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!

Posts by Matt Majeski

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Thu, 2012-06-07 13:41

The world truly has lost one of the greatest writers of the 20^th century. Ray Bradbury, well known science fiction author among thousands of fans, died on June 5^th, 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: The Funhouse (1981)

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Sat, 2012-04-21 03:27

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)

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Thu, 2012-04-19 21:19

I will always remember April 14^th, 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...)

William Finley (1942 - 2012)

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Sun, 2012-04-15 17:29

If I don't hear about any horror fan screaming out into the night at this sad and grim news, then I will truly be surprised! I know there's a few tears in my eyes already. It appears that William Finley, beloved character actor, passed away on April 14^th, 2012 due to complications after surgery.

Finley was mainly known for his collaborative efforts with noted director Brian De Palma, whose film credits with him include The Wedding Party, Dionysus, Sisters, and of course, Phantom of the Paradise. Finley was also known for his working relationship with horror film director Tobe Hooper as well, starring in Eaten Alive, The Funhouse and Night Terrors. He also starred in Wise Blood alongside Brad Douriff and wrote the script for The First Time. According to IMDB, his last known role was George Tilden in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia.(read more...)

"Night of the Living Dead" Chapel Close to Resurrection

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Fri, 2012-03-02 14:27

In 1967, an upcoming, unknown film director named George A. Romero set out to make a movie with his production company Image Ten and a group of unknown actors and actresses in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That film in question was none other than Night of the Living Dead! Filmed in more than 4 weeks and shot on a minimal budget of $114,000, Night shocked audiences when it first premiered on October 1^st, 1968, and still does so to this day. The film also managed to pave the way for independent filmmakers, along with bringing horror closer to the real world.

One of the most prominent locations where the movie was shot was Evans City Cemetery, located 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. The cemetery has been a host to several NOTLD fans ever since the film broke through the barriers of pop culture, and it still stands as one of the few locations left of the film.(read more...)

Dwight Frye

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Thu, 2012-02-23 00:14

Horror film actors are probably the most typecast actors ever, whether it brings them great success (Lon Chaney Sr., Boris Karloff, etc) or it brings them great failure (Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., etc) in their lifetimes. But no matter if they're top billed or uncredited in a minor cameo, they always seem to put forth 120% into their performances. That was very much the case for Dwight Frye, one of the most typecast actors in all of horror film history. He gained his claim to fame in the early talkies as Renfield, the crazed, insect eating madman in Tod Browning's Dracula. After this success for Universal, Frye would be catapulted into playing a whole bunch of lunatics, half wits, spies and red herrings, all which led him into a deep frustration.

Bill Hinzman (1936 - 2012)

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Sun, 2012-02-05 23:21

Sad news has struck every horror film fan around the world today.

It turns out that Bill Hinzman, who played the cemetery zombie in Night of the Living Dead, and who was forever etched into zombie pop culture, died at age 75 from cancer.

Hinzman was also known for his other collaborative efforts with George Romero, on films like There's Always Vanilla, Hungry Wives, The Crazies and O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose. He finally broke out into writing and directing, making the low budget zombie film Flesh Eater in 1988 (which he also starred as the main zombie). His last film role according to IMDb was Harvey Hix in River of Darkness.(read more...)

The Deadly Spawn on Blu-Ray!

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Fri, 2012-01-06 16:47

Justice! Justice has come to us horror fans around the world!

The 80's cult sci-fi horror film, The Deadly Spawn, is going to see life on a new entertainment medium - Blu-Ray. According to Amazon.com, The Deadly Spawn will be released on Blu-Ray January 24^th, 2012, all thanks to Elite Entertainment. In The Deadly Spawn, two campers unleash an alien parasite from a meteorite, which then makes its way to the basement of an old house. The alien soon comes in conflict with four young teenagers, and one pre-teen boy, who are determined to stop it before it devours all of humanity.

The bonus features will include a commentary track, a still gallery, casting footage, a gag reel, a theatrical trailer and TV spot, an enhanced opening scene (hopefully no CGI), television review footage, and much more!(read more...)

Robert Hall's "Chopping Mall" Remake

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Wed, 2011-12-28 03:44

To me, the horror film genre is so close to being past beyond saving, with only certain films giving me a slight glimmer of hope for the future (Trick 'r Treat). This is mainly because the genre is completely flooded with several mainstream remakes of classic horror films, first being started off with Gus Van Sant's shot by shot remake of Psycho in 1998. Now, don't get me wrong, there have been several good remakes that pay homage to the original while also taking a concept into an entirely different direction (The Thing, The Fly, The Blob, etc). But being in a generation where horror remakes are the norm, it's frankly just getting tiring to see remakes of classics (Halloween, Friday the 13^th, etc) and obscure cult favorites (Black Christmas, Maniac, etc) being made and released year after year.(read more...)

Elijah Wood Stars in "Maniac" Remake

Submitted by Matt Majeski on Sun, 2011-12-11 01:46

I believe anyone who has read my review of Maniac knows my feelings towards the film. It was and still is a serious, chilling and psychological slasher film, right in the same vein of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. But it looks like no horror or exploitation film from the 70's and 80's are safe anymore from the remake virus.

On November 4^th, 2011, it was announced that Elijah Wood of Lord of the Rings and Sin City fame is set to play Joe Spinell's most infamous role as Frank Zito, a man who is constantly haunted by visions of his own abusive mother, and takes it upon himself to murder and scalp women as a way of gaining revenge.(read more...)