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...
Bath Invaders from Outer Space in James Gunn’s Slither (2006)
Global Worming
I arrived at the movie theater about 45 minutes early. I was energized. Excited. It was Friday night, opening night, and I was certain every other horror fan was feeling the same way....
Going for a Drive: Scream 2 (1997)
The soft glow of multi-colored florescent lights was the only thing polluting the darkness. The shadows from the limbs of the faux-evergreen which they adorned creeped into the entryway of the room housing our...
A Pain in the Butt: The Tiny Ashs of Army of Darkness (1984)
The day the Hollywood Video finally opened its doors was a notable one in the small town where I grew up.
Over the months leading up to its grand opening, my friends and I had...
Raising Hell in Pet Sematary 2 (1992)
Sequels are tricky. On the one hand, they exist because the property they’re based on has some degree of popularity; people, places, and things that the general audience would like to see more of....
Opening a Door on Scream (1996)
One fateful sleepover in the summer of 1998, my friend Erich opened his father’s VHS cabinet and invited the group of us to peer inside and make a selection. It was late by then,...
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...
The Dog Kennel from The Thing (1982)
OBEDIENCE TRAINING GONE WRONG
It was the summer of 2004. As burgeoning horror fans, my brother and I used our freedom from school and responsibility to digest as much genre cinema as we possibly could....
Digging a Hole in Shaun of the Dead (2004)
In the summer of 2004, I spent my Friday nights shilling concessions to people trying to catch the latest blockbuster releases. As they are today, back then most of the screens in my particular...
A Hand, Broken Dishes, and a Chainsaw in Evil Dead II
Lend me a hand?
I came upon the first Evil Dead (1981) while researching influential horror movies online. I had heard the title before and had previously assumed it to be a schlock oddity, something...
Rachel Unleashes Her Rage in Carrie 2
I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with movie trailers. On the one hand, they can be exciting, short-film quality creations, enticing me to see a picture by way of mood and tone as opposed...
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...
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 Violent Birth of the Chestburster in Alien (1979)
As a kid, I was utterly petrified by the mere idea of watching a horror film. My friends would try to get me to watch them during sleepovers or on those rare occasions where...
Losing an Idle Hand(s) (1999)
When it comes to the movies, comedy was my first love.
Sure, horror has my heart these days, but I can’t deny that for a huge portion of my young life I was a slapstick...
The Mouth of Hell in Jaws (1975)
Like most kids born in the early to mid-80s, I grew up knowing the name Steven Spielberg. My cousins and I wore out my grandmother’s VHS copy of E.T. (1982) growing up (and not...
Desires of Blood in the Folktale Horror of The Witch (2015)
There are some movies that just feel dangerous. As if they’re capable of anything. Movies that seem to be constructed more of dread than plot. Nightmarish windows into a different world, foreign to us...
A Case of Worms: Escaping the Graboids of Tremors (1990)
After the cereal had grown soggy and the orange juice was long gone, the final credits rolled on the morning’s last cartoon. Still, the day was far from over. It was time to roll...
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...
All Hell Breaks Loose: The Monster Massacre of The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Horror movie tropes are a funny thing.
On the one hand, they’re sort of comforting. Like an old friend, showing up to chat and have a beer. Familiar. Enjoyable in the way that nostalgic memories...
Written in Blood: Introducing the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow (1999)
As were most teenagers in the late 90s, I was a Tim Burton fan. It was hard not to be given his striking aesthetic and proclivity for telling dark fairy tales in a way...
Hungry, Hungry Crites: The Chaos of Critters 2 (1988)
Fandom, that is, one’s dedication to a particular topic, study or artistic exploit, is driven and often defined by discovery. Exploration. Finding something new… and taking it with you as your appreciation and understanding...
Harsh Consequences for Bad Humor in April Fool’s Day (1986)
Holiday slashers are a time-honored tradition. A subgenre of great renown amongst horror fans, these entries become some of the most rewatched titles in any genre enthusiast’s collection.
There’s little I look forward to more...
Batteries Included: The Terrifying Power of Child’s Play (1988)
The TV glowed in the center of the room, reflecting the visage of a stern looking news anchor going on about something I had no doubt was very serious. Sure, I was tired, but...
Don’t Disrespect Halloween Tradition in TRICK ‘R TREAT (2007)
By the time I finally sat down and watched Trick ‘r Treat (2007), I had been living in hyped anticipation for it for close to two years. Since first premiering and earning acclaim on the festival circuit,...