In every franchise, there are installments that don't quite work at continuing the story... and others that not only perfectly conclude one part of it, but open up a new chapter of possibility... Callie Spengler and her children have been evicted from their home, and forced to move to her estranged father's "dirt farm".  As she struggles with her memories of his abandonment, her daughter Phoebe discovers a ghost trap that had been hidden by her deceased grandfather.  Soon, Phoebe, her brother Trevor, and new friend Podcast uncover a supernatural threat and the return of an old enemy of The Ghostbusters... After the less than stellar performance and reception of " Ghostbusters: Answer the Call " (2016), fans of the franchise were cautiously optimistic about the announcement that there was to be a direct sequel to " Ghostbusters II " (1989).  Fortunately, this sequel proved to be everything they needed, and wanted from a " Ghostbusters " ...

  Susan has withdrawn from the world  after her divorce from her abusive husband.  Her mansion contains state of the art household automation.  She is secure from the dangers of modern Life.  She is safe from an unsafe world... Too bad her mansion had other ideas... The idea of a Alexa/Siri controlled house going haywire may sound like something written within the past decade, but you might be surprised that Dean Koontz actually wrote this book back in 1973. That's right.  Just five years after " 2001: A Space Odyssey " hit theatres, Koontz wrote this book brining HAL to a more personal level, while predicting the advent of programs like Alexa and Siri. This book is actually a pretty quick read at 301 pages.  The story progresses and builds at a steady and fast pace.  The writing is smooth and seamless as the tension and events unfold before you.  I lost track of time as I turned page after page.  I loved that this book was written from ...

 Horror fans enjoy surrounding themselves with items connected to their passion.  It can be Halloween masks, movie posters, prop replicas or collectible figures. This week, I'm going to show you one of the collectible figures I've recently acquired- Reel Toys' " Re-Animator " Herbert West! The "bubble box" for the figure is pretty simple, but effective.  I like the balance between the figure and the illustration on the front.  The packaging also gives you a clear look at all the bibs and bobs that come with the figure. The illustration is great in my opinion.  It stretches across the whole of the packaging- providing a nice background for the figure.  The art style is nicely atmospheric and moody without going over the top. In fact, the backing card illustration is suitable for collecting on its own.  The artist- Justin Osbourn, did a great job with it. The reverse of the backing card is also pretty good.  There's a nice harmony between the font, ...

  One phenomena of the North American film industry is the practice of taking successful and popular European and Asian horror films, and Americanizing them.  Some are as successful as their original source materials, others not as much... and some leave you wondering if the process was necessary... Owen is a young boy growing up in a broken household.  Isolated, and neglected, he faces brutal bullying at school that further pushes him towards a breakdown and violence... Then Abby moves in.  Abby makes him smile.  Abby makes him feel special.  Abby make him feel wanted. Abby needs blood... 2010's " Let Me In " is an Americanized version of the Swedish film " Let the Right One In "- which is based on a novel of the same name.  The story is fairly simple to follow, yet deep enough to keep you mentally and emotionally engaged.  There are no wasted moments in the story- every scene helps to support every other story element.  This is lean, smooth...

  Some might argue Byron Haskin’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’s classic novel is more sci-fi than horror, and technically, they’re right. But the story of Martians attacking Earth, and pretty much kicking our collective asses all over the planet, is a scary one. And Haskin delivers scenes of mass destruction and human tragedy with such panache and gritty realism (for the era) that this film is still horrifying. That’s my pretzel logic on the matter, anyway. Owing more than a bit to Orson Welles’s famed Halloween radio broadcast, this version quickly brings audiences up to speed on the Martian plan, and settles in on a small California town that becomes the focus of much of the film. As with the radio version, the Martian reveal is slow at first, building suspense and drama, before the attack happens. Haskin and screenwriter Barre Lyndon borrow heavily from Welles for the first half hour, but that’s fine. It’s understandable, given what a landmark production his radio play was. S...

  Today in "The Corner of Terror," we have a special Guest Reviewer: Jason H from " From the Basement ", so let's see what offering he brings to our dark corner of the internet... There was a time when books were sold pretty much everywhere. Grocery stores, drug stores, smoke shops, you name it. And individual paperbacks could sell 12 million copies in North America alone. That was back when writing a best seller really meant something. This was the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and one of the most prolific – and profitable – genres was the horror novel. What set these books apart from their modern counterparts was an unashamed desire on the part of the writer to gross out, offend, titillate and, at times, outright disturb. Or, at the very least, baffle.  Psychic Nazi dwarves who enjoy S&M? These paperbacks had them. Armies of mutant rats eating the populace of London, England? You betcha! Mystics that bite off young boys’ penises? But of course. This was a time when a...

  After the horror show that was 2020, I feel that we should start the New Year) with something lighthearted and fun.  And you can't get any more fun while remaining in the "horror" genre than with that ooky, kooky, spooky family... The Addams Family ! Fester Addams has been missing for 25 years after a falling out with his brother Gomez.  During their annual seance to try and contact Fester, a mysterious figure arrives at the door... a figure who claims to be the long lost brother. But is he?  And what are his intentions towards the family... and their vast wealth? I have been a fan of The Addams Family since I was a kids and used to watch the old black and white TV series.  When I heard in 1991 that the "fam" was coming to the big screen, I was excited- especially when I heard that Angelica Huston, and Christopher Lloyd were going to be in it.  I hadn't heard much about Raul Julia at the time, but when I saw him in stills showing him as Gomez, I was impr...

In this day and age, it seems that we're destined to be flooded with an endless deluge of remakes, reboots, reimaginings and even rehashes of classic movies- including conversions of old TV shows into movies.  I have noticed however, that the horror genre seems to be suffering the heaviest torrents of revisitations.  With that realization, I'll be doing a "double bill" today... Let's start with the 1976 release of " The Omen ", shall we?  The premise is interesting and simple enough to provide potential directions for storytelling: A prominent politician's pregnant wife suffers a loss when the son dies shortly after birth.  Before she can find out, the politician agrees to subsitute a newborn orphan for his own... Too bad that the son is the spawn of Satan... The acting is a little lifeless at moments, but in general was pretty good.  I enjoyed Gregory Peck as Robert Thorn- the politician, and Lee Remick as his wife was nice to look at, though her ac...

  Horror literature has been with us for almost forever- from tales about vengeful gods making it thunder, campfire stories about the beastie in the trees, to books about fanatical cults. Some horror authors seem to have been with us for almost forever too- from Bran Stoker, to Mary Shelly, to Stephen King, to Dean Koontz... An ordinary parking lot in southern California. Christine Scavello and her six-year-old son are accosted by a strange old woman.  "I know who you are," she snaps at the boy.  "I know  what  you are."  A scream, a threat- and then a grotesque act of violence.  Suddenly, Christine's pride and joy, her only son, is targeted by a group of religious fanatics.  They've branded him the Antichrist.  They want to kill him.  And they are everywhere... Dean Koont's " The Servants of Twilight " was my introduction to his writing back when I was in High School.  He was being hailed as the "next Stephen King", and this book w...

  I love to play video games- especially horror themed ones.  I especially love when the game pays homage to classic horror movies, while having a bit of fun with it. You are a masked killer at the titular " Slayaway Camp ".  Your objective is to move around the map and kill the campers, cops, etc.  The mechanics are easy.  You can only move in a straight line until you hit an obstacle, so you have to chart your course using the obstacles.  You can get some "special" kills by scaring the victims into "traps" (holes, fire, water, etc).  You can also use the environment at times- as in the case of toppling a book case on a hapless camper. But you need to be careful that you don't run straight into a trap yourself- you end your "turn" in a cop's target spot. And that's it.  It's a simple enough game that can provide a nice mental work-out as you plot your moves.  I would imagine horror loving chess players would probably really quite...

My introduction to horror literature was via a hard cover edition of " The Shining " by Stephen King.  I feel that one of the first books reviewed during The Corner's relaunch should be by him as well. Mike Noonan, experiencing nightmares about his deceased wife's hometown, moves there to confront his fears at the source.  Soon however, he finds that the nightmares are real... and leading him to face ghosts from his and the town's past... This is one of the tightest, most emotionally intense books written by King.  It's on par with " The Shining" for mood, setting, and scares.  It flows smoothly along- building slowly but inevitably.  Once I began reading, I could not stop- I had to keep going until the end. Even then, I had troubles stopping myself from dwelling on it- especially how it treats the themes of grief, and how even when you've known someone for years- they can still surprise you. The characters are equally well crafted in...

We're back from the dead folks! And to commemorate this momentous moment, it's somehow appropriate we review a game that deals with... the ultimate after party! Lola and Milo wake up the day after their graduation party to discover that they are dead... and in Hell.  Desperate to find a way back to the Land of the Living, they learn of a way out: Drink The Devil under the table... Night School Studio brings you a fun little romp through the underworld.  The story is interesting, and maintains a nice flow of humour and a serious examination of the morally ambivalent choices many adventure games force you to make to complete your quest.  The story also throws in a bit of philosophy as it asks you to re-examine your attitudes about sin- and how hard line and unmoving the rules are relating to punishment for them.  Certainly deeper in concept than many of the games out there these days. The characters are interesting as well as complicated.  You learn ...

The big day is here- Halloween!  And what better way for me to wrap up this year's month long celebration of all that's spooky, creepy, and scary than with a review of the latest offering in the " Halloween " franchise? It's been 40 years since Michael Myers went on his infamous killing spree in Haddenfield.  While being transferred to a new facility, he escapes... and heads straight for Haddenfield. Laurie Strode has been waiting in terror for the day that Michael would come home.  News of his escape sends her on a dangerous quest to protect those she loves... and leads her to a final showdown with the Boogeyman of her past... 2018's " Halloween " is what I would consider the perfect reboot of this franchise.  While the others in the series were fun, I found that the story threads tying them all together started to get silly and rather convoluted.  This installment goes back to the core concept of what Michael Myers is, and keeps it s...

2003 saw a TV series hit the air that tried to answer the eternal question:  Who IS the Grim Reaper...? A faulty toilet falling from the Space Station accidentally hits teenaged Georgia- killing her.  What she couldn't possibly have expected is that her soul would be tapped by the administrative system of the afterlife... as a Grim Reaper... " Dead Like Me " is a charming and fun comedy series that treats death with humour, and sincerity at the same time.  The world is well crafted, and pretty coherent from episode to episode. The characters are unique, interesting, and emotionally engaging.  They are believable people, who you come to care about, and even relate to as they deal with the baggage left from their past Life, and their current Death. I really enjoyed the performances from the actors.  They all brought a nice solidity and reality to their roles.  Ellen Muth as Georgia was especially wonderful to watch.  She brought a nic...

As October nears its end, we offer up one more seasonal beer for you to possibly check out:  Red Collar Brewing's Squash Gourdon... To say that the label is shit simple would be an understatement.  It's orange.  With a squash on it, and the name of the brew.  So simple, a squash could figure out what it's all about. Compared to the other two brews I've reviewed this month, I must confess that this label is probably my least favorite.  It's just a little bland for my visual tastes.  The rather rough look of the squash, and the odd nature of the font makes it feel a little amateurish and possibly a little rushed to me. If Red Collar Brewing had been located in Kamloops, I'm afraid this label would've made me pass it by. However, I am glad I didn't just move by it while perusing the liquor store. It's got a nice deep amber colour, and holds a decent head of foam as well.  The first sip certainly lets you know that ...

Superhero movies have become a huge part of the movie industry over the past eleven years.  Horror has also gained a bit more "respectability" within the movie industry as well.  It was only natural- and a matter of time before someone put the two together... An alien spacecraft crash lands on a small farm.  The Beyers find within it a survivor... a baby.  As the boy reaches his teen years, he starts to exhibit strange powers, and the Beyers begin to wonder: Will this child from the stars become Earth's savior...? I can't say enough positive things about 2019's " Brightburn " by James Gunn, Kenneth Huang, and David Yarovesky.  The idea of a "dark" Superman story has been done often enough before by DC Comics in their Elseworlds comics, but this movie takes it to a new level, and makes it much more visceral and fascinating to watch.  The progression of the story is natural and quite believable- pulling you along willingly.  The ...

One of my favorite Stephen King novels (next to " The Shining " of course), is " The Dead Zone ".  I'm also a huge fan of the movie version starring Christopher Walken. I mean- It's CHRISTOPHER WALKEN! *coughs and calms down from his fanboy fever* Anyway, back in 2002, when I heard that they were going to produce a " The Dead Zone " TV series, I was stoked. Since I don't watch TV, I waited until the first season was on DVD, and binged it.  I binged it hard.  Like two teens hiding the bushes at the local make-out spot hard. I loved it.  The first season follows the novel for the most part:  Johnny Smith is in a car accident that puts him in a coma for six years.  When he comes out of it, he discovers that he has psychic abilities to give him visions upon touching someone.  After rubbing shoulders with congressional candidate, Johnny is then sent on a path to prevent a possible nuclear apocalypse from occurring. Since t...