lists

When it comes to horror DVDs, September and October have always been like an early Christmas for me, except that I have to buy for myself. Still, new releases of interesting genre titles have always been abundant in the autumn, and this year is no different. With much difficulty, we've winnowed down the list of our most anticipated releases to just six, which we present below, in order of release.(read more...)

About three weeks ago, the Vault of Horror blog owner B-Sol compiled the Top 50 Horror Films of All Time from the lists of thirty-two of the top horror bloggers and site owners (the "Cyber-Horror Elite"). The results were controversial, to say the least, although that was anticipated. One of the major points of discussion was that the list skewed towards older horror -- only 10% of the list came from the 1990s and 2000s.(read more...)

If you're struggling to think up a last minute present that will shock and delight the horror fan in your life, Classic-Horror.com has some suggestions that will give you the breakthrough you need!(read more...)

It's a sight both thrilling and familiar -- the winding staircase, especially when seen from directly above or below. Many directors and cinematographers use such shots for their guaranteed visual punch -- the landings create artificial frames, the spirals imbue the center of the screen with a sense of the infinite. Plus, the practical purpose of the stairway suggests a journey and not an easy one. Different films have used the winding staircase to evoke different things -- vertigo, insanity, a descent into hell, and even female genitalia. This Thanksgiving weekend, we give our gratitude to one of the great visual tropes in the horror-thriller by presenting six films with staircases we love.

As usual, click the thumbnails to open a larger version of the picture in a new window.(read more...)

Over at The Vault of Horror (a blog of which I was previously unaware, much to my personal shame), the cheekily named "Cyber-Horror Elite," a gathering of thirty-two of the top horror critics and bloggers from across the web, have put together a list of the Top 50 Horror Films. Each of the participants were asked to submit a ranked Top 10, which Vault owner B-Sol then compiled into the resulting list of fifty.(read more...)

When we decided on "Foreign Horror" as the overall theme for our Shocktober review marathon this year, we made a conscious decision to leave out Italy for the most part, despite it having the second-highest horror output for a non-English-speaking country (after Japan). The fact is, we have plenty of Italian horror covered on the site, and we devoted two and a half weeks of last year's Shocktober to two of the country's best-known horror directors, Lucio Fulci and Mario Bava.(read more...)

Doing a list-style feature can be an easy way to generate content. I like the idea in principle, but I try to avoid presumptuous "best of" lists when I can (and sometimes, I'll admit, I can't).

With this in mind, I've concocted the "Shiverin' 6" (with apologies to the Cinematical Seven). This irregular feature will present a list of a half-dozen really excellent films (or television episodes or fictional characters or whatever) that represent a certain topic, category, or subgenre. These items will not be touted as "the six best", but as "six of the best." Readers can (and should) leave a comment telling us about their favorites -- agreeing or disagreeing with our choices and making their own additions.(read more...)

Just because Easter is a major religious holiday doesn't mean that it can't be used as an excuse to sit down and watch a bunch of horror films. Please note that this article is not for the easily offended or the uneasily offended, for that matter.(read more...)

Wondering what to watch on Halloween night? We have four lists for you, each one dedicated to a different "era" of horror. Each playlist is ordered chronologically, but you can (and should) mix things up to your preference.  We tried limiting each list to eight hours worth of films, but we couldn't limit ourselves well enough, so instead we've provided the runtime (Rt) for each film in minutes so you can choose the best films for whatever time constraints you may or may not have.(read more...)

Let me begin by saying that there's a certain irony in the story I'm about to tell. I've spent the last week and a half in defense of the so-called "Dead Teenager Movie". When I started Classic-Horror, eight years back when I was younger and dumber, it was meant as a shining spire of enlightment, broadcasting a message of excellent horror in what I perceived to be a wasteland of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees fansites. My notion of horror on the Internet has changed significantly since then, as has my appreciation of the slasher genre.(read more...)