Zombies. Archie. You wouldn't expect the two of those things to fit together in a comic, right? Well, guess again.  They fit together, and do it well. What would you do if your pet was run over and killed?  If you're Jughead Jones, you'd perform a dark spell of resurrection to bring them back.  Too bad, it's the first step on the road to the end of Riverdale, and the life you knew ... Archie Comics shook things up in 2013 and 2014 with two big events that changed how people viewed the wholesome line of comics.  2014 July issue of " Life With Archie " saw Archie Andrews shot and killed, while October 2013 saw the first issue of " Afterlife With Archie " hitting the news stands. When I first heard of " Afterlife With Archie ", and that it was horror based, I figured that it would more or less be of a comedic nature, and keeping in line with the "family friendly" tone that the company had. Boy, was I pleasantly surpri...

Those of you who read this blog on a semi-regular basis, may be thinking that I've made a mistake in this review's title- especially since I've already done reviews of Stephen King's Novel " The Shining ", and the 1980 Stanley Kubrick version . Well, I'm not wrong, since 1997 saw a TV mini-series based on the novel.  The teleplay was written by Stephen King himself. After alcoholism leads to the loss of his job, Jack Torrance accepts a job as winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel.  Filled with hope for a fresh start, Jack and his family move into the hotel, and begin the process of healing old wounds. Soon, however, the snow starts to fly, and the hotel begins to stalk its occupants in the hopes of making their stay permanent ... After watching Kubrick's version years ago, I'd always felt that " The Shining " would've been better told as a mini-series, since it could incorporate more the themes and scary events from the no...

One of the things that horror does, is take something we often WISH for- and make us rethink that wish... After Bill Halleck accidentally runs over an old gypsy woman, a simple word is whispered to him- and his life becomes a living hell. The word is, "Thinner"... This book is one of Stephen King's earlier books, written under the name "Richard Bachman", but isn't what I would consider one of his better novels. The premise is interesting.  The old gypsy guy and the "fixer" friend of Halleck's are interesting.  The writing style isn't bad, and there's a decent flow to the words. The fault isn't with those things.  Rather, the problem for me lies in the character of Halleck, and the pace of the story.  I had zero sympathy for Halleck, so felt no real tension on his behalf.  Maybe if he had some redeeming qualities, and felt real remorse for what he did, then I might not have minded the slow pacing of the story.  As it was...

As a fan of horror movies, I enjoy seeing how the genre has evolved over the years, and learning a bit about how some of the most influential movies came to be made, and the role they played in making horror what it is today. In the final years of the turbulent 1960's, when race riots, decreasing support of the Vietnam War, and growing social unrest were spreading like a virus across the United States, a small, low-budget horror film was made.  Despite uncertainty about it's reception and ultimate Fate, this little film made by some guys from Pittsburgh, went on to change the world of horror forever. This film was, " Night of the Living Dead "... and this is its story... If you've read my review of  " Night of the Living Dead " (1968), you'll know that it's one of my favorite horror movies of all time.  Well, let me tell this:  " Birth of the Living Dead " is a great little companion piece to that movie. One of the things I re...

While horror/thriller/suspense themed Hidden Object games may not lend themselves to the sort of scares that you'd get from a motion picture, some of them can have still provide engaging atmosphere and characters... FBI Agent Claire Ellery is assigned to investigate a simple open and shut kidnapping case... but her tendency to attract strange cases soon causes events that propel her down a much more sinister path.  Her only lead are a series of tarot cards left by a silent and anonymous "friend"... When it comes to casual game play- where there's no real pressure to hurry though the game, Hidden Object games are great.  You can work at them at your own pace.  You can either use the hint button provided to find something, or you can put your eyesight to the test and find the objects unaided.  The level of difficulty is really up to you. That lack of stress is one of the things I liked about this game.  The scenes where the objects are hidden, and the var...

  After all the black and white films I've watched over the past month or so as I worked my way through horror films from the 1920 to the present, I finally hit 1968- and a colour film.  It was a welcome change of pace- as was the story. Seperated from his regiment in 1806, Andre Duvalier stumbles across the castle of Baron von Leppe, and a mysterious woman whom the Baron claims has been dead for the past 20 years- because he killed her and her lover.  Determined to discover the truth behind the dark past of the castle, Duvalier soon finds himself confronting a deadly mix of guilt, revenge, and madness... " The Terror " was filmed on sets used in two other Roger Corman films- " The Raven ," and " The Haunted Palace ".  The tree in the final scene is from " The Haunted Palace " where it was the sight of Vincent Price being tied up and burnt.  In addition to re-using sets, this movie is notable for the number of directors it had: Roger Corma...

When I buy my horror box sets, I expect plenty of low budget horror movies.  I expect a fair number of bad ones.  I expect fewer decent ones.  I expect even fewer jewels. " Death on Demand " definately wasn't one of those jewels. Twenty years after a mountain climber is traumatized by an experience with a Yeti- culminating in his butchering his family during a nice dinner, a sleazy business man holds a contest in the now supposedly haunted house- a sort of scavenger hunt where the couples involved are looking for clues as to WHY the aforementioned mountain climber hacked his family to bits.  Unfortunately, they awaken his still insane spirit... and death ensues. Up to the point where the blood starts to flow, you would swear that " Death on Demand " was filmed for the Family Channel.  It has that "feel" and look to it.  The camera work is very simplistic, and brightly lit... almost cartoony.  The acting is sit-comy, and the humour rather immature...

At the beginning of March, I reviewed one of William Castle's famous movies- "House on Haunted Hill".  For my month long tribute to William Castle, I'm going to review another famous movie that was produced by him... "Rosemary's Baby". Rosemary and her husband, Guy move into a gothic 19th century apartment building in New York.  Despite it's beauty, the building also has a history of less than savory residents and events.  After meeting their neighbours, The couple decide to try and have a child... and succeed.  The only problem is that the bundle of joy they're expecting may not be altogether human... William Castle convinced Paramount Pictures to buy the film rights for the novel before the book had even been released.  Originally, Castle wanted to direct the movie, but Paramount Executives though that his "gimmicky" reputation may damage the box office receipts- allowing him to produce, but not direct.  Because of this, Paramount...

After having watched, "Frozen", I was almost hesitant to sit through another minimal location/minimal casting/minimal title thriller... but I'm glad I did. Paul wakes up to find himself buried alive in a coffin.  All he has is a Zippo lighter, and a Blackberry phone. As time and air runs out, he maintain his sanity, and deal with the demands of those that placed him there... otherwise the coffin will be his final resting place... Director Rodrigo Cortes filmed "Buried" in seventeen days, and cites Alfred Hitchcock as a major influence on the film. I enjoy watching single location horror/thriller movies because I'm always interested in seeing how the director will handle it.  It's not easy making a single location constantly interesting, but director Rodrigo Cortes manages to do so with the simple coffin in this movie.  He uses interesting camera angles, lighting styles, and even darkness to break up what could be a very monotonous looking location...

I'm not going to lie- this movie SOUNDED good and interesting, and I was intrigued to see how someone would handle a story with such a limited number of cast and locations. Joe, Dan and Dan's girlfriend, Parker are skiing and decided to bribe the chair lift operator to allow them one last run- despite warnings of a severe storm heading in. Due to a bad timing and miscommunication, the three wind up stranded on the chair lift halfwayup the mountain. The trio soon learn that freezing isn't the only way to die in the cold night air... This film is notable for reports of people fainting while viewing it at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and for being the opening movie of the Glaslow Frightfest. This movie had potential, but was hampered by clunky dialouge, a lackluster cast, and stiff acting that wasn't the result of the cold. This is a dialogue heavy movie... and not very interesting dialogue. When they're not whining, they're crying, and whe...

I have a confession to make: I'm a fan of black and white horror movies.  Why would I, a man born in the heyday of horror films like "Halloween", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and others be a fan of primitive black and white ones? Simple, they're fun, and "House on Haunted Hill" is an example of that fun. This 1959 B-movie was produced and directed by William Castle- the master of movie gimmicks like "Percepto"... the joy buzzer seats used for his movie, "The Tingler".  "House on Haunted Hill" had "Emergo"- a plastic skeleton that would "fly" over the audience at the appropriate moment in the movie.  The flying skeleton was quite popular (and is even credited in the end credits), and helped the movie to become quite successful.  The movie was so successful in fact that, Alfred Hitchcok was spurred to make "Psycho"... which in turned inspired William Castle to produce "Homicidal"...

My friends Jay and Shawn over at " Film Reviews From the Basement " has agreed to a bit of a partnership between our two sites.  Every Friday night, while they're doing their Radio show on 92.5 FM " The X " in Kamloops, BC from 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm, I'll be posting tweets for them letting their Twitter fans know what's going on.  We did it for the first time this Friday- and they managed to gain three new listeners!  How awesome is that!?!  In addition, once a month, I'll be stepping out of my corner and into the basement with a review of either a classic or more recent horror film.  We'll actually be kicking  that off this upcoming Friday when I actually review a Sci-Fi classic- Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". I know it's not horror, but don't worry, I'll start in with the proper genre in April. Also, every Sunday, they convert their radio show into a Podcast on PodOmatic , for those  that missed the live show....

A father is devestated when a firey car crash kills his wife and daughter- Audrey Rose.  Seeking comfort in their passing, Elliot goes for advice from a psychic- who informs him that his daughter has been reincarnated... and is in torment.  Enter Ivy Templeton, a sweet girl whom Elliot is convinced houses his dead daughter's suffering soul.  Is she, and what lengths will Elliot go in order to save his dead daughter? This 1975 novel by Frank De Felitta came at a time when the New Age movement started gaining popularity.  The idea of reincarnation was catching on, and interest in the supernatural was growing.  Questions about whether or not a soul maintains memories from its previous life when reincarnated were being asked.  What if the previous life ended horribly- would those memories be transferred to the new body? "Audrey Rose" examines that question, and uses it as the basis for an interesting and eerie read.  Like some of the best hor...

Demons, skeletons, gun slingers and zombies abound as an old west outlaw rises from the grave in the modern west seeking revenge. Of the genres that tends to attract the most deplorable movies, I would have to say that horror and comedy are about equal.  At least with horror, you can count on- if not an A-List movie, at least coming across a decent B-Grade movie... unlike comedy where it's either a good comedy, or a trainwreck. Of course, that's not to say that the horror genre doesn't have its share of trainwrecks... or in the case of "Dead Noon," stagecoach wrecks. The premise sounds cool in a Sam Raimi, "Evil Dead: Army of Darkness" sort of way.  The potential for humour and scares is ripe for that premise.  Too bad this movie doesn't come close to fulfilling that potential. I have a very basic movie watching rule: You don't stop until it's over.  I wound up breaking that rule while watching this movie... within the first ten to f...

1980 saw the town of Antonio Bay, California celebrating it's 100th birthday, and some uninvited guests showing up to wish them a "Happy Deathday" in John Carpenter's "The Fog"... After the success of "Halloween" Carpenter was given a budget of one million dollars, and filmed "The Fog".  after creating a rough cut, he realized that as it was, the movie didn't work- so he added and reshot many scenes to highten the gore and horror elements.  In fact, one third of the movie comprises of the added and reshot material. As with "Halloween", John Carpenter showed great skill in directing.  He deftly builds up tension and suspense to a good level before releasing the audience from Death's cold grip.  His use of sound and visual effects, enables the fog itself to become as much a menacing character as it is a mood setter.  I also like John Carpenter's brief cameo as well. The characters are well developed and engaging,...

Well all know it's coming.  We've seen the movies.  We've seen the Facebook tests.  We've seen it in the blank expressions of people shuffling off to their morning Starbucks... The zombie apocalypse.  Hoardes of the dead rising from their graves to feast upon the flesh and brains of the living.  We've seen the progression- from "Night of the Living Dead", through it's dawn, and day until the world is the "Land of the Dead". So, yeah- we all know it's coming.  The question is: "What do we do when it comes?"  Well, here's the answer: "Max Brooks' 'The Zombie Survival Guide', that's what." This book, though obviously tongue-in-cheek, could very well be an honest to goodness survival guide.  It is well thought out, clear, precise, and logical in its approach to how one could survive a mass uprising of the feasting dead. "The Zombie Survival Guide" covers the "known facts" abo...

In honour of today being Valentine's Day... a day when we all want to win that "special" someone's heart (and possibly gnaw on it a bit), I thought I would revisit a horror movie based on this romantic day.  I remember watching the original "My Bloody Valentine" several years ago, but I can't remember enough to do a decent review of it- nor have I seen the recent remake of it. So, alas, I will have to shoot my arrows at the 2001 teen slasher move, "Valentine".  I wish I could say these were arrows of love, but alas (I do love that word), I can not.  Cupid's arrow misses the mark with this not so sweet gift. Even though I do enjoy David  Boreanaz in the TV show "Angel", and as FBI Special Agent Seely Booth on "Bones", he wasn't quite able to save this film from being a Valentine offering I'd like to return to sender.  Nor could Denise Richards' hotness, since she was a big draw name at the time.  The rest ...

I'm going to go back in time for my first movie... all the way back to when Francis Ford Coppola was just starting out... back to 1963... Producer Roger Corman hired Coppola to direct "Dementia 13" right after shooting the movie "The Young Racers," with a budget of $22,000.00, and his friends acting in it for about $600.00.  The script was written in about three days, and shows in the slight stiffness of the dialogue.  When it was released in theatres, Corman insisted on having a William Castle-like "prologue", where a "professional psychiatrist" discusses the D-13 test handed out to the audience... in order to see if they were mentally fit to watch the movie. For me, this is one of my favorite horror movies.  True, the dialogue is stiff and awkward, and the storyline is a little confusing and disjointed, but under that roughness created by the short span of time used to write and film the movie, you can see the potential sparkle of a tru...