE RELIC (1997)

I had this friend growing up who was known for his Dad’s VHS collection. His living room was lined with wooden cabinets containing every movie one could think of (and plenty more you’d scarcely...
larry touches the window where you're next is written in blood

Facing Our Fears in YOU’RE NEXT (2011)

I was a nervous kid. I had a knack for finding ways of being afraid. If I rode a bike, I could fall off. If I climbed a tree, I could topple out. Dogs...
the monstrum appears

An Old-Fashioned MONSTRUM Movie

South Korea has absolutely been killing it in the genre scene. Bong Joon-Ho just won Best Picture and it seems like there is a lot of money being poured into their film divisions. Speaking...
the dinner party gathers

Holy Horror: The Invitation and Terror in Intimate Places

Note: A special message to all Scriptophobic readers. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, writing Holy Horror unfortunately had to be put on the back burner while my employment situations changed. This column will continue,...
Leatherface

The Terrifying Blunt Force of Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

One afternoon in college, I found myself alone on a lazy Saturday with nothing at all to do. As was customary for me at the time, I decided to watch a movie. I had...
banner for the king of the monsters watchalong in april

Kaiju Fandom Survives the Quarantine

The Quarantine and Stay at Home orders have affected the entire world. The Tokusatsu and Kaiju Genre is no different. This has led to a fair share of bungles -- like the renaming of...