Our editor-in-chief Nate Yapp is proud to have contributed to the new book Hidden Horror: A Celebration of 101 Underrated and Overlooked Fright Flicks, edited by Aaron Christensen. Another contributors include Anthony Timpone, B.J. Colangelo, Dave Alexander, Classic-Horror.com's own Robert C. Ring and John W. Bowen. Pick up a copy today from Amazon.com!

Posts by Brandt Sponseller

Review: The Fly (1958)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sun, 2001-07-01 01:01

I know there’s a whole camp, comprised primarily of the folks who’d say that House of Dracula blows Ravenous out of the water when it comes to horror, who think the 1958 version of The Fly is a masterpiece and the 1986 version is so much garbage on celluloid. Obviously, I’m not in that camp. I think that they’re both masterpieces.(read more...)

Review: House of Dracula (1945)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sat, 2001-06-30 00:00

One thing you certainly can’t complain about with House of Dracula is that it is too long. Director Erle C. Kenton’s follow-up to 1944’s House of Frankenstein clocks in at a mere 67 minutes -- take out the credits and it’s almost down to an hour. The length is probably partially due to the fact that between 1940 and 1946, Kenton directed a whopping 20 films (and that after 27 in the 1930’s and 32 in the 1920’s) -- take that Stanley Kubrick!(read more...)

Review: From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sun, 2001-06-24 00:00

Saying that From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (TBM) pales in comparison to the original From Dusk Till Dawn (FDTD) might be a bit unfair. FDTD had a script by Quentin Tarantino, direction by Robert Rodriguez, special effects assistance from Tom Savini, and such acting luminaries as George Clooney, Juliette Lewis and Harvey Keitel. Even if FDTD had been only that crew filming that cast reading the phone book, complete with Tarantino commentary in between the Employment Agency and Escort Services ads, it would be hard to beat.(read more...)

Review: The Fly II (1989)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sat, 2001-06-23 00:00

When Brooksfilms (yes, Mel Brooks' company) decided it was time to hatch a sequel to The Fly, Brooks championed perhaps the best alternative to the original's director, David Cronenberg, namely Chris Walas, The Fly's creature and make-up effects maestro.(read more...)

Review: The Cellar (1989)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Mon, 2001-06-18 00:00

The only thing worse than being isolated in the desert of the Southwestern U.S. without water is being isolated in the desert of the Southwestern U.S. with bad sewage and pesky ravens.

Oh yeah, and a monster created by a very powerful Comanche Indian medicine man from the worst parts of all known creatures--one designed to kill white men, but that prefers baby souls, and which will feed on anything, even Indians, in a pinch.(read more...)

Review: Basket Case (1982)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sun, 2001-06-10 00:00

Made on a shoestring budget by a previously unknown filmmaker and starring an unknown cast, Basket Case is a classic of the horror genre. While I'd prefer to stick with a more vague description of the plot since the film is even more effective if one is completely in the dark from the beginning, the premise is no secret (including the text on the back of the video box), so I'll give a brief recap.(read more...)

Review: April Fool's Day (1986)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sat, 2001-06-09 01:01

April Fool's Day is the best tongue-in-cheek slasher flick I've seen so far from the 80's and the most prescient of Scream and its offspring. Through the guise of April Fool's Day pranks, many of the conventions of horror films are explored, and because of the premise, satirized to some extent.

The plot concerns a group of college kids who are heading to a rich friend's, Muffy St. John's, home for her birthday, which falls on April Fool's Day. Muffy lives on an island in the middle of a large lake, and the ferry doesn't travel there very often. This aspect of the setting suggests the secluded island in the more recent film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and it is used for a similar purpose.(read more...)

Review: Alien Predator (1987)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Thu, 2001-06-07 00:51

Alien Predator is a mess. Ostensibly an alien film (obviously, given the title), there are no aliens in sight until almost the very end, when a cheesy lump with fangs attacks a windshield. There are also no predators of note, although the aliens that are mentioned every so often are supposed to be threatening. On the other hand, the threat seems more similar to a virus, and the people and animals who are attacked all look like there is something uniquely wrong with them.(read more...)

Review: Lady Frankenstein (1971)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Thu, 2001-06-07 00:00

Lady Frankenstein has to be one of the most seriously underrated horror films of all time. In fact, it seems even that no one really knows about it, and it currently only has 175 votes on The Internet Movie Database, a 4.6 average.(read more...)

Review: Arachnophobia (1990)

Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sun, 2001-04-22 01:01

Although it certainly has a lot of the superficial trappings of a classic "natural monster" horror film (as well as suggestions of other subgenres), Arachnophobia never really settles down to reside in the genre. Fans who like their horror to be scary won't find much to rave about here unless they come to the film with an almost irrational, deep-seated fear of spiders. Worse, fans who become easily irritated by quirks might hate Arachnophobia, because this is a film chock full of them. In the beginning, they're as slight as Hannibal Lecter in a pink chiffon jacket. By the midway point, the film is a veritable three-ring circus.(read more...)