Die, Monster, Die! (dir. Daniel Haller, 1965) The second H.P. Lovecraft film adaptation, Die, Monster, Die! is very loosely based on his 1927 short story “The Colour Out of Space” and like The Haunted Palace (1963) was released by American International Pictures. “The Colour Out of Space” is one of Lovecraft’s most highly regarded stories. … Continue reading Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

The Haunted Palace (dir. Roger Corman, 1963) Between 1960 and 1965 Roger Corman would direct eight films in what would be termed his Poe Cycle. Seven of them were adaptations of varying faithfulness. The Raven for instance became about dueling wizards. The Haunted Palace could perhaps be considered the least faithful to Poe given that … Continue reading The Haunted Palace (1963)

Suspiria (dir. Luca Guadagnino, 2018) There’s an audacity in any attempt to adapt an established work, let alone a canonical classic like Dario Argento’s Suspiria, and there’s an even greater audacity still in how director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich decided to make Suspiria their own. They ditched every distinctive thing about it. The … Continue reading Suspiria (2018)

Suspiria (dir. Dario Argento, 1977) An American dancer Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) enrolls at the Freiburg Dance Academy in Germany, arriving shortly after the horrific and inexplicable deaths of two students. Other bizarre events occur at the academy: maggots in the ceiling and in the food, a blind pianist employed there killed by his seeing … Continue reading Suspiria (1977)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (dir. Tobe Hooper, 1986) After the release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1973, Tobe Hooper continued in the horror genre, releasing the murder-motel-and-crocodile themed Eaten Alive in 1977, directing a television miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot in 1979 and then The Funhouse in 1981 before achieving … Continue reading The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (dir. Tobe Hooper, 1974) It has been a couple of years since I have seen The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Ask anyone what they remember about the film, chances are good they will bring up the scene with the hitchhiker in the van, or the first appearance of Leatherface with … Continue reading The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

The Haunting (dir. Robert Wise, 1963) The Haunting (dir. Jan De Bont, 1999) We Have Always Lived in the Castle (dir. Stacie Passon, 2018) Shirley Jackson is best known for her short story, ‘The Lottery,’ which is probably among the most read pieces of literature in America due to its ubiquity in the classroom. It’s … Continue reading A Shirley Jackson Triple Feature

The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers, 2019)  In the last three or four movies, I’ve got a masturbation scene. I did it in High Life. I did it in Damsel. And The Devil All the Time. I only realized when I did it the fourth time. But when I saw the clay figure of the mermaid, … Continue reading The Lighthouse (2019)

Within the Woods (dir. Sam Raimi, 1978) The Evil Dead (dir. Sam Raimi, 1981) Evil Dead II (dir. Sam Raimi, 1987) Army of Darkness (dir. Sam Raimi, 1992) Evil Dead (dir. Fede Alvarez, 2013) Likely the iconic horror comedy franchise, the Evil Dead includes four feature films, a three season television series [1], a stage … Continue reading The Evil Dead Films

Happy Death Day (dir. Christopher Landon, 2017) Happy Death Day 2U (dir. Christopher Landon, 2019) Theresa “Tree” Gelbman (Jessica Rothe), a student at Bayfield University—”Go Babies Go!”—wakes to her phone’s obnoxious birthday ringtone in the dorm room of Carter Davis (Israel Broussard) in what she assumes was a drunken hookup the night before. Tree slinks … Continue reading Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U