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...