Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 30th, 2019
“Thrill Me!”
When it comes to catch phrases, at least in this household “Thrill Me!” is easily the most used, and it’s all because of Night of the Creeps. I’m not quite sure how many times I’ve seen this film, but for me, when you name off classic horror films, this makes my top 10. I was only six when this film first came out, and I actually discovered it in the mid-90’s upon realizing it was directed by Fred Dekker who was responsible for The Monster Squad (the movie I blame and love for my introduction to horror). What I’m trying to get at is, I’m not sure if it is possible for me to be “objective” with this film. Night of the Creeps is simply a film that is fueled with nostalgia, but I feel has aged better than most horror films from the 80’s. For those who are fans of the film, at least the ones I’ve met, can agree on the film’s awesomeness and its fun B-movie campy-ness that manages to toe the line perfectly between remaining fun while playing a homage to the old 50’s monster films while being a legit horror film. Also there is Tom Atkins, who is a legend in my eyes because of this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 17th, 2019
The novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is certainly a literary classic, but for the sake of this review you’ll need to ignore the book and the previous film adaptations…I think it’ll be easy to forget the 1999 film The Haunting. I say this mostly because if you go into this series expecting that story, you will be disappointed. Instead, what creator and director Mike Flanagan has delivered is a masterpiece of horror that is so good that as the season plays out it manages to outdo itself again and again up to its final episode. When it first aired on Netflix I binged it and instantly fell in love, and when the opportunity arose to return to the series and see extended cuts of the episodes, I was more than happy to oblige.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 16th, 2019
Ever since I saw High Tension, I’ve been a fan of Alexandre Aja. The guy simply has a nice visual flair and for the most part puts out quality horror films. From The Hills Have Eyes remake, to Mirrors, and the beautifully shot Piranha 3D, Aja has made gore look like fine art on the big screen. So to hear he’d be working with Sam Raimi on a horror film, well, that’s simply music to my ears. It’s been a while since we’ve had a good man vs. nature horror film, and the concept of a family attempting to survive a category 5 hurricane in Florida while being hunted by alligators in their crawlspace, well, if that doesn’t get you excited, then just back away now. Crawl isn’t a movie attempting to be high art or go for Oscars; it’s a movie that just wants you to have fun for 90 minutes, and it delivers on that.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2019
"Did you say Chucky?"
The 70’s and 80’s were fertile ground for horror films. It was a new era of iconic monsters. Starting with Michael Myers and Jason, the trend that gave us Freddy seemed to be at the end of its run by the late 1980’s. Certainly sequels were still being churned out, but it seemed like we’d seen the last of these maniacal monsters, at least for a while. But before it petered out, the cycle would supply our nightmares with one more notable denizen…Chucky. Later Chucky would pace the sidelines here in Tampa as the head coach of the local NFL franchise, but for the last 20 years it was the darkest alleyways of our dreams that Chucky prowled. Inhabited by the soul of a killer, Chucky was truly one of the “Good Guys”. Child’s Play was the brainchild of writer Don Mancini. Mancini’s original story Batteries Not Included was changed because of the impending Spielberg film to Blood Buddies. The title and many aspects of the story would evolve over time. Eventually the title Child’s Play took over, and Chucky was born.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 11th, 2019
The Conjuring franchise and its spin-offs have been a success at the box office since 2013. Now with the third Annabelle hitting the big screen, it’s time ask the question: is this the end for the franchise? We already know there is going to be a third Conjuring film coming out next year, but beyond that, I’m guessing the studio heads are watching to see how this film fares with the summer competition. I wasn’t a fan of the first Annabelle. The second one was better, but still it seemed to pale in comparison to The Conjuring films, so to be honest, my expectations were not very high for this new installment. As it turns out, this ended up being my favorite of the spin-off movies, and I have no shame admitting how much fun I had with this one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 13th, 2019
"I know what it's like to see monsters. And I know that when they're gone, they never go away. Me and my brother, we're the guys that stop the monsters. We're the guys that scare them."
Truer words were never spoken. The big news to come out of the world of Supernatural is that it is indeed going away. The brothers made an emotional announcement during the airing of the previous season that the upcoming 15th year would be the final season of the show. It's hard to believe that we'll soon know a television landscape without the Winchester brothers. It's the last show that goes back to the original WB Network that eventually lead to the current CW Network that has become more and more the home of the Warner Brothers-owned DC Comics television universe. But in the middle of speedsters, archers, aliens, and time travelers, there was always room for the Winchesters. It'll be a bit of a culture shock to have them gone. Hard to imagine, but if you were a young 15-year-old kid when you started to watch the show, you're now 30, likely with kids of your own. You live in an entirely different world than you did when you first came aboard. How will you feel without it?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2019
"I don't wanna be buried in a pet sematary."
It's an inescapable fact of life that some things get lost in translation. Italian poetry loses its imagery. War And Peace is apparently much more compelling in Tolstoy's original Russian. And I've been told that Abbott & Costello is painful when told secondhand. You can add to that axiom that Stephen King really doesn't translate very well on the silver screen. The notable exceptions are films based on non-horror works like The Shawshank Redemption and the barely-horror-related Stand By Me. Both are wonderful films that manage to capture King's knack for the absurd in everyday life. While some consider Kubrick's The Shining a classic, you'll find just as many King fans who hated it, "Here's Johnny", and all of that. I've read most of Stephen King's books and a couple of them multiple times. Pet Sematary is one of my favorites, and I've read it at least three times.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 21st, 2019
With the 50th anniversary of the murders committed by Charles Manson’s followers coming up in August, it’s no big surprise that we’re seeing films that focus on those events popping up on the big screen. Hollywood has always had a fascination with the crimes. After all, it involved a rising starlet, Sharon Tate, and director Roman Polanski was making a name for himself in the states after the success of Rosemary’s Baby. We all know what happened with Manson and his followers and the unfortunate fall Polanski took, despite managing to maintain a directing career long after the child rape accusations first percolated. It’s a tragic story all around, and it’s no surprise why it continues to fascinate people. Already there has been the film Charlie Says from Mary Harron (American Psycho), and next month we’ll be getting the long anticipated Once Upon a Time in Hollywood from Quentin Tarantino, whose film takes place around the time of the murders.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on June 17th, 2019
"There are thousands of miles of tunnels beneath the continental United States. Abandoned subway systems, unused routes and deserted mine shafts. Many have no known purpose at all."
A very creepy, violent, and disturbing film, Us, enters theaters, and it’s probably going to be there for some time. Not only is the plot haunting and filled with terror; the acting that makes it work is superb under the guidance of Jordan Peele who gave us the film Get Out. Adding more to the potentially Oscar-worthy film is the dank and fear-inducing cinematography with a soundtrack to match. If you like your horror nonstop, then Us is for you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 8th, 2019
In my review for The Hole in the Ground I talk about my feelings about the “Evil Kid” sub-genre. To sum it up, it’s pretty much my least favorite of the horror genres. Well, this week I got back to back reviews for movies in that genre, and I have to say, The Prodigy managed to surprise me. It brought in only $14 million at the box office with a production cost of about $9 million, and most of the critic reviews were not so kind to the film. Horror and critics really don’t get along so well, as history will show, mainly because for the longest time there has been a bit of a stigma attached to the genre. Thankfully things have started to change in recent years, but some critics still look at horror as nothing more than flashy B-rate cinema. Here at Upcomingdiscs I’d like to think we have always loved the genre and appreciate it at its most absurd and sometimes gory nature.
