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John’s Horror Corner: Stephen King’s It (2017), a worthy re-adaptation and...
MY CALL: A worthy, scarier approach to Stephen King’s book delivered with a Pennywise worthy of Curry’s original performance. MORE MOVIES LIKE Stephen King’s It: For more movie adaptations based on...
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John’s Horror Corner: Hellraiser VIII: Hellworld (2005), the only movie in...
MY CALL: I enjoyed parts I-VII only to utterly despise this sequel. Very bad, both as a Hellraiser sequel and as a random horror flick. Just bad. MORE MOVIES LIKE Hellworld: Be sure to see...
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John’s Horror Corner: Saw (2004), James Wan’s progenitor of modern torture...
MY CALL: Although unrelentingly gruesome at times, its gore always finds integral purpose. This film is more about its characters than its death, and never dares to revel in its brutality in lieu of...
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John’s Horror Corner: Saw II (2005), more brutal, more death traps, more...
MY CALL: Less tactful and more brutal, this was a very different film than part I. Following very much the trajectory between Hellraiser (1987) and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), we shift from a...
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John’s Horror Corner: Saw III (2006), proving that torture porn sequels can...
MY CALL: Better than the second and highly rewatchable. I’ve come to quite enjoy the highly different styles of these first three moves. This is the most gruesome so far, but it still takes time to...
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John’s Horror Corner: Saw IV (2007), very ambitious story with lackluster...
MY CALL: This franchise was always good about featuring characters in whom we invested…but this time I just didn’t care about any these characters. Easily my least favorite (and by far the most...
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The Best Moments of one of the Worst Decades in Horror: looking back 20 years...
This is a follow-up article to: The Best Moments of one of the Worst Years in Horror: 1996 The Best Moments of one of the Worst Years in Horror: 1995 There are great horror films (e.g., Saw, The...
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John’s Horror Corner: Saw V (2008), just okay—I miss Leigh Whannell and...
MY CALL: I was entertained, but I miss the quality of parts I-III. This was just “okay.” The characters were lame and, despite being thoughtfully elaborated, the story was ill-executed to the point...
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John’s Horror Corner: The Girl with All the Gifts (2016), a great modern...
MY CALL: A fine contribution to the zombie subgenre! Very pleased with this scientific approach to zombiism and the film’s ability to capture humanity and the Devil’s advocacy of morality. MORE...
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John’s Horror Corner: Saw VI (2009), Jigsaw fights the insurance industry...
MY CALL: This was a redeeming sequel, making up for the writing, character and death scene shortcomings of parts IV-V. We’ve returned to the standard expected by Saw fans and the plot expansion was...
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John’s Horror Corner: Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (2010), bravo, Jigsaw! The...
MY CALL: Some weren’t fans of this intended franchise closer and, you know what, I don’t see the problem. I thought this was a delight. Great kills and characters, old favorites and some solid...
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John’s Horror Corner: Gerald’s Game (2017), Mike Flanagan and Stephen King...
MY CALL: Interesting and inventive, but more a “should see” than a “must see” for fans of King and Flanagan, whose horror-crafting styles are clearly present. I enjoyed this odd film. MORE MOVIES...
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John’s Horror Corner: Friday the 13th (1980), before the days of Jason Voorhees.
MY CALL: Forever a classic. Yet I am hesitant to recommend this low budget slasher to anyone who didn’t grow up in this era. It’s no longer exciting to me, but it holds a special significance....
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John’s Horror Corner: Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Jason Voorhees avenges...
MY CALL: More kills, more boobs and more excitement than its (honestly) slow-paced classic predecessor. MORE MOVIES LIKE Friday the 13th Part 2: Obviously, Friday the 13th (1980). For more classic...
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John’s Horror Corner: Cult of Chucky (2017), from the 1988 classic to the...
MY CALL: Another entertaining installment to this killer doll franchise! In style it’s somewhere between Seed of Chucky and Curse of Chucky. [I viewed the Unrated Version.] MOVIES LIKE Cult of...
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John’s Horror Corner: Friday the 13th Part III (1982), making Jason more...
MY CALL: This summer camp slasher is way more campy than its predecessors. I found this to be the most boring of the series so far. MORE MOVIES LIKE Friday the 13th Part 2: Obviously, Friday the...
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John’s Horror Corner: Happy Death Day (2017), Groundhog Day (1993) meets...
MY CALL: The Groundhog Day (1993) callbacks are frequent, satisfying and most importantly self-aware in this delightful stalker movie. It was fun, jumpy, tense, engaging and…did I mention FUN? Go...
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Shriekfest Orlando 2017: Film Festival Review
I had the recent pleasure of attending Orlando’s first ShriekFest, a smaller one-day event satelliting the flagship Los Angeles film festival (October 5-8, 2017) on its 17th year. Thirty-five short...
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John’s Horror Corner: Cool (2017), Independent Short Film Review.
MY CALL: A clever techno-horror/thriller that doubles as an engaging “choose your own adventure” film. How’s that for something different? I recommend watching (and manipulating the film) with a...
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John’s Horror Corner: Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984), the...
MY CALL: Perhaps the most exciting of the series so far. This sequel may lack story-based substance, but it makes up for it with…everything else. MORE MOVIES LIKE Friday the 13th Part IV:...
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