Let me just say first off, that many of the reviews you’ll read for this film talk about how the trick ending ruins the film. I used to agree with this school of thought, but after I watched this film again I changed my mind. I’m getting ahead of myself, let me give you my review first. I really like Mark of the Vampire (MGM, 1935). It’s one of my favorite "vampire" movies.(read more...)

I am writing this review from Richmond, VA, Poe’s hometown. He was born in Boston and he lived in New York and Maryland, but he considered Richmond his hometown. He grew up here and he began writing his stories here, so actually you could call Richmond the birthplace of American horror. There are more movies based on Poe’s works than any other American author. I find that ironic because Poe’s work is pretty much unfilmable. Filmmakers solved this problem by making films based solely on a plot device, title, or event from Poe’s works. There are very few direct adaptations of Poe’s work. Universal’s The Raven (1935) is no exception.(read more...)

I love an original take on a classic subgenre. As a film reviewer, I'm quickly nearing that point where everything I see needs something new about it or I become bored. I'm sorry, but there are only so many haunted house stories/vampire epics/werewolf tales one can take before it all becomes, well, stale. Thankfully, this film from Canada has breathed fascinating new life into lycanthropy.(read more...)

Cannibal Man, the infamous 1971 film by controversial Spanish director Eloy de la Igelsia, was never released theatrically in the U.S. It has been available as an import or a bootleg, and gained reputation not only for its brutal violence, but also for its provocative themes. With Anchor Bay's recent release of the film on DVD and video, the American audience at last has a chance to admire a lost minor classic of European exploitation.(read more...)