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!

Many Happy Returns: Our Final Post

Tales from the Crypt poster

As announced back in March, today will be the last day that Classic-Horror.com updates. After today, the site will remain online as an archive. It is also the site's thirteenth birthday. Classic horror has been part of me longer than that, though -- far, far longer.

There's a young boy in Iowa in 1991 whose parents just bought him The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu for Christmas, because that's all he really wanted. His mother had introduced him to horror films earlier that year and now the boy is obsessed with all things monstrous. He has a plethora of Universal classics on tape because his best friend's dad (who has cable) taped AMC's Monsterfest for him. He writes a fan letter to Vincent Price and hopes to meet him someday. (read more...)

The Terrorphile: The Song is Over (Farewell/Horror Tribute fanvid)

As the site draws to a close, I thought I would try to put into video form some kind of final farewell. I've worked on this on and off for the last three years (starting in 2009 when I thought I might shut down the site then). The video is kind of hodge-podge of clips from over 200 horror sources, set to The Who's The Song is Over. I think the song reflects some of my feelings about the site and the horror genre in general.

No notes this time. I think I've said everything I need to say in my farewell post.

Review: The Vampire Bat (1933)

Vampire Bat 1933 poster

Genre is cumulative. Successful elements of one film are picked up, refined, and tweaked by the next. Sometimes the result is an improvement or even an advancement, other times it is imitation or homage. In many cases, a film will combine the perceived successes of its predecessors, synthesizing them into something familiar but new. These are the places where genre evolves. Take the case of The Vampire Bat, which borrows two of the stars of Doctor X and Mystery of the Wax Museum, but more importantly, it carries forward some of the themes and genre trappings of Universal's 1931 horror hits, Dracula and Frankenstein. In doing so, the film shows some innovation of its own, resulting in an entertaining, if occasionally slipshod film.(read more...)

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

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The world truly has lost one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Ray Bradbury, well known science fiction author among thousands of fans, died on June 5th, 2012 after a lengthy illness.

Bradbury is most well known for sci-fi novels like Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. He was also known for dipping his toes in the fantasy and horror genre, with such novels like Something Wicked This Way Comes. He wrote several upon several short stories, 27 of them being adapted for EC Comics.(read more...)

Review: Audition (1999)

Audition poster

Audition is a devious film, the kind that draws you in with well-developed characters and a patiently-paced plot but that eventually begins hitting you unapologetically with scenes of horror before finally bludgeoning you at its climax. Made by Takashi Miike, a master of inserting obscene levels of violence into well-measured stories, this is a film that builds up to an explosive finale that is virtually impossible to be perfectly unspoiled (assuming the viewer looks at the DVD packaging or poster art before watching the film) but nevertheless hits with such unexpected force that it can leave you sick. Aside from simply setting you up for a punch in the gut, however, Audition also quietly illustrates the extent of our acceptance of male dominance in society. (read more...)

Twitchy Thumbs: Silent Hill (1999)

Silent Hill video game cover

The following is what would have been the first entry in an ongoing column about video games. However, since the site will no longer be updating after June 15th, only one entry was produced. We hope you enjoy!

Way back in 1999 when Silent Hill was released for the Playstation, videogaming was in the middle of a massive image shift. With the arrival and success of the Playstation in 1996 gaming was becoming mainstream and cool. It was no longer considered the past time of pasty kids with no friends or the hopelessly nerdy. Advances in technology enabled developers to add a cinematic sheen to their games for the first time and titles like Gran Turismo, Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid were leading the pack in this new cinematic approach. Even Hollywood was getting in on this blossoming medium, with the likes of Bruce Willis lending his likeness and voice to generic shoot em up Apocalypse. And in the midst of all this came Silent Hill. Initially seen as a rival to flagship horror franchise Resident Evil, it went on to become a big success in its own right and the years since have seen numerous sequels, spin-offs, merchandising, films and even a remake. The series even has its own iconic bogeyman in the hulking shape of Pyramid Head. But it all started with the first game, a relentless, nerve shredding nightmare.

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Review: They Live (1988)

They Live poster

Chances are if you've heard of They Live, it is for one of two reasons. One, you've heard the line that launched a million t-shirts: "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." Or two: You've seen the prolonged alleyway fight scene between Roddy Piper and Keith David on YouTube (or the fantastic South Park parody of it). But if you've never seen the film itself those two things might give you the impression that it's just another cheesy action flick from the eighties, but in keeping with the theme of the film, appearances can be deceiving. Lying underneath the surface of this sci-fi/action flick is a film howling in fury against mindless greed and corruption.(read more...)

Review: The Descent (2005)

Descent poster

The Descent could be seen as a textbook guide to instilling horror in viewers. However, to view this film in such a way would be to consider it a mere genre exercise when instead it is a jarring metaphor for the pain of exploring our darkest thoughts. The horror here, which is accomplished as perfectly as it likely could have been, does not exist solely to frighten but to evoke the terror of such a journey into the subconscious. Specifically, the film follows one character's descent into an unexplored cave system, which almost inherently becomes a metaphorical descent into the unexplored recesses of her own mind. The Descent is merciless, but more importantly, it never falters from its attempt to tell the story of a character's confrontation of the hidden aspects of her psychology. (read more...)

Review: The Funhouse (1981)

Funhouse (1981) poster

Carnivals. Carnivals filled with clowns and cotton candy, merry go rounds and barkers, game booths and freakish sideshow oddities. What is their appeal? Why are we so afraid of these malevolent and dark settings, but are so attracted to them at the same time? What is it about their colorful and bright atmospheres that make them so inviting and enjoyable, but yet so bizarre and arcane? This is part of why carnivals make the perfect setting for any great horror movie, because they capture exactly just what we love about them: being frightened and having fun at the same time. Director Tobe Hooper, who shocked us all with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, understood this well, and utilizes this place of charm and fear to his advantage, creating a creepy and menacing cinematic experience that is The Funhouse.(read more...)

Jonathan Frid (1924 - 2012)

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I will always remember April 14th, 2012 as probably the saddest day for any horror fan. It makes me so depressed to report on not only two deaths that happened in the same week, but on the same day too, and of very talented actors at that. The great Jonathan Frid, who was immortalized on television as Barnabas Collins in the daytime gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, died last Saturday at age 87 of natural causes.(read more...)