The month of October has come upon us, horror lovers! To celebrate, I'm going to post a list of 31 Halloween movies that I enjoy and would willing watch throughout the month: 1.  " The Fog " (1980); 2.  " Halloween " (1978); 3.  "The Changeling" (1980); 4.  "Black Christmas" (1974); 5.  " A Nightmare on Elm Street " (1984); 6.  "The Conjuring" (2013); 7.  "My Bloody Valentine" (1981); 8.  " Dementia 13 " (1963); 9.  " House on Haunted Hill " (1959); 10.  " Night of the Living Dead " (1968); 11.  " Carnival of Souls " (1962); 12.  " White Zombie " (1932); 13.  " Nosferatu: Symphony of Horror " (1922); 14.  " The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari " (1920); 15.  " The House by the Cemetery " (1981); 16.  "The Strangers" (2008); 17.  "Psycho" (1960); 18.  "Poltergeist" (1982); 19.  " Ident...

I was contacted by Louise Rivers, from Maven Publicity about reviewing the 2013 film, " Evil Feed ", which was directed by  Kimani Ray Smith, and stars Laci J. Mailey, Terry Chen, Alian Chanoine, and Alyson Bath.  The title made me hungry from some possible cannibal horror, so I readily agreed. And man, am I glad I had a taste of this dish! Martial arts fighters have been disappearing without a trace.  When she's kidnapped along with her sister and boyfriend, Jenna must find a way to escape.  Her friends are on the trail which leads to "The Long Pig" restaurant... but they may have bitten off more than they could chew ... " Evil Feed " is one heck of a meal.  It's got humour, semi-clad babes, fights, WTF moments, and lots of blood and grue- though heavier on the blood than actual grue. The premise is pretty simple, but lays a solid foundation for the actual storyline and characters.  All of the elements I listed above are fitted nicely a...

We've got a quick review of the short film " The Prospector's Curse " today for you. Two fugitives come across a dying prospector who asks them for a proper Christian burial . Stealing his gold, the two ignore his request. That night however, they find that keeping a promise is a good policy to have ... " The Prospector's Curse " was written and directed by Josh Heisie, and stars Robert Nolan, David Roberts, and Johnny Quinn . Heisie has stated that this is actually just the first of a series of shorts that will focus on various horror themes- thrillers, creature features, and slasher films . If they're as fun to watch as this one was, I'm looking forward to a chance to watch the others. The premise is simple and effective- it could've supported a feature length storyline, actually. I also liked the characters of "Tubby" and Smith. They were unique and interesting. I enjoyed the way these two characters interacted...

In addition to horror, I enjoy comedies.  When the two are combined, I'm usually quite interested in seeing the result.  Other times, I just wind up wanting to drink the memory away... Shortly after moving into the house where her father killed several people (and a dog), Dana and her husband begin to experience supernatural events that will ultimately lead to a confrontation between the family and evil ... " 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity With the Devil Inside the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo " is a parody of horror movies.  Unfortunately, I think the actual concept of a parody has been destroyed by the "Scary Movie" franchise.  It used to mean poking fun at movies, while still respecting the source material... and having a coherent, strong storyline and characters.  Now, it means sticking random vignettes based on popular films together in a sequence that kinda simulates a story. The ACTUAL premise- as stated above could've provided a good starti...

I remember watching the first " Underworld " movie with Jay (from " We Came From the Basement ") several years ago, and being impressed by the action direction that it took the vampire and werewolf mythos.  I recently sat down to watch the FOURTH movie in the series to see if the ride would still be enjoyable... After spending 12 years in a cryogenic freeze, Selene is freed by a mysterious person, and begins a quest to seek out her lover, Michael.  Soon, however, she winds up fighting to save the vampire race from a new species of werewolves ... The premise is very strong in my opinion, and was certainly strong enough to support the characters, and action scenes in this movie.  The subplot of the company trying to find a vaccine to cure the vampires and werewolves was interesting, as was the subplot involving Selene discovering her daughter, Eve.  These subplots wove together nicely with the main plot to create a cohesive and engaging whole. I also liked th...

While I am known more for watching and reviewing "older" horror films (anything made before 2001), I do manage to catch the opportunity to watch more recent fare... While visiting his brother in Russia, Chris and his friends decide to visit the abandoned town of Prypiat- near the site of the infamous Chernobyl nuclear meltdown.  Upon arrival, the group find themselves trapped in the radiation zone... trapped with something stalking them through the empty streets ... I had high hopes for this film, as the Writer/Producer Oren Peli also brought us the very well done low budget film, " Paranormal Activity ".  While the film is quite good from a technical and visual aspect, it lacks something that the first " Paranormal Activity " had- a connection with the audience. The premise was promising.  Take our characters and strand them in the middle of a radioactive city with something that is hunting and killing them one by one.  Unfortunately, beyond that...

These days, it's fairly simple- and cheap to make a movie.  All you really need is a camera, people to act in the movie, decent editing software for video and sound, and directing skill.  Often, it's acting or the directing skills that make the difference between a Good , Bad , or Ugly movie... Detective Jimi Cannon's friend has stopped coming into work, and hanging out with him.  Jimi must find out why... and find a way to save his best friend from the seductive violence of the night... I actually quite like the premise, since it provides a lot of potential for interesting character interaction, action, suspense, and gore.  The love triangle between Mike (Jimi's partner), Tonia, and Konatsu is an interesting subplot- and is fortunately, not done the same way as in the " Twilight " books.  This combined with the main plot of Jimi trying to save Mike from the vampires could've made for a really enjoyable and entertaining movie. The characters are a...

One of the pitfalls of buying movie box sets (ie- ones with 50 movies in them), is that sometimes, not all of the movies are of the genre advertised on the box.  Such was the case with the second of the January 16th " What Movie Wednesday " winners, " Hands of Steel ". After attempting to assault the leader of an environmental movement, a drifter named Paco flees to the deserts of Arizona, and meets Linda.  Soon, the corporation that sent Paco after the environmentalist, is on his trail to silence.  Too bad for them, Paco is more than a mere human ... " Hands of Steel " is more sci-fi/action than horror... though the surprise ending does have a bit of a horror touch to it.  Generally, though, this movie is more or less a cheap knock off of the much better movie, " The Terminator. "  I liked the idea of a killer cyborg attempting to break away from their programming to begin a new life, but I wondered why a practically indestructible cyborg...

I often think that my Facebook and Twitter followers eagerly await Wednesday, because they know that they'll have a chance to get me to sit through horrible movies... and they've chosen some horrid ones for me to watch over the past year or so.  Fortunately, sometimes, they manage to choose something decent for me to watch and tweet to... Sylvia arrives at Castle Walbrooke to claim ownership of it, and her title as Countess Walbrooke.  The night of her arrival, the mysterious and sexy Blinka warns her that her Uncle, the Count, is after her.  Soon, Sylvia learns a dark secret about her family's past that may cost her her life ... As is often the case with horror movies, the premise is really quite good, and serves as a great starting point for the story.  " Fangs of the Living Dead " does a decent job of delivering an interesting storyline that actually kept me watching.  There is very little in the way of "fat" in this movie.  The few subplots ac...

This past Halloween, I held a 24 hour "Terrorpolooza 2012" horror movie tweet along.  From 1:00 am Halloween morning, to 1:00 am the next morning, I did nothing but watch horror movies and tweet along to them.  In total, I watched 13 movies- a number that seems rather fitting for day when superstitions and legends come alive, in my opinion. Anyways, I would've posted my thoughts on the movies I watched on Thursday (or Friday even), but I was pretty much in a coma trying to catch up on my sleep.  The only time I woke up over the past two days was to do the tweeting for my " We Came From the Basement " as their show aired on CFBX 92.5 FM ( www.thex.ca ).  Other than that, I slept.  Just slept. Which is why, today, I'm going to post a quick list of the movies I watched, and my thoughts on them.  Over the next couple of weeks or so, I'll be posting full length reviews of these movies as well. 1.  " Bluebeard " (1944)- A moody, black and wh...

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...

When it comes to movies, the horror genre is one of the few where houses are as much a character as the humans.  Certain houses are immediately identifiable with certain movies: The Meyers house from John Carpenter's " Halloween "; Nancy's house from Wes Craven's " A Nightmare on Elm St "; Norman Bate's house from Alfred Hitchcock's " Psycho "; and The Lutz home from any " Amityville Horror " movie. George and Kathy Lutz have just moved into 112 Ocean Ave- where a brutal mass murder had occured just the year before.  Soon, however, their dream house becomes a house of horrors and the couple must fight to protect their children from the evil that resides with them... and keep it from causing history to repeat itself... There has always been controversy regarding the background for the movie, since it's based on a book documenting the experiences of the real-life Lutz family.  Because of this controversy,...

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...

If you listen to " Film Reviews From the Basement ," on Friday night (07 Oct 2011), you will have heard my verbal review of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film, " The Shining ".  If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you would've read my review of Stephen King's book- which this movie is based on.  To round things out properly, I'm going to do a bit of a recap and expansion of my movie review today... simply because I can. I just want it known right off the bat that I DON'T hate Kubrick's films.  In fact, there are a few that I actually enjoy: " Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb " (1964); " A Clockwork Orange " (1971); and " Full Metal Jacket " (1987) As you can probably guess (if you didn't hear the radio show Friday night) from its absence, " The Shining " is not one of the ones I liked.  Now, before I get lynched by Stanley Kubrick and Jack Nich...

Over the past decade, Vampires and Werewolves have been given a "humanized" treatment in movies and TV.  Rather than being the cold, sinister blood thirsty creatures of the night they used to be, they are now more human.  They have feelings, and a culture now- so much so that they're almost soap operatic in nature... and not as scary as they used to be when Mom would warn us about the vampire in the attic... One creature of the night that has pretty much stayed the same has been the zombie... except for one film that I found that looks at the zombie in a whole different light... John and Jennifer are a young couple hoping to enjoy a weekend away at their cabin.  After getting lost in the woods, they are attacked by a stranger who bites John.  Managing to escape, they reach their cabin and safety.  Unfortunately, they soon realize that some changes are taking place in their lives ... This movie presents us with an intellegent, and even thought provoking l...

Fairy tales have often provided inspiration for horror movies- being rather horrific when you read the original, un-Disneyfied versions (I can't forgive Disney for butchering the classic " Hunchback of Notre Dame ").  Sometimes, the influence is very direct, and other times a little more obsure. Jenny is a young girl left to her own devices in Rome after her father is killed, and step-mother leaves for whatever reason meets her fancy at the time.  She sees this as the perfect opportunity to bring Rome a bit of street level justice with the help of her canine friend, "George".  Unfortunately, a crush on her tutor, and her meddling grandmother are in the way of her dispensing her special kinda of justice... At first glance, you would expect the title to refer to a more direct adaptation of the story of Little Red Riding Hood... but you'd be wrong.  There are references to the story, but they aren't a major part of the story.  There is a grandmother, an...

  Every now and then, I find a suspenseful thriller that keeps you interested and leaves you blinking with surprise at the end. Eleven travellors become trapped at a lonely roadside motel during stormy night.  Soon, one by one, they are murdered by an unknown person.  Is the killer one of them... or something much darker than they'd ever suspect? " Identity " is one of those films that not only kept me interested throughout the entire thing- but actually made me raise my eyebrows in surprise at the twist.  The story is well written, and paced beautifully.  The characters were unique and interesting- and likeable. The acting, as far as I'm concerned, as great.  I've always enjoyed John Cusack's performances, and he didn't disappoint as Ed Dakota.  The character had depth- I wanted to learn more about him as a person.  Another great performance was given by Ray Liotta- who's work I also enjoy greatly.  He gives a good, strong performance in...

Vampire movies have gotten a bit boring over the past few years, relying on either the vampire being either moody and angsty or in a rivalry with a werewolf.  But rest assured that there ARE some that step out of the usual vampire mold and are quite entertaining. Marcel and Amy, two vampires have stolen $100,000.00 from vampire mobster Jimmy "Fangs" Petrucci, and are on the run.  A mysterious vampire hitman has been hired to hunt them down to get the money back.  While waiting for his money to be returned, "Fangs" has to deal with a strange female vampire who is killing his gang on her path to the vampire that created her. " Strange Things Happen at Sundown " is a fun little vampire film that is witty and intellegent.  In 2003, it won the Audience Choice Award at the New York City Horror Film Festival. The story is well crafted and smart.  It uses much of the vampire mythology with minor changes to bring a fresh feeling to the vampire genre.  Unused ...

I think I'm safe in saying that pretty much EVERYONE, at one point or another has seen Disney's animated version of " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ".  Well, if you're looking for a review of it today, you'd be wrong.  Today, I'm going to cover Tim Burton's reimagining of the classic tale... New York City police constable, Ichabod Crane is assigned a mysterious murder case in the small hamlet of Sleepy Hollow.  Upon arrival, he is informed by the local dignitaries that the deaths are the work of the Headless Horseman... who is possibly taking the heads to replace his missing head.  While investigating, Ichabod becomes involved in the intrigue and mystery surrounding the Headless Horseman... a mystery that may just involve the woman he's attracted to... Going into this review, I'm going to be very honest and plain about a few facts: I've always enjoyed Tim Burton's films; I've always enjoyed Johnny Depp's work; I've alw...