Tag Archives: retro review

‘TEEN VAMP’ (1989) – Retro Review

Teen Vamp

If you’re a lucky member of Generation X you grew up with some pretty keen “gateway horror movies.” Classics such as Teen Wolf (1985), where a young Michael J. Fox shows just how harrowing it can be to go through the inevitable “changes” teenage boys like him face. Then there was …

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How To Watch A Remake: Celebrating ‘PSYCHO’ (1998)

Psycho

How many excellent films have been cast out as garbage simply because they’re remakes? How many remakes are excellently crafted stand-alone films that would shatter box office records if their predecessors never existed? This is a consideration I want you to make as we take another look at Gus Van …

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‘ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES’ Ring True 30 Years Later – Retro Review

Addams Family Values

When Charles Addams created the brilliantly dark The Addams Family cartoon, he found a way to represent the outcasts who have taught important lessons about acceptance and family for decades. One iteration of the famous creepy kooky family holds as a shining example to this day. Let’s celebrate 30 years of …

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Defending Nobody’s Favorite: Why ‘Scream 3’ Is Better Than You Thought

Scream 3

Recently I conducted a 24 hour survey on SCREAM sequels, asking Twitter their favorite. An overwhelming majority mentioned Scream 2 as their favorite (our writer, Jason, seems to agree). The least favored, however? Scream 3 by a harsh difference. So it’s fair to say it’s not popular. However, I want …

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‘Severance’ (2006) Is A Stark Reminder That Corporate Team Building Exercises Can Be Literal Hell – Retro Review

Ah, Team Building Exercises. During my five year tenure at a corporation, I can honestly say that nothing, NOTHING, was more torturous that than those horrific hours spent “bonding” awkwardly with my co-workers. So when the talented director of Creep (the 2004 version with Franka Potente), Christopher Smith, made Severance, …

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Alejandro Amenábar’s ‘The Others’ Turns 20! – A Haunting Retro Review

Twenty years ago, the world was given a unique and tragic tale set in Alejandro Amenábar’s suspenseful film, The Others. Set in 1940s Channel Islands, the story follows irate mother Grace (Nicole Kidman) as she struggles to deal with a husband at war, two children with severe photosensitivity, and complete …

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Why John Carpenter’s ‘Big Trouble In Little China’ (1986) Still Matters Now – Retro Review

For those who aren’t familiar with it, Big Trouble in Little China is a John Carpenter film that released on July 2, 1986, one that struggled and inevitably flopped in the box office but rebounded on home video release, eventually becoming a cult classic, loved by many, but especially this …

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Retro Review: ‘Meatball Machine’ (2005) Delivers a Twisted and Gory Love Story

With a special edition Blu-ray coming soon—April 12th, 2021—I thought I would take another look at the techno/splatterpunk and body horror film from Japanese directors Yudai Yamaguchi and Junichi Yamamoto, 2005’s Meatball Machine! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVBQedhFk0g Synopsis: Capable of making bio-mechanical weapons out of human flesh, alien parasites grotesquely invade the Earth, …

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James Gunn’s ‘Slither’ (2006) Is Still Slimy Creature Fun – Retro Review

Looking back through James Gunn’s carrier, his trajectory is truly unique. He started out as a volunteer with Troma, eventually becoming a writer for projects like Terror Firmer and Tromeo & Juliet, then moving on to major studio writing for projects like the live action Scooby-Doo films and Zack Snyder’s Dawn of …

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Children Of The Night: 90 Years Of ‘Dracula’ (1931) Retro Review

The vampire is one of Hollywood’s favorite monsters and has been played by countless actors over the decades, although none could reach the influence and magnitude of Bela Lugosi’s (The Wolfman 1941) performance in Dracula (1931). Released on February 14, 1931, Dracula has made our hearts yearn and bleed for …

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