I'm doing something a little differant today in order to celebrate Halloween... I'm doing a Double Bill Review of the classic John Carpenter movie " Halloween ," and Rob Zombie's 2007 remake. First up, let's look at the original John Carpenter movie from 1978.  Simply put, this is classic horror movie storytelling at its finest.  The story is tight, interesting, and well crafted.  It's simple and bare bones- it doesn't try to bring in unnecessary plot twists or even try to make the world complicated.  It knows what it wants to do- and does it.  It scares you. The acting is great in this movie.  Donald Pleasence was simply a pleasure to watch as the Dr. Sam Loomis.  His eyes at the end express so much that it's just amazing.  P.J. Soles as Linda and Nancy Loomis as Annie were well cast, and looked great in the roles.  Their characters were unique, well formed, and likable.  Nick Castle, who played Michael Meyers, was simply awesome...

I think when people think of the word "poltergeist," they automatically think of the 1982 classic, the phrase, "They're heeere!" and this song. Why do I like this "Carol Ann's Theme" from the movie, "Poltergeist"?  Well, it's a beautiful melody- almost a lullaby that echos the sweetness and innocence of the little girl Carol Ann, who was played by Heather O'Rourke.  It's soothing, and gentle... but haunting at the same time- hinting at the supernatural elements circling around Carol Ann.  You're lulled into a sense of comfort and ease, before having that comfort disturbed by the errie laughter of children at the end.  When I hear that part, I always shiver, since I can't help imagining the darkened hallway outside my room being inhabited by ghostly children playing tag up and down its length. Simply put, it's a piece of music that deserves its place in horror movie music history.  This is one of those songs I...

I tend to favor independently produced horror films over the larger Hollywood studio ones... and I tend to favor Canadian independently produced horror films even more.  They tend to offer more in the way of potential for original ideas and underappreciated talent.  Of course, some show potential, but don't necessarily reach its fullness of being. While investigating the disappearance of a Toronto woman, Kelly and Charlie discover a clue that leads them to the small town of Kenneyville.  Things turn ugly and desperate when the pair is jumped, and Kelly is kidnapped.  Now, her partner, aided by a local named Donovan, must find her before she suffers the same fate as the woman they set out to find... I found " Kenneyville " to be a bit of a hit and miss type of movie.  There are some elements that are spot on and extremely well done, while there are others that are just less than stellar.  When creating a surreal, dream-like feeling, or a real feeling ...

In this era of vampire soap operas (ie- " The Vampire Diaries "), and emo teen vampires (ie- " The Twilight Saga "), it's nice to see that at least the werewolves still tend to be pretty bad ass. Private Cooper and his squad are on a training exercise when they come across another squad that's been brutually slaughtered.  The lone surivivor- a Captain Ryan, hints that there was a secret agenda to the exercise as the group flees from a vicious attack. Soon, they're stuck in a cabin with a zoologist name Megan, as they're stalked one by one by werewolves... " Dog Soldiers ," simply put is a fun film to watch. There is some excellent camera work and shots in this film.  One of the best shots is when three werewolves show up behind Megan.  The lighting and the use of shadow made the shot just gorgeous to look at.  During the action scenes, there are some fabulous camera angles and movement that really helped to create a sense of urgenc...

As a horror fan, I love when a movie incorporates history into its story. Gregoire de Fronsac and his Iroquois partner Mani are sent to the french province of Gevaudan to hunt and capture a beast that has been attacking people.  During his investigations, Fronsac meets Marianne and the mysterious Sylvia.  As clues start to gather and Fronsac gets closer to learning the truth, he and his friends find themselves trapped in the clutches of a conspiracy that could shake the foundations of the nation... " Brotherhood of the Wolf " centers around a very famous and very real "beast" case from France.  Between 1764 to about 1767, a series of attacks by some beast were recorded around the very real province of Gevaudan.  By the end of the creature's reign, 113 people were killed, and 49 injured.  Many claim that it was a pack of wolves, a hyena... and even that Jean Chastel- who is famed as the slayer of the Beast of Gevaudan, WAS the beast. I'm not normall...

Normally, I wouldn't read books by authors primarily known for writing romance novels.  However, there are two that I do read- Catherine Coulter, because she her "FBI Thriller" series is well written, and Heather Graham's supernatural series. When Toni and her friends buy an old castle so they can operate tours of the place, they decide to create a fictional laird of the manor and reenact his brutal murder of his adulterous wife.  Unfortunately, the real master of the house arrives and interupts their well intentioned plans.  This wouldn't be so bad if Toni wasn't be haunted by a ghostly figure... who looks exactly like the real laird.  Soon, Toni, laird MacNiall, and her friends are drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse as a killer stalks the forest nearby... a killer that may be getting too close to Toni... " The Presence " is the second in Heather Graham's supernatural themed, " Harrison Investigations " series.  I enjoyed ...

  Not too long ago, I discussed the theme from John Carpenter's " Halloween " .  Well, today, I'm going to put down my thoughts on another easily recognizable theme song from another easily recognizable horror movie.  The song is titled, " Tubular Bells ," and is from the 1973 classic, " The Exorcist ".  The song was composed by Mike Oldfield, and is another one of those simple, yet extremely effective pieces of music that create a real atmosphere in a movie. The scoring is essentially what the title says- tubular bells repeating the same melody- almost like a music box... but overlapped by a simple repetitious piano melody as well with some wood winds and an electric guitar added for spice.  The bells give the song a real etheral feel- and almost ghostly and dreamlike feel to it, while the guitar solo brings an almost sinister discord to the piece.  The grinding sound of the guitar contrasts excellently with the softer sound of the bells...

We often hear movie critics (and advertizers) describing a movie as a "classic"- often with the descriptive "timeless" added onto it.  But what makes a horror movie a true "classic"? Is there a scale that details the criteria that needs to be met before a movie can be classified as a "classic"?  Are there mathematical equations that when tabulated and cross-referenced with a chart of quality to help us in naming a movie a "classic"? Nope. The truth of the matter is, the designation of "classic" is somewhat subjective- the definition varies from reviewer to reviewer.  With that in mind, I will do my best to give you my definition of what a "classic" is... First, let's consider the influence the movie had on the industry and genre.  Did the movie change how people looked at horror movies?  Did the movie change the way director's, etc shot and edit their films?  Did the movie change the way that techno...

It's day four of my first annual "Spookapolooza", and I felt like bringing you something a little different... a song. Music is often overlooked when assessing and reviewing a movie- but is often one of the key elements to creating the right mood and atmosphere... especially in horror movies.  In addition to the books and movies I'll be reviewing this month, I'm going to be bringing you specific songs from various horror movies, and letting you know why I like them. October, and Halloween wouldn't be the holiday we know and love if it didn't involve today's theme... from the classic 1978 horror movie "Halloween".  John Carpenter composed the music for the movie using a 5/4 meter, and a piano.  While it's been called, "relatively simple and unsophisticated," it is one of those themes that is effective and stays with you. Why do I like it personally?  Probably because of it's simplicity and how effective it is.  With ...

  When my friend Jay (from " Film Reviews in the Basement ") and I were younger, we would throw some pretty mean Halloween paries.  We even did up posters to hand out to our friends advertizing our annual " Spookapolooza " festivities.  In honour of those great memories, I'm proud to introduce " The Corner of Terror's " first annual " Spookapolooza "! As part of the fun, I will be posting EVERY SINGLE DAY of October.  That's right- every day this month, there WILL be a post by me.  Won't that be fun, eh? Every Monday, you can expect my regular summary of William Castle's 2011 "Scare it Forward!" project - with one of the chapters actually being written by myself! On October 7th, I'll be appearing on the " Film Reviews From the Basement " radio show as a guest reviewer- and I'll be doing their live Twitter feed as well- check it out!  On the 8th, I'll be posting a special rev...