You used to hear the refrain from horror film fanatics with a lot more frequency – the original was so much scarier.
And while this is still true to some degree (the films of John Carpenter have been remade with an oddly uniform lousiness), there are still plenty of horror films that have been remade well. Sometimes the remakes are just as good as the original. In rare cases, it even surpasses the original.
Here is our definitive list of the very best horror remakes ever.
(United Artists) “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1978)
Don Siegel’s 1956 classic “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is based on Jack Finney’s story “The Body Snatchers,” which was serialized in Collier’s in 1954 and published as a novel shortly after, has been remade several times over the years. But the very best iteration is still the 1978 version, the first since Siegel’s, from director Philip Kaufman and writer W.D. Richter.
And while this is still true to some degree (the films of John Carpenter have been remade with an oddly uniform lousiness), there are still plenty of horror films that have been remade well. Sometimes the remakes are just as good as the original. In rare cases, it even surpasses the original.
Here is our definitive list of the very best horror remakes ever.
(United Artists) “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1978)
Don Siegel’s 1956 classic “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is based on Jack Finney’s story “The Body Snatchers,” which was serialized in Collier’s in 1954 and published as a novel shortly after, has been remade several times over the years. But the very best iteration is still the 1978 version, the first since Siegel’s, from director Philip Kaufman and writer W.D. Richter.
- 9/14/2024
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Although you won’t often hear his name mentioned among auteur theorists, four-time Oscar winner Robert Wise amassed an impressive filmography in his lifetime. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Wise cut his teeth as a film editor, most notably working on Orson Welles‘ landmark film “Citizen Kane” (1941), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He made his directorial debut with “The Curse of the Cat People” (1944), the first of many successful collaborations with low-budget horror producer Val Lewton.
Throughout his career, Wise excelled at a number of genres, including science fiction (“The Day the Earth Stood Still”), film noir (“Odds Against Tomorrow”), horror (“The Haunting”), war (“The Desert Rats”), comedy (“Two for the Seesaw”), and drama (“Executive Suite”). Rather than imposing his own directorial fingerprint on each film, Wise instead tried to adapt his style to best suit the material.
Wise cut his teeth as a film editor, most notably working on Orson Welles‘ landmark film “Citizen Kane” (1941), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He made his directorial debut with “The Curse of the Cat People” (1944), the first of many successful collaborations with low-budget horror producer Val Lewton.
Throughout his career, Wise excelled at a number of genres, including science fiction (“The Day the Earth Stood Still”), film noir (“Odds Against Tomorrow”), horror (“The Haunting”), war (“The Desert Rats”), comedy (“Two for the Seesaw”), and drama (“Executive Suite”). Rather than imposing his own directorial fingerprint on each film, Wise instead tried to adapt his style to best suit the material.
- 9/6/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Ride the Black Chariot: A Hitchcockian Horror of Vengeance and Retribution
Hex Studios is excited to announce Black Chariot, an intense and deeply disturbing supernatural horror directed by Lawrie Brewster, inspired by the macabre genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Drawing from Hitchcock’s dark thrillers like Rebecca (1942) and Psycho (1960), Brewster seeks to invoke Hitchcock’s spirit, combined with his love of classic film noir and Val Lewton’s atmospheric slow-burn horrors.
Director Lawrie Brewster shared, “My childhood was spent haunted and mesmerized by the romantic and seductive veil Hitchcock cast over me. It shaped my vision of horror, sensuality, and my understanding of fear and obsession. I am thrilled to finally produce a horror film that combines my love for the genre with inspirations drawn from his incomparable genius. Creating a period film and a love letter to that era, in a portrayal of horror that is as hauntingly beautiful as it is terrifying,...
Hex Studios is excited to announce Black Chariot, an intense and deeply disturbing supernatural horror directed by Lawrie Brewster, inspired by the macabre genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Drawing from Hitchcock’s dark thrillers like Rebecca (1942) and Psycho (1960), Brewster seeks to invoke Hitchcock’s spirit, combined with his love of classic film noir and Val Lewton’s atmospheric slow-burn horrors.
Director Lawrie Brewster shared, “My childhood was spent haunted and mesmerized by the romantic and seductive veil Hitchcock cast over me. It shaped my vision of horror, sensuality, and my understanding of fear and obsession. I am thrilled to finally produce a horror film that combines my love for the genre with inspirations drawn from his incomparable genius. Creating a period film and a love letter to that era, in a portrayal of horror that is as hauntingly beautiful as it is terrifying,...
- 8/13/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
Welcome to the latest edition of our (semi) regular crowdfunding feature here on Nerdly – Back This! – where we take a look at some of the cool content taking the crowdfunding route on sites such as Indiegogo, Greenlit and Kickstarter. In this edition, we’re spotlighting Black Chariot, the latest film from Hex Studios and director Lawrie Brewster.
Hex Studios’ Black Chariot is an intense and deeply disturbing supernatural horror directed by Lawrie Brewster, inspired by the macabre genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Drawing from Hitchcock’s dark thrillers like Rebecca (1942) and Psycho (1960), Brewster seeks to invoke Hitchcock’s spirit, combined with his love of classic film noir and Val Lewton’s atmospheric slow-burn horrors.
Director Lawrie Brewster shared:
My childhood was spent haunted and mesmerized by the romantic and seductive veil Hitchcock cast over me. It shaped my vision of horror, sensuality, and my understanding of fear and obsession. I am...
Hex Studios’ Black Chariot is an intense and deeply disturbing supernatural horror directed by Lawrie Brewster, inspired by the macabre genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Drawing from Hitchcock’s dark thrillers like Rebecca (1942) and Psycho (1960), Brewster seeks to invoke Hitchcock’s spirit, combined with his love of classic film noir and Val Lewton’s atmospheric slow-burn horrors.
Director Lawrie Brewster shared:
My childhood was spent haunted and mesmerized by the romantic and seductive veil Hitchcock cast over me. It shaped my vision of horror, sensuality, and my understanding of fear and obsession. I am...
- 8/7/2024
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
This October, Spirit Entertainment, in collaboration with The Criterion Collection, is set to delight horror fans with the release of two seminal films, Night of the Living Dead and a double feature of I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim. These releases promise to offer a fresh perspective on classic horror with pristine 4K restorations and an array of special features that delve into the making and legacy of these groundbreaking films.
Night of the Living Dead: A Landmark in Independent Cinema
Directed by the legendary George A. Romero, Night of the Living Dead will be available in a new 4K Uhd restoration on 7th October. Shot on a modest budget just outside Pittsburgh, this 1968 masterpiece became a midnight hit and a box-office sensation, fundamentally altering the horror genre. The film’s simple yet gripping plot follows a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse as they fend...
Night of the Living Dead: A Landmark in Independent Cinema
Directed by the legendary George A. Romero, Night of the Living Dead will be available in a new 4K Uhd restoration on 7th October. Shot on a modest budget just outside Pittsburgh, this 1968 masterpiece became a midnight hit and a box-office sensation, fundamentally altering the horror genre. The film’s simple yet gripping plot follows a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse as they fend...
- 8/2/2024
- by Emily Bennett
- Love Horror
Ride the "Black Chariot" - A Hitchcockian Horror of Vengeance and Retribution: "Hex Studios is excited to announce Black Chariot, an intense and deeply disturbing supernatural horror directed by Lawrie Brewster, inspired by the macabre genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Drawing from Hitchcock's dark thrillers like Rebecca (1942) and Psycho (1960), Brewster seeks to invoke Hitchcock's spirit, combined with his love of classic film noir and Val Lewton’s atmospheric slow-burn horrors.
Director Lawrie Brewster shared, “My childhood was spent haunted and mesmerized by the romantic and seductive veil Hitchcock cast over me. It shaped my vision of horror, sensuality, and my understanding of fear and obsession. I am thrilled to finally produce a horror film that combines my love for the genre with inspirations drawn from his incomparable genius. Creating a period film and a love letter to that era, in a portrayal of horror that is as hauntingly beautiful as it is terrifying,...
Director Lawrie Brewster shared, “My childhood was spent haunted and mesmerized by the romantic and seductive veil Hitchcock cast over me. It shaped my vision of horror, sensuality, and my understanding of fear and obsession. I am thrilled to finally produce a horror film that combines my love for the genre with inspirations drawn from his incomparable genius. Creating a period film and a love letter to that era, in a portrayal of horror that is as hauntingly beautiful as it is terrifying,...
- 7/30/2024
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Folk horror from Japan! Angelic and devilish souls from rural America (US)! Val Lewton horror from Hollywood! Melodrama from Germany! In October 2024, Criterion plans to release a rich collection of horror-month appropriate titles from across the world. To be specific, in Demon Pond, "Japanese New Wave renegade Masahiro Shinoda transforms a classic Kabuki tale with his own extravagant visual style in this dimension-shattering folk-horror fantasia," according to the official description To continue: "When a lone traveler (Tsutomu Yamazaki) stumbles upon a remote, drought-stricken village, he finds himself engulfed in a whirlpool of myth, mystery, and magic: in a nearby pond reside spirits who hold the fate of the town's inhabitants--including lovers Akira (Go Kato) and Yuri (Kabuki legend Tamasaburo Bando, who also plays the...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/15/2024
- Screen Anarchy
A pair of moody horror milestones from producer Val Lewton, I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim are being paired up for a new release from The Criterion Collection.
The double feature is getting a 4K Uhd + Blu-ray combo edition as well as a Blu-ray edition and a DVD edition, with the release date for all three versions set for October 8, 2024.
Terror lives in the shadows in a pair of mesmerizingly moody horror milestones conjured from the imagination of Val Lewton, the visionary producer-auteur who turned our fears of the unseen and the unknown into haunting excursions into existential dread.
As head of Rko’s B-horror-movie unit during the 1940s, Lewton, working with directors such as Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, brought a new sophistication to the genre by wringing chills not from conventional movie monsters but from brooding atmosphere, suggestion, and psychosexual unease.
Suffused with ritual, mysticism,...
The double feature is getting a 4K Uhd + Blu-ray combo edition as well as a Blu-ray edition and a DVD edition, with the release date for all three versions set for October 8, 2024.
Terror lives in the shadows in a pair of mesmerizingly moody horror milestones conjured from the imagination of Val Lewton, the visionary producer-auteur who turned our fears of the unseen and the unknown into haunting excursions into existential dread.
As head of Rko’s B-horror-movie unit during the 1940s, Lewton, working with directors such as Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, brought a new sophistication to the genre by wringing chills not from conventional movie monsters but from brooding atmosphere, suggestion, and psychosexual unease.
Suffused with ritual, mysticism,...
- 7/15/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Likely that Gummo‘s most often been seen on a DVD passed among friends like cinematic contraband. Though I doubt that legacy will ever quite die (maybe now it’s Mkv files), that history makes all the more notable a 4K upgrade put into circulation by Criterion. They’ll be releasing Harmony Korine’s totemic feature debut in October alongside a Val Lewton double of I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim and Masahiro Shinoda’s Demon Pond. Per the traditional October viewing, one could say that all four are, in their own ways, horror.
Meanwhile, G. W. Pabst’s immortal Pandora’s Box, featuring the never-bested Louise Brooks, gets a Blu-ray upgrade.
See cover art below and more at Criterion:
The post The Criterion Collection’s October Lineup Includes Val Lewton and Harmony Korine on 4K first appeared on The Film Stage.
Meanwhile, G. W. Pabst’s immortal Pandora’s Box, featuring the never-bested Louise Brooks, gets a Blu-ray upgrade.
See cover art below and more at Criterion:
The post The Criterion Collection’s October Lineup Includes Val Lewton and Harmony Korine on 4K first appeared on The Film Stage.
- 7/15/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
It’s been almost 70 years since the first of four film adaptations of Jack Finney’s 1954 novel The Body Snatchers was released and in that time we’ve yet to meet a single one of these so-called “snatchers.” I suppose that’s the point, since if they have to snatch a body, they don’t have bodies. This plays directly into the way the story, in its various adaptations, serves as a metaphorical horse to be hitched to any topical cart, the non-corporeal snatchers (presumably extra-terrestrial) view us as all-purpose vehicles for their…what? Bodies, minds, or souls? Don Siegel’s 1956 film, still considered to be the quintessential version of the story (though Philip Kaufman and Abel Ferrara’s remakes aren’t exactly chopped liver), actually conceals the answer behind budget compromises and plot holes: They are us, or we could be, if we don’t watch out.
Through the...
Through the...
- 7/12/2024
- by Jaime N. Christley
- Slant Magazine
We don’t get a ton of Gothic or romanticized horror anymore, at least not in the sense of the old days. The old days had a bit of a stretch too as I’m talking about the Universal classics and Val Lewton all the way through at least the early run of Hammer Films. To that end, what creature is more romantic or at least romanticized than Dracula and any of his vampire off shoots? While many of the vampiric screen adaptations have that feel to them from Frank Langella to Gary Oldman and David Bowie sandwiched in between, there are few vampires who embody that ideology more than those found in the writings of Anne Rice. While her novel Interview with the Vampire came out all the way back in 1976, it would take nearly 20 years for the adaptation to hit theaters with the movie of the same name...
- 7/10/2024
- by Andrew Hatfield
- JoBlo.com
Some of the most memorable ventures into "The Twilight Zone" are bottle episodes in spirit if not exact definition. "The Invaders" follows a woman in a remote cabin menaced by tiny aliens. "Nothing in the Dark" features not only a young Robert Redford but also an elderly woman (Gladys Cooper) scared that death will be arriving at her door.
Cooper returned for a similar "Twilight Zone" in the show's fifth and last season: "The Night Call" Cooper plays Elva Keene, an aged widow living in a Maine cabin who is dealing with repeated phone calls that always go silent whenever she picks up. Is it just a technical error, like her nurse assures her? Or is something sinister and supernatural lurking in the phone lines?
On "The Night Call," the guest talent wasn't only in front of the camera. The episode was directed by Jacques Tourneur, one of the first...
Cooper returned for a similar "Twilight Zone" in the show's fifth and last season: "The Night Call" Cooper plays Elva Keene, an aged widow living in a Maine cabin who is dealing with repeated phone calls that always go silent whenever she picks up. Is it just a technical error, like her nurse assures her? Or is something sinister and supernatural lurking in the phone lines?
On "The Night Call," the guest talent wasn't only in front of the camera. The episode was directed by Jacques Tourneur, one of the first...
- 6/29/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Admit it – there’s at least one horror movie out there with a “gotcha” moment that made your heart slam against the inside of your ribcage. A sudden out-of-nowhere reveal, often accompanied by a loud noise on the soundtrack. Scenes like this have been making audiences soil their seats since the era of classic monster movies, and it’s not hard to see why. The response is hardwired into our brains; an instinctive fight-or-flight reflex when our natural defense mechanisms are rudely interrupted. The term “jump scare” wasn’t commonly used to label this effect until the 21st century, and it only really became part of popular culture after the birth of YouTube – which practically weaponized the technique with viral “screamer” videos and clip compilations.
Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock once famously criticized this kind of scare tactic, claiming suspense far is more effective than a sudden shock… but he’s...
Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock once famously criticized this kind of scare tactic, claiming suspense far is more effective than a sudden shock… but he’s...
- 4/18/2024
- by Gregory S. Burkart
- JoBlo.com
Quick: Name five stars who got their start in horror movies. This is such an easy question, even for much of today’s modern crop of Gen-z talent. So posing it in the 1980s is hardly fair. And yet, that is what Mia Goth’s eternally striving dreamer does at the top of the new MaXXXine trailer from A24.
“Jamie Lee Curtis, John Travolta, Demi Moore, and—” Maxine’s video store clerk buddy rattles off. She cuts him off before what surely must have been Kevin Bacon. At least it’s easy to presume this, because the trailer almost immediately cuts to a shot of a slightly older Bacon, who’s transitioned from big screen heartthrob to cinema statesman, stating, “My employer is a very powerful man.” Once upon a time, Bacon might’ve said the same thing about Sean S. Cunningham. After all, Bacon got his start in Cunningham’s ‘80s schlock classic,...
“Jamie Lee Curtis, John Travolta, Demi Moore, and—” Maxine’s video store clerk buddy rattles off. She cuts him off before what surely must have been Kevin Bacon. At least it’s easy to presume this, because the trailer almost immediately cuts to a shot of a slightly older Bacon, who’s transitioned from big screen heartthrob to cinema statesman, stating, “My employer is a very powerful man.” Once upon a time, Bacon might’ve said the same thing about Sean S. Cunningham. After all, Bacon got his start in Cunningham’s ‘80s schlock classic,...
- 4/8/2024
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
The highest grossing director of all time, Steven Spielberg enjoys high-brow classics as much as crowd-pleasing blockbusters. Known for “Jurassic Park,” “Indiana Jones,” “Jaws,” “West Side Story” (2021), and more favorites, the beloved American filmmaker premiered his semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans” in theaters last November.
The movie, nominated for seven Oscars (winning none), tells the story of how Spielberg came to be Spielberg — chiefly through the lens of his parents’ traumatic divorce. Boasting a cast that includes not just Michelle Williams and Paul Dano as Spielberg’s mom and dad, but also David Lynch in a rare acting opportunity, “The Fabelmans” was described by IndieWire’s David Ehrlich as an epic rendering of “the breakup that launched a million blockbusters.”
Following the contemplative mood of two-ish years in Covid-19 lockdown, the 2022 fall film season was chockfull of projects meditating on the role — and, in the case of “TÁR,” responsibility — of artists. How...
The movie, nominated for seven Oscars (winning none), tells the story of how Spielberg came to be Spielberg — chiefly through the lens of his parents’ traumatic divorce. Boasting a cast that includes not just Michelle Williams and Paul Dano as Spielberg’s mom and dad, but also David Lynch in a rare acting opportunity, “The Fabelmans” was described by IndieWire’s David Ehrlich as an epic rendering of “the breakup that launched a million blockbusters.”
Following the contemplative mood of two-ish years in Covid-19 lockdown, the 2022 fall film season was chockfull of projects meditating on the role — and, in the case of “TÁR,” responsibility — of artists. How...
- 3/27/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
The Coen brothers broke up four years ago, and it has taken them a while to come out with solo albums that define their identities. In 2021, Joel Coen directed “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” which was a dazzling black-and-white pastiche of a Shakespeare drama. It was well-done but felt like a one-off, a decision by Coen to serve the material. One year later, Ethan Coen came out with “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind,” a small-scale rock ‘n’ roll documentary that he made during the pandemic; it was a YouTube clip job, and on those terms expertly crafted — but even after Jerry Lee died (five months after the film’s Cannes premiere), it took ages for the film to be released.
Now, though, we finally have a Coen movie in which one of the brothers puts his solo stamp on filmmaking. “Drive-Away Dolls,” directed by Ethan Coen, is a crime-speckled road-trip...
Now, though, we finally have a Coen movie in which one of the brothers puts his solo stamp on filmmaking. “Drive-Away Dolls,” directed by Ethan Coen, is a crime-speckled road-trip...
- 2/21/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Believe it or not, the dreadful 2004 Catwoman was not the movie Warner Bros. set out to make. After Michelle Pfeiffer‘s stunning turn as Selina Kyle in Batman Returns, nobody initially thought, “Yes, but what if we get some terrible French commercial director to shoot a story about a different cat lady fighting a budget-Emma Frost like it’s a perfume ad?” In the truth, the Catwoman project went through many iterations, not landing on the laughable mess that stalled the career of Halle Berry (who’s actually quite good in Catwoman) until the early 2000s.
Recently, Batman Returns screenwriter Daniel Waters shared some ideas about the original treatment for a Catwoman spinoff that director Tim Burton himself wanted to make after his Batman sequel. As revealed to IndieWire after a screening in Los Angeles in December, Burton had no intention of continuing the superhero route for his Catwoman film.
Recently, Batman Returns screenwriter Daniel Waters shared some ideas about the original treatment for a Catwoman spinoff that director Tim Burton himself wanted to make after his Batman sequel. As revealed to IndieWire after a screening in Los Angeles in December, Burton had no intention of continuing the superhero route for his Catwoman film.
- 1/5/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
On the 8th day of Creepmas, we’re celebrating the Victorian holiday tradition of sharing ghost stories. Telling ghost stories during winter was a folk custom that dated back centuries but slowly faded over time. Any tradition that involves scaring each other with horror stories feels like one worth reviving, so today’s Creepmas festivities embrace holiday horror movies that center around ghosts and hauntings. The eight titles below run the gamut from inducing warm holiday feels to ghostly insanity to chilling terror.
The 12 Days of Creepmas continues on Bloody Disgusting, this time with 8 Christmas ghosts to haunt your holiday season.
Keep track of the 12 Days of Creepmas here.
Anything for Jackson
Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings star as Audrey and Henry Walsh, a well-to-do couple mourning their young grandson’s tragic loss. Still deep in the denial stage of grief, they turn to Satanism. The couple kidnaps a pregnant...
The 12 Days of Creepmas continues on Bloody Disgusting, this time with 8 Christmas ghosts to haunt your holiday season.
Keep track of the 12 Days of Creepmas here.
Anything for Jackson
Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings star as Audrey and Henry Walsh, a well-to-do couple mourning their young grandson’s tragic loss. Still deep in the denial stage of grief, they turn to Satanism. The couple kidnaps a pregnant...
- 12/18/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
“Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within…and whatever walked there, walked alone.” – Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House (1959).
Of all the subgenres of horror, the haunted house story has provided the most opportunities for slow and subtle terror that creeps and crawls its way under the skin and into the psyche. The Old Dark House (1932), The Uninvited (1944), The Innocents (1961), Burnt Offerings (1976), and The Changeling (1980) stand among the best that not only the haunted house film, but all of horror have to offer. For many, the absolute pinnacle of these films is Robert Wise’s 1963 masterpiece of suggestive horror The Haunting. Based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, the film owes much to the influences of the past while still carving a way toward the future, is populated by rich and relatable characters, and is a deeply felt...
Of all the subgenres of horror, the haunted house story has provided the most opportunities for slow and subtle terror that creeps and crawls its way under the skin and into the psyche. The Old Dark House (1932), The Uninvited (1944), The Innocents (1961), Burnt Offerings (1976), and The Changeling (1980) stand among the best that not only the haunted house film, but all of horror have to offer. For many, the absolute pinnacle of these films is Robert Wise’s 1963 masterpiece of suggestive horror The Haunting. Based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, the film owes much to the influences of the past while still carving a way toward the future, is populated by rich and relatable characters, and is a deeply felt...
- 11/28/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
When cinephiles of a certain sensibility talk about the best decades for horror, they’ll probably point to the 1980s with its explosion of cutting-edge special effects and home video-induced demand for material. Or they might point to the era of Universal Pictures’ domination in the 1930s, followed up then by the moody Val Lewton thrillers of the 1940s. Maybe even a very unpopular kid will try to make an argument for the 2010s, at least until everyone pulls the A24 hat over his eyes and kicks him out.
But moviegoers would be foolish to overlook the 1960s. The decade saw not only two amazing horror flicks from Alfred Hitchcock but also caught the genre in an interesting time of transition. Filmmakers built on the Gothic approach of previous decades by adding a psychological dimension, finding new chills in an established model. Furthermore, the decade saw the first steps toward the ho,...
But moviegoers would be foolish to overlook the 1960s. The decade saw not only two amazing horror flicks from Alfred Hitchcock but also caught the genre in an interesting time of transition. Filmmakers built on the Gothic approach of previous decades by adding a psychological dimension, finding new chills in an established model. Furthermore, the decade saw the first steps toward the ho,...
- 10/21/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Parasitic obsession sickens the roots of “Eileen,” director William Oldroyd’s adaptation of novelist Ottessa Moshfegh’s slim 2015 chiller. The 1960s-set noir, which played out of competition way back in January at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, stars Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie in career-topping turns. Neon will open the film in limited release on December 1 before going wide on December 8. Watch the official trailer below.
Set in a punishing 1964 winter outside of Boston, “Eileen” centers on the title character, a young secretary played by Thomas McKenzie, who becomes enchanted by the glamorous, blonde new counselor at the prison where she works. Their friendship takes a sinister turn around a recently incarcerated juvenile, now at the institution after his father’s murder, and together Eileen and Rebecca (Hathaway) spark a twisted connection reminiscent of “Carol” meets Hitchcock — especially when you consider Hathaway’s character’s cinematic namesake.
Oldroyd’s second feature...
Set in a punishing 1964 winter outside of Boston, “Eileen” centers on the title character, a young secretary played by Thomas McKenzie, who becomes enchanted by the glamorous, blonde new counselor at the prison where she works. Their friendship takes a sinister turn around a recently incarcerated juvenile, now at the institution after his father’s murder, and together Eileen and Rebecca (Hathaway) spark a twisted connection reminiscent of “Carol” meets Hitchcock — especially when you consider Hathaway’s character’s cinematic namesake.
Oldroyd’s second feature...
- 10/17/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
We’re now just a few days away from the widest release of Martin Scorsese’s career as Killers of the Flower Moon is set to open in around 3,500 theaters in the United States from Paramount and Apple. With the SAG strike underway, the legendary director himself has led the promotional campaign, which means the publishing of several stellar interviews digging deeper into the process.
One of the most interesting bits to arrive about the production of his David Grann adaptation is that Scorsese drew inspiration from Ari Aster when it comes to the project. “I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s Midsommar or Beau Is Afraid,” he told The Irish Times. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People or I Walked With a Zombie.” While Scorsese’s admiration for Aster is well-documented,...
One of the most interesting bits to arrive about the production of his David Grann adaptation is that Scorsese drew inspiration from Ari Aster when it comes to the project. “I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s Midsommar or Beau Is Afraid,” he told The Irish Times. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People or I Walked With a Zombie.” While Scorsese’s admiration for Aster is well-documented,...
- 10/17/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Based on David Grann’s best-selling crime thriller, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon tells the real-life mystery of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma in the 1920s, who became wealthy after oil was discovered beneath their land. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off, and the ensuing spiral of conspiracy, greed and murder got so bad that the FBI had to step in. It’s a sprawling story with a nearly three-and-a-half-hour runtime, and Martin Scorsese looked to the films of Ari Aster for influence on its pacing.
“I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s Midsommar or Beau Is Afraid,” Martin Scorsese told The Irish Times. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People or I Walked With a Zombie. Just going a little slower.
“I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s Midsommar or Beau Is Afraid,” Martin Scorsese told The Irish Times. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People or I Walked With a Zombie. Just going a little slower.
- 10/17/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have been quite open in interviews when discussing the massive “Killers of the Flower Moon” script overhaul that took place during the film’s development. In a new interview with The Irish Times, the director revealed that he and co-writer Eric Roth had been working on the “Flower Moon” script for two whole years when DiCaprio took issue with the approach.
“Myself and [my co-screenwriter] Eric Roth talked about telling the story from the point of view of the bureau agents coming in to investigate,” Scorsese said. “After two years of working on the script, Leo came to me and asked, ‘Where is the heart of this story?’ I had had meetings and dinners with the Osage, and I thought, ‘Well, there’s the story.’ The real story, we felt, was not necessarily coming from the outside, with the bureau, but rather from the inside, from Oklahoma.
“Myself and [my co-screenwriter] Eric Roth talked about telling the story from the point of view of the bureau agents coming in to investigate,” Scorsese said. “After two years of working on the script, Leo came to me and asked, ‘Where is the heart of this story?’ I had had meetings and dinners with the Osage, and I thought, ‘Well, there’s the story.’ The real story, we felt, was not necessarily coming from the outside, with the bureau, but rather from the inside, from Oklahoma.
- 10/16/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Martin Scorsese is crediting Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” for inspiring the pacing and running time of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Scorsese told The Irish Times that the 206-minute length of “Killers of the Flower Moon” is in line with horror films ranging from auteurs like Aster or Val Lewton. “Killers of the Flower Moon” borrows from a blend of genres like Westerns and horror.
“I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ or ‘Beau Is Afraid,'” Scorsese said. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s ‘Cat People’ or ‘I Walked With a Zombie.’ Just going a little slower, a little quieter.”
Scorsese continued, “I was very concerned about allowing scenes that were not narrative into the story, scenes to do with the Osage culture — leaving in those scenes of custom,...
Scorsese told The Irish Times that the 206-minute length of “Killers of the Flower Moon” is in line with horror films ranging from auteurs like Aster or Val Lewton. “Killers of the Flower Moon” borrows from a blend of genres like Westerns and horror.
“I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ or ‘Beau Is Afraid,'” Scorsese said. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s ‘Cat People’ or ‘I Walked With a Zombie.’ Just going a little slower, a little quieter.”
Scorsese continued, “I was very concerned about allowing scenes that were not narrative into the story, scenes to do with the Osage culture — leaving in those scenes of custom,...
- 10/16/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
One of the great unsung traditions of horror is a character’s external environment reflecting their internal state. It has found its way into films as diverse as Repulsion (1965), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994), and Relic (2020) to name just a few. Edgar Allan Poe was hardly the first to use the device, it had been a feature of the Gothic romances popular in the decades before him, but Poe moved it from character-deepening subtext to overt metaphor in his short story “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
Roger Corman’s 1960 film adaptation of the story latches onto and expands this and several of Poe’s obsessions into what has become a classic of slow-burning terror. The Fall of the House of Usher is the first in what has come to be called the Corman Poe Cycle. These eight films produced between 1960 and 1964 are among the most stylish,...
Roger Corman’s 1960 film adaptation of the story latches onto and expands this and several of Poe’s obsessions into what has become a classic of slow-burning terror. The Fall of the House of Usher is the first in what has come to be called the Corman Poe Cycle. These eight films produced between 1960 and 1964 are among the most stylish,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Guillermo del Toro doesn’t hold back about his love for his favorite movies. If you’ve spent any time on his Twitter feed over the years, you’ve likely seen him praise Stanley Donen’s use of the color red throughout the late director’s body of work, and hail everything from William Wellman’s 1931 film “Other Men’s Women” to David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” from 2022. The man has wide-ranging taste, and a deep awareness of cinematic history that’s informed his own films.
Now he follows Turner Classic Movies advisors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson in giving his own picks from TCM’s lineup, all titles that will be airing in October. Watch the video, exclusive to IndieWire, above.
First up, he picks one of the most sorely underrated titles from Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography, 1941’s “Suspicion,” airing on TCM at 2:00am...
Now he follows Turner Classic Movies advisors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson in giving his own picks from TCM’s lineup, all titles that will be airing in October. Watch the video, exclusive to IndieWire, above.
First up, he picks one of the most sorely underrated titles from Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography, 1941’s “Suspicion,” airing on TCM at 2:00am...
- 9/29/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
What the fuck is in that jar?
That’s the first question that It Lives Inside throws at you, and the one that has Samida (Never Have I Ever‘s Megan Suri) wondering if it has something to do with the odd behavior of her classmate, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan). Once upon a time, these two first-generation Indian-Americans were the closest of friends. Then, as they got older, Samida started going by “Sam,” began distancing herself from her cultural identity, and chose to hang with a newer, “cooler” (read: Caucasian) crowd.
That’s the first question that It Lives Inside throws at you, and the one that has Samida (Never Have I Ever‘s Megan Suri) wondering if it has something to do with the odd behavior of her classmate, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan). Once upon a time, these two first-generation Indian-Americans were the closest of friends. Then, as they got older, Samida started going by “Sam,” began distancing herself from her cultural identity, and chose to hang with a newer, “cooler” (read: Caucasian) crowd.
- 9/22/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
“The clouds lifted” for cinema’s future recently. At least that was how Martin Scorsese felt after he saw “TÁR,” on which he lavished praise at the New York Film Critics Circle awards dinner in early January 2023.
That kind of praise means a lot. Scorsese is not just one of the greatest filmmakers of all time: he’s one of its greatest cinephiles. In recent years, he’s become known for the movies — or, as he might say of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “theme parks” — he doesn’t enjoy. But the Oscar-winning director’s favorite films are as wide-ranging in genre, year of release, and national origin as you might imagine, from Ti West’s “Pearl” to the horror flicks of Val Lewton and the works of Senegalese master Djibril Diop Mambety. He’s such an avid-moving watching buff that, in a recent interview with Time Magazine, he admitted he...
That kind of praise means a lot. Scorsese is not just one of the greatest filmmakers of all time: he’s one of its greatest cinephiles. In recent years, he’s become known for the movies — or, as he might say of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “theme parks” — he doesn’t enjoy. But the Oscar-winning director’s favorite films are as wide-ranging in genre, year of release, and national origin as you might imagine, from Ti West’s “Pearl” to the horror flicks of Val Lewton and the works of Senegalese master Djibril Diop Mambety. He’s such an avid-moving watching buff that, in a recent interview with Time Magazine, he admitted he...
- 9/13/2023
- by Alison Foreman and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
One of the unique aspects of the horror films produced by Val Lewton at Rko in the 1940s is the seriousness with which they discuss matters of mental illness. Even today, mental health issues are often tiptoed around, but in the forties, they were practically taboo. As discussed in previous entries in this column, Cat People (1942) is largely about repression and The Body Snatcher (1945) deals with guilt, paranoia, and psychopathy. The Seventh Victim (1943), one of the lesser-seen entries in the Lewton cycle, is about loneliness, the depression that stems from it, and suicidal ideation. It externalizes the inner struggles between the light and darkness that use the mind as a battlefield and demand a choice between life and death. Because of the unflinching way The Seventh Victim approaches the subject of suicide, this should be a considered a content warning for the discussion to come later. But first, some background on the film itself.
- 8/7/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Somewhere in the middle of Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, the eponymous young character (Asa Butterfield) dreams of a catastrophe in which a steam train runs over him, careens through the Gare Montparnasse railway terminal, and takes a nosedive into the street outside. While it isn’t made clear, or mentioned at all after he wakes up, the disaster he dreams about is based on a real crash at the same station that happened in 1895, mere months before the public exhibition of the Lumière brothers’ seminal actuality film Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat.
As the persistent but largely embellished filmic chestnut has it, audience members who first witnessed the Lumières’ cinematographic train fled the screening room in Paris in a panic, reacting as if they were in real danger of being run over. If you “print the legend” regarding these perhaps apocryphal, panicking spectators, it’s not too much...
As the persistent but largely embellished filmic chestnut has it, audience members who first witnessed the Lumières’ cinematographic train fled the screening room in Paris in a panic, reacting as if they were in real danger of being run over. If you “print the legend” regarding these perhaps apocryphal, panicking spectators, it’s not too much...
- 7/10/2023
- by Jaime N. Christley
- Slant Magazine
François Truffaut’s ode to Hitchcock and Cornell Woolrich is an ice-cold femme revenge tale. Jeanne Moreau exacts retribution from five men who made her a widow on her wedding day. Truffaut winds it as tightly as a mousetrap, leaving Ms. Moreau’s psychology a mystery — feminists can debate whether the film is misogynistic. Raoul Coutard’s color cinematography is deceptively warm and inviting; the film’s biggest boost comes from Bernard Herrmann’s powerful music score.
The Bride Wore Black
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1968 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date February 14, 2023 / La mariée était en noir / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Michel Bouquet, Jean-Claude Brialy, Charles Denner, Claude Rich, Michael Lonsdale, Daniel Boulanger, Alexandra Stewart, Sylvine Delannoy, Luce Fabiole, Michèle Montfort.
Cinematography: Raoul Coutard
Production Designer: Pierre Guffroy
Film Editor: Claudine Bouché
Original Music: Bernard Herrmann
Written by François Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard from the novel by William Irish...
The Bride Wore Black
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1968 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date February 14, 2023 / La mariée était en noir / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Michel Bouquet, Jean-Claude Brialy, Charles Denner, Claude Rich, Michael Lonsdale, Daniel Boulanger, Alexandra Stewart, Sylvine Delannoy, Luce Fabiole, Michèle Montfort.
Cinematography: Raoul Coutard
Production Designer: Pierre Guffroy
Film Editor: Claudine Bouché
Original Music: Bernard Herrmann
Written by François Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard from the novel by William Irish...
- 2/4/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Two films made in 1941 led directly to the making of Cat People the following year, The Wolf Man and Citizen Kane. Kane had become a fiasco for Rko when newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst condemned the film as a thinly veiled attack against him. Ultimately it led to the ousting of studio head George Shaefer. His replacement, Charles Koerner, brought with him the motto “showmanship in place of genius.” Seeing the success of the revival of Universal’s low budget horror pictures, Koerner hired writer/producer Val Lewton to head up a new horror unit at Rko. The first assignment given to Lewton was a title meant to capitalize on the success of The Wolf Man and its ideas of a human that turns into a beast, Cat People, but Lewton gave them something far different than the studio brass expected. Rather than a sensational exploitation film aimed at the youth market,...
- 1/10/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Get Fucked Oliver
It was a busy November as Trace and I bounced from Jennifer Reeder’s female-centric text Knives and Skin to Paul Verhoeven’s anti-war satire Starship Troopers. Then we dipped over to Japan for Satoshi Kon’s gorgeously animated Perfect Blue before tackling Thanksgiving queerness in Addams Family Values, which proved, yet again, that straight folks get really upset when we explore Lgbtqia issues in popular texts!
In celebration of the final week of Noirvember, now we’re covering Val Lewton‘s 1942 Film Noir-informed psychosexual thriller Cat People. In the Jacques Tourneur-directed film, Irena (Simone Simon) is a Serbian immigrant living in New York with no friends or family. She is wooed by All-American Oliver (Kent Smith), but can’t consummate their marriage for fear of activating a killer curse that she believes will transform her into a panther and kill. Challenged by terrible therapist Dr.
It was a busy November as Trace and I bounced from Jennifer Reeder’s female-centric text Knives and Skin to Paul Verhoeven’s anti-war satire Starship Troopers. Then we dipped over to Japan for Satoshi Kon’s gorgeously animated Perfect Blue before tackling Thanksgiving queerness in Addams Family Values, which proved, yet again, that straight folks get really upset when we explore Lgbtqia issues in popular texts!
In celebration of the final week of Noirvember, now we’re covering Val Lewton‘s 1942 Film Noir-informed psychosexual thriller Cat People. In the Jacques Tourneur-directed film, Irena (Simone Simon) is a Serbian immigrant living in New York with no friends or family. She is wooed by All-American Oliver (Kent Smith), but can’t consummate their marriage for fear of activating a killer curse that she believes will transform her into a panther and kill. Challenged by terrible therapist Dr.
- 12/5/2022
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
Ma-li-bu Bar-bie!
It’s already the end of November, but we had a wild ride this month discussing the dream-like pastel world of Jennifer Reeder’s women-centric Knives and Skin and the 25th-anniversary fascist machismo world of Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers. Then last week we made our second foray into animated fare (after ParaNorman) with Satoshi Kon‘s stunning first film, Perfect Blue. This week, in celebration of Thanksgiving and Netflix’s release of Wednesday (review), we’re visiting the Addamses in Barry Sonnenfeld‘s better-than-the-original sequel Addams Family Values (1993)!
In the film, Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) celebrate the birth of their child Pubert (Kaitlyn and Kristen Hooper), while black widow serial killer Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack) marries Fester Addams (Christopher Lloyd) with the intent to murder him for his inheritance. Plus, teenagers Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) are sent to a summer camp...
It’s already the end of November, but we had a wild ride this month discussing the dream-like pastel world of Jennifer Reeder’s women-centric Knives and Skin and the 25th-anniversary fascist machismo world of Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers. Then last week we made our second foray into animated fare (after ParaNorman) with Satoshi Kon‘s stunning first film, Perfect Blue. This week, in celebration of Thanksgiving and Netflix’s release of Wednesday (review), we’re visiting the Addamses in Barry Sonnenfeld‘s better-than-the-original sequel Addams Family Values (1993)!
In the film, Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) celebrate the birth of their child Pubert (Kaitlyn and Kristen Hooper), while black widow serial killer Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack) marries Fester Addams (Christopher Lloyd) with the intent to murder him for his inheritance. Plus, teenagers Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) are sent to a summer camp...
- 11/28/2022
- by Trace Thurman
- bloody-disgusting.com
Celebrated cartoonist and screenwriter Daniel Clowes discusses his favorite formative films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Baxter (1989)
Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1966) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Ghost World (2001) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Art School Confidential (2006)
Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Gone With The Wind (1939)
Mudhoney (1965) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968)
Common Law Cabin (1967)
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Seven Minutes (1971)
Black Snake (1973)
An American Werewolf In London (1981) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray reviews
Lady In A Cage (1964) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Wild One (1953)
Hush…...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Baxter (1989)
Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1966) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Ghost World (2001) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Art School Confidential (2006)
Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Gone With The Wind (1939)
Mudhoney (1965) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968)
Common Law Cabin (1967)
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Seven Minutes (1971)
Black Snake (1973)
An American Werewolf In London (1981) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray reviews
Lady In A Cage (1964) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Wild One (1953)
Hush…...
- 11/15/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Movie: "The Fog" (1980)
Where You Can Stream It: Available to rent on Prime Video, Vudu, YouTube
The Pitch: In 1977, director John Carpenter and his writing/producing partner Debra Hill were in England to promote their first collaboration, "Assault on Precinct 13," when they decided to pay a visit to Stonehenge. In her and Carpenter's audio commentary for the 2002 DVD release of "The Fog" (via SyFy Wire), Hill recalled how this trip would inspire their 1980 supernatural horror movie:
"I remember [this fog] was just sitting on the horizon way past Stonehenge, and John said to me, 'What if there's something in that fog? Wouldn't that be scary?' and that's how it sort of evolved."
The duo would go on to mine other sources for inspiration,...
The Movie: "The Fog" (1980)
Where You Can Stream It: Available to rent on Prime Video, Vudu, YouTube
The Pitch: In 1977, director John Carpenter and his writing/producing partner Debra Hill were in England to promote their first collaboration, "Assault on Precinct 13," when they decided to pay a visit to Stonehenge. In her and Carpenter's audio commentary for the 2002 DVD release of "The Fog" (via SyFy Wire), Hill recalled how this trip would inspire their 1980 supernatural horror movie:
"I remember [this fog] was just sitting on the horizon way past Stonehenge, and John said to me, 'What if there's something in that fog? Wouldn't that be scary?' and that's how it sort of evolved."
The duo would go on to mine other sources for inspiration,...
- 10/17/2022
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
How do you follow up a movie like "Halloween"? John Carpenter's cheaply made little horror film about a killer stalking teenagers in the suburbs transformed a generation's understanding of fear. A sequel would have been the obvious play, but Carpenter had other fish to fry. First came "Elvis," a made-for-television biopic that brought Carpenter and the actor Kurt Russell together for the first time. Later, Carpenter and his frequent collaborator Debra Hill went on vacation to Stonehenge. According to a SyFy retrospective, Carpenter began staring intently at nearby fog. "What if there's something in that fog?" he said to Hill. "Wouldn't that be scary?" That insight led to "The Fog," Carpenter's theatrical follow-up to "Halloween."
Like "Halloween," "The Fog" would tell the story of buried evil returning to haunt the modern day. But this film would differ in key respects. "Halloween" was a film of short sharp shocks, engineered...
Like "Halloween," "The Fog" would tell the story of buried evil returning to haunt the modern day. But this film would differ in key respects. "Halloween" was a film of short sharp shocks, engineered...
- 10/11/2022
- by Adam Wescott
- Slash Film
This Civil War thriller has so much truth to say about War, Patriotism and combatant-vs.-civilian terror that we can hardly believe it was released in 1954. It’s based on a true event from 1864, a daring undercover mission that hit the Union far away from the conventional fighting. Van Heflin is the vengeance-seeking advance agent, Anne Bancroft a war widow, Richard Boone a maimed Union veteran and Lee Marvin a loose cannon with a hair trigger. The anti-war message is stronger than anything from the Vietnam years! The 20th-Fox release is not on quality home video, and is in great need of restoration.
The Raid
Not on Home Video
CineSavant Revival Screening Review
1954 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 83 min.
Starring: Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone, Lee Marvin, Tommy Rettig, Peter Graves, Douglas Spencer, Paul Cavanagh, Will Wright, James Best, John Dierkes, Helen Ford, Lee Aaker, Claude Akins, John Beradino, Robert Easton,...
The Raid
Not on Home Video
CineSavant Revival Screening Review
1954 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 83 min.
Starring: Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone, Lee Marvin, Tommy Rettig, Peter Graves, Douglas Spencer, Paul Cavanagh, Will Wright, James Best, John Dierkes, Helen Ford, Lee Aaker, Claude Akins, John Beradino, Robert Easton,...
- 10/8/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Universal 1440 Entertainment Reveals Key Art For The Munsters: "Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips and Daniel Roebuck star in the all-new feature-length film from writer and director Rob Zombie, The Munsters, coming soon from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production arm of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group."
----
Hypochondriac: "Will, a young Hispanic gay potter, is one gregarious guy. His boss is terrible, but he's got a great boyfriend and a great job. Unfortunately, behind that veneer is a dark past of violence and mental illness that he is desperate to keep hidden. When his bipolar mother comes out of the woodwork after ten years of silence, he begins exhibiting unexplainable symptoms and spirals into an obsession, determined to solve this mystery of his own."
Starring:
Zach Villa, Devon Graye, Paget Brewster, Marlene Forte, Madeline Zima, Yumarie Morales, Chris Doubek
Directed By:
Addison Heimann
Written By:
Addison Heimann
In Theaters July...
----
Hypochondriac: "Will, a young Hispanic gay potter, is one gregarious guy. His boss is terrible, but he's got a great boyfriend and a great job. Unfortunately, behind that veneer is a dark past of violence and mental illness that he is desperate to keep hidden. When his bipolar mother comes out of the woodwork after ten years of silence, he begins exhibiting unexplainable symptoms and spirals into an obsession, determined to solve this mystery of his own."
Starring:
Zach Villa, Devon Graye, Paget Brewster, Marlene Forte, Madeline Zima, Yumarie Morales, Chris Doubek
Directed By:
Addison Heimann
Written By:
Addison Heimann
In Theaters July...
- 7/7/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
There is no cheaper form of fright than a jump scare. It's the horror movie equivalent of hiding in a sibling's closet while they're not paying attention, and springing out when they least expect it: extremely gratifying to the jerk doing the scaring, and astronomically annoying to the person getting scared.
This is not to say jump scares are an absolute evil. The device was born out of low-budget resourcefulness when producer Val Lewton, believing he could craft memorable horror movies with a fraction of the money being spent by Universal in the '30s and '40s, punctuated a quiet, meticulously crafted chase scene in "Cat People"...
The post James Wan Thinks Jump Scares Are Just Misunderstood appeared first on /Film.
This is not to say jump scares are an absolute evil. The device was born out of low-budget resourcefulness when producer Val Lewton, believing he could craft memorable horror movies with a fraction of the money being spent by Universal in the '30s and '40s, punctuated a quiet, meticulously crafted chase scene in "Cat People"...
The post James Wan Thinks Jump Scares Are Just Misunderstood appeared first on /Film.
- 6/17/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The only woman director to work in Hollywood in the 1950s, Ida Lupino earned full marks as a creative innovator and a positive force in the industry. It was a restrictive time for the movies: politically, socially, every which way. But Lupino’s independent film about a rape victim passed through the censorship gauntlet — as long as the ‘R’ word was never spoken, of course. Mala Powers is the distraught victim who tries to run away from life in the powerful drama, which remains valid and topical.
Outrage
Region-Free Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint]
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 75 min. / Street Date December 29, 2021, January 7, 2022 / Available from Viavision, Available from Amazon
Starring: Mala Powers, Tod Andrews, Robert Clarke, Raymond Bond, Lillian Hamilton, Rita Lupino, Hal March, Kenneth Patterson, Jerry Paris, Angela Clarke, Roy Engel, William Challee, Joyce McCluskey, Albert Mellen, Vic Perrin.
Cinematography: Archie Stout
Production Designer: Harry Horner
Film Editor: Harvey Manger
Original...
Outrage
Region-Free Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint]
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 75 min. / Street Date December 29, 2021, January 7, 2022 / Available from Viavision, Available from Amazon
Starring: Mala Powers, Tod Andrews, Robert Clarke, Raymond Bond, Lillian Hamilton, Rita Lupino, Hal March, Kenneth Patterson, Jerry Paris, Angela Clarke, Roy Engel, William Challee, Joyce McCluskey, Albert Mellen, Vic Perrin.
Cinematography: Archie Stout
Production Designer: Harry Horner
Film Editor: Harvey Manger
Original...
- 3/22/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Hank Reineke
A March 1945 notice in the Los Angeles Times reported that following his return to Hollywood from a Uso camp tour, Boris Karloff was to begin work on a Rko Radio production titled Chamber of Horrors. The film was to be produced by Val Lewton, the producer who had already brought to the screen such psychological-horrors as Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and Curse of the Cat People (1944). Karloff had already appeared in a pair of Lewton’s horror-melodramas for Rko, The Body Snatcher (1945) and Isle of the Dead (1945). The actor had been enjoying his freelance status of late. Recent castings in a series of mad scientist films (1940-1942) for Columbia solidified Karloff’s reputation as cinema’s preeminent boogeyman - even in roles sans grotesque makeup appliances. So the engagement of the actor for Chamber of Horrors was properly trumpeted in a 1945 Variety notice as...
A March 1945 notice in the Los Angeles Times reported that following his return to Hollywood from a Uso camp tour, Boris Karloff was to begin work on a Rko Radio production titled Chamber of Horrors. The film was to be produced by Val Lewton, the producer who had already brought to the screen such psychological-horrors as Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and Curse of the Cat People (1944). Karloff had already appeared in a pair of Lewton’s horror-melodramas for Rko, The Body Snatcher (1945) and Isle of the Dead (1945). The actor had been enjoying his freelance status of late. Recent castings in a series of mad scientist films (1940-1942) for Columbia solidified Karloff’s reputation as cinema’s preeminent boogeyman - even in roles sans grotesque makeup appliances. So the engagement of the actor for Chamber of Horrors was properly trumpeted in a 1945 Variety notice as...
- 2/21/2022
- by [email protected] (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
It’s the ‘other’ version of Dickens’ terrific novel, an English film that few Americans have seen. This Australian DVD is in the Pal format and from a rather outdated transfer, yet I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a favorite story enacted by a great batch of UK talent. Dirk Bogarde stars and the many character roles go to familiar faces: Cecil Parker, Athene Seyler, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass, Rosalie Crutchley, Freda Jackson, Christopher Lee, Leo McKern, Donald Pleasence, Eric Pohlmann, Danny Green and the lovely Marie Versini. It’s a regular actor-spotting quiz. Ralph Thomas directed and much of the film was shot in France … with excellent English diction.
A Tale of Two Cities
Region 2 Pal DVD
Viavision (Australia)
1958 / B&w / 1:33 adapted flat / 117 min. / Street Date January 5, 2022 / Available from Viavision / 19.95 au
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Paul Guers, Marie Versini, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass,...
A Tale of Two Cities
Region 2 Pal DVD
Viavision (Australia)
1958 / B&w / 1:33 adapted flat / 117 min. / Street Date January 5, 2022 / Available from Viavision / 19.95 au
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Paul Guers, Marie Versini, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass,...
- 1/25/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
New remastered restorations of Val Lewton pictures? We’re there. This terrific double bill gives us two Lewton shockers that are in no way ‘lesser’. The progressive psycho killer picture The Ghost Ship suffered a legal setback and disappeared for almost fifty years; it’s a masterpiece of taste and tone. Bedlam is a costume picture with an ideal role for Boris Karloff, and multiple eerie moments worthy of Edgar Allan Poe. Both movies exhibit interesting storytelling techniques, too. Rko should have promoted Lewton to A pictures, as they did his collaborators Jacques Tourneur, Robert Wise and Mark Robson.
The Ghost Ship + Bedlam
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1943 + 1946 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date October 12, 2021 / 24.99
Starring: Richard Dix, Edith Barrett; Boris Karloff, Anna Lee.
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Art Directors: Albert S. D’Agostino, Walter E. Keller
Original Music: Roy Webb
Written by Donald Henderson Clarke; Carlos Keith & Mark Robson...
The Ghost Ship + Bedlam
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1943 + 1946 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date October 12, 2021 / 24.99
Starring: Richard Dix, Edith Barrett; Boris Karloff, Anna Lee.
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Art Directors: Albert S. D’Agostino, Walter E. Keller
Original Music: Roy Webb
Written by Donald Henderson Clarke; Carlos Keith & Mark Robson...
- 10/30/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“If you ask me, M’Lord, he’s a stench in the nostrils, a sewer of ugliness, and a gutter brimming with slop.”
The Val Lewton Double Feature The Ghost Ship (1943) and Bedlam (1946) are now available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive
This double-feature disc brings together two of producer Val Lewton’s classic Rko horror films, newly restored and remastered. In 1943’s The Ghost Ship, Tom Merriam (Russell Wade), the young third mate on a freighter bound for Patagonia, witnesses the murder of a crewman by the ship’s captain, Will Stone (Richard Dix). Merriam realizes Stone is going insane, but the rest of the crew won’t believe him…or that he may be the mad captain’s next victim!
Boris Karloff reunites with Lewton for a third and final time in 1946’s Bedlam, set in 1971 at a London asylum. Karloff gives an unforgettable performance as the doomed overseer...
The Val Lewton Double Feature The Ghost Ship (1943) and Bedlam (1946) are now available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive
This double-feature disc brings together two of producer Val Lewton’s classic Rko horror films, newly restored and remastered. In 1943’s The Ghost Ship, Tom Merriam (Russell Wade), the young third mate on a freighter bound for Patagonia, witnesses the murder of a crewman by the ship’s captain, Will Stone (Richard Dix). Merriam realizes Stone is going insane, but the rest of the crew won’t believe him…or that he may be the mad captain’s next victim!
Boris Karloff reunites with Lewton for a third and final time in 1946’s Bedlam, set in 1971 at a London asylum. Karloff gives an unforgettable performance as the doomed overseer...
- 10/15/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The best horror film of the 1990s and perhaps the only serial killer picture post- Psycho that can stand on equal terms with Hitchcock’s classic, Jonathan Demme and Ted Tally’s adaptation of the Thomas Harris novel is a standout experience in every way. Not all 4K Ultra HD encodings are worth crowing about but this one is — the added visual detail and especially the contrast range really make a difference. Kino offers a good selection of extras as well, including a teaser trailer I haven’t seen for years and a fine Tim Lucas commentary.
The Silence of the Lambs
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date October 19, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Tracey Walter, Kenneth Utt, Paul Lazar, Adelle Lutz, Obba Babatundé, Diane Baker, Roger Corman, Ron Vawter, Charles Napier,...
The Silence of the Lambs
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date October 19, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Tracey Walter, Kenneth Utt, Paul Lazar, Adelle Lutz, Obba Babatundé, Diane Baker, Roger Corman, Ron Vawter, Charles Napier,...
- 10/2/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In the 18 feature films he has made with his brother Ethan, Joel Coen has proved himself, over and over again, to be as fetishistically visual a director as anyone from the independent film world of the last four decades. Wes Anderson might be a more extreme example, but even there it would be hard to imagine the Wes Anderson life-as-a-dollhouse school had it not been for the example of the Coen brothers: the obsession they’ve always had with rendering a story in meticulously organized images, with each shot framed just so, the sets designed almost like dioramas, the whole sense of camera placement and cutting and spatial dynamics creating a heightened graphic-novel approach that, for the Coens, often seems to be the main reason they’re making the movie.
So it’s no surprise that in “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” an adaptation of the Shakespeare play that is Joel...
So it’s no surprise that in “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” an adaptation of the Shakespeare play that is Joel...
- 9/24/2021
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Yes, sometimes a producer could earn ‘auteur’ status making B pictures. A name that’s never going to be uttered in the same breath as Val Lewton is Sam Katzman, who for the 1950s settled into a profitable tenure making Columbia program pictures. They pretty much stayed in the category of ‘obvious junk’ yet include a number of endearing favorites. And Katzman deserved to slip through the pearly gates just for helping get Ray Harryhausen’s feature career into motion. Besides their minimal production outlay, Katzman’s horror/sci fi attractions have one strange thing in common: they don’t carry Columbia torch Lady logos. Part One of this review takes on two of the four features in Arrow’s gorgeously appointed boxed set; reviewer Charlie Largent will follow with a review of the second pair of creature features.
Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman
Part 1: Zombies of Mora Tau...
Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman
Part 1: Zombies of Mora Tau...
- 9/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Legendary screenwriter and director Shane Black discusses some of his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
High and Low (1963)
Hard Times (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Beguiled (1971) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Kino Lorber Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s Twilight Time Blu-ray review
Convoy (1978) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review
8 Heads In A Duffel Bag (1997)
Diner (1982)
The Bodyguard (1992)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Fist of Fury a.k.a. The Chinese Connection (1972) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
High and Low (1963)
Hard Times (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Beguiled (1971) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Kino Lorber Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s Twilight Time Blu-ray review
Convoy (1978) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review
8 Heads In A Duffel Bag (1997)
Diner (1982)
The Bodyguard (1992)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Fist of Fury a.k.a. The Chinese Connection (1972) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary...
- 8/10/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
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