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!

Haunted Newsreel

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SK vs. SK

You know who SK is, right? Stephen King. He's the most read author in the history of the world. How could he not be, with a bazillion copies of his novels circulating the world? Still, it used to be a rare movie based on those novels that's worth even a 99 rental. It seemed for a very long time that Stephen King's worst enemy was Stephen King.(read more...)

Homogenized Horror Part III

George A. Romero, at one time that name was the yardstick by which independent scary movies were measured. He did not climb on any bandwagon with his first feature, Night of the Living Dead, rather he started the bandwagon! Oh, yes, many people will say "Yes, but Herschell Gordon Lewis not only did explicit gore first, he did it in colour when Romero was still directing commercials." That is quite true, but we must remember that most of these people are speaking with hindsight. H.G. Lewis had audiences in stunned silence with Blood Feast, 2000 Maniacs, and Color Me Blood Red 5 years before Romero and company were even planning their premiere feature.(read more...)

Ed Wood's Universe

Ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, Edward D. Wood, Jr., bad movie king, had a tinge of genius? Shudder if you will, but consider it. Modern indie filmmaker Kevin Smith has taken at least one of Wood's narrative devices: a consistent universe.

A consistent universe involves a series of movies that are not sequels, but have at least one recurring character or location. Films contained in a consistent universe do not usually contradict, and may, on occasion, refer to each other. They basically create one world in which all the films are set.(read more...)

Homogenized Horror Part II

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Okay, the title implied more than the movie was able to deliver but it is still a classic of modern terror. Tobe Hooper made the film with barely more than one camera and a crew of people whose enthusiasm was greater than their acting ability. Allegedly based on the true life exploits of Ed Gein, the movie took great liberties. The family in TCM are unemployed slaughterhouse workers and in real life Ed lived alone. While he never actually admitted to eating human flesh when police finally gained access to his Plainfield Wisconsin home they found human hearts cooking in a stewpot on the stove and a refrigerator full of "venison" which was later proved to be human in origin. Also, Ed never used a chainsaw.(read more...)

Frank Dello Stritto Interview

Early in September I was contacted by the two authors of a book entitled "Vampire Over London," a work that attempted to bring to light the 8 months that Bela Lugosi spent in England between 1951 and 1952. They wanted me to help publicize the book as they were publishing it independently. I agreed to interview the one in the United States, Frank Dello Stritto. What came from that was some fascinating insight into the secret life of Bela Lugosi.

CH: Tell us a little about your new book, "Vampire Over London."(read more...)

Homogenized Horror Part I

I have never cared for the word "horror" when applied to scary movies. The dictionary definition of "horror" includes words like "revolting" and we certainly don't go to the cinema to be revolted. The word "terror" seems much more appropriate, and was actively used by Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee to describe their films. Ah, but people still like to say "horror movies". What can you do?(read more...)

Ode to Vincent Price

Vincent Price

Of all the horror icons throughout the history of cinema terror, none have affected me as much as Vincent Price. The King of Leer was the first horror actor I heard of, and the first to scare me.(read more...)

The 1999 Caligari's Cabinet Awards

That's right! The votes are in, and some last minute votes brought in a few favorites to the top 10. Voting in the 1st Annual Caligari's Cabinet Awards occurred between November 1st and December 31st, 1999 and was open to all readers of Classic-Horror.

James Whale, George Romero, John Carpenter, Jacques Tourneur, and Sam Raimi each had more than one movie on the top 25. Whale had three (Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein, and Old Dark House), the most of any director. Actors figured just as prominently, with Bruce Campbell, Dwight Frye, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Ernest Thesiger, and Edward Van Sloan garnering at least two films each on the list (Karloff and Frye both had three).(read more...)

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