Canadian Meatballs
I went to see Meatballs when it first came out. A Canadian film, directed by Ivan Reitman Meatballs sent shockwaves through the Canadian film industry. Here was a film that in many ways had archetypal Canadian story elements yet appealed…
Bava Speaks
These quotes were taken from interviews with Mario Bava, which are featured in full in Troy Howarth’s The Haunted World of Mario Bava, available from FAB Press. “In my entire career, I made only big bullshits, no doubt about that.”…
Halloween 1978 versus Halloween 2007
Aside from the great gulf in quality between John Carpenter’s classic 1978 slasher and Rob Zombie’s post-Scream back-story-cum-remake, the new film couldn’t be more different from the original. The original Halloween was a benchmark in horror. It set new standards…
It’s Hammer Time
Launched in 1934, Hammer’s first production was The Public Life Of Henry The Ninth and, following a period of inactivity during WW2, the first picture from the newly incorporated Hammer Film Productions Ltd. was 1949’s Dr. Morelle: The Case Of…
Bob Clark
Although the career of American-born director Bob Clark likely registers as little more than a footnote in the United States, he looms unusually large in Canada and has left many imprints – some of them less distinguished than others –…
From The What’s Wrong With Hollywood File
Last week, news broke that the board game Candy Land had been dumped by Universal Pictures and instead set up at rival Sony Pictures, now as an Adam Sandler vehicle. And with this departure, Universal had unloaded the last of…
The Last Man On Earth
Movies from the “golden age” of black and white films (approximately the 1930’s through the 1950’s) almost invariably contain well-written dialogue and strikingly subtle humor, making them a favorite among many fans of cinema. The horror movies of this more…
So Bad So Good
B-rated sci-fi and horror films are the stuff of Ashland’s Bad Film Society, a group that provides an alternative cultural outlet for those who love bad movies. For more than 10 years, the society has met monthly — with an…
When Angels Attack
We had high hopes for Legion the 2010 apocalyptic thriller pitting humans and the archangel Michael against the heavenly host, but we were sorely disappointed by the clichéd characters and mile-wide plot holes. But now it looks like we’ll get…
Nazis In Space
A sci-fi black comedy about Nazis from the moon invading Planet Earth is one of the hottest tickets at the Berlin film festival, which is better known for its gritty political fare. “Iron Sky”, a B-movie spoof drawing the crowds…
Chicago Fear Fest
Chicago may be known as the “Second City”, but Chicago-based Horror Enterprises Flashback Weekend (Horror Conventions & Drive-In Film Fests), Horror Society (web based horror news & Horror film fests), Sinister Visions (horror website & graphic design), and Zombie Army…
Kill List
Nothing says scary cinema like a slow burn. It’s exactly the clever technique used by British filmmaker Ben Wheatley (who also made “Down Terrace”) for his latest harrowing film titled “Kill List” (out now in select theaters from IFC Midnight),…
Near Dark
Oscar promoting is in high drive right now, so why not look at a flick from a previous Best Picture winner to get the season started…welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! Kathryn Bigelow swept the 82nd Academy Awards (stick that in…
Metalshifters
The Flick: Formerly known as “Iron Invader,” this Syfy flick mildly entertains more with the human characters then the sub-par metallic ones. Meaning stars Kavan Smith and Nicole De Boer’s tortured romance is notable amongst “The Iron Giant” meets “Godzilla”…
Troma’s Fathers Day
CHICAGO – If the word Troma means nothing to you, then you may want to avoid “Father’s Day,” a truly twisted and sadistic slice of horror-comedy that makes other recent attempts at grindhouse insanity (“Machete,” “Hobo with a Shotgun”) look…
B Movie Studios
ASTOR PICTURES Astor Pictures Corporation was in the truest sense of the words not a true poverty row studio.They did not have a studio at all.Their primary business was in the distribution and re-releasing of films.Probably one of their more…
John Landis
It almost seems unnecessary to provide an introduction, or summarize in some way, the career of John Landis. Let’s just say, even if you don’t realize it, you’ve probably seen one of his films—possibly even a few of them. Even…
Shock Value
By the mid-1960s the horror genre was in a parlous state. The great horror stars of the 1930s and 40s, like Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, were plying their trade in hack B-movies that amused far more than they scared….
The Phantom Menace Is Back
Full disclosure: George Lucas did not “violate my childhood”. I don’t care that Jar Jar Binks makes the Ewoks look like fucking Shaft. To me, the Star Wars films have always been highly effective B-movies – no more, no less…
Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills
As we heard this week, Robert Rodriguez is planning an April shoot for Machete Kills, his follow-up to the Danny Trejo starring 2010 B-movie action fest that the rumour is he will direct himself this time. Thanks to Coming Soon,…