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Psycho II / Psycho III / Bates Motel

However, that doesn’t mean one can’t make a satisfying picture that continues to tell the tale. While they’re sacrilege to some, the Psycho sequels get a bad rap, yet they’re actually pretty good, considering the awfully intimidating shadow in which they exist. The first two, 1983’s Psycho II and 1986’s Psycho III, have made their […]

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V/H/S/2

With one fewer segment than the original, this stack of mo’ lo-fi tales of taped terror opens with no credits — just the wraparound story of two private investigators searching for a college student missing for a week. Their gig takes them to his house, where in front of a bank of TVs, littered VHS […]

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The Haunting of Helena

Newly divorced, Sophia (Harriet MacMasters-Green) moves with her young daughter, Helena (bland first-timer Sabrina Jolie Perez), to one of those incredible old apartment buildings in south Italy. In the basement, Helena takes a fancy to an armoire with deep scratch marks on the doors’ insides, so they have it moved into the girl’s room. In […]

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Let’s Scare Jessica to Death

Fresh from a mental hospital, Jessica (Zohra Lampert, The Exorcist III) is taken by her husband, Duncan (Barton Heyman, The Super Cops) to a farmhouse with a cove nearby for a fresh start. If only Duncan had known that it’s reportedly haunted, which can’t be good for Jessica’s fragile psyche. Almost immediately upon their arrival […]

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An American Ghost Story

The Breaking Glass Pictures release is not to be confused with the FX hit series American Horror Story, although I’m sure Breaking Glass won’t mind if any potential renters do. Early in the no-budget picture, the main character tells his girfriend, “Anything to do with paranormal activity is really hot right now,” and that feels […]

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Street Trash

Debuting on Blu-ray in Synapse Films’ “Special Meltdown Edition,” the 1987 skid-row epic centers on an auto junkyard populated by homeless winos. One of them, who looks like famed Torgo from Manos: The Hands of Fate, finds that a decades-old bottle of Tenafly Viper purchased at the local liquor store causes those who drink it […]

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Hatchet III

Mind you, this is played as a punch line in itself. If you can see the absurdity within the annihilation, Hatchet III is recommended for you. And if not … well, hell, you already knew that. Written — but not directed this time — by series creator Adam Green (TV’s Holliston), the third flick depicting […]

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