Of all things, the VHS tape is in the midst of a nostalgic resurgence. Not only does the dead medium of the 1980s enjoy having a horror-anthology franchise named after it, but no fewer than three new documentaries celebrate its heyday, and a few indie labels have issued limited-edition releases on bulky cassettes rather than […]
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Pacific Rim
I realize this unpopular stance puts me at odds with fervid fanboys nationwide who all but wet their pants over the film this summer, but that’s OK — it’s hardly the first time. I, too, would have loved this movie at the age of 8 … unfortunately, a few decades have passed. A mere seven […]
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Maniac
That’s not to say this update isn’t gory — oh, boy, is it ever — but it has a style the first film sorely lacked. Admittedly, Lustig had little budget to work with back then, whereas P2 helmer Franck Khalfoun enjoyed a $6 million sandbox, now clumped with blood. Playing aggressively against his nice-guy rep, former […]
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Static
Marrieds Jonathan and Addie Dade (respectively, Kiss of the Damned‘s Milo Ventimiglia and Bullet to the Head‘s Sarah Shahi) know this, yet answer the door anyway. There stands a young woman in distress (Sara Paxton, The Innkeepers) who says her car broke down and now is being pursued by men in gas masks. It’s a whale […]
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Snuff
To make a long story short, in 1971, the notorious New York husband-and-wife team of Michael and Roberta Findlay (responsible for such underground cult items as the Touch of Her Flesh trilogy) made a movie titled The Slaughter in Argentina. It was deemed unreleasable until half a decade later, when some enterprising producer made it […]
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Ghost Team One
The film opens Friday in select theaters, as well as digitally and on demand. Using a cameraman hired through Craigslist, two best buds — virginal Sergio (Carlos Santos) and horn-dog chucklehead Brad (J.R. Villarreal, Akeelah and the Bee) — attempt to capture footage of the ghost they believe haunts the home they share. The specter, glimpsed as an Asian female, […]
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How to Seduce a Virgin
As played by Franco regular Alice Arno, Martine is one kinky countess. Moving back into her castle mansion after a stint in a mental institution, she gets off on luring young women there under the pretense of modeling, only to take them into her basement for “games.” Leering and only semi-lucid, How to Seduce […]
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Corruption
One of the first I added to my list was 1968’s Corruption, a mad, mod thriller starring Hammer horror icon — and later Star Wars‘ Grand Moff Tarkin — Peter Cushing. As luck would have it, Grindhouse Releasing has made my search nonexistent with a Blu-ray/DVD combo that marks its North American video debut. Another […]
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This Is the End
Playing exaggerated versions of themselves, Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel go to a party at the house of James Franco. Surrounded by all of their Judd Apatow bros, including Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Craig Robinson (star of the similar, simultaneous Rapture-Palooza) — all playing even more greatly exaggerated versions of themselves — they party it […]
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The Secret of Crickley Hall
Based on a 2006 novel by recently deceased UK horror icon James Herbert, Crickley Hall concerns a family in mourning. Nearing the first anniversary of their unthinkable tragedy, the foursome moves temporarily to the title abode to escape reminders of death. You know what they say about best intentions, right? Because, as the youngest of […]