Goodnight, Evil Ed, Fright Night (1985)
Every year, on October 1st, I have a ritual.
I light some candles. I plug in the jack o’lantern beside my couch. I watch as the timer on my outdoor decorations clicks over, illuminating my...
Ripping Through Reality in IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (1994)
Reality is a funny thing
It all boils down to perspective, doesn’t it? Each person builds their world-view based on what surrounds them, which in time becomes their reality. Still, even then, most seek out...
Speaking the Curse to Drag Me to Hell (2009)
You Shamed Me
It was early summer in 2009. Friday night. I was sitting in a movie theater, as I was prone to do and I was excited. No, scratch that… ecstatic. I was there...
Choking on Day of the Dead (1985)
I placed the DVD down on the table excitedly, bright yellow and featuring the jutting out visage of a forlorn looking zombie. I had watched Dawn of the Dead (1978) only the night before...
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,...
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....
The Resurrection of Uncle Frank in Hellraiser (1987)
To Hell and Back
Most of my days in college were a constant struggle between going to class and doing the work I knew I should be doing versus just saying “screw it” and renting...
The Dangers of Sitting Too Close to the TV in A Nightmare on Elm...
Freddy's Big Break
Many years passed between my introduction to Freddy Krueger and my subsequent foray into the remainder of the franchise. I was a different horror fan then, no longer the fresh faced teenager...
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...
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...
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...
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....
David’s Transformation in An American Werewolf in London (1981)
A HOWLING GOOD TIME
When I was in college, rather than saving my money for practical things like groceries or bills, what little I was able to scrimp and save went directly to horror DVDs....
Tina’s Death in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
ANALOG NIGHTMARES
The first time I watched Wes Craven’s seminal masterpiece, I was huddled around a 22’’ tube TV sitting on the shaggy carpeted floor of a friend’s spare bedroom. The room was full of...