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...
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...
Primeval Surgery in The Ruins (2008)
In my fledgling days of horror fandom, browsing the new release aisle at the local retailers was a weekly tradition. Every Tuesday, I would hit my electronics store of choice, scouring the shelves for...
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...
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...
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...
Fruits, Brains and Bats in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Sequels come with a certain degree of baggage. That is to say, the sequel’s greatest enemy is expectation, more often than not brought on by the love and adoration which accompanies its predecessor. After...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
A Lullaby for Mrs. Voorhees: Friday the 13th (1980)
Long before I had ever seen a horror movie in full, I was well aware that a man wearing a hockey mask and brandishing a sharp weapon was bad news.
I can’t quite pinpoint it,...
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...
Facing the Darkness in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
Every movie-lover, at their core, has a small collective of films and viewing experiences that define them. Films that forever altered their path in life, irrevocably steering them toward the magic of the silver...