Posts by Nate Yapp

One of the lesser episodes of the classic cable television show "Mystery Science Theater 3000" involved a 1964 British film entitled Devil Doll. The essential problem with that particular entry was that the movie was too good for the jokes to come easy, but too boring to be really interesting. It was one of those films that was probably safest confined to a room with Mike and the 'bots.

Well, it's been let loose now, on a DVD from Image. The black and white cinematography is startlingly clear, the mono sound fairly crisp, and the extras are reasonably extensive. The question, though, is why?(read more...)

My great love for Troma has been no secret. When Classic-Horror set out to score its first major interview with a filmmaker, we didn't seek out standards like Stuart Gordon, Tobe Hooper, or George Romero. We asked Lloyd Kaufman, the President of Troma Studios, to sit down and talk horror.

So, it is no surprise that I was overjoyed to be able to watch Citizen Toxie, the latest installment in the Toxic Avenger series. Typically speaking, I view modern sequels with some amount of apprehension, but I went into this one with high expectations. I came out undisappointed. This is the best Toxie film, without a doubt.(read more...)

Lurking below the skin of every seemingly well-adjusted male is a homicidal psychopath waiting to burst out. Such is the message behind Mary Harron's adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis's misogynistic Me Generation novel. This film is as much at home with Fight Club as it is the recent spate of "I Remember the 80s" flicks.

Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) at first appears to be the least despicable member of a group of self-obsessed Wall Street yuppies. However, appearances are quite deceiving, as we slowly learn. It seems that Bateman's nocturnal activities have a slightly... deadly ring to them.(read more...)

In the late 30s/early 40s, Boris Karloff had two basic roles (outside of his work at Universal) - he would either play the kindly misunderstood scientist or the condemned/murdered man given new life. In Before I Hang, he gets to play both.

In the space of 10 minutes, Dr. Garth (Karloff) is sentenced to hang for the mercy killing of a patient, goes to prison, meets Dr. Howard (Edward Van Sloan) and perfects his youth serum. Alas, he makes the all-too-common mistake of using the blood of a murderer, so when he injects himself roughly 15 minutes in, you know troubles a-brewin'.(read more...)