Review: Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Shadow of the Vampire poster
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Tue, 2001-01-02 01:00

Although I desperately try to not look at what anyone else is saying about a film before I write my review--out of a neurotic fear that my opinion will be influenced--I have to use the Internet to look up stats so I can give credit where due and spell the names correctly. While looking up info for Shadow of the Vampire, I couldn't help but notice someone boldly proclaiming it "The Best Film of the Year!" While I think that is extremely overstating its case, Shadow of the Vampire is a very good film, but it happens to straddle a few niches while not really committing (or proceeding flawlessly) to any of them, and my impression is that it may not really satisfy most genre fans.(read more...)

The 2000 Caligari's Cabinet Awards

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2001-01-01 02:00

Hello, I'm your presenter for the evening, Nate Yapp. We're here to give the final results of the Caligari's Cabinet Awards, taken from a poll that you, the reader, took part in during the months of November and December. Yes, all the greatest horror films are here tonight, in bated breath to see which are "among the best," which are "the cream of the crop," and what is "the greatest horror movie ever made!"(read more...)

Review: Bloody New Year (1987)

Bloody New Year 1987
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sun, 2000-12-31 15:19

I watched Bloody New Year today -- December 30, 2000 -- with the idea that it would be nice to write about a topical horror film after basically taking three weeks off from writing reviews. Unfortunately, aside from extremely superficial plot points, this Norman J. (Horror Planet, Satan’s Slave) Warren directed, Frazier Pearce written film has little to do with our most temporal of holidays. However, it wasn’t a complete loss, as I found Bloody New Year to be a modest but entertaining melding of slasher films and more traditional haunted house yarns.(read more...)

Review: Night of the Ghouls (1959)

Night of the Ghouls
Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2000-12-29 01:00

What if I told you that everyone's favorite director of bad films, Edward D. Wood, Jr. directed a semi-decent film? Blasphemy, you say? Well, my brothers and sister in the Cult of Wood...read on about the Great Trashmeister's one odd film out.(read more...)

Review: Tromeo and Juliet (1996)

Tromeo and Juliet poster
Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2000-12-27 01:00

Y'know, I only discovered Troma a short while ago, with The Toxic Avenger, and now I think I have a serious addiction. It would be easy to kick it if they didn't keep getting better at what they do. With Tromeo and Juliet, they combine their patented outrageousness with the Bard and a little arthouse style. Actually, it's a bit of a stretch to call this film "horror," but it's a stretch I'm willing to make.(read more...)

Review: The Toxic Avenger, Part II (1989)

Toxic Avenger Part II poster
Submitted by Nate Yapp on Tue, 2000-12-19 01:00

In my original Toxic Avenger review, I said that if any other Troma films were as tastelessly great as the Real McCoy, you would see a lot more reviews for films from that studio soon. Well, here we are, and unfortunately, I can't say that The Toxic Avenger, Part II quite lives up to the heights of depravity set be its predecessor. It's cheesy, it's fun, and though later viewings may change this, it does not yet qualify for the honored standing of cheesygoodfun (yes, it's all one word).(read more...)

Review: Nosferatu (1922)

Nosferatu 1922 poster
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Mon, 2000-12-18 01:00

An unauthorized (strongly unauthorized, as we'll see in a minute) version of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, Nosferatu is at least the earliest surviving cinematic appearance of that famed vampire, if not vampires in general (the first vampire appearance award probably goes to Georges Melies' short, Le Manoir du Diable, from 1896).(read more...)

Review: The Fly (1986)

Fly 1986 poster
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sun, 2000-12-17 01:01

After director David Cronenberg released his version of Stephen King's The Dead Zone in 1983, he took almost a three year break from directing before tackling an even more unusual project - a remake of a highly successful 1950's horror/monster film that featured Vincent Price, among others.(read more...)

Review: Repulsion (1965)

Repulsion
Submitted by Nate Yapp on Tue, 2000-12-12 01:00

Roman Polanski is a frickin' genius. First, he made me paranoid with Rosemary's Baby, then he made me laugh in The Fearless Vampire Killers. He intrigued me with the secrets of The Ninth Gate. Now, he's freaked me out, plain and simple... I'm nearly afraid to be a male.(read more...)

Review: Witchcraft (1988)

Witchcraft 1988
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Mon, 2000-12-04 01:00

As a small token of the problems that are inherent with trying to make a quality film on a miniscule budget like director Robert Spera's Witchcraft, notice that the title credits contain the word, "Origional." It's not the most serious gaffe, perhaps, but it's representative of the problems that plague this film -- which is not half as bad as its reputation has it -- namely, that the lack of budget resulted in a finished product that is two rewrites short of a decent script, two takes short of quality scenes, two razors short of effective editing, and two staves short of a good score.(read more...)

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